The purpose of behavior is to satisfy needs. A need is anything that is required, desired, or useful. A want is a conscious recognition of a need. The presence of an active need is expressed as an inner state of tension from which the individual seeks relief. Theories of Motivation Many methods of employee motivation have been developed.
Motivation theories are important to supervisors attempting to be effective leaders.
Two primary approaches to motivation are content and process. The content approach to motivation focuses on the assumption that individuals are motivated by the desire to fulfill inner needs. Content theories focus on the needs that motivate people. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs identifies five levels of needs, which are best seen as a hierarchy with the most basic need emerging first and the most sophisticated need last. People move up the hierarchy one level at a time.