Motivation – What is Motivation
Motivation is the drive behind any action an individual take. Motivation is any reason which leads an individual to act in a certain way. Motivation is best defined as the willingness of action, incentive or a reason for doing something. Motivation isn’t just limited to humans, but it is a phenomenon that showcases in every living organism. In a case where two individuals are acting in a certain way, their reason might not be the same between the two of them, but for every action carried out by an individual it is backed up and directed by a certain motivation.
Speaking on Motivation, there are two major types of Motivation: The Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation. One thing you need to understand is “Everyone is not the same and can never be the same” thus, in a case where an organization needs to motivate its employees, such organization requires a basic understanding of the different types of motivation. Such information at hand will help them to categorize each individual into different sectors in the organization, and also apply the suitable type of motivation. In this case, you will see each member of your organization as different entity: there are some individuals motivated from within which is categorized under the intrinsic motivation, and also will meet any obligation of an area of their passion while there will be some individuals who will respond well to extrinsic motivation in which their world provides a difficult task to be dealt with provided there is a reward for completion of the task. Basic Types of Motivation Motivations can be classified into 6 types focusing on their specific characteristics. But these motivations can be grouped under 2 basic categories namely the Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation. These are individual based motivations, which can be taken into organizational motivations also. Intrinsic Motivation The intrinsic type of motivation also known as internal motivation; as its name implies “Intrinsic” “Internal” Motivations comes from within. These type of motivation are mainly psychological drives which are natural for most people. Some of these are related directly to the instinctive desires of human which ranges from curiosity and socialization.
An intrinsic type of Motivation can be geared through Autonomy: This is a need to have a total control over one’s own life Relatedness: A process of maintaining companionship or connection with others Competence: the need to carry out the best of everything with the aim of succeeding.
Extrinsic Motivations Talking about the Extrinsic type of Motivation, unlike the Intrinsic Motivation which comes from within, Extrinsic can also be called External motivations because these types of motivation are external in nature. Extrinsic Motivations are based on incentive and Coercive factors which are normally offered to individuals by authority figures i.e. they are offered authoritatively by those who
are in authority. If the Extrinsic motivation is used, failure to carry out a task will attract a punishment. Example of an Extrinsic type of motivation includes: A director of an organization may offer bonuses monetarily to workers who exceed their quotas and at the same time, a director may threaten those who cannot perform their task satisfactorily through suspension or any other form of punishment. An extrinsic type of motivation might occur only for a limited period of time before the individual stops performing an action after a punishment or a reward is applied to it. Similarities between Intrinsic Motivation and Extrinsic Motivation It sounds funny to have similarities between two contradicting type of motivation, contradicting in the sense that the Intrinsic type of motivation comes from within while the Extrinsic Motivation is external in nature. Either way, both types has its advantages and disadvantages, however, it largely depends on the type of individual being motivated, so there is no saying which is more beneficial. Despite all this, there is one thing that will always make the Intrinsic Motivation and Extrinsic Motivation one, at the core, the major aim of both motivation is to get an individual to get a task done, which is the ultimate goal. Other types of Motivation Incentive Motivation The incentive motivation is categorized under the extrinsic motivational factors. This involves the prospects of rewards that an individual can get as a reward for carrying out a task. A common example of an incentive-based approach given to
this kind of motivation is the monetary compensation. A typical example of a worker who works to earn a living can be said to be an incentive motivation likewise an organization that keeps running because of profits earned. Coercive Motivation Generally, people are motivated by the positive reinforcements. In any case, coercive reinforcements are also needed, which is based on fear of punishment attached to a given task. This kind of motivation is categorized under the Extrinsic type of motivation. Coercive motivations can have prescriptive functions or command functions. A good example of this type of motivation is a case of a student who has to study for an examination due to a fear of failure. Achievement These are motivations gotten from the deep desires to achieve a particular thing and is also known as a drive for competency. This kind of motivation requires challenges and a sense of self-worth. Growth Definitely as one grows, there will be a primarily centered need for a change or improvements in situations. This is a kind of situation that can be triggered by boredom. For example, a student may need to change a career path even if he has the interest in his current career path but this change can occur due to Growth and foreseen perspective attached to it. Social Social Motivation is an Intrinsic type of motivation. Humans are referred to as higher social animals. As human beings, there will be a passion, desire to be
identified as part of a group, and also there will be a drive to cooperate in teams and join the organization. This decision comes from within, which is an intrinsic factor. Motivation is something needed by every individual, this serves as an evidence of success to a new step to be taken.
Thank you for reading our article, there is more awesome content on the way. We are working hard in building a website dedicated on personal growth and selfimprovement, and we need your help right now!!! Below is a link to very short survey (containing only 4 questions) which will help us determine our audience and the key topics for our brand-new website. You can be a part of this awesome project by answering the questions in the survey. We promise that it would take no more than a minute. Again, thank you, be sure to check the survey if you want to give your opinion on our upcoming website! ďƒ https://georgislavov.typeform.com/to/VWzchW ďƒ&#x;