Motivation as a Performance Enhancer

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Motivation as a Performance Enhancer Rose Perri November 29, 2013 MSA 601 Dr. Berkshire Managers today have the difficult responsibility of producing favorable outcomes with a shrinking workforce. The economic downturn our country has seen in the past years has had a significant impact on how we conduct business today. I have personally witnessed and experienced the decreasing workforce in healthcare today. The expectation to produce better patient outcomes, superior patient satisfaction, and a satisfied workforce and remain financially solvent in a highly regulated industry is a challenging mission. Looking at motivation as a theoretical framework to promote a positive workforce can assist businesses in meeting the challenges faced today. The purpose of this paper is to analyze various need theories of motivation and how they affect organizational behavioral. This will include Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory of Motivation, McClelland’s Need Theory, and Herzberg's two-factor theory. Motivation can be defined as the “psychological processes that arouse and direct goal-directed behavior” (Organizational Dynamics and Human Behavior, CMU pg. 112). What manager wouldn’t want to arouse goal-directed behavior? Goal setting and the achievement of goals are a paramount function of organizations. How to motivate employees to increase performance has been studied for many years. In 1943 Abraham Maslow developed Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory of Motivation. As a psychologist, Maslow looked for ways to explain human behavior. He came up with a five basic functions that are frequently displayed in a pyramid design. These include physiological, safety, love, esteem and self-actualization. Maslow’s theory is described as each function must be attained before you are able to move onto the next function. In my professional work as a nurse manager on a

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