INTRODUCTION

The word motivation is coined from

the Latin word "movere", which
means to move. Motivation is as an
internal drive that activates behavior
and gives it direction. Motivation is
defined as an urge in an individual to
perform goal directed behavior.
Therefore, motivation cannot be
inflicted from outside but it is an
intrinsic desire in a man to achieve the target goal through performance or
activity. Motives are expression of person’s need. Hence, they are personal and
Motivation is a reason or set of reasons for engaging in a particular behavior,
especially human behavior. The reasons may include basic needs (e.g., food,
water, shelter) or an object, goal, state of being, or ideal that is desirable, which
may or may not be viewed as "positive," such as seeking a state of being in
which pain is absent.

Motivation is essential to be successful in any endeavor you undertake. It can be

positive or negative, subtle or obvious, tangible or intangible. It is very important
in workplaces as it plays a key role in the effective performance of employees. In
industry, managers play a significant role in employee motivation. They use
different motivation techniques to improve productivity, thereby promoting
cooperation between employees and employers.

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 CONCEPTS OF MOTIVATION

REWARD AND REINFORCEMENT

A reward is that which follows an occurrence of
a specific behavior with the intention of
acknowledging the behavior in a positive way.
A reward often has the intent of encouraging
the behavior to happen again.There are two
kinds of rewards, extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic rewards are external to, or
outside of, the individual; for example, praise or money. Intrinsic rewards are
internal to, or within, the individual; for example, satisfaction or accomplishment.

Some authors distinguish between two forms of intrinsic motivation: one based
on enjoyment, the other on obligation. In this context, obligation refers to
motivation based on what an individual thinks ought to be done. For instance, a
feeling of responsibility for a mission may lead to helping others beyond what is
easily observable, rewarded, or fun.

A reinforcer is different from reward, in that reinforcement is intended to create a

measured increase in the rate of a desirable behavior following the addition of
something to the environment.

INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION

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Intrinsic motivation is evident when people engage in an activity for its own
sake, without some obvious external incentive present. A hobby is a typical
example.

Intrinsic motivation has been intensely studied by educational psychologists

since the 1970s, and numerous studies have found it to be associated with high
educational achievement and enjoyment by students.

There is currently no "grand unified theory" to explain the origin or elements of

intrinsic motivation. Most explanations combine elements of Bernard Weiner's
attribution theory, Bandura's work on self-efficacy and other studies relating to
locus of control and goal orientation. Thus it is thought that students are more
likely to experience intrinsic motivation if they:
1. Attribute their educational results to internal factors that they can control
(eg. the amount of effort they put in, not 'fixed ability').
2. Believe they can be effective agents in reaching desired goals (eg. the
results are not determined by dumb luck.)
3. Are motivated towards deep 'mastery' of a topic, instead of just rote-
learning 'performance' to get good grades.

Note that the idea of reward for achievement is absent from this model of
intrinsic motivation, since rewards are an extrinsic factor.In knowledge-sharing
communities and organizations, people often cite altruistic reasons for their
participation, including contributing to a common good, a moral obligation to the
group, mentorship or 'giving back'. This model of intrinsic motivation has
emerged from three decades of research by hundreds of educationalists and is
still evolving.In work environments, money is typically viewed as an important
goal (having food, clothes etc.) may well be more powerful than the direct
motivation provided by an enjoyable workplace.

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COERCION

The most obvious form of motivation is coercion, where the avoidance of pain or
other negative consequences has an immediate effect. Extreme use of coercion
is considered slavery. While coercion is considered morally reprehensible in
many philosophies, it is widely practiced on prisoners, students in mandatory
schooling, within the nuclear family unit (on children), and in the form of
conscription. Critics of modern capitalism charge that without social safety
networks, wage slavery is inevitable. However, many capitalists such as Ayn
Rand have been very vocal against coercion. Successful coercion sometimes
can take priority over other types of motivation. Self-coercion is rarely
substantially negative (typically only negative in the sense that it avoids a
positive, such as undergoing an expensive dinner or a period of relaxation),
however it is interesting in that it illustrates how lower levels of motivation may
be sometimes tweaked to satisfy higher ones.

SELF CONTROL
The self-control of motivation is
increasingly understood as a subset
of emotional intelligence; a person
may be highly intelligent according to
a more conservative definition (as
measured by many intelligence
tests), yet unmotivated to dedicate
this intelligence to certain tasks. Drives and desires can be described as a
deficiency or need that activates behaviour that is aimed at a goal or an
incentive. These are thought to originate within the individual and may not

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require external stimuli to encourage the behaviour. Basic drives could be
sparked by deficiencies such as hunger, which motivates a person to seek food;
whereas more subtle drives might be the desire for praise and approval, which
motivates a person to behave in a manner pleasing to others.

By contrast, the role of extrinsic rewards and stimuli can be seen in the example
of training animals by giving them treats when they perform a trick correctly. The
treat motivates the animals to perform the trick consistently, even later when the
treat is removed from the process.

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 THEORIES OF MOTIVATION

• Jeremy Bentham’s “The Carrot and the Stick Approach”:

Possibly the essence of the traditional view of people at work can be best
appreciated by a brief look at the work of this English philosopher, whose ideas
were also developed in the early years of the Industrial Revolution, around 1800.
Bentham’s view was that all people are self-interested and are motivated by the
desire to avoid pain and find pleasure. Any worker will work only if the reward is
big enough, or the punishment sufficiently unpleasant. This view - the ‘carrot and
stick’ approach - was built into the philosophies of the age and is still to be found,
especially in the older, more traditional sectors of industry.

The various leading theories of motivation and motivators seldom make

reference to the carrot and the stick. This metaphor relates, of course, to the use
of rewards and penalties in order to induce desired behavior. It comes from the
old story that to make a donkey move, one must put a carrot in front of him or
dab him with a stick from behind. Despite all the research on the theories of
motivation, reward and punishment are still considered strong motivators. For
centuries, however, they were too often thought of as the only forces that could
motivate people.

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At the same time, in all theories of motivation, the inducements of some kind of
‘carrot’ are recognized. Often this is money in the form of pay or bonuses. Even
though money is not the only motivating force, it has been and will continue to be
an important one. The trouble with the money ‘carrot’ approach is that too often
everyone gets a carrot, regardless of performance through such practices as
salary increase and promotion by seniority, automatic ‘merit’ increases, and
executive bonuses not based on individual manager performance. It is as simple
as this : If a person put a donkey in a pen full of carrots and then stood outside
with a carrot, would the donkey be encouraged to come out of the pen ?

The ‘stick’, in the form of fear–fear of loss of job, loss of income, reduction of
bonus, demotion, or some other penalty–has been and continues to be a strong
motivator. Yet it is admittedly not the best kind. It often gives rise to defensive or
retaliatory behavior, such as union organization, poor-quality work, executive
indifference, failure of a manager to take any risks in decision making or even
dishonesty. But fear of penalty cannot be overlooked. Whether managers are
first-level supervisors or chief executives, the power of their position to give or
with hold rewards or impose penalties of various kinds gives them an ability to
control, to a very great extent, the economic and social well-being of their
subordinates.

• Abraham Maslow’s “Need Hierarchy Theory” :

One of the most widely mentioned
theories of motivation is the hierarchy of
needs theory put forth by psychologist
Abraham Maslow. Maslow saw human
needs in the form of a hierarchy,
ascending from the lowest to the
highest, and he concluded that when
one set of needs is satisfied, this kind of
need ceases to be a motivator.

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As per his theory these needs are:
(i) Physiological needs:
These are important needs for sustaining the human life. Food, water, warmth,
shelter, sleep, medicine and education are the basic physiological needs which
fall in the primary list of need satisfaction. Maslow was of an opinion that until
these needs were satisfied to a degree to maintain life, no other motivating
factors can work.
(ii) Security or Safety needs:
These are the needs to be free of physical danger and of the fear of losing a job,
property, food or shelter. It also includes protection against any emotional harm.
(iii) Social needs:
Since people are social beings, they need to belong and be accepted by others.
People try to satisfy their need for affection, acceptance and friendship.
(iv) Esteem needs:
According to Maslow, once people begin to satisfy their need to belong, they tend
to want to be held in esteem both by themselves and by others. This kind of need
produces such satisfaction as power, prestige status and self-confidence. It
includes both internal esteem factors like self-respect, autonomy and
achievements and external esteem factors such as states, recognition and
attention.
(v) Need for self-actualization:
Maslow regards this as the highest need in his hierarchy. It is the drive to
become what one is capable of becoming, it includes growth, achieving one’s
potential and self-fulfillment. It is to maximize one’s potential and to accomplish
something.

As each of these needs are substantially satisfied, the next need becomes
dominant. From the standpoint of motivation, the theory would say that although
no need is ever fully gratified, a substantially satisfied need no longer motivates.
So if you want to motivate someone, you need to understand what level of the
hierarchy that person is on and focus on satisfying those needs or needs above

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that level. Maslow’s need theory has received wide recognition, particularly
among practicing managers. This can be attributed to the theory’s intuitive logic
and ease of understanding. However, research does not validate these theory.
Maslow provided no empirical evidence and other several studies that sought to
validate the theory found no support for it.

• “Theory X and Theory Y” of Douglas McGregor :

McGregor, in his book “The Human side of Enterprise” states that people inside
the organization can be managed in two ways. The first is basically negative,
which falls under the category X and the other is basically positive, which falls
under the category Y. After viewing the way in which the manager dealt with
employees, McGregor concluded that a manager’s view of the nature of human
beings is based on a certain grouping of assumptions and that he or she tends to
mold his or her behavior towards subordinates according to these assumptions.

Under the assumptions of theory X :

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 • Employees inherently do not like work and whenever possible, will attempt
to avoid it.
• Because employees dislike work, they have to be forced, coerced or
threatened with punishment to achieve goals.
• Employees avoid responsibilities and do not work fill formal directions are
issued.
• Most workers place a greater importance on security over all other factors
and display little ambition.

In contrast under the assumptions of theory Y :

• Physical and mental effort at work is as natural as rest or play.
• People do exercise self-control and self-direction and if they are
committed to those goals.
• Average human beings are willing to take responsibility and exercise
imagination, ingenuity and creativity in solving the problems of the
organization.
• That the way the things are organized, the average human being’s
brainpower is only partly used.

On analysis of the assumptions it can be detected that theory X assumes that

lower-order needs dominate individuals and theory Y assumes that higher-order
needs dominate individuals. An organization that is run on Theory X lines tends
to be authoritarian in nature, the word “authoritarian” suggests such ideas as the
“power to enforce obedience” and the “right to command.” In contrast Theory Y
organizations can be described as “participative”, where the aims of the
organization and of the individuals in it are integrated; individuals can achieve
their own goals best by directing their efforts towards the success of the
organization. However, this theory has been criticized widely for generalization of
work and human behavior.

• Frederick Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory

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Frederick has tried to modify Maslow’s need Hierarchy theory. His theory is also
known as two-factor theory or Hygiene theory. He stated that there are certain
satisfiers and dissatisfiers for employees at work. Intrinsic factors are related to
job satisfaction, while extrinsic factors are associated with dissatisfaction. He
devised his theory on the question : “What do people want from their jobs ?” He
asked people to describe in detail, such situations when they felt exceptionally
good or exceptionally bad. From the responses that he received, he concluded
that opposite of satisfaction is not dissatisfaction. Removing dissatisfying
characteristics from a job does not necessarily make the job satisfying. He states
that presence of certain factors in the organization is natural and the presence of
the same does not lead to motivation. However, their non presence leads to de-
motivation. In similar manner there are certain factors, the absence of which
causes no dissatisfaction, but their presence has motivational impact.

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Examples of Hygiene factors are :
Security, status, relationship with subordinates, personal life, salary, work
conditions, relationship with supervisor and company policy and administration.

Examples of Motivational factors are :

Growth prospectus job advancement, responsibility, challenges, recognition and
achievements.

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 MOTIVATION AT WORKPLACE

Having a well motivated staff is essential to a productive and pleasant work

environment. As a manager, or leader, motivation must be one of your chief
concerns. Every one is motivated by something. When you go to the
supermarket, you are motivated by hunger; when you run, you are motivated by
the desire to be healthy, etc. So what motivates a person to work? Not just work,
but work efficiently and loyally? That depends on that individual’s personality. For
people with an alpha personality, recognition might be what drives them. Being
the best at what you do is worth nothing unless someone is there to see it. For
others it could be money, others still responsibility. Sometimes, it’s even as
simple as acknowledging when someone has done a good job. It makes them
feel appreciated, and if they don’t get that at your place of business, then they
are just a commodity. Employees are your internal customers, in a sense. You
want the service and support to be the best in the world, because that’s how it
needs to be to keep your customers returning to you.

Many business managers today are not aware of the effects that motivation can
(and does) have on their business, and it is therefore important they learn and
understand the factors that determine positive motivation in the workplace. The
size of your business is irrelevant: whether you are trying to get the best out of

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fifty of your staff or just one, everyone needs some form of motivation. Motivation
is something that is approached differently by different businesses and the
responsibility of its integration lies with all immediate supervisors of staff.
However, it is the business owner who must initiate motivation as a strategy to
attain corporate goals.

SOME COMMON MYTHS ABOUT EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION

1. Myth Number One: "I can motivate people"

Not really -- they have to motivate themselves. You can't motivate people
anymore than you can empower them. Employees have to motivate and
empower themselves. However, you can set up an environment where
they best motivate and empower themselves. The key is knowing how to
set up the environment for each of your employees.

2. Myth Number Two: -- "Money is a good motivator"

Not really. Certain things like money, a nice office and job security can
help people from becoming less motivated, but they usually don't help
people to become more motivated. A key goal is to understand the
motivations of each of your employees.

3. Myth Number Three: "Fear is a damn good motivator"

Fear is a great motivator -- for a very short time. That's why a lot of yelling
from the boss won't seem to "light a spark under employees" for a very
long time.

4. Myth Number Four: "I know what motivates me, so I know what
motivates my employees"
Not really. Different people are motivated by different things. I may be
greatly motivated by earning time away from my job to spend more time
my family. You might be motivated much more by recognition of a job well

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 done. People are not motivated by the same things. Again, a key goal is to
understand what motivates each of your employees.

5. Myth Number Five: "Increased job satisfaction means increased job

performance"
Research shows this isn't necessarily true at all. Increased job satisfaction
does not necessarily mean increased job performance. If the goals of the
organization are not aligned with the goals of employees, then employees
aren't effectively working toward the mission of the organization.

6. Myth Number Six: "I can't comprehend employee motivation -- it's a

science"
Nah. Not true. There are some very basic steps you can take that will go a
long way toward supporting your employees to motivate themselves
toward increased performance in their jobs. (More about these steps is
provided later on in this article.)

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 MOTIVATING EMPLOYEES
Unmotivated employees have rightly been called "the black holes of the business
universe." Fortunately, motivation is not something a person is born with or
without. Here are a few basics to try at your workplace to ensure that you are
doing everything you can to motivate your staff:

1. Ask:- Ask them how they like their job, they will tell you. If you notice a
reoccurring theme, you might want to address it.

2. Listen:- Don’t just hear them talking. Active listening is a vital skill to the
survival of any workplace. The vast majority of resignations are a result of
employees not feeling appreciated.

3. Recognize Regularly:-Show them that you notice their hard work. Let them
know that you appreciate what they’ve done, and do it publicly. People want
others to know when they have worked hard, because it gives them a feeling of
satisfaction to know that they had a hand in shaping the team's environment. It
also raises the bar for the rest of the team.

4. Don’t Be Cheap:- Buy them something. It doesn’t have to be expensive; lunch

will do in a pinch or doughnuts and coffee in the morning. If they perform well, get
them a gift certificate to the local mall, or their favorite video store.

5. Have A Little Fun:- Don’t lock your ability to have fun behind your suits. Let
them play around a little. If it starts to get out of hand, that’s why you are there.
Bring it back to being productive fun. Make a game out of accomplishing a task,
tape a picture of a dog driving a mini-van on someone’s computer screen. Enjoy
yourself; you spend more time at work than you do awake in your own home. If
you find a job you love, you will never work a day in your life.

6. Foster Friendly Competition:- It’s in our genes. We need to compete against

one another, to prove to ourselves and everyone out there that we can do it, and

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do it the best. The Olympics are a good example, with the vast majority of the
countries on the face of the planet competing against one another.

7. Be Friendly With Everyone, But Don’t Become Friends:- Favoritism is a

hard accusation to live down, especially if it’s true. Don’t put yourself in a position
that could result in an environment of favoritism. Giving preferential treatment to
a person, on a non-work related basis, is unfair. Unfairness in the workplace
leads to turn-over.

8. Share: -Don’t keep all the information to yourself. Let them know where they
stand often; this will keep them in the loop. One of the most common downfalls of
any organization is a lack of communication. It’s tough trying to be motivated in
the face of goals that you can’t measure.

9. Coach, And Accept Coaching:- Nothing will take your legs out from under
you quicker than thinking you are doing a great job, only to find out later that you
aren’t. Also, don’t make the mistake of thinking you always have the best idea.
When managers don’t listen to their employees and include them in the action
planning process, they feel like their opinions don’t matter. When your employees
feel like their opinions don’t matter, start putting up the “Now Hiring” signs.
Everyone likes to feel like they can effect change, too.

10. Additional Responsibility: - There

are definitely employees in your
organization who are begging for and
can handle additional responsibility. Our
job as managers is to identify who they
are and if possible match responsibilities
to their strengths and desires.

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STRATEGIES OF EMPLOYEE
MOTIVATION

Giving employees more responsibility and decision-making authority increases

their realm of control over the tasks for which they are held responsible and
better equips them to carry out those tasks. As a result, feelings of frustration
arising from being held accountable for something one does not have the
resources to carry out are diminished. Energy is diverted from self-preservation
to improved task accomplishment.

• CREATIVITY & INNOVATION

At many companies, employees with creative ideas do not express them to

management for fear that their input will be ignored or ridiculed. Company
approval and toeing the company line have become so ingrained in some
working environments that both the employee and the organization suffer.
When the power to create in the organization is pushed down from the top to
line personnel, employees who know a job, product, or service best are given
the opportunity to use their ideas to improve it. The power to create motivates
employees and benefits the organization in having a more flexible work force,
using more wisely the experience of its employees, and increasing the
exchange of ideas and information among employees and departments.
These improvements also create an openness to change that can give a

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 company the ability to respond quickly to market changes and sustain a first
mover advantage

• ONE MINUTE MANAGER

A contemporary bestseller aimed at managers who

seek to make star performers of their subordinates.
To start with, the manager sets a goal, e.g. one page
read in one minute, and it is seen to be achieved by
'one minute' of praising or reprimand as the case
may be. But to be effective, these must be given

(a) promptly,

(b) in specific terms, and the behavior, rather than the person, should be
praised or reprimanded.

The concept is basic and it makes sense, although the book seeks to
'dramatize' it. 'One minute' praising is seen to be the motivating force. Everyone
is considered a winner, though some people are disguised as losers, and the
manager is extolled not to be fooled by such appearances

• MINIMIZE RULES & POLICIES

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Every person is motivated. The challenge at work is to create an environment in
which people are motivated about work priorities. Too often, organizations fail to
pay attention to the employee relations, communication, recognition, and
involvement issues that are most important to people.
The first step in creating a motivating work environment is to stop taking actions
that are guaranteed to demotivate people. Identify and take the actions that will
motivate people. It’s a balancing act. Employers walk a fine line between meeting
the needs of the organization and its customers and meeting the needs of its
internal staff. Do both well and thrive.

We’ve got employees who, left to their own devices, will choose to do bad
things. You can’t trust supervisors to treat employees fairly and consistently
either.

• MONETARY INCENTIVES

For all the championing of alternative motivators, money still occupies a major
place in the mix of motivators. The sharing of a company's profits gives
incentive to employees to produce a quality product, perform a quality service,
or improve the quality of a process within the company. What benefits the
company directly benefits the employee. Monetary and other rewards are being
given to employees for generating cost-savings or process-improving ideas, to
boost productivity and reduce absenteeism. Money is effective when it is
directly tied to an employee's ideas or accomplishments. Nevertheless, if not
coupled with other, non monetary motivators, its motivating effects are short-
lived. Further, monetary incentives can prove counterproductive if not made
available to all members of the organization.

• OTHER INCENTIVES

Study after study has found that the most

effective motivators of workers are non

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monetary. Monetary systems are insufficient motivators, in part because
expectations often exceed results and because disparity between salaried
individuals may divide rather than unite employees. Proven non monetary
positive motivators foster team spirit and include recognition, responsibility,
and advancement. Managers, who recognize the "small wins" of employees,
promote participatory environments, and treat employees with fairness and
respect will find their employees to be more highly motivated. One company's
managers brainstormed to come up with 30 powerful rewards that cost little or
nothing to implement. The most effective rewards, such as letters of
commendation and time off from work, enhanced personal fulfillment and self-
respect. Over the longer term, sincere praise and personal gestures are far
more effective and more economical than awards of money alone. In the end,
a program that combines monetary reward systems and satisfies intrinsic,
self-actualizing needs may be the most potent employee motivator.

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 CONCLUSION
Motivated employees are crucial to a company's success-this has never been
truer than today, when margins are thin (or nonexistent) and economic recovery
remains elusive. These hard bottom-line realities may also mean that managers
can't rely as much as they might have in the past on using financial incentives to
drive employee engagement. But, if the company has a solid approach to talent
management, a bad manager can undermine it in his unit. On the flip side, smart
and empathetic managers can overcome a great deal of corporate
mismanagement while creating enthusiasm and commitment within their units.
While individual managers can't control all leadership decisions, they can still
have a profound influence on employee motivation.

The most important thing is to provide employees with a sense of security, one in
which they do not fear that their jobs will be in jeopardy if their performance is not
perfect and one in which layoffs are considered an extreme last resort, not just
another option for dealing with hard times.

But security is just the beginning. When handled properly, each of the above
mentioned practices will play a key role in supporting your employees' goals for
achievement, equity, and camaraderie, and will enable them to retain the
enthusiasm they brought to their roles in the first place.

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