HR Generalist Question:

Motivation in simple words may be understood as the set of forces that cause people to behave in certain ways. It is a process that starts with a physiological deficiency or need that activities behaviour or a drive that is aimed at a goal or an incentive.
The concept of motivation occupies a central place in the discipline of Organizational Behaviour. It is a concept, which has received the maximum attention from the academicians and researchers alike. Since a motivated employee is highly productive and highly quality oriented, the managers are also interested the concept of motivation.
Most people understand the concept of intrinsic satisfaction or intrinsic motivation, i.e. when an activity is satisfying or pleasurable in and of itself. Naturally, these activities are things we like and want to do. For most of us, intrinsically enjoyable activities are things like eating, resting, laughing, playing games, winning, creating, seeing and hearing beautiful things and people, being held lovingly, having sex, and so on. To do these things we don't need to be paid, applauded, cheered, thanked, respected, or anything--commonly we do them for the good feelings we automatically and naturally get from the activity. Intrinsic rewards also involve pleasurable internal feelings or thoughts, like feeling proud or having a sense of mastery following studying hard and succeeding in a class.
Many, maybe most, activities are not intrinsically satisfying enough to get most of us to do them consistently, so extrinsic motivation needs to be applied in the form of rewards (positive reinforcements), incentives, or as a way to avoid some unpleasant condition ("negative reinforcement" or punishment). Examples: You work doing an ordinary job for pay. You study for good grades or to avoid failing or to prepare for a good future. You do housework to get a clean, organized house and/or a spouse's appreciation or to avoid her/his disapproval. A teenager comes home from a date on time in order to avoid being grounded. These are all activities that are commonly sustained by external pay offs, not because you love working, studying, cleaning, and coming home early.