Content approach to motivation

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to review the content motivation theories of Maslow and Herzberg, with a view  to bringing out their peculiar characteristics, differences and similarities, to see how our administrators especially those in educational institutions can motivate their workers and students for effective performance. From management point of view, motivation is useful when it is applied to staff, to discover what prompts people to behave in a certain way. When it is applied to schools, it means when certain teachers and learners are highly motivated, others moderately and some less even though the same incentives are available to them. This will also enable us come with a general model of motivation, which would include a broad class of determinants of human motivation as espoused by Maslow and Herzberg. It was concluded that no single theory of motivation explains all aspects of peoples’ motives or lack of it. And on this note the following suggestions were made, firstly, there is a need to have an integrated work motivation theory, secondly, administrators of educational institutions should be conversant with the different motivational theories and apply the one or mixture of the ones suitable for their institution and lastly the archaic method of autocratic leadership in the school system should be abolished and free and democratic method of leadership should be encouraged.