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Content theories 
of motivation suggest that the best way to motivate an employee is to find out what 
their needs are and offer them rewards that will satisfy those needs. 

 
Maslow 
identified a hierarchy of needs which an individual will be motivated to satisfy, progressing 
towards higher order satisfactions, such as self-actualisation. 

 
Herzberg
identified two basic need systems: the need to avoid unpleasantness and the need for personal 
growth. He suggested factors which could be offered by organisations to satisfy both types of need: 
hygiene and motivator factors respectively. 

 
Process theories 
of motivation help managers to understand the dynamics of employees' decisions about 
what rewards are worth going for. 

 
Expectancy theory
basically states that the strength of an individual's motivation to do something will 
depend on the extent to which they expect the results of their efforts to contribute to their personal needs or 
goals. 

 
McGregor
suggested that a manager's approach is based on attitudes somewhere on a scale between 
two extreme sets of assumptions: Theory X (workers have to be coerced) and Theory Y (workers want to 
be empowered). 

 
Not all the 
incentives
that an organisation can offer its employees are directly related to 
monetary
rewards. The satisfaction of 
any
 
of the employee's wants or needs may be seen as a reward for past 
performance, or an incentive for future performance. 

 
Rewards
may be 
extrinsic
(external to the work and individual) or 
intrinsic
(arising from performance of 
the work itself). 
