Literature Review on Motivational Theory Essay Example
STUDENT ID NUM: 4943538
A CRITICAL LITERATURE REVIEW OF MOTIVATIONAL THEORY
The history of Motivational theory can be traced back to the beginning of the 20th century. There have been many theories and submissions of the subject matter of motivational theory. To have a better understanding of Motivational theory, we must understand the meaning of Motivation.
Motivation is the physiological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action, that which gives purpose and direction to behaviour (Webster’s online dictionary). Motivation can also be described an innate desire that propels an individual towards achieving set goals. Motivation is a factor in all aspects of human endeavour; as long as we exist we are constantly motivated to pursue one need or another. In this review however, we will be focusing on motivation in the work place. We will be also looking at two articles that present various notions and ideas on motivational theory.
Motivation in its entirety has been has been researched and studied by many scholars as it relates in a working environment. Scholars have intrigued for decades on how motivation acts as a key factor in the relation between management and its employees. With time, several scholars have come up with compelling theories on the subject of motivation. In the early studies of motivation there was what referred to as the “Hawthorne Experiments” carried out by Elton Mayo. This study found employees are not motivated solely by money and employee behaviour is linked to their attitudes (Dickson, 1973). Simply put, the studies showed that performance in workers increased when workers were given attention and personal interest in their work was a focal point. Since then, four distinctive theories of motivation have been highly publicised and generally accepted in the field of motivational theory. We have Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs which states that employees have five levels of needs
A CRITICAL LITERATURE REVIEW OF MOTIVATIONAL THEORY
The history of Motivational theory can be traced back to the beginning of the 20th century. There have been many theories and submissions of the subject matter of motivational theory. To have a better understanding of Motivational theory, we must understand the meaning of Motivation.
Motivation is the physiological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action, that which gives purpose and direction to behaviour (Webster’s online dictionary). Motivation can also be described an innate desire that propels an individual towards achieving set goals. Motivation is a factor in all aspects of human endeavour; as long as we exist we are constantly motivated to pursue one need or another. In this review however, we will be focusing on motivation in the work place. We will be also looking at two articles that present various notions and ideas on motivational theory.
Motivation in its entirety has been has been researched and studied by many scholars as it relates in a working environment. Scholars have intrigued for decades on how motivation acts as a key factor in the relation between management and its employees. With time, several scholars have come up with compelling theories on the subject of motivation. In the early studies of motivation there was what referred to as the “Hawthorne Experiments” carried out by Elton Mayo. This study found employees are not motivated solely by money and employee behaviour is linked to their attitudes (Dickson, 1973). Simply put, the studies showed that performance in workers increased when workers were given attention and personal interest in their work was a focal point. Since then, four distinctive theories of motivation have been highly publicised and generally accepted in the field of motivational theory. We have Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs which states that employees have five levels of needs