This unit's aim is to familiarize you with aspects of taking the assessments and writing in an academic setting, such as your required essays for the different modules in the MSc in Project Management...

Contents
1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 2
2. Kinds of Motivation .............................................................................................................................. 3
2.1 Internal Vs Extremal ..................................................................................................................... 3
2.2 Positive Vs Negative ..................................................................................................................... 4
2.3 Basic Vs Learned .......................................................................................................................... 4
3. Theories of Motivation.......................................................................................................................... 4
3.1 Early Theories of Motivation ........................................................................................................ 4
3.1.1 Maslow‟s Hierarchy of Needs Theory .................................................................................. 4
3.1.2 McGregor‟s Theory X and Theory Y.................................................................................... 6
3.1.3 Herzberg‟s Motivation-Hygiene Theory ............................................................................... 7
3.2 Contemporary Theories of Motivation.......................................................................................... 7
3.2.1 McClelland‟s 3-Needs Theory .................................................................................................. 7
3.2.2 Locke‟s Goal-Setting Theory .................................................................................................... 8
3.2.3 Reinforcement Theory .............................................................................................................. 9
3.2.4 Equity Theory ......................................................................................................................... 10
3.2.5 Vroom‟s Expectancy Theory .................................................................................................. 10
4. Conclusion and Integrated Contemporary Theories of Motivation .................................................... 11
Reference .................................................................................................................................................... 13
1. Introduction
Without motivation, it is very difficult for the employees to carry their work effectively. It is one of the
most critical human factors that affects the performance and behavior of the employee at the workplace.
Organization exists today because of its employees. Employees are one of the stakeholders of the
organization who come together to create a value for their customers. They help the organization to
position themselves uniquely. Employees can drift the organization towards success as well as failures. It
is very important for the employees to constantly remain motivated so as to perform their work efficiently
and helps the organization to achieve its goals. Motivation is something that not only drives the person to
the action but also keep him committed until the job is completed.
When the employees starts thinking that they are just working for the money and there is no choice of
them, they really lack motivation. It is where Motivation theory comes into the picture for the
corporations. Motivation is a complex processes and always been the area of discussion among
researchers and academicians which leads to the development of numerous theories of motivation.
However, there is no single motivational theory or approach that fits in all the circumstances for all the
employees. All the employees are motivated by different things based on their internal requirements,
feelings, thought processes and many more. Thus, Managers has to analyze the requirement of their
employees and provide them with the right dose of rewards aligned to their requirements to keep them
motivated. Also, Motivation is not a one-time process. It is a never ending continuous process. As soon as
one of their current desires is fulfilled, new wishes arise. It is more of a psychological concept and based
upon the human needs. Human needs can be influenced by peer pressure, family pressure, feelings and
many other things (Deci, 1992). It would be a misnomer to assume that most of the motivational needs
can be fulfilled by giving financial benefits. There are numerous employees who are motivated by non
financial incentives like higher position, more power in decision making, appreciation, challenges in jobs
and so on.
Also, one of the important parameters that differentiate the best in class companies from the laggards is
that the employees are highly motivated in best in class. Motivated employees not only perform their
work effectively but also do not hesitate in going to extra mile to achieve and innovate. However,
employees who are not motivated will just complete their work and try to avoid any other things like
attending training and taking initiatives that really hamper the growth of the company in a medium to
long term (Pardee, 1990). Apart from it, employees who are not motivated lack energy and also have the
tension which is not good for an overall environment of the organization.
The purpose of this report is to discuss various early and modern motivational theories that will the
managers to understand the needs of their employees in a better way and help them to apply the theory in
a practical life to get the benefits of keeping the employees motivated.
2. Kinds of Motivation
There are few polarities of motivation that will be referred in theories. Before moving on to theories, let
us have an overview of kinds of motivation.
2.1 Internal Vs Extremal
Internal motivation is also referred to as intrinsic motivation which means individual‟s stimuli to act
towards achieving the goal is coming from within. Individual who is internally motivated has the desire to
do specific task as they conforms to his standards and belief system. Some of the examples are Power,
social contact, honor, curiosity, social status and so on. Internal desire to do something is the biggest
motivation for any individual (Ramlall, 2004).
External motivation is also referred to as extrinsic motivation which means that individual‟s stimuli to act
towards achieving the goal comes by some external factor like bonuses, compensation package and
performance appraisal and so on.
Internal motivation is much stronger than external motivation.
2.2 Positive Vs Negative
Positive motivation is when individual perform specific task in order to contribute and to reach a certain
goal while negative motivation is when people perform specific tasks as they do not have other options to
survive in the job. Achievement motivation, incentive...