Motivation

Motivation can be broadly described as an individual or teams need to meet a certain goal, whether it be in their personal or professional life. There are several factors that can drive this, and theorists have debated the factors for years, some of these motivational theorists include Abraham Maslow, Frederick Herzberg and Douglas McGregor.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow came up with one of the most famous motivational theories, known as the Hierarchy of Needs, he described five stages a person goes through in which a person cannot move onto the next stage before realising the current one, those stages are known as Physiological needs such as food & drink etc, Security and Safety needs, Love & Belonging needs, Self Esteem and when the former needs are aspired to, Maslow believed one can achieve Self Actualisation.

Herzberg's Factor Theory

Frederick Herzberg's theory took into account two factors which influence motivation in the workplace. They took into account personal factors and external sources which can also affect motivation. Herzberg's theory looked at motivators such as reward and recognition, responsibility, and job satisfaction, then compared it to what he called Hygiene factors such as salary, security and employee benefits.

McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y

Douglas McGregor came up with the theory that there are two types of employee, under his assumptions, a theory X employee is one who is lazy and dislikes work, has no ambition and resists change. At the other end of the scale, a Theory Y employee is one who is self motivated and committed to their objectives under a suitable reward structure.