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Employee Motivation: Theory and

practice

The job of a manager in the workplace is to get things done through employees. To dothis the manager should be able to motivate employees. But that's easier said than done!

Motivation practice and theory are difficult subjects, touching on several disciplines.

n spite of enormous research, basic as well as applied, the subject of motivation is not

clearly understood and more often than notpoorly practiced. To understand motivation

one must understand human nature itself. nd there lies the problem!

"uman nature can be very simple, yet very comple# too. n understanding andappreciation of this is a prere$uisite to effective employee motivation in the workplace

and therefore effective management and leadership.

These articles on motivation theory and practice concentrate on various theories

regarding human nature in general and motivation in particular. ncluded are articles onthe practical aspects of motivation in the workplace and the research that has been

undertaken in this field, notably by %ouglas Mc&regortheory y(,)rederick "er*berg

two factor motivation hygiene theory,(braham Maslowtheory *, hierarchy of needs(,+lton Mayo"awthorne +#periments( hris rgyris-ensis ikertand %avid

Mclellandachievement motivation.(

Why study and apply employee motivation principles?

/uite apart from the benefit and moral value of an altruistic approach to treatingcolleagues as human beings and respecting human dignity in all its forms, research andobservations show that well motivated employees are more productive and creative. The

inverse also holds true. The schematic below indicates the potential contribution the

practical application of the principles this paper has on reducing work content in theorgani*ation.

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Motivation is the key to performance improvement

There is an old saying you can take a horse to the water but you cannot force it to drink0 it

will drink only if it's thirsty 1 so with people. They will do what they want to do orotherwise motivated to do. 2hether it is to e#cel on the workshop floor or in the 'ivory

tower' they must be motivated or driven to it, either by themselves or through e#ternal

stimulus.

re they born with the self1motivation or drive3 4es and no. f no, they can be motivated,

for motivation is a skill which can and must be learnt. This is essential for any business to

survive and succeed.

5erformance is considered to be a function of ability and motivation, thus6

Job performance =f(ability)(motivation)

bility in turn depends on education, e#perience and training and its improvement is aslow and long process. 7n the other hand motivation can be improved $uickly. There are

many options and an uninitiated manager may not even know where to start. s a

guideline, there are broadly seven strategies for motivation.

5ositive reinforcement 8 high e#pectations

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+ffective discipline and punishment

Treating people fairly

9atisfying employees needs

9etting work related goals

-estructuring jobs

Base rewards on job performance

These are the basic strategies, though the mi# in the final 'recipe' will vary from

workplace situation to situation. +ssentially, there is a gap between an individuals actualstate and some desired state and the manager tries to reduce this gap.

Motivation is, in effect, a means to reduce and manipulate this gap. t is inducing others

in a specific way towards goals specifically stated by the motivator. :aturally, these

goals as also the motivation system must conform to the corporate policy of theorgani*ation. The motivational system must be tailored to the situation and to the

organi*ation.

n one of the most elaborate studies on employee motivation, involving ;