Motivational Theories Flashcards
Adv Maslow
Provides managers a scaffold on how to motivate employees, if the business follows the theory they should be able to motivate all employees, shows how motivation can be increased in the long term, allows management to understand employees have individual needs and they will all be in different stages.
Disadv Maslow
Can be difficult to identify where employees are on the hierarchy, can be difficult to monitor progression through the individual hierarchy, doesn’t consider individual differences.
Disadv Locke and Latham
Time consuming to set goals and provide constant feedback, may harm confidence if goal isn’t achieved, may be difficult to find balance between challenging goals and overwhelming goals, only focuses on goal setting and there could be other factors that improve performance, employees may focus to intently on their goals they may forget other aspects of their job.
Adv Locke and Latham
Can contribute to business objectives, improves employee ability as they are constantly challenged, improved relationship between manager and employees as they work collaboratively to set goals and provide feedback, higher productivity as as they will perform at a higher standard.
Adv Lawrence and Nohria
Drives are universal to all individuals therefore the business can juts focus on strategies to satisfy these drives, incorporates short and long term motivation, four drive theory is very adaptable to all situations, four drives will convert into effort which will help the business improve performance and more likely to achieve business objectives.
Disadv Lawrence and Nohria
Could be more drives that exist in certain employees, may be hard to identify which drive is more dominate in some individuals, can be difficult to satisfy the four drives for all employees (drive to acquire would be expensive for the business)
Similarities Locke and Latham and Maslow
The successful achievement of a goal in Locke and Latham’s Goal Setting Theory is similar to
meeting esteem and self-actualisation needs in
Maslow’s theory, recognition and feedback are significant in both theories. In Maslow’s theory this comes through the satisfaction of esteem needs, while for Locke and Latham’s theory this occurs with the relationship between the employee and
manager in the setting of goals and the provision
of feedback, both theories highlight the importance of
achieving job satisfaction as a key motivator, both theories focus on achieving one thing at a time (Locke and Latham is one goal at a time, Maslow is one step in the hierarchy at a time.)
Similarities Locke and Latham and Lawrence and Nohria
The rewards that come from the achievement of a
goal in Locke and Latham’s theory can be linked
to Lawrence and Nohria’s drive to acquire, In both theories it is important that the manager
understands the needs of their employees. In one
case this understanding will assist in the setting
of goals. In the other, it can enable the manager to
implement appropriate strategies that will satisfy
the four drives in each employee, Both theories are primarily focused on employees. In Locke and Latham’s theory, employees have a
significant role in setting goals and in Lawrence
and Nohria’s theory, what drives the employees
is at the centre of achieving required levels of motivation, In both theories, cooperation between manager
and employee is essential. With Locke and Latham this comes with the setting of goals, and feedback during the process. With Lawrence and Nohria it comes from the manager having to understand how each of the four drives will affect the motivation of each employee.
Differences Locke and Latham and Maslow
Maslow’s theory is an ongoing, long-term process
through a series of steps, whereas Locke and Latham’s theory is more short term, in that the
achievement of a goal ends the process, and a new process with new goals may be implemented. Locke and Latham’s theory concentrates on the
achievement of a variety of different goals, each
relevant to an individual employee, while the
implementation of Maslow’s theory can lead to processes and procedures within the business that encourage all employees to progress through each stage of the hierarchy, Maslow concentrates on internal needs of employees, while Locke and Latham concentrate on the setting of goals that are external to the employee and designed to contribute to the goals of the business, Individual employees can be very significant in
the goal-setting process, while managers are more significant in setting a tone that allows for the satisfaction of the different levels in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
Similarities Maslow and Lawrence and Nohria
- Both theories were originally devised as a means
of explaining human behaviour in general and
have been adapted for application as theories
of workplace motivation. - Both theories place a great deal of importance on
the achievement of employee satisfaction. With
Maslow’s theory it is satisfying the higher order
esteem and self-actualisation needs, while with Lawrence and Nohria’s theory it is satisfying the four human drives, The drive to acquire can be compared to Maslow’s
physiological needs, The drive to bond aligns closely with social needs
on Maslow’s hierarchy, Satisfying the drive to learn can be compared with having self-actualisation needs satisfied.
Differences Locke and Latham and Lawrence and Nohria
- The fundamental basis for the two comes from
different sets of ideas. In Lawrence and Nohria’s
theory, an individual is motivated to satisfy four
drives, which come from within the person. In
Locke and Latham’s theory, the individual is motivated to achieve a goal, which is external to the person, In Locke and Latham’s theory, a person is usually pursuing one specific goal at any given time, while Lawrence and Nohria’s theory assumes that a person needs to satisfy all four drives simultaneously, Goal Setting Theory can be closely aligned to the objectives of the business while the Four Drive Theory concentrates more on the internal motivating forces within each employee.
Differences Maslow and Lawrence and Nohria
Maslow’s theory has five different levels of needs
in a hierarchical structure, while Lawrence and Nohria’s four drives are all considered to be of equal significance, Maslow’s theory assumes a sequential set of
steps. A person will satisfy one level in the hierarchy before moving to the next one. In contrast, satisfying the four drives can occur simultaneously, Satisfying the drive to defend is effectively minimising a potential negative, and so is different from the progression through the stages in Maslow’s hierarchy, which concentrates on
positive motivators.
