In an industrial set-up, motivation may be intrinsic as well as extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is related to the job one is doing. When a skilled operative performs a job well, s/he derives a sense of satisfaction. This is intrinsic motivation which satisfies the creative instinct of an individual.Extrinsic motivation is external to the job or task. For example, financial incentives for doing a job well or giving higher production may motivate the workers. Other external motivators are praise from the superior for good work, recognition of good performance by the company in the form of public citation and award, admiration of fellow workers, and improved working conditions and other facilities.
Determinants of Motivation
The traditional approach that a person could be made to work by monetary rewards has been gradually giving place to a more complete pluralistic explanation which recognizes that an individual works to fulfill a variety of needs. It is recognized that the motivation is the result of the following three groups of factors:
i) Individuals: To know what can motivate employees, we must know their aims, objectives and values. Human needs are both numerous and complex, and often it is difficult to identify them. Motivation is not an easily observed phenomenon. We have to first observe individual action and behaviour at work and interpret the same in terms of the underlying motivation. Our interpretation may not necessarily reveal the individual’s true motivation, as some of the human needs may be difficult to describe and identify.
ii) Organisational Components: Organisational structure, technological system,physical facilities, which constitute internal environment of an organisation, affect motivation. Some machines are more interesting to work with than others or certain kinds of work may be boring to many persons; job-connected experience of a worker determines motivation.
iii) External or Exogenous Variables: A worker’s life outside the factory is also an important factor affecting his motivation or willingness to work inside the factory.Life at work and life outside the work are bound together. Troubles and joys of off- job life cannot be put aside when reporting for work, nor can the factory matters be dropped when returning home after work. A strong motivational role is also played by culture, customs and norms, images and attributes conferred by the society on particular jobs. An individual, for example, may find that his/her work commands a substantial degree of respect and social acceptance quite apart from holding a position in a particular organisation, and so s/he may be more willing or motivated to perform such a work.
Characteristics of Motivation
Some important characteristics of motivation which follow from the discussion of its determinants are:
i) Individuals differ in their motivation: There is no single economic drive which determines behaviour. As the desires and goals of individuals differ, so do their motivations; one may do a job because it is remunerative, another may do it because it gives a sense of achievement, or enables him/her to serve a cause which is dear to him/her.
ii) Motivation is highly situational: A person may work very well in one organisation and poorly in another in the same position or type of the job. The performance may vary with working conditions and type of supervision.
iii) Motivation change: Motivation of each individual changes from time to time even if he/she may continue to behave in the same way. For example, a temporary worker may produce more in the beginning to become permanent. After being made permanent, he/she may continue to produce more to gain promotion and so on.
iv) Motivation is expressed differently: Needs and the way in which they are translated into action may vary considerably from one individual to another.Different persons may also react differently to successful or unsuccessful fulfillment of their needs. One may feel frustrated if his/her need has not been met,but the other may be motivated by his/her failure and redouble his/her effort to get his/her need met (say, by writing and publishing additional scholarly articles or books). Again one individual with strong security need may avoid accepting responsibility for fear of failure and dismissal and the other with a similar need may seek out responsibility for fear of being fired for low performance.
v) Motivation is complex: It is difficult to explain and predict the behaviour of workers. Use of one motivational device may not produce the desired result if it brings an opposing motive into play. In a factory when a blue-green device was introduced to reduce eye strain, the output of male workers increased while that of female workers decreased. It was found that the latter disliked this change as the new type of light falling on them made them look simply ghastly in appearance.
Determinants of Motivation
The traditional approach that a person could be made to work by monetary rewards has been gradually giving place to a more complete pluralistic explanation which recognizes that an individual works to fulfill a variety of needs. It is recognized that the motivation is the result of the following three groups of factors:
i) Individuals: To know what can motivate employees, we must know their aims, objectives and values. Human needs are both numerous and complex, and often it is difficult to identify them. Motivation is not an easily observed phenomenon. We have to first observe individual action and behaviour at work and interpret the same in terms of the underlying motivation. Our interpretation may not necessarily reveal the individual’s true motivation, as some of the human needs may be difficult to describe and identify.
ii) Organisational Components: Organisational structure, technological system,physical facilities, which constitute internal environment of an organisation, affect motivation. Some machines are more interesting to work with than others or certain kinds of work may be boring to many persons; job-connected experience of a worker determines motivation.
iii) External or Exogenous Variables: A worker’s life outside the factory is also an important factor affecting his motivation or willingness to work inside the factory.Life at work and life outside the work are bound together. Troubles and joys of off- job life cannot be put aside when reporting for work, nor can the factory matters be dropped when returning home after work. A strong motivational role is also played by culture, customs and norms, images and attributes conferred by the society on particular jobs. An individual, for example, may find that his/her work commands a substantial degree of respect and social acceptance quite apart from holding a position in a particular organisation, and so s/he may be more willing or motivated to perform such a work.
Characteristics of Motivation
Some important characteristics of motivation which follow from the discussion of its determinants are:
i) Individuals differ in their motivation: There is no single economic drive which determines behaviour. As the desires and goals of individuals differ, so do their motivations; one may do a job because it is remunerative, another may do it because it gives a sense of achievement, or enables him/her to serve a cause which is dear to him/her.
ii) Motivation is highly situational: A person may work very well in one organisation and poorly in another in the same position or type of the job. The performance may vary with working conditions and type of supervision.
iii) Motivation change: Motivation of each individual changes from time to time even if he/she may continue to behave in the same way. For example, a temporary worker may produce more in the beginning to become permanent. After being made permanent, he/she may continue to produce more to gain promotion and so on.
iv) Motivation is expressed differently: Needs and the way in which they are translated into action may vary considerably from one individual to another.Different persons may also react differently to successful or unsuccessful fulfillment of their needs. One may feel frustrated if his/her need has not been met,but the other may be motivated by his/her failure and redouble his/her effort to get his/her need met (say, by writing and publishing additional scholarly articles or books). Again one individual with strong security need may avoid accepting responsibility for fear of failure and dismissal and the other with a similar need may seek out responsibility for fear of being fired for low performance.
v) Motivation is complex: It is difficult to explain and predict the behaviour of workers. Use of one motivational device may not produce the desired result if it brings an opposing motive into play. In a factory when a blue-green device was introduced to reduce eye strain, the output of male workers increased while that of female workers decreased. It was found that the latter disliked this change as the new type of light falling on them made them look simply ghastly in appearance.
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