Motivation

Engr. Lito I. Mauro

Definitions of Motivation
Motivation is an inspirational process which impels
the members of the team to pull their weight
effectively to give their loyalty to the group, to
carry out the tasks properly that they have
accepted, and generally to play an effective part
in the job that the group has undertaken.
Motivation is an important factor which encourages
persons to give their best performance and help
in reaching enterprise goals.
A strong positive motivation will enable the
increased output of employees but a negative
motivation will reduce their performance.
A key element in personnel management is
motivation.
It is the core of management which shows that
every human being gives him a sense of worth in
face-to face groups which are most important to
him.
A supervisor should strive to treat individuals with
dignity and a recognition of their personal
worth.
The Encyclopedia of Management:
Motivation refers to degree of readiness of an
organism to pursue some designated goal and
implies the determination of the nature and locus
of the forces, including the degree of readiness.
Dubin:
Motivation is the complex of forces starting and
keeping a person at work in an organization.
Vance:
Motivation implies any emotion or desire which so
conditions one’s will that the individual is
properly led into action.
Vitiles:
Motivation represents an unsatisfied need which
creates a state of tension or disequilibrium, causing
the individual to make in a goal-directed pattern
towards restoring a state of equilibrium by
satisfying the need.
Memoria:
Motivation is a willingness to expend energy to
achieve a goal or reward.
It is a force that activates dormant energies and sets
in motion the action of the people.
It is the function that kindles a burning passion for
action among the human beings of an
organization.
Berelson and Steiner:
A motive is an inner state that energizes, activates, or
moves and directs or channels behavior goals.

Lillis:
Motive is the stimulation of any emotion or desire
operating upon one’s will and promoting or
driving it to action.”
Michael Jucious, ‘Motivation is the act of stimulating
someone or oneself to get a desired course of action,
to push the right button to get a desired reaction’.

S. Zedeek and M. Blood define, ‘Motivation is a

predisposition to act in a specific goal-directed way’.
Nature of Motivation:
Motivation is a psychological phenomenon which
generates within an individual.
A person feels the lack of certain needs, to satisfy
which he feels working more.
The need satisfying ego motivates a person to do
better than he normally does.
From the definitions given:
1. Motivation is an inner feeling which energizes a person to
work more.
2. The emotions or desires of a person prompt him for doing a
particular work.
3. There are unsatisfied needs of a person which disturb his
equilibrium.
4. A person moves to fulfill his unsatisfied needs by
conditioning his energies.
5. There are dormant energies in a person which are activated
by channelizing them into actions.
When a manager wants to get more work from his
subordinates, he will have to motivate them for
improving their performance.
They will either be offered incentive for more work,
or maybe in the space of rewards, better reports,
recognition etc., or he may instill fear in them or
use force for getting desired work.
Types of motivation
1. Positive Motivation
Positive motivation or incentive motivation is based on
reward.
The workers are offered incentives for achieving the
desired goals.
The incentives may be in the shape of more pay,
promotion, recognition of work, etc.
The employees are offered the incentives and try to
improve their performance willingly.
2. Negative Motivation:
Negative or fear motivation is based on force or fear.
Fear causes employees to act in a certain way.
If they do not act accordingly then they may be punished
with demotions or lay-offs.
The fear acts as a push mechanism.
The employees do not willingly co-operate, rather they
want to avoid the punishment.
Negative motivation is commonly used to achieve desired
results.
Importance of motivation in an organization:
1. Greater efficiency
Motivation enhances the efficiency of the
employees and of organization.
When employees are motivated, they can
perform with commitment and dedication.
2. Reduction in absenteeism and labor turnover
Motivated employees may not remain absent or leave
the organization.
They develop a sense of belonging towards the
organization and thus improve their overall
performance.
3. Team spirit
Motivation improves team spirit of employees, and this
improves the work environment and the overall
performance of the employee and the organization.
4. Reduction in wastages and breakages
Motivated employees take great care in
handling machines and other resources.
This will reduce wastages and breakages, thus
resulting in higher benefits to the
organization.
5. Cordial relations
Motivation enables cordial and healthy relationship
in the organization.
Motivation helps reduce labor grievances and
disputes.
It ensures sound relations between the management
and the labor.
It improves the overall efficiency of the organization.
6. Promotion of innovation
Motivated employees use their initiative to find out
innovative ways in the performance of their operations.
Such employees are more creative and help the organization
to gain the competitive advantage.
7. Optimum use of resources
Motivation leads to greater employee involvement and
lesser wastages.
This leads to optimum utilization of resources.
8. Corporate image
Motivated employees are more loyal to the
organization.
They work with a sense of commitment and
dedication.
This improves the overall performance of the
employee, which enables better results for the
company.
This results in better relations with all the
stakeholders.
Characteristics/Features of Motivation:
1. Interaction between the individual and the situation
Motivation is not a personal trait but an interaction
between the individual and the situation.
2. Goal-directed behavior
Motivation leads to an action that is goal oriented.
Motivation leads to accomplishment of organizational
goals and satisfaction of personal needs.
3. Systems oriented
Two forces influencing motivation
a. Internal forces
These forces are internal to the individual, i.e., their needs,
wants and nature.
b. External forces
These forces are external to the individual, which may be
organizational related such as management philosophy,
organizational structure, and superior-subordinate
relationship, and also the forces found in the external
environment such as culture, customs, religion and values.
4. Positive or negative
Positive motivation or the carrot approach offers
positive incentives such as appreciation,
promotion, status and incentives.
Negative motivation or stick approach emphasizes
penalties, fines and punishments.
5. Dynamic and complex in nature
Human behavior is highly complex, and it becomes
extremely difficult to understand people at work.
Motivation is a dynamic and complex process.
Abraham Lincoln
‘Love or will to do’ (called motivation)
depends on the strength of people’s motives.
Motives are the expressed needs and could be
conscious or subconscious.
They are always directed towards goals.
Motivating people to perform better and thus to achieve
organizational objectives has been the greatest
challenge to managers.
Why do some people perform better than others?
Why does the same person act differently at different
times?
Motivating people to perform higher than their normal
physical and mental capacities, and to keep them
satisfied is a very complex function of management.