A project report on Motivation of Employees. This report will help you to learn about:- 1. Definitions of Motivation 2. Characteristics of Motivation 3. Nature and Importance 4. Kinds 5. Theories 6. Incentives as Motivators 7. Significance 8. Techniques.
Contents:
- Project Report on the Definitions of Motivation
- Project Report on the Characteristics of Motivation
- Project Report on the Nature and Importance of Motivation
- Project Report on the Kinds of Motivation
- Project Report on the Theories of Motivation
- Project Report on the Incentives as Motivators
- Project Report on the Significance of Motivation
- Project Report on the Techniques of Motivation
Project Report # 1. Definitions of Motivation:
Motivation is psychological act which attracts the workers to do more work and instigates. If the workers are instigated, they will try to do more than the standard work and earn more for themselves which increases their living standard.
Instigation may be positive i.e. by encouraging to do work or negative i.e. by punishing for the wrong work. These both schemes tend to increase production and productivity. Motivation has got, in reality no definite source or plan, it is a coordinated programme of all the different instigatory schemes organised in such a way that every individual worker is instigated.
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Management is the art of taking work from other persons. Hence for taking proper work from the persons, to create interest in them for the work and to maintain their interest and instigate them for development is “motivation”.
“Instigation” is an element on which organisation’s whole performance depends. Work ability and desire to work are separate elements. It is possible that the person may have the work ability but he may not have the desire to accomplish the work and in this way, he cannot accomplish the work as nicely as expected from him. Motivation is a psychological aspect which has relation with mental state and brain.
Motivation is derived from the word “instigation”. Some instigation element is necessary to accomplish a job and the object of instigation for the accomplishment of the job is called ‘motivation’.
As put forth by “Brech”, Motivation is a general inspiration process which gets the members of the team to do their task effectively, to give their loyalty to the group, to carry out properly the tasks they have accepted and generally to play an effective part in the job that the group has undertaken.
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According to “Chael J, Jucius”:
“Motivation is the act of stimulating someone or oneself to get a desired course of action, to push the right button to get desired action.”
As mentioned by “Dalton E. McFarlan”:
“The concept of motivation is mainly psychological. It relates to those forces operating within the individual employee or subordinate which impels him to act or not active in certain ways”.
Project Report # 2. Characteristics of Motivation:
(i) Motivation is a psychological Concept which should be inherent in every person.
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(ii) Man as a whole is motivated and not a part.
(iii) Motivation is created from aims.
(iv) Motivation is an unending process. Man is a social animal, his needs are unending. Needs instigate to motivation. Because after the completion of a need, commence the second need and hence, act of motivation also is an unending process. Time, place, behaviour and circumstances uniting together prepare favourable and unfavourable atmosphere.
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(v) Motivation is the strength of work. Motivation is that strength which leads to do or not do a work and instigates to do work in the same specific direction.
(vi) Motivation is different from mental strength. There is difference between motivation and mental strength. Motivation is the strength that instigates a person to do an act while mental strength is the desire to do a work oneself which is strengthened by motivation.
Project Report # 3. Nature and Importance of Motivation:
Motives are expressions of a person’s needs and hence they are personal and internal. Motivation is something that motivates a person into action and continues him in the course of action. Motivation may be defined as the complex of force inspiring a person at work to intensify his willingness to use his capacities to achieve certain objectives.
Motivation is a continuous process. It never comes to an end when one want is satisfied the another wants arise. One is motivated to fulfil these needs.
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Motives or needs of a person are the starting point in the motivation process. Motives are directed towards the achievement of certain objectives which in turn determine the behaviour of individuals.
Motivation may be financial and non-financial.
Importance of Motivation:
The aim of motivation is instigation to do work by all the employees working in any organisation so that more good results are attained through less effort. Effects of motivation come from all acts of the organisation. Any concern may have best instruments, raw materials in sufficient quantity and sufficient persons and finances but their proper use is not possible till the working persons do not use them properly.
Importance of motivation could be seen under these heads:
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(a) Appropriate use of factors:
All factors can only be used appropriately through motivation. It satisfies the human needs of individual.
(b) Kindling of desire to work:
Capacity to work and desire to work are different things. Any person may be efficient but in the absence of desire to work, he cannot do appropriate work. By motivation, his desire to work is actuated so that he works with full efficiency.
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Motivation × Ability = Job Performance
(c) Reduction in labour turnover:
Reduction in labour turnover, attraction of new persons. Labour does not try to go to another place due to motivation schemes as they increase his gross wages. Not only has this, the organisation adopting motivation schemes, had good and efficient workers.
(d) Increase in Production and Productivity:
It increases the desire to work and hence it leads to increase in production and there is increase in productivity per worker per machine per hour.
(e) Basis of co-operation:
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It increases job satisfaction, which increases worker’s interest for the organisation. This develops the sense of cooperation, while in the absence of motivation co-operation is not possible.
Project Report # 4. Kinds of Motivation:
There are two kinds of motivation:
(a) Positive Motivation.
(b) Negative Motivation.
(a) Positive motivation:
Positive motivation means workers may be instigated to work with some facilities or by giving some prize so that he may do well or more work than was done previously and with less supervision. Prize or facilities may be financial or non-financial. Giving more wages for more work is the financial motivation, while appraisal of the worker’s work, promotion, appreciation etc. is non-financial positive motivation.
(b) Negative motivation:
This is based on punishment or fines if the labour is not encouraged for work. For less work or for not doing work, he must be punished or fined. This is of two kinds: financial or non-financial.
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In financial punishment, a cut is made in the wages of the labour. Non-financial punishment means giving less facility such as to do work for more time, reduction in the facilities of leave, etc. Generally these are for improving him and object is to motivate him for more work.
Positive or negative motivations are the two ends of a rope. Motivation is a psychological aspect and its relation is concerned with the person’s brain, to his thoughts and behaviour, hence they should be motivated in different ways.
A good manager should use both the ways of motivation at times. At times, good work should be prized but wrong work or no work should be punished. If there is no arrangement for punishment worker becomes unrestrained, and those who can do good work will do less work as they will think that less work will have no punishment. Under positive motivation, doing more than the prescribed work will fetch them award.
Project Report # 5. Theories of Motivation:
(i) Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory:
Frederick Herzberg developed a theory of work motivation by indicating the way to better performance through increased job satisfaction. He conducted his study on a group of 200 engineers and accountants from eleven industries from the Pittsburgh area in the U.S.A.
His hypothesis about job satisfaction and job dis-satisfaction suggests that:
(a) The factors that are present when job satisfaction is produced are separate and distinct from the factors that lead to job dis-satisfaction.
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(b) The opposite of job-satisfaction is ‘no job-satisfaction’ and not job dis-satisfaction.
(c) The opposite of job dis-satisfaction is ‘no job-satisfaction’ and not ‘job-satisfaction,’
Herzberg draws a distinction between what he called Motivator and Hygiene factors.
(i) Motivators:
Factors connected with satisfaction or motivations were called as ‘Motivators’ by the Herzberg. Motivators, have a positive power to satisfy and produce high performance, and are related to job contents.
These factors are:
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i. Achievement
ii. Recognition
iii. Challenging work
iv. Increase responsibility; and
v. Advancement.
(ii) Hygiene Factors:
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The factors related to the dissatisfaction were called as hygiene factors because these factors primarily prevent dissatisfaction like hygiene prevents sickness. These factors are related to the work environment.
These factors are:
i. Company policies and administration
ii. Supervision
iii. Interpersonal relations
iv. Salary
v. Working conditions
vi. Status, and
vii. Security.
These factors prevent losses in the performance of the workers. When these hygiene factors are inadequate in an industry, then these will significantly have negative effect on work’s attitude, but do not have any positive effect when all the factors are available in the concern.
(ii) Maslow’s Theory of Motivation:
A H. Maslow, who was a great psychologist, formed a theory relating to motivation. The theory of Maslow is based on the needs of the people. Maslow developed need hierarchy model in his paper, A Theory of Human Motivation, published in 1943.
He proposed a hierarchy of five types of needs which are as follows:
1. Psychological Needs:
These are the primary needs of human needs and relate to the survival of body. These needs include food, clothing, shelter, etc.
2. Security of Safety Needs:
Security needs include such things as protection from physical harm, ill-health, loss of income due to termination of job, old age or any other reason.
3. Social Needs:
Such needs include the need for belonging, for association, for acceptance, for friendship and for love.
4. Ego or Esteem Needs:
These needs relate to the prestige and respect of the individual and include such things as self-confidence, independence, achievement, competence, knowledge and self-control.
5. Self-fulfillment Needs or Self-actualization:
The needs to realise one’s own potentialities to experience continued self-development to be creative.
The above listed needs can be made clear with the help of a chart given below:
These needs have a definite sequence of domination. Second need does not dominate until first need is reasonably satisfied and the third need does not dominate until first two needs have been reasonably satisfied and so on.
Criticism:
The need hierarchy may not follow the sequence postulated by A.H. Maslow. Even if safety need is not satisfied the egoistic need may emerge. Proposition that one need is satisfied at one time is also of doubtful validity. Man’s behaviour at any time is mostly guided by multiplicity of motives.
At different levels of needs the motivation will be different. Some needs are never completely satisfied. Needs occur again and therefore, never cease to be a motivator, though for some time, some needs may be overshadowed by the others.
There is no universal standard of reasonable satisfaction. The level of satisfaction which is reasonable for one person may not be adequate for someone else.
Project Report # 6. Incentives as Motivators:
Incentives are of two kinds:
(i) Financial incentives, and
(ii) Non-financial incentives.
1. Financial Incentives:
In the need hierarchy concept, persons operating at the lower level, where the physiological needs are not fully satisfied, and money can be very powerful motivator of human conduct.
It is necessary to have an adequate compensation programme that will attract and retain key people of superior calibre in the organisation. Such a programme would also stimulate such persons to improve their performance. Monetary compensation can be used to reward significant achievement made by them.
Some people suggest that besides compensation in monetary rewards to an employee’s performance, fringe benefits including bonus motivate an employee.
2. Non-Financial Incentives:
Money is not the only motivator of human behaviour in terms of need hierarchy; it can help to satisfy only the “physiological” needs of the person. The psychological need for “safety or security” can be satisfied by the psychological climate or environment of the work place.
The employee should be made to feel that owner has achieved something through his contributions. Such a feeling of achievement can motivate him to extra effort. Still, achievement should be followed by recognition. Human being wants others to know of their accomplishments.
Some of the important non-financial incentives are:
(i) Providing responsibility through job enlargement.
(ii) Providing participation.
(iii) Creating a sense of achievement.
(iv) Providing recognition for accomplishment.
(v) Offering inducement of promotion and growth as a result of effective performance.
Promotion policies as motivators:
Sufficient policies should be laid down regarding promotion to generate continued motivation of the employees. Promotion refers to assignment of a position of greater responsibility or increased authority to an individual. Normally, it involves ascending in the management hierarchy or atleast an increase in the pay or status or both for the employee concerned.
An adequate promotion policy giving effective motivation would be one which offers the employee a career within the organisation itself. A climate is to be created that promotion is not only based on seniority but that merit plays an important role.
Project Report # 7. Significance of Motivation:
According to Rensis Likert, “Motivation is the core of management.” Motivation is the sum total of managerial science. The most important task of management is to get the work done by the subordinates and achieve the objectives. Getting the work done depends chiefly on whether the person has been motivated to do it. Motivating a worker is to create a need and desire on the part of a worker to better his present performance.
(i) Motivation improves efficiency:
Motivation influences the level of performance of the employees by improving their morale and inducing them to put their best foot forward. It bridges the gap between the ability to work and willingness to work. Thus motivation leads to higher productivity, greater profitability and overall efficiency in operations.
(ii) Motivation helps to create better industrial relations:
Motivation ensures cordial relations between the employer and the employee by improving job satisfaction among the employees. It provides opportunities for self-development and recognition of efficient performance through monetary and non-monetary incentives. This reduces incidents of industrial disputes, labour absenteeism and high labour turnover which effects the reputation of the organisation.
(iii) Motivation facilitates accomplishment of organisational goals:
Motivation is goal-oriented. It is the act of inspiring the subordinates to work hard and contribute their best effort in achievement of organisational goals by providing the employees a congenial atmosphere, a satisfactory system of rewards and providing opportunities for self-development.
(iv) Motivation leads to stability in work force:
Motivation builds high morale and creates a sense of loyalty among the employees towards the organisation. This enables the organisation to maintain a stable work force which proves to be an asset for the organisation in the long run.
(v) Motivation helps in acceptance of organisational changes:
Organisational changes are affected by changes in the environment. When these changes are introduced in the organisation, there may be a tendency to resist these changes by the employees. However, with proper motivation, the employees will accept and implement these changes keeping the organisation on the right track of progress.
In nutshell it can be said that motivation is an effective instrument in the hands of management inspiring the work force.
Project Report # 8. Techniques of Motivation:
Some motivational techniques are summarised in the following manner:
(i) Monetary incentives:
Incentives, like cash emoluments, fringe benefits, security of tenure, conditions of service are some of the monetary techniques which may be adopted by the management to motivate the staff.
(ii) Job-based techniques:
To satisfy the social and psychological requirements of job-holder, some job-based techniques like job-simplification, job-relation, job- enlargement and job-enrichment may be pursued.
(iii) MBO technique:
Both men and boss take part and jointly determine each individual’s major areas of responsibility in terms of results expected of him and use these measures as guides for operating the unit and assessing the contribution of each of its members.
(iv) Leadership technique:
Autocratic, democratic and participative-supportive styles of leadership have their own implications for employee motivation, morale and productivity in the short-term and in the long-run.
(v) Sensitivity training:
The technique of training is given to groups of managers themselves, so that they may behave with and motivate their subordinates better.
This sort of training is imparted to make the managers:
(i) Understand themselves better;
(ii) Become more open-minded about the motives and needs of their subordinates;
(iii) Develop insight into groups process and work situations;
(w) Cultivate a systematic and scientific process of thinking;
(v) Develop a system’s view of the total organisational environment; and
(vi) Acquire behavioural skills in dealing with subordinates.