Saturday, April 9, 2011

Motivation in business

I read Daniel Pink's book Drive.  It inspired me to read a couple more books about motivation and leadership and to reflect on my experience as a leader.  The word clould below is a representation of my outline about what motiviation is and what it means in the work place.  The outline summarizes the principle theories considered.  Please respond to the poll and/or leave your comments.
a.       Internal and External Motivations
                                                               i.      In the work environment external motivations are a given
                                                             ii.      In the work environment internal motivations matter just as much
b.      Behavioral Psychology (Skinner)
                                                               i.      Incentives
                                                             ii.      Wants vs. Likes
                                                            iii.      Wants means action
c.       Hierarchy of Needs (Maslov) and ERG (Alderfer)
                                                               i.      Physiological (food, safety, shelter) -> Social (belonging, achievement) -> Spiritual (purpose, self actualization) = Existence, Relatedness, Growth
                                                             ii.      Only unsatisfied needs influence behavior (Drive Reduction Theory)
d.      Two Factor Theory (Herzberg)
                                                               i.      Motivators (intrinsic) – things that lead to satisfaction
                                                             ii.      Hygiene (extrinsic) – things that can lead to dissatisfaction
e.      Self Determination Theory (Deci)
                                                               i.      Motivation is intrinsic
                                                             ii.      Curiosity and growth are innate
                                                            iii.      Achievement is not automatic