Week 3 Assignment Motivation

Week 3 Assignment Motivation

Motivation may be defined as psychological forces that determine the direction of a person’s behavior in an organization. Motivation is central to management because it explains why people behave the way they do. In a 1-2 page paper, discuss the principle needs/desires of the typical employee. Then, using two motivation theories presented in the course readings, discuss how managers can best motivate their employees to succeed.

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Employees are considered to be the most important asset to a company as they are a principle source of income. Creative ideas and productivity are essential to maximizing this income, for which motivation is a key factor. A motivated workforce results in a job being done excellently which can therefore yield higher profits for the company. This illustrates why motivation is considered to be highly important and most companies are trying to focus on how to get their employees motivated. In addition, motivation is also important because it has a strong positive effect on job performance which increases self efficacy and therefore leads to a job well done. Motivation can be achieved by monetary means or non monetary means. However, most managers assume that motivation can be achieved solely through the implementation of monetary rewards alone – which is definitely an incorrect assumption. Depending on money alone can be consequential and could probably result in many other needs of the company being overlooked and dissatisfied. Motivation is defined as a set of energetic forces that originates from both inside and outside an employee and not only initiates work-related effort but also determines its direction, intensity and persistence. Motivation is of two types: intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is defined as the motivation that comes from within and is not influenced by monetary rewards (Bainbridge, para 1). Examples of the aforementioned type of motivation include accomplishment, skill development and enjoyment. Extrinsic motivation is the motivation that arises as a result of the expected benefits for an employee from doing the right job. This involves monetary payments or benefits such as pay, bonuses and promotions. Motivation determines how employees perform at their jobs at any given moment in time and in what direction and with how much dedication their efforts are channeled. Different employees have different reasons to be motivated, whether intrinsic or extrinsic. The Cognitive Theory explains the relationship between the intrinsic and the extrinsic motivators and proves that extrinsic motivators have an influence on intrinsic ones. According to Cameron & Pierce (2002), the “Cognitive Theory purposes that intrinsic motivation springs from two innate sources: the need for self competence and need for self determination” (p. 39). However, many researchers have argued about the influence of rewards on intrinsic motivation and claim that it can be influenced by future anticipated rewards (Cameron, J & Pierce, W, 2002, p. 40). The main incentive for motivation is considered to be monetary rewards in the form of reward schemes. “A reward is a work outcome of positive value to the individual that is provided in an organization” (Hiriyappa, 2009, p.163). Rewards are divided into intrinsic rewards and extrinsic rewards and parallels can be drawn to intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to a certain extent. The concept of reward schemes are used by most management groups or employers as a mechanism of getting employees to do a good job in return for reward. According to Stephen (2006) in his article, he explains that money is the main incentive for humans to do work as they perceive it as a method of obtaining more money when they achieve their objectives and that money serves as a reinforcement of past behavior (p. 2 section 1.2). Reward schemes include commission, performance related pay and profit sharing, to name a few. For example, an organization can influence and motivate workers to perform up to expected standards or possibly even better by providing them with incentives such as money. If employee X achieves 200 units of sales, then he receives 10% of sales revenue. In addition to the aforementioned, there are many theories that explain employee behavior and the many reasons why they might behave in a certain manner. Vroom’s Expectancy Theory is one of these theories and is…………………

Week 3 Assignment Motivation