Title: Motivation and Motivation Theory - levels, system, model, hierarchy, workplace, business, system, Historical development, Major content theories
Headings: MOTIVATION AND MOTIVATION THEORY
MOTIVATION AND MOTIVATION THEORY
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
MAJOR CONTENT THEORIES
MASLOW'S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS.
ALDERFER'S ERG THEORY.
MOTIVATOR-HYGIENE THEORY.
MCCLELLAND'S LEARNED NEEDS THEORY.
MAJOR PROCESS THEORIES
EXPECTANCY THEORY.
EQUITY THEORY.
GOAL-SETTING THEORY.
REINFORCEMENT THEORY.
FURTHER READING:

Content: Sigmund  Freud, for example, argued that the most powerful determinants of  individual behavior were those of which the individual was not consciously  aware. According to Motivation and Leadership at Work (Steers, Porter, and Bigley, 1996), in the early twentieth century  researchers began to examine other possible explanations for differences  in individual motivation. Some researchers focused on internal drives as  an explanation for motivated behavior. Others studied the effect of learning and how individuals base current behavior on the  consequences of past behavior. Still others examined the influence of  individuals' cognitive processes, such as the beliefs they have  about future events. Over time, these major theoretical streams of  research in motivation were classified into two major schools: the content  theories of motivation and the process theories of motivation. MAJOR CONTENT THEORIES
Content (or need) theories of motivation focus on factors internal to the  individual that energize and direct behavior. In general, such theories  regard motivation as the product of internal drives that compel an  individual to act or move (hence, "motivate") toward the  satisfaction of individual needs. The content theories of motivation are  based in large part on early theories of motivation that traced the paths  of action backward to their perceived origin in internal drives.