Motivation Essay ⋆ Business Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

Motivation is generally defined as the processes that account for an individual’s intensity, direction, and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal. The three core concepts when explaining motivation—intensity, direction, and persistence—refer to how hard an individual tries, where the effort is channeled, and how long the effort is maintained. Motivation explains why an individual behaves in certain ways; management can use this concept to guide the practice of encouraging or discouraging certain behaviors of employees and thus improve performance.

What motivates an individual? In general, researchers and managers identified two kinds of motivators: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivators refer to an individual’s internal desire to do something, due to such things as interest, challenge, and personal satisfaction. Extrinsic motivators are those that come from outside the person, such as pay, bonuses, and other tangible rewards. According to the Cognitive Evaluation theory, when management gives extrinsic rewards for behavior that had been previously intrinsically rewarded, this can result in a decrease in the overall level of motivation, because the individual experiences a loss of control over his/her own behavior when it is rewarded by external sources.

There are many theories explaining motivation. For example, D. McGregor proposed “Theory X and Theory Y.” Theory X assumes that employees dislike work, will attempt to avoid it, and must be coerced, controlled, or threatened with punishment if they are to perform. Theory Y assumes that employees like work, are creative, seek responsibility, and can exercise self-direction and self-control. Managers who believe Theory X will design policies for tight control and coercion, which might cause employee resentment, withdrawal, indolence, lack of interest, or other negative behaviors. Employees’ negative behaviors will reinforce belief in Theory X, thus forming a vicious cycle. Although McGregor’s theory has been challenged by more recent studies, its basic argument remains valid and central to motivational research.

Motivation theories can be roughly classified into two categories: needs-based theories and process based theories. Needs-based theories generally argue that individuals have needs that, when unsatisfied, will result in motivation. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs,

Alderfer’s ERG theory, McClelland’s theory of needs, and Herzberg’s two-factor theory are representative of this type of theory. For example, McClelland argues that people vary in the types of needs they have. Their motivation and how well they perform in a work situation are related to whether they have a need for achievement, affiliation, or power. Needs-based theories are challenged by later researchers regarding the completeness of their categorization schemes (i.e., how many needs are there and which list of needs should we use) and the validity of their explanation (attributing a concrete behavior to a category).

Process-based theories of motivation are inherent in Lewinian intellectual tradition. Lewin believed that specific behaviors (regions of activity) are perceived as paths to a goal and the level of motivation corresponds with resultant psychological force toward the goal. For example, if a goal is important for an individual, the valence of the goal increases the total psychological forces toward the goal. Expectancy theory, Equity theory, and Goal Setting theory are examples of process-based theories of motivation. Specifically, Expectancy theory proposes that Effort (or motivation) = E x I x V. In this equation, E (Expectancy) is the belief that effort could lead to performance; I (Instrumentality) is the belief that performance could lead to reward/outcome; and V (Valence) is the subjective importance/value of reward.

Managers can manipulate employees’ motivation by adjusting Expectancies (ability/skill level; training; build self-efficacy, clarify appropriate actions), Instrumentality (measurement of performance, variable rewards for variable performance), and Valences (“Cafeteria style” benefit plans, etc.).

Goal Setting theory proposes that achieving a goal is motivating, and goals clarify expected behavior/performance. When management defines performance goals for employees, they should follow the general principles: specific goals increase performance more than the generalized goal of “do your best”; difficult but attainable goals, when accepted, result in higher performance than do easy goals; and feedback on goal attainment leads to higher performance than does no feedback.

Each of the process-based theories has its own issues, but the general principles inherent in these theories have fundamental influences on current management practices. The concept of motivation provides a useful language for understanding what makes people become more productive at work. From the pioneer of management through to the work of contemporary researchers, motivation has and will continue to guide the way we manage people in an organization for productivity and self-actualization.

Bibliography:

Alderfer, “An Empirical Test of a New Theory of Human Needs,” Organizational Behavior and Human Performance (v.4, 1996);
Frederick Herzberg, One More Time: How Do You Motivate Employees? (Harvard Business Press, 2008);
Herzberg, Work and the Nature of Man (World Publishing, 1966);
Ruth Kanfer, Gilad Chen, and Robert D. Pritchard, Work Motivation: Past, Present, and Future (Routledge, 2008);
Alfie Kohn, “By All Available Means: Cameron and Pierce’s Defense of Extrinsic Motivators,” Review of Educational Research (v.66/1, 1996);
Maslow, Motivation and Personality (Harper & Row, 1954);
C. McClelland, Power: The Inner Experience (Irvington, 1975);
McGregor, Proceedings of the Fifth Anniversary Convocation of the School of Industrial Management, The Human Side of Enterprise (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1957);
Nitin Nohria, Boris Groysberg, and LindaEling Lee, “Employee Motivation: A Powerful New Model,” Harvard Business Review (v.86/7–8, 2008);
Porter and E. Lawler, Managerial Attitudes and Performance (Dorsey Press, 1968);
Vroom, Work and Motivation (John Wiley & Sons, 1966).

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