In general sense,
- Internal state or condition that activates behavior and
gives it direction;
- Desire or want that energizes and directs goal-oriented
behavior;
- Influence of needs and desires on the intensity and
direction of behavior.
Meaning of Motivation:
Motivation is an important factor
which encourages persons to give their best performance and help in reaching
enterprise goals. A strong positive motivation will enable the increased output
of employee but a negative motivation will reduce their performance. A key
element in personnel management is motivation.
Definitions of Motivation:
1.
“Motivation is the combination of forces
which initiates and sustains behaviour”. –Lindsley.
2.
“Motivation is the process of arousing,
sustaining and regulating activity”. C.
W. Good.
The Process of
Motivation
Motivation is concerned with goal directed behaviour, which is initiated
by unsatisfied need. A goal is established to satisfy that need, a course of
action is determined which is expected to lead towards attainment of goal. For
better understand of the process of Motivation, a figure may be displayed here
Nature of
Motivation:
Motivation is a psychological
phenomenon which generates within an individual. A person feels the lack of
certain needs, to satisfy which he feels working more. The need satisfying ego
motivates a person to do better than he normally does.
1. Motivation is an inner feeling which energizes a person to work more.
2. The emotions or desires of a
person prompt him for doing a particular work.
3. There are unsatisfied needs of a
person which disturb his equilibrium.
4. A person moves to fulfill his
unsatisfied needs by conditioning his energies.
5. There are dormant energies in a
person which are activated by channelizing them into actions.
Importance of
Motivation:
1. Greater efficiency: Motivation
enhances the efficiency of the employees and of organization. When employees
are motivated, they can perform with commitment and dedication.
2. Reduction in
absenteeism and labour turnover: Motivated employees may
not remain absent or leave the organization. They develop a sense of belonging
towards the organization and thus improve their overall performance.
3. Team spirit: Motivation improves team spirit of employees, and this improves the work environment and the overall performance of the employee and the organization.
4. Reduction in
wastages and breakages: Motivated employees take great care
in handling machines and other resources. This will reduce wastages and
breakages, thus resulting in higher benefits to the organization.
5. Cordial relations: Motivation enables cordial and healthy relationship in the organization. Motivation helps reduce labour grievances and disputes. It ensures sound relations between the management and the labour. It improves the overall efficiency of the organization.
6. Promotion of
innovation: Motivated employees use their initiative
to find out innovative ways in the performance of their operations. Such
employees are more creative and help the organization to gain the competitive
advantage.
7. Optimum use of resources: Motivation leads to greater employee involvement and lesser wastages. This leads to optimum utilization of resources.
8. Corporate image: Motivated
employees are more loyal to the organization. They work with a sense of
commitment and dedication. This improves the overall performance of the
employee, which enables better results for the company. This results in better
relations with all the stakeholders.
Characteristics/Features
of Motivation:
1. Interaction between
the individual and the situation: Motivation is not a
personal trait but an interaction between the individual and the situation.
2. Goal-directed
behaviour: Motivation leads to an action that is
goal oriented. Motivation leads to accomplishment of organizational goals and
satisfaction of personal needs.
3. Systems oriented:
Motivation is
influenced by two forces:
a.
Internal forces: These forces are internal to the
individual, i.e., their needs, wants and nature.
b. External forces: These forces are external to the individual, which may be organizational related such as management philosophy, organizational structure, and superior-subordinate relationship, and also the forces found in the external environment such as culture, customs, religion and values
4. Positive or
negative: Positive motivation or the carrot approach offers
positive incentives such as appreciation, promotion, status and incentives.
Negative motivation or stick approach emphasizes penalties, fines and punishments.
5. Dynamic and complex
in nature: Human behaviour is highly complex, and
it becomes extremely difficult to understand people at work. Motivation is a
dynamic and complex process.
Types of Motivation:
There are two types of motivation,
Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation. It's important to understand that we are
not all the same; thus effectively motivating your employees requires that you
gain an understanding of the different types of motivation. Such an
understanding will enable one to better categorize the team members and apply
the appropriate type of motivation.
Intrinsic Motivation
Intrinsic motivation means that the
individual's motivational stimuli are coming from within. The individual has the
desire to perform a specific task, because its results are in accordance with
his belief system or fulfills a desire and therefore importance is attached to
it.
Our deep-rooted desires have the
highest motivational power. Below are some examples:
- Acceptance: We
all need to feel that we, as well as our decisions, are accepted by our
co-workers.
- Curiosity: We
all have the desire to be in the know.
- Honor: We all need
to respect the rules and to be ethical.
- Independence: We
all need to feel we are unique.
- Order: We all need
to be organized.
- Power: We all have
the desire to be able to have influence.
- Social contact: We
all need to have some social interactions.
- Social Status: We all have the desire to feel important.
Extrinsic Motivation
Extrinsic motivation means that the individual's motivational stimuli are coming from outside. In other words, our desires to perform a task are controlled by an outside source. Note that even though the stimuli are coming from outside, the result of performing the task will still be rewarding for the individual performing the task.
Extrinsic motivation is external in
nature. The most well-known and the most debated motivation is money. Below are
some other examples:
- Employee of the month award
- Benefit package
- Bonuses
- Organized activities
Techniques of
Motivation:
i. Keep Students Active and Engaged: When students are interacting and engaged, they won't have to time to get bored. Choose students at random to answer questions, and make it understood that you value their input and ideas. Student interaction and sharing enhances instructional time and prepares students to function more effectively as a body of learners. We must recognize the importance of these dynamics and find ways to celebrate student intelligence.
ii. Allow for Creativity and Variety: Assigning a piece of writing? Allow students to pick their own genre—such as reports, poems, creative writing stories, plays, or songs—when assigning a topic. When students can pick their favorite form of writing, they'll stay intrinsically motivated.
iii. Create a Class Newspaper: Inspire interest in current events by using a local paper as a model for reporting class events. Class projects in every subject area can be presented as news articles with headers, bylines, lead-ins, bodies, and summary paragraphs. Word games, weather, horoscopes, and after-school activities can be integrated with whatever content is being taught.
iv. Get Out of the Classroom: Holding class or even just a short discussion in a new environment, whether a park, museum, or the school library, is a great way to stoke student interest. When you return to your classroom, they may see a new approach to a problem or assignment.
v. Create a Competition: Participate in a competition. As long as there is appreciation for everyone's best effort and not all attention is placed solely on the winner, a competition can be a great way to create excitement.
vi. Offer Differentiated Instruction: Knowing that you'll have students of differing abilities in your classroom, craft your lessons for everyone—taking into consideration the different ability levels.
vii. Provide Feedback Promptly, Frequently, and Efficiently: Students must be able to see a direct connection between any effort or completed task (such as homework) and a response from you, both verbal and written. Make sure you mention each student's personal progress, rather than comparing his or her work with others in the class.
viii. Provide Multiple Opportunities for Students to Set Goals: Students should have multiple opportunities to set their own academic goals. Invite them to establish obtainable goals for a lesson, a unit, or even for the whole year. Ask them what they would like to learn about a topic and what they think they must do to learn that material. Psychologists tell us that the goals we set for ourselves (as opposed to the goals others set for us) are intrinsically more motivational. We're more inclined to pursue those goals and relish in the success that comes about when we achieve them.
ix. Start the Day with Fun: Start the day off on a pleasant note: a funny video, a trivia question, or fun fact will help students see the entertaining side of learning.
x. Share Accomplishments: Provide numerous opportunities for students to share their accomplishments with the class and the class to share their achievements with the larger school community. Use skits, plays, readers theater productions, library displays, bulletin boards, a class newspaper or newsletter, or other media to promote the efforts of the whole classroom.
