additional factors.motivation

8/3/2019 Additional Factors.motivation

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Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND A REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Introduction

Theories of motivation were devised in an attempt to explain the behavior of the

employees. As you either a manager or an employee, you have vested interest in

understanding motivation in order to (1) motivate others, (2) understand how othersare trying to motivate you, or (3) enable you to better participate in your own

motivational efforts or the efforts of others trying to motivate you. Understanding

the motivational theories allows you to identify the motivational efforts managers

are trying to apply. This will help you identify the assumptions the manager is

operating under and enable you to coordinate your motivationally related requests.

Knowing and identifying a managers motivational methods also helps you decide

whether or not the managers efforts match your needs.

Historically, managers in any organization have always used motivation as a

technique to perform tasks and duties. Motivation of staff is a major issue for all

organizations. Humans are motivated by many factors, every person has different

motives for working such as psychological needs, physiological drives, survival,

urges, emotions, hurts, impulses, fears, threats, reward, possessions, wishes,

intentions, values, freedom, intrinsic satisfaction, self-satisfaction, pleasure,

dislikes, established habits, goals, ambitions, and money. The motives for working

are as individual as the person. Some people work for love while the others work for

personal fulfillment. Others like to accomplish goals and feel as if they are

contributing to something larger than them and something important. Some people

have personal missions they accomplish through meaningful work. Others truly love

what they do or the clients they serve. Some like the interaction with customers and

co-workers. Other people like to fill their time with activity. Some workers like

change, challenge, and diverse problems to...

Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

Intrinsic motivation

Intrinsic motivation comes from rewards inherent to a task or activity itself - the enjoyment of a

puzzle or the love of playing.[1] This form of motivation has been studied by social and

educationalpsychologists since the early 1970s. Research has found that it is usually associatedwith high educational achievement and enjoyment by students. Intrinsic motivation has been

explained by Fritz Heider's attribution theory, Bandura's work onself-efficacy[2], and Ryan and

Deci's cognitive evaluation theory. Students are likely to be intrinsically motivated if they:

attribute their educational results to internal factors that they can control (e.g. the amountof effort they put in),

believe they can be effective agents in reaching desired goals (i.e. the results are not

determined by luck),

are interested in mastering a topic, rather than just rote-learning to achieve good grades.
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see alsoIntrinsic motivation and the 16 basic desires theory below.

Extrinsic motivation

Extrinsic motivation comes from outside of the performer. Money is the most obvious example,

but coercion and threat of punishment are also common extrinsic motivations.

In sports, the crowd may cheer on the performer, which may motivate him or her to do well.

Trophies are also extrinsic incentives. Competition is in general extrinsic because it encourages

the performer to win and beat others, not to enjoy the intrinsic rewards of the activity.

Social psychological research has indicated that extrinsic rewards can lead to overjustificationand a subsequent reduction in intrinsic motivation.

Extrinsic incentives sometimes can weaken the motivation as well. In one classic study done byGreen & Lepper, children who were lavishly rewarded for drawing with felt-tip pens later

showed little interest in playing with the pens again.

THEORYNeed hierarchy theory

Main article: Hierarchy of needs

Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of human needs theory is one of the most widely discussed

theories of motivation.

The theory can be summarized as follows:

Human beings have wants and desires which influence their behavior. Only unsatisfied

needs influence behavior, satisfied needs do not. Since needs are many, they are arranged in order of importance, from the basic to the

complex.

The person advances to the next level of needs only after the lower level need is at least

minimally satisfied. The further the progress up the hierarchy, the more individuality, humanness and

psychological health a person will show.

The needs, listed from basic (lowest, earliest) to most complex (highest, latest) are as follows:

Physiological

Safety
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Belongingness

Esteem

Self actualization

Intrinsic or Self Motivation

Fundamentally, all motivation comes from within. So the most common concepts of motivation

are those of self motivation, internal motivation or intrinsic motivation. All of these terms areused interchangeably to describe the same motivational factors that come from within a person.

Later we will describe a second form of motivation which is extrinsic or external motivation.

While it is certainly recognized that external factors can motivate us, this is a secondary factor.

For external forces to be effective in motivating us, they must be in harmony with one of ourintrinsic motivational factors.

In fact, several theorists such as Combs (1982) or Purkey & Stanley (1991) maintain that there is

only a single kind of intrinsic motivation. That motivation is one that can be described asengaging in activities that enhance or maintain a person's self-image or concept of oneself.

Other theorists such as Malone and Lepper (1987) define self motivation in broader and perhaps

more useful terms. Malone and Lepper believe that motivation is simply what people will do

without external influence. Said another way, self motivation or intrinsically motivatingactivities are those in which people will partake in for no reward other than the enjoyment that

these activities bring them.

Malone and Lepper have integrated a large amount of motivational research into a summary of

seven ways we, as theleadership of our organizations, can design environments that are self

motivating.

Motivation through Challenges

Individuals are motivated when they are working towards personally meaningful goals.

Attainment of those goals must require activity that is increasingly difficult, but attainable. In

other words, people like to be challenged, but they must feel their goals are achievable to staymotivated. This can be accomplished by:

Establishing goals that are personally meaningful Making those goals possible

Providing feedback on performance Aligning goals with the individual's self esteem

Motivation through Curiosity

In this concept of self motivation we are talking about providing something in the individual's

environment that arouses their curiosity. This can be accomplished by presenting the individual

with something that connects their present knowledge or skills with a more desirable level - if the
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person were to engage in a certain activity. So to motivate someone through curiosity, the

environment must stimulate their interest to learn more.

Motivation through Control

Most people like to feel they are in control of their destiny. They want to feel in control of whathappens to them. To stay motivated, individuals must understand the cause and effectrelationship between an action they will take and the result. To motivate individuals through the

use of control you can:

Make the cause and effect relationship clear by establishing a goal and itsreward

Allow individuals to believe that the work they do does make a difference Allow individuals to choose what they want to learn and how to go about

learning it

Motivation through Fantasy

Another intrinsic motivating factor comes via fantasy. That is individuals can use mental images

of things and / or situations that are not actually present to motivate themselves. You can foster

motivation through fantasy by helping individuals imagine themselves in situations that aremotivating.

For example, if you know that someone is highly motivated by the thought of being in control,

then you can talk to them about a future point in time when they might be in charge of of a large

and important business operation.

Motivation through Competition

Individuals can also be motivated by competition. That's because we gain a certain amount ofsatisfaction by comparing our performance to that of others. This type of competition can occur

naturally as well as artificially.

When using competition to foster motivation, keep in mind the following:

Competition is more motivating to some than others Losing in a competition de-motivates more than winning motivates Competitive spirits can sometimes reduce the likelihood of being helpful to

competitors

Motivation through Cooperation

Cooperating with others or the feeling that you can help others is very motivating. Most

individuals feel quite satisfied by helping others achieve their goals. As was the case withcompetition, motivation through cooperation can occur naturally or artificially.


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When attempting to use cooperating to motivate, keep in mind:

Cooperation is more important to some individuals than others Cooperation is a valuable skill that can be used in many different situations Interpersonal skills are important for cooperation

Motivation through Recognition

Finally, individuals are motivated through recognition. When their accomplishments arerecognized by others, then they feel motivated. You need to make sure that recognition is

distinguished from competition. With recognition you do not compare their achievements to

those of others as you might with a competition.

Extrinsic or External Motivation

As previously mentioned, extrinsic or external motivation is the term used to describe external

factors that stimulate our internal motivation. The concept of externally motivating someone isnot at odds with the fact that motivation comes from within. The point here is that it is possible

to provide others with situations or an external environment that is motivating.

Perhaps the most useful lesson for the leader then becomes how to motivate employees that

report directly or indirectly to the leader. If you understand the intrinsic motivational factorspreviously described, then a game plan can be developed to foster motivation among employees.

Employee Motivation

Some of the most effective ways for managers and leaders to motivate their staff includes

recognition, providing positive performance feedback and by challenging employees to learnnew things. Many new managers make the mistake of introducing de-motivating factors into the

workplace such as punishment for mistakes or frequent criticisms.

When followers feel they are being supported and they have the ability to remain in control of

their workplace they stay motivated. Leaders can foster this feeling by allowing employees to

take on added responsibility and accountability for making decisions.

But the important thing to keep in mind is that motivation is individual and the degree ofmotivation achieved through one single strategy will not be the most effective way to motivate

all employees. The most effective way to determine what motivates others is through carefully

planned trail and error.

Figuring Out What Motivates Others

That being said, we'll finish up with some tips on how to figure out what motivates others:


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Talk to your employees not about what motivates them - because they maynot realize it themselves - but what they value. This will give you insightsinto which of the seven motivational factors might be high on their list.

Test a factor on an employee. For example, if you think that recognitionmight help motivate an employee then try using that factor.

Check in with employees about their feelings. It's always a good idea to get

feedback from your employees. Make sure you're getting the reaction you'relooking for.

Be on the lookout for signs of de-motivation. Make sure you're notinadvertently introducing something into the work environment that is beingcounter-productive to your goal - motivated employees.

About the Author - Motivation Theory and Leadership

Copyright 2006 - 2007 Money-Zine.com
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