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MOvitiation in the work place

MOvitiation in the work place Motivation has to do with understanding the "why" of human behavior. If we have some knowledge of why people do what they do, we can do a better job of understanding, predicting, and influencing that behavior. Why do some people work hard and others coast? Why do some leaders have high-producing units and others, with employees of comparable background, have low producing ones? Why are some organizations noted for a culture in which employees are highly motivated and enjoy work, whereas others are noted for high turnover rates? Although a number of factors affect employee performance, a primary variable is motivation, the process of inducing a person or a group of people, each with distinct needs and personalities, to achieve the organization's objectives, while also working to achieve personal objectives. Motivation is as individual as human personality and behavior, that you will probably find that your employees have different backgrounds, needs, and aspirations, ranked the items differently. But certain underlying principles and theories of motivation enable managers to better understand and predict people's responses to performing their tasks, despite the uniqueness of human beings. It is possible to make three basic assumptions about human behavior as it affects motivation. First, human behavior is caused; second, it is goal directed; and third, it does not occur in isolation. This means that an employee behavior may be caused by the way they perceive the world and is directed toward achieving a certain goal or goals. Therefore, the motivational process is basically one of causation. Employee needs (motives) cause an inner desire to overcome some lack or imbalance. Some form of managerial incentive is applied that motivates us to respond and behave so that performance results. Thus, their needs are satisfied, and the organization attains its desired output. Understanding this process contributes to success in seeing that organization members contribute their joint efforts to generate productivity. Motivation provides the best potential source of increased productivity and profitability. It implies that employee abilities will be used more efficiently, which in turn should lead to improved job satisfaction as well as increased productivity. Although motivational theories are often viewed as abstract and unrelated to the real world, a good theory provides a basis for understanding, explaining, and predicting what will happen in the work environment. Whether we realize it or not, leaders and managers, working with and through other people, must operate from some theory. The core theories of motivation can be classified into two categories--content and process. Content Theories (sometimes called need theories) are concerned with the question of what causes people to act. This question leads to an identification of needs, incentives, and perceptions. The most popular of the content theories are (1) psychologist Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and (2) Frederick Herzberg's motivation-maintenance theory. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Maslow are based his concept of a hierarchy of needs on two principles. First, human needs may be arranged in a hierarchy of importance progressing from a lower to a higher order of needs. Second a satisfied need no longer serves as a primary motivator of behavior. Herzberg's Motivation-Maintenance Theory In general, employees tend to focus on lower-level needs, particularly security, in their first jobs. After those are satisfied, however, they try to fulfill higher-level needs, such as initiative, creativity, and responsibility. It is by appealing to those needs that real achievement in efficiency, productivity, and creativity can be made, although managers do not always do this. The content theories focus on the needs that drive or spur behavior and the incentives that attract or induce behavior. The process theories focus on how behavior is energized and directed and how it is related to performance and satisfaction. The process theory has three basic theories (1) expectancy theory, (2) reinforcement theory, and (3) equity theory. Expectancy theory focuses on how workers decide which specific behaviors to perform and how much effort to exert. In other words, expectancy theory is concerned with how workers make choices among alternative behaviors and levels of effort. With its emphasis on choices, expectancy theory focuses on workers' perceptions and thoughts or cognitive processes. Sometimes workers are not motivated to perform at a high level because they do not perceive that high performance will lead to extra benefits (such as pay raises, time off, and promotions). When workers think that good performance goes unrecognized, their motivation to perform at a high level tends to be low. When workers do not believe that performance is instrumental to obtaining rewards, management can take steps to rectify the situation and ensure that performance leads to rewards for as many workers as possible. This is the reinforcement comes into play. We as leaders must constantly reinforce and motivated high performance with employees. Equity theory is based on the premise that a worker perceives the relationship between outcomes, what the worker gets from a job and organization, and inputs, what the worker contributes to a job and organization. Outcomes include pay, fringe benefits, job satisfaction, status, and opportunities for advancement, job security, and anything else that workers desire and receive from an organization. Inputs include special skills, training, education, and work experience, effort on the job, time, and anything else that workers perceive that they contribute to an organization. According to equity theory, however, it is not the objective level of outcomes and inputs that is important in determining work motivation. What is important to motivation is the way a worker perceives his or her outcome/input ratio compared to the outcome/input ratio of another person. We as leaders and managers are continually generating either positive or negative responses from employees. Good performance results when managers obtain a positive response; it does not occur when the response is negative. The real question is what type of environment managers can provide in order to stimulate improved performance and employee development most effectively. Motivation occurs through the interaction of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards with employee needs, as modified by the employee's expectations. Managers can motivate employees toward improved performance by creating a positive climate where people can be motivated from within. Some practical things I think a manager should do to create a motivating environment include: (1) Send employees to training courses for skill upgrading and management development (2) With new and untrained employees, assigning experienced employees to assist in training and development. (3) With trained and motivated employees, delegating authority and supervising by results rather than using close supervision (4) In dealing with complex problems or special projects, calling employees in and getting their ideas (5) Assigning employees to special ad hoc task forces for developing recommendations on key issues (6) Complimenting and recognizing employees for good work Bibliography:

Word Count: 1110