Study of motivation - Essay Example

Motivation Maslow was one of the first who developed his ideas about motivation. His Hierarchy of Needs was based on two main factors: the Physiological factors (Food and Shelter and Safety) and the Psychological factors (Belonging, Esteem and Actualization). Still, it is possible to argue that Maslows hierarchy is believed to move in one direction only from the bottom to the top. Motivation is not based on items people have, he claims that people are motivated by the things they do not have, but really want.

Thus, money is only means for reaching ones goal. David McClelland developed 3 different natural motivators, which are related to a personality determination. Achievement motivated people are mainly impressed by the opportunity to reach their goals. A sense of accomplishment satisfies them and they are pleased by their goals completion. Authority motivated people like being controlled and they feel safe in their subjective positions. Affiliation motivated group of people are fond of being involved in interaction with other people.

This group of people performs perfectly in a team environment. Thus, McClelland approach to motivation can be justified, because he underlines the importance of group cooperation and subjection of an individual to the social factors and not only individual concerns. Cognitive approach and relation of motivation to human conscience is one of the popular interpretations of the nature of motivation. On the basis of a substantial body of experimental evidence the extrinsic motivation (contingent rewards) can be opposed to intrinsic motivation (when the individual wants to perform the task for himself.

Cognitive Evaluation Theory (CET) describes underlying intrinsic motivation as the option for competence and self-determination. Rewards are external factors which influence motivation (Motivation Today). On the one hand, we can claim that an individual is motivated if he obtains something from the environment and in such a way he defines his further motivated behavior. On the other hand, an individual can rely more on his inner triggers of motivation and remain indifferent to external rewards.

It depends on a human nature and his goal-orientation. Goal setting theory is based on the following principle: one can work hard to reach ones goal and it is necessary to define clear goals otherwise general and vague goals would be misleading. People should have a good stimulus. Employees motivation if based on this goal can lead to positive results. In case they can complete their works effectively the company will benefit for sure and individual satisfaction with the jobs performance can be reached too.

The organizational goals can be opposed to managerial goals. Complex goals imply more complicated behavior and, as a rule, it is difficult to motivate people with vague goals. Therefore, people can be motivated by either internal or external factors. In the modern world money is not the most powerful motivating factor for sure. Extrinsic factors can win over intrinsic factors and a person can be more interested in gaining money than in being satisfied with his job performance. ReferencesMotivation Today.

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