How to motivate employee at atlas copco vietnam company

HOW TO MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES AT
ATLAS COPCO VIETNAM COMPANY

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

In Marketing

By

Ms. TRAN THI QUY LOC

ID: MBA03018

International University - Vietnam National University HCMC

February 2013


HOW TO MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES
AT ATLAS COPCO VIETNAM COMPANY

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

In Marketing
by
Ms. TRAN THI QUY LOC
ID: MBA03018

International University - Vietnam National University HCMC

February 2013

Under the guidance and approval of the committee, and approved by all its members, this
thesis has been accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree.

Approved:

---------------------------------------------Chairperson

--------------------------------------------Committee member

---------------------------------------------Committee member

--------------------------------------------Committee member

---------------------------------------------Committee member

--------------------------------------------Committee member


Acknowledge
I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Le Thanh Long, for his constant support and
guidance. His friendly encouragement has been greatly appreciated.
I should also like to thank my parent; husband and friends who have always helped
ensure that this thesis is completed.
Finally, I would like to thank all the colleagues that took the time to give me more
information’s relate to this research.

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Plagiarism Statements
I would like to declare that, apart from the acknowledged references, this thesis either
does not use language, ideas, or other original material from anyone; or has not been
previously submitted to any other educational and research programs or institutions. I fully
understand that any writings in this thesis contradicted to the above statement will
automatically lead to the rejection from the MBA program at the International University –
Vietnam National University Hochiminh City.

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Copyright Statement
This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is
understood to recognize that its copyright rests with its author and that no quotation from the
thesis and no information derived from it may be published without the author’s prior consent.
© Tran Thi Quy Loc/ ID.MBA03018/2010-2012

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Table of Contents

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................1
I.1. Introduction .....................................................................................................................1
I.2. Statement of problem....................................................................................................... 1
I.2.1. The Atlas Copco’s background ............................................................................ 1
I.2.2. The problem at Atlas Copco Vietnam ..................................................................4

I.3. Research objectives ......................................................................................................... 5
I.4. Rationale for the study..................................................................................................... 5
I.5. Scope and limitation of the study .................................................................................... 6
I.6. Research structure............................................................................................................ 6
CHAPTER II: LITURATURE REVIEW ......................................................................... 8
II.1. The concepts of motivation ............................................................................................ 8
II.1.1. Motivation ........................................................................................................... 8
II.1.2. The work motivation ......................................................................................... 10
II.2. The Motivation Theory ................................................................................................ 13
II.2.1. Content theories .................................................................................................14
II.2.2. Process theories ................................................................................................. 19
II.3. The effects of motivation on employees ......................................................................23
II.4. The motivation factors .................................................................................................26
II.4.1. The monetary factors......................................................................................... 29
II.4.2. The non-monetary factors ................................................................................. 31
II.5. Research model ............................................................................................................ 36
CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.......................................................... 37
III.1. Research approach ......................................................................................................37
III.2. Research strategy ........................................................................................................ 37
III.3. Process of procedure ...................................................................................................38
III.4. Data collection ............................................................................................................39
III.4.1. Sample size ......................................................................................................40
III.4.2. The tools of data collection.............................................................................. 41

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III.5. Data analysis ...............................................................................................................43
III.6. Validity and reliability ................................................................................................45
III.7. Research process .........................................................................................................46

CHAPTER IV: DATA ANALYSES AND FINDING ....................................................49
IV.1. The Finding..................................................................................................................49
IV.2. RQ1: Which factors impact to motivation? .................................................................51
IV.3. RQ2: What do factors affect to motivation like? ........................................................56
IV.4. RQ3: How to have effective motivation at company?.................................................61
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION ......................................65
V.1. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................65
V.2. Recommendation ..........................................................................................................67
V.2.1. Recommendation for organization.....................................................................67
V.2.2. Recommendation for future research.................................................................68
REFERENCE......................................................................................................................69
APPENDIX A: Interview Guide - Question Guide for Employees ................................74
APPENDIX B: Interview Guide - Questions Guide for Leaders ...................................75
LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLE
Figure 1: Atlas Copco Organization Chart ............................................................................ 3
Figure 2: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs................................................................................ 14
Figure 3: Herzberg’s theory – factors affecting job attitudes .............................................. 18
Figure 4: Adam’s Equity Theory – job motivation...............................................................21
Figure 5: The Research Model of Motivation Employees at Atlas Coco Vietnam ............. 36
Figure 6: The Research Process Model ................................................................................48
Figure 7: The New Model of Motivation Employees at Atlas Copco Vietnam ...................49

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Abstract
Motivation seems to be one of the most important tools of Human Resource
Management. Organizations design motivation systems to encourage employees to perform
in the most effective way to attract and keep potential candidates. The key to create the
efficient motivation system is an answer to the question what really motivates employees.

The purpose of this study is to provide a better understanding of the employee motivation
issues in the company. Beside that, it is also find out which motivation factors are seen as the
most important to encourage and keep employee’s loyal and commitment. The aim is to
analyze findings in the light of existing motivation theories. From that, organization will have
well-motivated employees as well as good managers with the possibility to motivate others.
A qualitative, case study methodology was used to interview two groups: subordinate
group and leader group, at Atlas Copco Vietnam Company. The findings showed that
motivation is very important and managers have to have a hard task motivating their
employees.
The knowledge from the theoretical part of this paper combine with results of the
research can be useful for managers who have interaction directly to their employees become
more perfect.
Key words: Employee motivation, Motivation factors.

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CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
I.1. Introduction
Business all over the world today is very challenging. Internal and external
operating environment factors continue to challenge corporate performance and revenue
growth. To stay profitable in the highly challenging and competitive global market
economy, all the factor of production - men, machine and materials – should be wisely
managed. Among the factors of production the human resource constitutes the biggest
challenge because it require about skills of thoughts, feelings and emotions to secure
highest productivity. Employee motivation delivers long-term benefits in the form of high
productivity. A motivated employee is a valuable asset, which delivers immense value to

the organization in maintaining and strengthening its business and revenue growth.
Employee motivation is a major factor in the success or failure for any
organization. Therefore, competitive organizations must invest in effective strategies to
motivate the staff. Different factors motivate individuals and teams differently. Some
people are motivated by money, others by the opportunity for professional development,
flexible schedules, or a sense of accomplishment. So, from line managers to top
executives, understanding what factors motivate their employees is key to gaining the
human resource advantage that leads success in challenging marketplace.
Motivated employees are willing to devote time to certain level of commitment
for a particular objective in an organization. The motivation process is significant enough
to affect the levels of trust and commitment necessary of employees, who will perform
well the work requirements of organization.

I.2. Statement of Problem
I.2.1. The Atlas Copco’s background:
Atlas Copco is an industrial group with world-leading positions in compressors,
expanders and air treatment systems, construction and mining equipment, power tools
and assembly systems. With innovative products and services, Atlas Copco delivers
solutions for sustainable productivity. The company was founded in 1873, is based in

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Stockholm, Sweden, and has a global reach spanning more than 170 countries. In 2011,
Atlas Copco had 37500 employees.
Atlas Copco has been operating in Vietnam from 1994 through some distribution
companies. But, to 2004, Atlas Copco Vietnam has founded with 100% wholly
ownership by Atlas Copco Group. Atlas Copco Vietnam’s operation, all have to base on
principles of the Group, as follow:
* Vision

The vision of the Group is to be “First in Mind – First in Choice” of its customers,
business partners, stakeholders, as well as employees. The vision is also the driving
force of the corporate responsibility strategy in order to achieve sustainable results.
* Strategies
To reach the vision, First in Mind—First in Choice, the Group has three overall
strategic directions:
- Organic and acquired growth
- Strengthened aftermarket
- Innovations and continuous improvements
* Core values
The Group's core values of interaction, commitment, and innovation formed our
past, created our present, and will guide our future. Our core values represent a
competitive advantage to the Group and help us to maintain our leadership position,
even in a changing environment.
* Organization
The Atlas Copco is organized in separate, focused but still integrated business
areas, each operating through divisions. The role of the business area is to develop,
implement, and follow up the objectives and strategy within its business.
The divisions are separate operational units, each responsible to deliver growth and
profit in line with strategies and objectives set by the business area. The divisions
generally conduct business through customer centers, distribution centers, and
product

companies.

Common service providers – internal or external – have been established with the

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mission to provide services faster, to a higher quality, and at a lower cost, thus
allowing the divisions to focus on their core businesses.
Figure 1: Atlas Copco Organization Chart

* Relationships
- Society and the environment: being a good and reliable corporate citizen,
observing the spirit as well as the letter of the laws of the countries in which we
operate.
- Employees: being the preferred employer of both current and potential
employees. Our aim is to attract, develop, and keep qualified and motivated people in
a professional environment.
- Customers: being the preferred supplier to current and potential customers and
end-users, which means that we should achieve the highest possible customer and
market share?
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- Business partners: being the best associate for our business partners, such as
suppliers, subcontractors, joint venture partners and agents, and to be the one that
they prioritize.
- Shareholders: being the preferred company for shareholders to invest in, and we
aim to create, and continually increase, shareholder value.

I.2.2. The problem at Atlas Copco Vietnam
The Atlas Copco is known with many good policies and practices to develop
long-term not only for customers, shareholders and partners, but also for their employees.
However, in the recent period at Atlas Copco Vietnam, unfortunately, the phenomenon of
brain drain and employee replacement frequency have been occurred and created many
troubles for operation of Atlas Copco Vietnam’s business and management and
leadership at there also.

Many employees were replaced continuously in the short time, especially in 2010
until now. Almost of them have leaved the Atlas Copco Vietnam, then they become new
competitors or work for competitors of Atlas Copco on the market soon. Staying
employees almost felt unhappy and didn’t trust their leaders. This perspective is very
serious and are forecasted is the unsustainable leadership.
The fact of connecting between employees with Atlas Copco Vietnam is not
enough durable. Because employees feel that they have not had motivation from leaders,
that reason why the senior employees have gone away and found out new opportunities
and some of remaining others have became lack of dynamism, creativity and innovation;
cumbersome and indifferent attitude or lack of responsibility, etc. lead to stagnation mode
of operation.
There are many phenomena of lack of active labor and the departure of employees.
Firstly, remuneration, salary is not adequate for the work and effort of employees.
Secondly, assessment of work capacity is not specific, relevant and no opportunity for
advancement. Notably, the decline in prestige of leadership, management, the weak
management capacity, the decline of morality is also a cause affect positive labor of
employees.

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Happy employees are loyal employees. Happy employees are devoted employees.
However, the creation of "happiness" for employees is still problematic for many
companies and leaders. According to me, this is the problem of managing people, and the
key for case is how to motivate employees at Atlas Copco Vietnam?

I.3. Research Objectives
The main objectives of this study are:
- Identifying the factors impact to employee motivation.
- Proposing recommendations about the ways to motivate employees at Atlas

Copco Vietnam Company
From research objective, we have three research questions as follow:
- RQ1: Which factors impact to motivation?
- RQ2: What do factors affect to motivation like?
- RQ3: How to have effective motivation at company?

I.4. Rationale for the study
The study focuses to find out factors motivate employees in working environment.
Identifying the factors that promote positive motivational behavior among employees.
This will help leaders recognize and resolve negatives in employee’s behavior to keep
loyal and devoted employees always beside. Helping manage effective time and people
management in organization. From that, increasing competitive, productivity abilities on
market.
The rationale of this study is reflected very clearly through the case at Atlas
Copco Vietnam Company, so the study benefits two primary groups. The first group it
benefits is managers in the company. With the knowledge of what motivates employees,
managers can better determine what drives employees to do their best work. They can use
this information to get more value out of the people they hire and already employ by
using effective motivational strategies other than monetary incentives. Managers need to
know what drives their subordinates and peers in order to be effective leaders in the work
place. The recommendations in this research will enable managers to get the best
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performance out of their employees and increase productivity in their departments. The
second group this study benefits is the employees. Employees can use this information to
determine what helps to motivate them as well as understand what motivates their peers.
If there is a greater level of understanding and cohesion between employees and
managers, the company as a whole will prosper.

I.5. Scope and limitation of the study
This study was completed using the input of former and present employees of the
Atlas Copco Vietnam Company in all different departments. These employees were
surveyed for the purpose of discovering what is most motivating to them in the workplace.
Employee motivation is defined as the eagerness or drive in an employee that directly
influences their level of involvement or performance in the workplace. Motivating factors
are reasons for employee motivation, and in order to best evaluate and describe which of
these factors are most and least critical to employees, we have split this study up into the
following criteria: monetary factors and non-monetary factors.
The study was limited to employees working in the company of Atlas Copco
Vietnam at Binh Duong province. All employees were surveyed live in Ho Chi Minh
city area.
The main questions in the survey asked about employees’ expectations of factors
that motivate for them in their job. It is possible that an experience in a real work
environment will change in individuals’ opinions towards motivating factors.

I.6. Research structure
This thesis will be divided into 5 main chapters. The significant contents of each
part will be illustrated as follow:
– Chapter 1: Introduction:
In this chapter an introduction will be presented on the topic of motivation. The
background lays the foundation for problem discussion where we will discuss the
problem we discovered in the research area. This will direct us to overall purpose and

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research questions including delimitation. Finally, it will present an overview of the
entire thesis.
– Chapter 2: Literature Review:

This chapter will present an outline of previous research done in the area of
managerial perspective on motivation. We will review existing research on what
managers can do to motivate their employees, the factors of motivation and
frameworks.
– Chapter 3: Research Methodology:
It will be began by explaining the research method that we use in this study. An
explanation of the strategy and how we collected data as well as a sample selection
will be explained. Finally, we will discuss problems that appeared throughout this
thesis and how we managed to overcome them.
– Chapter 4: Analyses and Findings:
The data collected for this study through personal interviews. The interview guide
used for collecting data on the Atlas Copco Vietnam Company can be found in
Appendix A and Appendix B. This chapter contains the analysis of the data collected
and findings on motivation. This chapter will answer the stated research questions in
chapter one.
– Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations:
The final chapter contains the conclusions and recommendations. The conclusion
states a foundation for possible implications on how to continue with this study. We
will provide implications for theory followed by implications for practitioners and
finally, implication for future research.

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CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW
II.1. The concepts of motivation
II.1.1. Motivation
Motivating is the work managers perform to inspire, encourage and impel people
to take action (Louis Allen, 1986, citation from Michal Kirstein, 2010). Motivation
efforts must be directed towards improving organization operations. To be effective,

however they must also be designed to show benefits to the employee. In fact, motivation
can best be accomplished when workers are able to merge their personal ambitions with
those of the organization. According to Robin and DeCenzo (1995) motivation is defined
thus “the willingness to exert high level of effort to reach organizational goals,
conditioned by the effort’s ability to satisfy some individual need”. Campbell and
Pritchard (1976, according to Michal Kirtein 2010) in defines motivation as a set of
independents and dependant relationships that explains the direction, amplitude and
persistence of an individual’s behavior holding constant the effects of aptitude, skills,
understanding of a task and the constraints operating in the work environment. Schrader
(1972, according to Darren, 2008) linked construction worker need to motivation and it
was subsequently concluded by Thomas et al. (1990) that there is evidence supporting the
existence of a linkage between an employee’s motivational level and their individual
performance. Atkinson (1964, according to Michal 2010) defines it as the contemporary
immediate influence on the direction, vigor and persistence of action.
The relationship between the employer and employee must be one of
understanding in order for the employee to identify himself with his work and with the
business he is working for. Lack of motivation in return affects productivity. A number
of symptoms may point to low morale: declining productivity, high employee turnover,
increasing number of grievances, higher incidence of absenteeism and

tardiness,

increasing number of defective products, higher number of accidents or a higher level of
waste materials and scrap (William Day, 1998). A motivated employee is a loyal
employee and to be loyal implies that the employee supports the actions and objectives of
the firm. The appearance of the job as a whole has, in fact a bearing on the willingness

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and quality of an employee’s performance (Martin Bruce, 1962, citation from Martin &
Anders, 2004).
According to McClelland (1961, citation from Michal 2010) individuals tend to
develop certain motivational drives on the cultural environment in which they live and
these drives affect the way people view their jobs. McClelland suggests that achievement,
affiliation, competence and power are four types of motivational drives that are found
in individuals that are self-motivated and this may be the case for many construction
workers. Motivation plays a part in enhancing construction labor productivity (Smithers
and Walker, 2000) and forms the basis for identification of the work environment factors.
For example, Laufer and Moore (1983) advocated the use of financial incentive programs
to improve construction labor productivity, reinforcing Maloney’s (1982) thesis of
driving forces that led to productivity improvements. Autonomy and comradeship of
Edwards and Eckblad (1984) are also, found to be important aspects that add to the way
construction workers are self-motivated about their work. However, much work in
linking motivation and productivity relied on Hertaberg’s sample involving mainly whitecollar professionals (Mullins, 1996). Furthermore, Hofstede (1998) decried such
motivational theories as merely point made about the ad nauseam emphasis on the
managerial perspective in the quest to improve productivity.
John Borcherding and Clarkson Ogelsby (1974, accoding to Michale 2010)
discovered that productive job creates high job satisfaction while non-productive job
(one

which fall behind schedule) produce dissatisfaction at all levels of the

management/worker chain. The relationship is believed to be due to the very nature of
construction, thus different from the one found in an office or factory setting which
states that high job satisfaction leads to greater productivity. In construction, a worker,
through his own efforts produces a highly visible, physical structure in which great
satisfaction comes from completion.

Therefore, jobs that are well-planned and run

smoothly produce great satisfaction while jobs with poor management (with scheduling
and planning problems) create dissatisfaction. This illustrates the relationship between
job satisfaction and productivity since; well-managed jobs are generally more productive.
A close review of all theories of human motivation reveal a common driving
principle that people do what they are rewarded for doing. In general, the theories on

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motivation can be classified as: employee needs motivation through goal setting,
employee reward, incentives and reinforcement.
Marusarz’s comment echoes Frederick Herzberg’s theory of motivation, which
states that the factors, which motivate people at work are different, and not necessarily
the opposite of the factors, which cause dissatisfaction. Herzberg claimed that positive
hygiene factors such as work conditions and salary simply satisfy basic employee needs,
whereas motivators (e.g. achievement and recognition) encourage employees to work
above and beyond the minimum requirements. In 2006, the HR Daily Advisor reported
that 89% of employers think their people leave for more money, while only 12% of
employees actually do leave for that reason.
"Compensation alone is not enough to keep the highly skilled motivated and
experienced workforce your business needs to excel" (Greenburg, 2008). In a four years
analysis of more than 100,000 employees worldwide, the Corporate Leadership Council
discovered that while workers join companies for rational motives (better compensation,
benefits and career opportunities), they are and work hard for emotional ones. (Jean
Martin and Lawler, 2008).
Furthermore, according to W.Stanton Smith (2008), a new generation of workers,
the Millennials, is entering the workforce with a desire for long-term

employer

relationships on their own terms. This new group is shaking up the workforce and
demanding more from their employer than simply financial compensation for their work
and ability to be ‘on-call’ at all times thanks to communication technologies. According
to Towers Perrin (2007), employees are more interested in ‘talent friendly’ organizations
that offer a good work-life balance than those offer high salaries.
II.1.2. The Work Motivation
The term motive usually is explained as desires, needs, emotions or impulses that
make someone do something. Following this definition, motivation is the state of being
incited to action. When we take into consideration work environment it becomes clear
that work motivation refers to motivation within a work setting. Typically, it refers to
employees’ motivation to perform, stay and commit in a company, cooperate, lead or
support a leader, help customers and so forth. Obviously, this definition from

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International Encyclopedia of Organizational Studies (ed. Bailey & Clegg, 2008) is just
an example from a mass of work motivation definitions, which can be found in almost
every paper about this topic. Some authors define what motivation is by explaining where
it comes from. In this approach work motivation has been defined as “a psychological
process resulting from the reciprocal interaction between the individual and the
environment that affects a person’s choices, effort, and persistence” (Latham & Ernst,
2006). In other definitions work motivation is associated with the goal attainment. People
are motivated to do something if they believe it is likely that it will bring desired result.
People who are well motivated take action that they expect will achieve their clearly
defined goals (Armstrong, 2007). Kanfer (1990, as cited in Bjorklund, 2001) stressed that
motivation is a phenomenon, which cannot be directly observed. The only way to infer
motivational processes is to analyze streams of behavior caused by environmental or
inherited factors, which can be observed through their effects on abilities, beliefs,

knowledge and personality.
There are probably as many definitions of motivation as researchers working on
this topic. However, there are some features of motivation that are common for most
definitions. It can be observed from the examples presented above that when authors
describe motivation they mention an action or behavior that is directed and sustained as a
result of motivation. In other words motivation is usually described as an invisible force
that pushes people to behave in a certain way. For the purpose of this thesis definition by
Pinder (1998) will be used, as it seems to define motivation both in a comprehensive and
explicit way. Pinder used work of Jones (1995), Locke, Shaw, Saari, and Latham (1981),
Steers and Porter (1979), and Vroom (1964) to formulate following definition (1998,
p.11): “Work motivation is a set of energetic forces that originate both within as
beyond an individual’s being, to initiate work-related behavior, and to determine its form,
direction, intensity, and duration”.
Pinder (1998) believes that presented definition has some features that make it
better than others. Firstly, it is not general as many other definitions, it presents
motivation in a close relation to work and careers. His definition is intended to apply
behavior such as joining or leaving company, being punctual, respecting or not
supervisor’s orders, inventing better ways to performing a job and accepting relocation to

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another place. According to Pinder one of the key elements that are important in defining
motivation is a concept of force. It not only makes the definition consistent with other
authors work but also allows motivation level to be weak or strong depending on
circumstances. The idea of force suggests that motivation is related to an effort. Pinder
believes that effort is a consequence and indicator of motivation rather than the same
phenomena. He points out that his definition does not present hedonism as a primary
force in work motivation. However, it does not exclude it either. There are three more
important elements of Pinder’s work motivation definition: intensity, direction and

duration. Author describes the intensity dimension using two terms created by Brehm and
Self (1989) – potential motivation and potential arousal. The first of those two terms is
created by expectations that performance of behavior will affect final outcome. The
second term is dependent on magnitude of potential motivation and occurs only to the
extent that particular behavior is difficult. In Pinder’s opinion intensity is not affected by
the potential available and is defined as the transient size of motivational arousal in a
particular point of time. The direction can be understood by considering towards which
goals the energy of motivation is directed. Finally, the duration suggests that goal
achieving might be a possible outcome of on job behavior. As the last but also very
important feature of the definition Pinder mentions the fact that motivation is presented
as a hypothetical construct which cannot be measured or seen directly but is treated as an
existing psychological process.
Ray William (2010) illustrated “Ask workers what makes them unhappy at work,
and you'll hear them talk about insufficient pay or an uncomfortable work environment,
or "stupid" regulations and policies that are restraining or the lack of job flexibility and
freedom.” It turns out that people are motivated by interesting work, challenge, and
increasing responsibility, they are intrinsic factors. Moreover, people have a deep-seated
need for growth and achievement.
What do we mean by motivation? It's been defined as a predisposition to behave
in a purposeful manner to achieve specific, unmet needs and the will to achieve, and the
inner force that drives individuals to accomplish personal and organizational goals. And
why do we need motivated employees? The answer is survival. Motivated employees are

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needed in our rapidly changing workplaces, and to be effective, managers need to
understand that and do something about it.

II.2. The Motivation Theory

The subject of motivation has been present in the literature from the early
beginning of 20th Century. Although, many theories have been developed and a plenty of
research has been conducted, factors that motivates people to perform well at work are
still a controversial topic. Many researchers as a starting point for their work in the field
of motivation used the most known theories and models of motivation. Armstrong (2007)
in his book about employee reward management summarized those theories in a clear and
useful way. According to him, Taylor’s theory of motivation to work is related to rewards
and penalties, which are directly connected to performance. Maslow’s concept of
hierarchy of needs is less instrumental approach. It defines motivation as a result of
peoples unsatisfied needs. Herzberg focused on a distinction between extrinsic and
intrinsic motivators. Those “old” theories are definitely important, however they are not
perfect. Analysis showed that they are characterized by some significant weaknesses.
Armstrong presents modern, process theories, which approach motivation from different
perspective. As an example, Vroom’s expectancy theory explains that motivation exists
only when relationship between performance and outcome is clear and usable. Goal
theory emphasizes the role of a feedback and setting goals in relation to motivation and
performance. Finally, Equity theory says that people are more motivated if they are
treated equally.
In the previous part of this paper a number of motivation definitions have been
presented. Each of existing definitions has some strengths and weaknesses. Exactly the
same can be said about motivational theories.

As one can observe from the short

overview presented above there are many different theoretical approaches to the topic of
motivation. Motivation for a group of authors is strictly related to human needs, while
point of view of other authors is much more focused on cognitive processes that
influence peoples’ behavior. In the literature of the subject those differences between
theories resulted in a division in two categories: content and process theories. In the next

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part of this paper the most important theories from each category will be presented and
analyzed.
II.2.1. Content theories
The content theories are characterized by emphasis on what motivates people.
They concern with individual goals and needs, which are said to be the same for every
person. Although, they assume that all people posses a similar set of needs, the differ in
defining what those needs are. The most well-known and very often cited author of
motivational theory is Maslow with his hierarchy of human needs (Fincham and Rhodes,
2005). In Maslow’s point of view human behavior is driven by the existence of
unsatisfied needs. His hierarchy starts from psychological needs and lead through
security needs, social needs, self-esteem needs and self-actualization needs on the top
position (see figure 1)

Figure 2: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Source: Mazlow's Hierarchy of Needs.svg

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According to Maslow, higher needs are not felt until lower needs are not fulfilled.
Additionally, when the need is satisfied it does not influence human behavior anymore
and as a result the focus is moved into a need, which is higher in the hierarchy. Maslow
divided needs into two categories: deficiency needs and high-order needs.

Deficiency

needs include basic needs such as hunger or thirst and a need for shelter and protection.

When these needs are satisfied people become motivated by high order needs such as the
need for supportive and satisfactory relationships with others, needs for freedom,
independence, recognition and achievement and finally the need to develop one’s
potential. The self-actualization, which is the highest step in Maslow’s pyramid, can be
described as the ending point of gradual psychological maturation process. This final
level is achieved by few people and unlike other needs is never fully satisfied (Fincham
& Rhodes, 2005).
Maslow’s work on the theory of needs has been followed by other authors who
took an attempt to improve it. One of modifications was presented in 1973 by Alderfer,
who developed and tested model with fewer needs levels (Pinder, 1998). His study,
unlike Maslow’s, was based on empirical research in organizational settings. The theory
suggests three general categories of human needs, which are partly based on Maslow’s
model but are not the same. Alderfer’s model is named ERG and consists of existence
needs, relatedness needs and growth needs. The first group is closely related to Maslow’s
physiological needs and partly to security needs (only physical security). Existence needs
are concrete in nature and are usually limited. A good example of them in organization
setting is a salary. If money has to be divided between two groups - the more money
receives one group, the less gets the other group. Relatedness needs basically consist of
the interpersonal security needs, the need for prestige and esteem from others.
Satisfying relatedness needs requires development of relations and interactions with other
people. The last group of needs in Alderfer’s theory contains growth needs. Although,
growth needs are corresponding to Maslow’s self esteem and self-actualization needs
there are some major differences in a point of view of those two authors. Maslow
suggested that self-actualization consist of a fulfillment of unique, innate potential,
whereas Alderfer’s growth needs contain desire to interact with environment by

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investigating, exploring and mastering it. In Alderfer’s model growth needs change if

one’s environment changes (Pinder, 1998).
The next important contributor to the field of content theories is McClelland
whose model became a starting point for many other authors’ research. McClelland’s
theory focuses on three motives that are relevant in an organizational context (Miner,
2006). Maslow differentiated between any certain transitions among the needs, whereas
McClelland indicates that some people have higher needs than others. Moreover, needs in
McClelland’s point of view change over a life as they are shaped by peoples’ experience.
That is why in some sources his theory is called “acquired needs theory”. McClelland
(1990) suggested that most of acquired needs can be classified to one of three groups:
achievement needs, power needs or affiliation needs. In his opinion some people have a
strong need for achievement others for power and finally there is a group that desire
affiliation. High achievers tend to perform better for the intrinsic satisfaction for doing
something better or just to show that they are more capable of doing something. They
prefer to work with tasks, which are moderately challenging and they actually perform
better with those kinds of tasks. In one of their papers McClelland’s and Burnham (1976)
deliberate on what makes people good managers. They suggest that high achievement is
an important factor that leads to the personal success but it does not necessarily make
someone a good manager. High achievers work on their own success by doing everything
personally and by receiving feedback that is crucial for them. Managers are not able to do
everything by themselves so they have to put some responsibility on others. As well as
that, the feedback that they receive comes with a delay, so they are not able to find out
immediately how well they performed. Regarding those facts McClelland’s and Burnham
stated opinion that the factor that has a great influence on being a successful manager is
something else than a need for achievement. They suggested that it is the need for power
that is characterized by a desire to influence people. McClelland (1990) found that people
who desire to have some serious influence on other have some special traits. The high
need for power usually comes with features such as competitiveness, assertiveness and
aggressiveness, which result in a negative self-image. The socially acceptable way to
fulfill the need for power is the search for prestige by collecting symbols of power.
People characterized by a high need for power tend to act in a way that makes them

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