The Importance Of Motivation

Somewhere in every person’s life, there is a moment. A life changing situation that turns their entire world upside down. It could happen at any point, during adolescence or adulthood, and the result is the same. When life changes and shifts into something new, something has got to give, and it isn’t always a pleasant feeling. However, these same situations are what gives people strength and motivation to do something that could better themselves if the motivation come from the right place. Motivation stems from strange situations. It can be from a song, a conversation with a friend or a family member, or a random quote that was found on the internet, through a meme search, to post of Facebook. Either way the result is the same. Webster’s

Mitchell (1982, p.82) describes motivation as “the degree to which an individual wants and chooses to engage in certain specified behaviours”. Hence, in general, behaviour is determined by certain motives, thus, Vroom and Deci (1992, p.33) considered motivation “as the causes of our behaviour”. Moreover, according to Mullins (2013, p.245) motivation is concerned with question “why do people do what they do?”, because motivation is an inner driving force which leads to particular action to achieve some aim and fulfil some need. In other words, Chartered Management Institute (cited in Mullins, 2013, p.246) observes that, “the aim of management is to give people what they really want most from work”.

As you may have heard, Mr. Swift has made a very modest proposal about what to do with the situation of starvation among adults. Mr. Swift has proposed that after a year of a child's birth, they be eaten if the family wishes. I, being a mother of a baby, currently, could not approve of this proposal more. Me and my husband together, concur, this will allow us to not go hungry, but also fulfill our wish to have another baby. We've always wanted more kids, but we only desire a baby. We don't want them after they have grown older. We already have an older son. Now, with this proposal, we won't go hungry and we can stay full for months on end and all I must do is push out a baby. No big deal.

Work signifies an important aspect of human being’s life owing to the outcomes related with it, such as economic outcomes (salary, financial incentives), social status and fulfillment of needs. This had inspired organizational scholars to explore, what motivates one to work, leading to tremendous research on work motivation. Motivation theories can be classified through three predominant approaches (Chalofsky, 2003):

The standard way of thinking about motivation has it that the only way to get people to be driven is to reward them extrinsically. In other words, the way we generally try to motivate people is by dangling a carrot in front of their face, or pushing them with a poke to the ribs with stick. Many people assume that if you want someone to do something, you incentivize them with external compensation. For example, if you want a student to work harder in class, offer them extra credits. If you want your basketball team to be better, make them run more suicides as punishment. However, in this book, Drive: ’’The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us’’ by Daniel Pink challenges this conventional, preconceived notion of motivation of carrot and stick mentality. Pink divided motivation into three categories that evolved over time: motivation 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0.

Motivation is: “the psychological process that gives behaviour purpose and direction (Kreitner, 1995); a predisposition to behave in a purposive manner to achieve specific, unmet needs (Buford, Bedeian, & Lindner, 1995); an internal drive to satisfy an unsatisfied need (Higgins, 1994); and the will to achieve” (Bedeian, 1993). Due to the difference in the definitions for motivation, I will use the definition – Motivation is the inner drive that allows individuals to achieve company and personal goals.

The article I chose talks about motivation in the business world. As It goes in depth of ways to help employees by simply motivating them and how that could be the biggest difference of how they perform in their job. It also talks about the significance of understanding your employee as an individual and human being and what abilities work best for them. As opposed to just focusing on work related tasks and not understanding an employee’s mental approach. The way the article tries to explain it, is by emphasising on 6 factors. Which is communication, professionalism, management style, training, recognition, and fun. Each factor is thoroughly detailed and explains how to effectively use it to help the employee be more successful and how that will ultimately help with the business as a whole. As well touches on that being a good person is the main objective and everything comes after. As creating a friendly work environment where everyone feels included is the root of a successful company.

McGregor (1960) described two views on human motivation: Theory X and Y. Theory X, the more conventional one, holds the view that people are in themselves not intrinsically motivated to work and even attempt to avoid it, that people have no ambition, are resistant to change, are not particularly intelligent and that people only work for money and security. Management’s objective is to direct employees efforts, motivating them, controlling them and modifying their behavior to ensure that they behave in line with the organization’s needs and goals.

You are welcome! Although your evals are a "little" problem for you now, your positive motivation will be the key and driving force to your success. I have no doubt that you will do just fine in everything you decide to do. I get the feeling that you really want to succeed and that you have a positive outlook in life. Do not lose that spirit! You have a long road ahead of you and there will be many exits along the way. Do not take any exit unless it is your intention to abandon your journey. Motivation is like a roller coaster. We accelerate and lose momentum during our course. Stay physically fit and mentally sharp. The opportunities in the Navy are unlimited and it will be up to you to exploit these opportunities. Find yourself "one" (best case) or "two" (worst case) mentor for your

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30% of employees worldwide feel inspired and engaged by their careers (Entrepreneurial Insights, 2014). There are multiple theories to suggest different types of motivation, for example financial and non-financial methods of motivation. Motivation is defined as the level at which an employee feels it is OK to perform at and what encourages them to be that way (Kelley, 2015), depending on the individual will vary on the incentives that make them want to work.

When we see a person acting in an abnormal way, we cannot help but think “why are they doing that?” We form judgements about people and question the reasoning behind their actions in an attempt to better understand their situation. This ability to understand intentions plays an important role in today’s society, allowing us to relate to one another and form deep connections through picturing ourselves in that same position. Nevertheless, there are times when we are unable to relate, and unable to understand why someone chooses to act in a certain way, say a certain thing, or be a certain type of person. This desire – this motivation to do something – has been felt by each and every human being

The importance of motivation for learning has been a focus of education psychologists for decades. Guay et.al., (2010) defines motivation as “the reasons underlying behaviour”. Currently the focus in research about motivation for learning, is on why there are some students who perform well in school and others who struggle to meet the academic expectations and lack the motivation. According to Omrod (2014) learning is affected by motivation and behaviour and how motivation directs behaviour towards a particular goal. How determined students are to strive for their goals with regards to their learning, are driven by their level of motivation (Maehr & Meyer, 1997). A student’s motivation is also a determining factor in how much effort they put into completing tasks and what they hope to achieve at the end. Their mindset in completing the tasks are also determined by their motivation for learning. Some students make be very enthusiastic to complete the task set whilst others may be lacking interest. When students are motivated they have a greater interest in activities and are more determined to complete the activities and have improved cognitive processes. They also have the ability to determine if the consequences of their actions are reinforcing or punishing and performances are improved.

Work. Some love it, some hate it, others see it as an escape from reality, and still others view it as passing time, but everyone works to provide for our families and ourselves. Whether rich or poor, work is something that everyone will experience sometime during his or her lifespan. Motivation plays a key role in one’s opinion on work. In this struggling economy, organizations are asking how to motivate employees, as many have had to restructure and develop ways to maximize its resources. Using different motivational techniques together in the workplace can improve overall moral, improve employee job satisfaction, and quite possibly increase performance.

Coolum beach local Julian Wilson is a prime example of the type of motivating characteristics one might find in a professional athlete. The Australian surfing star displays a strong motivation towards winning in his chosen sport.