Organisational behaviour is described as A field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behaviour within organisations, for the purpose of applying such knowledge towards improving an organisations effectiveness. (Robbins and Millet and Cacioppe and Waters-Marsh, 1998, p.10). An important area within organisational behaviour is motivation.Herzberg describes the main problem in business practice is, How do I get an employee to do what I want him to do (1991, p.13) Motivation is a word that is used to describe how eager a person is to complete a task. Motivation is the set of processes that arouse, direct and maintain human behaviour towards attaining a goal (Robbins et al., 1998, p.199). Robbins uses a rounded approach when explaining motivation as the willingness to exert high levels of effort towards organisational goals but conditioned by the efforts ability to satisfy some individual need. (Robbins et al., 1998, p.199). Inkson and Kolb relate motivation to ability, environmental conditions and performance (1999). Highly motivated people with average abilities may succeed given supportive environments. Conversely, capable people in supportive environments may perform poorly if they lack motivation (Inkson and Kolb, 1999, p.319)Motivation interests me as I enjoy finding out about what factors are required for employees to achieve the desired goals that the business expects of them. Greater knowledge of how people are motivated will also help me personally as it will enable me to understand what drives me to wanting to achieve my goals.Motivation is complex and there are many theories which explain how motivation can be brought out in people and as a result how employers can get the most out of their employees. Theories of motivation in business have passed through many stages, influencing and being influenced by the prevailing management ideologies and philosophies of each era. (Bowey, ...
