What is motivation theory?
Meaning of Motivation Theory: – Motivation theory is the study of understanding what drives a person to work towards a particular goal or outcome. It’s relevant to all of society but is especially important to business and management. Motivation theory is a way of looking at the motivation of a person and how this influences their behavior, whether for personal or professional reasons. It’s important to every aspect of society but is especially relevant to business and management. Motivation is the key to more profitable employees, as a motivated employee is more productive.

Motivation is one of three key performance elements. In fact, research shows that performance is a function of ability, motivation, and opportunity: –
Performance = Function {Ability × Motivation × Opportunity}
- Ability refers to the capability of an individual or team to perform a task;
- Opportunity refers to the time and situation surrounding the task;
- For example, if a hospital is known to have successful heart transplants, it must have a team of surgeons who are skilled in performing the transplant (capacity), and must have sufficient space and equipment to perform the transplant, as well as Patient what they (opportunity) need. Managers have little influence on competence, and they can influence opportunity only to a certain extent.
What is Motivation?
Meaning of Motivation: – Motivation is the word derived from the word ’motive’ which means needs, desires, wants or drives within the individuals. It is the process of stimulating people to actions to accomplish the goals. In the work goal context the psychological factors stimulating the people’s behavior can be – Desire for money, Success, Recognition, Job-satisfaction and Team work, etc.
People often compare lazy people with being lazy. Do you think this is really true? For example, consider Danny, a student who gets bad grades in history. He is not interested in his textbooks; he does not want to read. He’s intelligent, sure, but he doesn’t do the readings necessary to get an As or Bs.
You could say that Danny has no motivation about reading or that he is lazy. But when the latest comic book in his favourite series arrives, he’s the first in line to buy it, and he reads it from cover to cover to get the first chance he gets and twice as much before finally putting it down. They’ve memorized lines, carefully considered the story, and sent messages to friends about where they think the story is going.
What are the features of motivation theory?
Motivation theory results when a person interacts with a situation. It is a state of mind where one determines the level of desire, interest and energy that will translate into action.
Motivation = Intensity + Direction + Persistence of Effort
- Intensity refers to how hard a person works to achieve his goal. Danny clearly enjoys reading and does a lot—he has a high intensity for reading, but a low intensity around history.
- Direction refers to the area on which a person focuses his efforts, and the quality of those concentrated efforts. Danny’s reading direction – that is, reading comic books instead of textbooks is poor. When he reads his textbooks, Danny’s efforts at the activity are also of poor quality. He doesn’t commit lines to memory or absorb themes like he reads comic books.
- Persistence of effort, or the amount of effort a person maintains to achieve a goal. Danny is an avid reader and will continue to read as long as his favourite writers and artists create new book and series. He is firm about it, but it remains to be seen whether he will return to his textbooks and try to read them. Right now, Danny opens his textbooks and tries to read, but he doesn’t try for very long.
What is the importance of motivation theory?
A manager guides the people in a desired manner to achieve organizational objectives. Two important things are necessary for any work to be done; People should have the ability and willingness to work. Unwillingness to work is of no use. Therefore, motivation theory is needed to create a desire to work in the minds of workers.
- Optimum Use of the Means of Production: – Workers work honestly with the motivation. It creates the possibility of optimum utilization of the factors of production such as labour and capital.
- Desire to Work: – Motivation affects people’s willingness to work. A man is technically, mentally and physically fit to work but he may not be ready to work. Motivation creates a desire on the part of the workers to do the job better.
- Reduction in Absenteeism: – Financial incentive schemes force workers to work more. The financial incentive plan is designed in such a way that monetary benefits are given based on the number of hours worked. It reduces absenteeism.
- Low Labour Turnover: – Motivation has both financial and non-financial incentive schemes. It helps in retaining the existing laborers. The enterprise can plan its activities on long term basis with the help of low labour turnover.
- Availability of Right Personnel: – Financial and non-financial incentives not only retain existing employees but also attract employees from outside the enterprise. In other words, the right people are attracted from outside to work for the enterprise.
- Building Good Labour Relations: – Motivation helps in solving labour problems of absenteeism, labour turnover, indiscipline and grievances. This ensures the creation of good labour relations.
- Increase in Efficiency and Production: – Both the workers and the management have benefited from the motivational schemes. On the one hand, the wages of workers increase commensurate with the increase in production and efficiency. On the other hand, the concerted efforts of motivated people increase the productivity of the organization and its profits.
- Sense of Belonging: – A proper motivation plan fosters a close relationship between the enterprise and the workers. Workers begin to feel that the enterprise belongs to them and regard their interests as theirs. Thus, there is no difference between workers and enterprise.
- Basis of Cooperation: – Cooperation increases efficiency and production. Cooperation cannot be achieved without motivation, so motivation is the basis of cooperation.
- Motivation Improves the Performance of the Employees and the Organization: – Through motivational techniques a manager fulfils the needs of the employees. A satisfied and motivated employee is able to make better use of his energy and potential thereby leading to higher levels of performance. The better performance of individual employees contributes to the performance of the organisation.
- Motivation Develops Positive Attitude: – Motivational techniques like rewards, praise, recognition etc. instil in the employees the desire to perform to the best of their potential. In the absence of motivation, employees may be indifferent to organizational goals and perform at a minimum level. Motivation eliminates this negative attitude and develops positive attitude towards work which leads to effective achievement of organizational goals.
- Motivation Helps to Bring About Change Easily: – A motivated employee is open-minded and able to understand that adapting to environmental changes is vital for the future success and growth of the business. They can easily accept the change as they can see the additional rewards that they get as a result of the change.
Motivation Theory in Organizational Behaviour
Motivation Theory in Organizational Behaviour and see how different motivators affect our performance in the workplace: –
- Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: – Abraham Maslow, an American psychologist, proposed a hierarchy of needs in his paper, A Theory of Human Motivation. Maslow said that people are motivated when their needs are met. Once our basic needs and wants are met, we are motivated to do more. For example, if you are someone who values a good work-life balance and your organization offers you a part-time opportunity, you will happily accept the offer and fulfil your responsibilities to the best of your abilities.
- Physiological Needs: – Physiological needs are considered as the most basic needs of human beings. These are the needs that are very important for our existence. Examples of physiological needs are food, shelter, warmth, health, homeostasis and water.
- Security Needs: – Once the basic needs of food, shelter, water etc. are met, there is an innate desire to move to the next level. The next level is known as security requirements. The primary concern of the individual here is related to safety. Safety and security can be in relation to many things such as a stable source of income which provides financial security, personal protection from any kind of unnatural events, animal attacks and emotional security and physical security which is security for health. E.g. freedom, protection and no pain.
- Social Needs (also called love and related needs): – This is the third level in the need hierarchy theory. This is the stage where a person seeks acceptance from others in the form of love, belongingness after fulfilling his physical needs as well as security needs. At this stage human behaviour is driven by emotions and there is a strong need to make emotional connections. E.g. love, friendship and involvement in social activities.
- Esteem Needs: – It is considered as the fourth level of hierarchy of needs theory. It deals with the need of the individual to be recognized in the society. It is related to getting recognition, self-respect in the society. The need for recognition and acceptance arises when a person has satisfied the need for love and belonging. E.g. self-confidence, recognition and appreciation.
- Self-Actualized Needs: – This is the last level of the theory of hierarchy of needs proposed by Maslow. This is the highest level of needs and is known as the need for self-actualization. It is concerned with the need of an individual to achieve or realize the full potential of one’s own potential. At this stage, all individuals strive to be the best version of themselves. In other words, self-realization is a journey of personal growth and development. E.g. becoming the very best you can be.

- Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory: – Frederick Herzberg, an American psychologist who became an influential figure in business management, introduced the two-factor theory, also known as the motivational-hygiene theory. This theory consists of two parts- the hygiene factor and the motivation factor. Hygiene factors such as working conditions, pay and job security ensure that employees are satisfied. Motivational factors, such as recognition, responsibility and opportunities for growth, ensure that people are encouraged to improve their performance. Herzberg believed that organizations must strive to maintain a healthy balance between the two in order to be successful.

- McClelland’s Theory of Needs: – David Clarence McClelland, an American psychologist, proposed three motivational drivers that influence our life experiences. The first achievement is required. He said that people with a high need for achievement pursue objectives that hold them accountable. They want immediate acknowledgment of their efforts. People with the second type of motivation need are motivated by the need for affiliation, the social relationships they form, and the positive interactions between them. They thrive in social situations and make best use of interpersonal skills. The third type of people – those in need of power – want roles that give them authority and exercise their influence over others.
- Need For Achievement: – As the name suggests there is an urge to achieve something in what you do. If you are a lawyer then the case needs to be won and recognized, if you are a painter then you want your painting to be famous. It is this need which drives a person to work and even struggle for the purpose which he wants to achieve.
- Need For Power: – The need for power is the desire within a person to have control and authority over another person and to influence and change their decisions according to their needs or desires. The need to increase their self-esteem and prestige drives these people and they want their thoughts and ideas to be accepted and applied to the thoughts and ideas of others.
- Need for Affiliation: – The need for affiliation is an individual’s urge to have interpersonal and social connections with others or a particular group of people. They want to work in groups by forming friendly and lasting relationships and aspire to be liked by others. They prefer to cooperate with others to compete with them and usually avoid high-risk situations and uncertainty.

Individual Components of Motivation Theory
When managers review their team members, they can see the biggest difference in each person who motivates them.
For an individual there are intrinsic (internal) and extrinsic (external) motivating factors: –
- Intrinsic Factors: – Here people are motivated by a desire to satisfy human needs. These might include a desire to please their boss or to achieve certain professional or personal goals. Intrinsic motivation comes from within, and it is usually driven by the need for individuals to do something for themselves. Everyone has unique desires: They want to learn a language or skill, or reach a goal of completing a 5K in a certain amount of time. Intrinsic motivation is the reason people climb mountains. Our deep-rooted desires have the highest motivational power. Below are some examples: –
- Acceptance: – We all need to feel that we, as well as our decisions, are accepted by our coworkers;
- Curiosity: – We all have the desire to be in the know;
- Honor: – We all need to respect the rules and to be ethical;
- Independence: – We all need to feel we are unique;
- Order: – We all need to be organized;
- Power: – We all have the desire to be able to have influence;
- Social Contact: – We all need to have some social interactions;
- Social Status: – We all have the desire to feel important.
- Extrinsic Factors: – Here people are motivated by external factors such as a bonus for hard work or a sanction if targets are not met. External inspiration comes from an external source. People may take on a second (or third) job because they need extra money to pay the bills. Children can apologize to their parent for not sharing their toys with the other child to avoid punishment. Extrinsic motivation is external in nature. The most well-known and the most debated motivation is money. Below are some other examples: –
- Employee of the month award;
- Benefit package;
- Bonuses;
- Organized activities

What tools do employers have to improve motivation?
- Reward: – A thoughtfully created employee rewards scheme can go a long way to motivating your team and increasing productivity. While there are number of common ways companies reward employees (Friday beers, staff lunch etc.) a rewards scheme is not a one-size fits all policy. Instead, think about what works best for your team specifically, make them inclusive and appropriately sized.Whether they are geared towards personal goals or embodying company values, chances are you’ll see your team reinforcing your company values and better teamwork. Don’t sleep on small rewards either; a hand-written note, or a shout-out at a team meeting can ensure your team stays motivated.
- Trust: – Employees want to know you have their best interests at heart while employers want to know they can trust employees to do a job well. Building a culture around trust creates a positive atmosphere which motivates your staff and benefits productivity.
- Recognition: – It’s simple but recognising an employee’s hard work can have a tremendous impact. It can also spur them on to achieve more. Recognition can take many forms from an informal “thank you” or Kudos to a glitzier employee of the month or year award.
- Career Advancement: – One study found that the number one reason for employees leaving their jobs was career development. It makes sense – employees want to use their skills. They also want to learn new skills. If your company doesn’t offer a clear career development path, they may leave. And if they don’t leave, they’ll be far from productive. Combat this by talking to your employees about their career expectations and by building career development into your business.
- Purpose: – Increasing numbers of employees want more from their jobs than a paycheque. Organisational purpose is a strong motivator for many workers – especially younger employees. Engaging your staff with your business’s purpose can help increase commitment to your business and improve motivation.
- Office Environment: – The likelihood that someone is going to love their job 100% of the time is slim. There will always be the occasional down day where people simply won’t feel as capable to perform in their role. It’s just as important to motivate your team on a bad day as it is a good one. Thankfully, one way you can tackle this is by creating an office environment that is pleasant to be in. Studies have shown that plants are a cost-effective way to improve office life and increase positivity and motivation.
- Feedback: – Everyone likes to hear that they’ve done a good job, but unfortunately not everyone is given the opportunity. The benefits of giving feedback to your team and employees are numerous, and improved motivation is one of them.Employees want to develop and improve and giving regular feedback enables them to see what they’re doing and how well they’re doing it.The same works for the inverse too, if someone is not performing optimally in their position, feedback enables them to address their issues and perform better. It also makes them feel valued, and when employees feel valued they’re more likely to take ownership and responsibility on projects.