Motivation: The Cognitive Decision-Making Process

Motivation can be defined as “the cognitive decision- making process through which goals-directed behaviour is initiated, energized, directed and maintained” (Buchanan and Huczynski, 2017:777). Motivation is the inner drive that enables people to perform particular actions in order to achieve a goal which will differ from person to person however, a motive will determine a person’s behaviour. When looking at organisations, many want to hire employees who are motivated due to the success that can occur as motivation encourages a person to complete an action to the highest degree which can reflect on both the individual and the overall organisations success in a positive way. A person’s level of motivation may be influenced by a number of factors

It also leads to people being demotivated as they may be unable to reach the goal or may find difficulty in doing so due to the lack of clarity therefore, reflecting on any future goals and tasks that may occur as the person may be feel incapable due to their personal knowledge and lack of understanding. Deadlines can also have a negative effect on motivation as they may cause employees to feel pressured which may result in them not feeling able to complete the goal to the best of their capability. Richard Boyatzis believes “the more stressful a deadline is, the less open you are to other ways of approaching the problem… the very moments when in organizations we want people to think outside the box, they can’t even see the box.” (Fast Company, 2014:Online). The pressure of deadlines can demotivate a person as they may be more likely to present the first idea that they can think of in order to complete the goal rather than thinking of the most creative idea that could create a large volume of success for the organisation.

A SMART goal refers to a goal that is specific, measurable, aggressive, realistic and time bound. Many organisations adopt the role of setting smart goals as these goals provide the suitable information

If a goal is too easy, a person may feel they are capable in reaching the goal which may result in a positive outlook on future goals however, a goal that is too easy decreases the level of motivation as it does not challenge the person’s capabilities. However, challenging goals can benefit an organization as if a person deems the goal to be difficult it can encourage them to be more motivated in completing it as if an employee completes the goal then they will feel a sense of achievement and may feel they can take on more challenging goals within the organization which could lead to rewards such as financial or employment opportunities e.g. promotions, bonuses or increase in salary. These incentives can also help to create a loyal relationship between the organization and an employee as incentives motivate people to do better and by offering more challenging goals it is likely to benefit the employee and their personal growth and also the organisations overall