HRM assignment on: Report on Motivation theories

HRM assignment on: Report on Motivation theories

1. Executive Summary

This report takes into consideration one of the most important influence factor which affects the buying decision of the consumers. The most important influence factor talked about in the report below refers to Motivation.Motivation has been defined as one of the key factors which stimulate the behavior of the consumers. The marketers are required to motivate & influence their consumers in order to initiate them to buy a particular product. The theories of motivation would help the consumers in order to see the consumer behavior of the individual. This would help the marketers in order to frame certain strategies which would instigate the consumer in order to buy a particular product.

The report highlights one of the basic Motivational Theory given by Abraham Maslow. It states that, the needs of human beings could be defined under five heads. Unless & until the basic needs would be fulfilled, the upper level needs will not be fulfilled.  The report also links articles from three different journals with the need hierarchy theory. The issues discussed in the articles would help to know that, how the motivational factors help a consumer to buy a particular product.

In the end, the report also highlights the purchase behavior as well as a purchase model which the consumers take into consideration while buying any merchandise from M arks & Spencer (M&S).

2. Introduction

The entire report has been designed in order to highlight the importance of one of the most critical internal factors i.e. Motivation. Motivation refers to one of the key factors which stimulate the behavior of the consumers. The marketers are required to motivate & influence their consumers in order to initiate them to buy a particular product. The theories of motivation would help the consumers in order to see the consumer behavior of the individual. This would help the marketers in order to frame certain strategies which would instigate the consumer in order to buy a particular product.

Many a times, the marketer uses the Maslow’s need hierarchy theory to judge i.e. in which stage is the consumer. The five levels of need noticed by the marketers are Physic logical, safety, social, self esteem & self actualization needs.  All the needs identified would help to influence the behavior of the consumers.

2.1 PurposeThe purpose of this report is to give a brief explanation of the various buyers’ motivational factors which the buyer notices while going to buy a particular product. According to various authors, there are many influencing factors which affect the behavior of the consumers. Behind every successful sale there are various types of motivational factors attached by the marketer. According to the Maslow’s theory of motivation, there are five basic needs which the consumer would like to achieve.

A motivational factor refers to a type of an ongoing cycle which starts with the identification of the needs & grows in order to satisfy the needs of the consumer. This report highlights the various motivational factors which might influence the human behavior. These motivational factors help each & every marketer to increase the levels of sales.

2.2 Background

Marks & Spencer known as M&S refers to a British retailer which specializes in selling of the clothes, Home Décor, Beauty Products, luxury goods, etc. M&S refers to a store branded store headquartered at London. It has more than 700 stores all over the globe. M&S refers to stores which displays branded clothes & are priced at a very high cost.

In order to buy a particular product, the individual would require a minimum level of motivation. Motivation refers to the driving force which would help the individual to buy a particular product. Human motivation refers to the key driving force which would in site the person to buy a particular product of a particular brand. Motivation refers to one of the critical internal influence factors which would persuade the individual to try a particular product.The chosen product for this report would be to buy different type of merchandise from the M&S store.

2.3 Scope

2.4 Methodology

2.5 Assumption & Limitation

3. Motivation

3.1 Overview

Motivation refers to one of the key drivers which instigate the individuals to achieve their targets or goals. Motivation could be of two types i.e. Intrinsic or Extrinsic. There are various motivational theories helps the individual to buy a particular product. This report majorly takes into consideration the human motivation. Motivation refers to a driving force which either maximizes the pleasure or takes into consideration certain specific needs which might help them in order to achieve their goal.

According to various authors, Motivation has been defined as a process which would guide as well as initiates the individual to have a goal oriented behavior. Motivation refers to a emotional, social, biological as well as the forces which would instigate the behavior of an individual. Motivation refers to a generic term which is used when a person does something or is planning to do something.

Components of Motivation

There are majorly three components for motivation. They are Persistence, Intensity & Activation. Activation refers to a component which would help to initiate the behavior of the consumers. Persistence refers to the second component of motivation which would help the consumer to achieve a particular target. The last component of motivation refers to intensity which would help the consumers to concentrate on their buying process.

3.2 Maslow’s Theory of Motivation

The Maslow’s Theory of Motivation refers to one of the most important theories which were proposed by Abraham Maslow. This theory majorly takes into consideration human motivation. The Maslow’s theory of motivation also takes into consideration the psychology of humans in regards to consumer behavior.

The Maslow’s need hierarchy theory of motivation could be explained with the help of five different levels in a pyramid. The lowest level of the pyramid takes into consideration the most basic needs followed by self-actualization at the top.

The basic levels of the pyramid states the four basic needs such as esteem needs followed by the social needs, safety needs & the physiological needs. The different levels of pyramid states that once, one level of the pyramid have been fulfilled the other need pops up.

Following refers to the explanation of the different levels in the Maslow’s need hierarchy. They are asunder:

Physiological needs

According to Maslow’s need hierarchy theory, physiological needs refer to the most basic needs. Such type of needs refer to food, clothing, shelter, etc. It has been rendered that, unless & until the individual is satisfied with such type of needs he/she would never climb the second level in the hierarchy. The humans would not be able to do anything unless & until they fulfill such type of needs.

Safety needs

The second type of need refers to the safety needs. Once the individual fulfills the basic needs, the next type of need desired by the humans refers to the safety needs. Safety needs consists of the safety from job, security of the family, safety from natural calamities, hike in the job salary, etc. In order to get secure, the individual practices various types of insurances such as Life, fire, Flood, Marine, etc.The security needs are divided amongst the following groups. Such as:

Þ    Personal security

Þ    Health and well-being

Þ    Financial security

Love and belonging

After the fulfillment of the physiological as well as the security needs, the next level of needs which initiates refers to the social needs. The social needs refer to the needs under which the individual needs to be loved by someone. Such type of need is instigated in the human being right from the childhood. In the absence of this type of need from the hierarchy would lead to the absence of relationships, emotionally being weak, etc. Man is a social animal & hence in order to be loved a sense of belongingness is required.

In order to feel the sense of belongingness, human beings would become a part of the social groups, such as clubs, sports teams, gangs, small connections, organizations, etc. Human beings need love & to be loved by others. In the absence of such type of belongingness, human beings would feel lonely; they will go under depression, turn highly anxious, etc. With the help of such type of needs, the other two needs would be overcome.

Esteem

The fourth level of need refers to the esteem needs. Such type of needs is quit important for any human being to survive in the society. It refers to the minimum level of self respect which the individual would practice. Self esteem refers to the desire of being accepted within the group or the society. This refers to be at par with the current society norms, etc. In order to pursue the same, individuals would be required to engage themselves with various types of activities which would help them to be a part of the entire society. This would give the human beings a sense of contribution towards the society & be well addressed by the society as well. If this need would not be fulfilled by the individuals then, it might lead to decrease in the self esteem of the individuals.Self-actualization

The last type of need which any individual would be required to fulfill refers to the need of Self Actualization. This states that “what a man is expected to be, should be.” This states that, the person should be able to use its potential in the best possible manner. It must be seen that, the individual should be able to realize its potential.

According to Maslow, this level in the hierarchy refers to the last level which states that an individual aspires to be richer as compared to what he is in the present. This also states that, the individual has a desire to have everything.

It should also be noted that, all the needs are inter related. Unless & until, the first layer of the pyramid is being fulfilled, the individual would be able to fulfill the second level of needs.

3.3 Belongingness

According to the three Journal Articles, the Maslow’s need hierarchy could be very well explained.

The first article titled – “Making sales: understanding buyer motivation” states that there are two types of motivations i.e. to gain reward & avoid the amount of loss incurred. These refer to the two main motivating factors which would help any individual in order to make a decision whether to buy a particular product or not.

This aspect could be very well linked with the Maslow’s need hierarchy theory. The article states that, in order to avoid risk the individual is bound to buy Insurance. Therefore, according to the need hierarchy theory in order to be safe as well as avoid risk, human being would be required to be buy insurance policy.

It is also stated in the article, in order to be recognized by the society or the entire group the individual needs to fulfill esteem needs. It has been quoted in the article that, if your friends are having ice cream then you would also prefer to have one. This states that, the human being would have a motivation to avoid the loss of losing its friends. Another example cited states that, in order to fulfill the basic needs human beings would get a motivation to go to their work. With the help of the salary so earned, they would be able to fulfill their needs such as food, shelter, clothing, etc.

The second article titled – “Buyer Motivations = Human Needs” states that in order to sell a product, the marketer would be required to understand the various to buy a particular commodity. This article very well states how the buying motives would be concerned in fulfilling the human needs.

It has been stated by Abraham Maslow, that in order to motivate the human beings the need hierarchy theory should be adopted. According to the theory, he recommended the needs of the human beings in form of a structured hierarchy. Once a need is satisfied, the individual would be motivated to go to the next level of the theory. Unless & until, the basic needs would be satisfied the human beings would not be able to satisfy the next level needs.The Maslow’s need hierarchy states that, there are five levels of needs in a hierarchy such as Basic needs – safety needs – belongingness – esteem needs & self actualization needs.

The article takes into consideration the buying behavior of the consumers while planning to buy a home. The Maslow’s need hierarchy theory could be combined in order to see how the buyers would make a decision to buy a home.  This theory would help the consumers in order to relate the motivational level of the consumers while making a buying decision.

These could be explained with the help of the five levels stated in the Maslow’s need hierarchy theory. They are as under:

1. Physiological Needs – This refers to the most basic need & is a necessity for the survival of the individual. This refers to possess the basic means in order to survive is all-important.

2. Safety and security Need — Once the basic needs have been satisfied, the next level of need arises. After acquiring the basic means of shelter, the individual would acquire a house which would provide them with safety. Some of the examples for such type housing would be houses in society, etc.

3. Belonging Need — In this level, the individual would seek to be accepted by the entire society. Hence, the individual would like to buy a house which would be placed at a posh locality.

4. Esteem — In order to have a class & self respect, the individuals would prefer to buy a bungalow, villa, farmhouse, penthouses, etc. By purchasing such type of houses, the individuals would be given due respect.

5. Self-actualization — This refers to the highest level in the Maslow’s need hierarchy theory. In this level, the individuals would purchase something which would give  the human beings a feeling of contentment.

4.  Reflection

Consumer behavior refers to the selection, purchase and consumption of goods and services for the satisfaction of their wants. There are different processes involved in the consumer behavior. Initially the consumer tries to find what commodities he would like to consume, then he selects only those commodities that promise greater utility. After selecting the commodities, the consumer makes an estimate of the available money which he can spend. Lastly, the consumer analyzes the prevailing prices of commodities and takes the decision about the commodities he should consume.

4.1 Purchase Behavior

The purchase behavior in case of buying any merchandise would take into consideration the theories of consumer behavior. This theory would describe the buying behavior according to which the individual would prefer to buy the merchandise.

All the traits as well as characteristics such as demographics, lifestyle, attitudes, values, perception, etc should be taken into consideration. These factors would definitely affect the merchandise buying behavior of an individual. As mentioned above that, M&S refers to a high priced merchandise store therefore all the factors would be kept in mind while a buying particular merchandise.

The theory of merchandise buying behavior would take into consideration the requirements of merchandise, accessibility of the suppliers, ideal choice of the buyers or the product choice & actual supplier.

The theory of purchase behavior could be discussed with the help of the following flowchart. It is as follows:

While purchasing a particular merchandise, the consumer would take into consideration the offerings offered by M&S which would suit the customer’s requirements. If the store offers majority of the merchandise suiting the customer’s requirements, then the visitor would make the ultimate buying decision. This means that, the visitor would buy the merchandise from M&S rather than checking out the various other stores.

The other major motivators which might motivate or influence the buying decision would include the offers, discounts, broad product line, location, ambience, prices, size of the store, etc.The purchase behavior also takes into consideration the accessibility of the suppliers. This means that three distinct factors would be related under this head i.e. competitive structure of the merchandise industry, relative marketing in order to promote the product, positive as well as negative image about the product as well as the store. All the three factors mentioned above would have a strong impact which would affect the buying behavior of the consumers.

4.2 Price Competitiveness

Price refers to one of the most important elements which the consumer takes into consideration while buying a particular product. Taking into consideration the merchandise offered at M&S, price would be the critical factor which would influence the consumer behavior.

As mentioned earlier in the report that, M&S refers to a store which comprises of merchandise priced at a very high level. Therefore, before buying particular merchandise from the same, the visitor would always refer to the other brands available. This means that the customer might change its priority & buy a product which is being offered at a low price. The competition occurred due to the prices would have a major role in influencing the buying behavior of the consumers.

4.3 Quality

Quality also plays a very important role in case of influencing the customers purchase decision. While buying particular merchandise, the major thing which is to be taken into consideration after the price is the quality of the product offered. Quality refers to one o f the major factors which would help M&S to retain as well as attract more number of customers towards it. It refers to a mantra with which customer satisfaction could be practiced by any organization. In this case, M&S portrays right type of specifications at the right time with a right price tag. This helps the customer’s to rely on the brand & practice repetitive buying of the merchandise from M&S store.

5. Implication & Recommendation

Some of the recommendation to the product chosen in this report i.e. merchandise offered by M&S would be in terms to the 4P’s. These 4P’s would help M&S in order to improve its product & attract more number of customers towards itself.

Price: The prices of the merchandise offered should be priced at a reasonable level. This would help M&S in order to attract as well as retain more number of customers towards it. Price at M&S should be given more priority as compared to any other factor as this would affect the purchase behavior of the consumers.

Product: The quality of the product should be taken into consideration at M&S. Quality refers to one o f the major factors which would help M&S to retain as well as attract more number of customers towards it. It refers to a mantra with which customer satisfaction could be practiced by any organization. In this case, M&S portrays right type of specifications at the right time with a right price tag. This helps the customer’s to rely on the brand & practice repetitive buying of the merchandise from M&S store.

Promotion: Proper promotional methods should be taken into consideration which would help the company to have a greater share in the merchandise market. The various promotional tools would also help the organization to grasp the attention of the consumers. This would also help the organization in order to practice healthy competition amongst the various merchandise brands available in the market area.

Place: Place or location of the store also plays a very important role while influencing the behavior of the consumer to buy particular merchandise. The M&S stores should be located at a posche locality. This would help to attract people belonging to high class as well as those having high standard of living.

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