Employee Motivation

  V ROOM’S THEORY OF EXPECTANCY Figure 1 :Expectancy Theory (Source - Lingle, 2015) The Expectancy Theory of Motivation is best described as a process theory. With research pioneered by Edward C. Tolman and continued by Victor H. Vroom, Expectancy Theory provides an explanation of why individuals choose one behavioral option over others. The idea with this theory is that people are motivated to do something because they think their actions will lead to their desired outcome (Redmond, 2009). "Expectancy theory proposes that work motivation is dependent upon the perceived association between performance and outcomes and individuals modify their behavior based on their calculation of anticipated outcomes" (Chen & Fang, 2008). In other words, it can help explain why a person performs at a particular level. This has a practical and positive potential of improving motivation because it can, and has, helped leaders create motivational programs in the workplace. This theory provi...

  M CCLELLAND’S THEORY OF NEEDS David McClelland, born May 20, 1917, earned his doctorate at Yale University in 1941. He became a major contributor to the study of human personality and motivation in both education and industry(Redmond & Rose, 2016). McClelland is best known for his work on achievement motivation models and their practical applications, namely the Thematic Apperception Test and Need Theory(Redmond, 2016). In his book The Achieving Society published in 1961, David McClelland introduced a new theory of motivation, the Acquired Needs Theory. McClelland proposed three types of motivational needs, on which he argued that one’s style of being motivated and motivating others relied(Boyatzis, 2016). Figure 1  illustrates these three types of needs proposed by McClelland. Figure 1 :Needs Theory of Motivation (Source - Redmond, 2013) McClelland argued that most individuals possess some level of all three needs but some display a strong bias towards a particular need...

  THEORY X AND  THEORY Y Figure 1 : Theory X and Theory Y (Source- Hyrons, n.d) Theory X and Theory Y are two models of human motivation developed by Douglas McGregor while he was working as a professor at the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. McGregor presented and explained the two theories in what is considered a classic work of management science, his 1960 book The Human Side of Enterprise. As shown in the Figure 2 , Theory X and Theory Y represent two basic assumptions about the human capacity for and relationship to work (Miller, 2013 ) . Figure 2 :Theory X and Theory Y (Source - Miller, 2013 ) Employees who are highly-motivated tend to be more productive,  dedicated and cooperative whilst non-motivated workers are less-productive, resistant  to change and generally inflexible or lazy (Hiriyappa 2010). As mentioned by Lengnick et al. (2013), some of the major human resource theories and principles which organizations ...