Staying motivated is a struggle our drive is constantly assaulted by negative thoughts and anxiety about the future. Everyone faces doubt and depression. What separates the highly successful is the ability to keep moving forward.

There is no simple solution for a lack of motivation. Even after beating it, the problem reappears at the first sign of failure. The key is understanding your thoughts and how they drive your emotions. By learning how to nurture motivating thoughts, neutralize negative ones, and focus on the task at hand, you can pull yourself out of a slump before it gains momentum.

There are 3 primary reasons we lose motivation.

The first motivation killer is a lack of confidence. When this happens to me, its usually because Im focusing entirely on what I want and neglecting what I already have. When you only think about what you want, your mind creates explanations for why you arent getting it. This creates negative thoughts. Past failures, bad breaks, and personal weaknesses dominate your mind. You become jealous of your competitors and start making excuses for why you cant succeed. In this state, you tend to make a bad impression, assume the worst about others, and lose self confidence.

The way to get out of this thought pattern is to focus on gratitude. Set aside time to focus on everything positive in your life. Make a mental list of your strengths, past successes, and current advantages. We tend to take our strengths for granted and dwell on our failures. By making an effort to feel grateful, youll realize how competent and successful you already are. This will rejuvenate your confidence and get you motivated to build on your current success.

It might sound strange that repeating things you already know can improve your mindset, but its amazingly effective. The mind distorts reality to confirm what it wants to believe. The more negatively you think, the more examples your mind will discover to confirm that belief. When you truly believe that you deserve success, your mind will generate ways to achieve it. The best way to bring success to yourself is to genuinely desire to create value for the rest of the world.

The second motivation killer is a lack of focus. How often do you focus on what you dont want, rather than on a concrete goal? We normally think in terms of fear. Im afraid of being poor. Im afraid no one will respect me. Im afraid of being alone. The problem with this type of thinking is that fear alone isnt actionable. Instead of doing something about our fear, it feeds on itself and drains our motivation.

If youre caught up in fear based thinking, the first step is focusing that energy on a well defined goal. By defining a goal, you automatically define a set of actions. If you have a fear of poverty, create a plan to increase your income. It could be going back to school, obtaining a higher paying job, or developing a profitable website. The key is moving from an intangible desire to concrete, measurable steps.

By focusing your mind on a positive goal instead of an ambiguous fear, you put your brain to work. It instantly begins devising a plan for success. Instead of worrying about the future you start to do something about it. This is the first step in motivating yourself to take action. When know what you want, you become motivated to take action.

The final piece in the motivational puzzle is direction. If focus means having an ultimate goal, direction is having a day-to-day strategy to achieve it. A lack of direction kills motivation because without an obvious next action we succumb to procrastination. An example of this is a person who wants to have a popular blog, but who spends more time reading posts about blogging than actually writing articles.

The key to finding direction is identifying the activities that lead to success. For every goal, there are activities that pay off and those that dont. Make a list of all your activities and arrange them based on results. Then make a make an action plan that focuses on the activities that lead to big returns. To continue the example from above, a bloggers list would look something like this:

Keeping track of your most important tasks will direct your energy towards success. Without a constant reminder, its easy to waste entire days on filler activities like reading RSS feeds, email, and random web surfing.

When my motivation starts to wane, I regain direction by creating a plan that contains two positive actions. The first one should be a small task youve been meaning to do, while the second should be a long-term goal. I immediately do the smaller task. This creates positive momentum. After that I take the first step towards achieving the long-term goal. Doing this periodically is great for getting out of a slump, creating positive reinforcement, and getting long-term plans moving.

Its inevitable that youll encounter periods of low energy, bad luck, and even the occasional failure. If you dont discipline your mind, these minor speed bumps can turn into mental monsters. By being on guard against the top 3 motivation killers you can preserve your motivation and propel yourself to success.

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How To Motivate Yourself Self Motivation | PickTheBrain ...

If you've had difficulties focusing on the things that should matter to you the most, this will be the most important web page you visit. Maybe you always have a list of exciting things you should accomplish, but life and time keep getting in the way... Or there's this habit you need to cultivate that can help you in business... Or you just need a gentle push in the right direction. You will soon be striking items off that filled-up to-do list... starting today! Now, you might keep blaming the lack of time, energy or opportunities for the inability to accomplish things. But the truth is that none of these is the problem. It isn't someone or something on the outside that stops you from fulfilling your dreams. And don't blame it on laziness or any incapability. Because, as you are about to find out, you can actually harness the power of your subconscious mind to create answers, solutions, and more importantly, take action. Your subconscious mind is that powerful internal drive that can be trained and reprogrammed to keep working 24 hours to bring your desires to life because it actually does work round the clock. But this time you are going to learn how to consistently tap-in and make the most use of its incredible power using the simple tools about to be revealed.

It's often the result of the faulty programming of your subconscious mind. And the good news is that whether it was programmed accidentally or on purpose you can override the negative programming with desired ideas, thoughts and belief. The simplest way to achieve this is to focus your undivided attention on the things you want to accomplish. Our creative and inspiring motivational posters are the fastest, easiest, cheapest and most efficient way we know of that you can eliminate the background noise and let your new thoughts get louder and louder until they take on a life of their own. We've been producing these motivational posters since 1999 and a good number of our clients say the posters are quite different from what they see elsewhere. The posters are integral to their lives and help them accomplish far more than they thought they could achieve.

In your subconscious mind, there's an inbuilt mechanism that begins to re-design your life towards your mental pictures. The more you feed these positive, mental pictures into your mind, the quicker and faster your mind goes to work to bring them to reality. Remember how the subconscious mind works? So, all of our Motivation Posters have been tailored to activate that power within you. All you need to do is display them where you can see them.

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Motivation Posters - Featuring Peel and Stick Posters

Your employees may be more motivated if they understand the primary aim of your business. Ask questions to establish how clear they are about your company's principles, priorities and mission.

Questionnaires on employee motivation should include questions about what employees are tolerating in their work and home lives. The company can eliminate practices that zap motivation.

It is often assumed that all people are motivated by the same things. Actually we are motivated by a whole range of factors. Include questions to elicit what really motivates employees, including learning about their values. Are they motivated by financial rewards, status, praise and acknowledgment, competition, job security, public recognition, fear, perfectionism, results...

Do your employees feel they have job descriptions that give them some autonomy and allow them to find their own solutions or are they given a list of tasks to perform and simply told what to do?

If your company has made redundancies, imposed a recruitment freeze or lost a number of key people this will have an effect on motivation. Collect information from employees about their fears, thoughts and concerns relating to these events. Even if they are unfounded, treat them with respect and honesty.

Who is most motivated and why? What lessons can you learn from patches of high and low motivation in your company?

First, the company needs to establish how it wants individuals to spend their time based on what is most valuable. Secondly this needs to be compared with how individuals actually spend their time. You may find employees are highly motivated but about the "wrong" priorities.

Do they feel safe, loyal, valued and taken care of? Or do they feel taken advantage of, dispensable and invisible? Ask them what would improve their loyalty and commitment.

Do they feel listened to and heard? Are they consulted? And, if they are consulted, are their opinions taken seriously? Are there regular opportunities for them to give feedback?

Your company may present itself to the world as the 'caring airline', 'the forward thinking technology company' or the 'family hotel chain'. Your employees would have been influenced, and their expectations set, to this image when they joined your company. If you do not mirror this image within your company in the way you treat employees you may notice motivation problems. Find out what the disparity is between the employees image of the company from the outside and from the inside.

Blaire Palmer 2004-12.

Use the questionnaire guidelines above when creating content and subject matter for your employee motivation and satisfaction questionnaires and surveys. Here are some additional tips about questionnaires and surveys structure, format and style:

Create a clear, readable 'inviting' structure. Use 'white-out' boxes for answers, scores, and for check-boxes, which clearly show the parts which need completing. Use a clear 11 or 12 point (font) typeface. 10 point is difficult to read for some people. Avoid italics and fancy graphics - they just make the document more difficult and more time-consuming to read. Look at the writing tips and techniques for other useful pointers in creating good printed communications. Apply the same principles if your survey questionnaire form is online (ie., screen-based).

Where possible try to use specific questions with multiple-choice answers, rather than general 'open-ended' questions. Specific questions improve clarity and consistency of understanding among respondents, and a multiple-choice format enables the answers to be converted into scores which can be loaded into a spreadsheet and very easily analysed. General or vague questions on the other hand tend to lead to varying interpretation (or confusion) among respondents; also, by inviting an open-ended answer you will generate lots of narrative-based and subjective opinions, which might be very interesting, but will be very time-consuming to read, and even more time-consuming to analyse, especially if you are surveying a large group of employees.

Here is an example:

Open-ended question: What do you think of the Performance Appraisal System? (This will produce varied narrative responses = difficult to analyse.)

Multiple-choice question: Rate the effectiveness of the Performance Appraisal System in providing you with clear and agreed training and development: Good/Okay/Not Good/Poor (By asking respondents to check boxes or delete as necessary the multiple-choice answers will produce extremely clear answers to a specific question that can be converted into scores and very easily analysed)

Use four options in multiple-choice questions rather than three or five. Three and five options typically offer a middle 'don't know' or 'average' selection. Using four, with no middle cop-out will ensure that everybody decides one way or the other: satisfactory or not, which is what you need to know. Mid-way 'average' non-committal answers are not helpful, so avoid giving respondents that option. If you go to the trouble of creating, managing and analysing a huge staff survey surely it's a good idea to produce as much meaningful data as possible.

Certain questions are suitable for numerical or percentage scoring by respondents, in which case use such a system (again ensure you avoid offering scores which equate to 'average' or 'don't know'). For example:

Score-based question: Score the extent to which you enjoy your work: 1-5 = don't enjoy, 6-10 = enjoy. (By providing a clear differentiation between do and don't, this 1-10 scoring system gives a wide range of choices, and at the same time a clear result.)

Check with a sample of respondents that they understand the draft questions in the way you intend, before you print and issue the questionnaire to all six hundred or however many staff. Designing questionnaires and communications in isolation can produce strange results - not just politicians get out of touch - so check you are actually on the same planet, in terms of your aims, language and meaning, as the people whose views you seek.

Make sure you explain to all staff beforehand that you'll be publishing the survey findings, and then afterwards ensure you do so. And then act on the findings. If your MD/CEO is not fully behind your initiative, then go work for a different company whose MD/CEO properly supports the concept of consulting the folk whose efforts underpin his success (not to mention his share options, second home and Porsche etc.)

Allow people to complete the survey questionnaires anonymously. If helpful to you and you have a purpose for doing so, you can ask people to identify which department/region/office they belong to, assuming such information is genuinely useful to you and you can handle the analysis.

KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid. Break complex questions into digestible parts. Keep the survey to a sensible length - probably 20 minutes to complete it is a sensible limit of most people's tolerance. You can always follow up later in the year with another survey, especially if people enjoy completing it, and they see that the feedback and analysis process is helpful to them as well as the employer (see the point about MD/CEO support above).

By all means at the end of the questionnaire invite and allow space for 'any other comments', or better still try to guide respondents towards a particular question.

On which point, wherever it is necessary to ask an open-ended question, use the words 'what' and 'how' rather than 'why', if you want to discover motives and reasons. What and How will focus respondents on the facts objectively, whereas 'why' tends to focus respondents on defending themselves.

Examples:

It's okay to ask: What factors could be changed to help staff enjoy their work more in the XYZ depot?

Whereas it's not very clever to ask: Why is there such a crap attitude among staff at XYZ depot?

The second example is daft of course, but you see the point.

In this excellent guide article by motivation expert Blaire Palmer, ten central points (for some, myths) of employee motivation are exposed and explained, many with real case study references and examples.

When Michael started his own consultancy he employed top people; people he'd worked with in the past who had shown commitment, flair and loyalty and who seemed to share his values. But a few months down the line one of his team members started to struggle. Jo was putting in the hours but without enthusiasm. Her confidence was dropping; she was unfocused and not bringing in enough new business.

Michael explained to Jo the seriousness of the situation. Without new business he would lose the company and that would mean her job. He showed her the books to illustrate his point. He again ran through her job description and the procedures she was expected to follow. He told her that he was sure she was up to the job but he really needed her to bring in the new business or they would all be out on their ear.

Jo told Michael that she understood. She was doing her best but she'd try harder.

But a month later nothing had changed. After an initial burst of energy, Jo was back to her old ways.

No matter how experienced a leader you are, chances are at times you have struggled to motivate certain individuals. You've tried every trick in the book. You've sat down one-to-one with the individual concerned and explained the situation. You've outlined the big vision again in the hope of inspiring them. You've given them the bottom line: "Either you pull your finger out or your job is on the line". You've dangled a carrot in front of them: "If you make your targets you'll get a great bonus". And sometimes it works. But not every time. And there have been casualties. Ultimately if someone can't get the job done they have to go.

The granddaddy of motivation theory, Frederick Herzberg, called traditional motivation strategies 'KITA' (something similar to Kick In The Pants). He used the analogy of a dog. When the master wants his dog to move he either gives it a nudge from behind, in which case the dog moves because it doesn't have much choice, or he offers it a treat as an inducement, in which case it is not so much motivated by wanting to move as by wanting choc drops! KITA does the job (though arguably not sustainably) but it's hard work. It means every time you want the dog to move you have to kick it (metaphorically).

Wouldn't it be better if the dog wanted to move by itself?

Transferring this principle back in to the workplace, most motivation strategies are 'push' or 'pull' based. They are about keeping people moving either with a kick from behind (threats, fear, tough targets, complicated systems to check people follow a procedure) or by offering choc drops (bonuses, grand presentations of the vision, conferences, campaigns, initiatives, etc).

Blaire Palmer's experience has enabled her to work with a wide range of individuals and groups from a variety of backgrounds. Some of these people are highly motivated themselves, but struggle to extend this state of mind to the people they manage. Other people are at the receiving end of KITA motivation strategies that (obviously) aren't working on them. These people know they 'should' be more engaged with their work. Sometimes they fake it for a few months but it's not sustainable. In this paper Blaire identifies some common assumptions about motivation and presents some new paradigms that can help motivate more effectively.

By adding these coaching tools and motivation principles to your capabilities you should find the job of leading those around you, and/or helping others to do the same, more of a joyful and rewarding activity. Instead of spending all your time and energy pushing and cajoling (in the belief that your people's motivation must come from you) you will be able to focus on leading your team, and enabling them to achieve their full potential - themselves.

Ultimately, motivation must come from within each person. No leader is ever the single and continuing source of motivation for a person. While the leader's encouragement, support, inspiration, and example will at times motivate followers, the leader's greatest role in motivating is to recognise people for who they are, and to help them find their own way forward by making best use of their own strengths and abilities. In this way, achievement, development, and recognition will all come quite naturally to the person, and it is these things which are the true fuels of personal motivation.

By necessity these case studies initially include some negative references and examples, which I would urge you to see for what they are. How not to do things, and negative references, don't normally represent a great platform for learning and development.

In life it's so important always to try to accentuate the positive - to encourage positive visualisation - so, see the negatives for what they are; silly daft old ways that fail, and focus on the the positives in each of these examples. There are very many.

One of the most common assumptions we make is that the individuals who work for us are motivated by the same factors as us. Perhaps you are motivated by loyalty to the company, enjoying a challenge, proving yourself to others or making money. One great pitfall is to try to motivate others by focusing on what motivates you.

Marie, a director in her company, was being coached. She was a perfectionist. Every day she pushed herself to succeed and was rewarded with recognition from her peers. But she was unable to get the same standard of work from her team members. In the first few weeks of her coaching she would say, "If only people realised how important it was to put in 110% and how good it felt to get the acknowledgment, then they would start to feel more motivated".

But it wasn't working. Instead people were starting to become resentful towards Marie's approach. Acknowledgment was a prime motivator for Marie so to help her consider some other options, she was helped to brainstorm what else might motivate people in their work. Marie's list grew: 'learning new skills', 'accomplishing a goal as part of a team', 'creativity', 'achieving work-life balance', 'financial rewards' and 'the adrenaline rush of working to tight deadlines'. Marie began to see that perhaps her team were indeed motivated - it was simply that the team members were motivated in a different ways to her own.

If the leader can tap into and support the team members' own motivations then the leader begins to help people to realise their full potential.

Since the 1980's, research has shown that although we know that we are motivated by meaningful and satisfying work (which is supported by Herzberg's timeless theory on the subject, and virtually all sensible research ever since), we assume others are motivated mainly by financial rewards. Chip Heath, associate professor at Stanford University carried out research that found most people believe that others are motivated by 'extrinsic rewards', such as pay or job security, rather than 'intrinsic motivators', like a desire to learn new skills or to contribute to an organisation.

Numerous surveys show that most people are motivated by intrinsic factors, and in this respect we are mostly all the same.

Despite this, while many leaders recognise that their own motivation is driven by factors that have nothing to do with money, they make the mistake of assuming that their people are somehow different, and that money is central to their motivation.

If leaders assume that their team members only care about their pay packet, or their car, or their monthly bonus, this inevitably produces a faulty and unsustainable motivational approach.

Leaders must recognise that people are different only in so far as the different particular 'intrinsic' factor(s) which motivate each person, but in so far as we are all motivated by 'intrinsic' factors, we are all the same.

When some people talk, nearly everyone listens: certain politicians, business leaders, entertainers; people we regard as high achievers. You probably know people a little like this too. You may not agree with what they say, but they have a presence, a tone of voice and a confidence that is unmistakable. Fundamentally these people are great sales-people. They can make an unmitigated disaster sound like an unqualified victory. But do you need to be like this to motivate and lead?

Certainly not. Many people make the mistake of thinking that the only people who can lead others to success and achieve true excellence, and are the high-profile, charismatic, 'alpha-male/female' types. This is not true.

James was a relatively successful salesman but he was never at the top of his team's league table. In coaching sessions he would wonder whether he would ever be as good as his more flamboyant and aggressive colleagues. James saw himself as a sensitive person and was concerned that he was too sensitive for the job.

James was encouraged to look at how he could use his sensitivity to make more sales and beat his teammates. He reworked his sales pitch and instead of focusing his approach on the product, he based his initial approach on building rapport and asking questions. He made no attempt to 'sell'. Instead he listened to the challenges facing the people he called and asked them what kind of solution they were looking for. When he had earned their trust and established what they needed he would then describe his product. A character like James is also typically able to establish highly reliable and dependable processes for self-management, and for organising activities and resources, all of which are attributes that are extremely useful and valued in modern business. When he began to work according to his natural strengths, his sales figures went through the roof.

Each of us has qualities that can be adapted to a leadership role and/or to achieve great success. Instead of acting the way we think others expect us to, we are more likely to get others behind us and to succeed if we tap in to our natural, authentic style of leadership and making things happen. The leader has a responsibility to facilitate this process.

While it's true that not everyone has the same motivational triggers, as already shown, the belief that some people cannot be motivated is what can lead to the unedifying 'pep-talk and sack them' cycle favoured by many X-Theory managers. Typically managers use conventional methods to inspire their teams, reminding them that they are 'all in this together' or that they are 'working for the greater good' or that the management has 'complete faith in you', but when all this fails to make an impact the manager simply sighs and hands the troublesome employee the termination letter.

The reality is that motivating some individuals does involve an investment of time.

When his manager left the company, Bob was asked by the site director, Frank, to take over some extra responsibility. As well as administrative work he would be more involved in people management and report directly to Frank. Frank saw this as a promotion for Bob and assumed that he would be flattered and take to his new role with gusto. Instead Bob did little but complain. He felt he had too much to do, he didn't trust the new administrator brought in to lighten his workload, and he felt resentful that his extra responsibility hadn't come with extra pay. Frank was a good manager and told Bob that he simply had to be a little more organised, and that he (Frank) had complete belief in Bob to be able to handle this new challenge. But Bob remained sullen.

So Frank took a different approach: He tried to see the situation from Bob's point of view. Bob enjoyed his social life, but was no longer able to leave the office at 5pm. Bob was dedicated to doing a good job, but was not particularly ambitious, so promotion meant little to him. Bob was also expected to work more closely now with a colleague with whom he clashed. Then Frank looked at how Bob might perceive him as his boss. He realised Bob probably thought Frank's hands-off management style meant he didn't care. To Bob it might look as if Frank took no direct interest except when he found fault. Finally, Frank looked at the situation Bob was in to see if there was anything bringing out the worst in him. He realised two weeks of every month were effectively 'down-time' for Bob, followed by two weeks where he was overloaded with work. Having set aside his assumptions about Bob and armed with a more complete picture from Bob's point of view, Frank arranged for the two of them to meet to discuss a way forward.

Now the two were able to look at the real situation, and to find a workable way forward.

While there is no guarantee that this approach will always work, 'seeking to understand', as Stephen Covey's 'Seven Habits of Highly Effective People' puts it, is generally a better first step than 'seeking to be understood'.

It's easier to help someone when you see things from their point of view.

We are always told how valuable listening is as a leadership tool and encouraged to do more of it. So, when we remember, we listen really hard, trying to catch every detail of what is being said and maybe follow up with a question to show that we caught everything. This is certainly important. Checking your email, thinking about last night's big game and planning your weekend certainly stop you from hearing what is being said.

But there is another important aspect to listening and that is: Listening Without Judgement.

Often when an employee tells us why they are lacking motivation we are busy internally making notes about what is wrong with what they are saying. This is pre-judging. It is not listening properly.

Really listening properly means shutting off the voice in your head that is already planning your counter-argument, so that you can actually hear, understand and interpret what you are being told. See the principles of empathy.

This is not to say that 'the employee is always right', but only when you can really understand the other person's perception of the situation are you be able to help them develop a strategy that works for them.

Listening is about understanding how the other person feels - beyond merely the words that they say.

What happens if, at their meeting, Bob admits to Frank that he doesn't see his future with that company?

What if he says the main reason he is demotivated is that he isn't really suited to the company culture, and would be happier elsewhere? Has Frank failed?

Not necessarily. It's becoming more widely accepted that the right and sustainable approach is to help individual employees to tap in to their true motivators and understand their core values. Katherine Benziger's methodologies are rooted in this philosophy: Employees who 'falsify type' (ie., behave unnaturally in order to satisfy external rather than internal motives and drivers) are unhappy, stressed, and are unable to sustain good performance.

Effort should be focused on helping people to align company goals with individual aspirations. Look at Adam's Equity Theory to help understand the complexity of personal motivation and goals alignment. Motivation and goals cannot be imposed from outside by a boss - motivation and goals must be determined from within the person, mindful of internal needs, and external opportunities and rewards.

Sometimes the person and the company are simply unsuited. In a different culture, industry, role or team that individual would be energised and dedicated, whereas in the present environment the same person doesn't fit.

Sometimes 'success' doesn't look the way we expect it to. A successful outcome for an individual and for a company may be that a demotivated person, having identified what sort of work and environment would suit them better, leaves to find their ideal job elsewhere.

You succeed as a leader by helping and enabling people to reach their potential and to achieve fulfilment. If their needs and abilities could be of far greater value elsewhere, let them go; don't force them to stay out of loyalty. Helping them identify and find a more fitting role elsewhere not only benefits you and them - it also enables you to find a replacement who is really suited and dedicated to the job.

True leaders care about the other person's interests - not just your own interests and the interests of your organization.

When asked what brought about lack of motivation at work, the majority of people in research carried out by Herzberg blamed 'hygiene factors' such as working conditions, salary and company policy. When asked what motivated them they gave answers such as 'the sense of achievement', 'recognition', 'the opportunity to grow and advance' and 'greater responsibility'.

Herzberg's findings about human motivation have been tested and proven time and gain. His theory, and others like it, tell us that the factors that demotivate do not necessarily motivate when reversed. The conventional solution to dissatisfaction over pay levels would be to increase pay in the belief that people would then work harder and be more motivated. However, this research shows that whilst increasing wages, improving job security and positive working relationships have a marginal impact, the main factors that characterise extreme satisfaction at work are: achievement, recognition, interesting work, responsibility, advancement and growth.

So it follows that leaders who focus on these aspects - people's true motivational needs and values - are the true leaders.

Help people to enrich their work and you will truly motivate.

Many managers hope to motivate by setting their people challenging targets. They believe that raising the bar higher and higher is what motivates.

Tracey was an effective and conscientious account manager. Her boss habitually set her increasingly tough objectives, which Tracey generally achieved. However, in achieving her targets last month Tracey worked several eighteen-hour days, travelled extensively overseas, and had not had a single weekend break. Sometimes Tracey would mention to her boss that the effort was taking its toll on her health and happiness.

When Tracey handed in her latest monthly report, her boss said, 'You see? It's worth all the hard work. So, don't complain about it again.'

Her boss's belief was that Tracey would get a sense of satisfaction from completing an almost impossible workload. He was relying on her sense of duty - which she had in bucket-loads - to get the job done.

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employee motivation - BUSINESSBALLS LTD

Management Theories > Motivation Theory

What is Motivation?

Motivation is the answer to the question Why we do what we do?. The motivation theories try to figure out what the M is in the equation: M motivates P (Motivator motivates the Person). It is one of most important duty of an entrepreneur to motivate people. (I strongly belive that motivating people with visionary and shared goals is more favorable than motivating through tactics, incentives or manipulation through simple carrot and stick approaches because motivating with vision is natural wheras the former is artificial and ephemeral).

Now, lets rise on the shoulders of the giants :

A Classification of Motivation Theories (Content vs. Process) Motivation theories can be classified broadly into two different perspectives: Content and Process theories. Content Theories deal with what motivates people and it is concerned with individual needs and goals. Maslow, Alderfer, Herzberg and McCelland studied motivation from a content perspective. Process Theories deal with the process of motivation and is concerned with how motivation occurs. Vroom, Porter & Lawler, Adams andLocke studied motivation from a process perspective.

Abraham Maslows Hierarchy of Needs When motivation theory is being considered the first theory that is beingrecalled is Maslows hierarchy of needs which he has introduced in his 1943 article named as A Theory of Human Motivation. According to this theory, individual strives to seek a higher need when lower needs are fulfilled. Once a lower-level need is satisfied, it no longer serves as a source of motivation. Needs are motivators only when they are unsatisfied.

Alderfers ERG Theory

In 1969, Clayton P. Alderfer, simplified Maslows theory by categorizing hierarchy of needs into three categories:

Herzbergs Two Factor Theory

Frederick Herzberg, introduced his Two Factor Theory in 1959. He suggested that there are two kinds of factors affect motivation, and they do it in different ways:

1) Hygiene factors: A series of hygiene factors create dissatisfaction if individuals perceive them as inadequate or inequitable, yet individuals will not be significantly motivated if these factors are viewed as adequate or good. Hygiene factors are extrinsic and include factors such as salary or remuneration, job security and working conditions.

2) Motivators: They are intrinsic factors such as sense of achievement, recognition, responsibility, and personal growth.

The hygiene factors determine dissatisfaction, and motivators determine satisfaction. Herzberg theory conforms with satisfaction theories which assert that a satisfied employee tends to work in the same organization but this satisfaction does not always result in better performance. In other words, satisfaction does not correlate with productivity.

McClellands Achievement Need Theory

in his 1961 book named as The Achieving Society,David McClelland identified three basic needs that people develop and acquire from their life experiences .

Although these categories of needs are not exlusive, generally individuals develop a dominant bias or emphasis towards one of the three needs. Entrepreneurs usually have high degree of achivement needs.

Incentive Theory

Incentive theory suggests that employee will increase her/his effort to obtain a desired reward. This is based on the general principle of reinforcement. The desired outcome is usually money. This theory is coherent with the early economic theories where man is supposed to be rational and forecasts are based on the principle of economic man.

2. Process Theories about Motivation

Expectancy Theory

Expectancy Theory argues that humans act according to their conscious expectations that a particular behavior will lead to specific desirable goals.

Victor H. Vroom, developed the expectancy theory in 1964, producing a systematic explanatory theory of workplace motivation. Theory asserts that the motivation to behave in a particular way is determined by an individuals expectation that behaviour will lead to a particular outcome, multiplied by the preference or valence that person has for that outcome.

Three components of Expectancy theory are:

The equation suggests that human behaviour is directed by subjective probability.

Goal Theory

Edwin Locke proposed Goal Theory in 1968, which proposes that motivation and performance will be high if individuals are set specific goals which are challenging, but accepted, and where feedback is given on performance.

The two most important findings of this theory are:

Adams Equity Theory

Developed by John Stacey Adams in 1963, Equity Theory suggests that if the individual perceives that the rewards received are equitable, that is, fair or just in comparison with those received by others in similar positions in or outside the organization, then the individual feels satisfied.Adams asserted that employees seek to maintain equity between the inputs that they bring to a job and the outcomes that they receive from it against the perceived inputs and outcomes of others.

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A Brief Introduction to Motivation Theory

Ask any person who is successful in whatever he or she is doing what motivates him/her, and very likely the answer will be "goals". Goal Setting is extremely important to motivation and success. So what motivates you? Why are you in college? If you are in college because that's what your parents want, you may find it difficult to motivate yourself. Sure, it's possible to succeed with someone else providing the motivation for you. ("If you graduate from college, I'll give you a car!" or worse "If you don't graduate from college, you won't get a car.") But motivation that comes from within really makes the difference.

Certainly, you need some intelligence, knowledge base, study skills, and time management skills, but if you don't have motivation, you won't get far. Think about this analogy. You have a car with a full tank of gas, a well-tuned engine, good set of tires, quadraphonic CD system, and a sleek, polished exterior. There it sits. This car has incredible potential. (Have you heard that before?) However, until a driver sits behind the wheel, puts the key in the ignition, and cranks it up, the car doesn't function. You guessed it; the KEY is MOTIVATION.

Interest is an important motivator for a student. So is a desire to learn. When you link these two things together, you create success. Often success in an endeavor leads to more interest and a greater desire to learn, creating an upward spiral of motivation toward a goal you have established.

So be honest with yourself. Are you genuinely interested in being in college? Have you set realistic goals for yourself? How can you develop the internal motivation that really counts? When it comes to motivation, KNOWING is not as important as DOING.

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Motivation

Employee motivation, the organizational environment and productivity

The job of a manager in the workplace is to get things done through employees. To do this the manager should be able to motivate employees. But that's easier said than done! Motivation practice and theory are difficult subjects, touching on several disciplines.

In spite of enormous research, basic as well as applied, the subject of motivation is not clearly understood and more often than not poorly practiced. To understand motivation one must understand human nature itself. And there lies the problem!

Human nature can be very simple, yet very complex too. An understanding and appreciation of this is a prerequisite to effective employee motivation in the workplace and therefore effective management and leadership.

These articles on motivation theory and practice concentrate on various theories regarding human nature in general and motivation in particular. Included are articles on the practical aspects of motivation in the workplace and the research that has been undertaken in this field, notably by Douglas McGregor (theory y), Frederick Herzberg (two factor motivation hygiene theory,) Abraham Maslow (theory z, hierarchy of needs), Elton Mayo (Hawthorne Experiments) Chris Argyris Rensis Likert and David McClelland (achievement motivation.)

Quite apart from the benefit and moral value of an altruistic approach to treating colleagues as human beings and respecting human dignity in all its forms, research and observations show that well motivated employees are more productive and creative. The inverse also holds true. The schematic below indicates the potential contribution the practical application of the principles this paper has on reducing work content in the organization.

There is an old saying you can take a horse to the water but you cannot force it to drink; it will drink only if it's thirsty - so with people. They will do what they want to do or otherwise motivated to do. Whether it is to excel on the workshop floor or in the 'ivory tower' they must be motivated or driven to it, either by themselves or through external stimulus.

Are they born with the self-motivation or drive? Yes and no. If no, they can be motivated, for motivation is a skill which can and must be learnt. This is essential for any business to survive and succeed.

Performance is considered to be a function of ability and motivation, thus:

Ability in turn depends on education, experience and training and its improvement is a slow and long process. On the other hand motivation can be improved quickly. There are many options and an uninitiated manager may not even know where to start. As a guideline, there are broadly seven strategies for motivation.

These are the basic strategies, though the mix in the final 'recipe' will vary from workplace situation to situation. Essentially, there is a gap between an individuals actual state and some desired state and the manager tries to reduce this gap.

Motivation is, in effect, a means to reduce and manipulate this gap. It is inducing others in a specific way towards goals specifically stated by the motivator. Naturally, these goals as also the motivation system must conform to the corporate policy of the organization. The motivational system must be tailored to the situation and to the organization.

In one of the most elaborate studies on employee motivation, involving 31,000 men and 13,000 women, the Minneapolis Gas Company sought to determine what their potential employees desire most from a job. This study was carried out during a 20 year period from 1945 to 1965 and was quite revealing. The ratings for the various factors differed only slightly between men and women, but both groups considered security as the highest rated factor. The next three factors were;

Surprisingly, factors such as pay, benefits and working conditions were given a low rating by both groups. So after all, and contrary to common belief, money is not the prime motivator. (Though this should not be regarded as a signal to reward employees poorly or unfairly.)

Next | The theorists and their theories (1 of 2)

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Employee motivation. Motivation in the workplace- theory ...

In psychology, motivation refers to the initiation, direction, intensity, and persistence of behavior. Motivation is a temporal and dynamic state that should not be confused with personality or emotion. It involves having the desire and willingness to do something. A motivated person can be reaching for a long-term goal such as becoming a professional writer or a more short-term goal like learning how to spell a particular word. Personality invariably refers to more or less permanent characteristics of an individual's state of being (such as shy, extrovert, conscientious). As opposed to motivation, emotion refers to temporal states that do not immediately link to behavior (such as anger, grief, or happiness).

Motivation can be categorized according to whether it is a basic, instinctive drive, unlearned and common to all people and also animals, or a learned motivation that can be unique. The former type of motivation involves satisfying the needs of the physical body, and include hunger, thirst, shelter or safety, sexual activity, and so forth. The latter type includes achievement of goals, whether they be in terms of gaining knowledge, power, self-development, or a loving relationship. This latter type can be seen as satisfying the desires of the mind and spirit. Motivation is complex since human nature is complex. Yet, to understand what motivates people to act in certain ways enables people to live and work peaceably with one another.

Motivation can be anything that arouses an organism toward action for a desired goal. Motivation can be the reason for the action or that which gives direction to an action.[1]

The word motivation most likely comes from the word "motive," which stems from either the French motiver or the German motivieren. The word first appeared in English in 1904.[2]

Motivation is considered an essential element not only in learning, but also in the performance of learned responses. In other words, even when an organism (including a human being) has learned the appropriate response to a particular situation they will not necessarily produce this behavior. The incentive to produce the behavior is motivation.

Sources of motivation can be broken into two main categories: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic sources include physical, mental, and spiritual. Extrinsic sources include operant and social conditioning. Some examples of needs within these categories are listed below:

Theories of motivation are based on different criteria, and emphasize various needs as key drivers in our actions. Like needs, these theories are both internal and external.

Behaviorists believe that everything performed by organisms, including thinking, feeling, and acting, are behaviors. For Behaviorists there is no philosophical difference in describing externally visible things such as actions and internal things such as thoughts. Though there are nuanced theories of behaviorism, they generally state that behaviors can be traced to factors within a person's life such as their past and present environments, the actions of others, and their present feelings. These forces act on one another and result in an action, effectively making them the motivation for action.

Cognitive theories center on the effects of the different ways people process information with motivation. Some key theories are listed below.

The cognitive dissonance theory, first proposed by Leon Festinger, states that people need to maintain consistency among their beliefs, attitudes, and behavior. Contradicting cognitions serve as a driving force that compels the mind to acquire or invent new beliefs, or to modify existing beliefs, in order to reduce the amount of dissonance (conflict) between cognitions and bring them back into a consistent relationship.

This theory posits that people explain success or failure with attributions. These attributions can be grouped as within or outside of a person's control and then internal or external. People will say that an event that occurs that is both external and out of their control is unstoppable, but will pride themselves on events that occur because of an internal characteristic that is within their control.

Expectancy theory attempts to mathematize motivation. In this theory, expectancy (perceived probability of success), instrumentality (connection of success and reward), and value (value of obtaining goal) must all exist in order for a person to take action, according to the formula:

Sigmund Freud and his followers describe the unconscious mind as controlled by a person's instinctual desires and needs. These instincts, however, come into conflict with the social demands of the conscious mind. Freud later divided the mind into three sections: the conscious mind, or ego, and two parts of the unconscious mind: the id, or instincts, and superego, the result of social conditioning.

Many of Freud's students broke with his theories, emphasizing instead the importance of the social and spiritual on motivation.

Drive Reduction Theory grows out of the concept that we have certain biological needs, such as hunger. As time passes the strength of the drive increases as it is not satisfied. Then as we satisfy that drive by fulfilling its desire, such as eating, the drive's strength is reduced. It is based on the theories of Freud and the idea of feedback control systems, such as a thermostat.

There are several problems, however, that leave the validity of the Drive Reduction Theory open for debate. The first problem is that it does not explain how Secondary Reinforcers reduce drive. For example, money does not satisfy any biological or psychological need but reduces drive on a regular basis through a pay check second-order conditioning. Secondly, if the drive reduction theory held true we would not be able to explain how a hungry human being can prepare a meal without eating the food before they finished cooking it.

However, when comparing this to a real life situation such as preparing food, one does become hungrier as the food is being made (drive increases), and after the food has been consumed the drive decreases. The reason that generally the food is not eaten before preparation is complete is the human element of restraint. Knowing that the food will be nicer (or simply edible as opposed to inedible when raw) after it is cooked enables the preparer to delay drive reduction.

Abraham Maslow's "hierarchy of human needs" theory is the most widely discussed theory of motivation. The theory can be summarized thus:

The hierarchy arranges needs from basic physiological (lowest, earliest), through safety, social, and self esteem to the most complex (highest, latest) need for self actualization.

Created by Clayton Alderfer, Maslow's hierarchy of needs was expanded, leading to his ERG theory (existence, relatedness and growth). Physiological and safety, the lower order needs, are placed in the existence category, Love and self esteem needs in the relatedness category. The growth category contained the self actualization and self esteem needs.

Self-determination theory, developed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, focuses on the importance of intrinsic motivation in driving human behavior. Like Maslow's hierarchical theory and others that built on it, SDT posits a natural tendency toward growth and development. Unlike these other theories, however, SDT does not include any sort of "autopilot" for achievement, but instead requires active encouragement from the environment. The primary factors that encourage motivation and development are autonomy, competence feedback, and relatedness.[4]

Social learning theories state that watching the actions of other can prove the most influential on the actions we take.

Social cognition theories elaborate on the three way relationship between personal qualities, behavior, and society. Theorists in this school write that all three can affect the other for good or bad.

Spiritual theories attempt to find meaning in our lives and to develop the underlying spiritual goals towards which we act.

Goal-setting theory is based on the notion that individuals sometimes have a drive to reach a clearly defined end state. Often, this end state is a reward in itself. A goal's efficiency is affected by three features: proximity, difficulty and specificity. An ideal goal should present a situation where the time between the initiation of behavior and the end state is close in time. This explains why some children are more motivated to learn how to ride a bike than mastering algebra. A goal should be moderate, not too hard or too easy to complete. In both cases, most people are not optimally motivated, as many want a challenge (which assumes some kind of insecurity of success). At the same time people want to feel that there is a substantial probability that they will succeed. Specificity concerns the description of the goal. The goal should be objectively defined and intelligible for the individual. A classic example of a poorly specified goal is to get the highest possible grade. Most children have no idea how much effort they need to reach that goal.

The control of motivation is only understood to a limited extent. There are many different approaches of motivation training, but many of these are considered pseudoscientific by critics. To understand how to control motivation it is first necessary to understand why many people lack motivation.

Modern imaging has provided solid empirical support for the psychological theory that emotional programming is largely defined in childhood. Harold Chugani, Medical Director of the PET Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Michigan and professor of pediatrics, neurology and radiology at Wayne State University School of Medicine, has found that children's brains are much more capable of consuming new information (linked to emotions) than those of adults. Brain activity in cortical regions is about twice as high in children as in adults from the third to the ninth year of life. After that period, it declines constantly to the low levels of adulthood. Brain volume, on the other hand, is already at about 95 percent of adult levels in the ninth year of life.

Besides the very direct approaches to motivation, beginning in early life, there are solutions which are more abstract but perhaps nevertheless more practical for self-motivation. Virtually every motivation guidebook includes at least one chapter about the proper organization of one's tasks and goals. It is usually suggested that it is critical to maintain a list of tasks, with a distinction between those which are completed and those which are not, thereby moving some of the required motivation for their completion from the tasks themselves into a "meta-task," namely the processing of the tasks in the task list, which can become a routine. The viewing of the list of completed tasks may also be considered motivating, as it can create a satisfying sense of accomplishment.

Most electronic to-do lists have this basic functionality, although the distinction between completed and non-completed tasks is not always clear (completed tasks are sometimes simply deleted, instead of kept in a separate list).

Other forms of information organization may also be motivational, such as the use of mind maps to organize one's ideas, and thereby "train" the neural network that is the human brain to focus on the given task. Simpler forms of idea notation such as simple bullet-point style lists may also be sufficient, or even more useful to less visually oriented persons.

Neurobiological evidence supports the idea that addictive drugs such as cocaine, nicotine, alcohol, and heroin act on brain systems underlying motivation for natural rewards, such as the mesolimbic dopamine system. Normally, these brain systems serve to guide us toward fitness-enhancing rewards (food, water, sex, etc.), but they can be co-opted by repeated use of drugs of abuse, causing addicts to excessively pursue drug rewards. Therefore, drugs can hijack brain systems underlying other motivations, causing the almost singular pursuit of drugs characteristic of addiction.[5]

Motivation is of particular interest to Educational psychologists because of the crucial role it plays in student learning. However, the specific kind of motivation that is studied in the specialized setting of education differs qualitatively from the more general forms of motivation studied by psychologists in other fields.

Motivation in education can have several effects on how students learn and their behavior towards subject matter.[6] It can:

Because students are not always internally motivated, they sometimes need situated motivation, which is found in environmental conditions that the teacher creates.

The idea that money is a powerful motivator can be illustrated with numerous examples of theft or white-collar crime. However, Maslow and Herzberg both believed that money is not a very powerful motivator. At higher levels of the hierarchy, praise, respect, recognition, empowerment and a sense of belonging are far more powerful motivators than money, as both Abraham Maslow's theory of motivation and Douglas McGregor argue. McGregor says of motivation:

Elton Mayo described workplace motivation in his Hawthorne studies, which revealed what has become known as the Hawthorne effect. His studies showed that workers are motivated to work harder when they perceive they are being studied. Mayo was originally intending to study the effects of lighting on employee productivity, but eventually isolated all variables and determined that by having workers believe they were being watched by their managers or others, they would in fact work harder.

All links retrieved November 24, 2014.

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Motivation - New World Encyclopedia

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Motivation Articles! - Bodybuilding.com

It is not the degree that makes a great person;

it is the person that makes the degree great.

A person's reputation depends much on his or her professional career and achievements. It also depends on a good education the individual has acquired, firmly established with a university diploma. Most companies employment criteria is driven by the candidate's know-how, ability to solve problems, and other practical skills, and not just the university degree. Bircham International University students and graduates have gotten jobs or promotions in leading companies worldwide. Many felt a considerable increase in their self-esteem and social status. Most of them had moved on to a better job, had been promoted, or had received a salary raise.

There are many success stories among Bircham International University graduates, but we do not know all of them. With all the respect for the privacy of your life, we would like to read your testimony here. Your story may be helpful for other people. It may motivate current students to continue working in their programs of study, it may encourage BIU graduates to aim high in their personal lifes and professional affairs, it may help the decision of those candidates who are now considering Bircham International Universitya suitable option for their future education.

Probably you would have loved to read some of these stories.

Well, why don't you start telling yours?

You may send your testimony toThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Thanks in advance for sharing.

Abdikadir Mohamed Haamud (Somalia):

Bachelor Degree in Community and Social Development - Social Work

TESTIMONY: "I joined Bircham University from Puntland State of Somalia, during my learning I really gained knowledge, skills and progress. I feed my children, stay with them at home and learn from Bircham University at the same time. It is a great golden, learning staying with your family/space. I say once again thanks to Bircham University that facilitated my learning while studying at my own pace."

Abdo Miled Abou Jaoude (Lebanon):

Doctor Ph.D. Degree in Applied Mathematics

Doctor Ph.D. Degree in Applied Statistics & Probability

Cum Laude in Applied Statistics & Probability

TESTIMONY: "I thank Bircham Universitybecause it gave me the chance to continue my education on a distance learning program. I completed at Bircham University three Ph.D's,the firstin Applied Mathematics, the second in Computer Science with Magna Cum Laude, and the third in Applied Statistics with Magna Cum Laude also. If I have the time I would complete also my knowledge in other fields of knowledge, and all this thanks to Bircham University, and with the support and valuable guidance of Dr. Antoine Abou Assaf, Bircham University's delegate in Middle East and North Africa, and Dr. William Martin, Bircham University's CEO. They both provided me with all the help I needed to complete all the work that I have done during those years. Moreover, the distance learning program is a fantasticadventure rich of pleasure and knowledge that I invite everyone seeking knowledge and self discipline to experience. My sincere thanks to Bircham University."

Abdul Hannan Kakar (Afghanistan):

Master Degree in Community and Social Development

TESTIMONY: "This is to confirm the receipt of my master degree and the supporting documents. I take this opportunity to thank you for your professional and timely correspondence and excellent support throughout my degree program. During the last one year, I really enjoyed the innovative method of studying and therefore hope to continue my Doctorate at Bircham University in the nearest future. Please also extend my special thanks to the entire team of Bircham University and Mr. William Martin, the CEO and Vice-president for providing such a great opportunity to the working professionals to pursue their higher education with a flexible schedule and no interference withprofessional life."

Abdul Qayeum Karim (Afghanistan):

Doctor Ph.D. Degree in Environmental Engineering - Hydrology

Cum Laude in Hydrology

TESTIMONY: "I would like to thank all BIU colleagues and friends who were involved in the organization of the graduation ceremony such as the professors and staff. I would like tothank you all from the bottom of my heart for all your support and cooperation in obtaining the visa to travel to Spain, in all the arrangements for the graduation ceremony, for the on time approval of my Ph. D. Thesis and awarding us with the degree and making our travel and efforts a success. I strongly hope that the Afghanistan will be peaceful, and I will be able to benefit from my experience and knowledge of the topic/subject I studied during my Ph.D. studies for the rehabilitation, education and prosperity of Afghans as a member of the global community. I wish all of you further success in spreading education globally and helping the human communities in development activities."

Ado Henrique Saldanha Ribeiro Pizarro (Portugal):

Specialist Diploma in Natural Heath

TESTIMONY: "Tive a felicidade de conhecer a Bircham University. Depois de muitas perguntas que fiz, e sempre prontamente elucidado de forma categrica pelo Ex Sr. Cesar Martinez, no exitei mais e me inscrevi na formao de Especialista em Saude Natural. J tinha efectuado em Portugal vrias formaes nesta rea, em E-larning, mas com a Bircham University, tudo foi diferente. Diferente na exigncia e no rigor, na forma e no mtodo que tm de nos enviar os livros e respectivo material de estudo, na calma que nos transmitem durante o processo e o tempo de estudo, tirando-nos qualquer dvida e aconselhando-nos para a devida calma, mas sempre pedindo o nosso esforo e dedicao com os principios definidos que no me canso de repetir. Assim, o seu mtodo, de fazer com que sejam lidos os respectivos livros, a forma como temos que reler para ir anotando as nossas descobertas para a elaborao do nosso trabalho to intensa, que sem darmos conta disso, j lemos os diversos captulos de cada livro 3 ou 4 vezes. Dessa forma, bem claro que aprendemos mesmo as matrias por eles estipuladas e fazemos o nosso trabalho e com o orgulho de dever cumprido, fixando essa aprendizagem para o resto da vida."

Ahmad Timor Qayoomi (Afghanistan):

Master Degree in Construction Management

TESTIMONY: "I am happy as a member of Bircham University students."

Ahmed Mohamoud Warsame (Somalia):

Master Degree in Public Administration - Human Resources Management

TESTIMONY: "You kept me pushing my career forward since I joined this honorable university and at last here I am reaping my rewards. For me it was an incredible dream to have a post graduate degree in Somalia where I live now, where there was no functional government for the last 20 years. I still remember when i was collecting some of my colleagues to join this university with me and how hard it was to convince them to do their masters through distance learning. I confess that many of them have already had their master degrees before me from Bircham University. Thanks to the staff of Bircham University MEA, specially Graziella who was the bridge between me and the university, and who was coordinating the program tirelessly. In fact text books were being sent on time, evaluation reports on time, and any other needed information was timely circulated. After that, as you stated I am satisfied that I made great development and career building, and benefited from the courses I have been given through your distance learning programs with your continuous whisper in my ear day and night. I have to say that unless I would not join this university, my dreams would still remain dreams and would not see the light."

Alex Vicente Gonzalez (Switzerland):

Bachelor Degree in Computer Engineering

TESTIMONY: "Quiero dar mi testimonio en agradecimiento a todo el staff de Bircham International University por los excelentes servicios prestados a m como estudiante. Bircham International University me inspir en mi carrera profesional y en mis deseos de continuar educndome, cuando en su brochoure deca: Lo importante no es de donde el estudiante se grade, sino, lo que el estudiante puede hacer con su trabajo para darle prestigio a la institucin de donde se gradu. Ahora me encuentro realizando un postgrado en SEAS centro de formacion abierta en Redes y comunicacion. Gracias una vez mas."

Alfredo Eduardo Manuel Mingas (St. Tome Principe):

Bachelor Degree in International Relations

TESTIMONY: "As autoridades angolanas invalidaram todos os documentos acadmicos que atestam a concluso de formao graduada e ps-graduada na American World University. A deciso veem expressa no despacho n. 2477/13, assinado pelo Ministro do Ensino Superior. Um dos seus mais notveis estudantes em Angola e o actual embaxador de Angola em So Tom, Alfredo Mingas Eduardo Panda, que esteve a fazer um curso ligado a gesto de empresas na American World University, mudou-se depois para a Bircham International University, onde estudou Relaes internacionais."

Amon NGuessan Broutch Charles (Ivory Coast):

Certificate Degree in Petroleum Industry Management - course only

Certificate Degree in Diplomatic Relations

Certificate Degree in Cert. Total Quality Mgmt.

Master Degree in Executive Leadership

Certificate Degree in Business Administration

TESTIMONY: "Une bonne nouvelle: grace au "petroleum industry management" certificate, je commencea travallier BOLLORE AFRICALOGISTICS/OIL& GAS."

Andrew Austin (Ghana):

Master Degree in Management Information Systems

TESTIMONY: "Iam very happyto be part of Bircham University because of how organized things are and hope to personally meet you one day. I have benefited from my program and I have started introducingBircham University to my colleagues who are interested in upgrading themselves. It was my headache to leave my job to school because I needed its proceed to support myself my upgrade and Bircham University provided me with the solution. Thank you so much William for your personal motivation to work harder till the completion of my degree program."

Anton D. Buttigieg (Malta):

Doctor Ph.D. Degree in Information Technology

Cum Laude in Information Technology

TESTIMONY: "Talking from my personal experience, I had spent 4 months searching throughout the web for distance learning universities throughout the world. I was looking for flexibility, value for money, organization and professionalism. I found all these attributes in the Bircham University degree I pursued, through which I could read, study and write at my own pace, and balance my time between full-time work, study and my personal life, thereby practising time management and self discipline. I am doing my best to encourage my friends and colleagues to consider taking a Bircham University degree so that they may share the same rewarding experience as myself. Since graduating with Bircham University, I've never looked back and my career keeps on flourishing."

Balinda Manzi William (Rwanda):

Master Degree in Business Adminstration

TESTIMONY: "I'm very happy with your service. The diploma also looks very good. I will be your ambassador everywhere I will go."

Belmiro Figueiredo Cipriano (Angola):

Master Degree in Electrical Engineering

TESTIMONY: "Bircham University is having a great impact in my daily life. As a student at Bircham University I learned how to communicate efficiently and trust people that you do not see."

Birendra Nath Sikder (Bangladesh):

Doctor Ph.D. Degree in International Law

TESTIMONY: "Thank you BIU! Ministry of Youth & Sports from Bangladesh."

Blanca Elvia Narvez Rodriguez (U.S.A.):

Bachelor Degree in Psychology

Master Degree in Counseling Psychology

TESTIMONY: "Escribo esta nota para darle mis sinceros agradecimientos, pues he recibido la noticia de que fuiadmitida en la Universidad Leon, para estudiar la Maestria en Salud Mental y Bioetica. Pasare a contarle mis logros desde que empece a estudiar en Bircham International University.

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Graduate's Testimony - BIU HUMAN NETWORK

Motivation is the force that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviors. It is what causes us to take action, whether to grab a snack to reduce hunger or enroll in college to earn a degree. The forces that lie beneath motivation can be biological, social, emotional, or cognitive in nature.

Researchers have developed a number of different theories to explain motivation. Each individual theory tends to be rather limited in scope. However, by looking at the key ideas behind each theory, you can gain a better understanding of motivation as a whole.

According to instinct theories, people are motivated to behave in certain ways because they are evolutionarily programmed to do so. An example of this in the animal world is seasonal migration. These animals do not learn to do this, it is instead an inborn pattern of behavior.

William James created a list of human instincts that included such things as attachment, play, shame, anger, fear, shyness, modesty, and love. The main problem with this theory is that it did not really explain behavior, it just described it. By the 1920s, instinct theories were pushed aside in favor of other motivational theories, but contemporary evolutionary psychologists still study the influence of genetics and heredity on human behavior.

The incentive theory suggests that people are motivated to do things because of external rewards. For example, you might be motivated to go to work each day for the monetary reward of being paid. Behavioral learning concepts such as association and reinforcement play an important role in this theory of motivation.

According to the drive theory of motivation, people are motivated to take certain actions in order to reduce the internal tension that is caused by unmet needs. For example, you might be motivated to drink a glass of water in order to reduce the internal state of thirst.

This theory is useful in explaining behaviors that have a strong biological component, such as hunger or thirst. The problem with the drive theory of motivation is that these behaviors are not always motivated purely by physiological needs. For example, people often eat even when they are not really hungry.

The arousal theory of motivation suggests that people take certain actions to either decrease or increase levels of arousal. When arousal levels get too low, for example, a person might watch an exciting movie or go for a jog. When arousal levels get too high, on the other hand, a person would probably look for ways to relax such as meditating or reading a book. According to this theory, we are motivated to maintain an optimal level of arousal, although this level can vary based on the individual or the situation.

Humanistic theories of motivation are based on the idea that people also have strong cognitive reasons to perform various actions. This is famously illustrated in Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which presents different motivations at different levels. First, people are motivated to fulfill basic biological needs for food and shelter, as well as those of safety, love, and esteem. Once the lower level needs have been met, the primary motivator becomes the need for self-actualization, or the desire to fulfill one's individual potential.

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Theories of Motivation in Psychology