Administration of Rural Development Projects
Module 5
The Role of Motivation in Rural Development
Objectives:
After reading the module, you should be able to:
a) define motivation and how it works in rural development;
b) discuss selected motivation theories and relate them to rural development;
c) present a case related to motivating people for rural development, and give your analysis of the same.
Motivating and rewarding employees is one of the most important and challenging tasks that heads of organizations perform. It is a concern of management to arouse and maintain the interest of its employees to work willingly and enthusiastically to achieve the organization’s goals and objectives.
To effectively apply motivation requires discovering and understanding an individual’s drives and needs. The main purpose of motivation from the point of view of management is to reinforce employees’ performance so that they would exert positive actions for the benefit of the whole organization and at the same time satisfy the needs and desire of the employees themselves. In addition, employees will be more motivated when they have clear goals to achieve and there is a general feeling of equity between and among them.
Motivation Defined
Motivation can be defined as that which incites, energizes, drives and sustain human behavior to action. The term also refers to a person's desire or strong wish to do the best possible job or to exert the maximum effort to perform assigned tasks. It also means to move, impel or induce to act to satisfy a need or want. Without motivation or will to do, not much by way of accomplishment can be done. It is the need, want, desire or motive within an individual that urges him/her to perform and accomplish his/her objectives. Motivation is said to be a goal-oriented activity.
How Motivation Works
The role of motivation in reinforcing performance can never be underestimated. As shown in Figure 1, internal needs and drives create tensions that are affected by one's environment. For example, the need for food produces a tension of hunger. The hungry person then examines the surroundings to see which foods (external incentives) are available to satisfy that hunger. Since environment affects one's appetite for particular kinds of food, a rural resident may want broiled fish, whereas an urbanite may prefer steak. Both persons are ready to achieve their goals, but seek different foods to satisfy their needs. This is an example of individual differences and cultural influences in action.
Need refers to some internal state that makes certain outcomes appear attractive. An unsatisfied need creates tension that stimulates drives within an individual. These drives generate a search behavior to find particular goals that, if attained, will satisfy the need and reduce the tension.
We can say that motivated employees are in a state of tension. To relieve tension, they exert effort. The natural situation is the greater the tension, the higher the effort level. If this effort successfully leads to the satisfaction of the need, it reduces tension. Since we are interested in work behavior, this tension-reduction effort must also be directed toward organizational goals. Therefore, inherent in our definition of motivation is the requirement that individual’s needs be compatible and consistent with the organizational goals. When this doesn't occur, individuals may exert high levels of effort that run counter to the interest of the organization.
This can be illustrated by the following equation, P=A x M, where potential performance (P) is a product of ability (A) and motivation (M). It may be reasonable to expect that motivated employees who are provided with the opportunity to perform and the resources to do so will perform well. Well defined goals and awareness of incentives to satisfy one's needs are also powerful motivational factors leading to the release of effort. When an employee is productive and the organization takes note of it, rewards will be provided. If those rewards are appropriate in nature, timing and distribution, the employee's original needs and drives are satisfied. If that happens, new needs may emerge and the cycle will begin again (Newstrom, et al, 2002).
Figure 1. A model of motivation
Human Needs
The needs of a person can be broadly categorized into two as follows:
- Primary needs. Also called basic physical needs. These include food, water, sex, sleep, air and reasonably comfortable temperature. These needs are important for the survival of the human race.
- Secondary needs are vague because they represent needs of the mind and spirit rather than of the physical body. Many of these needs are developed as people mature, educated or gets sophisticated. Examples of these needs pertain to self-esteem, sense of duty, competitiveness, self-assertion, and giving, belonging, and receiving affection. It should be noted that secondary needs are strongly conditioned by experience, vary in type and intensity among people. They are subject to change across time within an individual. They also work in combination and influence one another and are often hidden from conscious recognition.
From the above discussion, it is apparent that an important starting point in the process of motivating employees is to understand their needs. To better comprehend the model, several of the early theories of motivation are presented.
Three motivational theories were formulated during the 1950s. While many seem to argue the validity of these theories, they are probably still the best-known explanation of employee motivation. These three theories are the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, theory X and Y, and the motivation-hygiene theory. A thorough understanding of these motivation theories may prove useful for the following reasons: (1) they represent the foundation from which contemporary motivation theories were developed, and (2) practicing managers often use these theories and their terminology in explaining employee motivation.
Hierarchy of Needs Theory
Motivation theory seeks to explain why employees are more motivated by and satisfied with one type of work than another. It is essential that managers have a basic understanding of work motivation because highly motivated employees are more likely to produce a superior-quality product or service than employees who lack motivation.
The best known theory of motivation is probably Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory. He argued that within every human being is a hierarchy of five needs:
1. Physiological needs: food, drink, shelter, sexual satisfaction, and other physical requirements.
2. Safety needs: security and protection from physical and emotional harm, as well as assurance that physical needs will continue to be met.
- Social needs: affection, belongingness, acceptance, and friendship.
- Esteem needs: internal esteem factors such as self-respect, autonomy, and achievement; and external esteem factors such as status, recognition, and attention.
- Self-actualization needs: growth, achieving one's potential, and self-fulfillment; the drive to become what one is capable of becoming.
Figure 2. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
As each need is substantially satisfied, the next need becomes dominant. From the standpoint of motivation, the theory proposes that although no need is ever fully satisfied, substantially satisfied need will no longer motivate an individual. If you want to motivate someone then, according to Maslow, you need to understand what level that person is on in the hierarchy and focus on satisfying needs at or above that level.
Maslow separated the five needs into higher and lower levels. Physiological and safety needs were described as lower-order needs, while social, esteem, and self-actualization were described as higher-order needs. The differentiation between the two levels was made on the premise that higher-order needs are satisfied internally whereas lower-order needs are predominantly satisfied externally. In fact, the natural conclusion from Maslow's classification is that, in times of economic prosperity almost all permanently employed workers have their lower-order needs substantially met.
Theory X and Theory Y
Douglas McGregor was one of the first writers to call attention to managerial models. He proposed two distinct views about the nature of humans. One is a basically negative view, labeled Theory X, while the other is a basically positive view, and labeled Theory Y. Table 1 lists the assumptions about human nature for each of these perspectives.
McGregor's analysis about motivation is best expressed in the framework presented by Maslow. Theory X assumes that lower-order needs dominate individuals while Theory Y assumes that higher-order needs dominate individuals. McGregor himself held to the belief that the assumptions of Theory Y were more valid than those of Theory X. Therefore he proposed that participation in decision making, responsible and challenging jobs, and good group relations would maximize job motivation.
Unfortunately, there's no evidence to confirm that either set of assumptions is valid or that accepting Theory Y assumptions and altering your actions accordingly will make your employees more motivated. In the real world, there are effective managers who hold on Theory X assumptions yet are able to get the best out of his/her employees.
Table 1. Summary of Employees Characteristics under Theory X and Y
Assumptions.
THEORY X● Employees inherently dislike work and will attempt to avoid it, whenever possible.
● Employees must be coerced, controlled, or threatened with punishment to achieve desired goals.
● Employees will avoid responsibilities and seek formal direction whenever possible.
● Most workers place security above all other factors associated with work and will display little ambition. / THEORY Y
● Employees view work as natural as rest or play.
● Employees will exercise self-direction and self-control if they are committed to the objectives.
● The average person can learn to accept, and even seek, responsibility.
● The ability to make good decisions is widely dispersed throughout the population and isn't necessarily the sole ability of managers.
Motivation-Hygiene Theory
The motivation-hygiene theory was proposed by psychologist Frederick Herzberg. Believing that an individual's relation to his/her work is a basic one and that his or her attitude toward work can very well determine success or failure, Herzberg investigated the question, "What do people want from their jobs?" He asked people to describe in detail situations in which they felt exceptionally good or bad about their jobs. Their responses were tabulated and categorized as follows:
Table 2. Motivators as distinguished from hygiene or maintenance factor
Motivators / Hygiene Factors● Achievement / ● Supervision
● Recognition / ● Company policy
● Work itself / ● Relationship with supervisor
● Responsibility / ● Working conditions
● Advancement / ● Salary
● Growth / ● Relationship with peers
● Personal life
● Relationship with subordinates
● Status
● Security
After analyzing the findings, Herzberg concluded that the reply people gave when they felt good about their jobs differed significantly from their reply when they felt bad. As shown in the table, certain characteristics were consistently related to job satisfaction (factors on the left side of Table 2), and others to dissatisfaction (the right side of Table 2). Intrinsic factors such as recognition, and responsibility related to job satisfaction.
When the employees felt good about their work, they tended to attribute these characteristics to themselves. When they were dissatisfied, they tended to cite extrinsic factors as company policy and administration, supervision, interpersonal relationships, and working conditions.
Notice that salary is not included in the motivator list. Herzberg contends that pay belongs to the second set of factors, which he calls hygiene or maintenance factors. Hygiene factors are external to the job; they are located in the work environment. The absence of a hygiene factor can lead to active dissatisfaction and demotivation and, in extreme situations, to avoidance of the work altogether.
The data suggest that the opposite of satisfaction is not dissatisfaction, as was traditionally believed. Removing dissatisfying characteristics from a job doesn't necessarily make the job satisfying. He proposed that his findings indicate the existence of a dual continuum: The opposite of "satisfaction" is "no satisfaction," and the opposite of "dissatisfaction” is “no dissatisfaction”.
According to Herzberg, the factors leading to job satisfaction are separate and distinct from those that lead to job dissatisfaction. Therefore managers who seek to eliminate factors that create job dissatisfaction can bring about workplace harmony, but not necessarily motivation. They're placating their workforce, rather than motivating it. Because they don't motivate employees, the factors that create job dissatisfaction were characterized by Herzberg as hygiene factors.
When these factors are adequate, people won't be dissatisfied; however, they won't be satisfied either. To motivate people on their jobs, Herzberg suggested emphasizing motivators, factors that increase job satisfaction.
Motivational Drives
People have a tendency to develop certain motivational drives as a product of cultural environment in which they live, and these drives affect the way people approach their lives and view their jobs. Much of the interest in these patterns of motivation was generated by the research conducted by David C. McClelland of Harvard University. He developed a sort of classification scheme that highlights three of the more dominant drives and pointed out their significance to motivation. McClelland studies revealed that people’s motivational drives reflect elements of the culture in which they grow up-their family, school, church, and community. It would be observed that one or two of the motivational patterns tend to be strong among the workers that have grown up with similar backgrounds. His research focused on the drives for achievement, affiliation and power (Newstrom, el al. 2002). This is sometimes called the Three-Needs Theory.
Achievement Motivation (nAch)
Achievement motivation is a drive some people have to pursue and attain goals. An individual with this drive wishes to achieve objectives and advance up the ladder of success. Accomplishment is seen as important primarily for its own sake, not just for the rewards that goes with it. Some characteristics of achievement-oriented employees are:
● They work harder when they perceive that they will receive personal credit for their efforts, when there is only moderate risk of failure, and when they receive specific feedback about their past performance.
● People with a high drive for achievement take responsibility for their actions and results, control their destiny, seek regular feedback, and enjoy being part of a winning achievement through individual or collective efforts.