Motivation in People Management

This article discusses the importance of motivation in people management and how it can be implemented in an organization. It covers different theories of motivation, including Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Theory X and Y, the two-factor theory, and the equity theory. The article also provides recommendations for retaining employees and improving motivation in the workplace.

Running head: MOTIVATION. 1
Motivation.
Student’s name
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Motivation.
Introduction.
Inspiration or motivation is the main reason why people do certain actions, have certain
goals and in general what acts as their engine in doing the various things that they want in life.
Their needs are usually brought about by various factors which may include culture, lifestyle,
and society or self-initiated. Motivation will include a certain driving force within oneself that
causes someone to do something that will eventually contribute to their happiness (Graves, &
Sarkis, 2018).
The same motivation is essential in an organization setting. The managers of the
construction company need to come up with a way to improve employee satisfaction and retain
the already existing workforce to aid in the success of the company. The leaders and managers
have to find something that inspires their employees to work towards the accomplishment of
certain organizational goals (Hoffman, M., & Tadelis, 2018). Motivation might be self-initiated
which in other words is referred to as intrinsic motivation while motivation may also be initiated
by certain events or persons otherwise called extrinsic motivation.
Intrinsic inspiration is usually motivated by happiness or the enjoyment within one’s self
rather than existing pressure from others to make something happen. When one enjoys doing
something perhaps a hobby it's usually their idea to start or continuing doing that particular
action simply because it leads to their happiness and personal fulfilment (Knies, &
Leisink,2014).
On the other hand, extrinsic motivation arises from external factors which may include
rewards, coercion or threat of punishment. According to (Leary, & Baumeister, 2017)

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Competition in the extrinsic type of motivation is usually common due to the fact that there are
rewards awaiting the winning party after the accomplishment of certain goals. In an organization
setting, extrinsic motivation is common since most employees will work hard to either get a
salary increment of maybe move up the hierarchy of the organization. The managers usually
promise their employees certain rewards that act as a driving factor however for other businesses
like self-employment the motivation may be different since they might actually love their job.
Theories of motivation.
Maslow’s theory of the hierarchy of needs.
This theory was developed by Maslow was a psychologist. He happened to state that
human needs usually appear in several categories to be precise in five. He stated that these needs
range from survival needs that include food and shelter to needs associated with self-
actualization. This theory states that upon the accomplishment of a particular need one usually
goes on to ensure the accomplishment of another need (Miner, 2015).The company should

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therefore recognize which needs to satisfy fast based on each employee. Each employee has a
need that they want recognized. It is the responsibility of the management to recognize each need
for every employee and try and satisfy the need to improve and facilitate motivation amongst
their employees.
Theory x and y.
This theory states that some employees are self-motivated to work (x).while the y
employees hate to work and need to be coerced towards working. The east Tamaki organization
should recognize this and decide what works effectively for them. Those employees that need to
be coerced should then work under tight supervision while those that love working should
mandate the others to ensure maximum productivity.

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The two-factor theory.
The theory was developed by Frederick Herzberg in 1959. It usually states satisfaction or
dissatisfaction in the work environment is usually attributed to different working environments
within the organization. Factors that would commonly lead to satisfaction included recognition,
achievement and advancement . Those working conditions which would commonly lead to
dissatisfaction included Low salary and bad working condition .This goes further to state that it’s
the duty of the employer to know which factors usually motivate their employees.
Employees need recognition an achievement .The employer must their find a way and
recognize their efforts to help motivate them. This may include a salary increment. On the other

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hand, if employees are not happy with the current working conditions offered by the employer,
the employer must, therefore, recognize this and work towards their improvement to ensure
employee satisfaction . When the employee is satisfied this will always act as the right
motivation for them towards working on the organization’s goals since their needs are already
met by the employer.
Equity theory.
The organization can also implement this theory as it states that employees usually
compare their input and their output. This is crucial in ensuring job satisfaction. When an
employee feels that they are being overworked this lead to low morale and vice versa. The
company should hence ensure that their employees work under the right conditions to ensure
employee retention and job satisfaction.
According to (Zameer, et al 2014)the motivation of employees is not usually an overnight
job, it is, however, a process that requires time to implement and follow. The employer can apply
some techniques in their organization that will aid in employee motivation and improve their
performance. These may include making their expectations clear. Their goal setting for their
employees should be smart .specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound. When
employees understand what is needed of them they will always try their best to work towards
that.
The employer should always provide continuous feedback on the work that has been
done. The continuous feedback should be specific and not general. When the feedback is
generally an employee is not able to relate with that achievement. On the other hand, when the

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feedback is specific there is a higher likely hood that the employee will be able to apply the
feedback while doing their next tasks or assignments (Zhang, et al 2015).
The organization should also correct mistakes made by their employees privately, praise
them publicly and believe in their employees. When employees are corrected privately this
reduces moments of embarrassment and as a result, this leads to a higher self-esteem. This
happens also when their efforts are recognized publicly. This raises their self-esteem and as a
result, this leads to better productivity and higher levels of motivation amongst them.
Conclusion.
The construction company needs to retain its customers and ensure they are properly
motivated in order to achieve success. Retaining the already existing workforce is better than
hiring new staff. This is due to the fact that old employees are already familiar with the company
policies. It is much better for the company to restructure using the same old employees rather
than hire new graduates and teach them the business all over again.
Recommendations.
The company should implement some several techniques that will help retain their
employees this technique may involve proper incentives. It is to be noted however that this will
be done for their best employees. The company should employ the Maslow’s theory thereby
ensuring that they recognize what each employee needs .This ensures that they are able to pay
fresh graduates what they actually need and recognize what long-term employees need. This will
keep employees from leaving the company and retaining them in return.
The company managers and leaders should also understand what works best for their
company. Their employees might be easily motivated by fear rather than incentives. Especially if

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there is a high level of unemployment in the country all employees will fear to lose their jobs
hence they might make this their strategy. The same happens for incentives .When employees are
motivated by money the company can go back and pay their employees more money to improve
their motivation and to retain their employees.

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References.
Graves, L. M., & Sarkis, J. (2018). The role of employees' leadership perceptions, values, and
motivation in employees' provenvironmental behaviors. Journal of Cleaner Production.
Hoffman, M., & Tadelis, S. (2018). People Management Skills, Employee Attrition, and
Manager Rewards: An Empirical Analysis (No. w24360). National Bureau of Economic
Research.
Knies, E., & Leisink, P. (2014). Linking people management and extra‐role behaviour: results of
a longitudinal study. Human Resource Management Journal, 24(1), 57-76.
Leary, M. R., & Baumeister, R. F. (2017). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal
attachments as a fundamental human motivation. In Interpersonal Development (pp. 57-
89). Routledge.
Miner, J. B. (2015). Organizational behavior 1: Essential theories of motivation and leadership.
Routledge.
Ntoumanis, N., Quested, E., Reeve, J., & Cheon, S. H. (2017). Need supportive communication:
implications for motivation in sport, exercise, and physical activity. Persuasion and
communication in sport, exercise, and physical activity. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Zameer, H., Ali, S., Nisar, W., & Amir, M. (2014). The impact of the motivation on the
employee’s performance in beverage industry of Pakistan. International Journal of
Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, 4(1), 293-298.

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Zhang, Y., Waldman, D. A., Han, Y. L., & Li, X. B. (2015). Paradoxical leader behaviors in
people management: Antecedents and consequences. Academy of Management
Journal, 58(2), 538-566.

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