Research by Prof. Steven Reiss, Ph.D., and other researchers has conclusively determined that all human motivation is intrinsic (internal) to each individual. External motivation does not exist. Managers can mandate, coerce, manipulate, incentivize, plead, and, in some unethical cases, force people to do something they are not naturally motivated to do. This is not motivation. People always do anything for the reason that matters enough to them to motivate them intrinsically to do it.
You are correct! Research by Prof. Steven Reiss, Ph.D., and other researchers has conclusively determined that all human motivation is intrinsic (internal) to each individual. External motivation does not exist. Managers can mandate, coerce, manipulate, incentivize, plead, and, in some unethical cases, force people to do something they are not naturally motivated to do. This is not motivation. People always do anything for the reason that matters enough to them to motivate them intrinsically to do it.