As human beings, all our actions are inherently influenced by an intrinsic sense referred to as motivation. Motivation may be loosely defined as the willingness to do something or the reasons behind a person’s actions. Over time, scholars have attempted to discover what exactly makes people tick. These studies led to the recognition of great scholars such as Abraham Maslow, Frederick Herzberg and David McCelland. Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory published in his paper, “A Theory of Human Motivation”, seeks to explain other factors may influence human behavior. These factors are described as human needs or desires and are portrayed in the form of a pyramid with the most fundamental of needs at the base and the least fundamental need at the very top. According to Maslow, man’s most fundamental psychological needs are physiological in nature. They include basics such as food, clothing and shelter. Once man’s physiological needs are met, safety needs become predominant. These include; physical security, job security, and financial security among others. The level above safety needs involves the need to belong to a social circle. This may be friends, family or even fellow workmates. Once belonging needs have been satisfied a person feels the need to have their esteem needs addressed as well. Esteem needs reflect the desire to be valued and respected by others. Finally, at the very top of the pyramid is the need for self-actualization. This means feeling that one has actually realized their full potential. It is important to note that the various levels of needs are interrelated.
Frederick Herzberg is famous for his two factor motivation theory also referred to as motivator-hygiene theory. According to this theory of job satisfaction, factors that can cause job satisfaction and those that can cause job dissatisfaction are identified. Motivators are factors who presence causes satisfaction such as recognition at work or the assignment of challenging tasks. Hygiene factors are those factors whose presence does not necessarily bring about job satisfaction but whose absence causes job dissatisfaction. These factors include; salaries and company policies. David McClelland’s Motivational need theory identifies three motivational needs that are common to all of mankind regardless of one’s age, gender or culture. These are the need for achievement, power and affiliation. A person’s overall characteristics are determined by the need that is most dominant. For example, a person who has a dominant need for achievement is likely to be ambitious with challenging goals. Such a person would find it easier to work alone than to work in a group. A person who has a dominant need for power is likely to be controlling and loves competition. Such a person is likely to place a lot of emphasis on winning and views each scenario as win-lose rather than win-win. A person who has a dominant need for affiliation is likely to prefer to belong to a group than to be alone. Such a person is likely to compromise in order to win other people’s approval. Similarly, persons with this dominant motivator tend to favor co-operation over competition.
These theories appear to have one key aim; the explanation of human psychological behavior. However, key differences exist between the three theories. Maslow suggests five levels of human needs; psychological needs, safety needs, belonging needs, esteem needs and actualization needs, Herzberg identifies two factors; motivators and hygiene and McClelland identifies three motivators of human behavior; power, achievement and affiliation. Abraham Maslow’s motivational needs are organized in a hierarchical manner with a lower level being satisfied before a higher level is attempted while Herzberg’s and McClelland’s theories describe motivational factors that occur concurrently, independent of the occurrence of the other. Maslow regards the fulfillment of each level of needs a motivator of satisfaction while Herzberg’s theory is that the presence of hygiene factors does not affect the state of satisfaction a human experiences. Abraham and McClelland’s theories focus predominantly on intrinsic factors that influence human behavior while Herzberg’s theories are centered on extrinsic factors that influence human behavior.
Elizabeth Pedersen’s resignation appears to be as a result of her desire to realize her potential. According to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Elizabeth needs self-actualization. That is the reason why she is seeking a job with greater responsibility at another smaller company. Her present job description is too specialized for her to realize her potential. According to Herzberg’s two factor theory, Elizabeth lacks motivators such as greater responsibility. The fact that she is not dissatisfied with her job shows that hygiene factors such as good company policies are present at her place of work. Elizabeth’s key motivator is the need for achievement that is why she would rather move to a smaller company that does not have the same growth rate as her present company in order to have an opportunity to achieve her dreams. This is consistent with McClelland’s motivational needs theory.
Ola Rennemo’s resignation is as a result of his need for love and belonging. According to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Ola needs to have a sense of belonging which he is not getting at work thus the need to be closer to home where he is loved. Lisa offered him an educational opportunity which essentially lies at the very top of the hierarchy of needs. This level of need is irrelevant as Ola’s need for a sense of belonging has to be satisfied before his need for self-actualization can gain dominance. According to Herzberg’s two factor theory, Ola does not lack motivators to continue working with the company. However, hygiene factors such as a company car to reduce the travel inconvenience from his home are not present. Despite that Ola’s performance appraisals indicate that he is ambitious, his dominant motivator according to McClelland’s motivational needs theory is the need for affiliation that is why he is willing to quit his job to be closer to his family.
As a human resource director, Lisa Bohm ought to pay greater attention to the motivational needs of the company’s employees in order to staunch the present outflow of employees. An understanding of universal motivational theories would facilitate this. For example, if Lisa had paid more attention to Ola’s demands. She would have realized that he needed to be close to his family and offered him accommodation closer to the company’s offices where he could live with his family. Lisa could have also offered Elizabeth a position with more responsibility in the company as opposed to a mere raise. Human resource managers can improve job satisfaction and consequently staunch the outflows of employees by minimizing factors that cause dissatisfaction such as poor working conditions and unventilated offices. They should also capitalize on factors that improve job satisfaction such as the delegation of authority and responsibility to employees, creation of jobs that match the skills of the employees and the provision of fair remuneration among other factors.
References
Dartey-Baah, K., & Amoako, G. K. (2011). Application Frederick Herzberg's Two Factor Theory in Assessing and Understanding Employee Motivation at Work: A Ghanaian Perspective. European Journal of Business and Management, 2222-2839.
