The XYZ of motivational theory

Introduction

Project managers should be able to understand and evaluate the various theories of motivation. By evaluating a theory, the project manager can decide if it can be practically implemented in an actual project. There are two main categories of motivational theory - content and process.

Content theories of motivation

Content theories of motivation focus on the factors within a person that prompt or inhibit certain behaviors. Such theories deal with the specific factors that motivate people, including

• salary

• working conditions

• job security

• the need for professional advancement and personal growth

• the need for achievement

Process theories of motivation

Process theories focus on the decision-making processes within individuals and the role of rewards in encouraging high performance. They suggest that project managers should strive to improve project teams' performance by

• creating motivational workplaces

• matching the skills of project team members to appropriate tasks

• establishing a clear linkage between high performance and rewards

Process theories stress the need for the project manager to recognize high performance and reward such performance promptly. Where possible, the project manager also needs to match the reward to the individual needs of project team members. The project manager must communicate effectively with team members to stay up to speed with their high-priority personal needs and goals.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs theory

Maslow's theory seeks to explain the motivational process by examining how the needs of people evolve over time. Maslow assumes that there is a hierarchy of five types of need within every human being. Each person begins by seeking to satisfy lower-level needs and then strives to satisfy higher-level needs. The five levels in the hierarchy of needs are as follows:

1. The lowest-level needs are physiological, with people working for food, clothing, shelter, comfort, and self-preservation. These needs have to be satisfied before a person can move on to the next level.

2. The next level in the hierarchy of needs refers to safety and security needs, including the avoidance of risks, pain, and harm and the need for personal and financial security.

3. Social and affiliation needs cover the needs for affection, friendship, acceptance, love, and a feeling of belonging. Such needs emerge once physiological and safety needs have been addressed. To satisfy social and affiliation needs, the workplace needs to provide opportunities for people to interact with their coworkers and establish friendly interpersonal relationships. To create this type of workplace, the project manager needs to encourage existing workers to welcome new workers. In addition, team-based work and such extracurricular activities as company picnics or Christmas parties also play an important role in satisfying social and affiliation needs.

4. Esteem needs consist of internal and external factors. Internal needs include self-respect, self-worth, autonomy, and a sense of personal achievement, while external factors include status, recognition, and attention. To satisfy such needs, project team members need the freedom to make decisions and to participate in the decision-making process. They should also receive public recognition for high performance, which can take the form of lapel pins, trophies, appreciation certificates or letters, and other status symbols. This promotes a sense of ownership of their jobs.

5. The highest-level needs in Maslow's hierarchy are self-actualization needs. Self-actualization needs drive a person to reach their potential. The need for self-actualization increases as the person strives to achieve higher goals. To satisfy such people, managers offer team members more autonomy in designing their own jobs and assign them to special projects. This allows such team members to express their creativity.

Lower-level needs have to be satisfied before higher-level needs can be addressed

There are certain generalizations that you can apply to Maslow's hierarchy. Once a particular set of needs is satisfied, a person moves on to to the next level in the hierarchy. Lower-level needs have to be satisfied before higher-level needs can be addressed. Lower-level needs can be addressed in a small number of ways, while higher level needs can be satisfied in a larger number of ways. As a rule of thumb, you can assume that people do not skip levels within the hierarchy. A project manager should also recognize that several levels of need may act upon a person at the same time.

Introduction to process theories

There are a number of well-known process theories of motivation. There is a direct relationship between two of these theories: McGregor's Theory X - Theory Y and Ouchi's Theory Z. They can also be evaluated in the context of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs theory.

McGregor's Theory X - Theory Y

These theories describe how managers deal with their subordinates. They consist of two sets of opposing assumptions that are routinely made by managers about human nature and the way it affects the motivational levels of people in the workplace.

Theory X assumes that the majority of people

• dislike work and will try to avoid it if possible

• prefer constant supervision

• lack ambition, problem-solving skills, and creativity

• shy away from taking extra responsibility

• are motivated by Maslow's lower-level needs (physiological and safety)

• are self-centered, resistant to change, and disinterested in organizational needs

Let's say that a project manager has completed an appraisal of a given team of workers and adopted a Theory X approach as the most appropriate way of dealing with the team. Such managers will tend to be authoritarian, imposing stringent organizational structures, rigid rules and policies, and tight supervisory controls. This is because they believe that subordinates cannot be trusted to perform their work without constant prompting.

Theory Y holds that the majority of people

• will achieve high performance in a supportive, motivational workplace

• are creative, imaginative, ambitious, and committed to organizational goals

• are self-disciplined self-starters

• are motivated by Maslow's higher levels of needs (esteem and self-actualization)

If a manager decides to adopt a Theory Y approach, they tend to impose less stringent organizational and supervisory structures than adopters of Theory X. Such managers believe that their subordinates are highly motivated, trusting them to work well without close supervision. They also tend to give subordinates the opportunity to take part in planning and decision making. However, such managers may still need to use Theory X in crisis situations.

Ouchi's Theory Z

The mid-1970s witnessed a surge of interest in Japanese management philosophies, prompting research into the motivation of Japanese workers and the attitudes of Japanese managers toward their subordinates. It emerged that the realities of the Japanese workplace were not covered by McGregor's Theory X or Theory Y. This prompted Ouchi to develop his Theory Z.

High levels of commitment to their subordinates on the part of management leads to highly motivated and productive workers

Ouchi observed that in Japanese organizations subordinates are considered by managers to be trustworthy and therefore capable of working well without close supervision. This is a trait of managers that subscribe to McGregor's Theory Y. However, Theory Z goes further by positing that high levels of commitment to their subordinates on the part of management leads to highly motivated and productive workers.

Ouchi classified Japanese organizations that supported the assumptions of Theory Z as Type J organizations and American organizations that did not as Type A. He also theorized that the Theory Z assumptions of Japanese workplaces could be incorporated into American organizations, producing a hybrid Type Z organization.

Comparison of theories

Suppose that a project manager wants to apply the above theories to a real-world situation. An understanding of Maslow's theory gives the project manager an insight into the types of needs that may characterize the project team members. This enables the project manager to come to the conclusion that some team members have predominantly lower-level needs. Such team members with lower-level needs are likely to be more responsive to the management style indicated by McGregor's Theory X. If the project manager decides that project members have predominantly high-level needs, McGregor's Theory Y or Ouchi's Theory Z is likely to be the most appropriate management style.

In the above scenario, the project manager has analyzed three schools of thought and then extracted and applied the useful elements from all three to real-world situations.