Motivation is a term that refers to a process that elicits, controls, and sustains certain behaviors. It is a group phenomenon which affects the nature of an individual's behavior, the strength of the behavior, and the persistence of the behavior. For instance: an individual has not eaten, so he or she feels hungry, and as a response he or she eats and diminishes feelings of hunger.
There are many approaches to motivation: physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and social. It is the crucial element in setting and attaining goals—and research shows you can influence your own levels of motivation and self-control. According to various theories, motivation may be rooted in a basic need to minimize physical pain and maximize pleasure; or it may include specific needs such as eating and resting; or a desired object, goal, state of being, or ideal; or it may be attributed to less-apparent reasons such as altruism, selfishness, morality, or avoiding mortality. Conceptually, motivation should not be confused with either volition or optimism. Motivation is related to, but distinct from, emotion.
At one time, employees were considered just another input into the production of goods and services. But this changed after the Hawthorne studies. The Hawthorne studies were conducted by Elton Mayo at Hawthorne Plant in the 1920s. The researchers were studying the effect of different working environments on productivity. They used lighting as an experimental variable (the effect of bright lighting and dull lighting). Initially they noticed that employees were working harder but it was not because of the lighting. They concluded that productivity increased due to attention that the workers got from the research team and not because of changes to the experimental variable . The Hawthorne studies found that employees are not motivated solely by money but motivation is linked to employee behavior and their attitudes. The Hawthorne Studies began the human relations approach to management, so the needs and motivation of employees became the primary focus of managers.
Carrot and Stick
Motivation theories often use the metaphor of a carrot dangling from a stick to describe how people are motivated to achieve goals.