BADM 106 “Motivation “ Assignment Dinah MacArthur
Throughout my short life I have built up a resume containing the work and skills that I have developed and accomplished. Each job and learning experience has led me to become the person I am today. The motivation given by those companies and individuals involved have either given me the will to grow or discouraged me from becoming a better employee. The theories of motivation help identify the intrinsic and extrinsic forms of motivation that are vital to developing a driven individual. By using and applying Need, process and reward system theories I can develop a better understanding of myself. When used correctly, these theories can help individuals and organizations thrive in the competitive world of business. Although there are many tested and proven theories, it is always important to discover the theories that can personally motivate myself as an individual. To be successful one must be driven to succeed in whatever area they choose, an finding these motivators can change the way one views their work.
Although needs theories have undergone scrutiny and have become wildly criticized, we still find use for them within the business world. Managers still regularly use many of the different needs theories to help their employees. David
McClelland’s theory of needs uses 3 main topics to help explain our personal motivators. Firstly is the need for achievement, which is described as ones desire to accomplish a goal based on ones drive. Growing up, my father would always encourage me to strive for personal success. I was placed in every sport and was

involved in extracurricular math and painting classes. The programming I received from this has fed into the way I feel about my work. Currently I work at Polygon
Homes as a Sales Assistant. I am driven to not only to work for the money but also for knowledge. I would eventually like to become a sales manager, and I need to use every opportunity that I am given to maximize my learning. I know that I could make more money working at a restaurant than I do working with Polygon and I know my hours could be better. It is my need for achievement that has me focused on a continuous growth with Polygon. Secondly is the need for power, this is the desire to encourage individuals to pursue a behaviors one would not have originally.
I also find this is fitting for my job at Polygon homes. Part of my role as a sales assistant is to approach the guests who are looking at purchasing a townhome and explain our company, layouts/ floor plans, and deposit structures. Along with talking, I must give personal tours of our homes and have answers for their questions regarding the suites. This at first was extremely intimidating. Using the power of need however, I can push past my insecurities and fake confidence in the product I am selling. This confidence can help reassure customers with the purchases they are making. Lastly is McClelland’s need for affiliation, this is having the longing for deep interpersonal relations. Within a work environment, I have found much more pleasure in working as a team rather than as an individual working alone. I have had a previous negative experience with a colleague where we were working against each other rather than side by side. As an individual with a high affiliation motive, I strive for a cohesiveness and unity within a workspace and between staff. This job was particularity difficult for me and made me dread my

work. I also feel that the high affiliation directly relates to me wanting feed back, either positive or negative. This for me has been helpful in being more productive and more efficient.
The Expectancy Theory is the first of the process theories and directly relates to my personal experiences in the workforce. This theory states that workers will be driven to success if one believes that good performance comes from effort, then leads to organizational rewards which will satisfy the personal goals of the individual. The theory’s three main focuses are Expectancy, Instrumentality, and
Valence. First Expectancy (The belief that effort is related to performance) can either positively or negatively affect the individual. In my first job as a camp counselor, I knew that by putting in the work to develop games for the campers I would provide an amazing experience for them. Knowing this, I felt driven to give the kids my all as hearing about their positive memories gave me personal satisfaction. This then boosted my self-esteem as a “cool” and “fun” counselor.
Secondly instrumentality, (The belief that performance is related to rewards) can change the way one works. I knew that after a hard day of friendly customer service at the Keg, our team could be rewarded with an encouraging amount of tips. These tips changed the way we viewed our work and pushed us to find exciting ways to continually please our customers. Valence, (The value or importance an individual places on reward) teaches companies that meeting the needs of its employees is beneficial. It is also very important that companies realize that not all workers want the same thing. By knowing your employees and what benefits they want, you can hold onto employees and reduce your staff turn over. An example of this is Lulu

lemon providing free yoga for their workers and seasonal potlucks. If a company can focus on the three relationships (expectancy, instrumentality, and valence) unmotivated employees can turn into a devoted and driven team.
The Goal-Setting Theory is our second process theory. This theory shows that the intention to work in the direction of a goal can be a major source of motivation. This direction can help employees to focus on the overall picture and not be discouraged with setbacks. Edwin Locke’s research shows that goals can motivate in four ways.
Goals direct attention, regulate effort, increase persistence, and encourage the development of strategies and action plans. If jointly set by managers and employees it is vital that the progress is tracked periodically and depending on the progress the individuals involved can be rewarded. Being “ SMART” with the Goal-
Setting Theory stands for being Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Result-oriented, and Time-bound. When I worked with my friend’s mom and her Butter-Tart making business, we made a daily target goal for ourselves. This helped us not only with motivation but also with our time management. Seeing that we still had inventory at the end of the day changed the way we were with customers. These targets also encouraged us to be creative with our daily promotions so that we could sell out by the end of the day. Although our goals were often not met, we knew that we were more likely to be persistent if we were committed to hitting our target. I also have found that goal setting works well for me in sports. I would use goal setting when my team was discouraged after loosing a few games. For us, the goal gave us hope even though we had lost 5 games in a row. By defining a goal and using that to

encourage each other, our team was able to change our focus onto winning rather than our discouraging loosing streak. My soccer team ended up 3 rd that year.
The Goal-setting theory can also become complimentary when paired with the selfefficacy theory, this is the last of the process theories. Also known as the social learning theory, this idea focuses on the individual’s confidence in succeeding in a task. People with a low social efficacy usually will give up when a task is thought too difficult where as people with a high social efficacy will try harder to meet their goal.
Once paired, the two theories can work harmoniously to motivate the individual starting off with a difficult task. Thinking that one must be given the task only because they were thought capable, the individual will become encouraged. This leads to a higher self-confidence, which leads to a higher self-efficacy. As an individual with a low social efficacy, I often become discouraged with poor results. If
I receive a poor mark in class I often become so discouraged that I can begin to question my ability as a student. I can become overwhelmed to the point of giving up on other assignments because I believe that “ it’s too late now” and that I should develop an “I surrender” attitude. In classes and on tests where I thrive, I often find myself loving the class and studying obsessively to reach better marks. I would love to work on developing a high social efficacy. There are four ways in which Selfefficacy can increase. Enactive mastery is the first and most important. This source requires using ones past performances as reassurance that one can once again complete a similar task. The second source is vicarious modeling; the individual will use their peer’s success as confidence that they too can become successful. Verbal

persuasion is third and is found often in motivational speeches. An example of
Verbal persuasion can be found in a sport locker room when the coach is giving the team a pep talk. This source uses the encouragement of others to motivate one into thinking they can perform better. Lastly is the use of arousal. This is the preparation before a performance such as stretching before a sprint or getting “psyched up”.
The cognitive evaluation is grouped within the rewards theories. Alfie Kohn believed that performance and motivation decreases, on previously rewarding intrinsic work, once extrinsic rewards are given. He believed that “ rewards usually improve performance only at extremely simple-indeed, mindless-tasks, and even then they improve only quantitative performance.” Cognitive evaluation believes that Extrinsic and intrinsic rewards are related. An explanation of this is that the person will feel at a loss of power over ones personal behavior once given an extrinsic award. Thus causing the motivating intrinsic source to disappear. I can relate this theory to my personal life in many ways. In grade 6 my dad promised me
$20 for each “A” I received on my report card. After receiving 5 A’s on my report card that term I was motivated to continue working hard in hopes that my dad would make this offer again. The cognitive evaluation states just the opposite.
According to the theory, because I was give an extrinsic reward, my intrinsic interest in the task of school grades should have declined. Instead of feeling that loss of control after being given the money, I was motivated to continue earning
“A’s”.

Gathering information from each of the needs, process, and rewards theories is very beneficial. As one learns more about the tested theories, one can develop a better understanding on ones self. David McClelland’s theory of needs has helped me to realize that I am an individual with a high affiliation motive. This means I strive for a cooperative work environment over a competitive one. This teaches me that certain jobs are better suited for my personality. I should choose a more team oriented setting over a job with commission. I have also now become aware of my low social efficacy. This means that in challenging situations, I am most likely to give up.
Knowing this, it is important to use the goal-setting theory to set harder and more challenging goals for myself and to view challenges given to me by managers as compliments and not punishment. Lastly, I have come to the conclusion that the cognitive Evaluation is opposite of the way I think. I understand that extrinsic rewards will actually increase my intrinsic rewards. Not only do these realizations help me to better understand myself, they also will help me to understand what jobs will work best for me. Understanding myself in a work setting can help me to illuminate the careers that would bore me and instead provide me with the skills I need to search out alternatives. Although each theory has its flaws, it is important to take what I can and continue to grow as a young adult and young businesswoman!

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Langton, Nancy, Stephen P. Robbins, and Timothy A. Judge. Organizational
Behavior: Concepts, Controversies, Applications. Fifth Canadian Edition ed.
Toronto, Ontario: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2010. Print.