Page 236 - DCOM102_DMGT101_PRINCIPLES_AND_PRACTICES_OF_MANAGEMENT

Principles and Practices of Management

Notes Motivation is the underlying process that initiates, directs and sustains behaviour in order to
satisfy physiological and psychological needs. At any given time, one might explain behaviour
as a combination of motives – needs or desires that energize and direct behaviour toward a goal.
The intensity of our motivation, which depends on the number and the strength of the motives
involved, has a bearing on the effort and the persistence with which we pursue our goals.
Sometimes we pursue an activity as an end in itself simply because it is enjoyable, not because
any external reward is attached to it. This type of motivation is known as intrinsic motivation.
On the other hand, when we engage in activities not because they are enjoyable, but in order to
gain some external reward or to avoid some undesirable consequence, we are pulled by extrinsic
motivation. Table 13.1 gives examples of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
Table 13.1: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

Description Examples
Intrinsic An activity is pursued as an end A person anonymously donates a large sum of
Motivation in itself because it is enjoyable money to a university to fund a scholarship for
and rewarding. deserving students.
A child reads several books each week because
reading is fun.
Extrinsic An activity is pursued to gain A person agrees to donate a large sum of money
Motivation an external reward or to avoid to a university for the construction of a building,
an undesirable consequence. provided it will bear the family name.
A child reads two books each week to avoid
losing television privileges.

Source: Samuel E. Wood and Ellen Green Wood, "The World of Psychology", Allyn and Bacon, Boston
(2nd Edition) 1996, page 36.

13.2 Human Factor and Motivation

The study of motivation can be traced back to the writings of the ancient Greek philosophers.
They presented hedonism as an explanation of human motivation. The concept of hedonism
says that a person seeks out comfort and pleasure and avoids discomfort and pain. Many centuries
later, hedonism was still a basic assumption in the prevailing economic and social philosophies
of economists like Adam Smith and J.S. Mill. They explained motivation in terms of people
trying to maximize pleasure and avoid pain.
The 1950s were a fruitful period in the development of motivation concepts. Three specific
theories were formulated during this time, which, although heavily attacked and now
questionable in terms of validity, are probably still the best-known explanations for employee
motivation. These theories are:

1. 'Hierarchy of Needs' Theory,
2. Theories X and Y, and
3. Motivation-Hygiene Theory.

13.2.1 'Hierarchy of Needs' Theory

Abraham Maslow was a psychologist who proposed a theory of human motivation for
understanding behaviour based primarily upon a hierarchy of five need categories. He recognized
that there were factors other than one's needs (for example, culture) that were determinants of
behaviour. However, he focused his theoretical attention on specifying people's internal needs.

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