motivational theory

employee motivation theory - team building activities, workshops, inspirational quotes, and the power of positive experience

Alignment of aims, purpose and values between staff, teams and organization is the most fundamental aspect of motivation. The better the alignment and personal association with organizational aims, the better the platform for motivation. Where people find it difficult to align and associate with the organizational aims, then most motivational ideas and activities will have a reduced level of success. Motivation is a complex area. It's different for each person. See the personality materials for useful explanation about different motivational needs. Erik Erikson's life stage theory is useful for understanding people's different motivational needs according to lafe stage. And the experiential learning section explains the difference between 'demotivational training', and 'motivational learning', and a guide to facilitating experiential learning activities. Motivational receptiveness and potential in everyone changes from day to day, from situation to situation. Get the alignment and values right, and motivational methods work better. Motivational methods of any sort will not work if people and organisation are not aligned. People are motivated towards something they can relate to and something they can believe in. Times have changed. People want more. You should view the following motivational methods and ideas as structures, activities and building blocks, to be used when you have a solid foundation in place. The foundation is a cohesive alignment of people's needs and values with the aims and purpose of the organization. Refer to the Psychological Contract, and peopleorganization alignment and motivation.

motivational methods and theory - assuming people and organization are aligned
Motivational and inspirational quotes, poems, posters, motivational speakers and stories, team building games and activities, all develop employee motivation for sales and business staff in all kinds of organizations. Motivational and inspirational experiences improve employees' attitudes, confidence and performance. Good leadership demands good people-motivation skills and the use of inspirational techniques. Motivational methods are wide-ranging, from inspirational quotes and poems, to team building games and activities, as ice-breakers, warm-ups and exercises for conferences, workshops,

meetings and events, which in themselves can often be helpful for staff motivation too. See the motivation principles and template for staff motivation questionnaires and surveys. Motivation is an essential part of life coaching processes and techniques too. Motivated people perform better see McGregor's XY Theory for example. People playing games or competing in teams learn about each other, they communicate better and see each other in a new light. Mutual respect grows. See the Johari Window theory for example. People often enjoy events which include new non-work activities, especially when bosses and superiors take part in the same teams as their junior staff, which also helps cohesiveness and 'can-do' culture. Inspirational quotes, stories and poems all help motivation too. Powerful positive imagery stimulates visualisation in the conscious and sub-conscious brain, which encourages self-motivation, developmental behaviour, confidence and belief. Playing games enables people to experience winning and achieving in a way that their normal work might not. People become motivated to achieve and do better when they have experienced the feelings of success and achievement, regardless of context. This is why fire-walking and outward-bound activities have such powerful motivational effect. All of these ideas, and more explained below, contribute to improving motivation, inspiration and performance. Here is the theory of how team building games, activities like juggling develop motivation, positive images in quotes and stories, inspirational posters, quotations, motivational speakers, team workshops and brainstorming, etc., all help to strengthen relationships, build understanding, increase motivation and improve performance:

how games and other inspirational references and activities help motivation and motivational training

Work and business-based training commonly concentrates on process, rules, theory, structure and logic, all of which tend to develop and use the left-side of the brain. However, modern successful organizations rely just as heavily on their people having well-developed 'soft' skills and attributes, such as self-motivation, confidence, initiative, empathy and creativity, which all tend to use the right-side of the brain. For more information about brain type and bias see the Benziger theory section, for example. Using games and activities like juggling helps to unleash right-side brain skills, because these activities necessarily draw on a person's intuitive, spatial and 'feeling' capabilities found in the the right-side of the brain. See the section on Experiential Learning and the guide to facilitating experiential learning activities - it contains many of the principles explained here.

Thanks to Jim Barker

Also, using activities and references that take people out of their normal work environment creates new opportunities for them to experience winning, achievement, team-working, learning and personal development, in ways that are often not possible in their usual work context. Experiencing these positive feelings is vital for the conscious and sub-conscious visualisation of success and achievement, essential for broadening people's horizons, raising their sights, setting new personal standards and goals, and increasing motivation. The use of role playing games and role play exercises is an especially effective motivational and visualisation technique, despite

people's normal aversion to the practice (see the role playing games and activities tips to see how to manage role-playing activities successfully). Inspirational references, stories, quotes and examples also help the life coaching process.

ice-breakers and warm-ups for motivation

When a group or team of people assemble for a conference, or training course, there is always a feeling of uncertainty and discomfort. Even if people know each other, they feel uncomfortable in the new strange situation, because it is different. Mankind has evolved partly because of this awareness to potential threats and fear of the unknown. Games and team building activities relax people, so that they can fully concentrate on the main purpose of the day, whatever it is, rather than spending the morning still wondering what everyone else is thinking. See the stress theory section for examples. Activities and games are great levellers - they break down the barriers, and therefore help develop rapport and relationships.

building confidence for motivation

Learning something new and completely different liberates the mind. Facing a challenge, meeting it and mastering it helps build confidence.

motivational team building

When you break down barriers, misunderstandings, prejudices, insecurities, divisions, territories and hierarchies - you begin to build teams. Get a group of people in a room having fun with juggling balls or spinning plates and barriers are immediately removed. Teams unite and work together when they identify a common purpose - whether the aim is the tallest tower made out of newspapers, or a game of rounders on the park. Competition in teams or groups creates teams and ignites team effort.

motivational coaching and training motivation

Learning to juggle or some other new activity demonstrates how we learn, and how to coach others. Breaking new tasks down into stages, providing clear instructions, demonstration, practice, time and space to make mistakes, doing it one stage at a time..... all the essential training and coaching techniques can be shown, whether juggling is the vehicle or some other team-building idea, and the learning is clearer and more memorable because it is taken out of the work context, where previously people 'can't see the wood for the trees'. Games and activities provide a perfect vehicle for explaining the training and development process ('train the trainer' for example) to managers, team leaders and trainers.

personal motivation styles and learning motivation

Everyone is different. Taking part in new games and activities outside of the work situation illustrates people's different strengths and working style preferences. Mutual respect develops when people see skills and attributes in others that they didn't know existed. Also, people work and learn in different ways, see the Kolb learning style model and Benziger thinking styles model for examples.

continual development and motivation

Learning and taking part in a completely new activity or game like juggling demonstrates that learning is ongoing. The lessons never finish, unless people decide to stop learning. Juggling the basic 'three ball cascade' pattern doesn't end there - it's just a start - as with all learning and development. Master juggler Enrico Rastelli practiced all the daylight hours juggling ten balls. Introducing people, staff or employees to new experiences opens their minds to new avenues of personal development, and emphasises the opportunity for continuous learning that is available to us all.

improving empathy and communications for motivation

"Seek first to understand, and then to be understood." (Steven Covey). See the Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People summary and review. To communicate we must understand the other person. Empathy and intuitive skills are right-side brain. Conventional classroom training or distance learning do nothing to address this vital area. Juggling and playing spontaneous or creative games definitely promote development and awareness in the right-side of the brain, which we use when we communicate and understand others. Team activities and games promote communications and better mutual understanding essential for good organizational performance (see the Johari Window model and theory).

motivation and creativity

Creativity and initiative are crucial capabilities for modern organizational effectiveness. Juggling and other games activities dispel the notion that actions must be according to convention, and that response can only be to stimulus. Successful organizations have staff that initiate, create, innovate, and find new ways to do things better, without being told. Using mind and body together in a completely new way encourages pro-active thought and lateral thinking, which opens people's minds, and develops creative and initiative capabilities. See the brainstorming process, which integrates well with team building activities and workshops. See also the workshops process and ideas.

motivation for problem-solving and decision-making

Problem-solving is integral to decision-making - see the problem-solving and decision-making section. Learning to juggle or taking part in new challenging stimulating activities uses the intuitive brain to solve the problem, the same part that's vital for creatively solving work

problems. People who can solve problems creatively can make decisions - and organizations need their staff and employees to have these abilities.

physical activity is motivational

Team building activities like juggling, construction exercises, or outdoor games, get the body moving, which is good for general health and for an energetic approach to work. A minute of juggling three balls is 200 throws, the equivalent of pumping over 20 kilos. Physical activity also provides significant stress relief, and stress management is part of every organisation's duty of care towards its employees. People concentrate and work better when they have had some light exercise and physical stimulus. Physical activity energises people and reduces stress and tension. See details on the stress section.

team building workshops are empowering and motivational

See the section on workshops. Workshops are good vehicles for team building games and activities, and also great for achieving team consensus, collective problem-solving, developing new direction and strategy, and to support the delegation and team development process (see the Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum for example).

team building games and activities are motivational

Learning new things - even simple skills like plate-spinning - help to build confidence, promote team-working and unleash creativity. Taking part in workshops and brainstorming sessions are empowering activities. Combine all three and it's even more effective for team building, development and motivation. See particularly the 'Hellespont Swim' case study and exercise. If you think about it, all manner of left-side-brain conventional training and business skills can be integrated within an innovative, participative right-side-brain activity-based approach, to increase interest, participation, involvement, retention and motivation.

saying thanks is hugely motivational

Saying thanks and giving praise are the most commonly overlooked and under-estimated ways of motivating people. And it's so easy. Saying thanks is best said naturally and from the heart, so if your intentions are right you will not go far wrong. When you look someone in the eye and thank them sincerely it means a lot. In front of other people even more so. The key words are the ones which say thanks and well done for doing a great job, especially where the words recognise each person's own special ability, quality, contribution, effort, whatever. People always appreciate sincere thanks, and they appreciate being valued as an individual even more. When you next have the chance to thank your team or an individual team-member, take the time to find out a special thing that each person has done and make a point of mentioning these things. Doing this, the praise tends to carry even greater meaning and motivational effect.

motivational quotes - using inspirational quotations and sayings is motivational

Inspirational quotations, and amusing maxims and sayings are motivational when used in team building sessions, conferences, speeches and training courses. Inspirational quotes contribute to motivation because they provide examples and role models, and prompt visualization. Inspirational quotes stimulate images and feelings in the brain - both consciously and unconsciously. Powerful positive imagery found in motivational quotations and poems is genuinely motivational for people, individually and in teams, and can help to build confidence and belief. Inspirational examples motivate people in the same way that the simple 'power of positive thinking', and 'accentuate the positive' techniques do - people imagine and visualise themselves behaving in the way described in the quotation, saying, story or poem. Visualization is a powerful motivational tool - quotes, stories and poems provide a very effective method for inspiring and motivating people through visualization, imagination and association. See the stories section, and 'If', Rudyard Kipling's famous inspirational poem. Here are a few motivational quotes, relating to different situations and roles, for example; achievement, management, leadership, etc. When using quote for motivation it's important to choose material that's relevant and appropriate. Motivational posters showing inspirational quotes or poems can be effective for staff and employee motivation, and in establishing organizational values. There are more quotations about inspiration and achievement on the quotes section. These quotes all make effective motivational posters (see the free posters page), and are excellent materials for motivational speakers:

motivational quotes
"We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them." (Albert Einstein) "It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." (President Harry S Truman) "In the midst of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer." (Albert Camus, 1913 - 1960, French author & philosopher) "If you're not part of the solution you must be part of the problem." (the commonly paraphrased version of the original quote: "What we're saying today is that you're either part of the solution, or you're part of the problem" by Eldridge Cleaver 1935-98, founder member and information minister of the Black Panthers, American political activist group, in a speech in 1968 - thanks RVP) "A dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline." (Harvey Mackay thanks Brad Hanson)

"I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles overcome while trying to succeed." (Booker T Washington, 18561915, American Educator and African-American spokesman, thanks for quote M Kincaid, and for biography correction M Yates and A Chatterjee) "Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they've got a second. Give your dreams all you've got and you'll be amazed at the energy that comes out of you." (William James, American Philosopher, 1842-1910 - thanks Jean Stevens) "Whatever you can do - or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it." (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer, 1749-1832 - thanks Yvonne Bent) "A dwarf standing on the shoulders of a giant may see farther than the giant himself." (Didacus Stella, circa AD60 - and, as a matter of interest, abridged on the edge of an English 2 coin) "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." (Sir Isaac Newton, 1676.) "The most important thing in life is not to capitalise on your successes - any fool can do that. The really important thing is to profit from your mistakes." (William Bolitho, from 'Twelve against the Gods') "Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be, For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance, I have not winced nor cried aloud: Under the bludgeonings of chance my head is bloody but unbowed . . . . . It matters not how strait the gait, how charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul." (WE Henley, 1849-1903, from 'Invictus') "Management means helping people to get the best out of themselves, not organising things." (Lauren Appley) "It's not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man stumbled or how the doer of deeds might have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred with the sweat and dust and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause and who, at best knows the triumph of high achievement and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat." (Theodore Roosevelt, 23 April 1923.) "The world is divided into people who do things, and people who get the credit. Try, if you can, to belong to the first class. There's far less competition." (Dwight Morrow, 1935.)

"What does not kill us makes us stronger." (attributed to Friedrich Nietzsche, probably based on his words: "Out of life's school of war: What does not destroy me, makes me stronger." from The Twilight of the Idols, 1899) "A life spent in making mistakes is not only more honourable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing." (George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950.) "I praise loudly. I blame softly." (Catherine the Great, 1729-1796.) More are on the inspirational quotes page, and a more varied selection including funny sayings are on the sayings and maxims page.

motivational ideas for sales managers for sales teams

(These principles are applicable to all job roles subject to the notes at the end of this item.) Motivation of sales people commonly focuses on sales results, but nobody can actually 'do' a result. What matters in achieving results is people's attitude and activity and the areas of opportunity on which the attitude and activity is directed. What sales people can do is to adopt a positive and creative attitude, and carry out more productive and efficient activity, directed on higher-yield strategic opportunities. By doing these things sales people and sales teams will improve their results. However the tendency remains for sales managers, sales supervisors and team leaders (typically under pressure from above from executives who should know better) to simply direct people to 'meet the target', or to 'increase sales', or worse still, to pressurise customers into accelerating decision-making, which might work in the short-term but is extremely unhelpful in the mediumterm (when business brought forward leaves gaps in the next months' forecasts), and damages the long-term (when as a result of supplier-driven sales pressure, the customer relationship is undermined or ruined). Instead think about what really motivates and excites people, and focus on offering these opportunities to sales people and sales teams, on an ongoing basis. Don't wait until you find yourself 25% behind target with only half of the year remaining, and with targets set to increase as well in the final quarter. People will not generally and sustainably improve their performance, or attitude when they are shouted at or given a kick up the backside. People will on the other hand generally improve their performance if empowered to develop their own strategic capability and responsibility within the organisation. Herzberg, Adams, Handy, Maslow, McGregor, and every other management and motivation expert confirmed all this long ago.

Sales teams generally comprise people who seek greater responsibility. They also seek recognition, achievement, self-development and advancement. So if we know these things does it not make good sense to offer these opportunities to them, because we know that doing so will have a motivational effect on them, and also encourage them to work on opportunities that are likely to produce increasing returns on their efforts? Of course. So do it. If you are managing a sales team try (gently and progressively) exploring with the team how they'd like to develop their experience, responsibilities, roles, status, value, contribution, within the business. Include yourself in this. Usually far more ideas and activity come from focusing on how the people would like to develop their roles and value (in terms of the scale and sophistication of the business that they are responsible for), rather than confining sales people to a role that is imposed on them and which is unlikely to offer sustainable interest and stimulation. All businesses have many opportunities for new strategic growth available. Yours will be no different. Most employees are capable of working at a far higher strategic level, developing ever greater returns on their own efforts. Performance improvement is generally found through enabling people and teams to discover and refine more productive and strategic opportunities, which will lead to more productive and motivating activities. For example: reactive sales people are generally able to be proactive account mangers; account managers are generally able to be major accounts developers; major accounts developers are generally able to be national accounts managers; national accounts mangers are generally able to be strategic partner and channel developers; strategic partner and channel managers are generally able to be new business sector/service developers, and so on... Again include yourself in this. If necessary (depending on your organisational culture and policies seek approval from your own management/executives for you to embark on this sort of exploration of strategic growth. (If you are unable to gain approval there are many other organisations out there who need people to manage sales teams in this way....) Obviously part of the approach (and your agreement with your people - the 'psychological contract') necessarily includes maintaining and meeting existing basic business performance target levels. This is especially so since strategic growth takes time, and your business still needs the normal day-to-day business handled properly. But people can generally do this, ie., maintain and grow day-to-day performance while additionally developing new higher-level strategic areas, because genuinely motivated people are capable of dramatic achievements. The motivation and capacity to do will come quite naturally from the new responsibility and empowerment to operate at a higher level.

N.B. The principles described above generally apply to most other job roles. People are motivated by growth and extra responsibility, while at the same time the organisation benefits from having its people focus on higher strategic aims and activities. Be aware however that people in different roles will be motivated by different things, and particularly will require different types of support and guidelines when being encouraged to work at a higher strategic level. For example, engineers require more detail and clarification of expectations and process than sales people typically do; administrators are likely to require more reassurance and support in approaching change than sales people typically do. For sure you should encourage and enable people to develop their roles, but make sure you give appropriate explanation, management and support for the types of people concerned. Here are some classic motivation books, all related to motivational theories featured on this website.

Amazon.co.uk Widgets

These books are linked to Amazon.co.uk. I apologise to folk in other parts of the world. It is not practical to repeat this display for all the different Amazon regions. Unfortunately Amazon seem not to be capable (or suitably motivated) to offer a system which automatically directs buyers to their local Amazon website. The Amazon commission goes towards the costs of running and developing this website, thank you.

Effects of Achievement Motivation on Behavior

Scott T. Rabideau Rochester Institute of Technology Motivation can be defined as the driving force behind all the actions of an individual. The influence of an individual's needs and desires both have a strong impact on the direction of their behavior. Motivation is based on your emotions and achievement-related goals. There are different forms of motivation including extrinsic, intrinsic, physiological, and achievement motivation. There are also more negative forms of motivation. Achievement motivation can be defined as the need for success or the attainment of excellence. Individuals will satisfy their needs through different means, and are driven to succeed for varying reasons both internal and external. Motivation is the basic drive for all of our actions. Motivation refers to the dynamics of our behavior, which involves our needs, desires, and ambitions in life. Achievement motivation is based on reaching success and achieving all of our aspirations in life. Achievement goals can affect the way a person performs a task and represent a desire to show competence (Harackiewicz, Barron, Carter, Lehto, & Elliot, 1997). These basic physiological motivational drives affect our natural behavior in different environments. Most of our goals are incentivebased and can vary from basic hunger to the need for love and the establishment of mature sexual relationships. Our motives for achievement can range from biological needs to satisfying creative desires or realizing success in competitive ventures. Motivation is important because it affects our lives everyday. All of our behaviors, actions, thoughts, and beliefs are influenced by our inner drive to succeed.

Implicit and Self-Attributed Motives

Motivational researchers share the view that achievement behavior is an interaction between situational variables and the individual subject's motivation to achieve. Two motives are directly involved in the prediction of behavior, implicit and explicit. Implicit motives are spontaneous impulses to act, also known as task performances, and are aroused through incentives inherent to the task. Explicit motives are expressed through deliberate choices and more often stimulated for extrinsic reasons. Also, individuals with strong implicit needs to achieve goals set higher internal standards, whereas others tend to adhere to the societal norms. These two motives often work together to determine the behavior of the individual in direction and passion (Brunstein & Maier, 2005). Explicit and implicit motivations have a compelling impact on behavior. Task behaviors are accelerated in the face of a challenge through implicit motivation, making performing a task in the most effective manner the primary goal. A person with a strong implicit drive will feel pleasure from achieving a goal in the most efficient way. The increase in effort and overcoming

the challenge by mastering the task satisfies the individual. However, the explicit motives are built around a person's self-image. This type of motivation shapes a person's behavior based on their own self-view and can influence their choices and responses from outside cues. The primary agent for this type of motivation is perception or perceived ability. Many theorists still can not agree whether achievement is based on mastering one's skills or striving to promote a better self-image (Brunstein & Maier, 2005). Most research is still unable to determine whether these different types of motivation would result in different behaviors in the same environment.

The Hierarchal Model of Achievement Motivation

Achievement motivation has been conceptualized in many different ways. Our understanding of achievement-relevant effects, cognition, and behavior has improved. Despite being similar in nature, many achievement motivation approaches have been developed separately, suggesting that most achievement motivation theories are in concordance with one another instead of competing. Motivational researchers have sought to promote a hierarchal model of approach and avoidance achievement motivation by incorporating the two prominent theories: the achievement motive approach and the achievement goal approach. Achievement motives include the need for achievement and the fear of failure. These are the more predominant motives that direct our behavior toward positive and negative outcomes. Achievement goals are viewed as more solid cognitive representations pointing individuals toward a specific end. There are three types of these achievement goals: a performance-approach goal, a performance-avoidance goal, and a mastery goal. A performance-approach goal is focused on attaining competence relative to others, a performance-avoidance goal is focused on avoiding incompetence relative to others, and a mastery goal is focused on the development of competence itself and of task mastery. Achievement motives can be seen as direct predictors of achievement-relevant circumstances. Thus, achievement motives are said to have an indirect or distal influence, and achievement goals are said to have a direct or proximal influence on achievement-relevant outcomes (Elliot & McGregor, 1999). These motives and goals are viewed as working together to regulate achievement behavior. The hierarchal model presents achievement goals as predictors for performance outcomes. The model is being further conceptualized to include more approaches to achievement motivation. One weakness of the model is that it does not provide an account of the processes responsible for the link between achievement goals and performance. As this model is enhanced, it becomes more useful in predicting the outcomes of achievement-based behaviors (Elliot & McGregor, 1999).

Achievement Goals and Information Seeking

Theorists have proposed that people's achievement goals affect their achievement-related attitudes and behaviors. Two different types of achievement-related attitudes include taskinvolvement and ego-involvement. Task-involvement is a motivational state in which a person's main goal is to acquire skills and understanding whereas the main goal in ego-involvement is to demonstrate superior abilities (Butler, 1999). One example of an activity where someone strives to attain mastery and demonstrate superior ability is schoolwork. However situational cues, such

as the person's environment or surroundings, can affect the success of achieving a goal at any time. Studies confirm that a task-involvement activity more often results in challenging attributions and increasing effort (typically in activities providing an opportunity to learn and develop competence) than in an ego-involvement activity. Intrinsic motivation, which is defined as striving to engage in activity because of self-satisfaction, is more prevalent when a person is engaged in task-involved activities. When people are more ego-involved, they tend to take on a different conception of their ability, where differences in ability limit the effectiveness of effort. Ego-involved individuals are driven to succeed by outperforming others, and their feelings of success depend on maintaining self-worth and avoiding failure. On the other hand, task-involved individuals tend to adopt their conception of ability as learning through applied effort (Butler, 1999). Therefore less able individuals will feel more successful as long as they can satisfy an effort to learn and improve. Ego-invoking conditions tend to produce less favorable responses to failure and difficulty. Competence moderated attitudes and behaviors are more prevalent in ego-involved activities than task-involved. Achievement does not moderate intrinsic motivation in task-involving conditions, in which people of all levels of ability could learn to improve. In ego-involving conditions, intrinsic motivation was higher among higher achievers who demonstrated superior ability than in low achievers who could not demonstrate such ability (Butler, 1999). These different attitudes toward achievement can also be compared in information seeking. Task- and ego-involving settings bring about different goals, conceptions of ability, and responses to difficulty. They also promote different patterns of information seeking. People of all levels of ability will seek information relevant to attaining their goal of improving mastery in task-involving conditions. However they need to seek information regarding self-appraisal to gain a better understanding of their self-capacity (Butler, 1999). On the other hand people in egoinvolving settings are more interested in information about social comparisons, assessing their ability relative to others.

Self-Worth Theory in Achievement Motivation

Self-worth theory states that in certain situations students stand to gain by not trying and deliberately withholding effort. If poor performance is a threat to a person's sense of self-esteem, this lack of effort is likely to occur. This most often occurs after an experience of failure. Failure threatens self-estimates of ability and creates uncertainty about an individual's capability to perform well on a subsequent basis. If the following performance turns out to be poor, then doubts concerning ability are confirmed. Self-worth theory states that one way to avoid threat to self-esteem is by withdrawing effort. Withdrawing effort allows failure to be attributed to lack of effort rather than low ability which reduces overall risk to the value of one's self-esteem. When poor performance is likely to reflect poor ability, a situation of high threat is created to the individual's intellect. On the other hand, if an excuse allows poor performance to be attributed to a factor unrelated to ability, the threat to self-esteem and one's intellect is much lower (Thompson, Davidson, & Barber, 1995).

A study was conducted on students involving unsolvable problems to test some assumptions of the self-worth theory regarding motivation and effort. The results showed that there was no evidence of reported reduction of effort despite poorer performance when the tasks were described as moderately difficult as compared with tasks much higher in difficulty. The possibility was raised that low effort may not be responsible for the poor performance of students in situations which create threats to self-esteem. Two suggestions were made, one being that students might unconsciously withdraw effort, and the other stating that students may reduce effort as a result of withdrawing commitment from the problem. Regardless of which suggestion is true, self-worth theory assumes that individuals have a reduced tendency to take personal responsibility for failure (Thompson, Davidson, & Barber, 1995).

Avoidance Achievement Motivation

In everyday life, individuals strive to be competent in their activities. In the past decade, many theorists have utilized a social-cognitive achievement goal approach in accounting for individuals striving for competence. An achievement goal is commonly defined as the purpose for engaging in a task, and the specific type of goal taken on creates a framework for how individuals experience their achievement pursuits. Achievement goal theorists commonly identify two distinct ideas toward competence: a performance goal focused on demonstrating ability when compared to others, and a mastery goal focused on the development of competence and task mastery. Performance goals are hypothesized to produce vulnerability to certain response patterns in achievement settings such as preferences for easy tasks, withdrawal of effort in the face of failure, and decreased task enjoyment. Mastery goals can lead to a motivational pattern that creates a preference for moderately challenging tasks, persistence in the face of failure, and increased enjoyment of tasks (Elliot & Church, 1997). Most achievement goal theorists conceptualize both performance and mastery goals as the "approach" forms of motivation. Existing classical achievement motivation theorists claimed that activities are emphasized and oriented toward attaining success or avoiding failure, while the achievement goal theorists focused on their approach aspect. More recently, an integrated achievement goal conceptualization was proposed that includes both modern performance and mastery theories with the standard approach and avoidance features. In this basis for motivation, the performance goal is separated into an independent approach component and avoidance component, and three achievement orientations are conceived: a mastery goal focused on the development of competence and task mastery, a performance-approach goal directed toward the attainment of favorable judgments of competence, and a performance-avoidance goal centered on avoiding unfavorable judgments of competence. The mastery and performance-approach goals are characterized as self-regulating to promote potential positive outcomes and processes to absorb an individual in their task or to create excitement leading to a mastery pattern of achievement results. Performance-avoidance goals, however, are characterized as promoting negative circumstances. This avoidance orientation creates anxiety, task distraction, and a pattern of helpless achievement outcomes. Intrinsic motivation, which is the enjoyment of and interest in an activity for its own sake, plays a role in achievement outcomes as well. Performanceavoidance goals undermined intrinsic motivation while both mastery and performance-approach goals helped to increase it (Elliot & Church, 1997).

Most achievement theorists and philosophers also identify task-specific competence expectancies as an important variable in achievement settings. Achievement goals are created in order to obtain competence and avoid failure. These goals are viewed as implicit (non-conscious) or selfattributed (conscious) and direct achievement behavior. Competence expectancies were considered an important variable in classical achievement motivation theories, but now appear to only be moderately emphasized in contemporary perspectives (Elliot & Church, 1997).

Approach and Avoidance Goals

Achievement motivation theorists focus their research attention on behaviors involving competence. Individuals aspire to attain competence or may strive to avoid incompetence, based on the earlier approach-avoidance research and theories. The desire for success and the desire to avoid failure were identified as critical determinants of aspiration and behavior by a theorist named Lewin. In his achievement motivation theory, McClelland proposed that there are two kinds of achievement motivation, one oriented around avoiding failure and the other around the more positive goal of attaining success. Atkinson, another motivational theorist, drew from the work of Lewin and McClelland in forming his need-achievement theory, a mathematical framework that assigned the desire to succeed and the desire to avoid failure as important determinants in achievement behavior (Elliot & Harackiewicz, 1996). Theorists introduced an achievement goal approach to achievement motivation more recently. These theorists defined achievement goals as the reason for activities related to competence. Initially, these theorists followed in the footsteps of Lewin, McClelland, and Atkinson by including the distinction between approach and avoidance motivation into the structure of their assumptions. Three types of achievement goals were created, two of which being approach orientations and the third an avoidance type. One approach type was a task involvement goal focused on the development of competence and task mastery, and the other being a performance or ego involvement goal directed toward attaining favorable judgments of competence. The avoidance orientation involved an ego or performance goal aimed at avoiding unfavorable judgments of competence. These new theories received little attention at first and some theorists bypassed them with little regard. Motivational theorists shifted away and devised other conceptualizations such as Dweck's performance-learning goal dichotomy with approach and avoidance components or Nicholls' ego and task orientations, which he characterized as two forms of approach motivation (Elliot & Harackiewicz, 1996). Presently, achievement goal theory is the predominant approach to the analysis of achievement motivation. Most contemporary theorists use the frameworks of Dweck's and Nicholls' revised models in two important ways. First, most theorists institute primary orientations toward competence, by either differentiating between mastery and ability goals or contrasting task and ego involvement. A contention was raised toward the achievement goal frameworks on whether or not they are conceptually similar enough to justify a convergence of the mastery goal form (learning, task involvement and mastery) with the performance goal form (ability and performance, ego involvement, competition). Secondly, most modern theorists characterized both mastery and performance goals as approach forms of motivation, or they failed to consider approach and avoidance as independent motivational tendencies within the performance goal orientation (Elliot & Harackiewicz, 1996).

The type of orientation adopted at the outset of an activity creates a context for how individuals interpret, evaluate, and act on information and experiences in an achievement setting. Adoption of a mastery goal is hypothesized to produce a mastery motivational pattern characterized by a preference for moderately challenging tasks, persistence in the face of failure, a positive stance toward learning, and enhanced task enjoyment. A helpless motivational response, however, is the result of the adoption of a performance goal orientation. This includes a preference for easy or difficult tasks, effort withdrawal in the face of failure, shifting the blame of failure to lack of ability, and decreased enjoyment of tasks. Some theorists include the concept of perceived competence as an important agent in their assumptions. Mastery goals are expected to have a uniform effect across all levels of perceived competence, leading to a mastery pattern. Performance goals can lead to mastery in individuals with a high perceived competence and a helpless motivational pattern in those with low competence (Elliot & Harackiewicz, 1996). Three motivational goal theories have recently been proposed based on the tri-variant framework by achievement goal theorists: mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance. Performance-approach and mastery goals both represent approach orientations according to potential positive outcomes, such as the attainment of competence and task mastery. These forms of behavior and self-regulation commonly produce a variety of affective and perceptualcognitive processes that facilitate optimal task engagement. They challenge sensitivity to information relevant to success and effective concentration in the activity, leading to the mastery set of motivational responses described by achievement goal theorists. The performanceavoidance goal is conceptualized as an avoidance orientation according to potential negative outcomes. This form of regulation evokes self-protective mental processes that interfere with optimal task engagement. It creates sensitivity to failure-relevant information and invokes an anxiety-based preoccupation with the appearance of oneself rather than the concerns of the task, which can lead to the helpless set of motivational responses. The three goal theories presented are very process oriented in nature. Approach and avoidance goals are viewed as exerting their different effects on achievement behavior by activating opposing sets of motivational processes (Elliot & Harackiewicz, 1996).

Intrinsic Motivation and Achievement Goals

Intrinsic motivation is defined as the enjoyment of and interest in an activity for its own sake. Fundamentally viewed as an approach form of motivation, intrinsic motivation is identified as an important component of achievement goal theory. Most achievement goal and intrinsic motivational theorists argue that mastery goals are facilitative of intrinsic motivation and related mental processes and performance goals create negative effects. Mastery goals are said to promote intrinsic motivation by fostering perceptions of challenge, encouraging task involvement, generating excitement, and supporting self-determination while performance goals are the opposite. Performance goals are portrayed as undermining intrinsic motivation by instilling perceptions of threat, disrupting task involvement, and creating anxiety and pressure (Elliot & Harackiewicz, 1996). An alternative set of predictions may be derived from the approach-avoidance framework. Both performance-approach and mastery goals are focused on attaining competence and foster intrinsic motivation. More specifically, in performance-approach or mastery orientations,

individuals perceive the achievement setting as a challenge, and this likely will create excitement, encourage cognitive functioning, increase concentration and task absorption, and direct the person toward success and mastery of information which facilitates intrinsic motivation. The performance-avoidance goal is focused on avoiding incompetence, where individuals see the achievement setting as a threat and seek to escape it (Elliot & Harackiewicz, 1996). This orientation is likely to elicit anxiety and withdrawal of effort and cognitive resources while disrupting concentration and motivation.

Personal Goals Analysis

In recent years, theorists have increasingly relied on various goal constructs to account for action in achievement settings. Four levels of goal representation have been introduced: task-specific guidelines for performance, such as performing a certain action, situation-specific orientations that represent the purpose of achievement activity, such as demonstrating competence relative to others in a situation, personal goals that symbolize achievement pursuits, such as getting good grades, and self-standards and future self-images, including planning for future goals and successes. These goal-based achievement motivation theories have focused almost exclusively on approach forms behavior but in recent years have shifted more toward avoidance (Elliot & Sheldon, 1997). Motivation is an important factor in everyday life. Our basic behaviors and feelings are affected by our inner drive to succeed over life's challenges while we set goals for ourselves. Our motivation also promotes our feelings of competence and self-worth as we achieve our goals. It provides us with means to compete with others in order to better ourselves and to seek out new information to learn and absorb. Individuals experience motivation in different ways, whether it is task- or ego-based in nature. Some people strive to achieve their goals for personal satisfaction and self-improvement while others compete with their surroundings in achievement settings to simply be classified as the best. Motivation and the resulting behavior are both affected by the many different models of achievement motivation. These models, although separate, are very similar in nature and theory. The mastery and performance achievement settings each have a considerable effect on how an individual is motivated. Each theorist has made a contribution to the existing theories in today's achievement studies. More often than not, theorists build off of each other's work to expand old ideas and create new ones. Achievement motivation is an intriguing field, and I find myself more interested after reviewing similar theories from different perspectives.

Peer Commentary

Expanding Achievement Motivation Theory: How Motivational Psychology Relates To Other Fields
Marc B. Charbonneau Rochester Institute of Technology

Scott T. Rabideau's paper, "Effects of Achievement Motivation on Behavior," effectively summarized current research and theories in the field of motivational psychology. Rabideau's paper detailed the basic aspects of motivational theory in educational psychology, such as intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and described its finer aspects, such as how seeking information about a task can depend on whether the task is motivated by approach goals or avoidance goals. Although the paper was competent in this regard, I find it surprising that it focused so little on how research into motivation theory relates and can be applied to more well-known, traditional psychological schools of thought, such as behaviorism and cognitive psychology. Indeed, many of the ideas presented in this paper are strongly tied to traditional psychological fields. In this paper I will attempt to link some of these fields with the theories and concepts presented in Rabideau's paper. Cognitive psychology is one such field that has strong ties to motivation theory. According to motivation theory, the perception one has of ones self and ones perceived abilities have an effect on task motivation. Furthermore, self-worth theory as described by Rabideau tells us that people take personal responsibility for a failure, and in this case will likely avoid that task in the future. It seems reasonable therefore that challenging negative perceptions would have a strong positive effect on motivation. This echoes the principles dealt with in some aspects of cognitive psychology. For instance, Aaron T. Beck's cognitive theory of depression works in much the same manner, by challenging automatic negative thoughts, which are a causal factor in depression (Martin & Pear, 2003). Likewise, Albert Ellis has gained a significant following based on his development of rational-emotive behavior therapy, which deals with identifying irrational thoughts that cause negative emotions (Martin & Pear, 2003). These cognitive theories have had tremendous effect on developing effective therapies for individuals suffering from depression, and I believe that their core principles could be used in achievement motivation theory. Motivation theory also has very strong ties to behavioral psychology. In fact, I believe much of the goals behind motivation as described by Rabideau can be described in terms of positive reinforcement. Both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation can usually be attributed to a desired positive outcome, whether it is pleasure gained by accomplishing the task, or rewards such as money or social status that is expected in the future. The behavioral field of psychology has much to say about education and teaching, and a lot of it echoes what is presented in motivation theory. Although behavioral psychology is more often used in an educational environment to treat problematic and disruptive behaviors, much success has been made applying behavioral methods to strengthen positive academic behaviors, both with normal and mentally disabled students. Furthermore, behavioral psychology has been gaining support in physical training and education (Martin & Pear, 2003). Rabideau's paper identifies many potential causes for poor motivation, which stem from a variety of internal and external (such as social) reasons. I believe that despite the varied nature of causes for poor motivation, behavior therapy techniques can be used to have a positive effect on problem areas. There are many behavior modification techniques and methodologies available to therapists and educators who are working in the field of achievement motivation. Some strategies include token economies, shaping, extinction, and intermittent reinforcement, all of which have proven to provide measurable levels of

improvement in target behaviors (Martin & Pear, 2003). I believe that through these and other techniques, it is possible to increase achievement motivation, even in cases where it may lacking due to one or more problems, or in cases of avoidant motivation (which will not drive an individual towards mastery of a task), such as the fear of failing to look competent by peers. By helping to create motivation based on implicit enjoyment of completing a task, behavior therapy can not only drive motivation towards mastery of a task, but also help in cases where treating a cause of poor motivation is not always possible. This certainly may be the case in some of the causes Rabideau mentioned, such as low motivation that stems from past failure or a fear of peer criticism. Finally, Rabideau's paper also tied in strongly with the field of social psychology. Competence relevant to peers plays a big role in motivation theory, both in approach and avoidance goals. Often times motivation for a task comes from seeking a level of proficiency, or avoiding a failure. It would have been interesting to see how the outcome of peer criticism or support in the face of a failure effects future task motivation, as in some areas of psychology peer support can have a large effect on the progression of emotional problems.

Peer Commentary

Benefits of Avoiding
Fernando D. Segovia Rochester Institute of Technology All of the achievement motivation theories presented by Rabideau seem to agree that mastery and approach-type goals or motives lead to constructive behavior in addition to personal advancement and success. Meanwhile, avoidance-type goals or motives lead to negative personal outcomes, inefficiency, and inner-turmoil. Although it seems idealistic to have one's motivation completely based on receiving positive reinforcement and self-improvement in order to achieve personal success, perhaps it is not realistic. Motivation based on avoidance characteristics may be detrimental to one's self in excess, but it may be a necessary tool in some regards towards the development of long-term approach and mastery goals. A delicate balance of both approach and avoidance motivation may lead to a more well-rounded and successful individual. Imagine a workplace scenario in the modern fast-paced American business world in which there are no deadlines, no bosses, and no competition. Sure this would be the ideal place for mastery and approach type goals in which an individual could spend all of his or her time developing their skills and knowledge, but this is not the case. No matter how much enjoyment people receive from their work, people in the business world must unavoidably perform tasks in the midst of deadline threats and competition in order to persevere. They most definitely face some anxiety and fear about not meeting their employers' standards and perform tasks based on avoidance motivation in order to prevent from losing their jobs. They may also aim to perform

tasks better in comparison with co-workers both for an ego-boost and for avoiding social incompetence. These anxiety and stress-inducing situations may not be what we desire as individuals or what is desired for optimal human success, but they are undoubtedly present and encountered in our lifestyles. Without them would anything ever get done? If mastery goals are an individual's only source of motivation and they receive purely pleasure out of performing a task I doubt they would ever make the statement, "well this is good enough." How could they feel they have accomplished their goal if something can always be improved upon? They would always continue to strive for the mastery of the particular task or skill. Another similar example would be students attending colleges and universities in western society. Unless they are there for the sole purpose of expanding their knowledge, the majority of the students enrolled in any particular university are probably there to receive a higher-level education in the pursuit of employment for sustenance. This long-term goal is not achieved through solely positive reinforcement; there is plenty of stress, anxiety, and sometimes failure as well. In fact the goal itself could be considered an avoidance goal and motivate a student based on the fear of becoming a social pariah or the inability to provide for oneself. In regards to class work and assignments, a student might be motivated to excel in his or her particular area of study. Although If student is forced to attend a required class not related to their area of interest and study he/she might be motivated by the avoidance of receiving poor marks or negative feedback by the professor, which would be detrimental to their college career from an overall perspective. The avoidance would lead to completion of course work and material and actually benefit the student in the long run. In contrast too much motivation through means of avoidance would follow the motivational theories as described by Rabideau and completely "undermine intrinsic motivation." With a deprivation of approach and mastery type goals an individual may lack the inner-drive needed to succeed in life. Instances as described in the "self-worth" theory may occur in which an individual chooses the easiest route and removes most or all task-related effort in order to avoid failure and low self-esteem. It would be interesting to explore further into this realm and see how motivations through avoidance type goals are related to depression, particularly unipolar disorders. Perhaps the continuation of motivation through stress, anxiety and fear leads an individual through a downward spiral into a depressive state. Cognitive therapy may assist these individuals in developing more approach-type goals and counter the effects described in the "self-worth" theory.

Peer Commentary

What's My Motivation? It May Not Be Yours

Jeremy M. Swerdlow Rochester Institute of Technology The most interesting concepts explored in this paper concerned the identification of various types of motivation. Obviously motivation drives human behavior and there are many different forms motivation can take, but how do these different types of motivation interact to describe behavior? Whether motivational cues are taken directly from the environment or imposed by individuals, there is always a choice to be made, be it conscious or unconscious. Nobody can make an individual do anything, a person's perception of reality shapes that person's motivation. To better illustrate this phenomenon, an actual [observed] scenario describing two students will be described. One student, receives a poor grade on an exam while the other receives an "A." Why did the first student do so poorly? Obviously he was motivated to take the test and he was also motivated to receive a passing grade so he could advance. But what was the goal? Let us explore the many different forms that motivation can take. This author discusses numerous types of motives starting with achievement goals including: performance-approach, in which a student would focus on attaining mere competence relative to his classmates, a performance-avoidance goal mindset would mean the student was trying to avoid incompetence, and finally if the student was facing a mastery goal he would try to become an expert in the material regardless of what was required for the test. Student one is very bright, highly task-involved and seeks to acquire knowledge as well as skills and understanding, in direct contrast to ego-involvement were the goal here is to prove superiority over the rest of the class. Now let us contrast the first student with one of his classmates who is not that gifted and is demonstrating performance-avoidance. He is terrified he will fail the class and is extrinsically motivated- he is not studying for his own betterment; he is motivated to both please others and avoid punishment. The future is looking fairly grim for student number two so he begins to withdraw effort. According to self-worth theory, the reason for this is to lessen his inevitable cognitive dissonance from failing the class, that way if he fails it would be due to a lack of preparation rather than his own lack of academic ability. Student number one studied for the pure joy of learning to master the material while the second students performance-avoidance goals put him between a rock and a hard place; paralyzed with fear of failure he faced task anxiety and helpless achievement outcomes. But student number one gets a "C" on the test and student number two gets an "A." What happened? What happened was a cultural component exerting more power than any other types of motivation. Student number one faced persecution from his peers by "breaking the curve" and student number two cheated to please his parents with his grade. In this case simply understanding motivation did not predict behavior, only motive. Seldom is a person driven by a solitary, isolated motive that is easily defined. The author touches on this point and discusses a variety of motives that are possible, but sometimes predicting behavior by understanding motivation requires a model containing numerous and sometimes contradicting motivations. Interestingly, both students altered their behaviors in ways some would consider unexpected. However, the second student broke societies rules by cheating while the first override his desire to receive a high grade with one lower than what he truly deserved. Similarities also come from

the fact that both students felt cognitive dissonance, obviously for two different reasons, but the first student was implicitly motivated the second was explicitly motivated. The first student damaged himself for the benefit of the group [to ultimately protect himself from persecution] while the second student took advantage of the group to better himself. One intriguing possibility is that simple implicit or explicit motivations can predict the possible inclusion of other types of behaviors. External/ internal perceived locus of causality (Gollowitzer, 1996) describes persons with an internal perceived locus as more in control of their density. As a result these persons, like student number one are flexible with regards to the environment and are better equipped to handle situations that require in-depth understanding of how their moral code interacts with the outside world. This may account for this student deciding on task-mastery while at the same time allowing himself to give in to peer pressure to achieve the second goal of group acceptance. It is also possible that student number one receives far less dissonance that student number two who has an external perceived locus of causality. This student feels that his actions could only have been justified by the limited options he perceives are as a result of his own shortcoming. In short, persons who exhibit avoidance achievement motivations are more likely to be susceptible to external influence the opposite is true for those seeking task-mastery.

Author Response

Motivational Theory From a Different Perspective

Scott T. Rabideau Rochester Institute of Technology Charbonneau introduced the relation between motivational theory with both the cognitive area of psychology and the school of behaviorism. His points were very interesting and I agree they could have enhanced my original argument and allowed me to further articulate and describe different aspects of motivational theory. He mainly focused on ideas for enhancing motivation and suggested how these areas of psychology could be related to a motivational therapy. As for the cognitive field, I agree that the perceptions people have of themselves indeed play a strong role in affecting their motivation. It would be interesting to conduct a future study of how depression therapy techniques could possibly be used to aid in motivation. Charbonneau's other argument focused on behavioral therapy and how it could be used in motivation treatments. I found these arguments to be quite interesting and would also be interested in seeing the results of a study based on Charbonneau's ideas. However, I still feel that motivation is most strongly tied to the social aspect of psychology. Segovia provided an interesting counter-argument concerning avoidance and motivation. His idea that a balance of approach and avoidance motivation would create a more well-rounded person seems quite intriguing. I believe Segovia makes a strong case in his argument that avoidance achievement goals are completely necessary for daily functioning, not only for working adults but for college students as well. His points about students taking classes unrelated

to their primary studies and adults performing tasks at work just to avoid failure or avoid being fired is something I should have considered including in my original presentation. Like Segovia, I would be interested in seeing a study performed that might assess how avoidance goals can help people succeed in life, and also how avoidance goals may be related to mental disorders such as depression. Swerdlow presented an interesting example of how task mastery and avoidance goals can sometimes result in unexpected outcomes and how motivational drives are different for individual people. His example using the two students was quite provocative and fascinating. He emphasized how observed behavior of an individual can differ from the motivational drives of that individual by introducing environmental and cultural factors. I agree that these factors can strongly influence an individual's behavior despite their own intrinsic motives for success. I would like to thank the authors of these commentaries for they provided me with additional insights on the various aspects of motivational theory. It was quite thought-provoking to see these different views of achievement theory.

Theory of motivation 1) Contribution of Robert Owen : Though Owen is considered to be paternalistic in his view, his contribution is of a considerable significance in the theories of Motivation. During the early years of the nineteenth century, Owens textile mill at New Lanark in Scotland was the scene of some novel ways of treating people. His view was that people were similar to machines. A machine that is looked after properly, cared for and maintained well, performs efficiently, reliably and lastingly, similarly people are likely to be more efficient if they are taken care of. Robert Owen practiced what he preached and introduced such things as employee housing and company shop. His ideas on this and other matters were considered to be too revolutionary for that time. 2) Jeremy Benthams The Carrot and the Stick Approach : Possibly the essence of the traditional view of people at work can be best appreciated by a brief look at the work of this English philosopher, whose ideas were also developed in the early years of the Industrial Revolution, around 1800. Benthams view was that all people are self-interested and are motivated by the desire to avoid pain and find pleasure. Any worker will work only if the reward is big enough, or the punishment sufficiently unpleasant. This view - the carrot and stick approach - was built into the philosophies of the age and is still to be found, especially in the older, more traditional sectors of industry. The various leading theories of motivation and motivators seldom make reference to the carrot and the stick. This metaphor relates, of course, to the use of rewards and penalties in order to induce desired behavior. It comes from the old story that to make a donkey move, one must put a carrot in front of him or dab him with a stick from behind. Despite all the research on the theories of motivation, reward and punishment are still considered strong motivators. For centuries, however, they were too often thought of as the only forces that could motivate people. At the same time, in all theories of motivation, the inducements of some kind of carrot are recognized. Often this is money in the form of pay or bonuses. Even though money is not the only motivating force, it has been and will continue to be an important one. The trouble with the money carrot approach is that too often everyone gets a carrot, regardless of performance through such practices as salary increase and promotion by seniority, automatic merit increases, and executive bonuses not based on individual manager performance. It is as simple as this : If a person put a donkey in a pen full of carrots and then stood outside with a carrot, would the donkey be encouraged to come out of the pen ? The stick, in the form of fearfear of loss of job, loss of income, reduction of bonus, demotion, or some other penaltyhas been and continues to be a strong motivator. Yet it is admittedly not the best kind. It often gives rise to defensive or retaliatory behavior, such as union organization, poor-quality work, executive indifference, failure of a manager to take any risks in decision making or even dishonesty. But fear of penalty cannot be overlooked. Whether managers are first-level supervisors or chief executives, the power of their position to give or with hold

rewards or impose penalties of various kinds gives them an ability to control, to a very great extent, the economic and social well-being of their subordinates. 3) Abraham Maslows Need Hierarchy Theory : One of the most widely mentioned theories of motivation is the hierarchy of needs theory put forth by psychologist Abraham Maslow. Maslow saw human needs in the form of a hierarchy, ascending from the lowest to the highest, and he concluded that when one set of needs is satisfied, this kind of need ceases to be a motivator. As per his theory this needs are : (i) Physiological needs : These are important needs for sustaining the human life. Food, water, warmth, shelter, sleep, medicine and education are the basic physiological needs which fall in the primary list of need satisfaction. Maslow was of an opinion that until these needs were satisfied to a degree to maintain life, no other motivating factors can work. (ii) Security or Safety needs : These are the needs to be free of physical danger and of the fear of losing a job, property, food or shelter. It also includes protection against any emotional harm. (iii) Social needs : Since people are social beings, they need to belong and be accepted by others. People try to satisfy their need for affection, acceptance and friendship. (iv) Esteem needs : According to Maslow, once people begin to satisfy their need to belong, they tend to want to be held in esteem both by themselves and by others. This kind of need produces such satisfaction as power, prestige status and self-confidence. It includes both internal esteem factors like selfrespect, autonomy and achievements and external esteem factors such as states, recognition and attention. (v) Need for self-actualization : Maslow regards this as the highest need in his hierarchy. It is the drive to become what one is capable of becoming, it includes growth, achieving ones potential and self-fulfillment. It is to maximize ones potential and to accomplish something.

As each of these needs are substantially satisfied, the next need becomes dominant. From the standpoint of motivation, the theory would say that although no need is ever fully gratified, a substantially satisfied need no longer motivates. So if you want to motivate someone, you need to understand what level of the hierarchy that person is on and focus on satisfying those needs or needs above that level. Maslows need theory has received wide recognition, particularly among practicing managers. This can be attributed to the theorys intuitive logic and ease of understanding. However, research does not validate these theory. Maslow provided no empirical evidence and other several studies that sought to validate the theory found no support for it. TOP 4) Theory X and Theory Y of Douglas McGregor : McGregor, in his book The Human side of Enterprise states that people inside the organization can be managed in two ways. The first is basically negative, which falls under the category X and the other is basically positive, which falls under the category Y. After viewing the way in which the manager dealt with employees, McGregor concluded that a managers view of the nature of human beings is based on a certain grouping of assumptions and that he or she tends to mold his or her behavior towards subordinates according to these assumptions. Under the assumptions of theory X :

Employees inherently do not like work and whenever possible, will attempt to avoid it. Because employees dislike work, they have to be forced, coerced or threatened with punishment to achieve goals. Employees avoid responsibilities and do not work fill formal directions are issued. Most workers place a greater importance on security over all other factors and display little ambition.

In contrast under the assumptions of theory Y :

Physical and mental effort at work is as natural as rest or play. People do exercise self-control and self-direction and if they are committed to those goals. Average human beings are willing to take responsibility and exercise imagination, ingenuity and creativity in solving the problems of the organization. That the way the things are organized, the average human beings brainpower is only partly used.

On analysis of the assumptions it can be detected that theory X assumes that lower-order needs dominate individuals and theory Y assumes that higher-order needs dominate individuals. An organization that is run on Theory X lines tends to be authoritarian in nature, the word authoritarian suggests such ideas as the power to enforce obedience and the right to command. In contrast Theory Y organizations can be described as participative, where the aims of the organization and of the individuals in it are integrated; individuals can achieve their own goals best by directing their efforts towards the success of the organization. However, this theory has been criticized widely for generalization of work and human behavior. 5) Contribution of Rensis Likert : Likert developed a refined classification, breaking down organizations into four management systems. 1st System Primitive authoritarian 2nd System Benevolent authoritarian 3rd System Consultative 4th System Participative As per the opinion of Likert, the 4th system is the best, not only for profit organizations, but also for non-profit firms. 6) Frederick Herzbergs motivation-hygiene theory : Frederick has tried to modify Maslows need Hierarchy theory. His theory is also known as twofactor theory or Hygiene theory. He stated that there are certain satisfiers and dissatisfiers for employees at work. In- trinsic factors are related to job satisfaction, while extrinsic factors are associated with dissatisfaction. He devised his theory on the question : What do people want from their jobs ? He asked people to describe in detail, such situations when they felt exceptionally good or exceptionally bad. From the responses that he received, he concluded that opposite of satisfaction is not dissatisfaction. Removing dissatisfying characteristics from a job does not necessarily make the job satisfying. He states that presence of certain factors in the organization is natural and the presence of the same does not lead to motivation. However, their nonpresence leads to demotivation. In similar manner there are certain factors, the absence of which causes no dissatisfaction, but their presence has motivational impact.

Examples of Hygiene factors are : Security, status, relationship with subordinates, personal life, salary, work conditions, relationship with supervisor and company policy and administration. Examples of Motivational factors are : Growth prospectus job advancement, responsibility, challenges, recognition and achievements. TOP 7) Contributions of Elton Mayo : The work of Elton Mayo is famously known as Hawthorne Experiments. He conducted behavioral experiments at the Hawthorne Works of the American Western Electric Company in Chicago. He made some illumination experiments, introduced breaks in between the work performance and also introduced refreshments during the pauses. On the basis of this he drew the conclusions that motivation was a very complex subject. It was not only about pay, work condition and morale but also included psychological and social factors. Although this research has been criticized from many angles, the central conclusions drawn were :

People are motivated by more than pay and conditions.

The need for recognition and a sense of belonging are very important. Attitudes towards work are strongly influenced by the group.

8) Vrooms Valence x Expectancy theory : The most widely accepted explanations of motivation has been propounded by Victor Vroom. His theory is commonly known as expectancy theory. The theory argues that the strength of a tendency to act in a specific way depends on the strength of an expectation that the act will be followed by a given outcome and on the attractiveness of that outcome to the individual to make this simple, expectancy theory says that an employee can be motivated to perform better when their is a belief that the better performance will lead to good performance appraisal and that this shall result into realization of personal goal in form of some reward. Therefore an employee is : Motivation = Valence x Expectancy. The theory focuses on three things :

Efforts and performance relationship Performance and reward relationship Rewards and personal goal relationship

This leads us to a conclusion that :

9) The Porter and Lawler Model : Lyman W. Porter and Edward E. Lawler developed a more complete version of motivation depending upon expectancy theory.

Actual performance in a job is primarily determined by the effort spent. But it is also affected by the persons ability to do the job and also by individuals perception of what the required task is. So performance is the responsible factor that leads to intrinsic as well as extrinsic rewards. These rewards, along with the equity of individual leads to satisfaction. Hence, satisfaction of the individual depends upon the fairness of the reward. 10) Clayton Alderfers ERG Theory : Alderfer has tried to rebuild the hierarchy of needs of Maslow into another model named ERG i.e. Existence Relatedness Growth. According to him there are 3 groups of core needs as mentioned above. The existence group is concerned mainly with providing basic material existence. The second group is the individuals need to maintain interpersonal relationship with other members in the group. The final group is the intrinsic desire to grow and develop personally. The major conclusions of this theory are : 1. In an individual, more than one need may be operative at the same time. 2. If a higher need goes unsatisfied than the desire to satisfy a lower need intensifies. 3. It also contains the frustration-regression dimension. 11) McClellands Theory of Needs : David McClelland has developed a theory on three types of motivating needs : 1. Need for Power 2. Need for Affiliation 3. Need for Achievement Basically people for high need for power are inclined towards influence and control. They like to be at the center and are good orators. They are demanding in nature, forceful in manners and

ambitious in life. They can be motivated to perform if they are given key positions or power positions. In the second category are the people who are social in nature. They try to affiliate themselves with individuals and groups. They are driven by love and faith. They like to build a friendly environment around themselves. Social recognition and affiliation with others provides them motivation. People in the third area are driven by the challenge of success and the fear of failure. Their need for achievement is moderate and they set for themselves moderately difficult tasks. They are analytical in nature and take calculated risks. Such people are motivated to perform when they see atleast some chances of success. McClelland observed that with the advancement in hierarchy the need for power and achievement increased rather than Affiliation. He also observed that people who were at the top, later ceased to be motivated by this drives. 12 ) Equity Theory : As per the equity theory of J. Stacey Adams, people are motivated by their beliefs about the reward structure as being fair or unfair, relative to the inputs. People have a tendency to use subjective judgment to balance the outcomes and inputs in the relationship for comparisons between different individuals. Accordingly :

If people feel that they are not equally rewarded they either reduce the quantity or quality of work or migrate to some other organization. However, if people perceive that they are rewarded higher, they may be motivated to work harder. 13) Reinforcement Theory : B.F. Skinner, who propounded the reinforcement theory, holds that by designing the environment properly, individuals can be motivated. Instead of considering internal factors like impressions, feelings, attitudes and other cognitive behavior, individuals are directed by what happens in the environment external to them. Skinner states that work environment should be made suitable to the individuals and that punishments actually leads to frustration and demotivation. Hence, the only way to motivate is to keep on making positive changes in the external environment of the organization. 14) Goal Setting Theory of Edwin Locke : Instead of giving vague tasks to people, specific and pronounced objectives, help in achieving them faster. As the clearity is high, a goal orientation also avoids any misunderstandings in the

work of the employees. The goal setting theory states that when the goals to be achieved are set at a higher standard than in that case employees are motivated to perform better and put in maximum effort. It revolves around the concept of Self-efficacy i.e. individuals belief that he or she is capable of performing a hard task. 15) Cognitive Evaluation Theory : As per these theory a shift from external rewards to internal rewards results into motivation. It believes that even after the stoppage of external stimulus, internal stimulus survives. It relates to the pay structure in the organization. Instead of treating external factors like pay, incentives, promotion etc and internal factors like interests, drives, responsibility etc, separately, they should be treated as contemporary to each other. The cognition is to be such that even when external motivators are not there the internal motivation continues. However, practically extrinsic rewards are given much more weightage.

Theory of motivation

There are a number of different views as to what motivates workers. The most commonly held views or theories are discussed below and have been developed over the last 100 years or so. Unfortunately these theories do not all reach the same conclusions! Taylor Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856 1917) put forward the idea that workers are motivated mainly by pay. His Theory of Scientific Management argued the following: Workers do not naturally enjoy work and so need close supervision and control Therefore managers should break down production into a series of small tasks Workers should then be given appropriate training and tools so they can work as efficiently as possible on one set task. Workers are then paid according to the number of items they produce in a set period of timepiece-rate pay. As a result workers are encouraged to work hard and maximise their productivity. Taylors methods were widely adopted as businesses saw the benefits of increased productivity levels and lower unit costs. The most notably advocate was Henry Ford who used them to design the first ever production line, making Ford cars. This was the start of the era of mass production. Taylors approach has close links with the concept of an autocratic management style (managers take all the decisions and simply give orders to those below them) and Macgregors Theory X approach to workers (workers are viewed as lazy and wish to avoid responsibility). However workers soon came to dislike Taylors approach as they were only given boring, repetitive tasks to carry out and were being treated little better than human machines. Firms could also afford to lay off workers as productivity levels increased. This led to an increase in strikes and other forms of industrial action by dis-satisfied workers. Mayo Elton Mayo (1880 1949) believed that workers are not just concerned with money but could be better motivated by having their social needs met whilst at work (something that Taylor ignored). He introduced the Human Relation School of thought, which focused on managers taking more of an interest in the workers, treating them as people who have worthwhile opinions and realising that workers enjoy interacting together. Mayo conducted a series of experiments at the Hawthorne factory of the Western Electric Company in Chicago

He isolated two groups of women workers and studied the effect on their productivity levels of changing factors such as lighting and working conditions. He expected to see productivity levels decline as lighting or other conditions became progressively worse What he actually discovered surprised him: whatever the change in lighting or working conditions, the productivity levels of the workers improved or remained the same. From this Mayo concluded that workers are best motivated by: Better communication between managers and workers ( Hawthorne workers were consulted over the experiments and also had the opportunity to give feedback) Greater manager involvement in employees working lives ( Hawthorne workers responded to the increased level of attention they were receiving) Working in groups or teams. ( Hawthorne workers did not previously regularly work in teams) In practice therefore businesses should re-organise production to encourage greater use of team working and introduce personnel departments to encourage greater manager involvement in looking after employees interests. His theory most closely fits in with a paternalistic style of management. Maslow Abraham Maslow (1908 1970) along with Frederick Herzberg (1923-) introduced the NeoHuman Relations School in the 1950s, which focused on the psychological needs of employees. Maslow put forward a theory that there are five levels of human needs which employees need to have fulfilled at work. All of the needs are structured into a hierarchy (see below) and only once a lower level of need has been fully met, would a worker be motivated by the opportunity of having the next need up in the hierarchy satisfied. For example a person who is dying of hunger will be motivated to achieve a basic wage in order to buy food before worrying about having a secure job contract or the respect of others. A business should therefore offer different incentives to workers in order to help them fulfill each need in turn and progress up the hierarchy (see below). Managers should also recognise that workers are not all motivated in the same way and do not all move up the hierarchy at the same pace. They may therefore have to offer a slightly different set of incentives from worker to worker.

Herzberg Frederick Herzberg (1923-) had close links with Maslow and believed in a two-factor theory of motivation. He argued that there were certain factors that a business could introduce that would directly motivate employees to work harder (Motivators). However there were also factors that would de-motivate an employee if not present but would not in themselves actually motivate employees to work harder (Hygienefactors) Motivators are more concerned with the actual job itself. For instance how interesting the work is and how much opportunity it gives for extra responsibility, recognition and promotion. Hygiene factors are factors which surround the job rather than the job itself. For example a worker will only turn up to work if a business has provided a reasonable level of pay and safe working conditions but these factors will not make him work harder at his job once he is there. Importantly Herzberg viewed pay as a hygiene factor which is in direct contrast to Taylor who viewed pay, and piece-rate in particular Herzberg believed that businesses should motivate employees by adopting a democratic approach to management and by improving the nature and content of the actual job through certain methods. Some of the methods managers could use to achieve this are: Job enlargement workers being given a greater variety of tasks to perform (not necessarily more challenging) which should make the work more interesting.

Job enrichment - involves workers being given a wider range of more complex, interesting and challenging tasks surrounding a complete unit of work. This should give a greater sense of achievement. Empowerment means delegating more power to employees to make their own decisions over areas of their working life.