Motivation

Executive Summary

The theoretical and empirical research on motivation in the workplace covers a diverse range of fields of research and provides a wealth of information on motivation practice for managers. However, with the globalisation of economies and workforces it is important for managers to understand why the study of workforce motivation is important and how it could be studied in terms of new world business and changes in the workforce. This paper initially highlights some theories of workplace motivation and then discusses how these theories are affected by culture and the changes in business structure and employees.

By understanding the theoretical approaches and identifying how they can be applied in a workplace has been a challenge for managers and is still a challenge today. The first section of this report outlines motivation theories and discuss their application in the workplace. The second part of the report outlines the affect that culture plays on the implementation of motivation theory in the workplace with a follow up on how motivation theory has been altered by managerial practice and what it means for managers in the 21st century.

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Table of Contents Introduction Theories of Motivation Motivation Theory in Practice Motivation Across Cultures Motivation in the New Millennium Conclusion and Implications for the Future References Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11

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Introduction

Motivating employees is an essential part of personnel management in any enterprise (Katsva & Condrey 2005). Whilst work motivation is a difficult concept to define or study (Rainey 1993), and no single comprehensive theory of motivation currently exists (Wright 2004), the study of motivation theory is important to managers for the satisfaction of employees and the achievement of personal, team and organisational goals. This report highlights why the study (and application) of various motivation theories is...