Preview

"How Useful Are Content and Process Theories of Motivation in Explaining What Really Essay Example

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2285 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
"How Useful Are Content and Process Theories of Motivation in Explaining What Really Essay Example
"How useful are content and process theories of motivation in explaining what really motivates people to work?"

Motivation is a complex concept to define, psychologically everyone has experienced the emotion and feeling motivation gives individually for different reasons. It is aspired within everyone to fulfill the inspiration or enthusiasm that comes from each individual of us. From resources I have researched it is referred, as "essentially an area of psychology, which attempts to explain why people, of animals, behave in a certain manner."(Hume1995, p9) From Britannica Encyclopedia motivation is defined as the "factors within a human being or animal that arouse and direct goal-oriented behavior." (© 2003 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.)

Motivation can be categorised and assessed to increase the understanding of the approaches to motivation and the reasons why. The two main categorised theories that will help me with this essay are content theories and process theories. The other two additional theories are behavioural and cognitive. Behavioural theory is mainly on the focus on individual kind and cognitive theory is manly based on the consciousness action taken by an individual.

Content theories focuses on what motivates humans/ employees and process theories focus on how human/ employees needs influence their behaviour. Combining these two theories gives a better insight in the understanding of motivation in the work placement of employees.

*Static * Dynamic *Emphasis on what motivates *Emphasis on the process of motivation * Concern with individual needs * Concern with how motivation occurs and goals

Brooks, 2003 (Figure 3.1 Distinction between process and content p50)
The diagram above shows the difference and dynamic stage it takes in the process of explaining how and what motivates humans.

To assess how useful content and process theories of motivation is in explaining

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Motivational Plan

    • 1612 Words
    • 7 Pages

    There has been a significant amount of time and energy put into the study of motivational theories. The basis for these studies have been to come up with some working theory that explains what motivates an individual, why, and how this motivation is reliant upon both external and internal factors of the environment in which the individual is immersed. Some significant studies are discussed within the lectures and texts of Module 6.…

    • 1612 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    BUS610 Week 2 Assignment

    • 1165 Words
    • 4 Pages

    After the type of motivation has been determined it can be advantageous to apply a category to motivation, either content or process. Content theories of motivation “examine factors within individuals, notably needs, that lead to behaviors…For example, individuals might be motivated to work because it helps them meet certain physical needs, such as those for food, clothing, and shelter” (Baack, 2012). Process theories on the other hand, examine the specific…

    • 1165 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Motivation describes how an individual behaves and the reason(s) why he or she behaves in that way. Many psychologists have developed theories and study the behaviors of individuals to determine the motivators that cause certain behaviors. An individual’s behavior is influenced by his or her needs and wants. “Theories of motivation are created to help us explain, predict, and influence behavior” (Stipek, 2006-2011). Psychologists believe that if they can determine why an individual behaves the way he or she does, there is a possibility to change and influence his or her behavior. As one theory is developed, it is also modified later and sometimes dispute. The Motivation Concepts Table (Table 1) shows both grand theories and mini-theories.…

    • 860 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Motivation Action Plan

    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Motivation is the process that determines how hard an individual works to achieve a goal. There are several modern theories of motivation that will help managers meet the motivational needs of their employees. Using the most appropriate theory of motivation will ensure that the motivational strategy and action plan selected will be effective and achieve the desired results. Keeping employees motivated will help the organization run smoothly and efficiently.…

    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    UNIT 16 HOW TO DO TASK 2

    • 521 Words
    • 2 Pages

    For D1, learners must reach justified conclusions about how an organisation might modify and develop the motivational techniques and associated reward systems it uses.…

    • 521 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Motivation has been studied and analyzed and thus many theories address its role in the organizational structure. The main perspective on motivation or the willingness to perform are lumped in two types of theories the content and the process. Motivation itself has three components, direction (what option in picked when presented with options), intensity (the effort and strength of the persons choice in the direction component) and Persistence (the length of commitment to that effort and response). Many theories address motivation and the best accepted ones are placed in two categories, content and process.…

    • 733 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    motivation paper week 1

    • 1051 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In short terms, motivation can be defined as the reasons an individual chooses to do what they do. The author Lambert Deckers describes motivation “as the process by which a person is moved into action (Deckers, 2010).” Additionally, the text refers to Atkinson and McClelland’s definition of motive as “a person’s internal disposition to be concerned with and approach positive incentives and avoid negative incentives (Deckers, 2010).” Basically for every action, there is a background reason for why the action was taken. There are many things that contribute to motivation, but two main sources of motivation are internal and external sources.…

    • 1051 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Have you ever wondered why we do the things we do? What motivates us to do a task well and what drives our behaviors? Psychologists believe that extrinsic and intrinsic motivation have a part in how we behave and why we do what we do. Let’s take a closer look at what extrinsic and intrinsic motivation is.…

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    | Motivation, what is motivation, motivational theories, critical assessment of motivational theories, reward and punishment…

    • 594 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Motivation can be slit in to two major groups, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation is displayed when ones action are for the betterment of things beside yourself. On the other hand intrinsic motivation is displayed when ones action are done for the betterment of the motivated. From these two division of motivation theories of motivation have be create such as the instinct approach to motivation, drive-reduction theory of motivation, arousal approach to motivation, and incentive approaches to motivation. (Ciccarelli, 2012)…

    • 367 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Jeanette Walls Analysis

    • 1227 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Motivation is the reason one acts or behaves. Motivation is what moves humanity both in an individual and general sense. The power of motivation is undeniable. If harnessed correctly one can achieve great and terrible things. To better understand motivation many people have attempted to explain motivation in a general sense that would apply in any situation. One such person was Abraham Maslow. He created the hierarchy of needs. However, the hierarchy fails to properly explain motivation. This becomes obviously when set aside the life of an individual. I will use the story of Jeanette Walls to disprove Maslow’s hierarchy.…

    • 1227 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Motivation is defined asa driving force or forces responsible for the initiation, persistence, direction, and vigor of goal-directed behavior. It includes the biological drives such as hunger, thirst, sex, and self-preservation, and also social forms of motivation such as need for achievement and need for affiliation (A Dictionary of Psychology, 2009).…

    • 1316 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Needs Theories

    • 3583 Words
    • 15 Pages

    Motivation is a process that involves the purposiveness of behaviour. Factors that have been shown by research include external and internal activators. In this assignment we will outline important motivation theories and how they are used in the workplace. Motivation theories seek to…

    • 3583 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sometimes people have to ask themselves questions such as why do I want to do that, what is it that I need that is going to take to get me from point A to point B, and how do I keep doing what I need to do to accomplish the set task or goal? Many times people wonder what causes an individual to act in a certain way. The word motivation is used in everyday language and can be defined in various ways but, in general, it is referred to as the internal course of action that triggers, directs and maintains the individual’s behaviors toward a particular goal or event (Ferguson, 2000). Hence, this paper defines motivation, addresses a few sources of motivation, gives an idea about how human motivation and behavior are linked together, as well as look at how motivation is displayed in behavior.…

    • 1108 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    MOTIVATION AND EMOTION

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Motivation – is any condition, usually an internal one that can be inferred to initiate, activate, or maintain an organism’s goal-directed behaviour.…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays