Motivation
Meaning and Definition of Motivation
Motivation is the act of inspiring and encouraging employees to devote maximum effort to achieve objectives. It is a psychological and human aspect. People do something to fulfill their basic and social needs. Motivation is an instrument through which management understands why and how workers interact and work in accordance with organizational requirements. Motivation energizes behavior of subordinates and directs them towards the attainment of a common goal. As such motivation is the art of inspiring and encouraging subordinates to do work in an effective way so that both organizational and individual objectives can be achieved.
Nature/Features of Motivation
Motivation is a psychological and human aspect. It influences the behavior of subordinates. The main features of motivation are
- psychological process,
- continuous process,
- concentrated total individual,
- complex and on unpredictable,
- pervasive function,
- influences the behaviour,
- positive or negative.
Process of motivation
Process motivation can understand as relationship between needs, drives, and incentives. A brief about motivation process is as follows:
- Needs: Needs are created when there is physiological and psychological imbalance in human beings. Need is the beginning stage of the motivation process. For the fulfillment of unlimited needs, people do work.
- Drives: Physiological and psychological drives are action-oriented. Drives or motives are set up to make it easy to fulfill needs. They are the major step of motivational process. For example when people have need for food that is converted into a hunger drive.
- Incentives: Incentive is the end part of motivational cycle. It helps to fulfill needs and reduce drive. When people get incentives it helps to restore physical and psychological balance.
Importance of Motivation
Motivation plays significant role effectiveness of managerial functions. The managerial functions become worthless if motivation is terminated. For better performance of the organization, it is the responsibility of management to motivate the staff. Some points of significance of motivation are
- lead to profitable operation,
- high level of productivity,
- best remedy for resistance to change,
- effective use of human resources,
- satisfaction of employees,
- minimizes disputes and strike,
- basis of coordination,
- stability of workforce,
- minimizes supervision cost,
- achievement of organizational goal
Techniques/Factors of Motivation
Management may use different techniques to motivate employees. The common techniques/factors of motivation to employees are; (Monetary & Non-Monetary)
- financial incentives,
- participation
- delegation of authority,
- job security,
- job enlargement,
- job enrichment,
- job rotation,
- reinforcement,
- competition
- quality of work-life
Positive and Negative Motivations
On the basis of approach, motivation may be positive or negative.
Positive motivation is also known as ‘carrot approach. It initiates to offer rewards to persuade employees by providing both monetary and non-monetary benefits.
Negative motivation is also known as the ‘stick’ approach. It initiates to hold out some punishment to employees to induce desired behaviour. Negative incentives can also be monetary or non-monetary. As far as possible, management has to use positive motivation for the encouragement to the employees and to develop their efficiency.
Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory
Maslow was a clinical psychologist who developed a theory of human motivation to help him understand the needs of his patients. Maslow proposed that individuals experience a range of needs, and will be motivated to fulfill whichever is most powerful at the time (Maslow, 1970). What he termed lower-order needs are dominant until they are at least partially satisfied. Normal individuals would then turn their attention to satisfying needs at the next level, so that higher-order needs would gradually become dominant.
Maslow saw human needs in the form of a hierarchy, ascending from lowest to the highest. He classified human needs into five stages. They are as follows:
- Physiological Needs: Physiological needs are also known as basic needs These needs involve food, water, clothes, shelter, rest and other similar basic needs. Such needs might be satisfied by providing appropriate wages and a better working environment.
- Safety and security need: Every human being seeks physical safety and economic security. Economic security means an assurance about the fulfillment of basic needs on a continuous basis. Physical security needs include protection against unexpected events like fire, accident etc. Social security needs include a need for security in old age, fever, and permanent incapability
- Social needs: Human beings are social animals and they want to live in society and want to consume social elements. These social elements include belongingness, friendship, love and affection, social acceptance, social status and prestige etc.
- Esteem needs: These needs are psychological in nature and at a higher level in the hierarchy. There are two types of esteem needs self-esteem and public esteem, In an organization, management can fulfill ego needs by defining the position and by developing the system of reward and punishment.
- Self-actualization needs: These are the highest level needs in Maslow’s need hierarchy. At this level, individuals seek challenging work assignments that allow for creativity and opportunities for personal growth and advancement. Management can motivate such employees by providing creative and challenging work In fact, such workers expect decision-making positions.
Frederick Herzberg – two-factor theory
Herz- berg (1959) related motivation to the nature of a person’s work. He developed his theory from interviews with 200 engineers and accountants about their experience of work. The researchers asked them to recall a time when they had felt exceptionally good about their job, and then the events preceding those feelings. The researchers then asked respondents to recall a time when they had felt particularly bad about work, and the background to that. Analysis showed that when respondents recalled good times they frequently mentioned one or more of:
- achievement;
- recognition;
- work itself;
- responsibility;
- advancement.
They mentioned these much less frequently when describing the bad times. When talking about the bad times they most frequently recalled these factors:
- company policy and administration;
- supervision;
- salary;
- interpersonal relations;
- working conditions.
They mentioned these much less frequently when describing the good times.
Herzberg concluded that factors associated with satisfaction describe people’s relationship to what they were doing the nature of the task, the responsibility or recognition. He named these ‘motivator factors’, as they seemed to influence people to put on more effort. The factors associated with dissatisfaction described conditions surrounding the work – such as supervision or company policy. He named these ‘hygiene’ or (‘maintenance’) factors as they served mainly to prevent dissatisfaction, not to encourage performance.
Herzberg concluded that satisfaction comes from within, through doing a task that brings a sense of achievement, recognition or of other motivator factors. Managers cannot require motivation, though they can destroy it by some thoughtless act.
Herzberg believed that motivation depends on whether a job is intrinsically challenging and provides opportunities for recognition. He linked motivation with ideas about job design, and especially the motivational effects of job enrichment.
