MOTIVATION THEORY (HL)
ELTON MAYO
• Mayo is most famously known for describing
the “Hawthorne Effect” (1933) which occurs
when the output of a worker or team
improves because the people are being
observed or appreciated at work.
Work Place Experiment
Mayo
• The most commonly cited example is when managers
changed the lighting conditions at work in one factory.
• When they increased the lighting at the factory
productivity improved.
• When the lights were dimmed productivity also
improved.
• Mayo concluded that people derive a great deal of
satisfaction at work from social interaction in the
workplace.
• Just the fact that the managers were taking an interest
in work conditions made employees feel important and
established their cooperation.
• As a result, output increased.
Money & Physical Conditions at Work
Little Value: Mayo & Herzberg.
• In a similar way to Herzberg, Mayo believed
that money and physical conditions at work
had little motivational value.
• Mayo believed that the value of social
interaction at work and the content of work
were far more important when it came to
intrinsic motivation.
DAVID McCLELLAND
• McClelland proposed that a worker’s needs
are acquired over time and are formed by life
experiences.
• McClelland classified these need as
achievement, affiliation and power, and
argued that a worker’s motivation are affected
by these needs.
DAVID McCLELLAND
Achievement
• People with high achievement needs like to
succeed and will thus avoid easy tasks (because
these tasks will not challenge them).
• They will also avoid high risk challenges because
the chances of success are low (and they do not
like to fail)
• Achievers like regular feedback so that they know
that they are achieving.
• They also like to work on their own or with other
achievers so they can contribute to their success.
DAVID McCLELLAND
Affiliation
• People with affiliation needs like to work in a
harmonious work environment where they are
liked and accepted.
• They like to work in an environment with
considerable social interaction and they will go
out of their way to contribute to make people
feel needed.
• These individuals enjoy being team members and
tend to perform well in roles where there is
considerable social interaction.
DAVID McCLELLAND
Power
• McClelland’s final motivator is the need for
power.
• Some people like to have power over an
individual, while others may want to have
power over a group.
• These individuals strive to direct the actions of
others to further goals of the organization.
PROCESS THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
• Process theory refers to the process that
originally initiated a behaviour.
• Eg: If a teacher praises a student for a good
piece of work then that outcome (a good
piece of work) will be repeated if the same
process (praise) is repeated.
• Equity theory and expectancy theory come
under the category of the process theories of
motivation.
VICTOR VROOM &
EXPECTANCY THEORY
• Vroom argues that individuals strive to
maximize pleasure and minimize pain.
• The most important features of the theory
(1964) are expectancy, instrumentality and
valence.
VICTOR VROOM &
EXPECTANCY THEORY
Expectancy
• This refers to whether or not people expect that
they will be able to achieve a given role or task.
• If people expect they can do a given job they will
be motivated to do it.
• Highly confident individuals who have the
support of their superiors and colleagues and the
necessary tools for the job, are likely to have a
high perception of their expectancy.
VICTOR VROOM &
EXPECTANCY THEORY
Instrumentality
• This refers to the likelihood that workers will be
rewarded in some way if they do a good job.
• If individuals see some kind of “carrot” for doing a
good job, then it is more likely they will perform well.
• So if you believe that there is a good chance that your
parents will reward you if you get good grades, then
you will view your work as having a high
instrumentality.
• Work paid largely on a commission basis is designed to
make workers believe that there is a high probability
that if they perform well they will be rewarded.
VICTOR VROOM &
EXPECTANCY THEORY
Valence
• This describes the emotional connection people
attach to a given outcome.
• If you like receiving praise then that outcome is
positively valent.
• If you feel a job will cause too much stress or
tiredness then you will avoid it.
• Those outcomes have negative valence.
• An employer could use positive valence to
motivate employees and make sure that
employees know what rewards they are likely to
receive for good performance.
VICTOR VROOM &
EXPECTANCY THEORY
• Vroom believes that an employee will have
high motivation if the employee expects to be
able to do the job (expectancy), believes the
job will have a positive reward
(instrumentality) and has a positive emotional
connection with the work (positive valence).
JOHN STACY ADAMS &
EQUITY THEORY
• The second process theory of motivation is
Adam’s equity theory.
• Adam argues that people who believe that
they are rewarded too much or too little for
their job will experience “pain” or
dissatisfaction at work.
• They will therefore seek to redress the
perceived imbalance.
JOHN STACY ADAMS &
EQUITY THEORY
• Workers do not have to all receive the same –
they just have to perceive that what they get
from the organization is consistent with the
contribution they make to it.
• Of course, different people will have different
views on this.
• If employees believe that they are underrewarded at work for their contribution, they
will be motivated to redress that imbalance.