There is this argument that money is the only motivator that management can use to enhance performance of employees.
We are not sure how many manger and employees have argued that given enough money they would certainly be motivated, despite other factors. Many people may look at money as the only motivator. A motive is a reason for doing something. Motivation is concerned with the factors that influence people to behave in a certain way. Motivating other people is about getting them to move in a certain direction in order to achieve desired results.
Motivating theories
Approaches to motivation are underpinned by motivation theories. Some of motivation theories are;
• Instrumentality theory; which states that rewards and punishment (carrots & Sticks) serve as the means of ensuring that people behave or act in desired ways.
• Content theory; which focuses on the content of motivation. It states that motivation is essentially about taking action to satisfy needs and identifies the main needs that influence behavior.
• Process theory; which focuses on the psychological processes which affect motivation, by reference to expectations, goals and perceptions of equity.
It is the instrumentality theory that exhaustively focuses on the effectiveness or otherwise of money as a motivation tool. Instrumentality is the belief that if we do one thing, it will lead to another. The theory emerged in the second half of 19th century with it emphasis on the need to rationalize work and on economic outcomes. It assumes that a person will be motivated to work if rewards and penalties are tied directly to his/her performance, thus the rewards are contingent upon effective performance.
Instrumentality theory has its roots in scientific management methods which state that it is impossible, through any long period of time, to get workmen to work much harder than the average men around them unless they are assured a large and permanent increase in