Work Motivation

Definition of motivation

Motivation originally comes from the Latin root word movers, which means "to move". It is derived from the word 'motive'. Motive may be defined as an inner state of our mind that activates and directs our behaviour. It makes us move to act. It is always internal to us and is externalized via behaviour. Motive is an inner state that energizes, activates, or moves and directs or channels behaviour goals. It is the stimulation of any emotion or desire operating upon one's will and promoting or driving it to action.

Motivating

It is an act of stimulating emotion or desire and promoting it to action. It may be positive motivation (i.e., incentive motivation based on reward) or negative motivation or fear motivation (based on force). Positive motivation is achieved by the co-operation of employees and they have a feeling of happiness. Negative motivation is commonly used to achieve desired results.

Meaning of motivation

Motivation is one's willingness to exert efforts towards the accomplishment of his/ her goal. Let us consider a few important definitions on motivation that will help us understand the meaning of motivation in more clear sense.

According to Fred Luthans (born in June 28, 1939 in Clinton, Lowa is a Management Professor), "Motivation is a process that starts with a physiological or psychological deficiency or need that activates behaviour or a drive that is aimed at a goal or incentive."

In the opinion of Stephen P. Robbins, "Motivation is the willingness to exert high levels of effort towards organizational goals, conditioned by the effort, ability to satisfy some individual need."

Jerry Gray and Frederick Starke defined motivation as "the result of processes, internal or external to the individual, that arouse enthusiasm and persistence to pursue a certain course of action."

Thus, motivation can be defined very simply as the willingness to exert toward the accomplishment of goal or need. There are certain motives in a worker which induce him to work and form his behaviour. These motives are invariably known as 'Needs' or 'Wants'.

There is a difference between 'need' and 'incentive'. Need is subjective to motivating situation and is internal. The 'incentive' is objective to motivating situation and is external.

Classification of Needs :

Needs are classified into : (i) Primary and (ii) Secondary.

1. Primary or Basic or Innate or Physiological Needs : These needs are important and necessary for the survival of man. These are universal and cannot be ignored though their intensity may differ. Some of such needs are food, shelter, clothing, sex, etc.

2. Secondary or Acquired Needs : These needs are related to mind and spirit. These needs are acquired from the society as one grows or gets educated. These include rivalry, self-esteem, recognition, etc. Secondary needs vary among people and affect their behaviour.

Classification of Secondary Needs : Secondary needs may further be classified into : (1) social and (2) egoistic.

(a) Social Needs are necessary to maintain his social status.

(b) Egoistic Needs relate to the 'ego' of an individual.

Both Needs are Inseparable : Primary and secondary needs are inseparable and both exist side by side in a person and cannot be separated and both combined affect the behaviour of a man.

Theories of Motivation

Motivation the forces either internal or external to a person that arouse enthusiasm and resistance to pursue a certain course of action. According to Baron et al. (2008): "Although motivation is a broad and complex concept, organizational scientists have agreed on its basic characteristics. Drawing from various social sciences, we define motivation as the set of processes that arouse, direct and maintain human behavior toward attaining some goal"

There are many different motivation theories such as:

• Attribution theory

• Equity theory

• Maslow's hierarchy of needs

• Incentive theory (psychology)

• Model of emotional labor in organizations

• Frederick Herzberg two-factor theory.

From the very beginning, when the human organizations were established, various thinkers have tried to find out the answer to what motivates people to work. Different approaches applied by them have resulted in a number of theories concerning motivation. These all theories are broadly classified into three categories :

1. Theories based on human needs (theories by Maslow, Herzberg and McClelland);

2. Theories based on human nature (theories by McGregor, Urwick and Argyris); and

3. Theories based on expectancy of human beings (theories by Vroom and Porter and Lawler). These are discussed, in brief, in that order.