Unit 8

Morale
Morale is the term usually applied to armed forces during wartime and to sports and
athletic teams. It refers to team spirit and co-operation of people for a common
purpose. Its importance has been realised by the management only in recent years.
It is felt by the management that if the morale of the employees is high, production
would be higher and vice-versa.

Meaning: Morale represents the attitudes of individuals and groups in an

organisation towards their work environment. Morale is an indicator of the attitude
of employees towards their jobs, superiors and their organisational environment. It
is a collection of the employees’ attitude, feelings and sentiments.

Definition:

According to William Spriegel, “morale is the co-operative attitude or mental

health of a number of people who are related to each other on some
basis”.

According to Leighton, “morale is the capacity of a group of people to pull

together persistently and consistently in pursuit of a common purpose”.

Characteristics of Morale:

1. Morale is basically a psychological concept

2. Morale is intangible therefore it is very difficult to measure the degree of

morale accurately

3. Morale is contagious in the sense that people learn from each other

4. Morale in dynamic in nature. It cannot be developed overnight. Managers

have to make continuous efforts to build and maintain high morale. It is a
long-term concept.

5. Morale is a group phenomenon consisting of a pattern of attitudes. It is the

sum total of employees’ attitudes, feelings and sentiments.

Significance of Morale:
  Morale is the vital ingredient of organisational success because attitudes and
sentiments of employees greatly influence productivity and satisfaction of
employees.

 Morale may be high or low; when the morale of the employees is high, they
co-operate fully with the management towards the achievement of
organisational objectives.

 High morale leads to good discipline, high degree of interest in the job ,
loyalty to the organisation and high performance.

Consequences of low Morale:

Low morale indicates the presence of mental unrest. This mental tension or
unrest not only hampers production and productivity but also leads to ill-health of
the working people. The other consequences of low morale are the following:

1. High rate of labour turnover

2. High rate of absenteeism

3. Excessive complaints and grievances

4. Resistance to change

5. Lack of discipline

6. Antagonism towards the organisation and its management

7. Low quantity and quality of output

Low morale can be fatal to the organisation. In order to

avoid the evil consequences of low morale, every manager should attempt to build
high morale amongst his subordinates.

Steps to build High Morale:

Every manager should attempt to build high morale of his subordinates. Both
individual and collective efforts are required to develop and maintain high morale.
The following measures are taken to improve the morale of employees in the
organisation:-
 a. A fair system of wage and salary payments should be evolved

b. A sense of security of job should be ensured

c. The promotion policy should be sound and should be followed promptly

d. Competent supervisors should be appointed

e. The channel of communication should be effective.

f. The employees should be made to feel proud of being employed in the

organisation

g. Employees’ welfare schemes like housing, medical benefits, education

facilities for children, canteen, credit facilities, and safety measures
should be provided as they are very helpful in developing positive attitude
among the employees.

h. Workers should be given proper training so that they may perform their
jobs without frustration and get job satisfaction.

Factors determining morale:

The degree of morale in any organisation is determined by several factors. Some of

them are merely psychological and difficult to identify, however researchers have
succeeding in figuring out the following factors:

1) Confidence in leadership: If the leader of the organisation is able to win

the confidence of the employees, morale will be high. For employees, the
leader being mentioned is the immediate supervisor/superior. If the leader is
systematic, fair, honest, helpful and friendly, he may win over the confidence
of his subordinates and boost their morale.

2) Job Satisfaction: The morale of the employee would be high if he is

satisfied with his job. Hence right men should be placed in the right job to
boost up their morale in their jobs.

3) Confidence in co-workers: Mani is a social being and he finds himself more

enthusiastic in the company of others. If he finds that his companions or
fellow workers are co-operating with him, his morale would be high.

4) Sound and efficient organisation: Sound and effective organisation is an

important factor affecting the employee’s morale. At the same time, the
chance of communication should be effective and the personal problems of
the employee should be heard and redressed as quickly as possible.

5) Fair remuneration: Fair and reasonable remuneration is essential to secure

enthusiasm and willingness of the workers to do the job. The wages should be
 comparable with those paid in similar concerns. Besides, monetary incentives
should be provided to them as and when necessary and possible.

6) Security of job: If the employee feels secured, they will be willing and co-
operative to do the job allotted to them.

7) Opportunity to rise: The employees should also be made to realise that if

they work properly, they will be promoted and adequately rewarded. This
feeling of recognition will definitely boost their morale.

8) Working conditions: The conditions of work at which the employees are

required to work also affect their morale. Providing safety measures, hygienic
facilities, clean workplace etc. give them satisfaction and boost their morale.

9) Physical & mental health: An employee with weak health cannot be co-
operative and willing to work. Similarly his mental strain shall also reduce his
motivation of morale. Both physical and mental illness are detrimental to an
individual’s work and thereby the organisational output.

End of unit -8 part-I

 Motivation

The term motivation is derived from the word motive which means an idea, need,
emotion or organic state which prompts a man to act. Motivation involves the
creation of a positive will and desire among the persons to do their work in the best
manner. It is the process of stimulating people to adopt the desired course of action
by satisfying their needs. Hence, motivation is nothing but an act of inducement; it
is necessary for better performance. It helps to attain the individual and
organisational objectives in the most effective, efficient and economical manner.

Definitions:

According to Michael J. Jucius, motivation is the act of stimulating someone or

oneself to get a desired course of action, to push the right button to get
the desired action.

According to Scott, motivation means a process of stimulating people to

action to accomplish desired goals.

Therefore motivation is a psychological concept. It develops the mental

power of an individual and motivates them to do more and in a better manner.

Objectives of motivation in Management-context:

 To motivate the employees to work more

 To boost the morale of the employees

 To increase the efficiency of the employees

 To establish amicable relations between labour and management

 To achieve objectives of the Enterprise

  To raise the job satisfaction among the employees

Importance of Motivation:

 Effective use of resources: When the teams of employees are highly

motivated employees greatly help in making optimum use of available
resources for achieving objectives.

 Higher efficiency: When employees are highly motivated employees will

make full use of their energy and participatory levels to raise existing level of
efficiency.

 Accomplishment of organisational goals.

 Reduction in labour turnover and absenteeism.

 Healthy industrial relations.

Types of Motivation:

1. Negative motivation: Negative motivation is based on force or fear. If the

workers fail to complete the work within the time schedule they may be
threatened with demotion, dismissal, layoff or pay cut etc. The negative
motivation gives maximum benefits in short run. In the long run, however this
kind of motivation doesn’t help the organization in any way as negative
motivation results in disloyalty and dissonance among the group of
employees.

2. Positive motivation: Positive motivation is based on rewards. Praise,

participation in decision-making process, delegation of authority and
responsibility are some methods adopted for motivation.

Theories of Motivation
Maslow’s Need-Hierarchy theory of
Motivation
Needs or motives are the primary cause of human behaviour. The behaviour of an
individual at a particular moment is usually determined by his strongest needs. As
the more basic needs are satisfied, an individual seeks to satisfy higher needs. If his
basic needs are not met, efforts to satisfy higher needs would be postponed.
Abraham H. Maslow, a famous behavioural scientist had given a framework that
helps to explain the strength of certain needs. The theory is known as “Need
Hierarchy Theory”. In this theory he had pointed out and explained how needs
influence human behaviour.

The following are important propositions advanced by A.H. Maslow about

human behaviour:

 The urge to fulfill needs is a prime factor in motivation of people at work.

Human beings strive to fulfill a wide range of needs.

 Man is a wanting animal. A man works to satisfy his wants or needs. As one
need is satisfied, another appears in its place.

 A satisfied need is a motivator and once satisfied, it ceases to influence

human behaviour. Only unsatisfied or fresh needs, whether lower order or
higher order, can motivate persons to work.

Maslow’s Needs-based Hierarchy

1) Physiological needs: These are biological needs required to preserve

human life. Therefore, these needs are also known as survival needs. They
include needs like food, clothing, drinking, shelter, sleep etc. These needs
must be satisfied first of all and therefore they are a powerful motivation
when thwarted.
 2) Safety / Security needs: Once physiological needs are reasonably satisfied,
safety needs emerge and become dominant. Safety needs are concerned
with protection from danger, deprivation and threats. People want bodily
safety, job security, provision for old age, insurance against accidents etc.
They may serve as motivators in case of arbitrary and unpredictable
management actions. Organizations can influence these needs through
pension schemes, insurance plans, medical schemes, fear of dismissal etc.

3) Social needs: After the first two types of needs are satisfied, social needs
become important in the need-hierarchy. Since man is a social animal, he has
a need to belong and to be accepted by the society of various groups. Social
needs refer to need for belonging, need for acceptance, need for love and
affection. Organisations can influence these needs through supervision,
effective communications system, work groups, encouraging employee get-
togethers, etc.

4) Esteem needs: Esteem needs are of 2 types, namely self-esteem and

others’ esteem. Self-esteem needs include self-respect, self-confidence,
competence, achievement and independence. Esteem of others includes
reputation, status and recognition.

5) Self-actualisation needs: Also known as self-realisation needs, these are

the needs for realizing one’s full potential, for continued self-development
and for remaining creative throughout life. Maslow says “this need might be
phrased as the desire to become more and more what one is, to become
everything that one is capable of becoming in life”.

Therefore Maslow’s theory helps to explain why a person behaves differently in two
similar situations. This theory is an understanding of human behaviour and
motivation.

Drawbacks of Maslow’s Need-Hierarchy Theory:

• Needs are not the only determinants of behaviour. There are other
motivating factors like perception, expectations, experiences, etc.

• Needs-based classification looks somewhat artificial as every human’s needs

are not really evident and they keep changing from person to person.

• Maslow’s theory is based on a relatively small sample of people.

 Despite limitations Maslow’s theory provides a
convenient framework for study of motivation. It helps to explain inter-personal and
intra-personal variations in human behaviour.

Herzberg’s 2-Factor Theory of Motivation

The motivational-hygiene theory was proposed by Frederick Herzberg, a well-known

American psychologist and behavioural scientist in 1959. A research study was
conducted to find what variables are perceived to be desirable to achieve goals and
conversely, what undesirable variables to avoid. In this connection, a research study
was conducted by Frederick Herzberg and his associates of Case Western Reserve
University, USA. This study consisted of an intensive analysis of the experiences and
feelings of 200 engineers and accountants in 9 different companies in Pittsburg
area, USA. During a structured interview, they were asked to describe a few
previous experiences in which they felt exceptionally good or exceptionally bad in
their jobs. They were also asked to rate the degree to which their feelings were
influenced – for better or for worse.

On analysing the information from the interviews, Herzberg concluded that

there were 2 categories of needs essentially independent of each other affecting
behaviour in different ways. They are:

1. Hygiene factors: The job conditions which operate primarily to dissatisfy

the employees in their absence, however it is worth noting that the mere
presence of these factors doesn’t motivate the employees in a string way.
These set of jobs have been referred to as maintenance or hygiene factor.
According to Herzberg, there are ten hygiene factors:

a) Company policy and administration

b) Working conditions

c) Status

d) Salary

e) Job security

f) Personal life

g) Technical supervision

h) Interpersonal relationship with supervisors

 i) Interpersonal relationship with peers

j) Interpersonal relationship with subordinates

These factors provide no growth in a worker’s output; they only prevent losses in
worker’s performance due to work restrictions leading to job dissatisfaction. These
maintenance factors are necessary to maintain a reasonable level of satisfaction
among the employees. Any increase beyond this level will not provide any
satisfaction to the employee; however any cut below this level will dissatisfy them.

2. Motivational factors: A set of job conditions which operates primarily to

build strong motivation and high job satisfaction and their absence is very
much visible in the strong lack of motivation in the workforce. Such factors
are known as motivational factors. These factors are capable of having a
positive affect on job satisfaction often resulting in an increase in one’s total
output. According to Herzberg six factors that motivate employees are:

a) Achievement

b) Recognition

c) Advancement

d) Work itself

e) Possibility of growth

f) Responsibility

An increase in these factors will satisfy the employees, however any decrease will
not affect their levels of satisfaction. These factors are necessary for self-motivation
of employees. From this point of view, individuals are classified into two groups:

Motivational seekers Maintenance seekers

Are generally individuals who are Tend to be more concerned with factors
primarily motivated by the satisfiers surrounding the jobs such as
such as advancement, achievement and supervision, working conditions, pay etc.
other factors associated with work itself.

Comparison of Herzberg and Maslow’s models

When Herzberg’s and Maslow’s models are compared, it can be seen that both the
models focus their attention on the same relationship i.e. what motivates an
individual. Maslow has given it in terms of need-hierarchy and Herzberg has
suggested how people try for comparatively higher level needs. Thus any
unsatisfied need becomes a motivational force for the individual and governs his
behaviour in that direction.

In comparatively socially and economically advanced countries, most of the

lower order needs are fulfilled and for many people, only higher level needs remain
motivating factors, which is what exactly Herzberg had suggested. Most of his
maintenance factors come under comparatively lower-order needs.

There is a particular difference between the 2 models; Maslow emphasized

that any unsatisfied need, whether a lower order or higher order will motivate
individuals. This can be applied to lower level workers as well as higher level
managers, but according to Herzberg these are hygiene factors and fail to motivate
workers.

Equity Theory

Equity theory of work motivation is based on the social exchange process. J. Stacy
Adams has crystallized this theory. Basically the theory points out that people are
motivated to maintain fair relationship between their performance and reward in
comparison to others. There are two assumptions on which the theory works:

 Individuals make contributions (inputs) for which they expect certain rewards
(outcomes).

 Individuals decide whether or not a particular exchange is satisfactory by

comparing their inputs and outcomes with those of others and try to rectify
any inequality.

Various types of inputs and outcomes of an

individual are:

Efforts Pay

Time Promotion

Education Recognition

Training Security

Ideas Personal Development

Ability Benefits

Experience Friendship
opportunities
 McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y
The management action of motivating human beings in the organisation, according
to McGregor, involves certain assumptions, generalizations and hypotheses relating
to human behaviour and human nature. McGregor has characterized these
assumptions in two extreme criteria – Theory X & Theory Y.

Theory X: This is a traditional theory of human behaviour. In this theory,

McGregor has certain assumptions about human behaviour which are as follows:

 Management is responsible for organizing the elements of productive

enterprise - money, material, equipment and people, in the interest of
economic ends.

 Without the active intervention of the management, people would remain

passive, even resistant to organisational needs. They must be persuaded,
rewarded, punished, controlled and their activities must be directed.

 The employee lacks ambition, dislikes responsibility and prefers to be lead.

 He is, by nature resistant to change.

 The average employee is indolent by nature – he works as little as possible.

Of these the last three deal with human nature and the first two with the
managerial actions. So the managers subscribing to these views about human
nature attempt to structure control and closely supervise their employees. They feel
that external control is most appropriate for dealing with irresponsible and
immature employees. He argues that these changes are not because of changes in
human behaviour or nature, but because of nature of industrial organisations,
management philosophy, policies and practices.

Theory Y: The assumptions of this theory are as follows:

 External control and threat of punishment are not the only means for
motivating or bringing about efforts towards organisational objectives. Man
will exercise self-direction and self-control in the service of objectives to
which he is committed

 Commitment to objectives is a function of reward associated with their

achievement.
  The average human being learns under proper conditions not only to accept,
but also to seek responsibility.

 Under the conditions of modern industrial life, the intellectual potentials of

the average human being are only partially utilized.

The assumptions of Theory Y

suggest a new approach in management. The attempt is to get maximum output
with minimum amount of control and direction. Generally no conflict is visible
between organisational goals and individual goals.

Comparison of Theory X & Theory Y

Both these theories have certain assumptions about human nature. In fact, they are
reverse sides of a coin, one representing head and the other tail.

Theory X Theory Y

1. Assumes that human beings are 1. Assumes that for human beings,
distasteful towards work work is as natural as play.

2. Emphasizes that people do not 2. People are ambitious and are keen
have ambitions and try to avoid to take up responsibilities at the
responsibilities in the job. workplace and love challenges.

3. Most people have little or no 3. People are creative and love to

capacity for creativity.
4. Motivating factors are lower level
needs.
embrace new techniques and
methodology.
4. Both lower level and higher level
needs are important.

5. People lack self-motivation and

require to be externally controlled,
closely supervised to get
maximum output out of them.
6. Emphasizes on scalar chain
system and centralization of
authority in decision-making.
7. Autocratic leadership is the way to
lead.
8. Employees always resist change.
5. People are self-directed and
motivated and prefer self-control.
The same job can be done with
the least of supervision.
6. Emphasizes on decentralization
and greater participation in
decision-making process
7. Democratic and supportive
leadership
 8. Employees always welcome
change

Therefore the assumptions of Theory Y suggest a new approach in management.

This theory represents a modern and dynamic nature of human beings. The
organisation designed on Theory Y is characterized by decentralization of authority,
participative leadership and two-way communication system. Where Theory X
focuses on external control, Theory Y focuses on self-regulation.

Theory Z
The management scholar William Ouchi developed Theory Z in the 1980’s. Theory Z
focuses on 3 features which motivate an employee. They are:

1) Trust: Trust between employees, supervisors, workgroups, unions,

management and government

2) Strong bond between organisation and employees

3) Employee involvement

End of unit -8 part-II

Job Satisfaction
Job satisfaction describes how content an individual is with his or her job. The
happier people are with their jobs the more satisfied they are said to be. Job
satisfaction is one’s own feeling or state of mind regarding the nature of their work.
Job satisfaction can be influenced by a number of factors, e.g. the quality of one’s
relationship with their supervisor, the quality of the physical environment in which
they work, degree of fulfillment in their works etc.

Definition: Job Satisfaction is “The sense of fulfillment and pride felt by

people who enjoy their work and do it well”
Job satisfaction is a positive emotional state that occurs when a person’s
job seems to fulfill his needs.

Reasons why people lose job satisfaction:

 Bickering co-workers

 Conflict with a supervisor

 Not being paid appropriately for the work done

 Lack of opportunities for promotion

 Fear of losing job / job insecurity

 Boring or overly monotonous routine

 Work that doesn’t tap into the employee’s education, skills or personal
interests

 The workplace not having the necessary equipment or resources to succeed

 No compensation / fair wage/salary administration policy

 No recognition and respect (People who excel at what they do and are
knowledgeable about a subject expect to be taken seriously and consulted
with during decision-making. A management that degrades the opinions of its
employees or doesn’t consult them results in dissatisfied employees.)

 Lack of team spirit

 Stress, extreme situations and burnout

 If the employee is not working to his full capacity, it means that the job is
exhausting him

 Unsafe or hazardous working conditions

 Personal reasons like being separated from one’s family or spouse

Effects of low-job satisfaction:

• Low job performance

• High employee turnover / attrition rate

• High absenteeism
 • Effect on health of employees

• Low profits

• Low economic development: If an employee is not satisfied with his job then
he will not show any interest in his work, which results in low productivity,
low profits and low income. So income earned per head and taxes collected
by the government will also be reduced.

Factors influencing Job Satisfaction:

I. Organisational factors:

1. Rewards: Includes all incentives like raise in pay, perks, facilities,

promotion. The promotion factor is a major factor in job satisfaction. An
employee can achieve job satisfaction and work better only when he
knows that he will get his dues and raise in due time.

2. Physical working conditions: Working conditions like availability of

necessary furniture, lighting facilities, work hazard also plays a major
role in job satisfaction.

3. Cooperation: Cooperation and attitude of the staff members with the

person is also an important factor in feeling satisfied with one’s job.

II. Personal factors:

1. Interests: The personal interests of the employee play a major role in

determining how happy an employee is with his job. If there is a clash
between his personal interests and the direction in which his job /
designation is headed, he’ll be at a mutual conflict internally and he
won’t be able to give his job his best performance, at the same time
his mental state will be weak and prone to irritability.

2. Personal traits: Some jobs are suitable to only certain types of

personality types. If they are shy in nature or cannot talk much they
will not be able to succeed in that setting where they are expected to
do both. While choosing a job, one has to see that, they have those
personality traits that the job demands.

3. Status & Seniority: It has been reported that the higher a person’s
position in the organisation, the higher is his job satisfaction.

4. Life satisfaction: Every person wants to establish or reach his goal in

life and it can be accomplished only through the work he does. If a
person can’t love his job, chances are very slim that he can see any
growth in his career in the future and there’s no reason why he should
continue in the same job.

End of unit -8