Many methods of employee motivation have been developed over the years. The study of employee work motivation has focused on how to motivate the employee as well as the manager. Motivation theories are important to supervisors attempting to be effective leaders, in gaining loyalty and productivity from worker. Motivation has two primary approaches: content and process. Words like: needs, goals, values, culture, management and incentives are all related to motive or motivation. (Mathis & Jackson, 1991, p.80). There are numerous theorists who have put forth diverse theories about motivation, through differing angles and perspectives. The paper’s main focus is to discuss those differing views from the perspective of needs, goals, culture, leadership, and, incentives, as well as to examine models currently used.
Keywords
Motivation, Employee Needs Base, Goal Theory, Incentive Rewards, Performance Appraisals
INTRODUCTION
I
am of the realization the motivating employees is a management and
leadership issue, often linked to policies, procedures, as well as the
structure and cultures of an organization. It begins with human resource
management and knowing what the employee is hired to perform. But what
is motivation? Why is it important? How can we motivate people,
specifically employees? Motivation is the art of getting things done in a
manner that meets or surpasses expected standards of performance. It is
defined as "an emotion or desire within a person causing a person to
act." In essence, people typically act in order to achieve a goal. No
organization can achieve anything without people (Drucker, 1999). An
Organization is, after all, a body of persons arranged for a specific
purpose. Because Management is the efficient and effective utilization
of resources, we must think of personnel as the Human Resource - thus,
HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT. Management is about human beings. Its task
is to make people capable of joint performance, to make their strengths
effective and their weaknesses irrelevant. This is what organization is
all about, and it is the reason that management is the critical,
determining factor. The single most important thing to remember about
any enterprise is that results exist only on the outside. The result of a
business is a satisfied customer. The result of a hospital is a healed
patient. The result of a school is a student who has learned something
and puts it to work ten years later. Inside an enterprise, there are
only costs." (Drucker,1996, pg.31-32).
Since motivation influences productivity, supervisors need to understand what motivates
employees
to reach peak performance. It is not an easy task to increase employee
motivation because employees respond in different ways to their jobs and
their organization's practices. Motivation is the set of processes that
moves a person toward a goal. Thus, motivated behaviors are voluntary
choices controlled by the individual employee. The supervisor
(motivator) wants to influence the factors that motivate employees to
higher levels of productivity. Factors that affect work motivation
include individual differences, job characteristics, and organizational
practices. Individual differences are the personal needs/wants, values,
and attitudes, interests and abilities that people bring to their jobs.
Job characteristics are the aspects of the position that determine its
limitations and challenges. Organizational practices are the
rules, human resources policies, managerial practices, and rewards
systems of an organization. Supervisors must consider how these factors
interact to affect employee job performance.
In
the Characteristic Model of Motivation, a job has core dimensions such
as skill variety, task identity, autonomy, and feedback. To the extent
that these are present in a job, the employee will experience certain
psychological states such as experiencing meaningfulness in the work and
assume responsibility for outcomes as well as have better knowledge of
the actual results of work activities. The more frequent and satisfying
these psychological states are, the higher the internal motivation, the
better quality the performance, the greater the satisfaction, and the
lower the absenteeism and turnover. (Griffin,1999, p 328). This
influences performance, affects job satisfaction and affects both
physical and mental health. “Who a person is" and what a person is
depend on, and reflects the kind of work a person does.
Accepting
a job is the crucial factor in integrating the individual into society.
It also provides a definition of self that corresponds to their place
in society." (Henderson, pg. 49). Workers seek guidance, counseling and
direction from management to accomplish tasks and to enhance the quality
of life.
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