Employee Motivation Theories

There are a number of theories of motivation that mainly complement each other (Armstrong, 2009). Traditional theories of motivation focus on specific elements that motivate employees to achieve organizational results.

However, current research on employee motivation is more interdisciplinary and includes areas such as neurology, biology and psychology. It seems that current research is directed to unify and revolutionize traditional theories of motivation into a more comprehensive theory that embraces traditional views on management, human resources, organizational behavior with new perspectives in neuroscience, biology and psychology (Lee & Raschke, 2016). At the beginning of the 20th century motivational theories were the main organizing strength in both experimental and applied psychology (Ryan, 2012).

Five ways to explain behavior - needs, reinforcement, cognition, performance, and feelings/emotions - are at the heart of the evolution of modern theories of human motivation (Kretiner & Kinicki, 1998).

The below YouTube video identifies different motivational theories.

(Motivation Theories Explained in 10 Minutes, 2019)

Specific examples of the use of motivation theories are evident at Home Depot Inc. There are employees who prefer the big discounts they receive from many companies around the world, and there are employees who are motivated by the profit sharing provided at the end of the financial year. Home Depot pays out these bonuses based on the success of a particular store and thrives on the concept that the company is built from employees, not from the CEO. This concept is supported by higher forces throughout the organization and is confirmed by the concepts used in recruitment and employee loyalty (Charan, 2006).

Mary Kay, Inc. has a different concept with recognition as this company gives prizes upon performance. This is built upon the independent sales that are accomplished per individual. The prizes can include vacations, automobiles, gift cards, and an array of other gifts. The gift giving process generally occurs during meetings with many sales representatives attending worldwide and this is a concept that has been successful in motivating the sales teams for over two decades (Mary Kay, n.d.).

The purpose of motivation theories is to find out what drives individuals to work toward a goal or outcome. In this way, organizations are interested in understanding what motivation theory to follow so that employees are more motivated and productive, leading to a more economical use of organizational resources.


References

Armstrong, M., 2009. Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. 11th ed. London and Philadelphia : Kogan Page.

Charan, R., 2006. Home Depot's Blueprint for Culture Change. [Online]
Available at: https://hbr.org/2006/04/home-depots-blueprint-for-culture-change
[Accessed 19 August 2022].

Kretiner, R. & Kinicki, A., 1998. Organizational Behavior. 4th ed. Boston: Mcgraw-Hill.

Lee, M. T. & Raschke, R. L., 2016. Understanding employee motivation and organizational performance: Arguments for a set-theoretic approach. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 1(3), pp. 162-169.

Mary Kay, n.d. Our Culture. [Online] Available at: https://www.marykay.com/en-us/about-mary-kay/2020-04-corporate-careers/2020-04-our-culture
[Accessed 19 August 2022].

Motivation Theories Explained in 10 Minutes, 2019 (video file) Available from; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woa2Qa8i80U [Accessed on 18th of August 2022].

Ryan, R. M., 2012. The Oxford Handbook of Human Motivation. New York: Oxford University Press.

 

Comments

  1. Archana pragashSeptember 8, 2022 at 10:02 AM

    nice to read your post, I can add some points too. According to Maslow, a person's most fundamental needs are for air, food, clothing, and shelter; these are survival or physiologic needs. Unless these needs are met, the person cannot progress on the continuum to achieve higher levels of growth and development (Hamel,Leclerc, & Lefrancois, 2003).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Reshan FernandoSeptember 10, 2022 at 6:35 AM

      Yes Archana, Alderfer (1972) proposed an alternative to Maslow's theory known as the ERG theory. He consolidated five levels of Maslow's hierarchy into three levels: Existence (E), Relatedness (R) and Growth (G). Existence needs include physiological factors such as food, shelter, clothes, good salary, fringe benefits, good working conditions, etc.
      Relatedness needs address our relationship with others, such as families, friends, work
      groups, etc. Growth needs are associated with Maslow's last two levels, namely self-esteem and self-actualization.

      Delete

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