Why are there multiple theories of ‘motivation’ in organizational

behaviour? Discuss this question by including a critical evaluation of two

theories of motivation.”

The word “Motivation” is an important world that is been appreciated in department

like self improvement, human resource management and personal growth, but what is the
definition of motivation? Motivation is seen by many to be improving ones skills and
knowledge, where the challenge lays in the work itself, but in you, the person who creates
and manages the work environment

According to Maslow's theory defined “Motivation as a decision-making process, through which

the individual chooses the desired outcomes and sets in motion the behavior appropriate to
them".

The theories are two parts: The classification of human needs, and consideration of how the
classes are related to each other. There are some problems with Maslow model when real life
working practice: individual behaviour seems to respond to several needs not just one, the model
ignores the often-observed behaviour of individuals who tolerate low-pay for the promise of
future benefits, and the same need e.g. the need to interact socially at work, may cause quite
different behaviour in different individuals. Maslow stated that the reason why individual
behaviour is important in trying to understand and influence motivation are - individuals behave
in a way as to satisfy their needs and fulfil their goals and every individual has a set of needs and
a different set of goals. The important of motivation are higher productivity, better quality work
with less wastage and more feedback demanded from superiors and management Laure, J 2005.

Herzberg’s said motivation said Motivation can therefore be thought of as the degree to which an
individual wants and chooses to engage in certain behaviours. Herzberg suggested an approach
to understanding employee motivation and satisfaction: Motivator factors are based on an
individual's need for personal growth. When they exist, it actively creates job satisfaction. If they
are effective, then they can motivate an individual to achieve above-average performance and
effort. Motivator factors include: - Responsibility and status. There is some similarity between
Herzberg's and Maslow's models. They both suggest that needs have to be satisfied for the
employee to be motivated Motivation is the characteristic that is required in order to achieve
anything in life; without it you will give up at the first sign of adversity. It means to inspire,
instigate and encourage a person to do their best West, M. (2003). Motivation will compel a
person to think "If I can't, then I must" and will cause them to do whatever it takes to become
successful. If you inspire motivation it can change your life. You will be inspired to get what you
want regardless of what people tell you that you cannot do. I have personally seen people apply
the motivation factors in life to get from poverty to a life filled with abundance. When the
organisation doesn’t have any motive they will end up achieving nothing.

Reference.

1. West, M. 2003 Effective Teamwork: Practical Lesson from Organisational research: 2nd
Edition: Blackwell Publishing: London.

2. Laure, J. 2005 Management and Organisational Behaviour 7th edition. Pearson Education
Limited: England