>> MIM Speaks
DEALING WITH NEED FOR ACHIEVEMENT
MARCH 09, 1997 -
NEW STRAITS TIMES
Last Sunday, we looked at human motivation and the prevailing
motivation theories. We touched on some basic assumptions
about human beings in relation to the issue of why people
work.
At the same time, we covered briefly McGregor's Theory X and
Theory Y, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Herzberg's
Two-Factor Theory.
This week, we look at David McClelland's Need For Achievement
(also known as Three Needs Theory), Equity Theory and
Expectancy Theory.
* The Three Needs Theory
DAVID McClelland and his research team believe we work mainly
because of our need for power, achievement or affiliation.
The first two needs corre-spond with Maslow's higher-level
needs, that of sell-actualisation and self-esteem.
1. Need for Power: This is the need to make people obey or
behave in a certain way. It also covers the need to exercise
control ever others.
In order to be effective, managers must have a healthly desire
for power as well as to exercise it. Without power it is
almost impossible to get things done in an organisation.
But when a manager's need for power becomes dominant and
excessive, it interferes with his concern for achieving
company goals.
Much of the familiar office politicking can be attributed to a
manager's lack of ability in dealing with power.
Very often it is an out-come of an over-blown need for power
and control.
2. Need for Achievement: Individuals with a strong need for
achievement drive themselves hard.
Whether they are sportsmen, managers or musicians, their
desires to excel and succeed provide them with that inner
drive or self motivation which many others don't seem to have.
Usually high achievers like to do things better than others.
They set for themselves challenging but attainable targets or
goals.
In the corporate world, high achievement managers involve
their subordinates in the development of goals to ensure
increased chances of achievice them.
They appreciate the logic that staff participation in setting
targets or Goals will lead to the acceptance and commitment of
their subordinates.
Because of their effectiveness,high achievers tend to be well
rewarded financially by their employers.
3. Need for Affiliation:
Individuals with a dominanted for affiliation, obtain much
satisfaction from social and interpersonal activities. They
are more people-oriented and tend to be less task-oriented.
They rather maintain a friendly work environment than push
their subordinates to work hard.
Managers with a high afflliation need must be more
task-focused if they are to be effective. Otherwise, there is
a tendency for their subordinates to take advantage of their
desire to be liked and accepted by others.
McClleland's theory helps us appreciate man's inner needs for
power and achievement. And he likes to believe that the above
three needs can be learned.
Unfortunately, a large body of research on adultlearning
points in-the op posite direction. According to their
findings, these needs or motives are acquired and fixated
during childhood years.
Once formed they are difficult to change. In fact they are
usually changed when individuals go through a painful and
traumatic experience.
* Equity Theory
STACEY Adams theorises that employees are motivated by a
desire to be -treated fairly and equally.
As individuals, we compare our inputs of work and our
contributions with our colleagues', in the same level or
grade. Should some of them get more rewards for their inputs,
inequity will be perceived.
In our hearts we will be screaming "the manager is unfair. He
is biased and is practising favouritism."
Employees feeling that management is unfair may react in the
following manner:
(a) deliberately reduce inputs to a level that will not get
them into any trouble with management, or
(b) take actions to cause others to reduce their inputs. For
instance, peer pressure or pressure from an aggressive and
militant informal group to intimidate those who don't toe the
line, or
(c) adopt a couldn't care less attitude, ask for a transfer or
resign from the company, etc.
The most useful application of this theory should be the
awareness that violation of this Equity Theory leads to much
office problems, especially interpersonal relation problems
among colleagues, which brings down productivity drastically.
It is amazing how corporate managers can make unequitable,
right-brained (or emotional) decisions when the adverse
consequences are so obvious.
The common practice of favouritism is a clear sign that many
managers simply ignore this theory.
* Expectancy Theory
VICTOR Vroom's theory assumes that individuals act in a
certain way based on the expectation that the act will be
followed by an outcome or reward and that the reward will be
attractive or of value to them.
We can look at Vroom's theory under 3 components.
1. `What's in it for me?'
The first component is equivalent to the question. "If I do
this, what will be the outcome or reward?"
For instance, if Alam wants to impress his boss by organising
a successful sales campaigns, he may expect praise,
recognition, future promotional prospects or adverse reactions
from his jealous colleagues.
This component of expectancy theory reflects the down-to-earth
self interest of man; Many of us unconsciously ask the
question: "If I put in the effort, what benefit do I get?"
The technical label or jargon for this component is
"Expectancy Linkage."
2. "Is the reward worth my efforts?"
The jargon for the second component is "Valence" which carries
the meaning of `reward value'. Very often we are reluctant to
volunteer for extra assignments simply because our superior
rewards us with things that we do not want.
Why give us things that are worthless or of no value to us, we
wondered?
In the above instance, we are not interested at all for extra
assignments because it has low "valence or reward value" for
us.
Take another example. If Jimmy, 45, a family-man in Kuala
Lumpur gets a promotion to be a branch manager in Tawau,
Sabah, he may turn it down.
Reason? The promotion has low valence for him. He is not happy
to be away from his relatives and friends in Kuala Lumpur.
3. "What amount of efforts will get me my reward?"
This third component is called "Instrumentality or the
Performances-Reward equation."
Here, employees need to know what level of performance or
standards of achievement they must put in or attain. If they
do not know or are unclear about that, they will show little
enthusiasm for the assignment or tasks even if you offer a
certain incentive or reward.
One of the practical uses of this component of expectancy
theory is that for performance appraisals to be meaningful,
the criteria or performances standards used to assess
employees work must be made clear and unambiguous.
In situations where assessments are mostly subjective
judgments, the reputation of the panel is very important.
Unfortunately, in the real corporate world, as oppressed to
theories more than 80 per cent of employees treat the yearly
performance as a joke.
Additionally, let's look at the following two theories: Goal
Setting and Reinforcement theories.
* Goal-Setting Theory
EDWIN Locke assumes that human beings naturally want to set
goals and strive towards them. Goals infact serve as very
useful sign posts for employees to work towards. They are
useful under the following situations:
1. Employees participate and understand the purpose and
objectives and they accept the challenge to achieve the goals.
2. Employees must have the necessary skills and resources.
3. The goals must spell out the targets and work standards to
be achieved as well as the dateline.
4. Regular and accurate feedbacks on the progress help the
participants to adjust the methods and speed at which work is
progressing.
5. Management need to keep an eye (follow-up) and to provide
words of encouragement to ensure successful project or goal
completion.
* Reinforcement Theory
B.F. SKINNER theorises that if individuals are given positive
reinforcements such as praises, encouragements, rewards and so
on, each time they perform a certain activity, they will be
motivated to repeat those activities.
On the other hand, scoldings and punishments will cause them
to avoid those activities. For instance, children obey
instructions if they have learned that disobedience results in
punishment.
Every time a circus seal performs a trick, he is rewarded with
a small fish. This positive reinforcement motivate it to do
the bidding of the trainer.
Skinner pioneered the concept of "behaviour modiffcation"
using reinforcement theory to change our behaviour.
W. Clay Hamner came up with his six rules for behaviour
modification which managers can use. They are:
Rule 1: Don't reward all individuals equally. To be effective
rewards should be based on performance. Rewarding everyone
equally in effect encour age poor or average performance.
Rule 2: Be aware that failure to respond can also modify
behaviour. For in stance, failing to praise a deserving
subordinate may cause that subordinate to perform poorly the
next time.
Rule 3: Be sure to tell employees what they can do to get
reinforcement. Setting a performance standard tell individuals
what they should do.
Rule 4: Be sure to tell them what they did wrong. If a reward
is withheld without telling why the subordinate is not being
rewarded, may cause him to wonder what he had done wrong. It
may also cause him to feel that he is being manipulated.
Rule 5: Don't punish in front of others. Public reprimand
humiliates and may cause all the members of the work group to
resent the manager.
Rule 6: Be fair. Failure to reward subordinates fairly reduces
the reinforcing effect of rewards.
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