Meaning and Definition of Motivation:
Success at work is not a matter of only technical expertise but also dependent on the interest of the worker. Creating interest in people to give their best to the work and the workplace is the key to motivation. For this purpose, the managers should know why people act as they do and what will make them to give their best on their jobs.
Some important definitions of motivation may be given as follows:
Carroll Strartle
Motivation is a reported urge or tension to move in a given direction or to achieve a certain goal.
Micheal Jucius
Motivation is the art of stimulating someone or oneself to set a desired course of action or push the right button to get the desired action.
E.F.I. Brech
Motivation is a general inspirational process which gets the members of the team to pull their weight effectively, to give their loyalty to the group, to carry out properly the tasks that they have accepted and generally to play an effective to play an effective part in the job that the group has undertaken.
Weihrich and Koontz
Motivation is a general term applying to the entire class of drives, desires, needs, wishes and similar forces. To say that managers motivate their subordinates is to say that they do those things which key hope will satisfy these drives and desires and induce the subordinates to act in a desired manner.
In sum, motivation is a psychological process which is related to human side and through which the desires, needs or tensions of the employees are understood and they are inspired in such a way that they proceed in a desired direction, provide maximum help in the achievement of specified goals, keep on the drive to work, continue to cooperate with each other, develop and maintain the sense of belongingness towards the enterprise, feel satisfied and their morale remains high. Thus, motivations are the process of steering a person’s inner drives and actions towards certain goals and committing his energies to achieve these goals.
Characteristics Or Features of Motivation
Some important features of motivation may be brought out as follows:
1. Personal and Internal Feeling
Motivation is a psychological phenomenon, which is generated within an individual in the form of an energetic force that drives him to behave or not to behave in certain ways. These are some environmental and other forces that trigger these drives.
2. Art of Stimulating Someone Or Oneself
A manager can use motivation to inspire not only his subordinates, but to motivate himself also. For self-motivation, he has to take following steps:
• He should set a goal for himself and should not close sight of it.
• He should supplement his long term objectives with short-term goals.
• He should learn a challenging task every year.
• He should make his job a different one with a view to improving objectives for his position and increasing his productivity.
• He should develop an area of expertise by building on his strengths and developing his weaknesses into strengths.
• He should give himself the feedback and reward himself by celebrating his accomplishment.
3. Produces Goal – Directed Behaviour
Motivation is closely intertwined with behaviour. As a Behavioural concept, it directs human behaviour toward certain goals.
4. Motivation can be either Positive or Negative
Positive motivation is also known as Carrot Approach and includes use of additional pays, incentives, praise possibility of becoming a permanent employee etc. Negative motivation is also called Stick Approach and implies punishment, such as reprimands, threat of demotion, threat of termination, etc.
5. The Central Problem of Motivation is HOW
Motivation is necessary for successful achievement of goals. However, it is a complex process because different employees have different needs, their motives are varied and needs and motivates change from time to time. Moreover, motivation is partly logical and partly emotional. Further, people satisfy their needs in many different ways. Hence, the central problem of motivation is how to inspire such a typical group of individuals towards attainment of goals in a concerned manner.
6. Motivation is System Oriented
Motivation is the result of interplay among three sets of different factors:
• Influences operating within an individual, for example, his needs, tensions, motives, values, goals etc.
• Influences operating within the organisation for example, its structure, technology, physical facilities, various processes, the nature of job, advancement avenues etc.
• Forces operating in the external environment, for example, society is culture, norms, values, customs, government policy regarding the business of the enterprise etc.
7. Motivation is a Sort of Bargaining
Inducements from the side of the enterprise and contributions from the side of the employees.
8. Motivation is different from Satisfaction
Motivation refers to the drive and effort to satisfy a want or goal. Satisfaction refers to the contentment experienced when a want is fulfilled. In other words, motivation implies a drive toward an outcome and satisfaction is the outcome already experienced.