In the XXI century, faced with an uncertain and changing environment in the economic and geopolitical sphere, organizations must adapt to changes, but to do so successfully they must have the identification and commitment of their most valuable resource, human resources. This is where a widely studied topic becomes relevant, but which should be of primary interest in organizations, motivation.
Motivation can be defined as the impulse we have to act in a certain way to achieve a goal, in that sense, numerous researchers have developed various theories about motivation, which we can classify into two categories:
- Content theories, which focus on the factors that within the person, activate, direct, sustain and stop behavior Process theories, which provide the description and analysis of the process of how the activity is activated, directed, sustained and stopped conduct.
Let's briefly look at the main theories about motivation carried out in both classifications:
Content Theories
We can highlight Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Herzberg's two-factor theory and McClelland's theory of achievement.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs
He postulated that every being has five basic needs. In ascending order:
Physiological needs
They consist of physical requirements such as food, sleep, or breathing. Maslow asserts that if some being were deprived of all its needs, its drive to satisfy physiological needs would be greater than any other. Salary helps meet those needs.
Security needs
They include the desire for security, stability, and freedom from pain. Within organizations these needs are often met through health insurance, benefits, and the provision of safety equipment for employees.
Social needs
They understand "the need to feel necessary", and are satisfied through social interaction that allows the person to give and receive affection within organizations.
The need for esteem
They have a dual nature: individuals need to feel important and must receive recognition from others to support these feelings.
Self-realization needs
They consist of the individual struggling to achieve their full potential with regard to their self-development and creativity.
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Here is a short video lesson in which you will learn more about Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory and its application in the work of a manager. (Pilar Vidal-Carreras, UPV)
McClelland theory
Consider that many needs are acquired in culture. Three of those needs are: the need for achievement, affiliation, and power.
Need for achievement
The person is prompted to set challenging goals, work hard, and use the skills and abilities necessary to achieve these goals.
Affiliation need
It reflects the desire to interact socially with people.
Need for power
The person concentrates on exercising power and authority, worries about influencing others and taking the lead in discussions. Power, however, has two orientations, it can be negative if the person who wields it insists on domination and submission, it can be positive if it reflects persuasive behavior and is capable of inspiring.
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Here is a review of McClelland's theory of the three needs and its salient points (Rita González Fernández, ENyD)
Herzberg's two factor theory
He postulates that there are two factors on motivation, which he called unsatisfactory - satisfactory, hygiene - motivating, or extrinsic - intrinsic factors.
Unsatisfactory or hygiene factors
They are necessary to maintain a level of at least non-dissatisfaction, which are: Salary, job security, working conditions, status, organizational procedures, quality of technical supervision, quality of relationships interpersonal relationships between colleagues, with supervisors and with subordinates.
Satisfying or motivating factors
They allow strong levels of motivation that can lead to good performance, which are: achievement, recognition, responsibility, promotion, work itself and the possibility of progress.
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Another short video lesson to understand how Herzberg's two factor theory is applied. (Pilar Vidal-Carreras, UPV)
Process Theories
Content theories are mainly concerned with studying the needs and incentives that cause behavior, process theories of motivation are concerned with answering the question of how individual behavior is activated, how it is directed, sustained and maintained. In this sense, let's look at three theories of the process: the theory of expectations, the theory of equity and the theory of goal setting.
Victor Vroom's Theory of Expectations
It postulates that individuals are thinking and reasonable beings, who harbor beliefs and have hopes and expectations regarding future events in their lives. People are motivated to do things to the degree that they can get something out of it.
Adams Equity Theory
It postulates that employees make comparisons between their efforts and their rewards and those of others who are in similar working conditions. There is equity when employees perceive that the relationship between inputs (efforts) and their results (rewards) is equivalent to the relationship of other employees. There is injustice when those relationships are not equivalent, which creates tension.
In this sense, according to this theory, individuals can try to increase or reduce their results if they are lower than those of the person with whom they were compared, or they can increase or reduce their inputs by increasing or reducing their efforts.
Locke's goal setting theory
This theory states that the individual's goals or intentions influence behavior. It also states that homework goals, when stimulating or challenging, result in higher levels of performance than those for easy or routine tasks. The more specific and clear the goal, the better the level of performance.
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In conclusion we can indicate that organizations in this second half of the 21st century, in an uncertain economic and geopolitical context, where the only constant is change, must be prepared to successfully face the challenges that are presented to them, but for this they need indisputably the support and commitment of its human resources and that is where the various investigations carried out on motivation become relevant, so that managers take these studies as a reference in their management strategies for their human resources.
