Motivation is a complex phenomenon. It can be defined in multiple ways. It can be approached from different perspectives. Its relationship with other organizational phenomena is not always very clear. The intention of the article is to present a comprehensive definition of motivation at work, describe the dimensions and process of motivation, review some important classifications (extrinsic and intrinsic, positive and negative, micro and macro motivation) and discuss the relationships between motivation, performance and job satisfaction.
1. Introduction
The concept of motivation is used in different contexts and with different senses. Varied are the emphasis that is placed when trying to define it. Motivation is also a highly complex phenomenon, which one can approach from different perspectives. This writing is an approach to motivation at work and its relationship with other essential phenomena of organizational behavior, such as performance and job satisfaction.
2. Attempt at definition
Few topics are as attractive in the study of human behavior at work as motivation. There has always been an interest in knowing the reasons why people act in a certain way. The theoretical tools to achieve such knowledge are far from being consensual. The term motivation has been used in various senses. Defining it implies moving between some alternatives that emphasize one or another aspect of the phenomenon. Motivation has been conceptualized as an internal state that provokes behavior; as the will or disposition to exert an effort; as drives, impulses or motives that generate behaviors; as a triggering force for actions; as a process that leads to the satisfaction of needs… Over time these last two conceptions have prevailed:the position of those who define motivation as a force or set of forces, and the vision of those who conceive it as a process or series of processes. Within these two trends there are multiple definitions, some very simple and general, others more complete and precise. Let's try to find a concept that is understandable and useful.
As already announced, some authors conceive motivation as a force or set of forces. De la Torre (2000, p. 35), for example, points out that motivation is the “force that drives the subject to adopt a certain behavior”. Gibson, Ivancevich and Donelly (2001, p. 145), within the same perspective, define it as “forces that act on the individual or that start from her to initiate and guide her behavior”. In this last definition, the external aspect of motivation and two important elements of the behavior that it generates are explicitly incorporated: initiation and directionality. Hellriegel and Slocum (2004, p.117) introduce the purpose of behavior into their definition, when they conceive motivation as “forces that act on or within a person and cause them to behave in a specific way,directed towards a goal ”.
Other authors prefer to define motivation as a process. It seems more useful to define it that way. Motivation is not a directly observable phenomenon. It is inferred from specific behaviors. Therefore, your definition should suggest a succession of events ranging from the initial need to the satisfactory behavior of that need.
Thus, Reeve (2003, p. 5) defines motivation in a simple way as a set of “processes that provide energy and direction to behavior”. Robbins (2004, p.155), with a little more precision, conceives it as a series of “processes that account for the intensity, direction and persistence of an individual's effort to achieve a goal”. Kinicki and Kreitner (2003, p. 142) introduce the voluntariness of motivation when they conceptualize it as “psychological processes that produce the awakening, direction and persistence of voluntary and goal-oriented actions”.
Starting from these last considerations, we will try to elaborate a definition of motivation at work that is generalizing and comprehensive, and that also incorporates not only the satisfaction of personal needs, but also the achievement of organizational goals.
Let's start by distinguishing the fundamental elements that underlie the previous annotations:
- Motivation can only be inferred from the observable behavior that it generates. Being linked to a need and satisfactory behavior, it seems more logical to define motivation as a process, made up of a chain of events ranging from awareness of the need to the satisfaction of the same Motivation has internal components (needs of the human organism) and external elements (pressures exerted by the sociocultural environment in which the individual is immersed) Motivation has three effects on behavior: initiates it, directs it and maintains it.All behavior is aimed at satisfying the need or the set of needs that gave rise to it.In the world of work, this behavior, in addition to seeking to satisfy the needs and impulses of the individual,try to achieve organizational goals.
Therefore, we define motivation at work as a process by which a worker, driven by internal forces or acting on him, initiates, directs and maintains a behavior aimed at achieving certain incentives that allow him to satisfy his needs, while simultaneously trying to achieve the goals of the organization.
Here is a very good talk in which Dan Pink explains why traditional motivational methods are not effective in companies and how they could be improved.
3. Dimensions of motivation
From what has been explained so far it follows that motivation has three dimensions. Robbins (op.cit:, pp. 155-156), Muchinsky (2000, p. 192) and Gibson et alt. (op. cit., p. 143) identify these three dimensions: intensity (or strength), direction (or orientation) and persistence (or perseverance).
- Intensity is the amount of effort that the individual invests in performing a task. Direction is the orientation of effort toward the achievement of a specific goal. It implies the choice of activities in which the individual will focus her effort to achieve this goal. Persistence is the continuity of effort over time. Persistence makes the individual overcome the obstacles that she encounters in her march towards the achievement of the goal.
4. The complexity of motivation
Motivation, as noted above, is not directly observable. It is only inferred through the behavior that it initiates, guides and sustains. Furthermore, the game between motivation and behavior is quite complex.
Blum and Naylor (1999, pp. 472-475) present an interesting synthesis of the facts that make both the phenomenon of motivation and any attempt to study it complex. Let's proceed to summarize them:
- In any given situation, rarely does an individual behave in a certain way as a result of a single motive. Several motives generally operate simultaneously to produce a certain behavior. Individuals are often ignorant of the true reason for their behavior. People often do things without being aware of the basic motivation for their behavior. The motivation that produces a behavior can originate from within the individual or by factors that act from outside the person. These internal and external factors maintain permanent interaction. Sometimes, different forms of behavior are caused by the same reason. An individual finds in the environment different options to satisfy the same need. Different reasons can result in the same form of behavior.The same type of behavior can lead to incentives that satisfy different motives. Motives vary, both in type and intensity, from one individual to another. Individual characteristics and situation mean that incentives that motivate one person may not motivate another. Or they can generate different levels of intensity in two individuals. The impulses or motives vary in the same individual on different occasions. What drives someone to carry out a certain behavior today may not motivate them in the future.Or they can generate different levels of intensity in two individuals. The impulses or motives vary in the same individual on different occasions. What drives someone to carry out a certain behavior today may not motivate them in the future.Or they can generate different levels of intensity in two individuals. The impulses or motives vary in the same individual on different occasions. What drives someone to carry out a certain behavior today may not motivate them in the future.
5. The motivational cycle
Before we defined motivation as a process, that is, as an interconnected sequence of events that start from a need and culminate with the satisfaction of it.
Different authors have proposed different ways of looking at the motivation cycle. Chiavenato (2000, p.70), Kast and Rosenzweig (1996, p. 300), Hellriegel and Slocum (op. Cit., P. 118), Davis and Newstrom (2003, p.122) and Gibson et alt. (op.cit., p.147), present proposals to illustrate the motivational process.
In an attempt to easily integrate the basic approaches of these authors, we propose a seven-stage model:
- Awareness of the need Transformation of the need into a specific desire Identification of the incentive that satisfies the desire Selection of the course of action that leads to the incentive Initiation and maintenance of the behavior aimed at reaching the incentive Achievement of the desired incentive Satisfaction of the need
Motivation begins when the individual becomes aware of some deficiency that must be filled or of some imbalance that he wishes to correct. Without this psychological experience, even when the need objectively exists, there is no motivation. This need is filtered through culture, which offers a range of alternatives to satisfy it, a spectrum that normally varies from one society to another. Thus, the need becomes a specific desire. With this desire to satisfy, the individual locates in his organizational or social environment the incentive or incentives that will fulfill him. If there were no such incentive, the simple desire would not produce any behavior and the motivational process would be interrupted. Once the incentive or objective to be achieved has been specified, the person selects a course of action that will lead him to that goal. Then,initiates the conduct aimed at achieving the aforementioned incentive and persists in it until it is achieved. If it succeeds, the individual will satisfy the need that created the cycle. If some obstacle prevents the achievement of the objective, frustration ensues.
It should be noted that there are needs that produce longer cycles than others. Hunger, for example, involves a rapid succession of events, reappearing within hours of being satisfied. The need for personal growth (completing a professional career, for example) implies a longer process: its satisfaction involves a prolonged investment of time and effort.
6. Typology of motivation
There are numerous criteria that can be used to classify motivation. In this section we will consider some basic classifications for the general discussion of the topic. The kinds of motivations derived from particular theories are reserved for another space.
6.1. Extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation
Motivation can have two great sources. It can emanate from the internal needs of the individual or it can arise from external pressures and incentives. From there derives the existence of two kinds of motivation: extrinsic and intrinsic.
The extrinsic motivation is originated by the expectations of obtaining external sanctions to the own conduct. The achievement of a reward or the avoidance of punishment or any unintended consequence is expected. In other words, behavior becomes instrumental: it becomes a means to an end. It can be, for example, obtaining an economic, social or psychological reward (a bonus, the approval of your colleagues or a recognition of your supervisor). Or it may be about avoiding unpleasant consequences (refusal of a salary increase, rejection by others, or loss of trust by your boss).
Intrinsic motivation is originated by the gratification derived from the execution of the behavior itself. Behavior is expressive: it is simultaneously a means and an end. Carrying out, for example, challenging work for which you have the necessary skills makes the activity satisfying in itself.
Reeve (op. Cit., P. 130) sums up the difference like this: ”With intrinsically motivated behavior, motivation emanates from internal needs and the spontaneous satisfaction that activity provides; with extrinsically motivated behavior, motivation arises from incentives and consequences that become contingent on observed behavior ”.
Extrinsic motivation depends on another, different from the acting individual. That other may or may not perceive the behavior. Or you can evaluate it according to your own standards. And, in addition, it has the power to provide or not rewards or punishments. In such a way that there is no guarantee that the behavior that the individual believes appropriate will lead to the achievement of the objective that promoted said behavior.
Intrinsic motivation, by contrast, dispenses with all externality. It is self-sufficient. For this reason, emerging theories on motivation highlight the importance and potential of intrinsic motivation. This does not mean ignoring the reinforcing role of external sanctions.
6.2. Positive motivation and negative motivation
The behavior that the motivation produces can be oriented to achieve a result that generates some reward or it can be directed to avoid some unpleasant consequence. This gives rise to the concepts of positive motivation and negative motivation.
Positive motivation is a process by which the individual initiates, sustains and directs his behavior towards obtaining a reward, be it external (a reward, for example) or internal (the gratification derived from the execution of a task). This positive result encourages the repetition of the behavior that produced it. Its consequences act as reinforcers of such behavior.
Negative motivation is the process of activating, maintaining and guiding individual behavior, with the expectation of avoiding an unpleasant consequence, whether it comes from outside (a reprimand, for example) or from inside the person (a feeling of frustration, say) This negative result tends to inhibit the behavior that generated it…
Modern managerial conceptions do not consider the use of negative motivation (threat, fear) to be recommended, and generally propose punishment as a last resort to face unwanted behaviors. Hellriegel and Slocum (op. Cit., P.101) emphasize that punishment can be effective in the short term, but in the long term it can lead to recurrence of unwanted behavior, unwanted emotional reaction, destructive aggressive behavior, listless and poor performance creativity, fear of the administrator of punishment and rotation and absenteeism from work.
6.3. Micromotivation and macromotivation.
The level of motivation for work that an individual exhibits through their behavior is not only a product of the policies, plans and conditions of the organization. This level is also affected by the values sustained by the culture of the society in which it operates. It is convenient to define and distinguish, then, micromotivation from macromotivation.
Micromotivation is the process by which organizations create a set of material, social and psychological incentives to generate behaviors in workers that allow them to satisfy their needs and achieve organizational goals. It is a particular attempt to increase the levels of effort expected at work and, with them, the levels of satisfaction and individual performance. Job enrichment, salary incentive schemes, and empowerment policies are all part of these attempts.
Macro motivation is a process, generally unplanned, by which society transmits certain messages that the individual internalizes and that allow them to form an idea about themselves and about work, ideas that seriously influence the levels of individual motivation. These messages, spread both by preaching and by social practice, are part of the cultural content that society transfers to its members throughout their lives, through the process of socialization.
When macro-motivation is aligned with micro-motivation, motivational initiatives of organizations are enhanced. When the set of values of society have a different direction from that of micromotivation, efforts tend to be nullified. A society, for example, that privileges leisure and considers work as a punishment, hinders the efforts that any organization makes to raise the levels of motivation of its members.
7. Motivation, satisfaction and performance
It is often the case that concepts such as motivation, satisfaction and performance are used in a capricious way. Sometimes some of these concepts are made equivalent without being. Or they are sometimes intertwined in simplistic relationships. Motivation and satisfaction, for example, are often treated as if they were synonymous. Or a motivated worker is thought to be automatically a high performing individual. Or it is argued that a satisfied employee is always a high performance worker. It seems like things don't work out that way.
Let's make, from the start, a differentiation between motivation and satisfaction. In some theories, such as Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene Theory, both terms are used in the same sense. However, most contemporary authors consider that motivation and satisfaction are concepts that refer to totally different phenomena. For them, motivation is a phenomenon prior to behavior, based on future considerations about the consequences of performance. Satisfaction, on the other hand, is an attitude that arises as a consequence of behavior and reflects people's feelings about the rewards they receive. Hersey, Blanchard and Johnson (1998, p. 84) accurately summarize the difference: ”Satisfaction is a consequence of past events,while motivation is the result of expectations to come "
Let us now review the relationships between motivation and performance. A motivated worker is not necessarily a productive worker. For a high level of motivation to translate into high performance, some additional ingredients are necessary: the training of the individual for the position, the knowledge of what the organization expects of him (perception of the role), the availability of resources for execution of the task and the identification of the worker with the organization. Only the conjunction of these circumstances makes it possible for a high level of motivation to materialize into high performance.
On this matter it is worth making a further consideration. Assuming that all the indicated conditions are optimal (capacity, role perception, resources and identification), how is the relationship between motivation and performance? Does a sustained increase in motivation produce an equally sustained increase in productivity? Research seems to reject this linear relationship. McClelland, cited by Vroom, in Vroom and Deci (1999, p.214) points out that: "as motivation increases in intensity, it first causes an increase in the efficiency of instrumental activity, and then decreases it"
Vroom (idem) offers two possible explanations to account for this decrease in performance when there are very high levels of motivation. The first is the narrowing of the field of understanding that occurs when an individual, highly motivated to achieve a goal, fixes her attention on the specific indications that lead to the result, and misses important information. The second possible explanation is that high levels of motivation tend to be associated with strong emotional states (such as anxiety) that impair performance.
The relationship between satisfaction and performance does not seem clear either. Gibson et alt. (op. cit., p. 124) establish what have traditionally been the three possibilities of relationship between these two variables: 1) satisfaction produces performance or performance; 2) performance generates satisfaction and 3) there is no direct relationship between performance and satisfaction. Research leans in favor of the latter claim. Although the situation varies, giving support to the second relationship, when rewards are taken into consideration. Thus, a productive behavior followed by rewards valued by the performer increases satisfaction.
The relationships between these three concepts could be conceived as a circular play of influences. Motivation produces high performance when it is accompanied by capacity, knowledge of the role, availability of resources and identification with the organization. Good performance can lead to extrinsic and intrinsic rewards that generate satisfaction. The satisfaction achieved feeds the expectations for future behavior, increasing the motivation for the new performance.
8. By way of conclusion
Motivation at work can be conceived as a process by which behavior is activated, maintained and directed towards the achievement of certain goals that satisfy important needs of the individual and at the same time allow the achievement of organizational goals. Motivation, in general, is a complex phenomenon due to the variety of ways in which motives are expressed and combined to produce a certain behavior. The motivational process can be seen as a cycle that goes from the awareness of a need to the achievement of the incentives that satisfy it. Motivation can be approached from different perspectives. It can be observed from the forces that energize it (extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation), from the expectations that guide it (positive motivation and negative motivation),or from the source of the messages that influence it (micromotivation and macro-motivation). Between motivation and other phenomena, such as satisfaction and performance, there is a circular network of influences, very different from the simple deterministic connections that are sometimes established.
9. Basic bibliography
- Chiavenato, I. (2000). Human Resources Administration (5th ed). Bogotá: McGraw Hill Interamericana. Davis, K. and Newstrom, J. (2003). Human behavior at work (11th. Edition). Mexico: McGraw Hill Interamericana. De la Torre, F. (2000). Human relations in the workplace. Mexico: Editorial Trillas Gibson, J., Ivancevich, J. and Donelly, J. (2001). Organizations: behavior, structure, processes (10th ed.). Santiago de Chile: McGraw-Hill Interamericana.Hellriegel, D. and Slocum, J. (2004). Organizational behavior (10th ed). Mexico: Thomson Learning Editores. Hersey, P., Blanchard, K. and Johnson, D. (1998). Organizational Behavior Management: Situational Leadership (7th ed). Mexico: Prentice Hall Inc. Kast, F. and Rosenzweig, J. (1996). Administration in Organizations: Systems and Contingency Approach (4th ed.).Mexico: Editorial Trillas. Kinicki, A. Y Kreitner, R. (2003). Organizational behavior: concepts, problems and practices. Mexico: McGraw Hill Interamericana. Muchinsky, P. (2000). Psychology applied to work. Madrid: Thomas Learning Editores / ParaninfoReeve, J. (2003). Motivation and emotion (3rd ed). Mexico: McGraw Hill InteramericanaRobbins, S. (2004). Organizational Behavior (10th ed). Mexico: Pearson Education Vroom, V. and Deci, E. (Compilers). (1999). Motivation and top management. Mexico: Editorial Trillas.Zepeda, F. (1999). Organizational psychology. Mexico: Addison Wesley LongmanThomas Learning Editores / ParaninfoReeve, J. (2003). Motivation and emotion (3rd ed). Mexico: McGraw Hill InteramericanaRobbins, S. (2004). Organizational Behavior (10th ed). Mexico: Pearson Education Vroom, V. and Deci, E. (Compilers). (1999). Motivation and top management. Mexico: Editorial Trillas.Zepeda, F. (1999). Organizational psychology. Mexico: Addison Wesley LongmanThomas Learning Editores / ParaninfoReeve, J. (2003). Motivation and emotion (3rd ed). Mexico: McGraw Hill InteramericanaRobbins, S. (2004). Organizational Behavior (10th ed). Mexico: Pearson Education Vroom, V. and Deci, E. (Compilers). (1999). Motivation and top management. Mexico: Editorial Trillas.Zepeda, F. (1999). Organizational psychology. Mexico: Addison Wesley Longman
