Achievement Motivation

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Achievement Motivation

Motivation is the any underlying drive for one’s behaviors and actions in life. People are
motivated by different rewards and motives. Achievement motivation is one type of motivation that has
been identified to help people meet their professional goals. Achievement motivation is a term in social
psychology that is used to describe that individuals are inspired, driven or motivated by their
accomplishments or success. Murray is the father of achievement motivation and described it as
‘’accomplishing something difficult.’’ It means that human beings have to overcome any obstacle in life
to enable them attain high standards. The central point is to ensure that individual do activities better
than the others to enhance their success. People must focus to excel on oneself or to surpass and rival
others. Many other psychologists such as Atkinson and McClelland came in to support the ideas from
Murray. McClelland went further to describe achievement motivation as the competition with the set
standards. Therefore, many people have able to utilize achievement motivation to measure underlying
motives in education. This paper aims to measure the effectiveness of achievement motivation through
reviewing various studies that have supported the idea.

Kirikkanat (2017), in ‘’Achievement Motivation and relation with learning environments’’

conducted a research to help establish the relationship between success and achievement motivation.
The current century is faced with increased competition in every aspect of life and therefore, motivation
appears to play pivotal role in helping people achieve their set goals in life. Rivalry in academic
institutions affected how the students are inclined towards failure or success. Students must apply the
concepts of achievement motivation to help them shape their goal orientations (Kirikkanat, 2014), To
examine the effectiveness of achievement motivation in academic settings, the author first describes her
own understanding on motivation. She further identifies the potential elements of achieving motivation
among the learners.

Kirikkanat (2017), defines motivation as the drive and need to achieve a certain goal. Most
fields are centered on a specific goal or purpose. Misguided actions are a potential threat to the set
goals. Therefore, human beings must have a mechanism to shape their behaviors. Motivation is
fundamental in maintenance of the required behaviors. Achievement motivation is used to attribute
commitment to behaviors, encourage endurance in times of hardships, disclose behavioral diversity
among individuals and derive cases from collective actions. The author describes achievement
motivation to consist of three important concepts: thought, behavior and emotion. It is guided by
competence appraisal. For people to achieve their goals, they are highly directed by competence
assessment and competence acquisition.
 Achievement motivation play a significant role in understanding how the classroom atmosphere
is organized. The pupil’s motivation, desires and behaviors to acquire new information must be guided
by a certain drive (Kirikkanat, 2017). Predominantly, the critical concern of the achievement motivation
theory in learning environments is how the classroom is organized, pupil’s reactions to the environment
and the attitudes displayed by the tutor. There are six essential elements that configure the learner’s
comprehension: authority, task, evaluation, grouping, training and timing. All these have to be
conducted in a manner favorable to the student’s ambitions and goals. Students perception on the
classroom environment depend on the performance goals they have (Okotie et al., 2019). Factors such
as mood of the students, social climate and authority are identified as the primary ingredients for
success. How the students feel about the social climate within the school affect their performance.
Tutors are therefore encouraged to organize classes in a way that the students are motivated and feel
appreciated to be part of the learning experience. Thus, improving student performance begin with
ensuring that the leaners are determined to achieve their self-actualization which is a major
complement of achievement motivation.
Metz, 2018 conducted a research to link achievement motivation to job satisfaction and success
among employees. Achievement motivation has been named among the core elements in the
organizational behavior because of the profound effects it has on job satisfaction, individual’s commitment
and performance in the organization. Additionally, research has linked achievement motivation to work-life
balance (Metz, 2018).  There are various ways in which individuals within the organization can be
intrinsically or extrinsically motivated, including advancing opportunities for them, establishing strong
relationships with fellow workers and recognition of their accomplishments and efforts. Through
achievement motivation, individuals seek success from a personal point of view. Promoting individual
growth has been related to organization’s success and productivity.

The need for achievement is stronger when workers seek to achieve more complex and
admirable goals. Achievement motivation in a workplace is guided by evaluating risks to ensure that the
expected goals are met and failures avoided. It is known to include many traits such as fear of failure,
desire to grow and improve and relentlessness (Metz, 2018). Achievement in the organization is the major
motivation for workers. Achievement is broadly related to satisfaction in workplace. Achieving the desired
goals makes the employees feel satisfied, comfortable and motivation to work for the overall
organization’s success. Achievement motivation enables people to work towards mastering notions,
objects and other workers for their own benefit and that of the overall organization. The conclusion for the
study was that achievement motivation is the key to success in any organization. Whether the
organizations like it or not, they must apply the concepts from achievement motivation for the organization
success.

A study was conducted in St. Joseph Health Center in Canada by Kim (2021) to establish a
component that can make healthcare facilities achieve enormous success in implementing changes. The
major finding was that achievement motivation is the most essential tool in ensuring that changes in
healthcare is effectively enacted (Kim, 2021). Effective initiation and sustenance of change in healthcare
is a daunting challenge. Studies have revealed that two thirds or a third of initiatives in healthcare
facilities fail. Other healthcare organizations have reported failure rates between 80% to 90% (Kim,
2021). To establish long lasting and effective changes, the people involved must be motivated enough to
adopt and maintain the changes. Accepting changes within the organization occur in various stages from
awareness of the change, interests attached, pre-trials and when deciding to adopt or reject the change.
Additionally, research identifies five categories of people based on their acceptance on change: early
majority, early adopters, the laggards and the late majority. Kim concludes that for effective change
implementation, leaders must motivate the healthcare workers to become early adopters.
 Predominantly, individual’s motivation is crucial in successful implementation and acceptance of
changes in healthcare facilities. Everyone would like to achieve their needs which is mostly prioritized by
importance. Achievement motivation is guided by the importance attached to these changes. However,
it is vital to determine what motivates each employee. Different individuals are motivated by different
factors. Every employee must be incorporated in the change. It is personal achievement that drives the
employees’ success rather than rewards (Kim, 2021). People who are achievement motivated are guided
to do their best and value feedback for their work. Kim argues that embracing achievement motivation
among the healthcare professionals can make them become high achievers and motivated to adopt to
change initiatives. High achievers work more efficiently and harder for positive outcomes. Clinical setting
is guided by intrinsic motivators such as ‘’doing the best’’ or ‘’strong sense of calling.’’

Indeed, achievement motivation is the foundation of a good life. Individuals oriented towards
their achievement fee in control of their own life and tend to enjoy. Achievement motivation gives
people self-respect and enable them keep dynamic. Motivated individuals set achievable targets which
help them in their day to day activities. Research has proven achievement motivation to influence major
institutions throughout the world.

References

Kim, C. (2021). What Motivates Change within a Healthcare Organization?

https://doi.org/10.34297/AJBSR.2021.14.002057

Kirikkanat, B. (2017). Achievement Motivation: Its Structure and Relation with Learning

Environments.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270887904_Achievement_motiv

ation_Its_structure_and_relation_with_learning_environments

Metz, J. D. (2018). The impact of achievement motivation, job satisfaction and work-life balance among
retail managers (Doctoral dissertation, Pepperdine University).

Okotie, S., Erhuvwu, & Adeyemi, F. (2019). ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION AS A

PREDICTOR OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF SENIOR SECONDARY

SCHOOL STUDENT IN MATHEMATICS. European Journal of Educational and

Development Psychology, 7(3), 36–45.

https://www.eajournals.org/wpcontent/uploads/Achievement-Motivation-as-a-Predictor-

of-Academic-Achievement-of-Senior-Secondary-School-Student-in-Mathematics.pdf