CONCEPT OF MOTIVATION

Motivation is getting somebody to do something because they want to do it. It was once assumed that motivation had to be injected from outside, but it is now understood that everyone is motivated by several differing forces (Buford et al., 2005). Motivation is a general term applied 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 they hope will satisfy these drives and desires and induce the subordinates to act in a desired manner (Higgins, 2004). To motivate others is the most important of management tasks. It comprises the abilities to communicate, to set an example, to challenge, to encourage, to obtain feedback, to involve, to delegate, to develop and train, to inform, to brief and to provide a just reward (Malik, 2010).

Motivation, a Latin word “movere” means to move. Motivation is the activation or energization of goal-oriented behavior (Wikipedia, 2009). To Nelson and Quick (2003), motivation is the process of arousing and sustaining goal-directed behavior. Yet, Luthans (1998) in Mawoli and Babandako (2011), sees it as the process that arouses, energizes, directs, and sustains behavior and performance, while Pinder (2008) defines work motivation as the set of internal and external forces that initiate work-related behavior, and determine its form, direction, intensity and duration.  The cited definitions shared some implicative commonalities. First, motivation is in-built in every human being and only needed to be activated or aroused. Second, motivation is temporal as a motivated person at one time can become de-motivated another time.

According to Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary in Manzoor (2012), a motive is “something a need or desire that causes a person to act”. “Motivate, in turn, means “to provide with a motive,” and motivation is defined as “the act or process of motivating”. Consequently, motivation is the performance or procedure of presenting an intention that origin a person to capture some accomplishment (Manzoor, 2012). According to Butkus and Green (2009), motivation is derived from the word “motivate”, means to move, push or influence to proceed for fulfilling a want (Kalimullah et al, 2010). Bartol and Martin (2008) describe motivation as a power that strengthens behavior, gives route to behavior, and triggers the tendency to continue (Farhad et al, 2011). This explanation identifies that in order to attain assured targets; individuals must be satisfactorily energetic and be clear about their destinations. In view of Bedeian, (2003) it is an internal drives to satisfy an unsatisfied need and the will to accomplish.

Motivation is a procedure that initiates through a physiological or psychological want that stimulates a performance that is intended at an objective. It is the concluding product of interface among personality behavior and organizational distinctiveness (IRCO). It symbolizes those psychological procedures that forms the stimulation, route, and determination of deliberate actions that are target oriented (Farhad et al, 2011). Also motivation is a progression of moving and supporting goal-directed behaviour (Chowdhury.M.S, 2007). It is an internal strength that drives individuals to pull off personal and organizational goals (Reena et al, 2009). Motivation is a set of courses concerned with a kid of strength that boosts performance and directs towards accomplishing some definite targets (Kalimullah et al, 2010). According to Rizwan et al, (2010), it is an accrual of diverse routes which manipulate and express our activities to attain some particular ambitions.

a.                  Types of Motivation

Motivation can be divided into two types: intrinsic (internal) motivation and extrinsic (external) motivation.

a. Intrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic motivation refers to motivation that is driven by an interest or enjoyment in the task itself, and exists within the individual rather than relying on external pressures or a desire for reward. Intrinsic motivation has been studied since the early 1970s. Students who are intrinsically motivated are more likely to engage in the task willingly as well as work to improve their skills, which will increase their capabilities (Wikipedia, 2014). Students are likely to be intrinsically motivated if they:

• attribute their educational results to factors under their own control, also known as autonomy,
• believe they have the skills to be effective agents in reaching their desired goals, also known as self-efficacy beliefs
• are interested in mastering a topic, not just in achieving good grades

      b. Extrinsic Motivation

Extrinsic motivation refers to the performance of an activity in order to attain an outcome, whether or not that activity is also intrinsically motivated. Extrinsic motivation comes from outside of the individual. Common extrinsic motivations are rewards (for example money or grades) for showing the desired behavior, and the threat of punishment following misbehaviour. Competition is in an extrinsic motivator because it encourages the performer to win and to beat others, not simply to enjoy the intrinsic rewards of the activity. A cheering crowd and the desire to win a trophy are also extrinsic incentives (Wikipedia, 2014).

Social psychological research has indicated that extrinsic rewards can lead to over justification and a subsequent reduction in intrinsic motivation. In one study demonstrating this effect, children who expected to be (and were) rewarded with a ribbon and a gold star for drawing pictures spent less time playing with the drawing materials in subsequent observations than children who were assigned to an unexpected reward condition. While the provision of extrinsic rewards might reduce the desirability of an activity, the use of extrinsic constraints, such as the threat of punishment, against performing an activity has actually been found to increase one's intrinsic interest in that activity. In one study, when children were given mild threats against playing with an attractive toy, it was found that the threat actually served to increase the child's interest in the toy, which was previously undesirable to the child in the absence of threat. For those children who received no extrinsic reward, self-determination theory proposes that extrinsic motivation can be internalized by the individual if the task fits with their values and beliefs and therefore helps to fulfill their basic psychological needs (Wikipedia, 2014).