Medical ethnobotany of India

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_ethnobotany_of_India

The medical ethnobotany of India is the study of Indian medicinal plants and their traditional uses. Plants have been used in India for treatment of disease and health maintenance for thousands of years, and remain important staples of health and folk medicine for millions. Indians today utilize plants for both primary medical care (principally in Rural and undeserved areas) and as supplementary treatment alongside modern medical science. It is estimated that 70% of rural Indians use traditional plant based remedies for primary healthcare needs. This reliance of plants for medicine is consistent with trends widely observed in the developing world, where between 65% and 80% of people use medicinal plant remedies.

Herbal medicine in India is largely guided by folk medicine, both in codified cultural practices shared widely (Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani), and highly localized practices unique to individual tribes or tribal groups (Adivasi). Between 3,000 and 5,000 species of medicinal plants grow in India with roughly 1,000 threatened with extinction. Of these, more than 2,400 plant species have been documented for medicinal use.

Regions of India as described in Ethnobotany of India (2017), publication edited by T. Pullaiah, K.V. Krishnamurthy, & Bir Bahadur

Herbal Ayurveda

Ayurveda practitioners believe certain plants can restore balance distorted by disease. The vast majority (90%) of Ayurvedic remedies are plant based.

Although firmly rooted in folk medicine, Ayurvedic herbal remedies have been evaluated by laboratory and clinical studies to evaluate treatment efficacy. Some plants used in Ayurveda have biologically active secondary metabolites with potential value. Other remedies do not have established therapeutic value, and some may have deleterious health effects.

At least 700 plants have been identified from Ayurvedic medicinal systems. Although more than 12,000 Sanskrit plant names have been identified in classical Ayurvedic texts (including samhitas and nighantus) there is great difficulty in establishing exact botanical identities of many referenced species. Plants are prepared according to tradition, utilizing specific plant parts as indicated in historical texts. Ayurvedic belief stipulates that certain plant parts (e.g. leaf, flower, root) have specific properties key to treating disease.

Plant properties in Ayurveda

Ayurvedic medicine is guided by a complex set of cultural, religious, and textual practices. Despite diversity in its application and practice, it operates as a codified system of folk medicine with a coherent methodology. Broadly speaking, Ayurvedic practitioners evaluate plants for medical use by examining 5 purported physical and energetic properties:

1. Rasa - taste or "essence"- broadly categorized into sweet (madhura), sour (amla), salty (lavana), pungent (kaṭu), bitter (tikta) or astringent (kaṣaya).
2. Vīrya - effect on metabolism or body temperature
3. Vipāka - effects on digestion
4. Prabhāva - unique properties inherent to the plant
5. Karma - therapeutic action (e.g. digestive, stimulant, purgative)

Herbal Preparations in Ayurveda

Masala chai is a staple drink in Indian cuisine. The drink is prepared with a spice mixture (karha) and is widely believed to have health-sustaining benefits. Consumption of chai is not necessarily a part of Ayurveda, but is used in some traditional remedies.

Processing herbs

Ayurvedic practitioners process plants with the goal of enhancing absorption. Shelf life and ease of production are additional concerns in herbal preparations. Some common herbal preparations include herbal paste (kalka), powder (curna), decoction (kasaya), teas (phanta), jams (paka), medicated wines (arista), pills (vati), and herbal oils (taila).

Mixed herbal remedies and synergism

Ayurvedic treatments are usually mixtures of multiple herbs (polyherbal formulations). Ayurvedic practitioners believe that certain herbs, when combined, have complementary effects which can enhance treatment efficacy; this concept is called synergism. The Ayurvedic text Sarangdhar Samhita (c. 1300 AD) emphasizes the importance of synergism. One common Ayurvedic remedy (trikatu) is prepared by combining ginger, long pepper, and black pepper as an aid for digestion or gastric distress. Ayurvedic practitioners believe that such combinations can enhance absorption. A 2014 review proposed several mechanisms that may be the basis for therapeutic herbal synergism.

Safety and Medical Efficacy

Ayurvedic medicine and drug interactions

Herbal preparations in Ayurveda can impact the absorption (or bioavailability) of pharmaceuticals. Because Ayurveda is often used by practitioners to supplement conventional modern medicine, the interactive effects of Ayurvedic treatments can medically significant. For instance, medicinal plant remedies can interfere with the cytochrome enzyme system (CYP), a network of liver enzymes extremely important in drug metabolism. Inhibiting or potentiating CYP enzymes is the most common adverse effect of herbal remedies on medication absorption. Potentiation of CYP can cause medication activity to drop low beyond the point of therapeutic effect, while inhibition of the CYP system can cause medication levels to spike dangerously high.

Some Ayurvedic medicinal plants (Silybum marianum, Cannabis spp.) are CYP3A4 inhibitors. A commonly used antifungal medication, ketoconazole, is processed by the CYP3A4 enzyme. Use of this ketoconazole with any CYP3A4 inhibitor is potentially dangerous and a cause for medical concern. There are countless other herb-pharmaceutical interactions with potentially serious effects.

Responsible Ayurvedic practitioners must take into account how herbal medications can interact with other drugs, or even other concurrent consumed herbals.

Quality control

While some preparations may be of high quality, many herbal medicines and supplements are not subject to rigorous quality control. Herbal concoctions may contain little-to-nothing of the herb advertised, or may even be contaminated with heavy metals or other toxic substances. This is not an issue relegated to Ayurvedic practice, but is a global phenomenon, even in developed countries.

Recognizing the key importance of herbal medications to healthcare in the developing world, the World Health Organization (WHO) has proposed quality control mechanisms for marketed medicinal plant medicines, including Ayurveda. This includes DNA barcoding to ensure contents of herbal preparations match advertised/labelled species. An important milestone was reached in 2019, when 65% of WHO member states had a documented registration system for herbal medicines, a significant improvement over the previous two decades.

Research into efficacy

In 2021, a systemic review into Ayurvedic treatments for sinusitis determined the necessity of further rigorous clinical studies before conclusions about safety and efficacy could be reached. A major challenge in assessing Ayurvedic herbal medicines is substantial variation in quality between remedies. Multiple reviews on Ayurveda determined that standardization of quality and herbal contents is required for research. This includes research into herbal contents, therapeutic efficacy, chemical profiling of medicines, and identification of actual therapeutic modes of action (i.e., how the medicines actually work).

Another review found that Ayurvedic herbs could be the basis for research into neuroprotective compounds.

Ethnobotany by region

India is home to speakers of between 453 and 780 languages with many different cultures and subcultures present across 28 states and 8 union territories. This diversity is reflected in complex regional variation in the usage of herbal medicines. While Ayurveda and other elements of folk medicine are practiced nationally, the tribal peoples of India (Adivasi) have uses for medicinal plants unique to themselves or their geographic locale.

At least 50 million people belong to Adivasi communities, constituting at least 427 tribal groups (with some much higher estimates). Much regional variation in plant use can be attributed to the ethnobotany practiced by Adivasi in rural India. Local variations in climate, ecology, and culture determine the availability and use of medicinal plant species.

Eastern Ghats Range

The Kolli Hills region of the Eastern Ghats is a biodiversity-rich area with a number of species reportedly used as treatment for poisonous animal bites and stings. 34 plant species are used for snake bite alone.

The Eastern Ghat Mountain range begins in the state of Odisha, traveling south through Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, terminating finally in Tamil Nadu. The Eastern Ghats, and the accompanying western portion of the central Deccan plateau, are characterized by a tropical savanna climate. Severe dry seasons allow for a landscape dominated by grasslands with sparse trees (savanna ecosystem) or tropical deciduous forests.

The Irula people of Tamil Nadu are found in the Javadhu hills region of the Eastern Ghats. At least 57 plants species are used by the Irulas for medicinal purposes.

These mountains have been home to many tribal peoples since ancient times. In 2017, over 200 tribes were reported in the regions of the Eastern Ghats and Deccan plateau. A summary of ethnobotanical surveys identified 1,800 species of medicinal plants occurring in these regions of India, with 782 species actually used. Medicinal plants are used in codified indigenous healthcare practices, such as Ayurveda, as well as local practices unique to tribes or tribal groupings. Of the ethnic or tribal groups in this region, 54 are reported to utilize plants for their primary medical needs, though only 40 have been surveyed for exact plant species used.

Medicinal plant taxonomy

The 782 medicinal plants used in this region belong to 132 families. Overwhelmingly, identified plants belonged to the legume, dogbane, orchid, nightshade, and coffee families. Legumes (Fabaceae), the largest single family, accounted for 67 species. The most prolific genera were Cassia (Fabaceae) and Solanum (Solanaceae), each containing 11 species. By plant habit, utilized plants were herbs (41%), trees (24%), shrubs (22%) and lianas/vines (13%).

75 species of plants used for medicine in the region are unique to the Eastern Ghats.

Local plants and their uses

Of 782 utilized plants, only 28 species were used by all assessed tribal communities. Plant species were most frequently utilized for issues relating to the stomach and skin disease, with 120 species being used as primary treatments in either of these problem categories.

Abrus precatorius was the medicinal plant most widely cited in ethnobotanical surveys of the region. Although parts of the plant are extremely toxic and hazardous when ingested, leaves of this species are utilized for treatment of bronchitis, eczema, hepatitis, skin disease, gynecological disease and in treatment of venomous snake bites. Aegle marmelos, or Bael, is a tree with religious significance utilized for treatment of gastrointestinal and skin disease. Although used throughout India as a treatment for jaundice, the plant creat (Hindi: kaalmegha) (Andrographis paniculata) is used in the Eastern Ghats as an anti-malarial.

Tribal communities in this region are noted for the reverence paid to trees in religious practice.

Western Ghats and West Coast

Moist deciduous forest of the South Western Ghats

 

Montane rainforest in the south Western Ghats

 

Dry thorn scrub forests of the western Deccan Plateau

 

The Western Ghats and west coast contain diverse plant communities.

 

The Toda people of the Nilgiri sub range (Tamil Nadu) create traditional huts out of bamboo and rattan. The Toda use liverworts in the treatment of skin infections, including Marchantia and Lunularia species.

The Western Ghat Mountain range begins in the southeastern corner of Gujarat, traversing the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, and Kerala. The western portion of these mountains, and the accompanying coastal regions, receive among the highest annual rainfalls of any part of India.The Malabar coast (from Goa to the southernmost part of peninsular India) receives over 250 cm of rain annually. These areas are characterized by a tropical monsoon/tropical wet climate. Coastal areas and much of the mountain slopes contain tropical evergreen and moist deciduous forests, with rain forests in Kerala.

Because of the rain shadow effect, eastern slopes of the Western Ghats and the accompanying portions of the Deccan Plateau are very dry, receiving <40 cm a year. This dry area, affecting eastern Gujarat, Maharasthra, and Karnataka, is classified as semi-arid steppe climate. These areas are qualify as tropical thorny woodland and dry deciduous forest.

The Western Ghats region is a global biodiversity hotspot, with more than 1500 endemic plant species. Though only 5% of India's landmass, the region contains about a third of India's plant species. As many as 35% of plant species here are endemic.

Tribal agriculture has been practiced in the Western Ghats for 4000 years. Tribal communities are usually focused in mountain areas, though some live in lowlands not far from cities, with at least 40 indigenous groups identified. Ethnobotanical surveys have found 2100 medicinal plants growing in this region, with at least 1116 used locally.

At least 50 medicinal plants unique to the Western Ghats and west coast region are threatened with extinction.

Medicinal plant taxonomy

A 2017 survey found 31 species of shrubs and herbaceous plants used for purported anti-malarial properties. These plants belong to 23 different families, the most important being the legume (4 species), mint (3 species), coffee (2 species) and nightshade (2 species) families.

Local plants and their uses

104 plant species are used for treatment of fevers and malaria (inclusive of the 31 species specifically used for malaria).

Northeast India

The Dzüko Valley on the border of Nagaland and Manipur.

 

Rainforest ecosystem in Assam (at the Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary).

Northeast India (officially North Eastern Region, NER) is a complex region of eight Indian states and 45 million people. The region borders five countries: Nepal, Bhutan, China (Tibetan Autonomous Region), Myanmar, and Bangladesh. Geographically, Northeast India is bounded on the north by Eastern Himalayan mountains, the east by the Purvanchal/Patkai mountain ranges, and the southwest by the Gangetic plain. The northernmost states of Sikkim and Aryunachal Pradesh are formed by Himalayan valleys. The rugged eastern states (Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram) are formed by the Patkai mountains and a series of steep hill ranges. Likewise, Meghalaya is a hilly state stretching across the northern border of Bangladesh. Assam is largely the river valley of the broad Bramaputra river.

A euphorb plant venerated in the worship of Shiva (state of Assam). This plant is considered holy by the Boro people, the largest scheduled tribe of NER.

Climatically, Northeast India is largely defined by a subtropical climate with massive annual rainfalls. The flat sweep of the Gangetic plain ending in the Himalayas ensures that monsoons are particularly intense; the state of Meghalaya receives more rain than anywhere else on earth (>1200 cm per year).

Northeast India is one of the most ethnically diverse regions in the world. These states contain 130 tribes with 300 distinct subtribes, over 200 ethnic groups, and 220 spoken languages. Many of India's tribal peoples are concentrated here, with the hilly states of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland being 90% Adivasi by population. The largest state by population, Assam contains 30 million people, of which a minority are Adivasi.

At least 4,000 plant species have been documented in Northeast India with others likely undiscovered. The region is among the most biodiverse in India, containing half of all Indian species diversity and more than 25% of Indian endemic plants. 1,953 plants are used by tribal peoples of this region, accounting for 80% of all ethnomedicinal plants documented in India.

Medicinal plant taxonomy

At least 37 members of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae) have been identified as medicinal plants in NER, 88% of which were found in Arunachal Pradesh. A 2012 survey found the Dimasa tribe (Assam) used non-flowering plants like ferns and cycads. NER has over 80 species of Rhododendron, with multiple documented ethnomedicinal uses.

Local plants and their uses

Because NER is one of the most ethnically and botanically diverse places on the planet, broadly characterizing the utilization of medicinal plants here is difficult. Research into the indigenous use of plants in NER has been conducted since the 1970s. One of the most widely cited species in surveys, Ageratum conyzoides (flowers, leaves, roots and whole plant) is used for throat pain, helminth infections, arthritis, fever, malaria treatment, dysentery, and liver disease. Studies have identified this plant as carcinogenic. Mimosa pudica (sensitive plant) is used as treatment for skin infections, helminths, urological disease, toothaches and as a contraceptive. The rhizome of Acorus calamus (calamus, or Vacā in Sanskrit) is documented as a treatment for cough, cold, snake bite, asthma, rheumatic fever, and hemorrhoids. Though calamus is used in NER folk medicine (and in Ayurveda), this plant is considered extremely carcinogenic. Andrographis paniculata has been cited for use in stomach pain, malaria, and jaundice. Another plant widely referenced in ethnobotanical surveys, Callicarpa arborea is used for skin disease, leukorrhea, and treating scorpion stings.

The Meithei Manipuri people produce herbal vapors for the treatment of 41 diseases, using both single plant species and multi-species concoctions. Rhododendron arboretum is used to treat diarrhea, dysentery, throat pain, headaches, and fish bones stuck in throat.

Western Himalayas

Thenu village in Himachal Pradesh. Photo by Timothy Gonsalves (2016)

The Western Himalayas region consists of the states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and the union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. The Central (Great) Himalayas are mostly within Nepal though a portion lie within Uttarkand. These states forms part of the foothills of the largest mountains on earth. Climatically, much of the region is defined by a polar or tundra type climate, but southern portions of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are humid subtropical. Vegetation includes alpine shrubs and meadows, subalpine conifer forests, Himalyan broadleaf dry forests, and subtropical deciduous and pine forests. A portion of dry grassland (the Bhabar) is found in lower Uttarakhand. Predominant trees include chir pine, blue pine, deodar, fir, and juniper.

There is substantial ethnic diversity in this region. At the broadest level, these Himalayan regions contain Indic, Tibetan-Burman, and Afghan-Persian speaking peoples.

In the Western Himalayas, Ladakh contains the nomadic mountain Changpas with agricultural Laddakhis, Dardi, and Balti peoples inhabiting valleys. Kashmir Valley (Jammu & Kashmir) and the Pirpanjal valley (Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh) are inhabited by Kashmiris, Gujjars, and Bakkarwal peoples. The Central Himalayas (Uttarakhand) contain the agirucltural Paharis in valley regions and the Tibetan-speaking Bhotiya peoples in the mountains. The Paharis are a diverse group are also found in Kashmir.

Between 4,000 and 5,000 plants are reported in the Western and Central Himalayas. Surveys have identified 1,338 medicinal plant species specifically from the state of Uttarakhand, 948 species from Jammu & Kashmir, and 643 species from Himachal Pradesh.

Medicinal plant taxonomy

A review found 109 different families of medicinal plants in the former state of Jammu & Kashmir.

Local plants and their uses

Plants in this region most frequently used in medicinal preparations include Terminalia chebula, Terminlia bellirica, Emblica officinalis, Glycyrrhiza glabra (liquorice), Justicia adhatoda, Withania somnifera, and Cyperus rotundus.

The rhizome Curcuma domestica (turmeric) is used for cuts, burns, and scalds. Fruits of the Piper nigrum species (black pepper) are popularly used for colds and coughs. The fruits from Trachyspermum ammi (ajawain) and plants from the genus Ferula are commonly used to treat gastrointenstinal disorders and in some cases, whooping cough.

Indo-Gangetic Region and central India

The Indo-Gangetic plain is a flat arc dominating much of Northern India as well as Bangladesh. More than 400 million people live in an area of 700,000 km², making it one of the most densely population regions on earth.

The Indo-Gangetic Region and central Indian region consists of the 13 states of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkand, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Chandigarh. These are the most populous region of India, with a combined total of almost 900 million people. Geographically, the area is defined by Outer Himalays (Siwalik Mountains) to the north, the sprawling Indo-Gangetic plain in the middle, and the more rugged central India. Central India consists of hills, a portion of the Deccan plateau, and the Aravalli and Satpura mountains. Flat coastal predominates in most of West Bengal. The Western border with Pakistan features the Thar desert, more than half of which lies within Rajasthan.

The dense population of the Indo-Gangetic Region ensures that much of the land is taken up sprawling urban areas and intensive agriculture. The region is climatically diverse, featuring desert, semi-arid areas, coastal areas and the central plain. Multiple forest ecosystems are found here, including tropical wet, tropical moist deciduous forests, tropical semi-evergreen, dry deciduous, and tropical thorn forests in the northern Deccan, Gangetic plains, and in semi-arid regions.

The vast majority of the people are speakers of Hindi languages. Some 90 scheduled tribes are found in these 13 states, including the Bhil and Gond peoples, the two largest Adivasi groups in India, together making up 70% of all members of scheduled tribes. Other tribes surveyed for medicinal plants include the Baiga, Bharia, Halba, Kaul, Korku, Maria, and Sahariya peoples.

Around half of the flowering plants of India are found in these states (11,000-12,000 species). A 2017 survey identified 528 plant species used for medicine in this region. Another study records 610 species used by the tribal people of Rajasthan alone, though this includes food and shelter plants.

Medicinal plant taxonomy

The 528 medicinal plants used in this region belong to 112 families, the most important being the legume (74 species), mallow (30 species), Asteraceae (29 species), mint (24 species), and dogbane (21 species) families.

Local plants and their uses

Leaves are the plant part most frequently utilized. Azadirachta indica is a frequently cited species in ethnobotanical surveys, and used for the most diverse array of treatments. Local uses include treatment for snake bite, scorpion stings, skin disease, wounds, malaria, eczema, diabetes, even leprosy and tuberculosis.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

The island of Bompuka, part of the Nicobar islands (2012, photograph by Arne Müseler).

 

Andamanese family (2006)

The Andaman and Nicboar Islands are a union territory located southeast of continental India, consisting of two island chains. These islands have a tropical wet/monsoon climate with tropical rainforest vegetation. The more northerly Andaman Islands have some mixed deciduous forest, with a landscape of steep hills and valleys. Though dominated by a unique rainforest ecosystem, some Nicobar Islands are predominantly grassland and mangrove forests are found throughout coastal areas of both island chains. The islands are home to at least 2650 species of vascular plants and 150 plant families, with around 300 endemic species.

The indigenous inhabitants of the Andaman islands, the Andamanese, number in total less than 500 people. Surviving tribes include the Great Andamanese, the Jarawa, the Onge, and the Sentinelese. The majority of the population is now constituted of people from the Indian mainland (Tamil, Telugu, Oriya, Malayali, North Indian) as well as Bengali and Malayali peoples. Some 2000 Karen people inhabit the city of Mayabunder in Middle Andaman island.

The Nicobarese consist of some 22,000 people who share ancestry with Southeast Asians. On the island of Great Nicobar, the Nichobarese share the island with the Shompen people, a semi-nomadic tribe of hunter-gatherers confined to the island interior. About 200 Shompen people have been documented.

A 2009 study documented 289 plant species used for medicinal purposes by the indigenous peoples of both the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Another study found 150 plant species used for 47 unique treatments by the people of Car Nicobar, the northernmost Nicobar island.

Medicinal plant taxonomy

Local plants and their uses

The indigenous Andamanese have lived a mixed agricultural/hunter-gatherer lifestyle for tens of thousands of years. Food crops consist of rice, coconuts, area, fruit, palm oil and cashews. Tumeric is an important spice used both in medicine and in cooking. The Great Andamanese chew and spray leaves of Polyalthia jenkinsii in order to deter bee attacks during honey gathering.

Alstonia macrophylla is the plant most widely cited from ethnobotanical studies of both island chains.The bark, root, and leaves of this tree are used in the treatment of fever, gastric disorders, swelling, bone fractures, urinary tract infections, and skin diseases. Ocimum sanctum (Holy Basil) is documented as a plant used for cough and cold treatment. The ginger plant Zingiber squarrosum has petioles that are chewed to relieve thirst.

Work motivation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_motivation

Work motivation "is a set of energetic forces that originate both within as well as beyond an individual's being, to initiate work-related behavior, and to determine its form, direction, intensity, and duration." Understanding what motivates an organization's employees is central to the study of I–O psychology. Motivation is a person's internal disposition to be concerned with and approach positive incentives and avoid negative incentives. To further this, an incentive is the anticipated reward or aversive event available in the environment. While motivation can often be used as a tool to help predict behavior, it varies greatly among individuals and must often be combined with ability and environmental factors to actually influence behavior and performance. Results from a 2012 study, which examined age-related differences in work motivation, suggest a "shift in people's motives" rather than a general decline in motivation with age. That is, it seemed that older employees were less motivated by extrinsically related features of a job, but more by intrinsically rewarding job features. Work motivation is strongly influenced by certain cultural characteristics. Between countries with comparable levels of economic development, collectivist countries tend to have higher levels of work motivation than do countries that tend toward individualism. Similarly measured, higher levels of work motivation can be found in countries that exhibit a long versus a short-term orientation. Also, while national income is not itself a strong predictor of work motivation, indicators that describe a nation's economic strength and stability, such as life expectancy, are. Work motivation decreases as a nation's long-term economic strength increases. Currently work motivation research has explored motivation that may not be consciously driven. This method goal setting is referred to as goal priming. Effects of primed subconscious goals in addition to goals that are consciously set related to job performance have been studied by Stajkovic, Latham, Sergent, and Peterson, who conducted research on a CEO of a for-profit business organization using goal priming to motivate job performance. Goal priming refers to the achievement of a goal by external cues given. These cues can affect information processing and behaviour the pursuit of this goal. In this study, the goal was primed by the CEO using achievement related words strategy placed in emails to employees. This seemingly small gesture alone not only cost the CEO very little money, but it increased objectively measured performance efficiency by 35% and effectiveness by 15% over the course of a 5-day work week. There has been controversy about the true efficacy of this work as to date, only four goal priming experiments have been conducted. However, the results of these studies found support for the hypothesis that primed goals do enhance performance in a for-profit business organization setting.

It is important for organizations to understand and to structure the work environment to encourage productive behaviors and discourage those that are unproductive given work motivation's role in influencing workplace behavior and performance. Motivational systems are at the center of behavioral organization. Emmons states, “Behavior is a discrepancy-reduction process, whereby individuals act to minimize the discrepancy between their present condition and a desired standard or goal” (1999, p. 28).  If we look at this from the standpoint of how leaders can motivate their followers to enhance their performance, participation in any organization involves exercising choice; a person chooses among alternatives, responding to the motivation to perform or ignore what is offered. This suggests that a follower's consideration of personal interests and the desire to expand knowledge and skill has significant motivational impact, requiring the leader to consider motivating strategies to enhance performance. There is general consensus that motivation involves three psychological processes: arousal, direction, and intensity. Arousal is what initiates action. It is fueled by a person's need or desire for something that is missing from their lives at a given moment, either totally or partially. Direction refers to the path employees take in accomplishing the goals they set for themselves. Finally, intensity is the vigor and amount of energy employees put into this goal-directed work performance. The level of intensity is based on the importance and difficulty of the goal. These psychological processes result in four outcomes. First, motivation serves to direct attention, focusing on particular issues, people, tasks, etc. It also serves to stimulate an employee to put forth effort. Next, motivation results in persistence, preventing one from deviating from the goal-seeking behavior. Finally, motivation results in task strategies, which as defined by Mitchell & Daniels, are "patterns of behavior produced to reach a particular goal.

Theories

A number of various theories attempt to describe employee motivation within the discipline of industrial and organizational psychology. At the macro level, work motivation can be categorized into two types, endogenous process (individual, cognitive) theories and exogenous cause (environmental) theories. Many theories fit simply into one type, but hybrid types such as self-determination theory attempt to account for both. It can be helpful to further divide theories into the four broad categories of need-based, cognitive process, behavioral, and job-based.

Need-based theories

Need-based theories of motivation focus on an employee's drive to satisfy a variety of needs through their work. These needs range from basic physiological needs for survival to higher psychoemotional needs like belonging and self-actualization.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Further information: Maslow's hierarchy of needs

 

An interpretation of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, represented as a pyramid with the more basic needs at the bottom.

Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (1943) was applied to offer an explanation of how the work environment motivates employees. In accordance with Maslow's theory, which was not specifically developed to explain behavior in the workplace, employees strive to satisfy their needs in a hierarchical order.

At the most basic level, an employee is motivated to work in order to satisfy basic physiological needs for survival, such as having enough money to purchase food. The next level of need in the hierarchy is safety, which could be interpreted to mean adequate housing or living in a safe neighborhood. The next three levels in Maslow's theory relate to intellectual and psycho-emotional needs: love and belonging, esteem (which refers to competence and mastery), and finally the highest order need, self-actualization.

Although Maslow's theory is widely known, in the workplace it has proven to be a poor predictor of employee behavior. Maslow theorized that people will not seek to satisfy a higher level need until their lower level needs are met. There has been little empirical support for the idea that employees in the workplace strive to meet their needs only in the hierarchical order prescribed by Maslow.

Building on Maslow's theory, Clayton Alderfer (1959) collapsed the levels in Maslow's theory from five to three: existence, relatedness and growth. This theory, called the ERG theory, does not propose that employees attempt to satisfy these needs in a strictly hierarchical manner. Empirical support for this theory has been mixed.

Need for achievement

Atkinson & McClelland's Need for Achievement Theory is the most relevant and applicable need-based theory in the I–O psychologist's arsenal. Unlike other need-based theories, which try to interpret every need, Need for Achievement allows the I–O psychologist to concentrate research into a tighter focus. Studies show those who have a high need for achievement prefer moderate levels of risk, seek feedback, and are likely to immerse themselves in their work. Achievement motivation can be broken down into three types:

• Achievement – seeks position advancement, feedback, and sense of accomplishment
• Authority – need to lead, make an impact and be heard by others
• Affiliation – need for friendly social interactions and to be liked.

Because most individuals have a combination of these three types (in various proportions), an understanding of these achievement motivation characteristics can be a useful assistance to management in job placement, recruitment, etc.

The theory is referred to as Need for Achievement because these individuals are theorized to be the most effective employees and leaders in the workplace. These individuals strive to achieve their goals and advance in the organization. They tend to be dedicated to their work and strive hard to succeed. Such individuals also demonstrate a strong desire for increasing their knowledge and for feedback on their performance, often in the form of performance appraisal .

The Need for Achievement is in many ways similar to the need for mastery and self-actualization in Maslow's hierarchy of needs and growth in the ERG theory. The achievement orientation has garnered more research interest as compared to the need for affiliation or power.

Cognitive process theories

Equity theory

Further information: Equity theory

Equity Theory is derived from social exchange theory. It explains motivation in the workplace as a cognitive process of evaluation, whereby the employee seeks to achieve a balance between inputs or efforts in the workplace and the outcomes or rewards received or anticipated.

In particular, Equity Theory research has tested employee sentiments regarding equitable compensation. Employee inputs take the form of work volume and quality, performance, knowledge, skills, attributes and behaviors. The company-generated outcomes include rewards such as compensation, praise and advancement opportunities. The employee compares their inputs relative to outcomes; and, then, extrapolating to the social context, the employee compares their input/outcome ratio with the perceived ratios of others. If the employee perceives an inequity, the theory posits that the employee will adjust their behavior to bring things into balance.

Equity Theory has proven relevance in situations where an employee is under-compensated. If an employee perceives that they are under-compensated, they can adjust their behavior to achieve equilibrium in several different ways:

• reduce input to a level they believe better matches their level of compensation
• change or adjust the comparative standard to which they are comparing their situation
• cognitively adjust their perception of their inputs or the outcomes received
• withdraw
• ask their employer for increased compensation
• engage in employee theft

If the employee is able to achieve a ratio of inputs to outputs that they perceive to be equitable, then the employee will be satisfied. The employee's evaluation of input-to-output ratios and subsequent striving to achieve equilibrium is an ongoing process.

While it has been established that Equity Theory provides insight into scenarios of under-compensation, the theory has generally failed to demonstrate its usefulness in understanding scenarios of overcompensation. In this way, it could be said Equity Theory is more useful in describing factors that contribute to a lack of motivation rather than increasing motivation in the workplace. Concepts of organizational justice later expanded upon the fundamentals of Equity Theory and pointed to the importance of fairness perceptions in the workplace.

There are four fairness perceptions applied to organizational settings:

1. Distributive justice, or the perception of equality of an individual's outcomes
2. Procedural justice, or the fairness of the procedures used to determine one's outcomes
3. Interactional justice, or the perception that one has been treated fairly with dignity and respect
4. Informational Justice, or the perception that one has been given all the information one needs in order to best perform their jobs

When workplace processes are perceived as fair, the benefits to an organization can be high. In such environments, employees are more likely to comply with policies even if their personal outcome is less than optimal. When workplace policies are perceived as unfair, risks for retaliation and related behaviors such as sabotage and workplace violence can increase.

Leventhal (1980) described six criteria for creating fair procedures in an organization. He proposed that procedures and policies should be:

1. consistently applied to everyone in the organization
2. free from bias
3. accurate
4. correctable
5. representative of all concerns
6. based on prevailing ethics

Expectancy theory

Further information: Expectancy theory

According to Vroom's Expectancy Theory, an employee will work smarter and/or harder if they believe their additional efforts will lead to valued rewards. Expectancy theory explains this increased output of effort by means of the equation

F = E (Σ I × V)

whereas: F (Effort or Motivational Force) = Effort the employee will expend to achieve the desired performance;
E (Expectancy) = Belief that effort will result in desired level of performance;
I (Instrumentality) = Belief that desired level of performance will result in desired outcome;
V (Valence) = Value of the outcome to the employee

Expectancy theory has been shown to have useful applications in designing a reward system. If policies are consistently, clearly and fairly implemented, then the instrumentality would be high. If the rewards are substantial enough to be meaningful to an employee, then the valence would be also considered high. A precursor to motivation is that the employee finds the reward(s) attractive. In some instances, the reward or outcome might inadvertently be unattractive, such as increased workload or demanding travel that may come with a promotion. In such an instance, the valence might be lower for individuals who feel work–life balance is important, for example.

Expectancy theory posits employee satisfaction to be an outcome of performance rather than the cause of performance. However, if a pattern is established whereas an employee understands his performance will lead to certain desired rewards, an employee's motivation can be strengthened based on anticipation. If the employees foresee a high probability that they can successfully carry out a desired behavior, and that their behavior will lead to a valued outcome, then they will direct their efforts toward that end.

Expectancy theory has been shown to have greater validity in research in within-subject designs rather than between-subjects designs. That is, it is more useful in predicting how an employee might choose among competing choices for their time and energy, rather than predicting the choices two different employees might make.

Goal-setting theory

See also: Goal setting

An I–O psychologist can assist an employer in designing task-related goals for their employees that are

• attainable
• specific
• appropriately difficult,
• feedback providing

in hopes of rousing tunnel vision focus in the employees. Following S.M.A.R.T criteria is also suggested.

Letter	Major Term	Minor Terms
S	Specific	Significant, Stretching, Simple
M	Measurable	Meaningful, Motivational, Manageable
A	Attainable	Appropriate, Achievable, Agreed, Assignable, Actionable, Ambitious, Aligned, Aspirational, Acceptable, Action-focused
R	Relevant	Results-oriented, Realistic, Resourced, Resonant
T	Timely	Time-oriented, Time framed, Timed, Time-based, Timeboxed, Time-bound, Time-Specific, Timetabled, Time limited, Trackable, Tangible

Studies have shown both feedback from the employer and self-efficacy (belief in one's capabilities to achieve a goal) within the employee must be present for goal-setting to be effective. However, because of the tunnel vision focus created by goal-setting theory, several studies have shown this motivational theory may not be applicable in all situations. In fact, in tasks that require creative on-the-spot improvising, goal-setting can even be counterproductive. Furthermore, because clear goal specificity is essential to a properly designed goal-setting task, multiple goals can create confusion for the employee and the result is a muted overall drive. Despite its flaws, Goal-setting Theory is arguably the most dominant theory in the field of I–O psychology; over one thousand articles and reviews published in just over thirty years.

Locke suggested several reasons why goals are motivating: they direct attention, lead to task persistence and the development of task strategies for accomplishing the goal. In order for a goal to be motivating, the employee or work group must first accept the goal. While difficult goals can be more motivating, a goal still needs to appear achievable, which in turn will lead to greater goal acceptance. The person or group should have the necessary skills and resources to achieve the goal, or goal acceptance could be negatively impacted. Specific goals that set a performance expectation are more motivating than those that are vague. Similarly, more proximal goals have greater motivation impact than those that are very long range or distal goals.

There are three types of factors that influence goal commitment:

• External- The external factors that affect it are authority, peer influence and external rewards. Complying with the dictates of an authority figure such as boss has been shown to be an inducement to high goal commitment. Goal commitment increases when the authority figure is physically present, supportive, pay increases, peer pressure and external rewards.
• Interactive- The factors that influence commitment here are competition and the opportunity to participate in setting goals. It has been shown to be an inducement to setting higher goals and working harder to reach them.
• Internal- these come from self-administered rewards and the expectation of success. The commitment decreases when the expectation to achieve is decreased.

From: Psychology and Work Today by Schultz and Schultz.

Feedback while the employee or group is striving for the goal is seen as crucial. Feedback keeps employees on track and reinforces the importance of the goal as well as supporting the employees in adjusting their task strategies.

Goal-setting Theory has strong empirical support dating back thirty years. However, there are some boundary conditions that indicate in some situations, goal-setting can be detrimental to performance on certain types of tasks. Goals require a narrowing of one's focus, so for more complex or creative tasks, goals can actually inhibit performance because they demand cognitive resources. Similarly, when someone is learning a new task, performance-related goals can distract from the learning process. During the learning process, it may be better to focus on mastering the task than achieving a particular result. Finally, too many goals can become distracting and counterproductive, especially if they conflict with one another.

Social cognitive theory

Further information: Social cognitive theory

Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory is another cognitive process theory that offers the important concept of self-efficacy for explaining employee's level of motivation relative to workplace tasks or goals. Self-efficacy is an individual's belief in their ability to achieve results in a given scenario. Empirically, studies have shown a strong correlation between self-efficacy and performance. The concept has been extended to group efficacy, which is a group's belief that it can achieve success with a given task or project.

Self-efficacy is seen to mediate important aspects of how an employee undertakes a given task, such as the level of effort and persistence. An employee with high self-efficacy is confident that effort they put forth has a high likelihood of resulting in success. In anticipation of success, an employee is willing to put forth more effort, persist longer, remain focused on the task, seek feedback and choose more effective task strategies.

The antecedents of self-efficacy may be influenced by expectations, training or past experience and requires further research. It has been shown that setting high expectations can lead to improved performance, known as the Pygmalion effect. Low expectations can lower self-efficacy and is referred to as the golem effect.

Relative to training, a mastery-oriented approach has been shown to be an effective way to bolster self-efficacy. In such an approach, the goal of training is to focus on mastering skills or tasks rather than focusing on an immediate performance-related outcome. Individuals who believe that mastery can be achieved through training and practice are more likely to develop greater self-efficacy than those who see mastery as a product of inherent talent than is largely immutable.

Major concepts of Social Cognitive Theory correlated with the effect of individual behavior change:

• Self-efficacy, or an individual's confidence in accomplishing a behavior
• Behavioral capability, or knowledge and skill to execute a behavior
• Expectations, or anticipation of outcomes of a behavior
• Expectancies, or giving values to the outcome of behavior change
• Self-control, or regulating behavior or performance
• Observational learning, or watching the actions and outcomes performed by others
• Reinforcements, or encouraging motivations and rewards to promote behavior change

Behavioral approach to motivation

The behavioral approach to workplace motivation is known as Organizational Behavioral Modification. This approach applies the tenets of behaviorism developed by B.F. Skinner to promote employee behaviors that an employer deems beneficial and discourage those that are not.

Any stimulus that increases the likelihood of a behavior increasing is a reinforcer. An effective use of positive reinforcement would be frequent praise while an employee is learning a new task. An employee's behavior can also be shaped during the learning process if approximations of the ideal behavior are praised or rewarded. The frequency of reinforcement is an important consideration. While frequent praise during the learning process can be beneficial, it can be hard to sustain indefinitely.

A variable-ratio schedule of reinforcement, where the frequency of reinforcement varies unpredictably, also can be highly effective if used in instances where it is ethical to do so. Providing praise on a variable-ratio schedule would be appropriate, whereas paying an employee on an unpredictable variable-ratio schedule would not be.

Compensation and other reward programs provide behavioral reinforcement, and if carefully crafted, can provide powerful incentives to employees. Behavioral principles can also be used to address undesirable behaviors in the workplace, but punishment should be used judiciously. If overused, punishment can negatively impact employee's perception of fairness in the workplace.

In general, the less time that elapses between a behavior and its consequence, the more impactful a consequence is likely to be.

Job-based theories

The job-based theories hold that the key to motivation is within an employee's job itself. Generally, these theories say that jobs can be motivating by their very design. This is a particularly useful view for organizations, because the practices set out in the theories can be implemented more practically in an organization. Ultimately, according to the job-based theories, the key to finding motivation through one's job is being able to derive satisfaction from the job content.

Motivation–hygiene theory

Main article: Two-factor theory

Herzberg's Motivation–Hygiene Theory holds that the content of a person's job is the primary source of motivation. In other words, he argued against the commonly held belief that money and other compensation is the most effective form of motivation to an employee. Instead, Herzberg posed that high levels of what he dubbed hygiene factors (pay, job security, status, working conditions, fringe benefits, job policies, and relations with co-workers) could only reduce employee dissatisfaction (not create satisfaction). Motivation factors (level of challenge, the work itself, responsibility, recognition, advancement, intrinsic interest, autonomy, and opportunities for creativity) however, could stimulate satisfaction within the employee, provided that minimum levels of the hygiene factors were reached. For an organization to take full advantage of Herzberg's theory, they must design jobs in such a way that motivators are built in, and thus are intrinsically rewarding. While the Motivation–Hygiene Theory was the first to focus on job content, it has not been strongly supported through empirical studies. Frederick Herzberg also came up with the concept of job enrichment, which expands jobs to give employees a greater role in planning, performing, and evaluating their work, thus providing the chance to satisfy their motivators needs. Some suggested ways would be to remove some management control, provide regular and continuously feedback. Proper job enrichment, therefore, involves more than simply giving the workers extra tasks to perform. It means expanding the level of knowledge and skills needed to perform the job.

Job characteristics theory

Shortly after Herzberg's Two-factor theory, Hackman and Oldham contributed their own, more refined, job-based theory; Job characteristic theory (JCT). JCT attempts to define the association between core job dimensions, the critical psychological states that occur as a result of these dimensions, the personal and work outcomes, and growth-need strength. Core job dimensions are the characteristics of a person's job. The core job dimensions are linked directly to the critical psychological states. The Job Characteristics Model (JCM), as designed by Hackman and Oldham attempts to use job design to improve employee intrinsic motivation. They show that any job can be described in terms of five key job characteristics:

According to the JCT, an organization that provides workers with sufficient levels of skill variety (using different skills and talents in performing work), task identity (contributing to a clearly identifiable larger project), and task significance (impacting the lives or work of other people) is likely to have workers who feel their work has meaning and value. Sufficiently high levels of autonomy (independence, freedom and discretion in carrying out the job) will inspire the worker to feel responsibility for the work; and sufficiently high levels of Task Feedback (receiving timely, clear, specific, detailed, actionable information about the effectiveness of their job performance) will inspire the worker to feel the organization is authentically interested in helping to foster their professional development and growth. The combined effect of these psychological states results in desired personal and work outcomes: intrinsic motivation, job satisfaction, performance quality, low absenteeism, and low turnover rate.

Lastly, the glue of this theory is the "growth-need strength" factor which ultimately determines the effectiveness of the core job dimensions on the psychological states, and likewise the effectiveness of the critical psychological states on the affective outcomes. Further analysis of Job Characteristics Theory can be found in the Work Design section below.

Hackman and Oldman created the Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS) which measures three parts of their theory.

1. Employees views of the job characteristics
2. The level of growth needed by each employee
3. Employees overall job satisfaction

JDS is the most frequently and commonly used tool to measure job and work design. JDS is a self-report which has small detailed phrases for the different job characteristics. An employee will be asked to fill out the JDS and rate how precise each statement describes their job. 

Self-regulation theory

A theory based in self-efficacy, Self Regulation is "A theory of motivation based on the setting of goals and the receipt of accurate feedback that is monitored to enhance the likelihood of goal attainment". It is presumed that people consciously set goals for themselves that guide and direct their behavior toward the attainment of these goals. These people also engage in self-monitoring or self-evaluation. Self-evaluation can be helped along if feedback is given when a person is working on their goals because it can align how a person feels about how they are doing to achieve a goal and what they are actually doing to achieve their goals. In short, feedback provides an "error" message that a person who is off-track can reevaluate their goal.

This theory has been linked to Goal setting and Goal Setting Theory, which has been mentioned above.

Work engagement

See also: Work engagement and Flow (psychology)

A new approach to work motivation is the idea of Work Engagement or "A conception of motivation whereby individuals are physically immersed in emotionally and intellectually fulfilling work." This theory draws on many aspects of I/O Psychology. This theory proposes that motivation taps into energy where it allows a person to focus on a task. According to Schaufeli and Bakker there are three dimensions to work engagement.

• Vigor- a sense of personal energy for work
• Dedication- experiencing a sense of pride in one's work and challenge from it
• Absorption- The Capacity to be engrossed in work and experiencing a sense of flow.

Work Engagement forwards the notion that individuals have the ability to contribute more to their own productivity than organizations typically allow. An example would be to allow workers to take some risks and not punish them if the risks leads to unsuccessful outcomes. "In short, work engagement can be thought of as an interaction of individuals and work. Engagement can occur when both facilitate each other, and engagement will not occur when either (or both) thwarts each other." Some critics of work engagement say that this is nothing new, just "old wine in a new bottle."

Applications of motivation

Organizational reward systems

Organizational reward systems have a significant impact on employees' level of motivation. Rewards can be either tangible or intangible. Various forms of pay, such as salary, commissions, bonuses, employee ownership programs and various types of profit or gain sharing programs, are all important tangible rewards. While fringe benefits have a positive impact on attraction and retention, their direct impact on motivation and performance is not well-defined.

Salaries play a crucial role in the tangible reward system. They are an important factor in attracting new talent to an organization as well as retaining talent. Compensating employees well is one way for an organization to reinforce an employee's value to the organization. If an organization is known for paying their employees top dollar, then they may develop a positive reputation in the job market as a result.

Through incentive compensation structures, employees can be guided to focus their attention and efforts on certain organizational goals. The goals that are reinforced through incentive pay should be carefully considered to make sure they are in alignment with the organizational objectives. If there are multiple rewards programs, it is important to consider if there might be any conflicting goals. For example, individual and team-based rewards can sometime work at cross-purposes.

Important forms of intangible rewards include praise, recognition and rewards. Intangible rewards are ones from which an employee does not derive any material gain. Such rewards have the greatest impact when they soon follow the desired behavior and are closely tied to the performance. If an organization wants to use praise or other intangible rewards effectively, praise should be offered for a high level of performance and for things that they employee has control over. Some studies have shown that praise can be as effective as tangible rewards.

Other forms of intangible performance include status symbols, such as a corner office, and increased autonomy and freedom. Increased autonomy demonstrates trust in an employee, may decrease occupational stress and improve job satisfaction. A 2010 study found positive relationships between job satisfaction and life satisfaction, happiness at work, positive affect, and the absence of negative affect which may also be interrelated with work motivation. Since it may be hard for an employee to achieve a similar level of trust in a new organization, increased autonomy may also help improve retention.

Motivation through design of work

Reward-based systems are certainly the more common practice for attempting to influence motivation within an organization, but some employers strive to design the work itself to be more conducive. There are multiple ways an organization can leverage job design principles to increase motivation. Three of the predominant approaches will be discussed here: the Humanistic Approach, the Job Characteristics Approach, and the Interdisciplinary Approach.

Humanistic Approach

The Humanistic Approach to job design was a reaction to "worker dissatisfaction over Scientific Management" and focused on providing employees with more input and an opportunity to maximize their personal achievement as referenced by Jex and Britt. Jobs should also provide intellectual stimulation, opportunities for creativity, and greater discretion over work-related activities. Two approaches used in the Humanistic Approach to job design are job rotation and job enrichment. Job rotation allows employees to switch to different jobs which allows them to learn new skills and provides them with greater variety. According to Jex and Britt, this would be most effective for simple jobs that can become mundane and boring over time. Job enrichment is focused on leveraging those aspects of jobs that are labeled motivators, such as control, intellectual challenge, and creativity. The most common form of job enrichment is vertical loading where additional tasks or discretion enhances the initial job design. While there is some evidence to support that job enrichment improves motivation, it is important to note that it is not effective for all people. Some employees are not more motivated by enriched jobs.

Job Characteristics Approach

The Job Characteristics Approach to job design is based on how core dimensions affect motivation. These dimensions include autonomy, variety, significance, feedback, and identity. The goal of JCT job design is to utilize specific interventions in an effort to enhance these core dimensions.

1. Vertical Loading – Like the tactic used in the Humanistic Job Enrichment approach, this intervention is designed to enhance autonomy, task identity, task significance, and skill variety by increasing the number of tasks and providing greater levels of control over how those tasks are completed.
2. Task Combination – By combining tasks into larger units of work and responsibility, task identity may be improved.
3. Natural Work Units – A form of task combination that represents a logical body of work and responsibility that may enhance both task significance and task identity.
4. Establishing Client Relationships – Designs interactions between employees and customers, both internal and external, to enhance task identity, feedback, and task significance. This is accomplished by improving the visibility of beneficial effects on customers.
5. Feedback – By designing open feedback channels, this intervention attempts to increase the amount and value of feedback received.

The process of designing work so as to enhance individual motivation to perform the work is called Job enrichment

While the JCT approach to job design has a significant impact on job satisfaction, the effects on performance are more mixed. Much of the success of implementation of JCT practices is dependent on the organization carefully planning interventions and changes to ensure impact throughout the organization is anticipated. Many companies may have difficulty implementing JCT changes throughout the organization due to its high cost and complexity.

Interdisciplinary Approach

One of the most recent approaches to work design, the Interdisciplinary Approach is based on the use of careful assessment of current job design, followed by a cost/benefit analysis, and finally changes based on the area in which a job is lacking. The assessment is conducted using the Multi-method Job Design Questionnaire, which is used to determine if the job is deficient in the areas of motivational, mechanistic, biological, or perceptual motor support. Motivational improvements are aligned with the Job Characteristics theory dimensions. Mechanistic improvements are focused on improving the efficiency of the job design. Biological improvements focus on improvements to ergonomics, health conditions, and employee comfort. Finally, perceptual motor improvements focus on the nature and presentation of the information an employee must work with. If improvements are identified using the questionnaire, the company then evaluates the cost of making the improvements and determines if the potential gains in motivation and performance justify those costs. Because of the analysis and cost/benefit components of the Interdisciplinary Approach, it is often less costly for organizations and implementations can be more effective. Only changes deemed to be appropriate investments are made, thus improving motivation, productivity, and job satisfaction while controlling costs.

Other factors affecting motivation

Creativity

On the cutting edge of research pertaining to motivation in the workplace is the integration of motivation and creativity. Essentially, according to Ambrose and Kulik, the same variables that predict intrinsic motivation are associated with creativity. This is a helpful conclusion in that organizations can measure and influence both creativity and motivation simultaneously. Further, allowing employees to choose creative and challenging jobs/tasks has been shown to improve motivation. Malmelin and Virta indicate creating new processes or procedures goes along with the jobs/task. In order to increase creativity, setting "creativity goals" can positively influence the process, along with allowing more autonomy (i.e., giving employees freedom to feel/be creative). Other studies have found that team support may enable more creativity in a group setting, also increasing motivation. Keeping creative employees productive and satisfied could be the key to retaining even the most difficult employees.

Groups and teams

As the workplace is changing to include more group-based systems, researching motivation within these groups is of growing importance. To date, a great amount of research has focused on the Job characteristic theory and the Goal-setting Theory. While more research is needed that draws on a broader range of motivation theories, research thus far has concluded several things: (a) semi-autonomous groups report higher levels of job scope (related to intrinsic job satisfaction), extrinsic satisfaction, and organizational commitment; and (b) developmentally mature teams have higher job motivation and innovation. Further, voluntarily formed work teams report high work motivation. Though research shows that appropriate goal-setting influences group motivation and performance, more research is needed in this area (group goals, individual goals, cohesiveness, etc.). There are inseparable mediating variables consisting of group cohesiveness, commitment, and performance. As the workplace environment calls for more and more teams to be formed, research into motivation of teams is ever-pressing. Thus far, overarching research merely suggests that individual-level and team-level sources of motivation are congruent with each other. Consequently, research should be expanded to apply more theories of motivation; look at group dynamics; and essentially conclude how groups can be most impacted to increase motivation and, consequently, performance.

Culture

Organizational cultures can be broken down into three groups: Strong, Strategically Appropriate, and Adaptive. Each has been identified with high performing organizations and has particular implications on motivation in the workplace.

Strength

The most widely reported effect of culture on performance is that strong cultures result in high performance. The three reasons for this are goal alignment, motivation, and the resulting structure provided. Goal alignment is driven by the proposed unified voice that drives employees in the same direction. Motivation comes from the strength of values and principles in such a culture. And structure is provided by these same attributes which obviate the need for formal controls that could stifle employees. There are questions that concern researchers about causality and the veracity of the driving voice of a strong culture.

Strategic Appropriateness

A strategically appropriate culture motivates due to the direct support for performance in the market and industry: "The better the fit, the better the performance; the poorer the fit, the poorer the performance," state Kotter & Heskett. There is an appeal to the idea that cultures are designed around the operations conditions a firm encounters although an outstanding issue is the question of adapting culture to changes in the environment.

Adaptability

Another perspective in culture literature asserts that in order for an organization to perform at a high level over a long period of time, it must be able to adapt to changes in the environment. According to Ralph Kilmann, in such a culture "there is a shared feeling of confidence: the members believe, without a doubt, that they can effectively manage whatever new problems and opportunities will come their way." In effect, the culture is infused with a high degree of self-efficacy and confidence. As with the strong culture, critics point to the fact that the theory provides nothing in the way of appropriate direction of adaptation that leads to high performance.

Competing Values Framework

Another perspective on culture and motivation comes from the work of Cameron & Quinn and the Competing Values Framework. They divide cultures into four quadrants: Clan, Adhocracy, Market, Hierarchy, with particular characteristics that directly affect employee motivation.

• Clan cultures are collaborative and driven by values such as commitment, communication, and individual development. Motivation results from human development, employee engagement, and a high degree of open communication.
• Adhocracy cultures are creative and innovative. Motivation in such cultures arises from finding creative solutions to problems, continually improving, and empowering agility.
• Market cultures focus on value to the customer and are typically competitive and aggressive. Motivation in the market culture results from winning in the marketplace and creating external partnerships.
• And finally, Hierarchy cultures value control, efficiency, and predictability. Motivation in such a culture relies on effectiveness, capability, and consistency. Effective hierarchy cultures have developed mature and capable processes which support smooth operations.

Culture has been shown to directly affect organizational performance. When viewed through the lens of accepted behaviors and ingrained values, culture also profoundly affects motivation. Whether one looks at the type of culture—strong, strategically appropriate, or adaptive—as Kotter & Heskett do, or at the style of culture—Clan, Adhocracy, Market, or Hierarchy—as Cameron & Quinn do, the connection between culture and motivation becomes clear and provides insights into how to hire, task, and motivate employees.

Personality Approach

Personality traits, pre-dispositions, and behaviors can have an outcome on work motivation. Influences can be conceptualized in the Big Five trait theory (Barrick & Mount, 1991; John & Srivastava, 1999). The personality theory can characterize these traits into conscientiousness, agreeableness, extroversion/introversion, openness to experience, and emotional stability (Stajkovic, Bandura, Locke, Lee, & Sergent, 2018). There are two types of personalities: Type A and Type B. Type A's are considered more dominant, aggressive, and work oriented. Type B's are detail focused, task oriented, and possess higher self-control. Individual perceptions may differ based on the job stressor or outcome (Day, & Jreige, 2002). Work demands that reflect on personality attributes can depend on tasks, job complexity, relationships, and work stress. The personality attributes most important for your workplace comes down to understanding the organizational work behaviors, characteristics of the jobs, and future strategies of the company. Personalities can be an influence on creativity in the workforce and behavioral expectations.