Human resource managementLesson 1 of 2 in the course Work Motivation for Performance

Work Motivation, Performance Factors, Direction, Intensity, and Theories

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

Motivation helps explain why people begin, direct, and continue particular behaviors. This lesson defines motivation and work motivation, and places motivation alongside other factors that shape job performance.

Motivation is a force within or outside the body that energizes, directs, and sustains human behavior. The word comes from the Latin movere, meaning “to move.” Internal sources can include needs, personal values, and goals. An external source might be an incentive offered by another person or an organization.

All flashcards

How is motivation defined?
Motivation is a force within or outside the body that energizes, directs, and sustains human behavior.
What is work motivation?
It is the amount of effort a person exerts to achieve a certain level of job performance.
What does ability include?
Ability includes knowledge, skills, and receptiveness to learning—the capacity to acquire new knowledge.
What are accurate role perceptions?
They are an employee's understanding of the outcomes expected and the processes for achieving those outcomes.
What is the performance environment?
It consists of factors that affect performance but are largely outside an employee's control; these can help or constrain performance.

Quiz questions

  1. In motivation, what does direction describe?Answer: The target a person intends to achieve.
  2. In motivation, what does intensity describe?Answer: The effort and persistence applied toward a target.
  3. What do content theories of motivation primarily explain?Answer: What motivates people, including needs and instincts.
  4. What do process theories of motivation primarily examine?Answer: How people think about situations when deciding how to act.
  5. Why is no single motivation theory the best explanation for every situation?Answer: Theories offer different perspectives, and human behavior is complex.

Based on Organizational Behavior by J. Stewart Black, David S. Bright, Donald G. Gardner, Eva Hartmann, Jason Lambert, Laura M. Leduc, Joy Leopold, James S. O’Rourke, Jon L. Pierce, Richard M. Steers, Siri Terjesen, Joseph Weiss (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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