Theories of Motivation.

Essay by KelleyLZUniversity, Bachelor'sA+, February 2004

download word file, 7 pages 4.9

Downloaded 772 times

The Theories of Motivation

Motivation is formally defined as forces within an individual that account for the level, direction, and persistence of effort. Within each of us, as human beings there are factors that influence the decisions we make about how we react to things we experience. We decide how to react based on our own personal analysis of how our needs or expectations were or were not met by that particular experience. Motivation is talked about as being made up of three types of theories. They are the reinforcement, content, and process theories.

Reinforcement theories emphasize the linkage between individual behavior and some specific outcomes to show how managers can alter the direction, level, or persistence of individual actions. These theories concentrate more on the motivational techniques of managers to control their subordinates' motivation in the work environment.

Content theories deal directly with what motivates individuals to perform more effectively within their organizations.

It deals with the idea of what the needs are for the employees within their work environment that will motivate them to perform more effectively and efficiently. Content theories focus primarily on the individual needs-the physiological or psychological deficiencies that we feel a compulsion to reduce or eliminate. Process theories focus on the thought or cognitive processes that take place within the minds of people and that influence their behaviors. These are the kind of theories that deal with the motivation within the individual minds of the employees. Their motivation within themselves directly affects their performance in the personal lives as well as their professional lives.

In our textbook, Organizational Behavior, there were four content theories that they talked about. A man named Abraham Maslow founded the first theory. His theory was that there was a pyramid of needs within every person. There were the top...