Introduction to motivation

Firstly I believe that we need to understand what motivation is before we can

understand why there are lots of motivational theories.‘Motivation' comes from the Latin
word movere, meaning ‘to move' (kreitner R., kinicki A., Buelens M., 2002, p: 176) which
means as fact, need, emotion and organic state which encourages a person to take an action.A
person's performance at work is affected by several individual factors (Personality, attitudes
and beliefs, motivation, perception) but in particular, by Motivation. The dictionary defines
motivation as “the reason why somebody does something or behaves in a particular way”
(Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English, 2000, p1128). Motivation is a
general and common word in the business world but it is quiet difficult to explain it in a
scientific way. The idea or concept of motivation is quite different from other concepts like as
instincts, drives and reaction of policy but at some extent it is also related with theses all
concepts. People must be motivated to achieve certain goal or ambitions in life whether it
may personal or business but it is always related with drives means eager to get something by
anyway. In addition, motivation must be co-related with the ambitions. People are only
motivated after setting up certain goals. Except natural behavior, motivation should only be
on the base of emotional feelings. Motivation may come and draw non understandable
reactions. Motivation refers to the energizing states of animals and humans. Motivation leads
to the instigation, persistence, energy or arousal, and direction of behavior. Motivation may
involve biological survival, as in hunger or thirst, and it involves a wide range of learned
processes. Environmental cues and goals are key in the study of motivation. Motivation may
involve approach, such as seeking success on a task, or it may involve avoidance, such as
seeking to avoid failure on a task. Many events are motivating, and motivation disposition
differs from motivation arousal. One may become fearful or anxious as a motivational
disposition, but this differs from being actually aroused, that is, motivated, in a given moment
or situation.
 DEFINE MOTIVATION

Motivation is defined as "a human psychological characteristic that add to a person's degree
of commitment. It is the management process of in¬‚uencing employees' behavior". (Badu,
2005)

Conversely, Bartol and Martin (1998) relate motivation to the force that stimulates behavior,
provide direction to behavior, and underlies the tendency to prevail. In other words
individuals must be sufficiently stimulated and energetic, must have a clear focus on what is
to be achieved, and must be willing to commit their energy for a long period of time to realize
their aim in order to achieve goals.

However, other than motivation being a force that stimulates behavior, Vroom (1964)
emphasized on the 'voluntary actions'. Supported by Steers et al. (2004), Vroom (1964)
defined motivation as "a process governing choice made by persons...among alternative
forms of voluntary activity." Similarly Kreitner and Kinicki (2004) assumed that motivation
incorporate those psychological processes that create the arousal, direction and persistence of
voluntary actions that are goal oriented.

Quite differently from the other definitions, Locke and Latham (2004) identified that
motivation influence people's acquisition of skills and the extent to which they use their
ability. According to the authors "the concept of motivation refers to internal factors that
impel action and to external factors that can act as inducements to action. The three aspects of
action that motivation can affect are direction (choice), intensity (effort), and duration
(persistence). Motivation can affect both the acquisition of people's skills and abilities; and
also the extent to which they utilize their skills and abilities" (Locke and Latham, 2004).

In a nut shell, different authors have put forward the concept of motivation differently.
Nonetheless, these definitions have three common aspects, that is, they are all principally
concerned with factors or events that stimulate, channel, and prolong human behavior over
time (Steers et al. 2004).
 1. The earliest views of motivation
One of the earliest views of motivation is Frederick W Taylor et al. (1911) scientific
management theory. Taylor (1911) with regards to employee motivation proposed a
paternalistic approach to managing workers and argued that workers are "economic men" and
in order to motivate them, workers should be paid higher wages. The author also argued that
the higher is the wage rate, the higher will be the level motivation and productivity.
Furthermore, Taylor points out that many payment methods were ineffective, as they did not
reward efficiency and he believed that a differential piece-work incentive system should be
replaced with a piece rate incentive system (Wren, 2005). In other words workers should be
paid according to the number of units produced in order to motivate them to work.

On the other hand in line with building on the concept of motivation Elton Mayo (1953) came
up with the Human Relations approach whereby the emphasis is laid on non-economic
motivators. According to Elton Mayo (1953), if objectives of organization's are to be met, it
must attempt to understand, respect and consider the emotions, sense of recognition and
satisfaction that is the non-monetary needs of workers. He believed that employees are not
just concern with money but also they need to have their social needs to be met in order to be
motivated to work. He is of view that workers enjoy interactions and managers should treat
them as people who have worthwhile opinions.

Furthermore, McGregor (1960) postulates Theory X and Theory Y which is based on

assumptions about people and work. According to this theory, there are two types of
assumption made with regards to employees whereby theory X assumes that employees are
lazy and therefore theory X suggests that in order to motivate employees a more autocratic
style of management is required. On the other hand theory Y assumes that workers enjoy
work, committed to objectives of the organization and will apply self control and self directed
in the pursuit of organizational objectives and therefore does not require external control.
 Key Figures & Theories

Abraham Maslow
Abraham Maslow was a humanistic psychologist who believed people were motivated by
survival and other needs. The needs he identified were physiological, security, needs of
belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.
 Physical needs: food, water, sleep

 Security/safety: shelter, safe environment

 Belongingness and love: friends, family, and intimacy

 Esteem: Respect, self-esteem, recognition

 Self-actualization: achieving an individual's full potential

He organized these needs into a triangle he called the hierarchy of needs. Maslow believed all
people had an innate desire or drive to become self-actualized; however, people met their
needs according to a particular order or hierarchy. The most important needs for life are those
that are physically sustaining such as food, water, and shelter. Maslow stated that people had
to fulfill these basic needs before other needs such as esteem and belonging could be met.
Frederick Herzberg
Frederick Herzberg proposed a two-factor theory of motivation based on his research with
job satisfaction. His theory is also referred to as the motivation-hygiene theory. The
motivation piece of his theory states that people are motivated towards behaviors that offer
growth and personal satisfaction. Hygiene refers to physical and emotional comforts.
Herzberg believed that people are motivated to avoid deprivation. For example, people work
to avoid being fired or losing pay. You may notice that his two-factor theory sounds familiar
to the intrinsic versus extrinsic model. Motivation would be considered intrinsic while
hygiene corresponds to extrinsic motivation.
Another important piece of this theory is that motivation can give positive satisfaction but if
not met, it won't necessarily create dissatisfaction. On the other hand, hygiene factors won't
motivate a person to action but if they aren't met, they will cause dissatisfaction. In other
words, people who get great benefits at their job won't necessarily be motivated to work
harder. If they don't have any benefits, however, they will be unhappy or dissatisfied. In
terms of motivation, people may have higher satisfaction at their jobs if they feel competent
and are given appropriately challenging tasks. If they aren't given growth opportunities, it
doesn't mean they will have a decrease in job satisfaction.

Douglas McGregor
Douglas McGregor proposed "Theory X" and "Theory Y" to explain motivation in the
workplace. His Theory X was that people avoid work because they don't like it. (is that
profound or what?) People who meet the criteria for theory x are not ambitious, they want to
do the minimum of work required, and they only complete tasks for job security. On the other
hand, "Theory Y" refers to people who are creative and want responsibility. These people are
usually ambitious and gain satisfaction from work.
McGregor believed that if the motives behind work were understood, managers could meet
workers on their level and use the correct strategies to motivate each type. For example, if
you are a theory x worker, then you won't be motivated to try harder if the reward was a
promotion. To you, a promotion would mean more responsibility and more work that you
didn't want to do. Therefore, I would need to use tactics such as performance reviews that
you would need to score highly on to keep your job.
David McClelland
David McClelland proposed the theory that people not only have needs, but they develop
more needs as they mature. His theory, the acquired needs theory, consisted of 3 specific
needs; achievement, affiliation, and power. Achievement is the need to master tasks and be
successful. Affiliation is the need to form positive relationships. And lastly, power is the need
to be in control or have authority over others.

B. F. Skinner
Skinner believed that people are motivated by rewards. Skinner's theory, operant
conditioning, concerns reinforcement and punishment. Reinforcement is a stimulus that is
given immediately after a behavior that will increase the likelihood that the target behavior
will be repeated. Punishment is a stimulus that is given immediately after a behavior that will
decrease the likelihood that the target behavior will be repeated. Reinforcement and
Punishment are also further divided into 2 types, positive and negative. Positive is something
that is added while negative means something has been taken away. These types are outlined
in the following table:

Reinforcement Punishment

Something is added to increase Something is added to

Positive the likelihood a behavior will decrease the likelihood a
occur behavior will occur

Something (usually pleasant)

Something (usually unpleasant)
us taken away to decrease the
Negative is taken away to increase the
likelihood a behavior will
likelihood a behavior will occur
occur

An example of a powerful negative reinforcer is a screaming child. The sound is so annoying

that many adults will give the child anything he or she wants in order to get the screaming to
stop. The child will stop screaming (take away the piercing sound) when the adult gives him
or her candy (increase likelihood that behavior occurs.) Therefore, the child used negative
reinforcement to motivate the adult to action, e.g. giving candy. Unfortunately, the parent
used positive reinforcement by giving in to the child which will motivate the child will have
more tantrums in the future!