An Islamic Perspective on Organizational Motivation

Abstract

Organizations are an indispensable part of our lives, for they provide
services for satisfying our basic needs. Central to any organization's performance
is the motivation of its members. Indeed, organizational motivation
is related closely to some fundamental questions in organization
theory in particular and to public administration in general. Such questions
focus on how organizations can be made efficient and responsive
or accountable to their clients. Since organizations are simply human
collectivities, in essence these questions apply to organizational members
and, in particular, to what motivates them to be efficient and responsive.
Although various models of organization have addressed, either
implicitly or explicitly, the question of motivation in organizations, they
have yet to come up with satisfactory answers. The significance of organizational
motivation does not consist of its close relationship to the fundamental
questions of organizational efficiency and responsiveness alone,
but also of its relevance to how organizations are structured. As this latter
consideration may affect such concepts as human dignity, freedom,
respect, brotherhood, and justice, this is tantamount to saying that organizational
structures are not morally or spiritually neutral, inasmuch as these
values have moral and spiritual roots.
Organizational structures are founded on certain underlying
assumptions about human nature and motivation that underpin several
principal organization models. One common characteristic of these
models is the assumption that the individual has certain self-centered
needs that govern his/her behavior and that the organization can, by satisfying
these needs, motivate the individual to contribute towards the ...