Motivating employees is always a challenging job to be performed by the manager. Theoretically stated and practically proved point is, employees can only be motivated by satisfying their needs. The needs are not consistent and stable for the employees. They keep on changing with the changing business circumstances and human requirements. Hence, motivating the employees depends on identifying their needs and thereby fulfilling them to the best possible extent, which is always a challenging task for the employers. This article therefore looks into these issues so as to highlight the everlasting challenge of motivating the employees in relevance to the current scenario.

Abhiram a commerce graduate, was very enthusiastic in achieving a higher position in his career. He wanted himself to be a good financial manager. Driven by this concern, he joined a reputed auditing firm after the completion of his graduation. There without making any consideration towards the monetary benefits and other facilities to be received, he sincerely concentrated on practicing the accounting aspects. Thereby he motivated himself to achieve his objective of becoming a financial manager. He was clearly aware of the facts (pros and cons) lying behind achieving his objective. But he never considered the hurdles he is going to face, but only concerned about his dream of becoming a financial manager, at the same time, he is also very much concerned about achieving the organizational goals and objectives. After making a sincere, dedicated and patient endeavor for 10 years (say) he reached to the position of the financial manager of the auditing firm, thereby realizing his dream. This kind of behavior is termed as goal-oriented behavior and this state of performance is termed as motivation, the employee here is considered to be a highly motivated employee.

The success of any organization is dependent on the performance of the employees. A highly motivated employee, as stated in the above example will better contribute for the success of the organization. But it is not an easy task as we think or expect, as the wants, needs and objectives of any two employees are not always similar. Let us consider the situation in the above example, where Abhiram was not very much concerned of the benefits that he could derive from his job, he was only concerned about achieving his objective. But, it may not be the same for Akash another accountant in the firm, who is interested in the benefits accruing from the job. From the organizational perspective, both of them are equally important, they are competent and more resourceful in meeting the organizational goals and objectives. The highly dynamic and volatile business environment will have an impact on the employees' wants, needs and objectives. In the above example, Abhiram is expected to achieve his objectives in a stable business environment, wherein practically it may not be always possible to have a stable business environment. Therefore, the process of motivation is considered essential to achieve his objective and creating a balance between the employer's and employee's wants, needs and objectives. This is a difficult job to be performed by the manager. It is necessary for the manager to understand the wants, needs and objectives of the employees, only then can he motivate them.

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