January – June 2022

Summative Assessment 1 - Examination Revision

Module: Workplace Psychology (HPSW230-1)

Instructions:

In preparation for your upcoming Summative Assessment 1, please see below a sample question and
solution:

Question:

Motivation is an important part of cognitive theories. Performance interventions have shown to be key
to the development of a competitive advantage by organisations. Good performance at any job
requires knowledge and motivation. Knowledge is the “engine of performance”, whilst motivation is
the “energy of performance”. (Bergh & Geldenhuys, 2019: 403)

With above excerpt in mind, explain how motivational theorists view motivation and apply this
understanding to the South African context. (15 marks)

Solution: Unit 12 – Chapter 18: pp. 403 - 404

All motivation results from a drive to increase personal self-efficacy √, which has proven to affect
various life dimensions such as learning orientation, transformational leadership and creativity √. The
incentive value of an outcome is dependent on a number of factors. √ This includes, but is not limited
to, personal value of a situation and the amount of challenge involved in the situation√ the perceived
internal or external locus of control, √ monetary rewards as evidence for self-efficacy, √ and the
concept of failure as an uncontrollable external cause. √

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In South Africa, researchers found that a lack of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards handicapped the
development of performance values in black managers. √ Motivation theory states that performance
depends on the perceived value of the outcome. √ Operational support for this study is found in the
fact that remuneration for black employees was generally based on union agreements, rather than on
incentives for performance. √ Traditionally, black employees were denied the opportunity to
participate in performance evaluation, √ which might have led to a situation in which competitiveness,
status aspiration and authoritarianism failed to emerge as important values for black managers.√
South African-based research also indicates that in terms of distance education and barriers to
persistence, √ intrinsically motivated students displayed higher persistence rates than extrinsically
motivated students. √

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