Blog 1 : Motivation

 Motivation refers to the mainspring of behaviour; it explains why individuals choose to expend a degree of effort towards achieving particular goals. Understanding more about attitudes to work provides a partial context for understanding motivation. But this context needs to be expanded beyond individual attitudes and group pressures to include non-attitudinal factors like present life style, material commiments and assumed capabilities. These affect a person's choice of goals as well as the more or less rational processes which underlie their decisions to expend effort in particular ways. Motivation theory has developed in two ways, one focusing on the content and the other on the process.
Maslow's theory is based on a hierarchy of needs , he has developed a framework for understanding human motivation and needs.

That framework is made up in 5 sections.
Every sections reflects a stage which an employee reachs when he joins the company.

This hierarchy starts with the Physiological Needs which are related to the survival and maintenance of human life such as things as food , water , air , those things are primary needs.



--> FIG.1 : Maslow's hierarchy of needs : www.mbaknol.com
                         
The second stage of Maslow hierarchy can only be reached if the Physiological needs are satisfied.This stage of this hierarchy is Safety needs.This level includes job security,security of source of income, insurance against risks.Those needs are the most important ones because if they are not reached the employee would not feel secure.According to the Maslow hierarchy , if those needs aren't achieved you won't be able to reached the next level.

The third level of Maslow hierarchy of needs is Social needs. This level aim to show that employee who have reached this level wants to socialize with other people in the company.This part of the hierarchy is achieved once the employee is therefore interested in conversation, feel apart from the company.

The fourth level of this pyramid is Esteem Needs.This includes self-esteem and esteem from others.This Esteem needs embrace such things as self-confidence,independence,achievement, knowledge,competence.These needs boost the ego of individual.They are also known as egoistic needs.They are concerned with prestige and status of the individual.

The fifth and last level of Maslow hierarchy of needs is the Self-Actualization.This is the final step under the need priority model is the need for self-fulfillment or the need to fulfill what a person considers being his mission in life.In other words , that step means that you think that you have reached your full individual potential through your career.




                                                             Motivation
What has motivated me to go in University or more specifically to do a Business and Management degree was the opening to the world of business and communication with learning the culture of work within a company.It will also give me the opportunity of learning another language which is the first motivation for me, but I think that I was motivated by the possibility to achieve a goal or to get the recognition from the others for my efforts during those 3 years.

                                                            De-Motivation
A lack of motivation is a universal feeling. While some of us will feel unmotivated occasionally, others may experience it in phases or for extended periods of time.
When I was in sixth form , I used to be de-motivated all the time because I didn't feel like I was part of my class, so automatically I thought very de-motivated because even my teachers kept telling that I will not be capable to go to University in England . Indeed , I wasn't motivated for almost the entire year but when I realized that I could do it , that if I wanted to , I could be successful , so I had to work hard and my friends and my family helped me to do it.

This essay explains the factor of motivation which is something really important in working life and Maslow explained it very well through is theory of the pyramid of needs. Maslow's theory of motivation was based upon a person always trying to better them selves. The next level or step could not be achieved until the previous had been satisfied completely.


References :

• Mary Simpson ( Powerpoint , 2011)

• Fig.1 : http://www.mbaknol.com/management-concepts/theories-of-motivation-abraham-maslow%E2%80%99s-need-hierarchy-model/

• Dawson, S.(1992)  Analysing Organisations.2nd edition