4.1 What is motivation?
‘Motivation’ is the process of inspiring people in order to intensify their
desire and willingness for executing their duties effectively and for cooperating to achieve the common objectives of an enterprise.
In other words, it means to induce, instigate, incite or prompt someone to a
particular course of action for getting the results expected from him.
Motivation is the actuating force that stimulates a man to put his best
in the accomplishment of a task.
“Motivation is a general inspiration process which gets the members of
the team pull their weight effectively to give their loyalty to the group,
to carry out properly the tasks they have accepted and generally to
play an effective part in the job that the group has undertaken.”
In fact, motivation may be regarded as an integral part of the process
of direction. In directing the subordinates, the manager has to try to
create in them the willingness to pursue the goals of the organisation
enthusiastically. In trying to do so, the manager may be said to
concern himself with motivation. The term ‘motivation’ is derived
from the word ‘motive’.
A motive is “an inner state that energises, activates or moves,
and that directs or induces human behaviour towards
goals.” Motives are the expression of a person’s needs and desires. In
order to motivate individuals to work for the realisation of the goals
and objectives of the organisation, the manager has to determine the
motives or, in other words, the needs of the employees that call for
their satisfaction.
So, motivation may be described as the process whereby an individual
is given the opportunity to satisfy his needs by pursuing certain
objectives.
Motivation is a powerful tool in the hands of a manager for inducing
his subordinates to act in the desired manner by satisfying their needs
and desires. It is concerned with how behaviour gets started, is
energised, initiated, sustained and directed.
A successful manager knows that the issue of directions, however wellconceived, does not mean that they will be followed. He makes
appropriate use of motivation to enthuse the personnel to work
effectively for the attainment of the established goals.
4.2. Features of Motivations
Motivation is a captivating concept. It is a fascinating but complex
phenomenon.
The main features of motivation are as follows:

Motivation is goal-oriented;

Motivation is a continuous process;

Motivation may be positive or negative;

Motivation may be monetary or non-monetary;

Motivation may be considered in totality, not in piecemeal;

Motivation is a psychological phenomenon that converts abilities into
performance.
4.3. Importance of Motivation
Motivation is one of the most important factors determining
organisational efficiency and effectiveness. All organisational facilities
will go waste in the lack of motivated people to utilise these facilities
effectively. Every superior in the organisation must motivate his
subordinates to create in them the will to work.
The importance of motivation may be summed up as follows:
1. Removal of Apathy:
It is the considered view that the workers as a rule do not exert
adequate energy for the accomplishment of a task assigned to them.
This is because they are somehow dissatisfied with work, work
situation or with the management authority. Motivation removes this
apathy of the workers for peak performance.
2. Combining ‘Will to work’ with ‘Capacity for work’:
The will to work differs from the capacity for work. A man may have
the capacity for doing a work having physical strength, technical skill,
sufficient intelligence and mental alertness; but he may not have the
mentality to apply them in full to his work. Motivation removes this
psychological barrier and combines the will to work with the capacity
for work of the workers.
3. Securing Full Support and Energy of the Workers:
The vital mark of a successful manager is his capacity to ensure full
support and co-operation of the workers with their energy, ability and
enthusiasm. “You can buy a man’s time, you can buy a man’s physical
presence at a given place, but you cannot buy his enthusiasm,
initiative or loyalty and his capacity, will and energy without
motivation.” The vital mark of a successful manager is, thus,
associated with motivation.
4. Understanding the Employees’ Needs:
Motivation makes the managers understand and realise the needs of
the employees and gives satisfaction to them accordingly. If there is
this understanding, and motivation works behind it, the managers are
sure to receive needed co-operation of the employees for the
profitability of the enterprise.
5. Maximum Utilisation of the Resources:
Motivation inspires the workers to make the best possible use of
different factors of production. They work whole-heartedly to apply
their abilities in minimising waste and cost. This will enable the
enterprise to utilise its human, physical and financial resources to the
maximum.
6. Increase in Efficiency and Output:
Motivation is an effective instrument in the hands of the managers to
maximise efficiency of operations and output of the enterprise.
Motivated employees put higher performance as compared to other
employees.
A happy and contended work force ensures improved efficiency and
higher output. Increase in labour productivity results in higher wages
for the workers and increased profits for the enterprise. The high
performance is a must for an organisation being successful and this
performance comes through motivation.
7. Low Employee Turnover and Absenteeism:
Motivated employees stay in the organisation and their absenteeism is
quite low. High labour turnover and absenteeism create many
problems in the organisation. Existence of attractive financial and
non-financial incentives helps to retain the employees. They are not
easily tempted away by offers from the competitors. With reduced
labour turnover, it becomes possible for the enterprise to plan its
activities on a long-term basis.
8. Acceptance of Organisational Changes:
Organisations are integral parts of the society. The changes taking
place in the society, i.e. changes in technology, knowledge, value
system, etc., require an organisation to incorporate those changes to
cope up with the requirement of the time.
When these changes are introduced in the organisation, there is a
tendency to resist changes by the employees. However, if they are
properly motivated, they will accept, introduce and implement these
changes and keep the organisation on the right track of progress.
9. Better Industrial Relations:
Existence of attractive motivational schemes promotes closer
identification between the enterprise and its workers. They merge
their individual interests with the organisational objectives. There
arises a sense of belonging and mutual co-operation at all levels.
Motivation will foster team spirit among the workers. This will reduce
labour unrest and create better relations between the managers and
workers.
10. Facilitating Other Functions of Management:
The successful accomplishment of different functions such as planning,
organising, directing, coordinating and controlling— all are interlinked with motivation. Motivation is the right force that can make
planning successful, organisation sound, direction forceful, coordination tight and control effective.
4.4. Early Theories of Motivation
4.5. Contemporary theories of motivation
The early management scholars laid a foundation that enabled managers to better understand
their workers and how best to motivate them. Since then, new theories have given us an even
better understanding of worker motivation.Four of these theories are explained in this section:
the expectancy theory, the equity theory, the goal-setting theory, and reinforcement theory.
Expectancy Theory
One of the best-supported and most widely accepted theories of motivation is expectancy theory,
which focuses on the link between motivation and behavior. According to expectancy theory,
the probability of an individual acting in a particular way depends on the strength of that
individual’s belief that the act will have a particular outcome and on whether the individual
values that outcome. The degree to which an employee is motivated depends on three important
relationships
1.
The link between effort and performance, or the strength of the individual’s expectation
that a certain amount of effort will lead to a certain level of performance
2.
The link between performance and outcome, or the strength of the expectation that a
certain level of performance will lead to a particular outcome
3.
The link between outcomes and individual needs, or the degree to which the individual
expects the anticipated outcome to satisfy personal needs. Some outcomes have more
valence, or value, for individuals than others do.
Equity Theory
Another contemporary explanation of motivation, equity theory is based on individuals’
perceptions about how fairly they are treated compared with their coworkers. Equity means
justice or fairness, and in the workplace it refers to employees’ perceived fairness of the way
they are treated and the rewards they earn. For example, imagine that after graduation you were
offered a job that paid $55,000 a year and had great benefits. You’d probably be ecstatic, even
more so if you discovered that the coworker in the next cubicle was making $45,000 for the same
job. But what if that same colleague were making $59,000 for the same job? You’d probably
think it unfair, particularly if the coworker had the same qualifications and started at the same
time as you did. Your determination of the fairness of the situation would depend on how you
felt you compared to the other person, or referent. Employees evaluate their own outcomes (e.g.,
salary, benefits) in relation to their inputs (e.g., number of hours worked, education, and training)
and then compare the outcomes-to-inputs ratio to one of the following: (1) the employee’s own
past experience in a different position in the current organization, (2) the employee’s own past
experience in a different organization, (3) another employee’s experience inside the current
organization, or (4) another employee’s experience outside the organization.
Goal-Setting Theory
Goal-setting theory is based on the premise that an individual’s intention to work toward a goal
is a primary source of motivation. Once set, the goal clarifies for the employee what needs to be
accomplished and how much effort will be required for completion. The theory has three main
components: (1) specific goals lead to a higher level of performance than do more generalized
goals (“do your best”); (2) more difficult goals lead to better performance than do easy goals
(provided the individual accepts the goal); and (3) feedback on progress toward the goal
enhances performance. Feedback is particularly important because it helps the individual identify
the gap between the real (the actual performance) and the ideal (the desired outcome defined by
the goal). Given the trend toward employee empowerment in the workplace, more and more
employees are participating in the goal-setting process.
Reinforcement Theory
Reinforcement theory says that behavior is a function of its consequences. In other words,
people do things because they know other things will follow. So, depending on what type of
consequences follows, people will either practice a behavior or refrain from it. There are three
basic types of consequences: positive, negative, and none. In general, we think of positive
consequences as rewards, but a reward is anything that increases the particular behavior. By
contrast, punishment is anything that decreases the behavior.
4.6. Implication of motivation for performance and satisfaction
4.7. Managerial Approaches for Improving Motivation