Motivation is normally defined as a force that drives a person towards a goal. In the world of business, motivation is to drive the employee towards enhanced productivity by exploiting the abilities to the maximum potential, by improving the job performance. It becomes self-explanatory that it is the job of the manager to monitor and control the human resource available by motivating the employee and instilling in them a positive attitude towards the tasks assigned to them. This helps in accomplishing the tasks that would not be fulfilled otherwise (Campbell, 2002). Therefore, it is crucial for a manager to understand different theories and various techniques of motivation.
Motivation is a state of mind – different people get motivated by various different things. However, there are certain fixed factors that motivate a person by nature. These factors include money, prosperity, popularity, success, higher knowledge and happiness (Campbell, 2002).
A successful manager would target employees in groups depending upon the factor that influences them. Also, a person should try to self-evaluate oneself in order to learn what influences them or what drives them towards their maximum potential. For example, an extremely poor clerk with a big family to provide for is well aware of the fact that a greater wage would motivate him towards doing whatever is expected of him.
Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (1943) from a business point of view portrays physiological needs (salary, ambience), safety needs (pensions, insurance, medical care), belongingness needs (social gatherings, relationship with co-workers), self-esteem (job title, post, authority) and self-actualization (opportunities to display skills, development opportunities) ranking from one (most important) to five (least important) respectively. Thus, it is easy to gather that salary, which has money value, is the most powerful incentive for employees (Heathfield, 2000).
When provided with incentives, the behaviour or attitude of the employee towards the task changes and he becomes more involved and devoted to it. In order to receive the reward that is set for him, he tends to give top priority to the work assigned and finish it as soon as possible (Love, 2005). It is a technique for businesses to not only improve their human resource but also understand what motivates stakeholders and get people to invest. The interest of the stakeholders should be highlighted for them to understand why it is mutually beneficial for them to become a part of the organization (Wesley, 2007).
Being rewarded with an A grade motivates me to work hard for my assignments and study for my exams. However, it is a known fact that a person tends to get frustrated and demotivated if a goal is not achieved after several true attempts. After attending the person lesson, I understood the concept behind motivation and decided to work harder this week than before. I attended classes 5 days this week and finished my assignments a day or two before the deadline, with nothing cramped up for the last night. However, the sessions should be made more interactive where people are asked to share their personal experiences or tell others what motivates them – it will help the others in making further discoveries about themselves.
Understanding what motivates a person not only helps a person in professional life but also helps to accomplish day to day activities at a faster rate. It is a personal exercise that everybody should carry out for better organization of oneself.
Works Citied
- Kitty Campbell (2002), Influence employees the right way, Industrial Management. Web.
- Joe Love (2005), The Power Of Positive Reinforcement. Web.
- Susan M. Heathfield (2000), The Bottom Line for Employee Retention. Web.
- John Wesley (2007), Increase Motivation. Web.