Theories Of Employee Motivation

The growing trends of attrition rates and employee dissatisfaction among the employees have necessitated the approach and use of performance management by Human Resources (HR) professionals as a fuel to motivate employees. The latest trend being the use of performance management system and review process as a motivating mechanism.

Employee motivation is one of the major issues faced by every organization. It is the major task of every manager to motivate his subordinates or to create the ‘will to work’ among the subordinates. It should also be remembered that a worker may be immensely capable of doing some work but nothing can be achieved if he is not willing to work. A manager has to make appropriate use of motivation to enthuse the employees

The roots of this theory are based on the premise that conscious goals affect action.

Goals are considered here to be the object or aim of an action. As a terminology used in performance management, the goal setting applies to objectives, key performance indicators and targets as well. The authors of this theory argue that to enhance motivation, thereby generating performance, goals must be challenging (but attainable), specific, self- set (involving employees) and measurable. The study is also based on the motivation theory of Frederich Herzberg in his book ‘The motivation to work’. The theory explains the factors of an individual’s motivation by identifying their needs and desires, what satisfies their needs and desires and by establishing the aims that they pursue to satisfy these desires. Two factors central to Hertzberg’s theory are Hygiene and Motivation factors. The hygiene factors (e.g. supervision, relationship with boss/peers, work conditions and salary) are said to lead to dissatisfaction while the Motivation factors lead to satisfaction, enhance motivation and are intrinsic to the job and the job design. It is imperative to understand that the two types of factors are not mutually exclusive. Hence management must try to fulfill both types of need for

It advocates the incorporation of sound motivational programmes in the firm’s performance management system which will enable it attain the efficiency also to develop a good organizational culture and to achieve its overall objectives. According to Shavid (2002), motivation has variety of effects as may be seen in the context of an individual’s physical and mental health, productivity, absenteeism and turnover. It is expected that the study will bring about an improvement in the existing performance appraisal system to make it more effective in meeting the motivational needs of the employees and overall achievement of organizational goals. The study challenges therefore HR Management, managers and management to retain and nurture brand ambassadors by delighting employees and fostering their