Abstract
Motivating employees is one of the primary responsibilities of a manager in any organization. It is critical in the management practice to understand what motivates people. Motivation is defined as "a psychological process through which unsatisfied wants or needs lead to drives that are aimed at goals or incentives" (Hodgetts and Luthans, 2000, p.372). The human motivation process is universal but it is important to understand that the content of the process and the goals that are followed by individuals will be influenced by their culture. Nowadays, thanks to the globalization process, the cultural diversity of employees in organizations is increasing. What motivates people in one country is not obliged to work in another one. So in order to increase performance in the workplace, managers face the need to understand the different cultures and their needs.
