Motivation and Management Theories

Definition: The processes that account for an individual's intensity, direction, and persistence of effort towards achieving a goal.
- Intensity: How hard someone works on a task.
- Direction: Whether the effort is aligned with organizational goals.
- Persistence: How long someone sticks with a task.
Key Question: When does someone work hard (intensity), toward things that matter (direction), and stay at it (persistence)?

Humans have five levels of needs, and one must meet the bottom-level needs before moving up.
1. Physiological: Food/water; salary to buy food.
2. Safety: Shelter and security; job security and benefits.
3. Social: Friends and love; teamwork and workplace friends.
4. Esteem: Respect and status; promotions and recognition.
5. Self-Actualization: Becoming your best; learning new skills.
When someone's basic needs aren't met, they won't care about promotions or achieving goals.

The way you think about your employees changes how you treat them.
Two types of managers:
1. Theory X boss: Thinks employees are lazy and hate work (micromanages).
2. Theory Y boss: Thinks employees like responsibility and can be trusted (supports and empowers).
Your assumptions about people influence how you manage them.

Hygiene factors: Remove dissatisfaction (pay, policies, working conditions).
Motivation factors: Create satisfaction (achievement, growth, recognition).
You need both; for example, a clean, safe office (hygiene) and a job they love (motivation).
Implication: If you take away their job satisfaction, they'll quit.

People are motivated by one of these needs:
- Need for Achievement: Desire to excel; likes to win and hit targets.
- Need for Power: Desire to influence and lead; desire for control over others
- Need for Affiliation: Desire for friendships and being liked; desire for positive relationships
If you know what motivates someone, you can motivate them better.

You get what you reward.
- Reward good behavior; it will continue.
- Punish bad behavior; it may stop.
Behavior is a function of its consequences.
Uses principles of operant conditioning (Skinner) to change behavior through rewards and punishments.
Like training a puppy / team.

Employees compare their input-output ratios to others.
People compare what they give and what they get at work, then compare that with others.
Managers need to treat people fairly.
If it's unfair, they might reduce input, ask for more output, or simply leave.

Motivation = Expectancy x Instrumentality x Valence
- $Motivation = Expectancy \times Instrumentality \times Valence$
- Expectancy: Will effort lead to good performance? (Confidence in self)
- Instrumentality: Will performance lead to an award?
- Valence: Do I value the reward? (Value of outcome)
If any of these factors = 0, motivation is gone.

Motivation factors vary across cultures (e.g., individual vs. group based awards).
In some places, team success matters more than personal goals (Japan); in others, individual achievement is king (USA).