Essay on Motivation: it s Meaning, Definition and Features

By Smriti Chand Essay

Essay on Motivation: it s Meaning, Definition and Features!
Meaning:
Motivation is very commonly used word in enterprises is a temporal and dynamic s
tate that induces an individual to act as desired. Motivation is having the enco
uragement to do something.
The term motivation is derived from the Latin word emover which implies to move . It
is the act of stimulating someone or oneself to get a desired course of action,
to push the right button to get desired action. Motivation provides answer to ce
rtain basic questions such as: Why and how people work and what determines the d
irection of their actions?
The process of motivation involves needs, drives and goals. Need is behind most
of the actions of a man. Better facilities, more pay, recognition, opportunities
for promotion etc. are some of the needs of the people.
Drives are called motives representing the behaviour in the process of motivatio
n. Every undertaking has certain goals to achieve. These goals can be achieved o
nly through the efforts of its employees. The basic problem is to identify what
makes (or moves) people to act.
Definition:
Motivation can be defined as a process of stimulating people to act for the purp
ose of achieving desired goals.
A few definitions of motivation are given below:
1. Motivation can be defined as a willingness to expand energy, to achieve a goa
l or a reward. Dai a Breachus
2. Motivation is the term employed generally for the phenomena involved in the o
peration of incentives or drives. James Draver
3. Motivation refers to the way in which urges, drives, desires, aspirations, st
rivings, needs, directs or control or explain the behaviour of human beings. D.E.
McFarland
In simple words, motivation is a process that starts with a physiological or psy
chological deficiency or need that activates behaviour or a drive that is aimed
at a goal or incentive.
Features or Characteristics:
From the above definitions, the following features or characteristics of motivat
ion can be derived:
1. Motivation is always internal to the person:
It is essentially a psychological phenomenon. According to Berelson and Steiner,
A motive is an inner state that energizes, activates or moves (hence motivation)
and that directs or channels behaviour towards goals.
2. Motivation of a person is in totality and not in parts:
Human behaviour is caused by the various needs. A worker works in a factory beca
use he needs money. Similarly, a thirsty man feels the need of water to conquer
his thirst. The feeling of needs is a continuous process and the satisfaction of
one need leads to the creation of a new one. All needs are interrelated and mot
ivation should be in totality.

3. Performance is the result of ability and motivation:

If an employee is highly qualified but his performance is very poor, it can be d
ue to the absence of motivation.
Performance = Ability x Motivation
Concept of Motivation:
The term motivation is derived from the word motive . The word motive as a noun means
an objective, as a verb this word means moving into action. Therefore, motives
are forces which induce people to act in a way, so as to ensure the fulfillment
of a particular human need at a time. Behind every human action there is a motiv
e. Therefore, management must provide motives to people to make them work for th
e organization.
Motivation may be defined as a planned managerial process, which stimulates peop
le to work to the best of their capabilities, by providing them with motives, wh
ich are based on their unfulfilled needs.
Motivation means a process of stimulating people to action to accomplish desired
goods.
William G. Scott
Motivation is the process of attempting to influence others to do your will throu
gh the possibility of gain or reward.
Flippo
Motivation is, in fact, pressing the right button to get the desired human behav
iour.
Motivation is no doubt an essential ingredient of any Organisation. It is the ps
ychological technique which really executes the plans and policies through the e
fforts of others.
Following are the outstanding Features of the concept of motivation:
1. Motivation is a personal and internal feeling:
Motivation is a psychological phenomenon which generates within an individual.
2. Motivation is need based:
If there are no needs of an individual, the process of motivation fails. It is a
behavioural concept that directs human behaviour towards certain goals.
3. Motivation is a continuous process:
Because human wants are unlimited, therefore motivation is an ongoing process.
4. Motivation may be positive or negative:
A positive motivation promotes incentives to people while a negative motivation
threatens the enforcement of disincentives.
5. Motivation is a planned process:
People differ in their approach, to respond to the process of motivation; as no
two individuals could be motivated in an exactly similar manner. Accordingly, mo
tivation is a psychological concept and a complex process.

6. Motivation is different from job satisfaction:

The process of motivation is illustrated in the figure given below:
Figure 15.1 shows an employee has a need or urge for promotion to a higher posit
ion. If this need is strong, the employee will fix his goal and find alternative
s to reach the goal. The might have two alternatives, namely, (i) hard work and
(ii) enhancement of qualification (e.g., getting MBA) and hard work.