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Leadership & Motivation

In: Business and Management

Submitted By jaclynharrington
Words 4869
Pages 20
Leadership and Motivation: a Practical Analysis
Leadership Project
Paper within: LEADERSHIP

Authors: ALAURENT, Hervé

HARRINGTON, Jaclyn

KUPKE, Nils

VACHEVA, Desislava

WALACH, Joey

Tutor: BRUNDIN, Ethel

Jönköping December 2008

Table of Contents

1 Abstract 1

2 Introduction 1
2.1 Purposes 1
2.2 Mica’s perspective on Motivation 2

3 Transformational Leadership 2
3.1 Leadership and Temperament Congruence 3

4 Need Theory 4

5 Expectancy Theory 7

6 Conclusion 8

7 References 9

Abstract

Motivation is an abstract concept that has been studied extensively over the years. The main issue with this concept is that it can not be measured, and at the same time is very hard to observe. Bryan Schaffer (2008) identified two principles in link with motivation: it is a function of the individual and the situation, and performance is a function of ability and motivation (which he also links to effort). Donna J. Plonczynski (2000) defined motivation as an “intrinsic determination toward goal attainment”, which is also composed of “components of personality and personal habits that indicate performance”. Humphreys and Einstein (2004) state that most motivation definitions focus on “the notion of enhancing and sustaining effort toward some desired goal-directed behaviour”. According to these findings, we could identify two important dimensions of motivation: individuality and goal. Individuality refers to the diversity of factors affecting motivation for every human being. Goal refers to the target that results from motivation. These two factors are further studied within motivation theories.

Introduction

Bryan Schaffer (2008) highlights that motivation is a key component of leadership. This is justified by his definition of leadership, which is “the ability of an individual to influence, motivate and enable others

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