Unit 1: Motivation
What makes you want to do your best, especially at work? Learn about different theories of motivation in management, reflect on how happy you are at work, and start developing your personal motivational skill set.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 2.5 hours.
Watch this video featuring business analyst Dan Pink, who examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers do not: Traditional rewards are not always as effective as we think. Listen carefully to the illuminating stories Pink shares. This lecture serves as a foundation for all the material you will encounter in this unit.
1.1: Case Study: Zappos Creates a Motivating Place to Work
Read the introduction and section 14.1, which provide an excellent glimpse into the concept of motivation by examining the company Zappos and the methods Zappos uses to identify and motivate effective contributors to the company's organizational success. Once an employee's initial training is complete, Zappos offers that employee a significant financial payment to quit his or her new job. That's right – after training is complete, Zappos will pay an employee to leave the company if he or she so chooses. By implementing this unusual practice, Zappos attempts to create a strategic motivational environment in which all the people who work for the company have a strong desire to be there.
Read this article and consider the following questions: What makes you, as an employee, truly happy? Does money alone provide you happiness at work? How might applying Tony Hsieh's four components to building happiness at work affect your own work happiness? Does the organization you currently work for, or one you are familiar with, incorporate Hsieh's four components? If yes, how so? If not, how could you consider implementing these components in your own organization?
Reflect on the article that you just read on workplace happiness. Consider the following questions: Are you happy at your job? If not, what is preventing you from finding work that is more satisfying? Share your thoughts on these questions in the course discussion forum by clicking on the link above and creating a free Saylor Foundation School account (if you have not already done so). Read the responses that other students have posted and post your own comments on the forum. Be sure to take advantage of this opportunity to connect with your peers and to receive meaningful feedback of your own.
1.2: Need-Based Theories of Motivation in Management
Read this section, which discusses several theories that will broaden your understanding of motivation as a management concept. While there are indeed some similarities among these theories, each will have distinct characteristics that will allow you to better understand this valuable management tool. Be sure that you pay careful attention to each of these theories on motivation and that you are able to distinguish each from the others in terms of application. Each of these theories of motivation has a foundation in the identification of an individual need or desire that may be a perceived or a real deficiency.
1.3: Process-Based Theories of Motivation in Management
Read this section, which discusses a management approach that focuses on how the design of a job impacts the motivation of an employee. Rather than focusing on a perception of deficiency, this approach draws on a succinct analysis of the effects of an employee's surrounding work environment.
1.4: How to Develop Your Personal Motivation Skill Set
Read this section, which introduces you to the process of giving and seeking feedback. The effects of feedback are especially apparent when a manager completes a performance appraisal of an employee, or when a member of an organization completes a self-appraisal. This section also provides you with guidelines for giving feedback to employees, as well as seeking feedback from your own managers.