The Oxford Dictionary defines motivation as “to cause (a person) to act in a particular way”. It can come in many guises. A painter may live in poverty, working long hours for the love of art. A politician will tolerate public attack and personal abuse in the quest for power. A business executive may forgo all family life in the pursuit of financial reward. Murder may be committed in order to survive or life lost in the attempt to save another’s life. We are all different and each of us are driven by individual motivational forces.
Frank Hawkins summed it up when he wrote: “motivation reflects the difference between what a person can do and what he will do”. In other words, an airline may spend millions on selection, training and checking of aircrew to ensure they have the capacity to perform at the highest level of expertise but it is motivation that will determine whether they will do so. Concepts of Motivation.
At its most basic level motivation is driven by physiological needs. These may be hunger, thirst, pain or the need to survive. We are also driven by psychological or social needs. (see Figure 9.1)
However the situation is rarely quite so clearly defined. For example, a woman’s hunger drive may be modified by a conflicting motivation to remain attractively slim. This, in turn, may be modified - if dining out as a guest - by a desire not to offend the hostess by rejecting part of the meal. Thus it is important to understand that a single behaviourial pattern may be governed by several, perhaps conflicting, motives.
We normally tend to associate motivation with the desire to achieve a certain goal or aspiration (goal-directed behaviour). A pilot may have an ambition to become a Check Captain and he/ she will channel their efforts to achieve this goal which, in turn, will be reflected on behaviourial patterns both at and away from the working environment. Technically this drive is known as “achievement motivation” however there are infinitely more. Power over others, competitiveness,
Most people will possess many drives, depending on the situation, but the strength of any particular drive will vary with each individual so that the total combination of motive strength represents something of a personal signature.
Extreme “achievement motivation” may have spectacular results but, along the way, there may be many casualties. A commander who is determined to land at the destination airport, regardless of weather conditions, is the ultimate example.
An added danger is that if an individual is driven by extreme achievement motivation but meets an obstruction which prevents him/her from achieving the objective normally a whole range of emotions will be released (anger, frustration, stress etc.) - this is known as the “aggressive impulse”.
Finally it is important to point out that any case of excessive motivation may lead to stress in an individual which, in turn, normally has an adverse effect on performance.
Model of Human Needs.
Maslow (1943) attempts to qualify motivation as the satisfaction of human needs which exists in a hierarchical form (Figure 9.1).
At the base of the needs are those that need to be satisfied first. From these the hierarchy rises to those needs related to the ego. Once a lower level of needs is satisfied, the needs of the next higher level assume priority. Self-fulfillment is the final stage of the motivational drive.
Figure 9.1
Figure 9.1 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (from Maslow, 1943)
At each stage in the hierarchy we can associate the relevance to flight safety. A mentally and physically satisfied pilot, who is confidently working as a member of a highly skilled team to achieve trouble-free and safe flight is one of the fundamental aims of flight safety.
The difficulty of the task and the arousal of the individual will both have an influence on a person’s motivation.
The Influence of Human Needs on Flight Safety
The goal of most airlines is to achieve a profit from the carriage of cargo and/or passengers safely. In order to do this, one of the many facets of the operation is the understanding of human needs in the realm of flight safety.
The only was to do this is by having a well organised servicing schedule, crew rostering operation and good passenger/cargo facilities. All these factors should have an influence on meeting the human needs and, at the same time, providing greater flight safety.
Basic model showing two independent sources of motivation.
The model can be used to illustrate the two independent sources of motivation. It also shows the relationship between motivational elements in a work situation and performance.
The two sources are:
The perceived value of a reward The probability of its attainment
As already discussed, people place very different values on rewards. However if a person expects that his/her efforts for attaining a reward will pass unnoticed, then he/she may feel that the reward has little usefulness even though it is highly valued.
Two other variables have also to be included here. These are natural abilities and learned skills.
From performance we can see rewards emerging. These can be intrinsic (feeling of pride or achievement) or extrinsic (pay or promotion).
If rewards are tied to performance and are seen to be, higher job satisfaction will be achieved resulting in higher performance. Many people feel more content if they have clear targets to meet and, providing these are realistic, they too can contribute to job satisfaction.
Figure 9.2 Basic Model of Motivation Figure 9.2 Basic Model of Motivation
Motivation and Job Satisfaction.
Job satisfaction is measurable through specially designed questionaries and interviews and it is recognised that there are many factors which may influence an individual’s overall attitude to the job. These include, among others, financial rewards, management policies, colleagues, the working environment, the nature of the task etc.
Increasing Job Satisfaction.
The two main tools used to increase job satisfaction are: Job enrichment.
This mainly involves active participation of staff in policy and the decision-making process concerning their work. Thus airline cabin-crew are involved in decisions as to the timing of meals and menus served on board company aircraft or flight crews take an active part in the layout of flight instruments used on aircraft in the fleet.
Job enlargement.
Job enlargement increases the number and variety of tasks (horizontal enlargement) or increases an employee’s control of the routine planning of his/her task (vertical enlargement). A good example of “horizontal” enlargement is the delegation by a Commander of an aircraft of some of his/her tasks to the First Officer. Aircrew actively involved in their own rostering would be an example of “vertical” enlargement.
HERZBERG’S TWO FACTOR THEORY OF MOTIVATION