The aim of this essay is to give an in depth explanation on the effect that motivation can have on an employees' commitment and performance at work. It will examine several different motivational theories and their criticisms. It will also look at how differing attitudes of an employee affect motivation. Finally it will examine how motivation is linked to commitment and performance at work.
What is Motivation? Motivation can be described as a driving force within us. It makes people try and achieve certain targets in order to satisfy a particular need or expectation. It makes an individual behave in a certain way and makes them make decisions to act in a certain way and to continue with these actions until they satisfy their needs and expectations.
According to Mitchell there are four particular characteristics that support the definition of motivation. First of all motivation is described as an individual phenomenon. This implies that every person has different characteristics and is unlike any other. This allows them to demonstrate their "uniqueness". Mitchell also suggests that motivation is intentional and is therefore under the control of an individual. From this statement we can conclude that actions that are influenced by motivation are in fact a choice of action. Mitchell also identified that motivation can be used to predict behaviour but it is not actually behaviour itself. Finally Mitchell described motivation as being multifaceted. He argued that the two most important factors of motivation are arousal and direction of choice or behaviour. In summary Mitchell defined motivation as "the degree to which an individual wants and chooses to engage in certain specified behaviours".
Maslow (1943) believed that it is...
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...ions are known as Theory X and Theory Y. If an individual is a Theory X worker then their motivation can only occur through security levels and physiological levels. He concludes that Theory X workers dislike work. They have a lack ambition and they do not want to accept any responsibility. It is therefore impossible for them to achieve a higher level such as self-actualisation and they will never realise their full potential. Theory Y workers on the other hand are motivated. Their motivation occurs at the affiliation, self-actualisation and esteem levels as well as the physiological and security levels. McGregor states that this is because Theory Y workers have self-direction and self control towards objectives and they want to accept and purposely go looking for additional responsibility. They do have ambition and are therefore more likely to fulfil their potential.
According to Robbins et al; (Robbins et al, pg 296) motivation refers to the process by which a persons efforts are energized, sustained, and directed towards a goal. This definition has three key elements: energy, direction, and persistence. Motivation is a complex and important subject, has historically been given a great deal of attention by Psychologists, who have proposed theories to explain it. (Riggio, pg 188),
Many different motivation theories have been created and dissected over the past century in an attempt to understand human behaviour and answer the question: “what creates the force needed to do things we want to do?”
What is motivation? According to text, motivation is defined as a set of factors that activate, direct, and maintain behavior, usually toward a certain goal. Motivation is the energy that makes us do things: this is a result of our individual needs being satisfied so that we have inspiration to complete the mission. These needs vary from person to person as everybody has their individual needs to motivate themselves. Depending on how motivated we are, it may further determine the effort we put into our work and therefore increase the standard of the productivity. There have been a wide variety of theories about motivation developed over the years. Several are drive-reduction theory, arousal theory, psychosocial (both incentive and cognitive) theory, and Maslow’s H...
“Motivation is the will and desire that a person has to engage in a particular behaviour or perform a particular task” (Lawley & King, P269). In life motivation will be needed to enhance the workforce in various ways, many organisations will use motivation to increase the percentage yield of an individual or to make an individual feel a part of the business or organisation. Incentives have a huge influence on behaviourist & extrinsic approach. In addition other aspects; humanist theorist, intrinsic approach, Taylorism and Fordism have a part in perception of motivation.
Motivation alludes to the mental procedures that fortify energy and determination of wilful activities went for some objective. When this research started it was thought that most employees that tried hard and tried to demonstrate goal-driven behavior had a need they were trying to satisfy. A great example of a need satisfier is someone that wants to work with a team member on the project. They have the need of companionship and when this behavior is satisfied they show a motivation that is related to the need theory. Abraham Maslow was one of the psychologists that were researching the hierarchy of needs. Maslow found that all humans had a need they need to satisfy. (open.lib.umn.edu) When the need was satisfied the mind no longer sees that need as a motivator. SAS inc knew what their employees need were. They applied the needs theory to motivate the employees to work
"Motivation: The psychological feature that arouses an organism to action towards a desired goal, the reason for that action.”
What is motivation? Motivation is described as the DESIRE to achieve a goal through the commencement or launching of goal oriented behaviour. There are two ways that people are motivated, Positive motivation and Negative motivation.
Motivation is the force that transforms and uplifts people to be productive and perform in their jobs. Maximizing employee’s motivation is a necessary and vital to successfully accomplish the organization’s targets and objectives. However, this is a considerable challenge to any organizations managers, due to the complexity of motivation and the fact that, there is no ready made solution or an answer to what motivates people to work well (Mullins,2002).
Motivation is an important concept which is critical for understanding of and improvement in organizational behaviour and performance. It is therefore important for the managers to understand motivation. It is an important tool which they can use to get more out of their employees and increase organizational performance. Motivation can be defined as the factors, both internal as well as external which arouse in individuals the desire and commitment for a job (Mele, 2005, p. 15). Organizational performance on the other hand refers to the degree to which the organizational objectives have been achieved.
Motivation characterized as the strategy that starts, guides, and keeps up goal-oriented behaviors. Motivation is what causes you to act, whether it is getting a glass of water to reduce thirst or perusing a book to increment your information.. What are the things that actually urges us to act? There are many theories of motivation that are viewed in different approaches. We have the instinct, drive-reduction, arousal, incentive, cognitive and Hierarchy of needs approaches.
When it is discovered that a worker can fulfill the requirements of their job, but are experiencing shortcomings in doing so, many times it is believed that worker motivation may be the root of the problem (Laird 95). What, though, is work motivation? According to Laird (2006), “motivation is a fundamental component of performance “ and “is the reason that someone chooses to do some things and chooses not to do others”. In other words, work motivation is what energizes workers to the level of output required to fulfill a task, directs their energy towards the objectives that they need to accomplish, and sustains that level of effort over a period of time (Steers et al., 2004). In essence, worker motivation is what gets the job done. Employee motivation has always been a central problem in the workplace, and, as an individual in a supervisory position, it becomes ones duty to understand and institute systems that ensure the proper motivation of your subordinates. Proper motivation of employees can ensure high productivity and successful workflow, while low worker motivation can result in absenteeism, decreased productivity rates, and turnover. A large body of research has been produced regarding motivation, and much of this research is applicable to the workplace. Due to the nature of man, motivation varies from individual to individual, and, because of this, there is no one system that is the best for ensuring worker motivation in every organizational situation, and, as a product, many theories have been created to outline what drives people to satisfactorily complete their work tasks. Throughout the course of this document, the three main types of these motivational theories will be outlined and examples of each as well...
Motivation is therefore the force that transforms and uplifts people to be productive and perform in their jobs. Maximising an employee's motivation is necessary and vital to successfully accomplish the organisation's objectives and targets. However this is a considerable challenge to any organisation's managers, due to the complexity of motivation and the fact that there is no ready made solution or an answer to what motivates people to work well (Mullins, 2002).
majority of employees need motivation to feel good about their jobs and perform optimally. Some employees are money oriented while others find acknowledgment and accolades personally motivating. Motivation levels within the workplace have a point-blank impact on employee effciency. Workers who are driven and excited about their jobs carry out their obligations/duties to the best of their capacity and generation numbers increment therefore. An impetus is an inspiring impact that is intended to drive
Aaron, Simon, and Wesley possess strong intrinsic motivation. Managers desire to strengthen within their employees. Monetary rewards are not necessarily the right solution as money is an extrinsic motivator, meaning it is a tangible reward that is not achieved solely individually but rather received from another source (Evans 1970). As Hertzberg’s motivation theory explained. "Hertzberg’s motivation theory concentrates more on the factors which lead to job satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Factors that lead to job satisfaction are called satisfiers or motivators because they elicit positive feelings towards the job and provide personal satisfaction. These include achievement, the nature of work itself (challenging work provides job satisfaction) and advancement and responsibility. Satisfiers motivate the employee to greater productivity. The Dissatisfies (hygiene factors) describe the relationship of the employee to the context of the environment in which he performs his job. These are those elements within a working environment which help generate negative feelings towards the job and do not induce people towards greater effort. Dissatisfies include uncomfortable work conditions, company policy and administration, technical supervision, salary, interpersonal relations, the superiors, subordinates and
The job of a manager in the workplace is to get things done through employees. To do this the manager should be able to motivate employees. But that’s easier said than done! Motivation practice and theory are difficult subject, touching on several disciplines.