Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations at the City Hall

Motivation refers to the driving force that results from desire and an individual's will in life. Motivation has been seen to have roots in the behavioral, physiological, social, and cognitive area. This is rooted in the basic impulse where individual's skills and well-being are utilized for the benefit of the organization. It is the inner drive to act or behave in a certain manner. The innermost conditions of an individual such as goals, desires, and wishes activate an individual to move in a positive direction. This report endeavors to explain about the motivators that exist in the public agency based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs. It also endeavors to explain the assumptions made concerning employees in my agency: the City Hall supervisor's office.

Maslow's Hierarchy of needs.

Maslow assumed that individuals are motivated by needs that are unmet. When an individual's needs are not met, they feel driven and motivated to accomplish and meet that need. There are mainly five major layers of needs and include self-fulfillment needs, safety needs, physiological needs, esteem needs and social needs. These needs are normally experienced by individuals in all spheres of life. Various motivational factors exist among the employees of City Hall.

Motivators that exist in my public agency

Physiological needs

These needs are basic and are required for survival of every employee in the agency. They include water, shelter, sex water, and food. For employees to work efficiently, they must have these basic needs. For instance, a hungry man desires only food, thinks about food, and emotes about food. In such circumstances, the man will not concentrate on work until he satisfies his desire for food. Therefore, I believe everyone must fulfill his physiological needs to perform at work (Ryan & Deci, 2000).

The Safety and security needs

These are the needs keep one free from harm. For instance, in modern society, these needs include medical checkups, insurance and a home or office in a safe neighborhood. Employees rely on their jobs to fulfill their security needs. For example, the public agency requires that every employee get insurance policies such as health benefits to assist them when they are faced by problems. Some of their security needs include also paychecks that they rely on to acquire physiological needs such as food and shelter.

Social needs

These needs entail the desire for friendship, companionship, and love. Employees seek to satisfy these needs through spending time with co-workers, family, and friends. In the City Hall, there are programs that are held to allow workers to interact and share their encounters, knowledge, ideas, and skills with one another (Ryan & Deci, 2000).

Needs that lack in my public agency

Esteem needs

These are needs that satisfy respect and self-esteem of an individual. However, I believe that the agency lacks motivators that will persuade workers to do their best. For instance, employees need to be motivated at the agency for solving a challenging problem. This makes the employees proud through their skillful performance of the assigned tasks. The agency can also establish training programs. Though this, employees can be motivated to undertake tasks displaying their skills when tackling a certain problem. Employees can also be awarded for the extemporary performance. Many employees have a problem with self-esteem needs since they feel that the agency does value them. They feel like this because they rarely receive coaching or feedback to assist them in executing their duties (Ryan & Deci, 2000).

Self-actualization

This describes the desire of an individual to live up to his or her full potential. I believe employees lack this form of motivation, as they do not work hard at home and work. They are required to develop spiritually, mentally and physically to meet these needs. An employee ends up desiring to do what he is capable of doing. However, one needs to achieve other needs such as physiological, social, esteem and safety needs to achieve this. Many employees lack this form of motivation. The intrinsic motivation is a critical element in physical, social, and cognitive development of employees (Ryan & Deci, 2000).

Assumptions about employees working in my public agency using theory X and theory Y

The concepts used by the organization to harness human energy are discussed in terms of theory X and theory Y

Theory X