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Genesis Gutierrez
BUS334 Organizational Behavior
Dr. Bekir Emre Kurtulmus
April 9th 2014 8th Week
Understanding the Significance of Employee Motivation
Contemporary Organizations that wish to succeed in todays labor settings should introduce a
motivation as an essential purpose to their vision. More specifically this purpose is employee motivation.
Studies show that organizations that ensure their associates are motivated are more likely to succeed and
accomplish the companys mission. Therefore, it should be the companys responsibility to motivate its
employees because it is essential to the companys ability to succeed. Among the most effective ways of
motivating employees is promoting Engagement, Self-management and Intrinsic rewards.
It is vital to first understand motivation and its psychological relevance to humanity before
considering motivators. Motivation is the force that stimulates and encourages an individual to apply
effort into doing a task. So, a person that is motivated is more productive and willing to accomplish their
goals. However, in order for a person to experience motivation there must be a sense of self-actualization.
According to Abraham Maslows Hierarchy of Needs a human must firstly satisfy their basic needs- at
the bottom, before evolving into the more complex needs- at the top. These include (bottom to top)
physiological needs like water, food, sleep and shelter. Secondly, safety and security needs like physical
safety, job security and economic security. Once these needs are met individuals want to satisfy their
social needs, which includes the need for love and belonging within family, friendships and work
colleagues. Thereafter, persons require self-esteem needs like respect and recognition, which allows them
to fulfill their status in the workplace. And lastly, a person can reach their full potential if they realize
their self-actualization needs. This would involve opportunities for creativity, innovation, learning and

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motivation. Thus, knowledge of Maslows theory is helpful for understanding the fundamentals preceding
employee motivation.
Determining purpose through employee engagement can spark motivation along with selffulfillment. Employee engagement is defined as the degree to which people actively self-manage in their
work (Thomas, 2009). This work ethic is useful because workers become more engaged in their work
and committed to a purpose rather than being closely monitored and going through the motions. This
concept involves a partnership in decision-making equivalent to a free-flow of information between
leader and team member as partners in the task purpose (Thomas, 2009). A great leader encourages staff
engagement because it created an atmosphere where everyone is building together. Employee engagement
allows for self-responsibility to plays a bigger role in the organization. In fact, some companies have even
engaged financial prospects for employees. These companies are offering stock options or partnered
ownership of the company to its employees, so to promote responsibility and self-motivation. For
example, Daniel Lubetzky the CEO of Kind Healthy Snacks, a philanthropic company which processes
gluten-free snack bars asserts:
I dont know every one of my team members anymore, so its important that everyone in the
company is a shareholder, from entry level to president, and they understand theyre doing this
for themselves as well as others (Entrepreneur, Oct. 2013).
Employee ownership is a form of engagement that acknowledges the idea that people take much better
care of things they own. Plus, the companys profit returns prove this is most effectual as a study for Cass
Business School found employee-owned companies grew their turnover by 11 percent at the height of
the recession compared with just 0.61 percent at rivals (People Management, March 2014). Since, the
performance drives the share price everyone feels its their job to make a difference and contribute
innovation.

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On the other hand, employee engagement is a modern term in relation to contemporary
organizations. It is important to briefly follow this history of the decline of bureaucracy in organizations.
Most importantly starting with The Compliance Era, which was heavily supported by the economist of
the time. Since the 1970s it was reasonably accurate to think of workers roles in terms of compliance,
so much so that they were referred to as subordinates (Thomas 2009). During this time there is a
demand for standard production of goods and services in a stable environment. Blue-ribbon companies
of the time like General Motors, General Electric, and American Telephone and Telegraph followed this
philosophy of command and control, which demanded extensive rule books, lower pay and training cost
for workers. Also, these companies hired middle-managers to consistently supervise the workers. This
work ethic is very restricting even going against social and civil rights. For example, on the evening of
December 1936 auto workers occupied a sit-down strike at Flint, Michigan General Motors Plant. They
demanded to be recognized in the United Auto Workers Union, which would establish a fair minimum
wage scale, a grievance system and a set of procedures that would help protect assembly-line workers
from injury, this strike would last 44 days. In all, the autoworkers were able to join the UAW, given a 5
percent raise and given permission to speak in the lunchroom (History.com). Soon this bureaucratic
work ideology of close supervision and hierarchies would prevent workers from responding quickly to
customer needs and from generating innovations in this modern technological age.
Employee motivation is vital in our day and age, where technological advances are more
prevalent and there is a demand for innovations and conscious production. Thus, this means that
companies need individuals skills along with team efforts, so they must develop incentives to promote
originality. The most effective incentives are based on intrinsic motivation. For several decades,
researchers have believed that intrinsic motivation is an important driver of creativity. Intrinsic
motivation is thought to enhance creativity by increasing positive affect, cognitive flexibility, risk taking,
and persistence (Shalley, Zhou, & Oldham, 2004). This basically means that when employees are
intrinsically motivated their interest to learn and curiosity are enhanced. Also, their cognitive flexibility

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and willingness to take risks will expand their access to ideas and potential solutions. For example, Joe
Adams, managing director of Hampton Pryor Consulting in Texas, observed his employee who were
intrinsically motivated and he noted that when collectors are motivated, they will not only be financially
successful, but theyll also be successful from a client-relations standpoint (Collector, Oct. 2013). Thus,
it is recognized that employees who aspire with intrinsic motivation work hard for themselves and are
empowered long-term, which is food for the organizations.
Furthermore, in order to evoke intrinsic motivation within people, one must create a culture of
positivity and trust, which includes intrinsic rewards. Firstly, a culture of positivity is vital to creating an
environment where employees feel valued, confident and appreciated. Becky Pelkey, a training manager
for J.C. Christensen & Associates an important collectors company states:
You cannot always motivate a person, but you can provide a motivational environment they
will flourish in [and] make sure [a companys] mission, vision and values line up with the
culture [their] trying to promote (Collector, Oct. 2013).
Alongside, intrinsic rewards are becoming more important in organizations. Intrinsic rewards include
compensation that comes directly from satisfaction from the work one does. For example, taking pride in
workmanship or helping customers. Intrinsic rewards are about emotions and a companys management
should be responsible for generating and reinforcing positive emotions. There are four intrinsic rewards
according to renowned psychologists. Here are brief descriptions of each based on the Work Engagement
Profile developed by Walt Tymon:

A sense of meaningfulness is the opportunity you feel to pursue a worthy purpose. The feeling of
meaningfulness is the feeling that you are on a path that is worth your time and energythat you are on a
valuable mission and that your purpose matters in the larger scheme of things.

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A sense of choice is the opportunity you feel to select activities that make sense to you and to perform
them in ways that seem appropriate. The feeling of choice is the feeling of being able to use your own
judgment and act out of your own understanding.

A sense of competence is the accomplishment you feel in skillfully performing the activities you have
chosen. The feeling of competence involves the sense that you are doing good, high-quality work.

A sense of progress is the accomplishment you feel in achieving the purpose. The feeling of progress
involves the sense that your work is moving forward, that your activities are really accomplishing
something.

These intrinsic rewards are important to people because they affect their mentality and behavior. For
example, a sense of meaningfulness is significant for younger workers who generally are involved in new
learning in the work force. Once they become involved and realize they can handle most things the
passion tends to shift and they begin to feel like the need to do more in their work. Probably, asking
questions like Okay, I can do the work. Now what do I want to do? Why? In addition, a sense of
progress is a motivator that gets to the bottom line because there is a purpose in the work that needs to
be realized. For example, it can be an Olympic athlete whose ultimate goal is the moment of victory and
so that is enough to accomplish the sense of purpose.
However, it is just as important to recognize that people are all diverse so their sense of meaning or
purpose can be different. Usually there are underlying shared passions connected to spiritual or religious
beliefs and these are the most practical to start from when generating intrinsic rewards. Thereafter, an
understanding of individual judgments can specify workers needs also the energy that is needed for a
successful and motivated work atmosphere. For instance, David Angelo, is the chief creative officer at
Los-Angeles based marketing agency David&Goliath. He embodies positive company culture and growth
stating:

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Before you can ask clients to live their brand you have to lead by example. Unless you are
willing to own it, workers and customers wont believe in you. From our advertising to the
articles [we] write, we embrace our brave philosophy so everyone knows what we stand for. It
gives a clear path to realizing our potential (Innovators Oct. 2013).
A positive energy throughout the organization is what creates that charge of intrinsic motivation.
The Work Engagement Profile is the most recently and efficient way to determine the energy range
for intrinsic rewards. Thus, based on the workers score, an organization is more likely to determine
an intrinsic reward on a high-range, middle-range, or low-range scale. The following
description of each motivational energy range is provided by the Work Engagement Profile:
High-range scorers experience the four intrinsic rewards most intensely. These rewards are highly
energizing and engaging.
Middle-range scorers experience these same rewards to a more moderate degreeas somewhat positive
but limited. For example, their work may seem reasonably meaningful when they stop to think of it; they
may have a fair amount of choice but have to live with some decisions that dont make sense to them;
they may feel they do most things pretty well but not a few others; and they may feel they are making
some progress but less than they would like. They experience these reward levels as moderately
energizing and engagingenough to put in a fair days work, but end up feeling less satisfied than they
would like.
Low-range scorers are dissatisfied with many aspects of their work. They may feel their work is
relatively meaningless or pointless, that they are unable to make or influence decisions about how to do
their work, are unable to perform work activities very well, and are making little or no headway.
Experiencing these feelings drains the workers of energy and they are likely to become cynical and
resentful about their job over time.

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Among the concept of intrinsic motivation is the mission of employee engagement, which go hand in
hand. Intrinsic motivation can be achieved through employee engagement, which is also linked to
self-management. For example, self-management events for employees like: choosing your own
activities and monitoring your competence provide the judgments that produce the intrinsic
rewards like sense of choice or sense of competence (Thomas, 2009). Therefore, if you increase
workers intrinsic rewards it in turn alters their self-management. In all, the energy of positive feeling
is what reinforces this cycle.
On the other hand, there are also extrinsic motivations that should be briefly noted. These are
short-term motivators [that] help boost energy during a slow time or at the end of the month.
[However,] extrinsic motivation often costs money in the form of cash prizes, days off or other
incentives (Collector Oct 2013). Therefore extrinsic rewards, which are tangible for employees like
bonuses, cash rewards and benefits are short-lived and cannot sustain motivation or selfmanagement. However, in the Compliance Era extrinsic rewards played a dominant role because
of the routine and bureaucratic roles. Employees had little choice but to follow the rules so that when
they did so exceptionally the obvious reward would be tangible.
In conclusion, leaders of organizations are responsible for adjusting motivation. Leaders
must establish a vision that relates to each worker while also exemplifying the right behavior, setting
high goals and displaying a character of integrity and courage. The sense of purpose they exhibit,
the image of a promising future that they paint and the sense of urgency about the goals that can be
achieved together make people excited about the company (Silverstein, 2007). The big picture is
that managing changes to promote motivation for workers can be difficult but if a leader can grasp
each individuals beliefs and communicate effectively to empower your staff, then he or she can
change the attitude of any organizational situation. Applying motivational incentives into an
organizations vision is a risk that will improve the quality and promote growth in a company.

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Reference Page
Appleby, M. (2013). Maintaining Motivation. Collector (0010082X), 79(3), 18-20.
Grant, AM, & Berry, JW (2011). The Necessity of Others is the Mother of Invention: Intrinsic
and Prosocial Motivations, Perspective Taking, and Creativity .. Academy of Management
Journal , 54 (1), 73-96.
Silverstein, B. (2007) Motivating employees [electronic resource] : bringing out the best in your
people / Barry Silverstein. Pymble, N.S.W., Australia : New York, N.Y. : HarperCollins, 2007
(Noorwood, Mass. : Books42x7.com [generator]).
Thomas, K. (2009). Intrinsic motivation at work [electronic resource] : what really drives
employee engagement / Kenneth W. Thomas. San Francisco : Berrett-Koehler Publishers, c2009
(Norwood, Mass. : Books24x7.com [generator]).
Wang, J. (2013). The best MOTIVATORS IN BUSINESS. (cover story). Entrepreneur, 41(10),
36-47.