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Motivation

Principles of Management Assignment:




Report Title: "Understanding what motivates workers is a key task for management"

Index

Introduction………………………………………. 2

Motivations and Assumptions about People……… 4

Behavioral Sciences……………………………… 7

Major Motivation Theories………………………… 9

Motivation in Practice……………….……… 15

Other Strategies……….……………………… 16

Conclusion …………….…………………….. 17

Learning Outcomes…………………………… 17

Acknowledgements…………………………… 17

References……………………………………. 18

Introduction

If we stand back and recall to ourselves the true and simplistic meaning of the word motivation, "The set of forces that cause people to behave in certain ways"(Griffin, R.W. 2004), we can see the task every company must face. Motivation is a key factor in the workforce efficiency and can be extremely profitable to a company. There has been much research done and theories evaluated on the topic and this report shall explore some of these theories. Some of the most well known theories in "understanding what motivates workers" include:
 Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
 Alderfer's ERG Theory
 Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory
 McClelland's Needs Theory
Problems arrive however when deciding when deciding which theory is more suitable to your company as each one is different. Throughout this process there is also the objection, that most of the research done would have come from observation of a workforce, and not every workforce will be the same and people will behave differently under observation. Also companies must be careful with regard to generalizing their workforce. Motivation links in with many other factors that companies must deal with such as leadership, work design and cultures. To take cultures for an example a company must decide how to interact with people of different cultures without generalizing or offending. A more scientific definition of motivation is an internal psychological state that stimulates a...