Motivation in The Workplace

According to researcher Lindner (1998), motivated employees are needed in our rapidly changing workplaces to aid in the survival of organizations. Not only is it important to meet the needs of the consumer, it is equally important that to make sure that associates are taken care of and remain motivated. For this reason, Gibson, Ivancevich, Donnelly and Konopaske (2012) “states much of management’s time is spent addressing the motivation of their employees” (p. 125). According to the Encyclopedia of Small Business (2007), employee motivation is the level of energy, commitment, and creativity employees bring to their jobs; the inner force that drives individuals to accomplish personal and organizational goals (Lindner, 1988). Despite its obvious importance, employee motivation can be an elusive quest for managers due to the multiplicity of incentives that can influence employees to do their best work. The reality is that every employee has different ways to become motivated and the knowledge of how to motivate them is key to organizational success. It is imperative that employers get to know the personal needs and wants of their employees in order to establish tactics in which to motivate each of them. Once achieved, “managers are in a better position to encourage and reward employees to behave in effective ways” (Gibson et al, 2012, p.

Work signifies an important aspect of human being’s life owing to the outcomes related with it, such as economic outcomes (salary, financial incentives), social status and fulfillment of needs. This had inspired organizational scholars to explore, what motivates one to work, leading to tremendous research on work motivation. Motivation theories can be classified through three predominant approaches (Chalofsky, 2003):

Extrinsic motivation e.g. Money is the critical incentive to motivation in today's work environment However , motivation differs from individual to individual and with their respective beliefs and values, circumstances and culture. It is important for mangers to identify which motivation factor works with which employee and apply it respectively In any environment, both Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivations are needed for work satisfaction and work performance

Motivation is central to understanding behavior in organizations and a key managerial factor. Two aspects of motivation are structuring tasks to satisfy worker and organizational needs and providing the proper direction for worker actions (Stroh, Northcraft and Neale, 2002). There are a number of factors when it comes to the difference in worker performance. One of these factors is related to different levels of ability

The success of any business depends on the productivity and satisfaction of its employees. Employees need to be motivated to work. Motivation can be defined as the inner force that drives individuals to accomplish personal and organizational goals. Motivation can be either intrinsic or extrinsic. For an individual to be motivated in a work situation there must be a need, which the individual would have to perceive a possibility of satisfying through some reward. Intrinsic motivation stems from motivations that are inherent and arise from performing the task of the job itself, which the individual gets a feeling of either positive or negative motivation as a result of

All employees analyze their environment and strive to be recognized and rewarded for their hard work and dedication they put into the company, in a word they are seeking justice. Justice can be defined as a person receiving what they feel they are entitled to and if they do not receive what they deserve the situation may board on injustice. Unfortunately in today’s society justice and appreciation are not given out to all those deserving (Pinder, 1998). A major problem to address is how to keep the motivation level high in a company when the employees do not feel appreciated.

Motivation in the workplace is one of the major concerns that managers face when trying to encourage their employees to work harder and do what is expected of them on a day-to-day basis. According to Organizational Behavior by John R. Schermerhorn, James G. Hunt and Richard N. Osborn the definition of motivation is "the individual forces that account for the direction, level, and persistence of a person's effort expended at work." They go on to say that "motivation is a key concern in firms across the globe." Through the years there have been several theories as to what motivates employees to do their best at work. In order to better understand these theories we will apply them to a fictitious organization that has the following

In any workplace, workers are no doubt the essential mainstay that holds any business or corporation together. Employees achieve important tasks to help the company’s long term vision and goals to be successful and efficient. A business can’t be successful without a proper management that is why it is important for employees to enjoy going to work and they also have maintain a positive attitude while being productive and completing tasks. Motivation is what gives a person the purpose to perform or behave in a certain way with the desire or willingness to gain something. There are two types of motivations, motivation that comes from a person and motivation that comes from materially goals. It is very necessary that employers keep their employees motivated and encourage them to perform above expectations.

History teaches us that motivation has been a key ingredient proven effective in the accomplishment of tasks, or used to get things done. This paper will discuss the classic and contemporary background/history of motivation. In addition, covered will be the theoretical background and theories, the implications motivation has for leaders, and the motivational tactics used in the working environment that stimulate results.

4. 3 Major Types of Motivation Theories  Content Theories of Motivation WHAT motivates us  Process

Human Resources is dependent on the success, happiness, and contentment of employees that keep the business on course. Motivation is one of the best ways to push employees forward while making sure everyone is in a comfortable position in their job. Motivational theories just attempt to explain what motivates or makes people act the way that they do. The goal of understanding these theories and their outcomes is to ensure a better performance from each employee, and to give each of those employees the best situation they can have in the workplace. Visionaries such as Abraham Maslow, Frederick Herzberg, and Henry A. Landsberger also brought forward new ways of management and ways to handle internal situations that changed the landscape of human resources as a whole. Motivational theories instituted in the workplace have a commonly positive effect on both employees and management, showing that it is important to strive for proven motivational practices.

Motivation at work stimulates the interest of a person in an activity. Motivation at works is very complex because there are multiple motives operating at the same time. Goals motivate and guide workers' behaviors. Specific goals are better than general goals and little difficulty is better than easy goals. The degree of expectancy determines how much effort is put forth, people will work hard if they expect the effort will pay off. Increased job enrichment which includes more control at work and a high number of tasks to perform leads to high motivation. Stress on the job reduces motivation and productivity. The specific needs to achieve and

A question often asked by first-line supervisors and managers is “How do we motivate our employees?” Effectively motivating employees to achieve a desired outcome is one of the most important functions as a supervisor or manager. There is evidence to show organizations are facing challenges retaining employees due to limited opportunities for advancement and the current competitive labor market. It does not appear things will get any better in the future. The loss of employees represents a loss of skills, knowledge, and experiences and can create a significant economic impact and cost to corporations as well as impacting the needs of customers. Managers who can motivate employees assist the organization by

Motivation is a very broad term that is discussed in a variety of settings. There is the motivation to perform in a business setting, the motivation to perform on the field of competition, the motivation to provide for friends and family, and the motivation to accomplish goals that have been set. These are all various motivations that any one person can be involved with at any time. According to Maslow, motivation always exists within a person and in various forms, “...motivation is constant, never ending, fluctuating, and complex, and that it is an almost universal characteristic of practically every organismic state of affairs” (Maslow, 1954). As complex as motivation seems, it is everyone’s intention to identify their personal

Motivational programs provided to employees can prove to be very useful tools to increase motivation from the employees, reduce employee turnover and help to maintain skilled and talented personnel. Strategies used to influence employee loyalty can be intrinsic motivation or extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is explained as one's personal incentive to engage in an activity for a feeling of personal satisfaction and accomplishment without expectation of external rewards or recognition. Whereas, extrinsic motivation is defined as using external incentives such as prizes, money or rewards to motivate an individual to complete a task or engage in an activity.