Motivation
Concepts Analysis
Motivation is the force that is mostly responsible for human behavior;
it is “the intention of achieving a goal, leading to goal-directed behavior”
("Motivation," 2013). The need
to survive in this world prompts motivation in the workforce because individuals
have needs that only can be met financially.
Many theories on motivation have been developed in the field of
psychology to provide explanations on different levels of motivation. This paper will examine one theory and
describe how this theory would and would not be applicable if applied to two or
more workplace situations based on my own personal experience. This paper will also assess the need to
develop and create new theoretical models of motivation in today’s changing
work environment in the instance when the theory was not applicable to your
experience. This paper will also explain
the ramifications of failing to meet or create new theoretical models of
motivation and describe how theoretical models of motivation can affect
personal satisfaction and productivity.
Cognitive Dissonance Theory
The study of motivation can be contributed to many philosophers in
the early times that include three grand theories known as will, instinct and
drive which have led to a better understanding of human motivation; however I
have elected to examine Cognitive Dissonance theory which is a mini theory that
will explain some of motivated behavior.
I chose Cognitive Dissonance
theory because I personally believe that cognitive dissonance affects the
manner in which an individual passes judgment and makes important decisions
that concern morals and beliefs which ultimately takes place in the workforce.
The Cognitive Dissonance was developed by Leon Festinger in 1957
based on his beliefs that “if an uncomfortable feeling or stress is cause by simultaneously
holing two contradictory ideas (cognitions), then people will strive to reduce
the discomfort (dissonance) by modifying an existing belief or by rejecting one
of the two conflicting ideas” (Grigg, 2008).
Cognitive Dissonance and workplace
experiences
I worked in hvac sales for well over 10 years and it was a very
hostile unorganized work environment in which I experienced cognitive
dissonance regularly that ultimately increased my stress level which affected
my job performance on so many occasions.
As a sales representative I personally felt that professionalism was
very important especially when it came to customer service; however I was the
youngest and only female in sales which made it very hard to uphold my beliefs
on professionalism and courtesy when I was constantly being yelled at and disrespected
by fellow workers who didn’t believe that I knew enough to handle the job
because I was a female and customers that would rather have a male sales
representative. There were customers
that would frequent the store that no one wanted to help so most of the guys
would act like they were busy and didn’t see the customer in the store or they
would take their break upon arrival of that customer. The store manager was well aware of what was
being done but never addressed the issue with those that avoided certain
customers which kind of made it seem like that form of behavior was acceptable
and I found myself doing the same thing but I felt that it was wrong which is
why I believe the cognitive dissonance theory is applicable to this situation. The
feelings that I encountered while avoiding certain customers that were
considered problems motivated me to change my behavior and stick to my morals
and beliefs with being professional and courteous to all customers which in
turn increased my productivity because it made customers want me to help them
every time they visited the store.
Currently I am a school bus driver and I personally believe that
cognitive dissonance theory is applicable to many situations in this position because
as a school bus driver I am held to very high expectations. Providing transportation for school-aged
children is a very important task in which safety should always be considered
first and because I am a parent whose children also ride the school bus I can
really appreciate the importance in all of the rules and regulations that are
put in place to ensure the safety of the children. Many of the school bus drivers do not obey
the speed limit which has contributed to accidents. I am not one of those drivers because I am
not in a rush to get anywhere especially when the road conditions are not so
good; however there have been instances when other drivers showed aggression
towards me on the road because I was not driving above the speed limit. I believe that cognitive dissonance theory is
applicable to this situation because of the uncomfortable feelings I was
feeling it motivated to yield to those drivers and allow them to pass me and
continue to drive at the speed limit focusing on the safety of my students
first.
As a sales representative everyone was salary and there was no commission;
however we did receive year-end bonuses based on the sales report that came out
at the end of the year. The salaries
were pretty good so there was no incentive for anyone to want to put forth more
effort to increase sales because whether equipment was sold or not everyone
still received their salary. The cognitive
theory is not applicable to this situation because morals are not really in
question, therefore this experience can be used to develop and create new
theoretical models of motivation in today’s changing work environment.
The need to develop and
create new theoretical models
Human behavior and motivation is always changing that is what
makes the field of psychology very important because it provides explanations
of the changes as the times change. Changes
in the economy plays a major role in motivation in the workplace which is why there
is a need to develop and create new theoretical models to reflect those
changes. In the instance in which the
cognitive dissonance theory is not applicable when it involves motivating
employees to increase their sales without receiving any additional incentives
outside of their salary another theoretical model would have to be developed to
gain understanding on what could motivate these employees.
Ramifications of creating
new theoretical models of motivation
Creating new theoretical models of motivation can be very
challenging especially when it comes to the workplace because motivation is
based on individual needs and not everyone share the same needs outside of the
basics. Intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation varies depending on the individual, for example an increase in
salary can motivate some employees to increase productivity while satisfied
customers can motivate other employees to increase productivity because of the
internal feelings received from seeing a customer satisfied.
Personal satisfaction and
productivity
Theoretical models of motivation can affect personal satisfaction
and productivity because they provide a better understanding on “individual
actions and what determines them” (Graves, 2007). When an employer understands motivation and
behavior they can provide their employees with things that could give them
personal satisfaction and with that productivity can increase.
Conclusion
Motivation affects human behavior in many ways and many theories
have been developed dating back to ancient greek times to provide an
explanation on those factors. I chose the
cognitive dissonance theory to explain motivation based on morals, values, and
beliefs in certain situations at the workplace because I have always been the
type of person that wants to do what is right to avoid those uncomfortable
feelings that I learned is known as cognitive dissonance. Applying the cognitive dissonance theory
suggests that those uncomfortable feelings will motivate an individual to
change their behavior so those feelings can go away which is something that I
have experienced in many situations at the workplace.
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