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What Is Motivation And How It Works?

How are businesses successful? What lies at the core of an efficient and productive workforce? How do we ensure the work of a business is optimally performed? Why do employees do what they are asked to do?

Motivation

These are pertinent questions that need answers to. Many people can and may give a single answer to all these questions. It may be a broad answer that it is efficient management. While the answer is good, the answer to questions such as these requires depth and specification.

At a deeper level, one may answer supervision. While it may be hard to say it’s wrong, it’s not hard to advocate any equally compelling answer to these questions. The answer is motivation.

Motivation is incitement or inducement to act or move. It is the process of inducing the employees of an organization to act in a predetermined desired manner so as to achieve organizational goals. At the core of this concept, lies three important sub-concepts. They are Motive, Motivation, and Motivator.

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Motive refers to the inner state of mind that initiates and controls behavior towards business goals. They directly correspond to the needs of individuals.

Motivation is the process of stimulating action by understanding the needs of employees and by utilizing their motives. The motivator is the technique used for motivation such as pay bonuses, promotion among others.

 Importance of Motivation in an Organisation.

The process of motivation plays a very important role in any organization, profit, or non-profit. The managerial process of direction is driven primarily by the process of motivation as it creates within the mind of an employee the desire to work in the direction determined by the manager. The following aspects may be considered under this head:

1. Increases Productivity

Motivation is a process that leads to an increase in the productivity of the employee. Motivation meets the needs of the employee and thereby creates the drive to work to the best of his abilities. A well-employee will be willing to put in more effort towards the betterment of the organization than another disheartened employee.

2. Ensures Organisational Efficiency

Motivation plays an important role in changing the attitudes of the employees in the organization. An Indifferent attitude is extinguished most efficiently by motivation. The presence of such a favorable attitude allows the organization to thrive and be successful.

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3. Ensures Loyal Workforce

A well-motivated workforce is a loyal workforce. Motivated employees have high levels of morale and commitment towards the organization and its goals and objectives. Motivation thus reduces employee turnover and reduces the need for constant induction of new employees.

4. Ensures a Reactive Workforce

Adapting to changing business environments is an important feature of any successful business. In order to react to changes easily and to continue smooth functioning, an organization requires extensive loyalty and commitment of its employees. This reduces resistance to the changes that the organization intends to make. This in effect makes the organization efficient in adapting to changing needs.

5. Facilitates Direction

Direction is an important managerial function and forms one of its core functions. Motivation as already mentioned is a vital part of the direction. The direction is a process that involves directing or initiating action according to a plan drawn up requires the employees to work wholeheartedly with commitment and loyalty. The process of direction is thus possible only when the employees proceed in the direction that the manager determines and this requires a motivated workforce.

 Conclusion

The role of motivation cannot be understated in an organization. It is a simple process that requires an understanding of the human mind and behavior. Such an understanding and proper action thereby stimulating the motives of an employee help in initiating and maintaining action and helps extensively in satisfying organizational objectives.

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About Sonia Kukreja

I am a mother of a lovely kid, and an avid fan technology, computing and management related topics. I hold a degree in MBA from well known management college in India. After completing my post graduation I thought to start a website where I can share management related concepts with rest of the people.