Background of Study
One of the foremost questions in the minds of managers at all level right from the Chief Executives Officers to the supervisor at the lowest level is how to motivate colleagues and subordinates to put their best efforts at the task in hand.
A person is hired because of his competence he has to bring on a particular job. Beyond competence, employers also look for evidence of how willing a person is to undertake tasks, to learn specific skills and job knowledge and the enthusiastically tackle assignments. Willingness involves the motivation that is on ground to spur the employee to exhibit his best at work and add value to the organization.
The questions of motivation are one, which human resources persons and psychologists are trying to unravel all the time. No two individuals are alike. Each individual has his own dogmas, beliefs and value system; each individual has his own set of priorities. So different things motivate different people. Not only this, but also different things motivate different people at different time. What motivates a person now need not motivate the person later.
Several theories have evolved to help explain different facets of motivation. We begin with the concept that people have different needs that direct their behaviour. Some of the needs depend on personal circumstances and outside events. Needs can cause people to seek out experiences that enrich their lives. Alternatively, needs can trigger behaviour to avoid threatening conditions and feelings of deprivation. Other needs are learned from reward experiences. These learned needs become relatively persistent motives that influence a person to seek out experiences that satisfy a particular need, such as the need for achievement or power.
A different explanation of motivation focuses on expectancies, or people’s expectations about whether they can affect performance outcomes and how closely desired rewards are linked to performance. People also consider the equity of how they are treated, and those evaluations help determine whether they will appear motivated or not. As you develop in the workplace and perhaps find yourself with managerial responsibilities, you will be more productive if you understand the needs, expectations and conditions that enable individuals and groups to learn and exhibit qualities of effective motivation.
A lot of research has been done on what motivates employees and whether employees work as they love the work for the money or it is for both. Social scientists have found empirical evidence that money is not the only source of motivation. Many have propounded various theories of motivation. The most famous theory of motivation factors is the one formulated by Maslow.
An employee’s performance typically is influenced by motivation, ability, the work environment. Some deficiencies can be addressed by providing training or altering the environment, motivation problems are not as easily addressed
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