Development of Motivation Theory and its Influence on Business Performance

Introduction

Motivation is an inward feature that causes organisms to develop actions or reactions towards stimuli. It stimulates organisms towards attaining certain objectives. It also creates and controls behaviors that are directed towards some particular goals. A case in point is when a person has not eaten; they will have a feeling of hunger, and this drives them towards a goal i.e. eating. As they eat, the desire for food diminishes. The motivation factor towards eating is hunger. Eating resultantly diminishes the feeling of hunger. Motivation encompasses things that are physiological, inbuilt in the character of individuals, or issues that involve social nature of individuals. The desire to increase comfort and pleasure or the need to alleviate physical pain and suffering are the primary roots of motivation.

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The desire is closely intertwined and is related to emotions. Basically, motivation is about that which makes people to engage in certain actions, lean preference to some choices to apply exertion, and insist on actions. These questions that surround motivation have elicited the urge to research, and a foundation of theories have been argued out. While it is widely thought that the meaning of motivation is outright, there is hardly agreement on its theoretical range of reference. Motivation refers to the explanation behind exhibited behavior. It is the attribute that provokes actions or that causes refrain from actions. Intrinsic motivation is that which is fueled by individual pleasure, enjoyment or curiosity. Intrinsic motivation animates and maintains action through natural satisfaction that is inborn and involuntary. It is brought out in tendencies such as sporting, exploration and enjoyment of challenges that are mostly done without expectations of reward. It is in deriving pleasure from the activity itself rather than in the pay. In contrast, extrinsic motivation is motivation that is invoked by offers of reward. It is based on the objective to attain a particular end. Extrinsic motivation originates from outside of the person (Thomas, 2002). Payments like financial compliments and grading alongside the threat of punitive action are some of the widely known extrinsic motivators. The need to win is also another motivator because it pushes an individual to compete and outdo others, and not only to derive pleasure from participating in the activity. In competition, cheering support from the crowds and the trophies that are the spoils of the victors are also extrinsic motivators. The idea of motivation can be inculcated at tender ages by promoting participation in activities that have rewards for accomplishment of tasks.

Motivation theory is a hypothesis that proposes an explanation for certain human behavior and what invokes the said behavior. The subject of motivation has become a field of great study and research (Beck, 2004). A lot of writing has been done on and around issues concerning motivation. It is, thus, considered as a fundamental field in the subject of organization behavior. There is a wide array of theories of motivation. Time and enormous resources have been spent in digging into the study and research on motivation, but none of the prepositions have been accepted as a universal theory. The various schools of thoughts of business scholars have their own angle of tackling this issue, hence the various theories that have evolved over time. It is important to note that even though various scholars have presented their own hypotheses on motivation, they are all complimentary on the issues of activation of behavior and reward to increase performance (Pinder, 1984). The complexity of composition and wide universe backgrounds of people who have put dedication in this study together with their intents in doing so is reflected by the absence of a unified agreement on motivation theory. To explain these important points, it is enlightening to critically look into the developments in motivation theories and the whole concept of motivation as subjects of scholarly study over the time. The earliest rationalization of motivation was concentrated on instincts. Towards the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, psychologists proposed that human beings were wired to behave in a predetermined fashion. This was subject to various stimuli that they were exposed to. Sigmund Freud, for instance, put forth an argument that the most fundamental determinants of behavior exhibited by individuals were those that were involuntary and which the individual remained oblivious of (Lande & Conte, 2010). The researchers and scholars of the twentieth century began to delve into the possibility of existence of the other rationale behind the vastness of responses to motivation by different individuals. A crop of these researchers concentrated on internal stimulators and drives that provide explanation on motivation, while others examined how consequences of action determine how an individual acts and how past experiences inculcate a notion towards taking action in an individual.

Researchers and scholars basically studied the learning process of human beings and how it affects present and future behavior. Still, others delved into the manipulative effect of a person’s cognitive processes, which include unmoving opinion and attitudes they have towards future events. With time, these lines of thinking were categorized into two main schools of thought: The “content theories of motivation and the process theories of motivation” (Pinder, 1984). In the second half of the twentieth century, the science of motivation in humans laid focus on the conscious cognitive processes that encompass expectations and goals, interpretation of occurrences and self efficacy beliefs. As has been apparent, there has been divided attention on conscious and unconscious processes of motivation, with only a few focusing on the aim to integrate cognition in a unified framework, albeit the fact that cognitive perceptions continue to hold today.

In the beginning decades of the 21st century, researchers started to delve into studying the role of human emotions on motivation psychology, and why the same individual might exhibit different responses to things when they have different emotions towards them. These developments were inspired by the coinciding happenings in the research of psychology. Psychology has evolved to put emphasis on what makes up human nature, and unravel the importance of emotions as well as show what the paramount role of motives is. The research focused on personal meaning, motives and emotional well being. Advancements in the science that deals with neuro-psychology have enabled evaluation of the ways in which behavior and experience are affected by inborn tendencies that are linked to psychological needs and effects.

The fact that interest is now directed towards the effects of emotion on human attitudes and behavior does not imply that present applications of motivation theories ignore the cognitive dimensions. This is because in dealing with rewarding individuals to stimulate desired response, it is important to note that there are things that are inborn in individuals that need to be addressed first. The challenge is to develop ways to lay focus on both emotions as a subject in motivation, while in the same breath integrating the cognitive dimensions of human nature. The issues surrounding motivation theories are ever dynamic. In the present century and years, new hypotheses continue to come up because the nature of human beings regarding attitudes and emotions continue to change with the times. This is because what might have interested people especially in the workplace setting in the past century may be redundant now due to advancement in education, technology and globalization, which has created new cultures. It is prudent to say that motivation as a topic is ever changing, and it is slowly becoming irrelevant to base applications on theories founded in the earlier centuries (Latham, 2007).

Content Theories

Content theories are also referred to as need based theories. These are the theories that concentrate on the internal factors that are inborn and motivate individuals, and cause reaction and change or maintenance of behavior. These theories focus and acknowledge the fact that there are motivational factors that stem from within the personality and being of an individual, and that these factors create drive towards goals and achievements (Leake, 1992). Content theories focus on satisfaction as originating from needs and desires that are wired in individuals and those that will still persist, with or without external pressures. These theories propagate that actions and reactions of people are governed from their inside, and that the desires they have come from the urge that they experience naturally. The ideology of content theories works backwards in the sense that first, an action is examined and then the reasons for the actions are evaluated. Actions under content theories are not conditional upon the presence or absence of stimuli, and are not connected to happening or failure of events to happen. Some of the main propositions by some scholars on content theories include: “Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Alderfer's ERG theory, Herzberg's motivator-hygiene theory, and McClelland's learned needs or three-needs theory” (Leake, 1992).

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow came up with a graduated arrangement that proposed that human needs exist in a staircase-like arrangement such that the achievement of one will create motivation to achieve the other one that is next in rank. Those needs as suggested by Maslow exist in the order of, “physiological needs, security needs, sense of belonging needs, esteem needs, and selfactualization needs” (Thompson, 1996). Physiological needs refer to the primary needs that a human being needs to continue living. These are the basics of food, water, and things that which without, an individual ceases to exist. Security is a need that addresses the desire of human beings to require living in a physical surrounding that is free from danger that might cause harm.

It also includes the stability of mind and liberation from emotional and mental stress. Sense of belonging needs refer to the need to be part of an existing community, and the desire to be owned by those that comprise it. They relate to company, companionship, love and participation in membership of a group and appreciation by other members. Esteem needs comprise the wish to attain the feeling of acceptance of one’s self and to appreciate the person one is, and also to get respect and be held in high respect by others. Esteem is a mental state that is void of a feeling of self degradation and disregard by others. At the top of this hierarchy is self-actualization needs, which is the persistent aim to optimize one's abilities, to reach the limits that are permitted by an individual’s own creative mind and being in a position that is deemed within an individual as his or her ultimate being. The absence of satisfaction of needs creates the motivation to strive and achieve the desired state.

Once a need on a lower tier has been reached and obtained, the need progresses to a higher front. In the workplace setting, the application of Maslow’s proposition is evident.

Management should have it in their knowledge and attention that lower needs of employees should be met first. The basics of workplace needs are sufficiently met so as sustain the existence of the employee and his dependants, a work environment free from hazards and assurance of tenure. Those that follow to increase motivation are challenging work assignments, recognition for work done, status, and being entrusted with greater job responsibility. This theory seems to be the most applicable and straight forward to understanding, but researchers have overlooked it due to its lack of complexity. As such, the theory has not been found to have much use in practice (Thompson, 1996).

Process Theories

Process theories are a science based research study that has put forward the assumption that for anything to take place, it is due to some form of input action that has been instigated to culminate in certain ends or output, where a series of steps have been undertaken. Process theory proposes that if a certain outcome is desired over a period of time, then it is necessary to undertake a process of actions that have previously been deemed to result to the same end. A replication of the particular conditions must also hold (Olderog, 1985). When this phrase is employed in line with motivation of human beings, process theory makes attempts at explaining the processes through which human needs change.

Process theories, which are also commonly referred to as a cognitive type of motivation, are focused on intentional decision paths of human beings as a rationale of motivation. The main concern of process theories is in the determination of how the behavior of people is fueled, channeled and sustained in specifically intended and self driven cognitive procedures on humans.

Process motivation theories are founded on cognitive theories of the past that suggest that willful decision making processes result in manifested behavior. The main, “process theories of motivation are the expectancy theory, equity theory, goal-setting theory, and reinforcement theory” (Olderog, 1985).

Equity theory

Equity theory posits that people have the tendency to compare themselves to others in society in terms of the efforts spent and the rewards that consequently ensue. The individuals they compare with are those referred to as relevant others, and are those that are in the same class and share in horizontally similar duties and responsibilities to them. Motivation of individuals is determined by the view of the fairness of rewards given to them, not by the magnitude of that reward. Motivation heavily relies on the basis of what the relevant others received in return for the same effort expended. Equity is deemed to have prevailed when the balance of effort and compensation is uniform when an individual compares his case with others whom they perceive as others. In the same way, inequity is perceived to exist when the ratio of reward to effort is seen not to be equal in comparison to the relevant others. Mostly, this would be if the individuals feel they are on the disadvantaged end.

Two types of inequity exist: The form that concerns under-rewarding and the converse case of over-reward. The former is when an individual perceives that he or she has put a lot of energy into an activity, and yet the resulting compensation is too little. Under-reward is said to occur when an individual believes that he has put in more work than others, yet he is rewarded in the same fashion they are or that he has employed the same effort in relation to others or he receives less reward. For example, if an employee puts in more work hours than her colleagues and they are ultimately paid the same salary, then this will be perceived to be a case of under- reward. On the other hand, over-reward is when the rewards are perceived to be higher for one individual relative to another who is involved in the same job and expending equal effort. The relative others may also be receiving similar rewards albeit the fact that they are for expending lower effort to the job. Research has shown that under-reward motivates an individual to seek a shift from inequity. It is also observed that over-reward has the contrary effect. Research points towards the suggestion that when an individual is under-rewarded, he will seek to solve the inequity that persists. On the other hand, over rewarding individuals many times make them to engage in cognitive discord. According to this theory, affected parties envision to do away with perceived equity. Equity theory is important to managers because it stresses on the importance of implementing a system of compensation that exhibits unbiased consideration to everybody.

How Motivation Can Influence Business Performance

In any organization, there exists a psychological contract between the employer and the employees. There are some expectations that each party has of the other, and they may be expressed or implied. Workers are an organization’s most valuable asset. The employee's feelings about their jobs and how they perceive the rewards they get from performing their duties have major implications on the company’s performance. This, ultimately, affects the stability of the company. A company whose workers are highly motivated has their loyalty. The employees will work hard to achieve the goals of the organization, and they will take pride in being the best in the industry. Conversely, a firm that does not motivate its employees faces peril. Employees will not strive to make the company a winner in the industry because they will not find the zeal to exert more effort to increase productivity.

In the long run, there will be internal rebellion that will cause instability within the firm and weaken its position in the industry. Low employee motivation could be due to decreased success of the organization, negative effects from the economy or drastic changes or uncertainty within the organization. The reputation of an organization can be affected by low motivation of employees. When workers are not motivated, the kind of services they render to the clientele is depreciated. Customers shun any company that is rumored to be unfair to its workers because nobody wants to be associated with bad labor relations. Partners may also severe links with the firm given the fact that the effects of low employee motivations will ultimately be passed on to them. Low motivation may also lead to union actions and eventually invite government sanctions (Frey, 2002).

Conclusion

It is observed that the subject of motivation has had a long history and evolution. Researchers have dealt widely into the topic and have come up with different prepositions. Of note is that the main issues surrounding main motivation are founded on emotion and cognitive processes of human beings. In their research and findings, scholars have found themselves being aligned to two schools of thoughts; those who propagate content theories of motivation and those who posit process theories of motivation. Motivation is seen to affect business performance because motivation is the key to how much output the workers will give. Ultimately, companies with a well motivated workforce will gain competitive advantage over others in the market; therefore, the reason why motivation is said to be the driving force of business performance. It is important for managers to understand the essence of motivating employees. The management of any organization should have in-depth understanding of motivational theories and be able to apply the prepositions of these theories in the workplace. The concept of motivation theories should also be used by modern day managers while formulating human resource policies in their firms and in designing remuneration structures, promotion and incentive policies.