Motivation

Motivational Theories 

‘Motivation is the force within the individual that influences or directs behaviour and comes from within the individual'. 

(Marquis & Huston, 2009 p:422). 

Diagram from (Mirth and Motivation) 2010.

Motivation supports leaders to achieve the objectives through goal-orientated characteristics and pushes individuals to work hard at achieving the highlighted goals.

As an effective leader, one should keep an open perspective on human nature. An effective leader must have a thorough knowledge of motivational factors for others. The leader must understand the basic needs of the employees, peers and superiors. Leadership is used as a means of motivating others (Steers, Porter & Bigley, 1996).  How leaders motivate people to achieve goals will depend to a large extent on their individual attitudes and perceptions as well as they own knowledge of motivational theories.

Social Work Practice

Social work managers have an important role of motivating their employees to perform well within the job roles and therefore, motivation theories are important for social work manager/ leaders to understand. While management skills may suffice for task-related issues, motivation and organizational innovation requires leadership (Shin & McClomb, 1998; Pearlmutter, 1998). The role of a manger within a social work organisation is to promote productivity amongst the team of social workers. Social work leaders often supervise people who have come into the social work field for a number of reasons and with various personal and educational backgrounds.

In order to encourage staff managers must understand what motivates people, beyond the traditional social work notion that all social workers ‘just want to help people’ (Fisher, 2009).

Just as the film demonstrates, motivation can derive at any point.  Motivation’ is defined as the process that accounts for and individual’s intensity, direction, and persistence of effort towards attaining a goal (Waheed & Teck-Hong, 2011). 

There are a number of motivational theories. These theories can be divided and discussed into two categories: content theories and process theories.

Content theories are those related to specific motivating factors of needs. Whilst process theories describe the interactions between needs, behaviours and rewards (Lewis, Lewis, Packard, & Souflee, 2001).

Motivation, like motivational theories can be divided into two types; intrinsic (internal) motivation and extrinsic (external) motivation. Before looking at specific motivational theories it is important to understand intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors as these link to the theories. 

Intrinsic & Extrinsic Motivation

Diagram from (MIT Sloan Management Review) 2009. 

Intrinsic motivation:

Intrinsic motivation is driven by an individual’s desire and interests to perform a particular task. Intrinsic motivation exists within the individual rather than relying on the external pressures or a desire for a reward. Completing tasks gives the individuals pleasure when doing so.

According to Thomas (2000) individuals who are intrinsically motivated:

•          Have a genuine interest and acre about their work,
•          Look for ways of improving their work,
•          Are fulfilled by completing a job and doing this well,
•          Tend to have lower stress levels due to being interested in their work.

Extrinsic motivation:
Extrinsic motivation focuses on performance which leads to attain an outcome and achieve a reward (for example, money or status) for showing their desired behaviour. Punishments are a threat for not achieving goals/ aims. Extrinsic motivation is linked to competition because this encourages the individuals or team members to succeed and reap rewards.

Intrinsically motivated members of a team are likely to do better that extrinsically motivated individuals due to being eager to learn new materials and go beyond the subject  to gain a fuller understanding (Thomas, 2000). 

Coach Carter portrays towards more of an intrinsic motivator through his genuine interest and passion to inspire and motivate the team to achieve the goals. His passion for the team comes from within as opposed to external factors and the pressures of achieving rewards. Coach Carter motivates the team intrinsically by not applying pressure to win however the team adhere to his clear expectations and achieve more than they expected to without the pressures of feeling they must achieve. 

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (1943)

Maslow’s 1943 Hierarchy of Needs theory links to the above intrinsic and extrinsic motivational theory. 

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbqn_P2aKNo&list=PL6509C1544741E546)

Maslow's theory consists of two parts:

(1) The classification of human needs, and

(2) Consideration of how the classes are related to each other

The classes of needs were summarised by Maslow as follows:

(http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs.png)

How Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs works:

Maslow has concluded that before an individual can be intrinsically motivated the basic needs of the pyramid need to be met. There are five basic levels of human needs:

The theory suggests that an individual begins at the bottom of the pyramid and will initially aim to meet their basic needs (physiological needs). E.g. food, water. Once these basic needs have been satisfied, they are no longer a motivator and the individual moves up to the next level (safety needs).

Safety needs: Once the first stage of the pyramid have been met the person can concentrate on bringing safety into their lives. These needs include stability, routine, familiarity, control.

Within Coach Carter the team gain stability by Coach Ken Carter setting clear expectations forming a routine for the team and highlights familiarity and control through the teams ethos.

Esteem needs are about being given recognition for completing a job well to achieve self-esteem and self-respect.  For example a promotion within the work field may achieve this.

In relation to Coach Carter the team experience this when they acknowledge that their hard work is paying off and their grades and sport is improving.

Self-actualisation is about how people think about themselves - this is often measured by the extent of success and/or challenge at work. This level of hierarchy is focuses on an individual being able to reach their full potential. If an individual has satisfied the first four levels of needs they have the ability to concentrate on reaching the final and highest potential.  

The first four needs of the pyramid are known as deficiency needs as they come from things that the individual is lacking and can only be met by external factors.

However the final stage, self- actualisation is a growth need and provides individuals to grow and develop. This need is always intrinsically motivated as individuals achieve this out of pure enjoyment and desire to grow and develop.

In relation to Coach Carter the team achieve the final stage due to his transformational leadership as they desire to grow and develop from within following his inspiration.

Herzberg (1959), built on and clarified Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs model in relation to how people are motivated within their work.

He suggests that the lower elements of the pyramid will not motivate individuals to work harder and achieve the desired goals. However, if these aims are elements are not met the individuals motivation will reduce.

Coach Carter enables the team to make choices for themselves and is open to listen to their concerns. Therefore this motivates the team to succeed as they have been given autonomy and met the higher needs of the hierarchy of needs. 

Social Work Practice:

Herzberg (1959) can implement social work practice as all mangers must ensure that all elements of the the hierarchy of needs are met to create motivation within a team. 

For example a salary, and working conditions (lower stages of Maslow's Hirarchy of Needs) must be met to minimise job satisfaction.  Motivator factors (higher stages of the Hierarchy of needs) are best for promoting achievement within work and include factors such as accomplishment and responsibility (Fisher, 2009). 

Maslow's Hirachy of need is important that social work leaders are aware of the level that the team members are working at to enable them to support their individual needs and offer support their workers to fulfill their needs at the appropriate levels. Through leaders supporting their team members encourages motivation amongst social workers (Zastrow, & Kirst-Ashman, 2010). 

McGregor (1987) Theory Y and theory X 

McGregor (1987) developed a model known as Theory X and Theory Y. They are perceptions about how people behave. Below is a table of the traits of individuals that fit into either ‘Theory X’ and ‘theory Y’. 

Diagram from (The Impact of Technology on Business) 2012. 

Theory X leaders tend to pressure and control their followers. Whereas, Theory Y leaders tend to develop the potential in their followers and support them in being aware of their potential and how to achieve common goals. 

Motivation through Theory X	Motivation through Theory Y
Discipline	Self-belief
Control management	Integrity
Resource management	Openness
Conflict management	Vulnerability
Performance focus	Purpose
	Recognition
	Belief
	Shared Leadership

(Mullins, 2010) 

Coach Carter motivates the team through the 'Theory Y'. He aims to engage the players to achieve beyond their self-interest through seeking to win the players trust, admiration and loyalty so that they are emotionally as well as rationally inclined to do more than they originally expected to do (Hartley & Benington, 2010). 

Vroom Expectancy theory (1964) 

(http://myhrm.wikispaces.com/file/view/vroom-expectancy-theory.jpg)

Vroom’s (1964) expectancy theory focuses on achieving aims and not on an individual’s needs unlike Maslow and Herzberg theories do.

The expectancy theory suggests that individuals are motivated by three factors; valence (reward), expectancy (performance) and instrumentality (belief).  Vroom’s expectancy theory states that individual’s motivation is an outcome of how much an individual wants a reward (known as valence), the assessment that the likelihood that the effort will lead to expected performance (expectancy stage) and the belief that the performance will lead to a reward (instrumentality).

The product of each of these stages leads to motivation to achieve the initial goal.

In relation to Coach Carter he adheres to these three stages throughout the film to motivate the team players to succeed in both sport and their education. He begins by rewarding the players for their attendance within their classes by opening up the basketball court. He then uses discipline and signed contracts to portray that as a coach he is serious in achieving success in all aspects of the individuals lives which encourages the team to build up trust and loyalty of their coach in order to go on to demonstrate their motivation in succeeding.

Vroom’s Expectancy Theory can be thought of as the strength that drives the team towards their goals.

For example if the team wish to succeed then improving their education to continue playing sport is of high valence to the team. 

If the team believe that attending their classes and being dedicated to this will result in good reviews and opportunities to continue training then the players have high expectancy.

But if the team believe that they will not improve their grades and win the championships then the players have low instrumentality. Therefore the team are not motivated to perform any harder and achieve the successes. However, Coach Carter is an effective transformation leader and uses his effective leadership qualities (stated above) to ensure that the team are motivated in aiming high and achieving the goals to the best of their ability. 

(Mullins, 2010)