Understanding Employee Motivation and Goal Setting Theory

1. The common themes that appear in these theories are that they all focus on ways to keep employees motivated on the job, how to recognize and identify different personalities and how to motivate each of them, and that the behavior of an employee is influenced by the reward given to satisfy the need.
Goal setting theory assumes that behavior results from an individual’s mindful objectives and purposes. Goals impact conduct by guiding energy and attention, supporting determination over time, and encouraging the individual to cultivate schemes in order to attain goals. It submits that learning can be aided by giving learners precise thought-provoking aims and objectives. The impact of goal setting theory can be appreciated in the advance of

2. Daniel Pink’s persuasive theory on what motivates us is backed up with scientific thoughts. According to the research, there is an extreme mismatch between the human capital practices that businesses use and the practices that really work. Pink demonstrates that with the complex and more creative style of 21st century jobs, traditional rewards can, in reality, lead to a lesser amount of what is wanted and a greater amount of what is not wanted. As per the 20th century motivational theory, the productivity of workers depends on the rewards given for their behavior, what is sought, and punishment for the behavior that is discouraged. This approach is named as the “carrot and stick approach”. Scientists began to come across conditions throughout their tests in which the reward-punishment drive was not generating the projected performance outcomes. This led to the discovery of a possible third drive for human

I have not had much experience in the workplace, so I have chosen to use my position as a family manager (mother) and the jobs (chores) of my employees (children). I use a combination of piece-rate and merit reward systems with my children. For example, my oldest son has particular chores that he is to do each week. In turn, he earns a set “paycheck” for completing all his jobs on time and to my expectations. In addition, there is a list of optional jobs that he can do if he would like to earn additional pay (piece-rate). Finally, if his schoolwork, attitude, etc. have all been satisfactory for the week, he earns a “good conduct bonus” (merit incentive). As my son is now a teenager and very interested in money, I feel this is the most effective system to use. He seems to respond well to the monetary incentives, and he enjoys feeling in control of the amount of money he