Motivation and Job Design Theories - Case Study Example

The experience that Peter Gibbons has on the highway is most likely a source of his lack of motivation. Because he cannot effectively get his vehicle into a moving lane, he gets demoralized. There is jam on the highway and he is most likely to arrive late at work. As he tries to move from one lane to another that appears to be moving relatively fast, the lane eventually stops moving when he has already joined the queue. He is thus unable to satisfy a lower need of getting a moving lane thus is most likely to relapse to a lower needs hierarchy level.

He is unmotivated because he cannot attain the level of self actualization, which is finding a fast-moving lane. Clayton P. Alderfer's ERG Theory isolates three fundamental human needs that determine the behavior as concerns existence, relatedness and growth of an employee. Existence needs comprise of basic necessities for existence. These are psychological and safety needs in Maslow’s model. Relatedness focuses on the need for interpersonal relationships, which conforms to Maslow’s social needs.

Lastly, Alderfer distinguishes growth needs, which is inherent aspiration for individual development. The ERG model acknowledges that the order of significance of the three needs categories differ from one employee to another. Further the ERG model recognizes that the failure to achieve a higher need may make an individual to regress to lower needs that are relatively easier to meet, which is referred to as frustration-regression principle. Frustration-regression principle considerably affects the motivation of a worker.

In the video clip, Peter Gibbons is apparently unmotivated in his job because he cannot achieve his target of finding a moving lane. Every time he tries to swerve to another lane, the new lane stops moving. This works him up and he appears to be focused on individual maintaining ground beside the highway. Because he is not achieving his mission, he is regressing to a lower need (relatedness) by focusing his attention on the ground worker. Q2. The company, Initech, should establish a reward and recognition program.

This would help the company to avoid situations where employees fell oppressed and that their contribution is not acknowledged. Peter Gibbons is depressed by how his boss treats him. The boss does not recognize Peter’s contribution, which leads him to develop an attitude of not caring about anything in the workplace. As such, establishing an effective reward and recognition of employee’s efforts would help to motivate Peter Gibson in the future. According to the theory of equity, employees who develop a notion that they are being underpaid or over-rewarded usually become distressed.

This distress usually makes them to pursue how to restore equity in their work. Equity tries to link the contribution of employees to the rewards that they get. The theory holds that an employee will become angry when he feels underpaid while overpayment will also lead to a sense of guilt. Peter Gibson is required to turn up for the job even during weekends, which can be so demoralizing, especially when his relationship with the manager seems to be on the wire. By issuing reward and recognizing Gibson’s efforts, he is likely to be motivated in his work in the future.

The management of Initech Company can also include employees in decision-making process, especially on matters that directly affect them. For example, Peter Gibson is unexpectedly