Respond to each peer with 3-4 sentences long on their initial post

Peer #1 initial post

Motivation is the reason behind a particular behavior, willingness or desire for something. It is a subject that has been studied in peoples' personal life as well as professional life using many different factors. There have been many approaches and theories about motivation that all same a similar question. There are several theories that have been studied done in reference to motivation, but three traditional ones are: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Two Factor Theory, and Equity Theory.

Traditional Theories of Motivation

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs focuses on the "acceptance of tendency towards self-actualization as a basic tenet of the humanistic psychology." (Vasu, Stewart, & Garson, 1998 p.64). The levels/needs in the hierarchy are physiological needs, safety needs, affiliation needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization. In this theory the goal is that once one level is complete the person can move to the next one because the need was satisfied until self-actualization is satisfied. The pro with this theory is that with the move to each level a person is achieving personal growth.

The con with this theory is that the satisfaction is not measurable.

Two Factor Theory is a growth and development model focusing on the attitude of a job, the two factors are dissatifiers and motivators.

According to Vasu, Stewart, & Garson (1998), "one set of needs stem from the person disposition and centers on avoidance of loss of life, hunger, pain, sexual deprivation, and so on; while the second dimension of human nature is pleasure-seeking oriented or motivation." (p. 71). The classic factors in this theory are recognition, achievement, advancement, responsibility, nature of work, and opportunity for growth personal and professional. The hygiene (dissatisfaction) factors are supervision, working conditions, salary, interpersonal relationships, relationships with subordinates, and company policy. The pros are that the factors are measurable and it is understood that motivation comes from the actual individual. The cons are the factors that are used can be either satisfied or dissatisfied and data could not be 100 percent of the actual attitude because it does not take into consideration of personality types.

The equality theory believes that "employees desire that their efforts, abilities, and performance be judged fairly relative to others in the workplace." (Vasu, Stewart, & Garson, 1998, p. 73). The key factors are input, outcomes, comparative analysis, and actions. The theory also focuses on the individual and how inequality is perceived to that person. The pros are that the theory does take into consideration of different personalities and it can be measured of what is actually being treated fairly. The cons are everyone does not value the same things, so what is considered important to someone may not be important to another employee.

Contemporary Theories of Motivation

Expectancy-Value Theory focuses on the motivation and achievement of an individual. The theory believes that to understand the motivation of an individual, the concepts are valence, expectancy, and force. The pro is there is a self-interest in the motivation and achievement. The con is that expectations can be limited to the individual.

Goal-Setting Theory is that goals can motivate people because they can be compared from the present performance to the target (goal) performance. Usually if the goal is not met, people in return will work harder. The pros are that goals are based on individual performance and goals are set by the individual so they are attainable. The cons are that not everyone will set a realistic goal for themselves and in a workplace, an individual goal can get in the way of a goal set by someone in leadership.

Which theory is used at work?

In my workplace the equity theory is used. I feel that this theory is used because as an employee it is important for me to be treated fairly. The inputs are my bachelor's degree and past experiences. The outcomes are working for a creditable organization, competitive salary, and gaining experience. The comparative analysis is my current experience and the additional experience that can be gained. The actions are the open door policy, where I am able to speak with leadership if I am ever concerned or unhappy. This theory is also true in my workplace because there have been times when employees did not feel they were treated fairly and the employee motivation has decreased significantly.

Vasu, M.L, Stewart, D.W., Garson, G.D. (1998). Organizational Behavior and Public Management. 3rd Edition. Boca Raton, FL. Taylor & Francis Group.

peer #2 initial post

Without considering motivation, no organization, public or otherwise, could operate successfully. Employees must have a reason for performing the tasks they are performing, otherwise they have no will to complete them. This is a microcosm of Maslow's original need theory, which assumed the idea that "man is a perpetually wanting animal" (Denhardt, Denhardt & Aristigueta, 2013 p.167). The theory, popularized in his Hierarchy of Needs, presents categories of needs that humans seek to fulfill, beginning with the basic needs of survival, and peaking with more philosophical needs of understanding oneself and one's purpose. Maslow demonstrated that satisfying these needs was at the core of every person, and by extension every employee. This laid the groundwork for employers to understand how to gain employees and entice them to perform. However, the theory addresses the bare minimum of motivation, without directly relating things to a workspace, which makes the theory difficult to apply.

McGregor capitalized on this idea and developed it further. McGregor's ideas centered on the recognition that people need opportunities at work to satisfy not only lower-level needs for wages and decent working conditions but also higher-level social and ego needs"(Denhardt, Denhardt & Aristigueta, 2013 p. 167). It is these more independent needs that organizations must learn to cater to. Addressing the more basic needs of sustenance security can be reached through any outlet for financial gain. Even beyond employment, these needs can be sated through less common methods like creating one's own food and shelter or gaining it through illegal means. It is through discovering and fulfilling employees higher-level needs that employers separate themselves from others, helping them retain their workforce and increase success. The downside of this and other need-based approaches is that they do little to account for the methods in which employees are expected to meet their goals. They are more concerned with gratification than practicality.

Where Maslow and McGregor developed theories based on what people wanted, Vroom focused on what people would do to get what they wanted. Vroom posited that there were three concepts related to motivation: valence, expectancy, and force (Denhardt, Denhardt & Aristigueta, 2013 p.170). Once a goal or need is considered, the valence correlates to how strongly the person desires to reach the goal, expectancy is the gauge of how easily the person believes they can reach the goal, and force is the effort they put in to reach the goal. This approach considers an employee's rationality. If humans will naturally take the simplest route to complete any task, then organizations can use expectancy-based motivation to encourage employees to see their goals as tangible, to reinforce their efforts in the workplace. However, employers may run the risk of discouraging employees from reaching too high, leaning towards goals which are more practical but less inspiring.

In modern times, Steel and Konig have adapted these and other traditional theories into what they call Temporal Motivation Theory, or TMT. TMT builds on the past ideas by incorporating time as a determining factor in motivation. Steele and Konig believe that the time associated with receiving the benefits of a task will influence how powerful it is as a motivator. A tenet of their theory is picoeconomics, which "emphasizes the idea that when people make decisions, they tend to underestimate the value of benefits that will occur in the future" (Denhardt, Denhardt & Aristigueta, 2013 p.179). This theory is effective to summarize how many factors are present in establishing motivation, but if it is to prove effective from an employer's standpoint, it relies on the employee's openness to share values for these factors, or the employer's ability to understand employee's individual needs.

Cross, Baker, and Parker theorize that a key to motivation is positive energy coming from others. They believe that those who need extra encouragement to be successful are motivated by "energizers" who are naturally more charismatic and enthusiastic (Denhardt, Denhardt & Aristigueta, 2013 p. 181). By proximity to these people, other employees find themselves trying harder on their own tasks. The issue with this approach is its depends on some employees to be naturally energized to essentially take the effort of motivating off of the employer.

In my current workplace, expectancy theory is most prevalent, because the general job requirement is based around meeting consistent, short-term goals. This keeps employees feeling accomplished, because they are consistently completing tasks as they appear, and if there is ever a goal not met, another is right around the corner, keeping the stakes low and pressure down.

Denhardt, R. B., Denhardt, J. V., & Aristigueta, M. P. (2013). Managing human behavior in public and nonprofit organizations (3rd ed.). Retrieved May 11, 2016, from https://digitalbookshelf.southuniversity.edu/#/books/9781452255705/cfi/0!/4/2/2