Content theorists try to explain what specific factors motivate people.

1. Content theorists try to explain what specific factors motivate people.

2. Elton Mayo • Believed that human relations at work are the key to happy workers • He thought that workers who do well together will have the best results.

3. Elton Mayo • He feels that workers need to have a sense of belonging and they will do better. • He also feels that employers need to look at potential workers personalities when hiring.

4. David McClelland • He came with the theory of needs most workers have to boost morale by taking care of their desires.

5. Need for achievement • People who fall in this category tend to want to take small risks. • They are more concerned with completing tasks then with rewards. • They like to self-reflect in order to improve

6. Need for power • Power motivated people like to influence the behavior of others. • Some seek personal power (power taken from telling other people what to do) • Others seek institutional power (power taken from getting others to work harder for the business)

7. Need for affiliation • People who like to be accepted by other workers and bosses. • Tend to like teamwork projects for social integration

8. It’s important for managers to recognize what is important to their workers and give them the appropriate tasks to motivate them.

9. Process theories • They look at why people are motivated in certain ways and how best to use that to increase productivity.

10. Victor Vroom • People will perform up to the level that they expect to achieve. (they have to believe in themselves) • The more effort workers put into a task the higher their level of achievement is.

11. Motivation force is dependent on • Expectancy – people have different expectations about their ability to tackle a task. Workers also look at task differently as to difficulty • Instrumentality – People think if they perform to expectations then they will be rewarded. Promises need to be kept for trust • Valence – People place different values on different things. Some want intrinsic rewards (job satisfaction) some want extrinsic rewards (money)

12. Adams’s Equity theory • He believes that most workers will compare their rewards to other employees and expect a level of fairness. • When employees don’t feel that the rewards are fair then they become unhappy. • When workers are unhappy absenteeism will rise.

13. Costs of high absenteeism • Hiring temporary staff to cover workers • Overtime costs and disruption of other staff • Lover productivity • Staff morale is hurt • Loss of output if staff member is not replaceable.

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