NATURE AND IMPORTANCE OF

MOTIVATION
Basically, motivation encompasses the internal and external factors that stimulate
desire and energy in people to be continually interested and committed to a job,
role or subject, or to make an effort to attain a goal. All motives are directed
towards goals and the needs and desires affect or change your behaviour which
becomes goal oriented.
Motivating and Leading
NOTES
Self-Instructional
Material 113
Performance results with the interaction of three types of resources, which
are physical, financial and human resources. However, physical and financial
resources themselves do not result in productivity. It happens only when the human
element is introduced. The human element, even though most important, is most
complex and unpredictable, over which management has very limited control.
Understanding human behaviour and affecting it positively can increase productivity
and improve performance. The level of performance of an employee is a function
of his ability and his motivation. The former determines what he ‘can’ do and the
latter determines what he ‘will’ do. The ability can always be judged and measured
and depends upon background, skills and training. Motivation, on the other hand,
is the force within. Wherever, there is a strong motivation, the employee’s output
increases. A weak motivation has the opposite effect. Hence management must
understand what motivates people towards better performance and take steps to
create an environment which induces positive and strong motivation.
According to the Encyclopaedia of Management, motivation is defined
as, ‘The degree of readiness of an organization to pursue some designated goal
and implies the determination of the nature and locus of forces, inducing the degree
of readiness’.
While the first management task is to set the organizational goal, the major
task is to move the organization most effectively to reach that goal. This can be
done by motivation, the purpose of which is to create conceptual as well as a
physical work environment in which the people are willing to work with zeal,
initiative, interest and enthusiasm with a sense of responsibility, loyalty and discipline,
in a team spirit and in a cohesive manner.
Motivation is a combination of many factors which affect behaviour
modification. However, two factors stand out. First is an understanding of the
fundamental drives, urges, needs and desires of the peoples which can be
manipulated and stimulated. Second is a sense of communication and methodology
that would provide stimulus to these urges. Some of the methods used for this
purpose may be the provision of financial incentives, cordial working environment,
challenging work and responsibility, personal accomplishment, recognition for such
accomplishment and an opportunity for growth and advancement.