Motivation is vital to keep employees productive and focused on the goals set forth to achieve. It is important to understand the needs and desires of the workforce to inherently plan how to get the most out of them. Motivation is one of the hardest things to manage but with some insight into equity theory, it will be easier to understand and get production and commitment from your employees.
Companies will benefit in understanding the core of motivation, Abraham Maslow conceived a general motivation theory based on needs. Visualized in a pyramid, the base is the basic physiological needs to survive, such as nourishment for your body and the peak of the pyramid in reaching self-actualization, which is understanding one’s full potential. As …show more content…
To establish a comparison of how they are perceived, people use inputs, outcomes, and referents to determine if they are being treated fairly. Inputs are what the employee brings to the company in the form of education, skill, ability, time worked and training. For example, many employees believe if they have a college degree that it justifies them getting a higher pay. Outcomes are the rewards or recognition that they receive in exchange for their inputs. For example, job titles, salaries, bonuses, and benefits. For example, for an employee who excels at their job will receive a generous increase in pay over those that are mediocre performers. Referents are the people or possible standards that the person who is comparing themselves against. “Usually, people choose to compare themselves with referents who hold the similar job or who are otherwise similar in gender, race, age, tenure or other characteristics” (Williams, 2017, p. 273). For example, most employees will elect a person with the same job title for comparison due to the job requirements being similar. People hold beliefs about their outcomes and inputs, when comparing them, they are conducting the outcome/input ratio. When the perception is that they are being treated unfairly, it suggests that there are inequities between the person and their referent. The inequity can be construed as an under payment which is when a person believes that they are receiving less outcomes compared to the referent. For example, a coworker you have been working with on a project is recognized publicly, but your name has not been mentioned. This can cause the person to retaliate by giving less input to the company. Additionally, a person can also try to adjust the inequities by discussing the comparison to the referent with managers. In contrast, there is also overpayment, when the person is receiving more outcomes than the referent. This perception of inequity develops
Companies will benefit in understanding the core of motivation, Abraham Maslow conceived a general motivation theory based on needs. Visualized in a pyramid, the base is the basic physiological needs to survive, such as nourishment for your body and the peak of the pyramid in reaching self-actualization, which is understanding one’s full potential. As …show more content…
To establish a comparison of how they are perceived, people use inputs, outcomes, and referents to determine if they are being treated fairly. Inputs are what the employee brings to the company in the form of education, skill, ability, time worked and training. For example, many employees believe if they have a college degree that it justifies them getting a higher pay. Outcomes are the rewards or recognition that they receive in exchange for their inputs. For example, job titles, salaries, bonuses, and benefits. For example, for an employee who excels at their job will receive a generous increase in pay over those that are mediocre performers. Referents are the people or possible standards that the person who is comparing themselves against. “Usually, people choose to compare themselves with referents who hold the similar job or who are otherwise similar in gender, race, age, tenure or other characteristics” (Williams, 2017, p. 273). For example, most employees will elect a person with the same job title for comparison due to the job requirements being similar. People hold beliefs about their outcomes and inputs, when comparing them, they are conducting the outcome/input ratio. When the perception is that they are being treated unfairly, it suggests that there are inequities between the person and their referent. The inequity can be construed as an under payment which is when a person believes that they are receiving less outcomes compared to the referent. For example, a coworker you have been working with on a project is recognized publicly, but your name has not been mentioned. This can cause the person to retaliate by giving less input to the company. Additionally, a person can also try to adjust the inequities by discussing the comparison to the referent with managers. In contrast, there is also overpayment, when the person is receiving more outcomes than the referent. This perception of inequity develops