Motivational Theories
In the recent past, the world has been in great want for leadership that will bring transformation of societies across the globe and motivate workers to render their services to the maximum (Maxwell, 1993, p. 11). As a result, many organisations are now making deliberate efforts to train transformational leaders to take up the mantle of leadership both at corporate and public arenas (Argyle, 1962, p.113). In addition, more leadership summits have been set in place globally with the aim of equipping leaders in the 21st century to move corporate and public sectors to new heights (Tourish, 2013, p. 4). It can be argued that all these efforts are directed to motivating the workers, which will pave way for their transformation. This essay will concentrate on the leaders’ greatest tool of leadership which has been referred to as motivation. Several authors like Abraham Maslow and Herbert Simon took time to write about factors that would satisfy an employee, as well as the employer to achieve life’s objective of great leadership. This essay will also discuss the correlation between leadership and motivational theories.
Motivational features
In any organisation, there are three components of leadership namely, the leader, the follower and the communication that are instrumental to motivating workers. These three players serve different purposes and different mandates in their daily undertakings in their places of work (Kracklauer et al, 2003, p.7). For instance, the leader must understand what he or she is able to do, which largely depend on the knowledge and skills that they possess. The followers on the hand are required to work in collaboration with the leader in order to achieve the goals and objectives of the organisation, which will in turn lead to the realisation of the vision of that particular organisation. This is made possible through communication between the leader and the follower (Tourish, & Barge, 2010, p. 323).
As a build up case to discuss motivation, it is important to note that there other elements that need to be considered in the relationship that exist between a leader and a follower (Thompson, & McHugh, 2009, p.3). To begin within, a leader must be able to introspect with the aim of understanding his or her strengths and weaknesses, and thereafter seek for means in which he or she can improve all elements that need to be improved through furtherance of studies and interacting with those who are ahead of him in terms of experience. Secondly, the leader must possess some technical knowledge of doing something, which can be referred to as the leader’s profession (Blakaby, 2001, p. 33).
Furthermore, any leader who would like to be successful in the market place must be able to make informed decisions and stand by them until they are articulated by the followers (Stephan, 1985, p. 649). A transformational leader must set an example and act the role of being the mentor or the role model to the followers, and this will pave way for others to follow suit (Wilson, 2010, 321). The other point of consideration is the ability of the leader to inform, and keep the followers informed of their contribution in the firm. This will boost their confidence in their workmanship, as well as raising the level of trust in the leadership. Finally, the leader must be able to act in line with ethical guidelines that pave way for the leader to use professionalism in his leadership endeavours (D’souza, 2003, p. 14). These elements form the basis at which the success of motivational theories is gauged. It is also the foundation in which workers will be motivated to serve their respective organisations.
Correlation between motivational and Leadership Theories
Several theories have been developed over the years and have brought a paradigm shift in many organisations. This segment is aimed at discussing the main concepts of these theories and how they can motivate followers to keep on rendering their services in a particular organisation (Linstead, 2002, p. 666). To begin with, the Great man theory sought to study some of the characteristics that were exhibited by successful and influential leaders like Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Junior. Having researched on these characteristics, the people behind this theory concluded that leaders were born and not made.
In other words, an individual was either a leader or not. Their main concept was that in a given leadership state of affairs, the right man will emerge and take the role of leadership and that will be the end. A good example to illustrate this idea can be drawn from the case of Martin Luther King Junior, who rose to defend the cry of the minority and fought for it to the end. Although he never lived to see the freedom he had fought for, he rose from the scratch and became an influential leader who is remembered as a hero to date. Therefore, this theory argues that leadership will only emanate from the linage of great men. The discovery that an individual possesses an innate knowledge to perform a duty is enough reason for inner motivation to undertake tasks at the work place.
The second leadership theory is referred to as the Trait theory. This theory’s main concept defied the findings of the Great man theorist in that it proposed that leadership is innate. This meant that leadership had a certain degree of inheritance such that the ability to decide on an issue, charm and emotional control would create room for leadership. However, the trait outcomes were numerous and therefore this theory could not be proved. These led to more research on the overt character traits of a leader and it resulted to another leadership theory, namely, behavioural theory. Behavioural theories are divided into two main divisions.
The first division was called McGregor theory X, whose main concept was centred on the behavioural tendency to hate work by all human beings. His findings demonstrated that human beings will do all that is within their reach to avoid work and therefore they needed supervision that would include control, guidance, threat and punishment to institute discipline and love for work. The other category was referred to as McGregor theory Y and its main concept was found to be contrary to theory X. Human beings were found to love work naturally; therefore they needed no supervision at work due to their self control nature. Douglas McGregor was the person behind these two divisions of behavioural theory and his findings were pinned to be the best approach in managing people. This is bipolar in nature in that supervision may break the morale of the workers depending on how it is done, hence de-motivate them. It may also build the confidence of doing tasks and therefore motivate them to do better.
The fourth leadership theory is Blake Mouton Management Grid whose focus was production. The grid compared people and production and it was observed that five scenarios would emerge. The first scenario is where the leader has low value for production and low concern for people or the followers. This was commonly identified as impoverished style of leadership because it portrayed a ‘do not care’ attitude over personal responsibilities and accountability. The second scenario is high concern for people and low value for production. This was commonly referred to as country club because the leader is seen to care too much for people and forget about the needs of the organisation.
The third scenario is where there is equilibrium between the concern for people and value for production. This is where the leader struggles to be average such that the value for production and high concern for people is the main objective. The fourth scenario is where the leader maximises the need for production but have very low concern for people. In other words, the followers are expected to produce, nothing more nothing less. It is a produce or perish scenario. The last scenario is where the leader has high concern for people and high value for production this is an ideal situation that is recommendable for leaders because it presents a win-win situation. In this scenario, the needs of the organisation are met in the process of meeting the needs of the followers.
The other popular theory is humanism theory that was coined by Abraham Maslow who submitted that human beings are driven towards attaining a certain position in life, which he called self actualisation. He observed that for any individual to reach the apex of life, self actualisation, that individual must have been able to provide for all other needs that starts from the basic needs like shelter up to self esteem needs like a good status in the society. This theory has been popular over a long period of time and it has been proved to be instrumental in motivating employees (Beck, 2003 p. 299). The other theory is Herzberg two factor theory or KITA theory, where is observed that there are several factors in the market place that enliven workers to work extra harder.
In other words, there specific things that are done by management of a particular organisation that will motivate the workers the more which will create room for all workers to work with enthusiasm and vigour (Simon, 1997 p. 188). For instance, promotion of deserving workers who have shown excellence in their work is a source of motivation. The other motivational theory is known as process theories that form a combination of several theories that seek to explain the mechanism in which human beings need change. The main concept of these theories is that they attempt to introduce some of the changes that are meant to motivate employees like clear job description.
Motivational Connectivity
Among the many theories discussed above, it has been observed that five of them bear the largest part of motivating workers, but on a personal opinion, other theories may also motivate workers too. For instance, the Blake Mouton management grid presents a scenario in which workers may be motivated to work the more, specifically mentioning the two scenarios where the needs of both the management and the workers are satisfied. Therefore, this essay proposes that motivation is not limited to the five theories but may be extended to create room for other theories to play the role of motivation.
Motivational McGregor theory X and theory Y
The knowledge that human beings generally dislike work is important information for managers, because it will help them to device means of handling workers on duty. It would be the management’s great resource to know that human beings will always like to be supervised and that workers will always prefer to be led (Thompson, & McHugh, 2009, p. 3). How can a manager utilise this information? This information will help the manager to decide which approach he will use to motivate workers to achieve the goals and objectives of the organisation. Theory Y is very important for any manager because it helps him to understand that workers have an inner drive to work provided the right environment is assured. Providing the right environment includes organising for trainings that are aimed at equipping the workers for works of service. It may also include promotions in terms of salary and position. These are some of the most common motivational factors that workers will always appreciate (Gangel, 1970, p.56).
Humanism theory on the other hand plays a big role in motivating workers (Watson, 1996, p. 452). At the first stage, the workers who are able to meet their physiological needs can be considered to be satisfied workers. Such needs may include food and shelter, which gives workers the energy and the drive to fulfil their mandates at the work place. The second stage of hierarchy of needs is the satisfaction of the safety like job security and the knowhow of accomplishing various tasks. This is the inner joy that comes from the conviction of a stable working condition and protection that is guaranteed in the worker’s life.
The third stage caters for the worker’s need to love and to be loved. This is very important and it can be considered as a catalyst that speeds up the reaction between self esteem and relationships. These relationships begin from immediate family members to the colleagues at the work place. This is very instrumental to all workers because it shows how important it is to be a social being. The ability of a worker to show achievements creates a path for him or her to be awarded with a status quo which in turn builds his or her reputation. Many workers will always endeavour to acquire a status that would define who they are. Therefore, they will do their best to work with diligence to pave way for this reputation.
The last stage is commonly referred to as self actualisation stage and it is marked by great fulfilment. This is a time whereby a worker looks back and count the achievement, personal growth and achievements and if the outcome is positive, then the individual acquires the position of self actualised individual. Maslow observed that every worker always work to reach this stage. It can be argued that the attaining the class of the self actualised personnel is the greatest motivation a worker will ever have. Other theories on the other have clearly come out as nothing less but a great motivation for many workers (O’Neil & Drillings, 1994 p. 306). Letting the worker be their own bosses can be a source of working with enthusiasm because of the fact that job description and responsibility are equally shared and determined (Peel, 2002, 12). This means that the role of the worker will be to see to it that all the expectations by the management are met.
Extra allowances like overtime will always trigger the mind of the worker that his or her needs are taken care of by the management will lead to increased trust on the management and this will raise motivation to a new and exciting level. It can also be argued that if the needs of the workers are, then working with enthusiasm and motivation is the sure guarantee of great accomplishment in the work place. Indeed, this will pave way for great satisfaction from both the management and the workers (Northouse, 2007, p. 102). Motivation therefore has its place in management, and therefore it should be greatly considered. So it can be proved that happy workers are the most productive workers, and therefore there is a great need to take good care of their needs. Motivated workers will provide for an avenue in which the worker is always edified and give him a sense of smile day in and day out.
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