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).
