Workplace motivation is one of the biggest concerns managers face when trying to encourage their employees to work harder and do what is expected of them on a daily basis. According to Organizational Behavior by John R. Schermerhorn, James G. Hunt, and Richard N. Osborn the definition of motivation is "the individual forces that represent the direction, level, and persistence of a person's effort at work." They go on to say that “motivation is a key concern in companies around the world.” Over the years, several theories have been formulated about what motivates employees to do their best at work. To better understand these theories we will apply them to a fictitious organization that has the following three types of employees: salespeople, production workers, and administrative staff. We will discuss which of these theories would or would not be most effective for motivating these groups of employees and try to explain why. The theories of motivation that will be discussed are: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, ERG (Aldefer), Two-Factor Theory (Herzberg), Equity Theory (Adams) and Expectancy Theory (Vroom). Let's start with the sellers. Salespeople Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory states that there are five levels of individual needs, from self-actualization and esteem at the highest levels, to social, safety and physiological levels at the bottom. Maslow believed that some of these needs were more important than others and that the important ones had to be satisfied before the rest of a person's needs could be satisfied. Since a salesperson's core responsibility is to sell merchandise, this motivational theory would not be a good choice for an organization to use to motivate them. The reason for this is because s...... middle of paper ......nt from one culture to another and even from one individual to another. Clayton Alderfer's ERG theory emphasizes a unique frustration-regression component. This means that a lower level need can be activated when a higher level need cannot be satisfied. This would not be a good theory of motivation for administrative staff since their goal is usually to get ahead. Both equity and expectancy theory focus on thought processes. Equity theory may or may not motivate administrative staff depending on how each individual perceives the fairness of their work outcomes compared to others. Expectancy theory does not specify which rewards will motivate particular groups of workers. Individual motivation directly determines work effort, and the key to motivation is the ability to create a work environment that responds positively to individual needs and goals.