Internal and External Factors of Motivation - Coursework Example

Topic: Role of Internal and External Factors of Motivation Student’s name Lecturer’s name Course name 2nd September 2011 Introduction Motivation is defined as the force that drives human beings to undertake different duties in the process of achieving their goals. According to Whyte (2007) the term motivation is widely applied in human beings but it is also used in describing the behaviour of other animals (Whyte, p. 56). Motivation is different from optimism and volition but it is closely related to emotion. A number of theories related to motivation have been postulated. Some of the theories include incentive theory, need theories, cognitive theory and drive reduction theory. It is imperative to note that motivation is one of the key ingredients to human success because every human being is motivated in one way or the other to undertake a particular duty or activity. For example, an employee in a large organization is motivated by the good working environment as well as the salary package he/she receives from the company to continue working in the organization (Jones, 2008). Similarly, a student is motivated by the encouragement from the teacher as well as good grades he/she receives in a particular subject to continue performing better in the subject. The purpose of motivation is to give a person the drive to carry on and perform the required duty. Levels of motivation different from one person to the other and this explain the reason why some people perform better in certain responsibilities and duties than others. The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of internal and external factors in relation to motivation. Overview As stated there above, motivation is the driving force that leads a person to attain his goals or objectives in life. Such goals may include career goals, business goals, and family goals (to mention a few). It is the determination or zest that causes a person to persevere through thin and thick to attain the projected objectives despite the avenues used to achieve or attain such objectives. The driving force may come from the external environment or it may originate internally in a human being. External factors- Extrinsic motivation According to Weightman (2008) extrinsic motivation is the type of motivation that originates in the external surrounding of an individual. The common examples of extrinsic motivation include coercion, grades, money and punishment threats in case of students. Extrinsic motivation results into intense competition between individuals because every individual strived to outdo the others in different areas of life. For instance, the motivation to get good grades results into intense competition between students because every student strives to beat others in getting good grades. When an athlete is cheered by fans the motivation win the gold medal comes from the crowd which is the external environment. External factors that drive a person to perform a certain duty are numerous. However, such external factors may be positive or negative. One of the positive external factors or extrinsic motivating factors that drive an individual to perform a particular duty is money. Radoff (2011) noted that the desire to get money by being paid a salary of wages is the number one factor that motivates people to work. Radoff (p. 24) observed that people wake up every morning to go to work in order to earn a wage at the end of the day or a salary at the end of the month. The author noted that without money it would be difficult o convince an individual to go to work because there would be nothing tangible to show for working the whole day or month. Hence, money is the leading external factor that drives people to work. Another external factor that relates to motivation is recognition. Radoff (p. 26) noted that people are driven by the desire to be recognised by the society when they perform certain functions. For example, the motivation of a politician to attend a fundraising in his jurisdiction is driven by the desire to be recognised by the members of the society which means that recognition is the external factor that that relates to motivation in this context. Furthermore, rewards and praises are additional external factors that relate to motivation. Rewards are tangible substances that drive an individual to accomplish a given task knowing that at the end of the task he/she will likely get the reward. A reward may be in form of money or any other tangible substances such as a pair of shoe, a pair of short, a pen, a book to mention a few. Praise is an external and an intangible factor of motivation which involves written or verbal recognition by the management or a superior person in management. Roles of external factors of motivation One of the greatest roles of the above external factors of motivation is to give an individual the driving force to accomplish a given task. According to Robbins, Stephen and Judge (2007) external factors of motivation drive individuals to accomplish their tasks because they expect to get something in return. The authors noted that individuals are not motivated by the output of their efforts but they are motivated by what they will get at the end of the task. This means that external factors of motivation gives people the energy to carry out their duties. The second role of external factors of motivation such as money is to accomplish hard and difficult tasks. Robbins, Stephen and Judge (2007, P. 45) reiterated that certain tasks are difficult to undertake without a tangible substance a person expects to get after completing the task. For example, dangerous and difficult duties such as mining are only possible when people expect to get something for their efforts. This is because of the risks and the difficulties associated with the task. The third role of external factors of motivation is to achieve the set goals within the required time limit. Robbins, Stephen and Judge (2007, P. 46) observed that when short time goals are to be achieved in the organization such as increasing sales revenue by 50% within 3 months or attaining a certain objective within a given duration of time external factors of motivation such as overtime payments contribute largely to the employees working for long hours in order to achieve the set goals or objectives. It is imperative to note that the purpose of external factors of motivation is to induce behaviour. The fourth role of external factors of motivation is to increase the level of competition, creativity and innovation in different fields. According to Baumeister & Vohs (2004) extrinsic factors of motivation enhance competition and this increases the quality of performance of employees in an organization. For example, when employees expect a monetary reward at the end of the year for their performance, employees compete in terms of quality of work they deliver. This increases the level of creativity and innovation among the employees as they strive to outdo each other in different processes in the organization. Hence, external factors of motivation increase the level of competition which enhances creativity and innovation in the organization. The fifth role of extrinsic motivation is to encourage and discourage behaviour. Baumeister & Vohs (2004) noted that unwanted behaviour in children can be eliminated when a child is promised something tangible or receives praises from the parents, guardian of teachers. Similarly, a good behaviour is also encouraged in the life of a child when a child is rewarded with a pair of shoe, a pen or a book for behaving in an acceptable way as expected by the parents, teachers of a guardian. This means that external factors of motivation serve as stimuli for encouraging and discouraging certain behaviours in people. Internal factors- Intrinsic motivation According to Murphy (2009) intrinsic motivation refers to the inner drive that exists inside of an individual rather than outside of the individual. (Murphy, 2009, p. 34). It is the desire that is triggered by an enjoyment when performing a certain task. The main motivation behind intrinsic factors is enjoyment. Murphy (p. 45) defined enjoyment as excitement and happiness derived from performing a given task. For example, a doctor may derive happiness and excitement from the fact that the patients get better after treating them. Similarly, a teacher may be excited and happy after the students pass their exams. In the two examples above, it is evident that the happiness and the excitement of the doctor and the teacher is not on the salary or payment received at the end of the month but on the performance of the patients and the students. In such a situation the teacher and the doctor are said to enjoy their work. Cervone et al., (2006) observed that intrinsic motivation is vital in the life of a human being because it remains in the long term after extrinsic factors of motivation such as money and rewards are not forthcoming. Cervone and his colleagues noted that every individual is born with a certain level of intrinsic motivation that drives people throughout their lives to achieve their goals. The authors reiterated that a person with a higher level of intrinsic motivation is never worried about awards and praises because the inner motivation drives such a person to accomplish the tasks and duties for fulfilment and enjoyment purposes rather than getting paid for performing the tasks. One of the major examples of intrinsic motivation is demonstrated widely by volunteers. According to Cofer, Appley, Mortimer (2005) volunteers perform their tasks and derive their enjoyment and fulfilment from saving human lives without necessarily looking for something tangible to show for their efforts. Role of intrinsic motivational factors One of the major roles of intrinsic factors of motivation such as enjoyment is to eliminate difficulties in the performance of a task. For example, a teacher whose students enjoys learning and derives fulfilment in learning new topics is likely to succeed in teaching the students because such students are eager to learn new topics and new things every time the teacher introduces the topic. Such students also desire to have adequate knowledge and experience regarding a particular topic which drives them to do extensive research on a give topic. Thus students strive to apply their knowledge in understanding the subject matter (Goldthorpe et al., 2004). This is different from students that are extrinsically motivated whose desire and objective is to obtain good grades and pass their tests and exams without having adequate knowledge in a given topic. Enjoyment in learning eliminates difficulties of a teacher in teaching the students. The second role of intrinsic factors of motivation such as greater autonomy, encouraging creativity and increasing fun in the workplace is to reduce the level of supervision required by employees to perform their duties effectively. Carver & Scheier (2001) held that an intrinsically motivated employee shuns dishonesty and arrives in the workplace in time. Thus, constant supervision on such an employee is reduced because the inner drive pushes the employee to arrive to work in time. The third role of intrinsic motivation is to achieve better performance in the long-term. As stated above, intrinsic factors of motivation live beyond the extrinsic factors of motivation which means that intrinsic factors are long-term factors. For example, enjoyment and fulfilment in undertaking tasks and duties do not fade easily but money received after performing a similar task does not last long. Hence, when employees or students are intrinsically motivated the performance of a school or an organization is maintained at high levels for a long period of time. In conclusion, this paper has explored both the external and the internal factors of motivation. It has been established that external factors of motivation are short-lived but they enhance performance by increasing the level of competition, creativity and innovation. Intrinsic factors of motivation are found within an individual and they include enjoyment and fulfilment in undertaking different tasks. Intrinsic factors of motivation are long term. The main purpose of intrinsic factors of motivation is to increase and maintain level of purpose in the long term. The two levels of motivation are evident in everyday life as people are rewarded for their exemplary performance as well as the increasing numbers of volunteers who volunteer to work without a pay to save the lives of fellow human beings. References Baumeister, R. & Vohs, K. (2004). Handbook of self-regulation: Research, theory and applications, (New York: Guilford Press), p. 574. Carver, C & Scheier, M. (2001). On the self-regulation of behaviour. (New York: Cambridge University Press, p. 460). Cervone, D et al. (2006). “Self-regulation: Reminders and suggestions from personality science psychology: an International Review 55 (3): 333–385, Cofer, Charles N; Appley, Mortimer H (1967). Motivation: Theory and research, (New York:: John Wiley & Sons) Diana, C. & Mark, L. (2005). Intrinsic motivation and the process of learning: Beneficial effects of contextualization, personalization, and choice. (Oxford: Oxford University Press) Goldthorpe, J. et al. (2004). The affluent worker: Attitudes and behaviour. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). Jones, I. (2008). The human factor: Inside the CIA's dysfunctional intelligence culture (New York: Encounter Books). Murphy, J. (2009). Inner excellence. (New York: McGraw-Hill) Radoff, J. (2011). Game on: Energize your business with social games. (New York: Sage Publishers) Robbins, Stephen & Timothy. (2007). Essentials of organizational behaviour (9 ed.), (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall). Weightman, J. (2008). The employee motivation audit: (Cambridge Strategy Publications) Whyte, C. (2007). An additional look at orientation programs nationally- (reprint of 1986 article in same journal). National Orientation Directors Association Journal. 15 (1). 71-77. Read More

When an athlete is cheered by fans the motivation win the gold medal comes from the crowd which is the external environment. External factors that drive a person to perform a certain duty are numerous. However, such external factors may be positive or negative. One of the positive external factors or extrinsic motivating factors that drive an individual to perform a particular duty is money. Radoff (2011) noted that the desire to get money by being paid a salary of wages is the number one factor that motivates people to work.

Radoff (p. 24) observed that people wake up every morning to go to work in order to earn a wage at the end of the day or a salary at the end of the month. The author noted that without money it would be difficult o convince an individual to go to work because there would be nothing tangible to show for working the whole day or month. Hence, money is the leading external factor that drives people to work. Another external factor that relates to motivation is recognition. Radoff (p. 26) noted that people are driven by the desire to be recognised by the society when they perform certain functions.

For example, the motivation of a politician to attend a fundraising in his jurisdiction is driven by the desire to be recognised by the members of the society which means that recognition is the external factor that that relates to motivation in this context. Furthermore, rewards and praises are additional external factors that relate to motivation. Rewards are tangible substances that drive an individual to accomplish a given task knowing that at the end of the task he/she will likely get the reward.

A reward may be in form of money or any other tangible substances such as a pair of shoe, a pair of short, a pen, a book to mention a few. Praise is an external and an intangible factor of motivation which involves written or verbal recognition by the management or a superior person in management. Roles of external factors of motivation One of the greatest roles of the above external factors of motivation is to give an individual the driving force to accomplish a given task. According to Robbins, Stephen and Judge (2007) external factors of motivation drive individuals to accomplish their tasks because they expect to get something in return.

The authors noted that individuals are not motivated by the output of their efforts but they are motivated by what they will get at the end of the task. This means that external factors of motivation gives people the energy to carry out their duties. The second role of external factors of motivation such as money is to accomplish hard and difficult tasks. Robbins, Stephen and Judge (2007, P. 45) reiterated that certain tasks are difficult to undertake without a tangible substance a person expects to get after completing the task.

For example, dangerous and difficult duties such as mining are only possible when people expect to get something for their efforts. This is because of the risks and the difficulties associated with the task. The third role of external factors of motivation is to achieve the set goals within the required time limit. Robbins, Stephen and Judge (2007, P. 46) observed that when short time goals are to be achieved in the organization such as increasing sales revenue by 50% within 3 months or attaining a certain objective within a given duration of time external factors of motivation such as overtime payments contribute largely to the employees working for long hours in order to achieve the set goals or objectives.

It is imperative to note that the purpose of external factors of motivation is to induce behaviour. The fourth role of external factors of motivation is to increase the level of competition, creativity and innovation in different fields. According to Baumeister & Vohs (2004) extrinsic factors of motivation enhance competition and this increases the quality of performance of employees in an organization. For example, when employees expect a monetary reward at the end of the year for their performance, employees compete in terms of quality of work they deliver.

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