Motivation in the Workforce
The main question facing managers in an organization is motivation, how does it work, when to apply and to whom they should apply on. In today’s organization, motivation plays an important role in determining whether a company will succeed or not. What is motivation? Motivation is the set of attitudes and values that predispose a person to act in a specific goal directed manner. It is an invisible inner state that energizes the human goal-directed behavior, which can be divided into two components which is the direction of a behavior working to reach a goal and the strength of the behavior. Within an organization the desired goals are often clearly defined. In motivation a manager normally seeks to change or maintain certain environmental factors so as to influence the inner drives which may change or sustain the behaviors of his subordinates.
Motivation is different things to different people. It does not need to be a 'thing' that you do. And if you see it as a culture rather than, 'We're doing Motivation today', it becomes a whole lot easier. In today’s business environment, managers must employ an organizational culture, where motivation is the key to their mission as leaders.
When studying motivation, the classic motivational theories of McGregor, Herzberg, and Maslow must not be forgotten, since they gives us a model to follow, that can be used in any situation. Either in the workplace or in our personal lives. For example, McGregor characterized people into two groups, labeled X and Y. Herzberg identified a two-factor theory regarding the motivation of employees. The motivation factors, when present, tend to create satisfaction or motivation in the minds of employees. The hygiene factors, when absent or perceived as inadequate, can create dissatisfied employees; yet, when present, do not add to satisfaction or serve to motivate. Maslow suggested people are motivated by a set of internal needs. They range from the lowest-order needs of physiological to the highest-order need of Self-actualization. Individuals are motivated at their level of need, and once a lower-order need is satisfied, the next higher-order need becomes the individual’s motivational drive.
In an organization, different employees have different needs, therefore managers must be able to establish their needs and be able to apply different motivational tools to satisfy different needs. At the core of motivation is human needs satisfaction. The inner drives within an individual are believed...