Managerial Principles

Essay by 12whuzurdaddyUniversity, Bachelor'sA+, September 2004

download word file, 4 pages 4.3

Work Motivation

Three Approaches To Motivation

Motivation is a psychological state that is said to exist whenever internal and/or external forces trigger, direct, or maintain goal-directed behaviors. The many different theories of motivation can be easily grouped into three general approaches.

Managerial Approach

The managerial approach to motivating employees focuses on the behaviors of managers - in particular, their use of goals and rewards. The managers that employees work with on a day-to-day basis can directly motivate employees through personal, one-on-one communication.

Job And Organization Approach

This approach emphasizes the design of jobs and the general organizational environment. Enriched jobs are more motivating than jobs that are narrow in scope. Human resource management policies and practices are generally an important aspect of the organizational context. The apprpriate benefits, reward structure, and development opportunities may attract new employees to the organization. Whether such policies serve to increase employee effort and desire to stay with the company depends partly on whether employees perceive them to be fair and equitable.

Individual Differences Approach

This approach treats motivation as a characteristic of the individual. Individual differences are the unique needs, values, competencies, and other personal characteristics that employees bring to their jobs. These characteristcs vary from person to person. One person may be motivated to earn more money and prefer a job that offers such an opportunity. Another may be motivated by security, preferring a job that involves less risk of unemployment. Effective managers understand the individual differences that shape each employee's unique view of work and use this understanding to maximize each employee's effectiveness.

Integrating the Approaches

The three general approaches to motivation are most useful when they are combined and integrated. Most basic theories of motivation focus on only one factor (e.g., an individual's needs or the design of a job) affecting...