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WHAT IS
MOTIVA
TION?
People
consider it
to be a
personal
trait that
ia some
haveit some
dont. In
practice
inexperienc
ed managers
often
label people
who lack
motivation
as lazy. But
it isnt true.
What
weknow is
that
motivation
is the result
of the
interaction
of
theindividua
l and the
situation.
Individuals
differ in
their motiva
tional drive.
For example
: a student
may find
reading a 2o
pages
note book
very tiring,
but the
same
student may
be able to
read
150 pages
of Harry
Potter just
in one day.
For the
student
thechange
in
motivation
is driven by
the
situation.Th
us we can
say, that the
level of
motivation
varies
both betwee
n
individuals
and within
individuals
at different
times.
DEFINITI
ON:
 Motivation
is defined as
the
processes
that account
for
anindividual
s intensity,
direction, &
persistence
of effort
towardsattai
ning a
goal.Genera
l motivation
is
considered
with efforts
towards
anygoal, but
we narrow
our focus on
organization
al goals.
 Key
elements
are
:
Intensity
which is
considered
with how
hard a
person
tries.This is
the element
most of us
focus on
when we
talk
aboutmotiva
tion.
However,
high-
intensity is
unlikely to
lead to
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favorable
job
performanc
e outcomes
unless the
effort
ischanneled
in a
direction
that benefits
the
organization
.Therefore,
we have to
consider the
quality of
efforts as
well asits
intensity.
Effort that
is directed
towards,
and
consistent
withthe
organization
s goals is
the kind of
effort that
we should
beseeking.
Finally,
motivation
has a
persistence
dimension.
Thisis a
measure of
how long a
person can
maintain
their
effort.Motiv
ated
individuals
stay with a
task long
enough to
achievetheir
goal.
A MYTH
OR A
SCIENCE?
People are
inherently
lazy. This
isnt true.
All people
arenot
inherently
lazy; and
laziness is
more a
function of
thesituation
than an
inherent
individual
character. If
this
statementis
meant to
imply that
all people
are
inherently
lazy,
theevidence
strongly
indicates the
contrary,
many
people
todaysuffer
from the
opposite
affliction-
they are
overly
busy,overw
orked, and
suffer from
over
exertion.
Whether
externallym
otivated or
internally
driven, a
good
portion of
the
labour force
is anything
but
lazy.Manag
ers
frequently
draw the
conclusion
that people
arelazy
from
watching
some of
their
employees,
who may be
lazyat
work.But
these same
employees
are often
quite
industrious
inone or
more
activities off
the job.
Peoples
need
structuresdif
fer.
Unfortunate
ly, for
employers,
works often
ranks low
inits ability
to satisfy
individual
needs. So
the same
employeew
ho shirks
responsibilit
y on the job
may work
obsessively
onthe
conditionin
g and
antique car,
maintaining
an award-w