Three Theories of Motivation at Work

Motivations at work

Introduction

Every human experience involves a causative factor that produces a kind of response . In explaining the behavior of people , we start our with reference to some kind of active driving force : the individual seeks , the individual wants , the individual fears . Various psychologists describe motivation , in other words , as the driving force behind our behavior (Halonen Santrock , 1996 Atkinson , et al . 1983

Smith , et al . labels their discussion on motivation as the Why ' of behavior (1982 . Why does the tardy student in mathematics spend the rest of

the period outside instead of inside the mathematics classroom Emotions or strong feelings usually accompany motivated behavior Often , emotions direct behavior toward goals (Atkinson , et al . 1983

Essentially , the role of motivation in a person 's life is crucial to the understanding of human activities . Motivation is never static because in life , there always presents a dynamic and changing pattern of needs . Internal and external motivation provides in brief , an astute way of explaining the why 's ' of people 's behaviors (Halonen Santrock 1996 . No wonder then , that in general , educators handle pupils or learners in the light of this ideation

Again the question , why do people behave as they do ? How can people account for the workers who are always on time , exceed production quotas , and are polite to the boss , whereas other workers at the same plant who perform the same job under the same conditions for the same pay behave in the opposite way

It is easy to say that there must be an increase the motivation of the employees , but unless people know precisely what factors constitute motivation in this specific instance , changes may not be that feasible

Human motivation is most complex . People seldom behave or respond to a particular situation because of a single motive . Generally , individuals are driven by a variety of needs and desires , some complimentary and others conflicting (Halonen Santrock , 1996 . Although there is no full and accurate understanding of a human being 's motivational structure there is a body of knowledge from psychological research , which shows quite a bit about the forces that drive humans

Motivation theory 1 - McClelland 's Achievement Motivation Theory

This desire to accomplish something , to do a good job , to be the best typifies many people in this society , not only successful business executives (McClelland Burnham , 1976 . Those who possess this need derive great satisfaction from their achievement and are motivated to excel in everything they undertake

Evidence also shows that the economic growth of private companies and of whole societies is related to the level of the need for achievement among managers in these private companies and members of these societies (McClelland Burnham , 1976

Successful business managers generally score higher in need for achievement - need persons have been identified , it is possible to determine what they want and what they need in their work to satisfy this high level of achievement motivation (McClelland Burnham , 1976

The organization for which high achievement-need persons work is...