Chapter 10: Motivating and Rewarding Employees
Section 10.1 - Motivation and Individual Needs
Key Terms
 Motivation
 Need
 Hierarchy of needs theory
 Theory X
 Theory Y
 Motivation-hygiene theory
 Hygiene factors
 Motivators
Summary
Motivation is the result of the interaction between the individual and the situation that he
or she faces. Individuals differ in motivational drive, but an individual’s motivation
varies from situation to situation. We define motivation as the willingness to exert high
levels of effort to reach organizational goals, conditioned by the effort’s ability to satisfy
some individual need. It is a function of three key elements: 1) effort, 2) organizational
goals, and 3) needs.
Effort is a measure of intensity. It is important to consider the quality of effort as well as
its intensity. Effort that is directed toward and consistent with the organization’s goals is
the kind of effort sought. Motivation is treated as a need-satisfying process which moves
through the following stages:
 Unsatisfied need
 Tension
 Drives
 Search behavior
 Satisfied need
 Reduction of tension
A need is some internal state that makes certain outcomes appear attractive. An
unsatisfied need creates tension that stimulates drives within an individual. To relieve
this tension, they exert effort. If effort successfully leads to the satisfaction of the need, it
reduces tension. This tension reduction effort must be also directed toward organizational
goals.
Three specific theories were formulated during the 1950s. They represent the foundation
from which contemporary theories grew.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory states that there is a hierarchy of five human needs:
physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization; as each need becomes
satisfied, the next need becomes dominant.
Douglas McGregor proposed two distinct views of the nature of human beings. Theory X
the assumption that employees dislike work, are lazy, seek to avoid responsibility, and
must be coerced to perform and Theory Y the assumption that employees are creative,
seek responsibility, and can exercise self-direction. The manager molds his or her
behavior toward employees according to these suppositions. He proposed that
participation in decision-making, responsible and challenging jobs, and good group
relations, would maximize work effort.
Psychologist Frederick Herzberg proposed the motivation-hygiene theory. Believing that
an individual’s attitude toward his or her work can very well determine success or failure,
Herzberg concluded that the replies of people who felt good about their jobs were
significantly different from the replies they gave when they disliked their jobs. Intrinsic
factors such as achievement, recognition, and responsibility were related to job
satisfaction. When they were dissatisfied, they tended to cite extrinsic factors such as
company policy and administration, supervision, interpersonal relationships, and working
conditions. According to Herzberg, the factors that lead to job satisfaction are separate
and distinct from those that lead to job dissatisfaction. Hygiene factors are Herzberg’s
term for factors, such as working conditions and salary, which, when adequate, may
eliminate job dissatisfaction but do not necessarily increase job satisfaction. To motivate
people on their jobs, Herzberg suggested emphasizing motivators, those factors that
increase job satisfaction.
Two critical questions posed about the early theories of motivation are: How are they
alike, and how are they different? Each theory includes some lower order and some
higher order needs. Each of the three theories has one significant flaw. None have been
substantiated by further research. There are distinct differences among the three theories.
While each looked at motivation, they did so from different perspectives. Three similar
results differentiated by a unique focus.
Section Outline
I.
Motivation and Individual Needs
II.
Early Theories of Motivation
A. What is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory?
B. What are McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y?
C. What is Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene theory?
D. What are the similarities and differences among the early theories of
motivation?