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 behaviour can be - desire for money success recognition job-satisfaction team work, etc One of the most important functions of management is to create willingness amongst the employees to perform in the best of their abilities. Therefore the role of a leader is to arouse interest in performance of employees in their jobs. The process of motivation consists of three stages:-

1. A felt need or drive
2. A stimulus in which needs have to be aroused
3. When needs are satisfied, the satisfaction or accomplishment of goals.

Therefore, we can say that motivation is a psychological phenomenon which means needs and wants of the individuals have to be tackled by framing an incentive plan.

Importance of Motivation

Motivation is a very important for an organization because of the following benefits it provides:-

1. Puts human resources into action

   Every concern requires physical, financial and human resources to accomplish the goals. It is through motivation that the human resources can be utilized by making full use of it. This can be done by building willingness in employees to work. This will help the enterprise in securing best possible utilization of resources.

2. Improves level of efficiency of employees

   The level of a subordinate or a employee does not only depend upon his qualifications and abilities. For getting best of his work performance, the gap between ability and willingness has to be filled which helps in improving the level of performance of subordinates. This will result into-
   1. Increase in productivity,
   2. Reducing cost of operations, and
   3. Improving overall efficiency.

3. Leads to achievement of organizational goals

   The goals of an enterprise can be achieved only when the following factors take place :-
   1. There is best possible utilization of resources,
   2. There is a co-operative work environment,
   3. The employees are goal-directed and they act in a purposive manner,
   4. Goals can be achieved if co-ordination and co-operation takes place simultaneously which can be effectively done through motivation.

4. Builds friendly relationship

   Motivation is an important factor which brings employees satisfaction. This can be done by keeping into mind and framing an incentive plan for the benefit of the employees. This could initiate the following things:
   1. Monetary and non-monetary incentives,
   2. Promotion opportunities for employees,
   3. Disincentives for inefficient employees.
   In order to build a cordial, friendly atmosphere in a concern, the above steps should be taken by a manager. This would help in:
   1. Effective co-operation which brings stability,
   2. Industrial dispute and unrest in employees will reduce,
   3. The employees will be adaptable to the changes and there will be no resistance to the change,
   4. This will help in providing a smooth and sound concern in which individual interests will coincide with the organizational interests,
   5. This will result in profit maximization through increased productivity.

5. Leads to stability of work force

   Stability of workforce is very important from the point of view of reputation and goodwill of a concern. The employees can remain loyal to the enterprise only when they have a feeling of participation in the management. The skills and efficiency of employees will always be of advantage to employees as well as employees. This will lead to a good public image in the market which will attract competent and qualified people into a concern. As it is said, “Old is gold” which suffices with the role of motivation here, the older the people, more the experience and their adjustment into a concern which can be of benefit to the enterprise.

From the above discussion, we can say that motivation is an internal feeling which can be understood only by manager since he is in close contact with the employees. Needs, wants and desires are inter-related and they are the driving force to act. These needs can be understood by the manager and he can frame motivation plans accordingly. We can say that motivation therefore is a continuous process since motivation process is based on needs which are unlimited. The process has to be continued throughout.

We can summarize by saying that motivation is important both to an individual and a business. Motivation is important to an individual as:

1. Motivation will help him achieve his personal goals.
2. If an individual is motivated, he will have job satisfaction.
3. Motivation will help in self-development of individual.
4. An individual would always gain by working with a dynamic team.

Similarly, motivation is important to a business as:

1. The more motivated the employees are, the more empowered the team is.
2. The more is the team work and individual employee contribution, more profitable and successful is the business.
3. During period of amendments, there will be more adaptability and creativity.
4. Motivation will lead to an optimistic and challenging attitude at work place.

Essentials / Features of a Good Motivation System

Motivation is a state of mind. High motivation leads to high morale and greater production. A motivated employee gives his best to the organization. He stays loyal and committed to the organization. A sound motivation system in an organization should have the following features:

1. Superior performance should be reasonably rewarded and should be duely acknowledged.
2. If the performance is not consistently up to the mark, then the system must make provisions for penalties.
3. The employees must be dealt in a fair and just manner. The grievances and obstacles faced by them must be dealt instantly and fairly.
4. Carrot and stick approach should be implemented to motivate both efficient and inefficient employees. The employees should treat negative consequences (such as fear of punishment) as stick, an outside push and move away from it. They should take positive consequences (such as reward) as carrot, an inner pull and move towards it.
5. Performance appraisal system should be very effective.
6. Ensure flexibility in working arrangements.
7. A sound motivation system must be correlated to organizational goals. Thus, the individual/employee goals must be harmonized with the organizational goals.
8. The motivational system must be modified to the situation and to the organization.
9. A sound motivation system requires modifying the nature of individual’s jobs. The jobs should be redesigned or restructured according to the requirement of situation. Any of the alternatives to job specialization - job rotation, job enlargement, job enrichment, etc. could be used.
10. The management approach should be participative. All the subordinates and employees should be involved in decision- making process.
11. The motivation system should involve monetary as well as non- monetary rewards. The monetary rewards should be correlated to performance. Performance should be based on the employees’ action towards the goals, and not on the fame of employees.
12. “Motivate yourself to motivate your employees” should be the managerial approach.
13. The managers must understand and identify the motivators for each employee.
14. Sound motivation system should encourage supportive supervision whereby the supervisors share their views and experiences with their subordinates, listen to the subordinates views, and assist the subordinates in performing the designated job.

Self Motivation at Work

Self-motivation is a power that drives us to keep moving ahead. It encourages continuous learning and success, whatever be the scenario. Self-motivation is a primary means of realizing our goals and progressing. It is basically related to our inventiveness in setting dynamic goals for ourselves, and our faith that we possess the required skills and competencies for achieving those challenging goals. We often feel the need for self-motivation.

Following are the ways/techniques for self-motivation:

• Communicate and talk to get motivated: Communicating with someone can boost up your energy and make you go on track. Talk with optimistic and motivated individuals. They can be your colleagues, friends, wife, or any one with whom you can share your ideas.
• Remain optimistic: When facing hurdles; we always make efforts to find how to overcome them. Also, one should understand the good in bad.
• Discover your interest area: If you lack interest in current task, you should not proceed and continue with it. If an individual has no interest in the task, but if it is essential to perform, he should correlate it with a bigger ultimate goal.
• Self-acknowledgement: One should know when his motivation level is saturated and he feels like on top of the world. There will be a blueprint that once an individual acknowledge, he can proceed with his job and can grow.
• Monitor and record your success: Maintain a success bar for the assignments you are currently working on. When you observe any progress, you will obviously want to foster it.
•  Uplift energy level: Energy is very essential for self-motivation. Do regular exercises. Have proper sleep. Have tea/coffee during breaks to refresh you.
• Assist, support and motivate others: Discuss and share your views and ideas with your friends and peers and assist them in getting motivated. When we observe others performing good, it will keep us motivated too. Invite feedback from others on your achievements.
• Encourage learning: Always encourage learning. Read and grasp the logic and jist of the reading. Learning makes an individual more confident in commencing new assignments.
• Break your bigger goals into smaller goals: Set a short time deadline for each smaller goal so as to achieve bigger goal on time.