Individual Performance Management Motivation is an essential factor in managing individual employee performance to achieve desired individual and organizational results. In this article I will define the concept of motivation in the context of the workplace. I will also explain the criteria used to evaluate and select candidates in order to form an effective work team. And finally, I will discuss additional factors and theories taken into consideration to solve the problems affecting employees to achieve the desired results. Motivation refers to the forces within a person that influence his or her direction, intensity, and persistence of voluntary behavior (McShane & Von Glinow, 2005). Motivated employees exert a particular level of effort (intensity), for a certain period of time (perseverance), towards a particular goal (direction) (McShane & Von Glinow). Motivation involves providing people with a reason to do what they are asked to do, and managers must understand and use motivation (Langemo, 1985). Individuals have different need priorities, so managers must personalize need satisfaction (motivation) for each individual (Langemo). Motivating each individual will result in improved morale throughout the group and the achievement of desired results (Langemo). Through the simulation "Individual Performance Management" my first task as a manager was to select four company employees to work as volunteers on a social project. The project involved helping drug addicts to undertake a rehabilitation process. Starting from the awareness that what motivates an individual is linked to the person's personality, I assigned each volunteer a particular job by matching their profiles to the job descriptions. For example, the work of supervising discussion sessions required a strong motivating personality, as well as good communication and conflict management skills (University of Phoenix, 2002). I found that Daniel was the best person for this job as he is aggressive but his pleasant nature helps resolve staff problems and motivate production teams (University of Phoenix). According to the results of the simulation I achieved an ideal personality fit at work in selecting team members and assigning them appropriate tasks (University of Phoenix, 2002). However, issues arose throughout the project that required consideration of other factors to select strategies to keep the team motivated. For example, a friend of Nicola's informed me as a manager that her brother had died of an overdose and that lately she had been feeling very depressed thus affecting her performance (University of Phoenix).