Need-Based Theories of Motivation

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''Developed by Christopher Søndergaard''
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== Abstract ==
 
== Abstract ==
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Project teams are comprised of team members with diverse backgrounds, expectations and individual objectives. The overall success of a project depends on the project team's commitment, which is directly related to their level of motivation.<ref name="PMBOK"> Project Management Institute. (2013). ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)'' (5th ed.). 589 pp. </ref> This is able to affect all aspects of the result that will be achieved by a project, including a direct impact to the Triple Constraint Triangle.
+
Project teams are comprised of team members with diverse backgrounds, expectations and individual objectives. The overall success of a project depends on the project team's commitment, which is directly related to their level of motivation.<ref name="PMBOK"> Project Management Institute. (2013). ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)'' (5th ed.). </ref> These are able to affect all aspects of the result that will be achieved by a project, including a direct impact to the constraints of scope, time and cost.
  
−
Motivation may be defined as psychological forces<ref name="ECM"> Jonas, G. and George, J. (2015). ''Essentials of Contemporary Management'' (6th ed.). 589 pp. </ref> that determine:
+
Motivation encompasses the psychological forces<ref name="ECM"> Jonas, G. R. and George, J. M. (2015). ''Essentials of Contemporary Management'' (6th ed.). </ref> within a person that determine:
  
 
* The direction of a person's behaviour in an organisation, which refers to the many possible behaviours a person could engage in.
 
* The direction of a person's behaviour in an organisation, which refers to the many possible behaviours a person could engage in.
Line 8: Line 11:
 
* A person's level of persistence in the face of obstacles, which refers to whether people keep trying or give up.
 
* A person's level of persistence in the face of obstacles, which refers to whether people keep trying or give up.
  
−
== Big idea ==
+
Motivating in a project environment involves creating an environment to meet project objectives while providing maximum satisfaction related to what people value most.<ref name="PMBOK"/> This may include:
−
A need is a requirement or necessity for survival and wellbeing. The basic premise of need theories is that people are motivated to obtain outcomes at work that satisfy their needs. Need theories suggest that to motivate a person to contribute valuable inputs to a job and perform at a high level, a manager must determine what needs the person is trying to satisfy at work and ensure that he or she receives outcomes that help to satisfy those needs in return for performing at a high level and helping the organisation achieve its goals.
+
 
 +
* Pay
 +
* Job security
 +
* Autonomy
 +
* Responsibility
 +
* The pleasure of doing interesting work
 +
* A feeling of accomplishment
 +
* Recognition
 +
 
 +
Knowing this, it is in the project manager's best interest to understand the demotivation cause in order to drive toward project success though the creation and maintenance of a motivating environment for all members of the team.<ref name="Article1"> Peterson, T. M. (2007). ''Motivation: How to increase project team performance''. Paper presented at PMI® Global Congress 2007. https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/motivation-increase-project-team-performance-7234 </ref>
 +
 
 +
This article focuses on need-based theories of motivation which form the basis of in which way project managers help people to satisfy their needs at work. It exemplifies the application of these theories and mentions the limitations.
 +
 
 +
== Need Theories ==
 +
A need is a requirement or necessity for survival and well-being. The basic premise of need theories is that people are motivated to obtain outcomes at work that satisfy their needs. Need theories suggest that to motivate a person to contribute valuable inputs to a job and perform at a high level, a project manager must determine what needs the person is trying to satisfy at work and ensure that he or she receives outcomes that help to satisfy those needs in return for performing at a high level and helping the organisation achieve its goals.<ref name="ECM"/>
 +
 
 +
There are several need theories, of which Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Alderfer's ERG Theory and McClelland's Need Theory is described briefly below. These theories may be hard to use directly, but give the project manager an understanding of how he or she has to take action in order to create a motivating environment which fulfil people's needs.
  
 
=== Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs ===
 
=== Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs ===
 +
In 1943 Abraham Maslow stated in the article ''"A Theory of Human Motivation"'' that all people seek to satisfy five stages of human needs, which are:
  
 
* Physiological needs
 
* Physiological needs
Line 18: Line 38:
 
* Esteem needs
 
* Esteem needs
 
* Self-actualisation needs
 
* Self-actualisation needs
 +
 +
These needs are set up in a particular order, better known as Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which is illustrated in the figure<ref name="Maslow_1"> van de Vall, Tim. (2013). Available at: https://www.timvandevall.com/printable-maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-chart/ [28.02.18]</ref> below where the stages are described in more details.
 +
 +
[[File:Maslow_1.png|thumb|center|500px|Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs]]
 +
 +
Maslow argued that the lowest-level needs must be met before at person will strive to satisfy needs higher up in the hierarchy. Once a need is satisfied, it ceases to operate a source of motivation.<ref name="ECM"/>
 +
 +
Although this theory identifies needs, which are likely to be important sources of motivation for many people, it has been under criticism. The problem is that more than one stage may be motivational at one time.
  
 
=== Alderfer's ERG Theory ===
 
=== Alderfer's ERG Theory ===
 +
Clayton Alderfer observed that importance of the needs varies for each person as circumstances change. Some people might attach more importance to relationships than growth at certain stages of their lives.
 +
 +
For that reason, he presented his ERG Theory in 1969 in the article ''"An Empirical Test of a New Theory of Human Need"'', which is about three stages of needs:
  
 
* <b>E</b>xistence needs
 
* <b>E</b>xistence needs
 
* <b>R</b>elatedness needs
 
* <b>R</b>elatedness needs
 
* <b>G</b>rowth needs
 
* <b>G</b>rowth needs
 +
 +
These needs are substituted for the needs in Maslow's hierarchy of needs. The existence needs relate to the physiological and safety needs, the relatedness needs relate to the belongingness needs, while the growth needs relate to the esteem and self-actualisation needs.
 +
 +
The idea behind is that more than one stage may be motivational at one time. Alderfer agreed with Maslow that a person must satisfy the lowest-level need to begin with. When needs are satisfied it leads to a progression in the order (<i>satisfaction-progression</i>), but if it is frustrating at this level, the person may regress to increase the lower-level needs, which appears easier to satisfy. This means that a person will become frustrated, if higher-level needs remain unsatisfied. Then he or she has to go back to pursuing lower-level needs again (<i>frustration-regression</i>).<ref name="Article3"> Redmond, B. 2016. ''Need Theories'' https://wikispaces.psu.edu/display/PSYCH484/2.+Need+Theories [28.02.18] </ref>
  
 
=== McClelland's Need Theory ===
 
=== McClelland's Need Theory ===
 +
In 1961 David McClelland propounded his theory in the book ''"The Achieving Society"'', which is about:
  
 
* Need for achievement
 
* Need for achievement
 
* Need for affiliation
 
* Need for affiliation
 
* Need for power
 
* Need for power
 +
 +
The need for achievement is the extent to which an individual has a strong desire to perform challenging tasks well and to meet personal standards for excellence. Individuals with a high need for achievement are attracted to situations offering personal accountability and like to receive performance feedback. The need for affiliation is the extent to which an individual is concerned about establishing and maintaining good interpersonal relations, being liked and having the people around him or her get along with each other. The need for power is the extent to which an individual desires to control or influence others.<ref name="ECM"/>
  
 
== Application ==
 
== Application ==
 +
It is the project managers' job to identify what people need in order to create a motivating environment where everyone is doing fine. To do so, the project manager must get to know the team members and impress them deeply. This requires that the project manager gets an overview of every member in the project team.
  
−
== Limitations ==
+
An idea could be to create a sort of scoreboard where every member is rated (ex. in the interval 1-5) within the different needs. In this way, it is more manageable to work out where to make the effort in order to achieve a better result. How to help the single member on the basis of the need theories is described in the tables<ref name="ECM"/> below.
  
−
== Annotated bibliography ==
+
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|+ Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
 +
! Needs
 +
! What to do?
 +
|-
 +
| Physiological needs
 +
| Provide a level of pay that enables a person to buy food and clothing and have adequate housing.
 +
|-
 +
| Safety needs
 +
| Provide job security, adequate medical benefits and safe working conditions.
 +
|-
 +
| Belongingness needs
 +
| Promote good interpersonal relations and organize social functions such as holiday parties.
 +
|-
 +
| Esteem needs
 +
| Grant promotions and recognise accomplishments.
 +
|-
 +
| Self-actualisation needs
 +
| Give people the opportunity to use their skills and abilities to the fullest extent possible.
 +
|}
  
−
== References == 
+
{| class="wikitable"
−
<references />
+
|+ Alderfer's ERG Theory
 +
! Needs
 +
! What to do?
 +
|-
 +
| Existence needs
 +
| Provide enough pay for the basic necessities of life and safe working conditions.
 +
|-
 +
| Relatedness needs
 +
| Promote good interpersonal relations and accurate feedback.
 +
|-
 +
| Growth needs
 +
| Allow people to continually improve their skills and abilities and engage in meaningful work.
 +
|}
  
 +
A way to measure the difference in motivation and how this affect the result can be done with KPIs, for example:
  
 +
* Is the mood at work improved?
 +
* Are there fewer sick days?
 +
* Are there fewer mistakes at work?
 +
* Are the deadlines easier met?
  
 +
== Limitations ==
 +
It may be hard to identify which needs a person strives to satisfy, because there are a lot of variables which are into play. Examples are:
  
−
== DRAFT ==
+
* Gender
 +
* Age
 +
* Stage of life
 +
* Impact of family commitments
 +
* Outside-interests
  
−
This article has focus on some of the need theories and how these are connected to each other. It states how managers can help people satisfy their needs at work. Lastly the limitations are mentioned.
+
No one is identical. What is deficient for one is not necessarily a deficiency for another. People's perception of what is important at work varies. With time the project manager must continually adapt to people's changing needs, if he or she want to keep their workforce motivated.
  
−
In 1943 Abraham Maslow stated that all people seek to satisfy five stages of needs, which come in a particular order. In the 1960 Abraham Maslow proposed that there are five stages of human needs that motivate our behaviour. Better known as Maslow's hierarchy of needs. These stages are psychological needs, safety needs, belonging needs, esteem needs and self-actualization needs which are described in more details in the figure below, better known as Maslow's hierarchy of needs. His idea is that the lowest level needs must be met before a person strives to satisfy needs higher up in the hierarchy. Once a need is satisfied, it ceases to operate a source of motivation.This theory identifies some needs which are an importation source of motivation for many people, but he argues that only one level is motivational at one time. Maslow's hierarchy of needs proposed that individuals progress from one need to another once they are satisfied. Abraham Maslow stated that people have  which come in a espiaclly needs.  
+
In Denmark, which is a wealthy country with high standards of living, needs related to physiology and safety are given, which means that people are focused on personal growth and accomplishment. As opposed to this, people in less-developed countries are likely to be motivated by getting food on the table and a roof over their heads.
  
−
* Not everyone has the same needs.
+
At last, is it really necessary to motivate the team members? Most people enter a new organisation and a job with enthusiasm, eager to work, to contribute, to feel proud of their work and their organisations.<ref name="Article2"> Schmid, B and Adams, J. (2008). ''Motivation in project management: The project manager's perspective''. Project Management Journal, 39(2), 60–71. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pmj.20042 </ref>
−
* Our perception of what is important at work will vary.
+
−
* Not realistic that most employees will reach the top of the hierarchy.
+
  
−
Clayton Alderfer observed that individual needs differ according to circumstances. They do not need to move in an order of progression. Because of this he devised the ERG Theory which talks about three conditional stages: existence, relatedness and growth
+
== Annotated bibliography ==
 +
<b> 2. Essentials of Contemporary Management </b>
  
−
Cleary, there are more need theories. Those mentioned above are the most known and therefore they are compared in the figure below.
+
The book present management in a way that makes its relevance obvious even to students. This is accomplished trough a diverse set of examples.
  
−
(Managers must realize that citizens of different countries might differ the needs they seek to satisfy through work. In countries like Greece and Japan they are especially motivated by safety needs, whereas they in Scandinavia are motivated by belongingness needs. People in countries which become wealthier and have higher standards of living, needs related to personal growth and accomplishment become important motivators of behaviour. Other variables are age, stage of life, gender, impact of family commitments and outside-interests.)
+
<b> 3. Motivation: How to increase project team performance </b>
  
−
Di Waddell, Gareth R. Jones and Jennifer M. George (2013). Contemporary Management (3rd ed.).
+
The article focuses on other motivational theories and their advantages/disadvantages. It looks at motivational mistakes and how to apply motivation to the team environment.
  
−
https://wikispaces.psu.edu/display/PSYCH484/2.+Need+Theories
+
<b> 5. Need Theories </b>
 +
 
 +
The page describes the need theories, which is in this article, in detail. It looks at the strengths and weaknesses and also the application of the theories, including cases.
 +
 
 +
<b> 6. Motivation in project management: The project manager's perspective </b>
 +
 
 +
The article reviews the current literature and theoretical aspects of motivation. It includes a survey conducted by project managers who tell how they perceive their ability to influence motivation.
 +
 
 +
== References == 
 +
<references />

Latest revision as of 18:04, 16 November 2018

Developed by Christopher Søndergaard


Contents

[edit] Abstract

Project teams are comprised of team members with diverse backgrounds, expectations and individual objectives. The overall success of a project depends on the project team's commitment, which is directly related to their level of motivation.[1] These are able to affect all aspects of the result that will be achieved by a project, including a direct impact to the constraints of scope, time and cost.

Motivation encompasses the psychological forces[2] within a person that determine:

  • The direction of a person's behaviour in an organisation, which refers to the many possible behaviours a person could engage in.
  • A person's level of effort, which refers to how hard people work.
  • A person's level of persistence in the face of obstacles, which refers to whether people keep trying or give up.

Motivating in a project environment involves creating an environment to meet project objectives while providing maximum satisfaction related to what people value most.[1] This may include:

  • Pay
  • Job security
  • Autonomy
  • Responsibility
  • The pleasure of doing interesting work
  • A feeling of accomplishment
  • Recognition

Knowing this, it is in the project manager's best interest to understand the demotivation cause in order to drive toward project success though the creation and maintenance of a motivating environment for all members of the team.[3]

This article focuses on need-based theories of motivation which form the basis of in which way project managers help people to satisfy their needs at work. It exemplifies the application of these theories and mentions the limitations.

[edit] Need Theories

A need is a requirement or necessity for survival and well-being. The basic premise of need theories is that people are motivated to obtain outcomes at work that satisfy their needs. Need theories suggest that to motivate a person to contribute valuable inputs to a job and perform at a high level, a project manager must determine what needs the person is trying to satisfy at work and ensure that he or she receives outcomes that help to satisfy those needs in return for performing at a high level and helping the organisation achieve its goals.[2]

There are several need theories, of which Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Alderfer's ERG Theory and McClelland's Need Theory is described briefly below. These theories may be hard to use directly, but give the project manager an understanding of how he or she has to take action in order to create a motivating environment which fulfil people's needs.

[edit] Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

In 1943 Abraham Maslow stated in the article "A Theory of Human Motivation" that all people seek to satisfy five stages of human needs, which are:

  • Physiological needs
  • Safety needs
  • Belongingness needs
  • Esteem needs
  • Self-actualisation needs

These needs are set up in a particular order, better known as Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which is illustrated in the figure[4] below where the stages are described in more details.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow argued that the lowest-level needs must be met before at person will strive to satisfy needs higher up in the hierarchy. Once a need is satisfied, it ceases to operate a source of motivation.[2]

Although this theory identifies needs, which are likely to be important sources of motivation for many people, it has been under criticism. The problem is that more than one stage may be motivational at one time.

[edit] Alderfer's ERG Theory

Clayton Alderfer observed that importance of the needs varies for each person as circumstances change. Some people might attach more importance to relationships than growth at certain stages of their lives.

For that reason, he presented his ERG Theory in 1969 in the article "An Empirical Test of a New Theory of Human Need", which is about three stages of needs:

  • Existence needs
  • Relatedness needs
  • Growth needs

These needs are substituted for the needs in Maslow's hierarchy of needs. The existence needs relate to the physiological and safety needs, the relatedness needs relate to the belongingness needs, while the growth needs relate to the esteem and self-actualisation needs.

The idea behind is that more than one stage may be motivational at one time. Alderfer agreed with Maslow that a person must satisfy the lowest-level need to begin with. When needs are satisfied it leads to a progression in the order (satisfaction-progression), but if it is frustrating at this level, the person may regress to increase the lower-level needs, which appears easier to satisfy. This means that a person will become frustrated, if higher-level needs remain unsatisfied. Then he or she has to go back to pursuing lower-level needs again (frustration-regression).[5]

[edit] McClelland's Need Theory

In 1961 David McClelland propounded his theory in the book "The Achieving Society", which is about:

  • Need for achievement
  • Need for affiliation
  • Need for power

The need for achievement is the extent to which an individual has a strong desire to perform challenging tasks well and to meet personal standards for excellence. Individuals with a high need for achievement are attracted to situations offering personal accountability and like to receive performance feedback. The need for affiliation is the extent to which an individual is concerned about establishing and maintaining good interpersonal relations, being liked and having the people around him or her get along with each other. The need for power is the extent to which an individual desires to control or influence others.[2]

[edit] Application

It is the project managers' job to identify what people need in order to create a motivating environment where everyone is doing fine. To do so, the project manager must get to know the team members and impress them deeply. This requires that the project manager gets an overview of every member in the project team.

An idea could be to create a sort of scoreboard where every member is rated (ex. in the interval 1-5) within the different needs. In this way, it is more manageable to work out where to make the effort in order to achieve a better result. How to help the single member on the basis of the need theories is described in the tables[2] below.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Needs What to do?
Physiological needs Provide a level of pay that enables a person to buy food and clothing and have adequate housing.
Safety needs Provide job security, adequate medical benefits and safe working conditions.
Belongingness needs Promote good interpersonal relations and organize social functions such as holiday parties.
Esteem needs Grant promotions and recognise accomplishments.
Self-actualisation needs Give people the opportunity to use their skills and abilities to the fullest extent possible.
Alderfer's ERG Theory
Needs What to do?
Existence needs Provide enough pay for the basic necessities of life and safe working conditions.
Relatedness needs Promote good interpersonal relations and accurate feedback.
Growth needs Allow people to continually improve their skills and abilities and engage in meaningful work.

A way to measure the difference in motivation and how this affect the result can be done with KPIs, for example:

  • Is the mood at work improved?
  • Are there fewer sick days?
  • Are there fewer mistakes at work?
  • Are the deadlines easier met?

[edit] Limitations

It may be hard to identify which needs a person strives to satisfy, because there are a lot of variables which are into play. Examples are:

  • Gender
  • Age
  • Stage of life
  • Impact of family commitments
  • Outside-interests

No one is identical. What is deficient for one is not necessarily a deficiency for another. People's perception of what is important at work varies. With time the project manager must continually adapt to people's changing needs, if he or she want to keep their workforce motivated.

In Denmark, which is a wealthy country with high standards of living, needs related to physiology and safety are given, which means that people are focused on personal growth and accomplishment. As opposed to this, people in less-developed countries are likely to be motivated by getting food on the table and a roof over their heads.

At last, is it really necessary to motivate the team members? Most people enter a new organisation and a job with enthusiasm, eager to work, to contribute, to feel proud of their work and their organisations.[6]

[edit] Annotated bibliography

2. Essentials of Contemporary Management

The book present management in a way that makes its relevance obvious even to students. This is accomplished trough a diverse set of examples.

3. Motivation: How to increase project team performance

The article focuses on other motivational theories and their advantages/disadvantages. It looks at motivational mistakes and how to apply motivation to the team environment.

5. Need Theories

The page describes the need theories, which is in this article, in detail. It looks at the strengths and weaknesses and also the application of the theories, including cases.

6. Motivation in project management: The project manager's perspective

The article reviews the current literature and theoretical aspects of motivation. It includes a survey conducted by project managers who tell how they perceive their ability to influence motivation.

[edit] References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Project Management Institute. (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (5th ed.).
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Jonas, G. R. and George, J. M. (2015). Essentials of Contemporary Management (6th ed.).
  3. ↑ Peterson, T. M. (2007). Motivation: How to increase project team performance. Paper presented at PMI® Global Congress 2007. https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/motivation-increase-project-team-performance-7234
  4. ↑ van de Vall, Tim. (2013). Available at: https://www.timvandevall.com/printable-maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-chart/ [28.02.18]
  5. ↑ Redmond, B. 2016. Need Theories https://wikispaces.psu.edu/display/PSYCH484/2.+Need+Theories [28.02.18]
  6. ↑ Schmid, B and Adams, J. (2008). Motivation in project management: The project manager's perspective. Project Management Journal, 39(2), 60–71. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pmj.20042
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