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Motivation is the force that makes us do things, whether accomplishing personal goals or completing tasks at work. Most people are motivated as a result of their individual needs being satisfied, which gives them the inspiration to perform specific behaviors for which they receive rewards (Kinicki & Williams, 2011). These needs vary from person to person, as everybody has specific needs to be satisfied. When we consider factors that determine the motivation of employees, many of us think of a high salary. This answer is correct for the reason that some employees will be motivated by money, but mostly wrong for the reason that it does not satisfy other needs to a lasting degree (Bizhelp24, 2010). This supports the idea that human...show more content...
There are numerous motivational theories that explain why people do what they do. When viewed collectively, these theories suggest people's actions are driven by the following factors: economic, social, and self–construct. Economic factors include not only money, but health protection, security, wealth, physical safety, and purchasing power. Sales commissions fit most of these needs, but do not fully meet the needs for security and physical safety. When people think about and act upon what others think of them, they are being influenced by social factors. Most people will work harder for positive feedback and avoid performance that garners negative feedback. For example, some people are eager to conform to the norms of a sales team and are positively motivated by the performance of the entire team. Self–construct is the inner voice that drives an individual to perform and differs in every individual. Some people are driven in the pursuit of self–accomplishment, while others are driven by the need for power or acceptance. Each of these factors are combined in varying degrees in all individuals, whether salespeople or not.
A successful motivational program recognizes these factors and combines awards, recognition, and peer pressure. To even further maximize full potential, managers should personalize these incentives based on the employee's interests, hobbies, and recreational activities (Boe, 2011). This is consistent with the ERG theory developed by Clayton

Motivation and Leadership are intrinsically linked in the fact that one allows an easement in the process of the other. Without the ability to use the mutual relationship of leadership to influence the motivators of followers, leaders stagnate and are limited by their own inability to accomplish all that must be for real change to occur. In less Rostonian terms (that is, based on Rost (1993)), without a motivated group of followers leaders are stranded and not achieving to a level of excellence. This paper will discuss some areas of importance for motivation in leadership as well as an application to leadership theory and a discussion on personal motivators. Motivation is the reason or purpose behind action, or what causes one to act in...show more content...
Osland, et al. (2007) provide a good introduction to three basic motivational content theories. The first theory is Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs that proposes man is motivated by a lack in the one or more of the five common needs. The needs that Maslow identifies are physiological, safety, social belonging, self–esteem, and self–actualization. Maslow believed that one fills needs from the most basic (like food and water) to the highest level (self–actualization). Maslow's ideas are easy to relate to and attempt to provide an all–inclusive approach to the concept of motivation; however, there is little evidence to support the idea that man cannot have self–actualization without the other more basic needs first satisfied. The second content theory Osland, et al. discuss is McCelland's learned needs. McCelland states that man is motivated by one of three things: achievement, power, or affiliation – or a mixture of the three. Each of these needs can possess a negative or positive connotation or implementation, but it is argued that people motivated by affiliation make better leaders. The third theory presented is McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y. McGregor asserts that Theory X people or employees are inherently lazy and must be controlled and forced to act, whereas Theory Y people are self–controlled, motivated, and ambitious. Steers, et al. (1996) identify an additional theory of motivation, which builds on Maslow's

Types of Motivation

Before we can examine different theories of achieving student motivation we must understand what it is. An article from ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) pointed out an important distinction in types of motivation (1997): "Student motivation naturally has to do with students' desire to participate in the learning process. But it also concerns the reasons or goals that underlie their involvement or noninvolvement in academic activities." These two types of motivation are intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. If a learner is motivated intrinsically than they "learn for the sake of learning". As opposed to an extrinsically motivated learner who will perform a task for external reasons such as good...show more content...
Marjorie Mackinnon (1999) also has spoken highly of PBL "Educators, particularly in professional programs, praise PBL for stimulating students to be highly motivated, self–directed learners who can integrate knowledge across subjects, reason critically, and work collaboratively with others (p.49).

Ommundsen believes that a learning environment can be greatly improved by getting groups of students involved in solving difficult and interesting case studies. This way, the classroom "emulates the workplace, captures student interest, and develops self–directed learners."(p.25). He uses the example of a biology course, however much of his ideas can cross over to many subjects. For example, solving a "mystery" is always intriguing, so instead of having students attempt to figure out what disease a woman may have, and how she may have it; you can transfer it to the history classroom by having a picture of a slave woman dressed in finery. Have students attempt to figure out why a master would "waste" such riches on a "mere" slave, have them compare that with different slave populations thorough out time. PBL is very effective in the classroom for many reasons, but like all things it is not perfect.

PBL is useful for required classes, especially those of the mathematics and the sciences. It is easy to find case studies relating to biology or

The human mind is designed with the innate ability to achieve anything. The interesting part of this paper is how we all use different triggers and motivations to goad us into gear. Motivation is an area of psychology that has gotten a great deal of attention, especially in the recent years. There are several distinct theories of motivation we will discuss in this section. Some include basic biological forces, while others seem to transcend concrete explanation. All creatures are born with specific innate knowledge about how to survive. Animals are born with the capacity and often times knowledge of how to survive by spinning webs, building nests, avoiding danger, and reproducing. These innate tendencies are preprogrammed at birth,...show more content...
This theory focused on how children socialize and how they develop their sense of self. This happens in eight distinct stages. I will only be discussing the ones that occur from birth to puberty. Each developmental stage has two possible outcomes. According to the theory, successful completion of each stage results in a healthy personality and successful interactions with others. Failure to successfully complete a stage can result in a reduced ability to complete further stages and therefore a more unhealthy personality and sense of self. These stages, however, can be resolved successfully at a later time.

The first stage is trust or mistrust. This stage begins from birth to one year, children begin to learn the ability to trust others based upon the consistency of their caregiver. If trust develops successfully, the child gains confidence and security in the world around him and is able to feel secure even when threatened. Unsuccessful completion of this stage can result in an inability to trust, and therefore a sense of fear about the inconsistent world. It may result in anxiety, heightened insecurities, and an over feeling of mistrust in the world around them.

The next definable stage is autonomy or shame which begins between the ages of one and three, children begin to assert their independence, by walking away from their mother, picking which toy to play with, and making choices about what they like to wear, to eat,

Motivation is the "why" behind our behaviors. Behavior that is usually goal–oriented. The forces that lie beneath motivation can be biological, social, emotional or cognitive in nature. There are, indeed, a plethora of inducements that cause us to act the way we act and do the things we do. They include things like quenching our thirst, reading to gain knowledge, studying to ace an exam, surpassing quotas and meeting deadlines for a promotion, etc. According to Kendra Cherry's article on "WHAT IS MOTIVATION", there are three components of motivation: activation, persistence and intensity. Activation is the decision to initiate a behavior. Persistence is the continued effort toward a goal even though obstacles may exist. Intensity is the...show more content...
I strongly believe that motivation is pre–positioned on what we believe – our convictions. Therefore, in order to know if our motives are right we have to know ourselves, examine ourselves, know what our convictions are, and have the courage to stand by them.
Sometimes it's easier for someone else to motivate a person than for that person to motivate themselves, but I believe the theory discussed in the book "MIND OVER MOOD" that a person has to change the way they think in order to change how they feel. If they change their perspective on things their motivations will change too. Motivation to me is this – setting goals, hammering into your mind to finish what you've started, associating with motivated people and positive thinkers, and being persistent and patient. In the book "DRIVE – the surprising truth about what motivates us", Daniel Pink says that people will not do a better job if they're offered a reward. They will do a better job if given the opportunity to work on their own time, be creative and do good. He states, "The secret to high performance and satisfaction is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, learn and create new things and to do better by ourselves and our world". He speaks about a whole new way that companies should look at human motivation. The book discusses three main components of motivation– autonomy, mastery and purpose. Autonomy describes how people want to be

Motivation is the desire to achieve the goal or reason why is making you do something it makes you feel like that to continue work to achieve your goal. Also to be successful in lifestyle you will need a good motivation to have the opportunity to survive. For example, some students have got motivation to complete their education. To put it simply motivation is knows as an interaction of the individual and the situation. Remember that the level of motivation varies between each individual and among individuals in different time. This essay will seek to critically examine to understand what motivation is as well as evaluate the three theories....show more content...
For example, if the worker is a poor person he will not satisfy his needs but still have the respect of social. Moreover, Maslow's did not give important to the belief and I think that is more important than all the needs that mentioned in the hierarchy. However, this theory could be found in our lives always.
The ERG theory based on work, but there is slight different. Alderfer has divided his needs to three groups of needs existence needs, relatedness needs and growth needs. The definition of needs Alderfer firstly, existence needs one of the necessary needs that are physiological and security needs such as, needs for food. Secondly, relatedness needs which is about the individual and the society in which they live. Finally but not least, growth needs include the human ability and self–realization. However, Alderfer theory has a different aspect with Maslow's. That if a person failed to reach the top of that needs he have to return again to the basic needs. While Maslow's theory has focused on seeking to achieve human need one at the same time. On the other hand, ERG believes that human could achieve more than one needs at the same time (Alerfer 1972, cited in Smith and Taylor 2007). Alderfer theory is in line with the needs of Maslow's theory that the individual

Motivation is one of the most discussed topics in the present era's organisations, especially since renowned psychologists like Maslow and Herzberg are dedicating their efforts to understanding it. Companies are investing a significant amount of resources in improving productivity in order to maximise profits. One of these important resources is of human nature. In order to get the very best out of employees, some motivational approaches need to be used. But what is motivation and how do I successfully motivate? I will try to relate one of my personal experiences with a friend to some of the most influential motivational theories. After introducing my story and making a definition of motivation I will address the ideas of Taylor,...show more content...
Baron (1983) says that "motivation is a set of process concerned with a kind of force that energizes behavior and directs it towards achieving some specific goals" (Baron, 1983, p. xxx). According to Kreitner and Kinicki (2001, p.162) motivation represents "those psychological processes that cause the stimulation, persistence of voluntary actions that are goal directed". Consequently, these definitions lead to the assumption that motivation is something evolving from within an individual as well as the individual being influenced by external factors.

One of the first authors that dealt with the sources of motivation was Frederick Taylor who focussed on the overall productivity of an organisation. He linked this productivity to the effort an employee puts into their work which in turn is dependent on monetary rewards (Taylor, 1911). This theory was established in the context of the industrial age and thus is outdated for today's analysis but it still provides a basic assumption which is often referred to by other authors. The total neglecting of a worker's intrinsic motivators is a starting point for discussion for authors that conducted research in that area after Taylor.

Douglas McGregor presented Theory X and Theory Y in his book "The Human Side of Enterprise". In these two theories McGregor has presented two types of managerial style. Theory X says that management is responsible for directing efforts of the people, motivating them, controlling their actions