Understanding human behaviour

by

Pierre de Bruin du Plessis

January, 12, 2004
Pierre du Plessis, 199 Outspan Drive, Bendor Park, Polokwane, 0699, Limpopo Province, South Africa

This "fruit for thought" article is for all human beings, who somehow find themselves in charge of subordinates, not quite knowing how to motivate them.

1. MOTIVATION DEFINED:

1.1 INTRODUCTION:

Motivation is the energetic behaviour by individuals to achieve goals and satisfy personal desires. True motivation stems from within the individual who wants to satisfy his/her needs, wants and desires. In business, the individual can satisfy some of his needs by achieving management productivity goals. The motivational level of a person is the product of internal motivational factors (based on needs and self-worth perceptions), as well as external motivational factors in his surroundings. So, to say that you cannot motivate another person, but that only he/she can motivate himself/herself, is just not true. You can directly uplift self-worth and influence the external factors that are conducive to upliftment of self-worth.

2. MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS:

2.1 INTERNAL HIERARCHY OF NEEDS:

A satisfied need is not a motivator of behaviour.

The higher order egoistic needs will become more important to the individual once the lower order physiological and safety needs have been satisfied.

The absence of hygiene factors will cause dissatisfaction, but their presence will not satisfy. The presence of motivational factors will however, lead to satisfaction of egoistic needs.

To motivate, one must then concentrate on the satisfiers.

2.2 EXTERNAL FACTORS:

Some of the external factors that have an influence on the satisfiers in the work environment, are as follows:

• Organisational climate
• Leadership styles (democratic, autocratic)
• Supervision (close, loose)
• Formal structure (hierarchy, rules, regulations, policies, communication)
• Supervisor attitudes
• Relationships with superiors
• Team spirit and effectiveness
• Development and training
• Degree of participation in decision-making
• Degree of challenge in goal-setting
• Praise and recognition methods (formal and informal)
• Degree of delegation (independence, initiative allowed)
• Body language
• Application of constructive motivation

3. INDIVIDUAL INTERPERSONAL RESPONSE TRAITS:

3.1 PRIMARY TRAITS:

• Role fulfilment - degree of dominance or self- confidence, initiative.
• Attitude towards others - degree of sympathy or sensitivity, sociability.
• Expressive style - degree of competitiveness, aggressiveness, exhibitionism.

3.2. CHARACTERISTICS OF PRIMARY TRAITS:

The characteristics of a primary trait can differ from person to person. Some characteristics are the following:

• Stability
• Pervasiveness
• Consistency

3.3 WHEN NEEDS ARE FULFILLED:

• A person moves on to higher needs.
• Fulfilment of higher needs have lasting effects on self-esteem and self-confidence.

3.4 WHEN NEEDS ARE FULFILLED TOO EASILY:

The individual can forego learning experiences that develop him, which can lead to overestimation of his abilities. He may become over-confident with a too high aspiration level.

3.5 FRUSTRATION:

Obstacle sources that can block goal achievement are the physical environment, biological limitations (motor and mental incapacities), psychological mix (conflicting needs) and social environment (norms).

Defensive reactions due to frustration, are as follows:

• Aggression - attack on barrier or person
• Regression - falling back on less mature behaviour
• Withdrawal - removal from obstacle and escape in daydreaming, work, sleep etc.
• Repression - inhibitive action due to subconscious habits and values
• Reaction formation - conscious opposite reaction to counter a deep-seated subconscious opposing value
• Rationalisation - justification of beliefs by inventive reasoning
• Projection - ascribing to others one's own faults
• Autism - unrealistic, unchecked emotional brooding about others
• Identification - modelling oneself after another individual or group

3.6 FORMATION OF ATTITUDES:

Perceived values and beliefs form the basis for the formation of attitudes. An attitude can be either towards or against something; also called positive or negative attitude. It can further differ in intensity from one person to another, where their attitudes have the same directional tendency.

New information that alters values and beliefs, the type of motivation that is applied, body language and the degree of sincere interest exhibited in human beings, can change attitudes.

3.7 ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT HUMAN BEHAVIOUR (DOUGLAS McGREGOR):

3.7.1 THEORY X: THE TRADITIONAL VIEW OF DIRECTION AND CONTROL

• The average human being has an inherent dislike of work and will avoid it if he can.
• Most people must be coerced, controlled, directed and threatened with punishment to get them to put forth adequate effort towards the achievement of organisational objectives.
• The average human being prefers to be directed, wishes to avoid responsibility, has relatively little ambition and wants security above all.

3.7.2 THEORY Y: THE INTEGRATION OF INDIVIDUAL AND ORGANISATIONAL GOALS

• The expenditure of physical and mental effort in work is as natural as play or rest.
• External control and the threat of punishment are not the only means for bringing about effort towards organisational objectives. Man will exercise self-direction and self-control in the service of objectives to which he is committed.
• Commitment to objectives depends on the rewards associated with their achievement.
• The average human being learns under proper conditions, not only to accept but to seek responsibility.
• The capacity to exercise a relatively high degree of imagination, ingenuity and creativity in the solution of organisational problems is widely, not narrowly, distributed in the population.
• Under the conditions of modern industrial life, the intellectual potentialities of the average human being are only partially utilised.

Theory Y is far more consistent with modern knowledge in the social sciences.

4. TYPICAL REACTIONS TO CHANGE:

The typical reactions to change are gradual. It can be illustrated by imagining someone climbing the rungs of a ladder:

5. MANAGING CHANGE:

5.1 ROLE OF THE SUPERVISOR/MANAGER:

Change causes instability, uncertainty, insecurity and anxiety in people.

The role of the manager is therefore to provide some security, stability and understanding of the effects of change. The manager must make the painful process more bearable and increase the motivational level of those who must carry out the changes.

5.2 COPING WITH CHANGE:

5.3 GUIDE-LINES FOR COPING WITH CHANGE:

5.3.1 Create opportunities for participation in the planning of the change;

5.3.2 visualize a clear picture about the future state and communicate this frequently to all involved;

5.3.3 share as much information as possible about your plans;

5.3.4 plan small steps with minimal changes;

5.3.5 minimize surprises by giving advance warning;

5.3.6 allow people time to get used to new ideas;

5.3.7 give recognition and praise for good ideas and performance;

5.3.8 publicise improvements;

5.3.9 show empathy but remain committed to the standards and goals;

5.3.10 people must see where they fit into the bigger picture;

5.3.11 encourage team work;

5.3.12 convey and cultivate the feeling that the change will provide people with a safe haven;

5.3.13 be supportive; and

5.3.14 provide clear direction

6. HOW TO INFLUENCE PEOPLE:

The following statements are a few extracts from the book "How to win friends and influence people," by Dale Carnegie, which was written in the first half of this century:

Even in technical areas like engineering, the contribution towards success of a person is only 15% by his technical knowledge and skills, but 85% by his ability in human engineering.

To criticise someone is to belittle and hurt him.

The strongest and most common craving in all humans is the desire to be important and distinguished. Every person is thirsty for appreciation. A man's name is to him the sweetest sound on earth.

Be sincere with your appreciation and lavish in your praise. Stop to ponder on your own importance, abilities and needs and try to see the good qualities in the other person.

If you want to influence other people, you have to forget your own needs, as only you are interested in them. Rather concentrate on what others want, talk about that and show them how to get it.

The individual who is not interested in his fellow human beings has the biggest problems in life and inflicts the most sorrow on others.

Give time, energy, unselfishness and consideration to prove benevolence.

You must enjoy meeting other people if you want them to enjoy meeting you.

Positive thinking causes creative power.

A smile costs nothing, but achieves much. It takes only a fleeting moment, but can exist in memory forever. It brings happiness in the family, goodwill in business and is the password of friends.

Like the dog wagging its tail with joy, body language has great expressive power in conveying feelings and emotion.

7. EFFECTIVE GROUPS:

It can be stated that what is good for the individual is also good for the group, in terms of motivational factors. So, instead of analysing the behaviour of groups, let us rather look at the behavioural traits of effective groups as disclosed in the book "The human side of enterprise," by D. McGregor:

7.1 Informal, relaxed atmosphere;

7.2 open participation in discussions;

7.3 clear-cut common goals that members are committed to;

7.4 members are open and sensitive to each other's ideas;

7.5 disagreements are logically clarified without domination;

7.6 decisions are reached by consensus and willingness to support them;

7.7 criticism is comfortably frank and open;

7.8 free expression of ideas and feelings;

7.9 clear action assignments;

7.10 no power struggle for leadership, as leadership shifts from task to task;

7.11 members are self-drivers;

7.12 good relations and friendship exist between members

Studies have revealed that group problem-solving is far superior to individual problem-solving. The reasons are obvious, namely multiplication of knowledge, intelligence and ideas.

8. The principles of improving self-confidence, are also applicable to other individuals and groups:

8.1 Help people to build self-image;

8.2 help them to become possibility thinkers;

8.3 be a Wizard and change their self-image beliefs which are based on half-truths;

8.4 teach them how to apply constructive image building (positive self-talk, positive pictures, positive emotion, cognitive dissonance and the subconscious that drives you to act out the new belief);

8.5 use visualisation to help them see sooner and adapt more easily (paint them a picture);

8.6 give opportunities for people to prove by real performance that they are worthy of higher self-image;

8.7 apply constructive motivation towards others;

8.8 teach them the life-giving value of continuous goal-setting;

8.9 teach them the simulation and affirmation techniques;

8.10 teach them that changes can be stimulating, adventurous and pleasurable and in any case part of everyday life. We might just learn how to handle them better through visualisation and goal- setting.

9. SUMMARY:

If you apply the principles of common decency to enhance human dignity and combine it with the power of the imagination, you not only have the gift to influence and motivate people, but also the means to induce growth of self-esteem in others.

Understanding your own behaviour first, will enable you to better understand and interpret the behaviour of others. Then you will also be able to treat them better through your own interpersonal relationship to encourage co-operation and higher performance.

People thrive on attention. People blossom when their opinions are sought. People develop into go-getters if they have been party to decisions and goal setting. People have an innate desire to communicate, to be communicated with and to be listened to. http://www.digiproducts.net/

© This article may be re-published only in ezines, magazines, newspapers and web sites, as long as it remains unchanged, together with the accompanying signatures and this copyright notice.

Pierre du Plessis, owner of several businesses and author of the ebooks titled "Easy Manage", which empowers managers to put strategic goal achievement on auto-pilot, "Leadership Development", "Nettruth" and several others. Web site administrator and owner of Management Haven, Leadership Haven, Easy Manage, Training Tools, Digiproducts and Jungle Truth. Company: Leaders Circle, specialising in corporate consulting and the design of training manuals and lectures for the development of human resources. http://www.digiproducts.net/