Chathura Kularathna

Motivational Theories Motivational theories help in identifying the human behavior and desires which will differ from one individual to another (Venugopalan, 2007) . Application of motivational theories have helped the managers to identify the needs of the employees who have different objectives and goals in their lives (Haque, et al., 2014) . Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Figure 4  - Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs                 (slideshare.net, 2015) Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is theory of motivation which has been designed by Abraham Maslow. It discusses about 5 levels of needs which should be fulfilled in order to become a healthy individual (Pardee, 2019) . First level is the physiological needs which include breathing, food, water (Shanks, 2019) . The organizations thereby have to take necessary steps in fulfilling the physiological needs of its employees in order to keep them motivated while increasing the performance

Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory discusses about the factors that lead employees of an organization either towards job satisfaction or dissatisfaction (Dartey-Baah & Amoako, 2011) . It consists of both the hygiene as well as motivator factors. Motivator factor increases job satisfaction while improving the hygiene factors may decrease the chance of employees being dissatisfied about their jobs (Ball, 2003) . Figure 5 - Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory (Harper Zhou's Blog, n.d.) Motivator factors are directly connected to the job and it is the satisfaction that an employee gains through engagement of his/her duties and responsibilities pertaining to the job or the job role (Haruna, 2013) .   According to (Ball, 2003) , job satisfaction can be increased by follows, Ø   The employees should feel a sense of achievement The feeling which appreciates the contribution of each and every employee and his/her role in the great achie

Vroom’s Expectancy Theory Vroom’s Expectancy Theory discusses about three factors, expectancy, instrumentality and valence. Vroom believes that motivation and performance are inter connected and uses the three variables to further elaborate on it (Parijat & Bagga, 2014) . Figure 6 - Vroom's Expectancy Theory (Expert Program Management, 2019) The first phase is the expectancy where the employees believe that if they make an effort it will bring about the expected performance level. The next is the instrumentality where the employees believe that great performance will always bring about valued outcomes. The final phase is the valence where employees shows the importance of the rewards for them. This may differ from person to person based on their preference (Arslan & Staub, 2012) . Video 6 - What is Vroom's Expectancy Theory                                                                                                                    

Importance of applying motivational theories to garment industry Importance of applying the motivational theories to garment industry can be identified as follows, Ø   Supports proper utilization of resources Garment is an industry where proper utilization of resources is considered to be essential in order to make sure that the process runs smoothly (Aina, 2014). Ø   Willingness and interest to work hard Motivated employees willingly engage in hard work. Motivation theories help in creating that hardworking and can-do attitude among its employees (Devikarani, 2014) . Ø   Supports in increasing productivity Motivational theories help in increasing the productivity through proper identification employee needs and desires (Haque, Haque, & Islam, 2014). Ø   Achievement of organizational goals Motivational theories support in taking the employees towards the desired organizational goals through proper evaluation and planning (William, 2010). Ø   Supp

Motivational Strategies Motivational strategies should be applied by the managers in order to ensure the sustainability of the motivation which will empower its employees to stay disciplined to its organization and the management (Grace, et al., 2014) . Figure 8 - Motivational Strategies (Slideshare.net, n.d.) Employee Empowerment Employee empowerment consists of trusting, encouraging and providing enough authority to an employee to complete a task. It empowers the employees to complete a task making the maximum out of the authority that has been granted (Pradhan, et al., 2014) . Employee Empowerment can be seen as a common strategy in garment industry in Sri Lanka, especially as they produce in bulks, the management has given the selected employees the authority to carry out the production under minimum supervision (Rathnasooriya & Jayatilake, 2016) . Incentive Schemes Managers reward their employees as a means of appreciation towards the posit