motivational theories
For the organization to achieve its core goals and objectives, motivation and job satisfaction has to be enhanced among the employees. Lack of employee motivation results in catastrophic effects such as burnout, turnover, and depression, which can derail performance in the organization. Motivation theories are designed to help the managers within the organizations to value the needs of their employees and make them their biggest assest in order to achieve success. The objective of this paper is to discuss two motivational theories and describe how each is used in the management of the organization, the pros, and cons of these theories are also described, and their applications to today’s healthcare organizations.
The first classic theory of motivation is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. According to this theory, individuals want to increase what they desire to achieve, and their needs are ranked based on their importance. Maslow categorizes human needs into five classes, which include self-actualization, esteem, belongingness, safety, and psychological. Job satisfaction in the organization revolves around worker’s needs as well as the factors that contribute to satisfaction. This theory can be used in the management of organizational behavior to help managers account for the safety of the worker’s needs by ensuring provision conducive working conditions. It also enables organizations to prioritize employee needs through motivation in order to enhance the increased level of performance.
The second theory of motivation is Two Factor theory, which examines two aspects that affect employee motivation in the organization. According to this theory, hygiene factors that include the things that employees feel dissatisfied when taken away from them, but their presence has no perceived effect. These factors include security, decent working, company policies, befits, pay, among others. The motivators within this theory comprise of those factors whose presence motivates the employees. If they are not provided, employees fail to get motivated. However, their absence in the organization does not cause dissatisfaction. The Two-Factor Theory of motivation can be applied in the management of organizational behavior to ensure the provision of adequate hygiene factors that would help to prevent employee dissatisfaction. Managers can use this theory approach to ensure that work is stimulating and rewarding in order to motivate their employees to work and perform better.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory has both pros and cons. For instance, the benefit of this theory is that it helps to motivate employees to move from their fundamental needs to the satisfaction of higher needs, which provides a clear map for their individual growth. However, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory fails to give reasons why some employees prefer to ignore lesser needs as they search for those that are higher. The Two Factor theory of motivation also has both advantages and disadvantages. One merit of this theory is that it helps to differentiates between behavioral needs by describing the reasons as to why workers require certain things to enable the manager in the organization to direct their motivation better. However, the demerit regarding this theory is that factors that motivate employees can change in the lifetime of an individual. For instance, employees who are young may consider job security as a hygiene factor, while those employees that are old and rely more on their jobs see them as motivators. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs motivation theory can be used in a healthcare organization to motivate employees by making them feel secured, needed, and appreciated. As for the Two Factor theory, managers of healthcare organization ensures that working condition in the hospital settings is favorable to motivate employees.