Process Theories of Motivation - Gunjit Singh PDF

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Mandatory assignment for semester 1, full grade guaranteed, please paraphrase before submitting , also make sure there are no mistakes, professors are nice...

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Process Theories of Motivation Organizational Behaviour – Reflection Paper

Gunjit SIngh

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In this reflection paper I will be focusing on what is Motivation and Process Theories of Motivation. These topics have been taught to us by our professor Ms. Meghan Kirwin.

Section 1: OB Topic Overview:

What is Motivation?  Motivation determines the intensity, direction, and persistence of an individual's work toward obtaining a goal.  The term "intensity" relates to the amount of effort put forward by a person. When we discuss motivation, most of us concentrate on one component. High intensity, on the other hand, is unlikely to result in favourable job performance unless the effort is channelled in the right way. As a result, we consider the effort's intensity as well as its quality. Finally, the task necessitates perseverance. This test determines a person's ability to exert themselves for a lengthy amount of time. Motivated people persevere in completing a task until it is completed. The process of motivation is universal; everyone is motivated to achieve goals that they care about.  At different periods, the level of motivation fluctuates both between and within individuals.

Process Theories of Motivation:  Rather than focusing on individual desires, process theories examine how people motivate themselves and others. Process theories include things like expectancy theory, goal-setting theory (which includes management by objectives), self-efficacy theory, and reinforcement theory.  Expectancy Theory: Employees will be motivated to put up a lot of effort if they believe the following, according to the expectation theory: 1. That putting forth the effort will pay you handsomely. 2. Good performance will result in organizational awards, such as pay raises and/or intrinsic rewards. 3. The prizes will help employees achieve their personal goals.

 Goal Setting Theory : Setting specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timetargeted goals is part of the S.M.A.R.T. goals. 1. According to research on goal setting theory, ensuring that individuals in a group with a similar objective are clear on what is expected of them is an effective technique for making progress. Setting goals helps people strive toward their own aims on a personal level. 2. Goals are a sort of motivation that sets the benchmark for self-satisfaction with one's job. 3. Achieving personal goals is a measure of success, whereas overcoming corporate challenges is a sign of success.

 Self-Efficacy Theory: Achieving personal goals is a measure of success, whereas overcoming workplace challenges is a measure of success at the workplace. 1. Your self-efficacy level indicates how confident you are in your ability to complete a task. 2. In difficult situations, those with low self-efficacy are more likely to limit their effort or stop altogether, whereas people with high self-efficacy will fight harder to solve the challenge. 3. Self-efficacy can create a positive feedback system in which people with high efficacy become more engaged in their work, which lead to positive outcomes, which leads to even greater efficacy.

 Reinforcement Theory: Reinforcement theory takes a behavioristic approach, claiming that reinforcement shapes behaviour 1. Reinforcement theorists believe that behaviour is influenced by the environment. Internal cognitive events are unimportant, they argue; reinforcers—any consequences that raise the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated when they occur soon after a response—are what control behaviour. 2. Reinforcement theory overlooks an individual's inner state and focuses entirely on what happens when he or she does a specific action. 3. It isn't technically speaking a theory of motivation because it doesn't deal with what motivates people to do things.

Section 2: Application with Real Life Example:

Having worked for an organization last year has helped me understand the OB topic assigned much more accurately due to the following example: Motivation is something that helps an individual achieve goals. Motivation is the driving factor for many individuals that want to be successful in life because of the hunger to be at the top. Motivation helps in completing day to day tasks as well, tasks as little as brushing your teeth in the morning or tasks as big as completing that report your boss asked for by 10:00 a.m. I’ve had an experience in my life which has helped me to understand motivation better. Last year when I was in a full-time job, just after my graduation ended, there was a colleague of mine, Manas, who wasn’t feeling his usual self. As I approached him, I was acquainted with his situation, his grandmother, who he was very close to, had passed away as she wasn’t keeping quite well since a long time. Manas was filled with negative emotions. He didn’t talk to many people, just sat at his desk and kept working, perhaps just to keep himself distracted from the situation. Our boss also had high expectations from him since Manas’s work ethic was top notch. He was to submit a product report which was due that afternoon. I could see him not being able to concentrate on his work and spoke to him regarding the matter since I couldn’t see a person who is filled with positive attitude in life, was in so much distress. He told me that his grandmother’s death was expected, but not so early. He had come to the office just because of the goal that he had set, which was to complete the product report as he didn’t want the boss’s expectation to go down. I spoke to him and consoled him that such things are part of everyone’s life. Everyone has a limited time and it is best to just remember the time that you got to spend with your grandmother. I kept reinforcing positive thoughts so that he would feel better. I also told him that if he gets completely involved in the report, he might be able to take his mind off the situation and offered to help him with the report. I knew, once we put our minds to the report, he would completely forget about the situation and understand the practicality of it. Once we successfully completed the report and submitted, he was much happier than before because the goal was completed and his motivation/efficacy increased to work more. He understood that being busy in work would help him in getting over the negative emotions. From that day he has always been intrinsically motivated and his performance increased two-fold. Today, he is a successful marketing professional just because he decided to not let negative emotions get the best of him. He continuously sets goals and meets expectations of everyone and the reinforcement of doing better in life keeps him motivated all the time.

Section 3: Recommendations: 1. The first recommendation is that we could’ve done to tackle the situation differently is that we should’ve directly spoken to him and consoled him to move on from his negative emotions. All of us in the office should’ve been more considerate in understanding his situation rather than just one person. Manas should also not have thought much about the expectations from boss since this was an exceptional situation and he shouldn’t have been so goal oriented. Even if he would’ve called from home and told boss about the situation, boss could’ve granted him a leave reinforcing that such things keep happening and shouldn’t affect us for long and that the product report could be submitted some other time as well.

2. The second recommendation is that we should have given Manas his space. Every

individual has their own way of tackling their intrinsic emotions. Due to what happened, he was somewhat feeling low power distance as he was very close to his grandmother. Reminiscing all memories, he would’ve automatically been motivated because he knew that his grandmother’s blessings were always with him and he could’ve positively reinforced those blessings into goals by deciding to do better in life, owing it to her. This way whatever task he did, would’ve been successfully completed because of his high efficacy and the decision to do better....