Morale (also known as esprit de corps (French pronunciation: [ɛspʀi də kɔʀ])) is the capacity of a group's members to maintain belief in an institution or goal, particularly in the face of opposition or hardship. Morale is often referenced by authority figures as a generic value judgment of the willpower, obedience, and self-discipline of a group tasked with performing duties assigned by a superior. According to Alexander H. Leighton, "morale is the capacity of a group of people to pull together persistently and consistently in pursuit of a common purpose".[1] Morale is important in the military, because it improves unit cohesion. Without good morale, a force will be more likely to give up and surrender. Morale is usually assessed at a collective, rather than an individual level. In wartime, civilian morale is also important. Esprit de corps is considered to be an important part of a fighting unit. Workplace environments influence employee morale.
Motivation is a theoretical construct, used to
explain behavior.
It is the scientific word used to represent the reasons for our actions, our
desires, our needs, etc. Motives are hypothetical constructs, used to
explain why people do what they do. A motive is what prompts a person to act in
a certain way or at least develop an inclination for specific behavior.[1]
For example, when someone eats food to satisfy the need of hunger, or when a
student does his/her work in school because they want a good grade. Both show a
similar connection between what we do and why we do it. According to Maehr and
Meyer, "Motivation is a word that is part of the popular culture as few
other psychological concepts are".[2]
Wikipedia readers will have a motive (or motives) for reading an article, even
if such motives are complex and difficult to pinpoint. At the other end of the
range of complexity, hunger is frequently the motive for seeking out and consuming
food.
Clausewitz stresses the importance of morale and will for both the soldier
and the commander. The soldier's first requirement is moral and physical courage, both the
acceptance of responsibility and the suppression of fear. In order to
survive the horror of combat [,]he must have an invincible martial spirit,
which can be attained only through military victory and hardship. The soldier
has but one purpose: "The end for which a soldier is recruited, clothed,
armed and trained, the whole object of his sleeping, eating, drinking, and marching
is simply that he should fight at the right place and the right time."[3]
"Military morale is in a large sense inseparable from civilian morale
because each reacts upon the other and both are in large measure based on
fidelity to a cause. But there is a certain kind of morale that is distinctly
military. It begins with the soldier's attitude toward duty. It develops with
the soldier's command over himself. It is a spirit that becomes dominant in the
individual and also in the group. Whether the soldier has physical comforts
or suffers physical hardships may be a factor but is seldom the determining
factor in making or unmaking his morale. A cause known and believed in;
knowledge that substantial justice governs discipline; the individual's
confidence and pride in himself, his comrades, his leaders; the unit's pride in
its own will; these basic things, supplemented by intelligent welfare and
recreation measures and brought to life by a spirit of mutual respect and
co-operation, combine to weld a seasoned fighting force capable of defending the
nation.
A number of motivational theories emphasize the distinction between
conscious and unconscious motivations.
A conscious motivation is a form of motivation that people recognize and are
aware of it themselves.[6]
Unconscious motivation refers to hidden or unknown desires that makes people
push themselves to achieve their goal. In evolutionary psychology, the
"ultimate", unconscious motivation may be a cold evolutionary
calculation, the conscious motivation could be more benign or even positive
emotions. For example, while it may be in the best interest of a male's genes
to have multiple partners and thus break up with or divorce one before moving
onto the next, the conscious rationalization could be, "I loved her at the
time". [7]
Freud is
associated with the idea that human beings have many unconscious motivations
that cause them to make important decisions because of these unconscious
forces, such as choosing a partner. According to Freud and his followers,
majority of the how people in different situations/environments are the result
of desires, impulses, and memories that have been imprinted into an individual
unconscious state, however it would still influence their performances or
actions.[8]
Some psychologists
believe that a significant portion of human behavior is energized and directed
by unconscious motives. According to Maslow,
"Psychoanalysis has often demonstrated that the relationship between a
conscious desire and the ultimate unconscious aim that underlies it need not be
at all direct."