Motivation in Business Essay -- Motivation and Job Performance

Motivation is best defined as the needs, wants, and beliefs that drive an individual. It is the basis of what people work for and keeps them doing things they otherwise would never do. People act in a whole new manner when they are motivated by something. Motivation gives them a whole new perception of the task at hand. Motivation is not always positive though, and it does not always just come from one place, for example, your boss. Motivation can be negative by not receiving something, and contrary to popular belief it is not always money that motivates people to do what they do. People have different needs, wants, and desires and the finding what is most important to those individuals is the key to motivation. People and companies have used countless techniques and approaches to motivate others and employees, but what works for one person does not necessarily work for the other. Different companies and departments of those companies have very different approaches to motivate their workers to being the best they can. For example, I worked for three years at a food Store called Wegmans when I was younger. I worked as a cashier which was interesting to say the least. Managers were always trying to motivate the cashiers to go that much faster, be that much friendlier, and to be more efficient at every opportunity. They took many different approaches to find what would motivate each cashier, which was a difficult task considering how young each cashier was, the large number of us their were, and how different each employee was from the other. Motivation is taking on a whole new world then it once did, it is not only taking on people to do small personal tasks like quitting smoking, but instead people are starting to re... ...(Oct 2005) More than motivation. T+D, 59 (10), 22-23. C.P. (Mar 2007) More than a game. Entrepeneur, 92. Cichelli, D. (Jul/Aug 2006) Incentives that really motivate. Sales and marketing management, 158 (6), 25. Devaro J., & Brookshire D. (April 2007) Promotions and incentives in nonprofit and for- profit organizations. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 60 (3), 311-339 Dimon, A. (Jul/Aug 2005) Different strokes for different folks. Meetings and Incentive. Travel, 34 (4) 18-22. Douglas, A. (Jun 2003) Motivational boot camp. Flare, 25 (6), 112. Halbesleben, J. (2003) Emotional exhaustion and job performance: the medical role of motivation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92 (1), 93-106. Anonymous. (Nov 2003) Could the incentive wars be shirting into a lower gear? Barron?s, 83 (47) 10 Anonymous (Dec 2006) Benefits Envy. Financial Director, 16.