Motivation

Motivation

What are the differences between the content theories and the process theories?

Content Theories:
-Maslow's Need Hierarchy Theory
-Herzberg Two Factor Theory
-ERG Theory
-Achievement Motivation Theory

Process Theories:
-Goal Setting Theory
-Vroom's Expectancy Theory
-Adam's Equity Theory
-Poter's Performance Satisfaction Model

Content theories focus on ‘what’ motivates individuals. They are concerned with the specific things that motivate human behaviour. One content theory is Herzberg’s two-factor theory. Herzberg firstly suggests that there are hygiene factors that motivate people. They do not give positive satisfaction, although their absence will cause dissatisfaction. For example, ones working conditions and relationships with other employees at work. He then says that the second factor is motivators, which do give positive satisfaction. These are things like, achievement, recognition and the challenge of work itself. The hygiene factors identified by Herzberg are the foundation of employee motivation. They alone are insufficient to motivate employees, however they are required in order for them to reach the motivators factor. An employee cannot be motivated unless hygiene factors are fulfilled.

The second content theory covered is that of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Maslow believed that the lower needs (physiology and safety etc) needed to be at least partially covered before the higher needs (such as ego and self actualization) could be activated. (Edpsycinteractive, 2007)He believed that once one set of needs was at least partly satisfied people would begin to be motivated by needs from the next category. Maslow also believed that people were often motivated by more than one set of needs at a time and that they place varying importance on different needs. This means that someone could be motivated by their basic need for food, shelter and comfort but may override these needs by refusing to do a job which contradicts their personal values.

Process theories look at ‘how’ something motivates someone. Locke and Latham (1990) came up with a process theory called Goal Setting Theory. They placed much value on setting goals and regarded it imperative in order to motivate employees. Locke and Latham suggested that difficult goals will lead to higher performance than easier goals as they test an individual’s ability as much as possible, whereas easier goals will lead to employees feeling unchallenged. In a similar way, they believed that specific tasks such as ‘improve sales by X%’ are more effective than ‘try your best to improve sales’ as there is something specific to work towards. Commitment of an individual is also essential and they must be given feedback so they are fully aware of their results.

The expectancy theory is also looked at as part of the process theories. The expectancy theory states that there is a positive correlation between efforts and performance, “the greater the effort the greater the reward”. The expectancy theory tells us that if an employee wants to achieve a high outcome they must put in the appropriate effort to achieve it, a lack of effort will result in a lack of reward. Each individual will be motivated by different outcomes/rewards so the effort put into the performance is related to the reward whether the reward is self satisfaction or that of a bonus etc.


Research

Primary

After carrying out both primary and secondary research into HSBC and John Lewis, comparisons can be made between the businesses methods of motivation and motivational theories. Primary research was conducted in the form of interviews with staff and questionnaires given to staff, in which questions were designed based on what motivates them and how it motivates them.

During an interview with an employee at HSBC, several questions were asked to do with motivation. Some of the answers were as follows:

• Employee of HSBC- “I enjoy challenging tasks as they give me a chance to ‘shine’. Being given simple tasks makes me feel like I get all the ‘extra’ jobs”
• Employee of HSBC- “When my boss tells me that my target is to deal with a certain amount of customers in a day, I naturally work better”
• Employee of HSBC- “The more work I put into a task, the more self satisfaction I get. It is more likely I will be rewarded by performing better and I expect from praise my boss when I know I have done well”

Here are some of the questions and answers taken from a questionnaire completed by a John Lewis employee,

1. Where would you place yourself in the pyramid shown?
• I would place myself in the esteem section as i feel the sections below have all been filled by the work place and the money and benefits i receive from john Lewis.
2. From the five given sections which would you say is the most important and how does John Lewis for full this need?
• I would say safety is the most important to me as it gives me job security which means I can provide for my family. John Lewis gives me job security by giving me yearly Appraisal meetings, in these meetings they give me feedback on the work I am doing whether there are good areas or areas I need to improve upon, this meeting also allows me to forward any questions or ideas I might have. This makes me motivated as it shows that they are a company that cares.
3. Would you say John Lewis allows for people to achieve all five stages?
• John Lewis does allow for all levels to be achieved however I think the higher levels can only be achieved the higher up the organization you go.
4. Do you prefer to have exact goals set for you or do you prefer lose goals to be set?

• I like exact goals to be set when I am told that to better the sales from last year we need to take X amount of money then I work harder to make that happen where as if I was just told to sell I would not feel like I am working to a target.

5. Do you expect some form of reward if you have done a particular job well?
• I expect a reward to be given to me by my managers in terms of praise for a good job, I feel the managers do this whenever the department is achieving.


Secondary

Looking on the HSBC website (http://www.jobs.hsbc.co.uk/121-365-EN/WhyJoinUs.aspx), information can be found about why it is believed people should join and work for them. A list of reasons and extra advantages of working at HSBC are given. These are as follows;

Staff enjoy coming to work because of:
• Teamwork
• Mentors
• Flexible working patterns
• Excellent training and support
• Career development
• A great working environment
And of course, in addition to a competitive salary (reviewed annually) there are some great benefits, including:
• A quarterly bonus incentive scheme if you are in a customer facing service or sales role
• A total yearly bonus that can add up to 35% to your salary for a support (non-customer facing) role
• Save as you earn (share options scheme)
• Generous holiday entitlement
• Mortgage subsidy
• A wide range of discounts and preferential terms on our products and services
• Contributory pension scheme
• Highly supportive maternity, paternity and childcare policies including discounted nursery places
• Recruit-a-Friend bonus of £500-£750
After collecting secondary research from the John Lewis website there are a large amount of benefits (JohnLewis, 2008);
• John Lewis employees receive a large amount of holiday based on the amount of days per a week they are contracted to be working.
• Employees receive an annual bonus which in 2007 was 22%
• John Lewis employees receive a great pension package which will ensure them with a healthy sum of money for their retirement.
• After working for a pre designated amount of time John Lewis employees can receive up to 25% discount from John Lewis stores and 12.5% from Waitrose stores.
• After working with John Lewis for a pre designated amount of time employees are entitled to six months paid holiday and there will still be a job waiting for them when they return to their work place.
• John Lewis employees can expect rewards in forms of a Pbop award which is given to outstanding employees each month.
• John Lewis also has many discounts from stores and other businesses for example, 20% off gym memberships.
• John Lewis employees can claim subsidy of up to £60 from any classes they attend for example salsa.
In conclusion motivation within the work place is one of the most vital areas involved in keeping a business functioning at the highest level. If the employees are motivated to keep producing high quality work then the customer satisfaction will be through the roof and the customers will keep coming back for more.

Reference;


Edpsycinteractive (2007) Maslow [online] Available from:
http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/regsys/maslow.html [Accessed on 4th December 2009]

HSBC Motivation [online] Available from: http://www.jobs.hsbc.co.uk/121-365-EN/WhyJoinUs.aspx [Accessed on 1st December 2009]


HSBC history [online] Available from:
http://www.hsbc.com/1/2/about [Accessed on 5th December 2009]

John Lewis history [online] Available from: http://www.johnlewispartnership.co.uk/Display.aspx?&MasterId=6b960ba1-51a6-44e1-b06b-f0b6813e6bc5&NavigationId=735 [Accessed on 4th December 2009]

Herzberg’s two factor: Management and organizational behaviour. Laurie J. Mullins. Published by Pearson Ltd 2007.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: Management and organizational behaviour. Laurie J. Mullins. Published by Pearson Ltd 2007.