Contents

• Executive summary on theoretical models of motivation
• Concept of motivation
• Models of motivation – Maslow’s theory of human motivation, Atkinson’s theory of motivation
• Managing motivation at work
• Conclusion on workplace motivation
• List of references

Description

Motivation is a psychological concept, surrounding which a number of theories have developed. What charges a human being towards an action, what determines his behaviour, what is the reason behind his work- all these are studied within the ambit of motivation. Motivation has become a very important factor in the business field, the realm of corporate and the sphere of the workplace. Managing and motivating workforce to perform a given task and achieve the best in it can be a difficult task and managers look for ways to motivate people at work to give their best to the organization. Team effort and cooperative environment with a healthy competition can be hard to maintain. It is in this context that we have studied two classical theories of motivation - Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Atkinson’s Achievement Motivation. Both the models give their versions of human behavior motivation. The two theories combined together, and studied in the perspective of the workplace bring out the inference that the need for achievement, the desire to be applauded is the single most intense incentive or motivation for delivering the best.