Evaluating the Usefulness of Traditional Content Theories of Motivation to Hospitality Managers - Literature review Example

Evaluate the usefulness of traditional content theories of motivation to hospitality industry managers. Introduction In today's society getting a content job is the first priority for a capable person. And to give employees a greater satisfaction is the ultimate aim of the management of any organisation. For this the management has to follow certain motivation theories to boost the morale of their employees. The most difficult function of a manager is to motivate the employees of the organisation. The managers of nay organisation are under tremendous pressure to manage increased productivity, to meet competition, to utilise scarce resources and to provide goods and services to more and more people at less cost. But above all these managers are very much concern about employee motivation. As per management motivation in its traditional sense means a process of stimulating people to action to accomplish desired goals. The prowess of any managers can be judged by two importance considerations of production and people, which in turn based on three factors of motivation, participate management and interpersonal competence. Experienced and qualified managers are always in the need of self-actualisation and are deeply interested in both employees and production. (Lepper, 1988) Analysts believed that motivation is mistakenly teamed with job content, which give rise to multiple misconceptions about the relationships between productivity, job content and motivation. Traditional job content may be defined as an input that contributes to productivity. When it comes to hospitality industry the question of motivation and employees satisfaction become more important. As per the nature the hospitality industry is an effective way of creating networking opportunities and cementing business relationships, if managers knows what he or she is doing. Therefore, the managers of hospitality industry are more under pressure in maintaining the motivation as well as the job content of the employees. The reputation and strength of any hospitality organisation depends on the managers and their employees. To maintain a healthy employee group managers are following different motivation theories, traditional or the modern ones. It is fact that hospitality is one of the main tools in activating and maximisng the value of business investments. (Tracey & Hinkin, 1994) In hospitality industry the services of employees play a vital role in developing and sustaining the relationships between customer and employees within business. This paper discuss some of the traditional motivation theories that can be useful even in today’s scenario if the managers apply it in its true sense. Some of the traditional motivation theories Ivan Pavlov Pavlov put more stress on classical conditioning, which is form of learning through association that involves the manipulation of stimuli to influence behaviour. In simple words Pavlov theory states that employee associate an action with a following action within organisations. Employees expect the following action each time the initial action appears. Pavlov’s theory can be easily applicable in today’s hospitality industry.   Abraham Maslow’s theory  Maslow’s theory of motivation implies a “hierarchy of needs” or an order of needs that need to be fulfilled in each person. The managers of hospitality industry have to keep the order of needs in mind so that they can motivate the employees in its best sense. According to Maslow’s theory the hierarchy of needs are stated below: Self-actualisation- it needs to grow and use abilities in its highest sense. Esteem- it needs for respect, prestige and recognition from others in order to boost competition among employees. Social- it needs for intercommunication with love, affection and belongingness among employees. Safety- it needs for security, protection and stability of each employee in everyday work. Physiological- it is an important need of every human being such as food, water, sustenance and so on. By using this theory the managers can use the hierarchy to motivate people by satisfying their most important needs. It can be perfectly suitable to hospitality industry. (Maslow, 1943) David I. McClelland’s theory McClelland measure human needs in his theory namely, need for achievement, need for affiliation and need for power. McClelland states that these needs are acquired with time and life experience. This theory could result in positive if managers identify these needs perfectly so that it would help them understand how to motivate individuals. Different approaches can be use as per the needs of the employees. It can use by the managers of hospitality sector as it has different approaches for distinct needs of the employees. Frederick Herzberg’s theory Herzberg developed a two-factor theory which states that hygiene factors in the work setting are sources for job dissatisfaction. While the motivator factors in work tasks are sources for job satisfaction. In his theory he says, “If you want people to do a good job, give them a good job to do.” Analysts said that Herzberg’s theory is vague but it is based on superb ideas. In hospitality sector this two-factor theory of motivation may be of little importance as it gives little space for the needs of employees. (Herzberg, 1966) Victor Vroom’s theory Vroom’s theory may be called expectancy theory as it argues that the motivation is based in values and beliefs of each employee. It targets individual’s feeling about effort, performance and outcomes. Vroom’s theory calculate motivation using three factors, namely, Expectancy- it states that effort will be followed by personal accomplishment. Instrumentality- it states that performance will lead to outcomes. Valence- it states the value of an employee of an outcome. According to Vroom this theory can be useful for any industry provided the managers can use the equation Motivation=Expectancy* Instrumentality* Valence in order to know in advance whether a particular reward will motivate an employee. There is no doubt that Vroom’s theory can work wonder but in present context of hospitality industry it seems a little awkward. The theory of Vroom takes into account individual differences in the prediction of motivated behaviour, but it offers actually nothing for the real motivating employees. (Vroom, 1964) Practices of these theories in today’s hospitality industry With changing pace of time hospitality industry is also on a roll and accepting new innovations to fight stiff competition as well as to give their employees job satisfaction. The management of this industry is constantly on their heels to motivate employees in order to win good customers and business. And in this respect the managers are trying hard to apply motivation theories that have been proved success. Some are opting for older theories of motivation while some go for new theories. But the factors of the older theories are based on evidence that has been proved successfully. (Berger, 1997) Before applying any theories of motivation the mangers need to now the qualities of a good motivators. Thought there is no definite answer to it but Herzberg said that it would depend on different societies, different organisational levels. Good motivators should know what mixture of needs for what kind of people in what kind of organisation. But the mangers should keep in mind that money is a predominant motivator with regard to both the lower-level need satisfaction and the fulfillment of status and achievement of goals. The managers of hospitality industry need to identify the operative needs and job-related goals of the employees. There should be a close link between high performance and the attainment of desired rewards. If the linkage is inconsistent then the employees sees low probability of achieving a reward then a motivation would be of no importance. (Caristo, 1998) It is fact that achievement is recognised as an important motivator for high-level performance. If the achievement task is not well defined then the employees would lose their direction and their achievement motivation would be deprived of its very pre-requisite. According to J.Ruddy (1990) the progressed of a hotel depends upon the development of its general manager. The behaviour and practices of the manager have strong impact on the employees, strategic objectives and the way things are done to progress. The managers of hospitality industry along with the employees are the main contributor towards the success of the industry. Hospitality industry needs constant motivation of the employees as it runs on the shoulder of employees not on machines. Therefore the theories of motivation are important part of the business. And the managers’ prowess can be reviewed on his/her ways of implementing the theories to motivate the employees and recognize their efforts. It is fact that the human resources management is the mainstay in the strategic business of hospitality organisations. This industry is going to thrive in future but it needs to create partnerships with employees, guests and universities. (Ruddy, 1990) Conclusions Every sector needs motivation management, as it is a modern, practical approach that will be useful to management trainers and trainees. These traditional theories of motivations can be served as a good guide in solving motivation problems within organisation. Hospitality industry runs on the good relationships between customers and employees and here the managers are more concern about motivations as it would boost the business and assure job satisfaction to the employees. The theories of Pavlov, Maslow, McClelland, Herzberg, and Vroom give an insight how to achieve set goals within the specified time frame. (Dunn & Stephens, 1972) Motivation process has to fulfill the job enrichment as stressed by Herzberg. Job enrichment means to enrich the job content by providing more varied and challenging work in the organisation in order to change employee's behaviour directly. Managers should keep some of the most important points in this regard such as designing the work module to give the employee or work group a natural unit of work and responsibility, considerable control of the work module by the employee or work group, employee should have the access to sufficient direct feedback of work results and there should be appropriate standards for measuring performance. (Lawler, 1973) It is true that job enrichment programmes have been applied by many organisations and industries but it raises the questions of real effectiveness. Job enrichment in hospitality industry provides only a partial answer to the innovative efforts to re-design the total work organisation and has failed in its limited objective. The paper has briefly reviewed some of the traditional motivation theories and discussed some of the practical implications for managerial action in hospitality industry. the above discussion shows that the difficulty lies not in theorizing but in actual implementation. Every industry has its own way of functioning and the managers of hospitality should be aware of what is the appropriate approach and action programme toward employee motivation and that is the toughest job of managers to accomplish. References Dunn and stephens, 1972, Management of Personnel, Manpower Mangement and Organisationl behaviour, MGraw Hill, pp. 164-174. E.E. Lawler, III, 1973, Motivation in Work Organisations, Brooks/Cole publihing Co., pp.5-7. Abraham Maslow, 1943, "A Theory of Human Motivation", Psychological Review, pp. 370-396; also Motivation and Personality, Harper & Row , 1954. Frederick Herzberg, 1966, Work and the Nature of Man, The world Publishing Co., pp. 92-129. Victor Vroom, 1964, Work and Motivation, Wiley, pp. 14-15, 128. Ruddy, J. 1990, "Patterns of Hotel Management Development in South East Asia" Hospitality Research Journal Vol. 14 No. 2 (1990) pp. 349-362. Tracey,J.B. and Hinkin, T.R. "Transformational Leaders in the Hospitality Industry" Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly Vol. 35 No. 2 (1994) pp. 18-27. Caristo, G. "Hotel Management and the Programmed Planning of Productive Activity in the Modern Hotel" Rassegna di Studi Turistica No. 8 (1988) pp. 103-106. Lepper, M.R. (1988). Motivational considerations in the study of instruction. Cognition and Instruction. 5(4). 289-309. Berger, J. "Applying Performance Tests in Hotel Management Agreements" Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly Vol. 38 No. 2 (1997) pp. 25-30. Read More