The topic of motivation involves some noteworthy research. I strongly encourage anyone seriously interested in it to read Abraham Maslow's "Hierarchy of Needs." If you don't have time, just breeze through the Needs Pyramid section.
Institutions that constantly struggle at the lower-order levels of human motivation--survival and security--will NEVER get people to inspire themselves to achieve higher-order company goals, no matter how ambitious the individual. In summary, what Maslow is saying is that you cannot motivate individuals; they motivate themselves. You cannot "reach" employees by high-minded slogans and mottos, because their primary motive for work rests at a lower rung.
Currently, given the number of layoffs and an incessant, addiction-like behavior on the part of corporations to solve problems by laying off or outsourcing, a vital step in motivation has been summarily executed by those who pat themselves on the back with billion-dollar bonuses for destroying the social milieu of an organization (which used to be considered the grease behind the machinery): the term is Sense of Belonging. It's the step after survival and safety/security needs are met. In Maslow's model, improving employee motivation requires that each of the steps be satisfied before moving to the next stage.
