Determination Theory and Work Motivation Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Determination Theory and Work Motivation. Answer: Introduction: Need theory is also referred to as Three Needs Theory which was suggested by David McClelland who was a psychologist. The theory is a model of motivation which tries to give an explanation of the way needs for power, affiliation and achievement influence the actions of individuals from a managerial setting (Maslow, 1943, p. 384). The kind of motivation which drives an individual derives from the individuals life experiences and their cultural opinions. In need for achievement, employees prefer working on those tasks which are moderately difficult (Luo et al., 2011, p. 240). Additionally, they also prefer working on projects which the outcomes are based on the effort that they put on the work instead of anything else and prefer receiving feedback after they have worked. Relating the theory to the case study, Matt preferred working on those projects that he was passionate about rather than working for highly paid jobs without good customer satisfaction. Achievements based people usuall y avoid both low-risk and high-risk circumstances. In need for affiliation, employees prefer to spend their time maintaining and creating relationships (Gagn and Deci, 2005, p. 345). Evidently, they enjoy being part of a particular group and they desire to feel accepted and loved by others. These kinds of individuals have a tendency of adhering to the norms of that organization and never opt to change the norms because they fear to be rejected from the workplace (Landy and Becker, 1987, p. 35). According to the case study, Matt did not feel comfortable with the performance appraisal which was issued by Peter to him, and he had to say openly to him that he did not feel comfortable with the idea. He said that the performance appraisal did not show the real things that he did in the company which usually upset him after working extra hard for the sake of his clients but what Peter did was looking at the money made at the end of the day. In need for power, such employees place great val ue on discipline and enjoy their work. Equity theory focuses on knowing whether there is a fair distribution of the resources in the organization to both interpersonal associates. The act of equity is measured by weighing the inputs and outcomes for each employee in the organization (Walster, Berscheid, and Walster, 1976, p. 40). The equity suggests that workers in a particular organization aim at maintaining equity between the efforts they put on the job and the rewards they get after achieving all that in the company (Huseman, Hatfield and Miles, 1987, p. 222). Inputs are all that the employees contributes to the organization such as their time, hard work, commitment, among others while outcomes are the benefits that the employees receive from the organization such as rewards, job security, responsibility among others (Chapman, 2001, p. 351). In the case study, Matt was complaining that the performance appraisal did not reveal the real activities which he did in the company yet he puts much effort while serving his cust omers but the problem is that the boss only looked at the money which is made. Whatever was said by Matt indicated that the company did not reward the employee after they had done their work which might lead to discouragements and employees may not feel motivated to work anymore since their efforts were not recognized however hard they worked. Expectancy theory suggests that an individual is likely to behave in a particular way since they are being motivated to choose a precise behavior over others because of the expectations of the outcomes of that chosen behavior will be. Expectancy theory usually elaborates the behavioral procedure of the reason why people select a certain behavior over others (Wigfield, A., Eccles, 2000, p. 69). Notably, there is correlation which is positive between performance and efforts, the result of a satisfactory performance will end in an anticipated reward that is a reward from a presentation will automatically give satisfaction to a significant need and the result fulfills their need abundant to make the input worthwhile (Ryan and Deci, 2000, p. 70). In the case study, Matt after the performance appraisal was issued to him; they discussed what he could do in the following year and how they could make it occur. They agreed that Matt would take the lead on a team of great client contracts inst ead of lead a smaller number and the ratings of customer satisfaction from the contracts would be higher. Of course getting good ratings from big projects would be hard but Matt decided on that, and he was ready to give it a shot. Goal setting comprises the establishment of an activity strategy which is designed to guide and motivate employees towards achieving a specific goal. Goal setting may be directed by goal-setting rules like SMART criteria (Locke and Latham, 2002, p. 711). According to Edwin Locke, the founder of the theory, he suggested that more measurable, unambiguous, and clear objectives which are accompanied by a tight deadline for completing tend to avoid misunderstanding. It is clear that goals should be challenging and realistic for the employees to put more effort in achieving them (Deci and Ryan, 2008, p. 183). Evidently, as long as an employee takes the goal, has the capability to achieve it and does not have other goals which are conflicting, there is an optimistic linear connection concerning goal struggle and task presentation (Gunnell et al., 2014, p. 28). In the case study, Matt was willing to take the challenge of leading big customer contracts without looking at the money first, but he was willing to help the clients. This shows that Matt knew that good service delivery to customers would eventually enable him to earn good money at the end of it all. If I were Peter Finch, I would ensure that the performance appraisal was showing the real work that Matt had done for a certain period. Showing the real work that Matt had done would motivate him to continue working hard to achieve more and work on the areas that he felt he did not achieve what he had targeted for in a particular project. Rewards could also motive Matt in a great way towards achieving the goals of the company. Matt complained that Peter did not recognize his effort however hard he worked which led to discouragement and comparing him with Jack made it worse because Matt always viewed Jack as manipulative so that he could get extra cash from customers. Rewards such as bonuses, praises, promotion among others are known as good motivators when it comes to motivating employees. I could also include Matt in brainstorming ideas which he felt that could enable him improve in his work. Notably, including employees in brainstorming ideas makes them feel that they are part of t he organization and they feel that the organization values their ideas too. Brainstorming ideas would help Matt feel motivated because he would feel that the boss views his as an important person in the organization and clearly he could have listed ideas which would have helped him attain his goals. If I were Matt, I would keep myself motivated by ensuring that I always perform my work effectively without involving in manipulative activities to the customers. I would focus on meeting my targets at the right time by setting achievable goals to ensure that I do not compete with Jack at any given time. I would ensure that I do not get comfortable with the little I earn instead I would put more effort in my work. Additionally, so as to ensure my feelings toward Jack does not affect my work; I would increase my productivity by leading big projects which will increase my salary and serve the customers in the right way to ensure that they always want me to serve them the next time they come to the company. I would look for all tactics which could help me improve my productivity but still ensuring that honesty is there without manipulating anyone in the wrong way. Recommendations I would recommend that the performance appraisal to show the real work that an employee has done without hiding anything. If the work is poorly done, let the performance appraisal review all that. I would also recommend that the organization find a way of rewarding their employees after achieving their targets so as to motivate them to continue doing the same. Involving employees to brainstorm ideas in the organization I also highly recommended. In order to review the performance appraisal showing the real work of an employee, the manager should take some time to observe the work of that an employee has done for a period of time so as to give the actual results. In the case of rewards, the organization should start with small rewards such as praises, promotion to motivate employees before going to big rewards. For brainstorming, the organization should start an open forum where employees are free to share their ideas with the bosses. References Chapman, A. 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