What really is motivation? - Theories of Motivation (PART 1)

Motivation ,a commonly discussed noun.Motivation is the process of getting energized to reach our targets.Thus, the very basis of getting motivated is having well defined , clear , unambiguous ,challenging yet achievable and measurable targets.Motivation is a drive that compels one to act because human behavior is directed toward some goal. Motivation is intrinsic (internal); it comes from within based on personal interests, desires, and need for fulfillment. However, extrinsic (external) factors such as rewards, praise, and promotions also influence motivation.
One simply cannot say ," I am self-motivated". It all depends, for what he/she is talking about. Even self-motivation is outcome /reward / goal oriented. For example, a person says he is self motivated to lose more weight if his/her weight reduce to the desired target he/she had set earlier.

Motivation ,as known and said, has two factors : intrinsic factors and extrinsic factors ; around which the theories of motivation has been laid down

• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need : The five needs (or levels of need) grouped in lower order need and higher order need. Physiological and safety need are lower order need ; and; social , self-esteem and self-actualization are higher order need. For every stage of life-cycle or cycle of a particular relationship in which we enter; the internal components to satisfy each of the five levels are different and thus begin from the lower level again. In some cases though, lower level needs may be same and thus only higher order needs begin from starting .For e.g.  when you enter into a new relationship let’s say you are to get married then your hierarchy will start from the lowest level to the highest level. But, the point to remember here is you have to be motivated first for the physiological need , once satisfied then only you can be motivated to satisfy safety need. ONLY ONE MAJOR SATISFIER AT A TIME.

Let’s take our friends example who joined FORE School of Management. The first thing their parents enquired after depositing the first draft was about the hostel. And since they don’t have a good one, the first priority was to search for one that too near --PHYSIOLOGICAL NEED

Then if we find a house our parents check about the security there is in terms of guard and the locality as such ,at the same time they open an account whose access is given to us via ATM or give us debit or credit card for providing us financial security --SAFETY NEED.

Then after all this we stay there and come to college and try to portray an image which will be accepted socially to make friends. Also, try  to be accepted by the college professors as well. --SOCIAL NEED

Now, even at the time of choosing our friends we try to make friends depending on how we want to be seen. Then via activities like games, being a topper, or by being quiet …, we try to get recognition .Everyone has a different way of getting valued. --SELF-ESTEEM NEED

After satisfying all the above needs in the first two-three trimester, we try to maximize our potential and abilities for the final motive we have .This we through by choosing our elective as per our interest and abilities and fine tuning them. And, then by gaining experience and further fine-tuning our skills through various training -- SELF-ACTUALIZATION NEED

This is clear from this for every new relationship or stage we start from the basic lower level need to attain the highest level need. Now, in next post I’ll try to find whether these levels are as said attained in the order or can one be motivated on all the levels simultaneously.

Performance Management System & Performance Appraisal - Different ?

The funny thing about most of the Human Resource terms is how ambiguous they sound to be but yet how clear the difference is between them .After writing about how training differs from development, here in I'll give an insight i learnt from my first two classes of fifth semester at FORE School of Management in Performance Management.Two words which are sometimes misunderstood as one, Performance Management System and Performance Appraisal.

Let's see a situation, a marketing manager has to appraise (for the annual appraisal ) his subordinates who work in the field and thus he has no supervision over the activities on day-to-day basis.He only knows that whether they have been able to meet the monthly target or not.So, he thinks that employee appraisal form is a pain in his neck and decides to give a good rating to all to make all his subordinates happy and keep them motivated.And, he also thinks whatever rating he gives they wont be rewarded.And, the appraisal form has variables that they cannot control.

So first i thought it was all about the performance appraisal form not properly made, the necessity and usefulness of the appraisal not conveyed to the managers adequately.And, ya the manager should keep a check on the employees day-to-day performance.But, after the first session i was actually able to look deeper into the systems problem in place.The system of performance management is not a one time (annual, quarter ) thing .The PMS system in the case was not on par of some of the two basic elements of a PMS , like it evaluated targets which were based on some uncontrollable factors (territory, product etc.) and it was done by the manager who had no insight of the employees day-to-day activity (SHOULD BE DONE BY ONE WHO OVERSEES THE WORK DAILY).And, ya no defined objectives (KRA's) for the employees to work upon apart from the sales target.

One easiest way to remember that PMS & PA are different is that PA is a part of the PMS process.Just like an employee has to go through various trainings for the development, similarly, PA is one of the step for maintaining current performance and improving on for future.

Through PMS we again try to build upon the competencies ( all the main activity of HR department revolves around competency building).PA identifies competence shown in the past on which you will get rewarded and PMS will further add one future orientation of building on where you lack or have potential.Though PMS is an HR process but the execution and control part is by the line supervisors ( HR only acts as a facilitator with periodic review "PRD's").The PA part of PMS though is the responsibility of HR department with the help of all employees. PA is that part of PMS which gives foundation for Training & Development and future KRA's.

PA is though a part of PMS but its like the backbone of PMS , PA can make or break a PMS.

How Training differs from Development?

Training & Development are two words used together almost in every organization .Do we know that these two words cannot be used interchangeably. They are just like covering a work bad done for current but development is doing the work proficiently to be rewarded.

Training is a short-term ( a onetime thing) with more scope imparting the currently required competencies ( focus on technical and mechanical aspect).On the other hand, development is a continuous process with more emphasis on conceptual and philosophical knowledge ( managerial and enabling competencies).The trainees are generally the non-managerial personnel(s), but, the participants in development programs are usually managerial personnel.

What probes my mind is that why are only managerial personnel given a chance for development? Why not all the employees get an equal share of developing themselves, since they all contribute to the growth of the organization asked the same to the my mentee during my summer training and I got a reply that the level of contribution and the future growth opportunities differ for each of them. According to me an employee’s cost to the company compared to the profit generated by him is one major factor which decides an employee should go for development programs or not.

Development is a proactive process wherein the company tries to fill in the future gaps that may appear due to a change in the position of the employee, his working conditions , technology etc.. . But, since training needs are derived from the past performances to improve on to the current capabilities of an employee, it is a reactive process. We though see the current capabilities in both training and development, but in case of development , the focus is on the potential an employee has rather than the requirements the employee has to fulfill to sustain his job and therefore his growth in the organization.

A development plan is usually for 5 years( the employee development plan), like our government’s 5 year plan with the difference in implementation. It describes the current competency level of an employee and will also map the potential the employee has and the competencies level he/she will be able to reach as per the plan.

In case of training, the needs come through 3 levels of analysis i.e. organizational analysis , operational analysis and person analysis. These tell us the gap between expected and actual performance. Then a sheet is drafted where in all the employees training need are jotted after which the training calendar for the year and budget are finalized in a meeting. Then a monthly calendar with schedules are drafted with all details of the program with costs ( in case of outbound).Then the training evaluation is done generally by the famous Kirkpatrick Model.

Listing out the differences is easy but here is the difficult part the similarities, training and development both focus on competencies , need a support from the employee and his supervisor ( or management in case of development),can be initiated by the employee or the employer, the ultimate focus of each is to make competitive employees which drive performance.

The most important part is the type of culture and the climate in the organization .A learning culture is important for the actual implementation of the laid down policies and procedures.