What do people want from their jobs? Do they want just a higher salary?

Or do they want security, good relationships with co-workers, opportunities for growth and advancement - or something else altogether? This is an important question, because it is at the root of motivation, the art of engaging with members of your team in such a way that they give their very best performance.

Motivation theories (1) Herzberg theory:

According to Herzberg two-factor theory: The work one considers to be significant leads to satisfaction. Thus factors that depict job satisfaction are completely different from those factors that lead to job dissatisfaction. Therefore, these feelings are not polar opposites: in other words the opposite of job dissatisfaction is not job satisfaction, but no job satisfaction. Herzberg suggested a two-step approach to understanding employee motivation and satisfaction. Hygiene Factors: The hygiene factors are also referred to as the maintenance factors and comprise of the physiological, safety and love needs from Maslows hierarchy of needs. They are factors that are not directly related to the job but the conditions that surround doing the job. They operate primarily to dissatisfy employees when they are not present, however, the presence of such conditions does not necessarily build strong motivation. The factors include: Company policy and administration Wages, salaries and other financial remuneration Quality of supervision and Quality of inter-personal relations Working conditions Feelings of job security Motivator factors: Motivator factors are based on an individual's need for personal growth. When they exist, motivator factors actively create job satisfaction. If they are effective, then they can motivate an individual to achieve above-average performance and effort. Motivator factors include: Status Opportunity for advancement Gaining recognition Responsibility

 Challenging / stimulating work Sense of personal achievement & personal growth in a job.

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Theory X and Y:

Theory X is a negative view of people that assumes workers have little ambition, dislike work, want to avoid responsibility, and need to be closely controlled to work effectively. Theory Y is a positive view that assumes employees enjoy work, seek out and accept responsibility, and exercise selfdirection.

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Goal setting theory

Goals tell an employee what needs to be done and how much effort will need to be expended. In order to increase performance, Goal-Setting Theory Proposes that setting goals that are accepted, specific, and challenging yet achievable will result in higher performance than having no or easy goals.

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Reinforcement theory

Reinforcement Theory Assumes that a desired behavior is a function of its consequences, is externally caused, and if reinforced, is likely to be repeated will result in higher performance than having no or easy goals. Using reinforcement theory, managers can influence employees behavior by using positive reinforcers for actions that help the organization achieve its goals. And managers should ignore, not punish, undesirable behavior. Although punishment eliminates undesired behavior faster than nonreinforcement does.

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Job design theory

Job design theory refers the way into which tasks can be combined to form complete jobs. Managers should design jobs deliberately and thoughtfully to reflect the demands of the changing environment, the organizations technology, and employees skills, abilities, and preferences. When jobs are designed like that, employees are motivated to work hard. Lets look at some ways that managers can design motivating jobs. a) Job enlargement Increasing the jobs scope (number and frequency of tasks). b) Job enrichment Increasing responsibility and autonomy (depth) in a job. Job enrichment increases job depth, which is the degree of control employees have over their

work. In other words, employees are empowered to assume some of the tasks typically done by their managers. c) Job Characteristics Model (JCM) A conceptual framework for designing motivating jobs that create meaningful work experiences that satisfy employees growth needs. Five primary job characteristics: Skill variety, Task identity, Significance, Autonomy & Feedback. The JCM provides specific guidance to managers for job design. 1. Combine tasks. 2. Create natural work units. 3. Establish client (external or internal) relationships. 4. Expand jobs vertically. 5. Open feedback channels.

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Equity theory

The theory that an employee compares his or her jobs inputoutcomes ratio with that of relevant others and then corrects any inequity. This theory proposes that employees perceive what they get from a job situation (outcomes) in relation to what they put in (inputs) and then compare their inputs-outcomes ratio with the inputs-outcomes ratios of relevant others. If the ratios are perceived as equal then a state of equity (fairness) exists. If the ratios are perceived as unequal, inequity exists and the person feels under- or over-rewarded. When inequities occur, employees will attempt to do something to rebalance the ratios (seek justice).

Originally, equity theory focused on distributive justice, which is the perceived fairness of the amount and allocation of rewards among individuals. More recent research has focused on looking at issues of procedural justice, which is the perceived fairness of the process used to determine the distribution of rewards.

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Expectancy theory

This theory states that an individual tends to act in a certain way based on the expectation that the act will be followed by a given outcome and on the attractiveness of that outcome to the individual. Key to the theory is understanding and managing employee goals and the linkages among and between effort, performance and rewards. It includes three variables or relationships: a) Expectancy (effort-performance linkage), b) Instrumentality, c) Valence