Concept of motivation
Motivation in a psychological process of creating willingness to work. Motivation is a set of force that cause people to have certain manner. It is a complex force starting and keeping a person at work in an organization. It is something that moves a person to auction and continuous him/her in the course of action already initiated.
The word motivation is derived from latin word “Movere” which means to move. People become ready to work to fulfill their needs and get satisfaction by fulfilling needs. Motivation brings purposeful changes in persons behavior.
According to Ricky Griffin, “Motivation is the set of forces that cause people to behave in certain way.”
Process of motivation
1. Unsatisfied need: It is the first step of motivation process. A need is an internal state that makes certain outcomes appear alternative. Unsatisfied need is unfulfilled need of human beings. Such need create tension to them. People motivated toward the fulfillment of such need. People having unfulfilled need remains unsatisfied.
2. Tension: The second step of motivation is tension. Unsatisfied need creates tension which an individual seduce by exporting effort. People remains tension to fulfill their needs. Thus, they can be motivated towards organizational goal.
3. Effort: Effort is third step of motivation process. It is a key elements of motivation. It is a measure of intensity or drive. It must be directed toward organizational goal. Quality effort is essential. It should be beneficial to the organization.
4. Satisfied need: Fourth step of motivation process is satisfied need. Unsatisfied need creates tension. People remain at high level of effort to reduce their tension or to fulfill their unsatisfied needs. As a result they fulfill their needs such state of people is known as stage of satisfied need.
5. Tension reduction: High level of effort reduce the tension of people. Tension reduction effort must be directed toward organizational goal.
Importances of motivation
1. Ensures high productivity: Satisfied and high moral employees are necessary to get high productivity motivation satisfied them and make them dedicated to organization. So, motivation is related to goal oriented activities which increases productivity.
2. Better industrial relation: Motivation increase the productivity of the employees and as a result earns higher wages. Attractive motivation scheme provides satisfaction to employees these creates mutual co-operation at all levels. This will reduce unrest land create better relation between management and workers.
3. Increase in willingness to work: Proper motivation system should be adopted understanding the psychology of the employees. This increase their willingness to work.
4. Effective utilization of resources: Effective utilization of all organization resources that is physical, financial and human resources requires competent and motivated employees. Motivation puts human resource into action. It creates willingness to work among employees.
5. Accept organization changes: Organization operates in dynamic environment. Changes should be made in organization according to the changes in environment. Motivated as well as satisfied employees easily accepts changes. Thus, motivation ensures changes management.
6. Improves environment of co-operation: Motivation improves moral of the employees. This increases feeling of cooperation among employees and management . Co-operative feeling develops in the employees as a result co-operative environment prevails everywhere in the organization.
Nature / features of motivation
The following points are the nature motivation. They are as follows
1. Continuous process: Motivation is a continuous process of inspiring, energizing, reducing and activating the employees for high level of performance. This process starts with unsatisfied needs, moves through tension, drives and goal achievement, finally it ends with the reduction of tension aroused by unsatisfied needs. When one need has been fulfilled another needs appears. This process never ends.
2. Psychological aspect: Motivation is a psychological aspect, which is very complex and unpredictable. It involves efforts to satisfy needs, wants, desires, motives, and derives. An employee doesn’t become ready at work without being motivated. Ones time and physical presence can be bought but his/her enthusiasm, spirit, feeling and loyalty cannot be bought. The task of motivating others is purely a psychological aspect.
3. Positive anal negative: Motivation can be positive and negative. Rewards, high salary, praise, promotion etc are positive. Whereas, demotion, transfer, temporary suspension, punishment threat etc are negative motivation.
4. Complex and unpredictable: Motivation is complex and unpredictable. Motivation is a complex subject in the sense that the individual’s needs and wants may be unpredictable. Some can be motivated by financial incentive whereas some can be motivated by non financial incentives, positive incentive and negative incentives. Thus, it is very difficult to understand and predicts human behavior.
5. Goal oriented: Motivation must he directed towards the achievement of stated goals from the view point of organization, the goal is to achieve high productivity through better job performance and from the viewpoint of employee, the goal is to fulfill need and wants.
6. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: An individual can be motivated either by intrinsic factors of extrinsic factors. The intrinsic factors include recognition, social status, self esteem and self actualization needs. On the other hand, the extrinsic factors include food, shelter health, education, salary etc.
7. Behavior oriented: As motivation is person specific it is related with personal behavior of an employee. Behavior is a series of activities undertaken by an individual in the organizational work place. The behavior is directed towards the attainment of goals and objectives.
Types of motivation
A. Positive motivation: Positive Motivation is based on incentives or rewards. Positive motivation is the process of attempting to influence others to do your will through the possibility of incentive or reward. It implies use of incentive such as increase pay, rewards, promotion, status and recognition etc. The incentive may be in the form of monitory or non-monetary. Positive motivation is widely used in present as of business.
B. Negative motivation: Negative motivation is based on force and fear. Negative motivation means forcing people to work by holding out threats or punishment. Such as threats of demotion, fear of loss of job etc. Fear causes people to act in a certain way because they are afraid of the consequences if they don’t work. Thus, fear of suspension, loss of job, demotion, wages cut etc can motivate employees to work more the reason push him towards work, this method is hardly used.
In Fact, both positive and negative motivation are essential in organization. But the fact that the work done by heart is more fruitful than the work done forcefully.
Maslow’s Need hierarchy [V.Imp]
Abraham Maslow was a famous American psychologist. He developed motivation theory in 1943. It is called Maslow hierarchy theory. According to this theory every works being motivated by wants, to needs and needs have certain order. So, needs should be gradually fulfilled to motivate only person and other needs should also be created when one need has been fulfilled and other need appears. He divided human needs in five categories such as:
1. Physiological needs: According to Maslow’s need hierarchy theory physiological needs include basic human need. The employees get motivated to work to fulfill such needs besides food, clothes and shelter, rest and replacement, physical comfort in job, reasonable working hours etc are induced physiological needs. If this needs are fulfilled the employees get motivated to work.
2. Safety needs: When physiological need has been fulfilled then other need is appear ie Safety need. It includes safe working condition, job security, reasonable remuneration and other facilities. So, a manager should take a proper step considering job securities or the employees.
3. Social needs: After the safety needs has been fulfilled the employees want to fulfill social needs. Man is social in nature thus, he is always interested to live in a society or group which loves him most. This need include belonging, friendship, love, affection, association and social acceptances.
4. Ego or esteem needs: When the social needs has been fulfill the employees want to fulfill ego or esteem needs. It includes responsibility of important job promotion to higher status job, recognition from boss, freedom and so on. To fulfill such needs the employees becomes ready to work responsibly.
6. Self-actualization needs: According to Abraham Maslow after the Esteem need have been fulfilled self actualization needs appears. Creative and changing work, participation in decision making process , job flexibility, job autonomy etc are the self-actualization needs of employees. This need lie at the top of the hierarchy. In this level people use their abilities and potential fully to realize the need. There are very few people which realize self-actualization needs.
Techniques of motivation
1. Money as motivator: Money play an important role in motivation. Management generally make use of monitory incentive like wages, salaries, allowance, bonus, retirement, benefits, provision of insurance, housing etc to motive employees. Most managers have tended to place money high on the scale of motivators but behavioral scientist place it low. However, money continuous to be an important motivator at least in developing countries where physiological needs of employees only or partially satisfied. Even in develop countries monitory incentive do result in greater productivity. Hence, an attraction of getting more money such as more pay, bonus, allowance, provision of insurance etc are powerful motivator to employees for high performance.
2. Participation: Another technique of employees motivation is the participation. Participation means the physical and mental involvement of people In activities. Participation encourage and permits contribution to decision goals and plans along with suggestion for implementation. It is also means of recognition. Most people are motivated when they are consulted an action affecting them.
3. Quality of work life: Quality of work life is one of the important technique to motivation. Quality of work life refers to the quality of relation between employees and their total working environment. It is employees perception of their physical and mental well being at work. Quality of work life is concerned with the overall working climate in the organization.
4. Job Enrichment: Job Enrichment is the process of providing growth opportunities challenges and potential for recognition in order that employees will ready for the performance of job. Hence, job enrichment is best technique motivation.
5. MBO technique (Management By Objective): MBO can be used as motivational technique. Both superior and subordinate participate in discussion and jointly said each individual major area of responsibility in-terms of result expected of him/her. The subordinate performances result is evaluated in term of the set target. Rewards are linked to performance. As a result employees are motivated..
Important Questions
- What is motivation? Explain the positive and negative motivation with examples.
- Define motivation and show its importance.
- Define positive and negative motivation? Explain the needs hierarchy motivation theory of Abraham Maslow.
- What is Maslow’s need hierarchy theory? Discuss each stages of Maslow’s need hierarchy theory.
