Management motivation and organizational performance

Management - Motivation

Motivation and Behavior Theories

Motivational theories have set at the basis of human behavior for decades now and a contemporaneous feature is that of using them to explain and stimulate the behavior within the business community. The professors at the University of South Australia define motivation as the individual's endless wish to achieve a certain objective and the energy and efforts that individual makes in working towards his objective (University of South Australia, 2002). The present paper is organized into three parts, each of them succinctly presenting one theory, to end with a short conclusion.

Maslow's Theory of Needs

Topic sentence: Maslow organized his theory of needs into a pyramid with five levels, each of these levels presenting a certain category of needs that stimulate the individual.

E: Explain what that is: The first level contains the biological and physiological needs which basically refer to the needs to be fulfilled in order for life to continue. The second level consists of the safety needs; the third level is composed from the needs to belong to a group and feel and receive affection. The fourth level contains the need of esteem and recognition, while the fifth levels consist of the needs for self-actualisation (Chapman, 1995-2008)

E: Example: The individual is first motivated to get a job in order to get money and pay for the everyday expenses, such as food and shelter (1st level). Once he is on the job however, he will desire to become part of the group and will develop a sense of belonging (3rd level); he will also desire to grow professionally and create a favourable reputation for himself (4th and 5th levels).

McClelland's Theory of Acquired Needs

T: Topic sentence: David McClelland identified three types of needs that motivate individuals. He also used the identified needs to divide individuals into three different groups.

E: Explain what that is: The first type of need is achievement - or people who wish to stand out of the crowd and have their achievements praised; they desire recognition. The second is affiliation, identifying the individuals who feel an intense need to belong to a group and develop good social relations. Finally, the third category of needs is given by power - or the individuals who wish to have control; they have a small interest in what other people think of them and only desire their obedience.

E: Example: An individual driven by affiliation needs will not make major decisions on his own, but will always consult with his loved ones to get their opinion and approval. A power driven individual on the other hand will make those decisions on his own mostly because he can and this once again assures him of his power.

Skinner's Reinforcement Theory

T: Topic sentence: Skinner's theory identifies four types of responses that could be implemented by a higher power relative to the behavior of a subaltern.

E: Explain what that is: The first possible response would be a positive reinforcement which encourages the individual to continue; the second is negative reinforcement which encourages the individual to carry on with the positive actions when threatened with a possible negative outcome; punishment is the third possible response and it tends to discourage the negative behavior; the fourth response is extinction, which attempts to entirely eliminate the negative aspects of someone's behavior (Barnet, 2006)