Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation - Research Paper Example

? INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION goes here] [Your goes here] [Due the paper] Motivation Employee motivation means to encourage and inspire employees to make them achieve organizational goals. Managers of all small and large companies give extreme attention towards increasing employee motivation because they have understood the importance of building a highly motivated and committed workforce for the company. Employee motivation not only improves the overall performance of an employee but also raises the level of increases organizational productivity. Some of the main benefits that companies get through building employee motivation level include improved employee commitment, organizational development, resource integration, and improvement in business processes. Employee motivation is a good mix of direction of behavior, level of effort, and level of persistence (Mosley Jr., Pietri, & Mosley Sr., 2011, p. 197). As Ellis-Christensen (n.d.) states, “when employee motivation is low, businesses can have a difficult time” (p. 1). This statement shows that without employee motivation, companies come across a number of problems, such as, poor employee performance, decreased income and profits, decreased level of employee commitment, decreased employee productivity, poor customer service, and increased employee absenteeism. On the other hand, when employees feel valued and their level of motivation is high, they show more commitment and dedication to their job related goals and responsibilities, which results in increasing the overall organizational performance. In this paper, we will discuss two main types of motivation that organizations use to build employee motivation. The paper will also include a discussion on whether the benefits of both types of motivation outweigh the negative consequences or not. Types of Motivation There are two main types of motivation, which include intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation s the type of motivation that comes from the inner self of a person and makes a person put some special efforts to achieve personal or professional goals. On the other hand, extrinsic motivation comes from the outside of a person. External sources play their role in building this type of motivation in a person. "Extrinsic motivation comes from external sources, motivating you with incentives to push your performance" (Ingram, n.d., p. 1). Both extrinsic and intrinsic motivations have certain advantages and disadvantages. Let us discuss how organizations use both of these types of motivation to raise the level of employee performance at the workplace. Intrinsic Motivation As described by various psychologists, intrinsic motivation has no external source that may drive a person to achieve his/her goals. Rather it builds in the person inside and is directly related to the desires, perceptions, and ambitions of a person. "Intrinsically motivated people are not influenced by external rewards or punishments for their work, such as earning money for doing a job or getting a poor grade on a school assignment" (Jeffress, n.d.). Individuals who are intrinsically motivated do things to get pleasure or to achieve a sense of accomplishment. There is no external element pushing employees to work hard for their ambitions (Thomas, 2009). They do not work for rewards, money, or other things like that. A very important point that distinguishes intrinsic motivation from extrinsic motivation is that people who are motivated intrinsically usually show long-term consistency and dedication to their tasks as compared to extrinsically motivated people. Intrinsically motivated people want to satisfy their inner-self and to do this, they put up big efforts. Another very important point is that intrinsically motivated individuals feel more enjoyment and fun in doing things because of which their performance level are on the higher ends most of the times. The desire of personal satisfaction is the key to achieve goals and objectives. Intrinsically motivated individuals look for personal accomplishments and development of skills and competency (Thompson, 2011). Some examples if intrinsic motivation include writing articles because of the internal need to gather more knowledge, running daily to relieve internal stress and feel better, and playing games to develop and nourish physical skills and abilities (Thompson, 2011). Positive Effects of Intrinsic Motivation There are many positive aspects of using intrinsic motivation to achieve organizational goals. Some of the main benefits of intrinsic motivation for organizations include reduced labor costs, reduced training costs, reduced compensation costs, and innovation. Let us discuss each of these benefits in some detail. Reduced Labor Costs One of the main benefits of intrinsic motivation is reduced labor costs. Intrinsically motivated employees do not need extra supervision by managers, thus reducing the need for a large managerial hierarchy. Managers get more time to focus on the productive tasks when their employees are motivated intrinsically. The reason is that such employees do not their managers to motivate them or to spend time in making employees aware of their roles and responsibilities. Intrinsically motivated employees have a good understanding of their job related goals and show high level performances to achieve those goals because of the link between intrinsic motivation and internal satisfaction. Such approach by employees reduces labor costs as their companies do not need to hire a larger number of supervisors or managers for employee management. Intrinsically motivated employees are able to solve problems and conflicts on their own because they are aware of the need of a collaborative working environment for the achievement of goals ion a timely manner. Intrinsically motivated employees are also able to complete projects on their own instead of being guided by their managers for the completion of project tasks (Ingram, n.d.). Reduced Training Costs Another positive effect of intrinsic motivation is reduced training costs. Organizations do not need to put much emphasis on employee training when the employees are intrinsically motivated to do assigned tasks. The reason is that intrinsic motivation builds the need to do things on merit in order to reach the highest levels of professional achievements. In such cases, the need for employee training becomes less because employees are aware of their roles and responsibilities, as well as the ways to perform those roles, thus reducing the training costs for the organizations. Reduced Compensation Costs Organizations also do not need to spend much money on introducing comprehensive compensation plans for employees. The reason is that intrinsically motivated employees do not work for rewards or bonuses from their managers. Their aim is to test their skills in carrying out their job responsibilities and get internal satisfaction and pleasure of making appropriate use of skills. Therefore, organizations do not need to use costly compensation plans as a way to motivate employees.. Innovation Intrinsically motivated employees are usually more creative and self-sufficient as compared to the ones who require external factors to be used to get motivated (Ingram, n.d.). When working on a project, they are able to take required actions on their own instead of needing the direction or guidance of man agers in every step. Similarly, they are able to make quick decisions based on their own intelligence instead of taking cases to the managers for proper resolution. Employees who focus on career development and personal accomplishment are more likely to put up valuable efforts and make significant contributions to their organization's strategic initiatives for getting satisfaction of being productive for their organization (Ingram, n.d.). Negative Effects of Intrinsic Motivation Having discussed the positive effects of intrinsic motivation on organizations, let us now discuss some negative effects associated with intrinsic motivation. Some of the main negative aspects of intrinsic motivation include slow change in behaviors, display of more control by employees, and need to use a variety of approaches to build employee motivation (Helen, 2012). Organizations need to put up extra efforts to build intrinsic motivation in employees. The process is usually lengthy as compared to extrinsic motivation process. Different employees have different personalities that managers need to understand first in order to inject in them the wish to do something good for their organization. To do this, managers need to use different approaches and mechanisms which take a considerable amount of time. Moreover, intrinsically motivated employees sometimes show more control because of their increased ability to take critical decisions on their own. These are some of the negative points associated with intrinsic motivation which organizations need to consider when planning improving performances of employees through intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic Motivation Extrinsic motivation refers to external ways that organizations use to build the motivation level of employees. The main difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is that in intrinsic motivation, the goal is to achieve satisfaction upon achievement of some particular goals, whereas in extrinsic motivation, the goal is to achieve a highly regarded outcome, such as, rewards, job and health benefits, and promotions. “Extrinsic motivation relies on factors outside of an individual’s personal motives” (Vitez, 2012). Some of the main sources for extrinsic motivation include medals, high grades, performance records, increase in compensation, discounts, rewards, money, job enrichment, and good health (Thompson, 2011). Along with rewards, fear of punishments and failure also raise the level of extrinsic motivation. For example, teachers use punishments and threat of low grades to motivate students in schools. On the other hand, retail stores use discounts and free gifts as the ways to make people buy products. Moreover, organizations use rewards and monetary benefits as the ways to improve employees' performances. Positive Effects of Extrinsic Motivation There are a number of positive aspects of using extrinsic motivation to achieve organizational goals. Some of the main benefits of extrinsic motivation for organizations include increased employee productivity, increased interest of showing good performances, increased dedication and commitment, increased competition among employees to get rewards, and improved organizational productivity. Let us now discuss some of the main ways organizations can use extrinsic motivation to achieve positive/desired results. Use of Compensation Improves Employee Commitment Providing rewards and benefits as compensation to employees is one of the most effective ways to build employee motivation. Employees like working for the companies that provide them with considerable benefits upon achievement of desired results. A wide range of benefits, which include performance based incentives, salary raise, performance based bonuses, and commission play a vital role in motivating employees extrinsically. Rewards and benefits can be given to employees based on their individual and group performances. The basic intent of using compensation is to increase employee motivation because it is a key to a company’s success. The difference between the level of enthusiasm and commitment of compensated and non-compensated employees is evident from the performances of their respective companies in the market. Those employees, who are given rewards and benefits for their performances are more enthusiastic and show more commitment and dedication to their job related tasks. for example, if a company gives commission to employees on reaching a certain level of sales, the employees will work hard to get to that level which will not only work as a source of motivation for the employees but also it will increase organizational productivity. Increased Level of Self-Confidence One of the main outcomes of extrinsic motivation is the encouragement that managers give to employees on achieving the targets. Employees’ motivation is increased when they know that their managers or supervisors will appreciate them. Employees feel valued and satisfied when their managers come to their desks and appreciate them for their performances. Appreciation and encouragement are the signs of positive reception and approval that higher authorities to the subordinates. Encouragement also increases the level of self-confidence of employees Extrinsic Motivation Increases Competition Another positive effect of extrinsic motivation is that it increases competition among employees. Effective team management is one of the main areas of concern for modern age managers (Thompson, 2008). Managers set rewards for teams so that they show improved performances to achieve those rewards. For example, when employees know that the group with the highest level of performance will get the rewards upon reaching some certain level of targets, they will show more commitment to their group tasks which will consequently increase competition among the groups. This is a very positive aspect of extrinsic motivation as all employees work hard to win the rewards set by their managers. Operational Control “Using extrinsic motivation in the workplace can allow for a greater degree of control over operational processes” (Ingram, n.d.). For example, managers get the opportunity to closely supervise the work of their subordinates in order to keep their motivation and performance levels high. Although all employees do not like close managerial supervision, but it does work well in cases where employees require constant guidance and supervision to complete their tasks. Increased Organizational Efficiency Another positive effect of extrinsic motivation is improved organization productivity and efficiency. Creating such work environments where employees and managers work in close collaboration to achieve desired results can help companies in improving business processes, maximize financial opportunities, and increase overall production (Vitez, 2012). Increased organizational output eventually results in providing competitive advantage to the company in a competitive market. Negative Effects of Extrinsic Motivation Having discussed the positive effects of extrinsic motivation on employee performance and productivity, let us now discuss some negative points associated with this type of motivation. Some of those points include distraction from learning, short-term effectiveness, difficulty in setting appropriate rewards for performances, and decreased motivation on removing the rewards (Helen, 2012). Short-term effectiveness is a major concern regarding extrinsic motivation. The reason is that when the term of a contract or duration of the project for which managers set the rewards is over, employees become less motivated for the time till the next project. To escape from such scenarios, companies need to build long-term compensation plans so that employees continue working in the same manner all the time. However, this approach by managers increases compensation costs for the company. Similarly, some companies face difficulty in setting appropriate rewards and benefits for performance-based compensation systems because of which neither do employees become satisfied and motivated nor does the company enjoy increased productivity. Moreover, extrinsic motivation also distracts employees focus from learning. The reason is that when a company uses rewards and bonuses to motivate employees to show improved performances, employees’ focus shift from job learning to achievement of rewards which affects the knowledge learning ability of employees. Employees just work for getting the rewards instead of building their intellectual and professional skills and knowledge which occur only if employees are intrinsically motivated. These were some of the negative effects of using external sources for building employee motivation in organizations. Does Benefits of Motivation Outweigh the Negatives? Having discussed the positive and negative effects of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on employees and organizations, it is evident that the positive effects of both types of motivation overshadow the negative ones. Motivation, whether intrinsic or extrinsic, produces a number of considerable benefits for employees and organizations. On the other hand, the concerns or negative points associated with them are not high in number. Moreover, companies using a positive and well-planned managerial approach can also offset the negativity of those concerns. Summing it up, motivation is the key towards success of both employees and organizations. Without having a highly motivated and enthusiastic workforce, it is impossible for a company to prosper in a competitive market. A motivated workforce is the need of today for every company to achieve higher rates of productivity and profits. It is upon the managers and concerned authorities to do effective planning to motivate employees in order to reap maximum benefits associated with motivation. References Ellis-Christensen, T. (n.d.). How Do I Increase Employee Motivation?. Retrieved from http://www.wisegeek.com/how-do-i-increase-employee-motivation.htm Helen, I 2012, Advantages and Disadvantages of Motivation. Retrieved from http://psychologyoflearningmotivation.blogspot.com/2011/04/advantages-and-disadvantages-of.html Ingram, D n.d., The Advantages of Intrinsic & Extrinsic Motivation. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-intrinsic-extrinsic-motivation-11246.html Jeffress, D n.d., What Is Intrinsic Motivation?. Retrieved from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-intrinsic-motivation.htm Mosley Jr., D., Pietri, P., & Mosley Sr., D. (2011). Supervisory Management: The Art of Inspiring, Empowering, and Developing People (8th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage learning. Thomas, K. (2009). Intrinsic Motivation at Work: What Really Drives Employee Engagement (2nd ed.). California: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. Thompson, L. (2008). Making the Team: A Guide for Managers (4th ed.). New Jersey, NJ: Prentice Hall. Thompson, N 2011, The Difference Between Intrinsic Motivation & Extrinsic Motivation. Retrieved from http://www.livestrong.com/article/174305-the-difference-between-intrinsic-motivation-extrinsic-motivation/ Vitez, O 2012, What Is Extrinsic Motivation?. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/extrinsic-motivation-1185.html Read More