Motivation

D R B C M O N D A L

MOTIVATION

DEFINITION

•It is a dynamic process

initiating and directing

behavior, continuous but

fluctuating in intensities, and

aimed at the satisfaction of

the individual‟s need (Swift).

Motivation is defined as the process

that initiates, guides, and maintains

goal-oriented behaviors. Motivation

is what causes us to act, whether it

is getting a glass of water to reduce

thirst or reading a book to gain

knowledge.

COMPONENTS OF MOTIVATION

• Activation involves the decision to initiate a

behavior, such as enrolling in a psychology

class.

• Persistence is the continued effort toward a goal

even though obstacles may exist, such as taking more psychology courses in order to

earn a degree although it requires a significant

investment of time, energy, and resources.

• Intensity can be seen in the concentration and

vigor that goes into pursuing a goal.

CHARACTERISTICS

Motivation is a psychological phenomenon: Motivation is an internal feeling which generates within an individual. Motivating factors are always unconscious but they are to be aroused by leadership action.

Motivation is based on needs: Needs may be consciously or unconsciously felt. Needs may be (a) fundamental needs such as food, clothes, shelter, etc. and (b) ego-satisfaction needs such as self-development, self-actualization. These needs vary with individuals and with the same individual at different times.

Goals are motivator: Motivation causes goal directed behavior, feeling of need by the person causes him to behave in such a way that he tries to satisfy himself.

CHARACTERISTICS

Motivation is different from satisfaction: Motivation implies a drive towards an outcome while satisfaction involves outcomes already experienced and achieved satisfaction is the contentment experienced when a desire is satisfied.

Motivation is a continuous process: Motivation is an unending process. Wants are innumerable and cannot be satisfied at one time. As satisfaction of needs is an unending process, so the process of motivation is also unending.

Motivation is related to a person in totality: Person in totality, not in part, is motivated.

IMPORTANCE OF MOTIVATION

• Best utilization of resources: Motivation ensures best and

efficient utilization of all types of resources.

• Will to contribute: There is a difference between “capacity to work” and “willingness to work.” One can be physically and mentally fit to work but he may not be willing to work. Motivation results in a feeling of involvement to present his better performance. Thus, motivation bridges the gap between capacity to work and willingness to work.

• Sizeable increase in production and productivity: When motivated properly, people try to put efforts to produce more, thus increasing their efficiency and as a result of this the general production and productivity of the organization increases.

IMPORTANCE OF MOTIVATION

• Basis of cooperation: In a zeal to produce more the members work „as a team to pull the weight effectively, to get their loyalty to the group and the organization, to carry out properly the activities allocated and generally to play an efficient part in achieving the purpose which the organization has undertaken'.

• Improvement upon skill and knowledge: All the members will try to be as efficient as possible and will try to improve upon their skill and knowledge so that they may be able to contribute to the progress of the organization.

• Better image: A firm that provides opportunities for the advancement of its people has a better image in the minds of the public as a good employer.

IMPORTANCE OF MOTIVATION

• Best utilization of resources: Motivation ensures best and efficient utilization of all types of resources.

• Will to contribute: There is a difference between “capacity to work” and “willingness to work.” One can be physically and mentally fit to work but he may not be willing to work. Motivation results in a feeling of involvement to present his better performance. Thus, motivation bridges the gap between capacity to work and willingness to work.

• Sizeable increase in production and productivity: When motivated properly, people try to put efforts to produce more, thus increasing their efficiency and as a result of this the general production and productivity of the organization increases.

CLASSIFICATION OF MOTIVATION

Intrinsic motivation: Intrinsic motivations are those

that arise from within the individual, such as doing a

complicated cross-word puzzle purely for the

personal gratification of solving a problem.

Internal desires to perform a particular task, people

do certain activities because it gives them pleasure,

develops a particular skill, or It‟s morally the right

thing to do.

Extrinsic motivation: Extrinsic motivations are those

that arise from outside of the individual and often

involve rewards such as trophies, money, social

recognition or praise.

Factors external to the individual and unrelated to the

task they are performing. Examples include money,

good grades, and other Rewards.

TECHNIQUES OF MOTIVATING THE STUDENTS IN CLASSROOM

• Child centric approach

• Linking with previous knowledge

• Definiteness of goals

• Knowledge of the results and progress

• Praise

• Rewards

• Healthy competition

THEORY OF HUMAN MOTIVATION

• It was in 1943 a Psychologist Mr.

Abraham Harold Maslow suggested his

Theory of Human Motivation. Maslow's

theory is based on the Hierarchy of

Human Needs.

ASSUMPTIONS IN HIERARCHY OF

NEEDS THEORY I

• Man is a wanting being, i.e. his wants are growing

continuously even when some wants are satisfied.

Human needs are of varied and diversified nature.

They can be arranged in a hierarchy of importance

progressing from a lower to a higher order of needs.

• Needs have a definite hierarchy of importance. As

soon as needs on a lower level are fulfilled, those on

the next level will emerge and demand satisfaction.

• A satisfied need does not act as a motivator.

• As one need is satisfied, another replaces it.

• Physiological Needs : Physiological needs are the

basic needs for sustaining human life. These needs

include food, shelter, clothing, rest, air, water, sleep

and sexual satisfaction. These basic human needs

(also called biological needs) lie at the lowest level

in the hierarchy of needs as they have priority over

all other needs.

• Security / Safety Needs : These are the needs

connected with the psychological fear of loss of

job, property, natural calamities or hazards, etc. An

employee wants protection from such types of fear.

He prefers adequate safety or security in this regard

i.e. protection from physical danger, security of job,

pension for old age, insurance cover for life, etc.

The safety needs come after meeting the

physiological needs.

Social Needs : An employee is a human being is

rightly treated as a social animal. He desires to stay in

group. He feels that he should belong to one or the

other group and the member of the group should

accept him with love and affection. Every person

desires to be affiliated to such groups. This is treated

as basic social need of an individual.

• Esteem Needs : This category of needs include the need to be respected by others, need to be appreciated by others, need to have power and finally prestigious position. Once the previous needs are satisfied, a person feels to be held in esteem both by himself and also by others. Thus, esteem needs are two fold in nature. Self esteem needs include those for self confidence, self-respect, competence, etc. The second groups of esteem needs are those related to one's status, reputation, recognition and appreciation by others. This is a type of personal ego which needs to be satisfied.

Self-actualisation Needs : This is the highest among

the needs in the hierarchy of needs advocated by

Maslow. Self actualisation is the desire to become

what one is capable of becoming. It is a 'growth'

need. A worker must work efficiently if he is to be

ultimately happy. Here, a person feels that he should

accomplish something in his fife. He want to utilise his

potentials to the maximum extent and desires to

become what one is capable of becoming.

MCCLELLAND’S THEORY

ACHIEVEMENT

People with a high need for achievement (nAch) seek to excel and thus tend to avoid both low-risk and high-risk situations. Achievers avoid low-risk situations because the easily attained success is not a genuine achievement. In high-risk projects, achievers see the outcome as one of chance rather than one's own effort. High nAch individuals prefer work that has a moderate probability of success, ideally a 50% chance. Achievers need regular feedback in order to monitor the progress of their acheivements. They prefer either to work alone or with other high achievers.

AFFILIATION

Those with a high need for affiliation (nAff) need

harmonious relationships with other people and need

to feel accepted by other people. They tend to

conform to the norms of their work group. High nAff

individuals prefer work that provides significant

personal interaction. They perform well in customer

service and client interaction situations.

POWER

A person's need for power (nPow) can be one of two

types - personal and institutional. Those who need

personal power want to direct others, and this need

often is perceived as undesirable. Persons who need

institutional power (also known as social power) want

to organize the efforts of others to further the goals of

the organization. Managers with a high need for

institutional power tend to be more effective than

those with a high need for personal power.

THEMATIC APPERCEPTION TEST

McClelland used the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) as a tool to measure the individual needs of different people. The TAT is a test of imagination that presents the subject with a series of ambiguous pictures, and the subject is asked to develop a spontaneous story for each picture. The assumption is that the subject will project his or her own needs into the story.

Psychologists have developed fairly reliable scoring techniques for the Thematic Apperception Test. The test determines the individual's score for each of the needs of achievement, affiliation, and power. This score can be used to suggest the types of jobs for which the person might be well suited.

IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGEMENT

People with different needs are motivated differently.

• High need for achievement - High achievers should be given challenging projects with reachable

goals. They should be provided frequent feedback.

While money is not an important motivator, it is an

effective form of feedback.

• High need for affiliation - Employees with a high affiliation need perform best in a cooperative

environment.

• High need for power - Management should provide power seekers the opportunity to manage others.

WEINER’S ATTRIBUTION THEORY

• Bernard Weiner (born 1935) is a social

psychologist who is known for

developing a form of attribution theory

which explains the emotional and

motivational entailments of academic

success and failure.

• It emphasizes that learners' current self-

perceptions will strongly influence the ways

in which they will interpret the success or

failure of their current efforts and hence

their future tendency to perform these same

behaviors.

• First, the cause of the success or failure

may be internal or external. That is, we

may succeed or fail because of

factors that we believe have their

origin within us or because of factors

that originate in our environment.

• Second, the cause of the success or failure

may be either stable or unstable. If the we

believe cause is stable, then the outcome is

likely to be the same if we perform the same

behavior on another occasion. If it is

unstable, the outcome is likely to be

different on another occasion

• Third, the cause of the success or

failure may be either controllable or

uncontrollable. A controllable factor is

one which we believe we ourselves can

alter if we wish to do so. An

uncontrollable factor is one that we do

not believe we can easily alter.

•An important assumption of

attribution theory is that people will

interpret their environment in such a

way as to maintain a positive self-

image.

FACTORS RELATED TO ATTRIBUTION THEORY

• Ability is a relatively internal and stable factor over

which the learner does not exercise much direct

control.

• Task difficulty is an external and stable factor that is

largely beyond the learner's control.

• Effort is an internal and unstable factor over which

the learner can exercise a great deal of control.

• Luck is an external and unstable factor over which

the learner exercises very little control.