The Puzzle of Motivation Speech of Dan Pink - Literature review Example

THE POWER OF EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION IN MANAGEMENT By Student’s Name Code + course name Instructor’s Name Institution of Learning City, State Date Introduction Society has occasionally embraced incentives and prizes as a way to motivate people in achieving a given goal. In the 21st century material things and personal gain has driven the modern society to do things out of pressure or for a reward (Barton, 2002, P.46). This contrasts with the idea of someone just taking part in an activity because they like it or for the fun of it. For instance a person will only go to work because he or she is being paid or because they need to sustain their families. In his talk, Dan Pink affirms that extrinsic motivation not only drives a person to do something for a reward but also demoralizes the internal motivation. Thus extrinsic motivations according to studies are the external factors that motivate a person to do something. Hence a person will participate in something in order to receive an award or out of pressure from others. Dan Pink in his speech, “The Puzzle of Motivation,” he speaks about a topic that goes against the convectional business ethos. In which he discusses how most business employers and enterprises use rewards as a way to motivate their workers to put in more efforts and also attract customers. These values, as employed by the corporate world are in divergent with the examples discussed by Pink as he opposes extrinsic motivations. Mr. Pink emphasizes on the power of autonomy, mastery and purpose. He argues that if people stopped to overly depend on extrinsic motivations as a way to get things done, the corporate world would be stronger than it is. In order to explain his theories, Pink uses experiments carried out on different people and occasions. In his examples, he explains how social sciences have proved that extrinsic motivation rarely works in most instances yet businesses still incorporate them. Pink makes his stand clear and does not advocate for extrinsic motivations whatsoever. External factors that affect a person’s performance are everywhere. This makes one tend to side with Pink’s argument on extrinsic motivation. Evidence based on empirical studies, certify that extrinsic motivation negatively impact an individual’s intrusive motivation (Ali & Ahmed, 2009, P. 270). Thus restricting the efforts put in by employees, this in turn registers a poor performance by the employees. In addition to this psychologists and sociologists have often stated that extrinsic factors such as rewards and punishments are not as productive as they are perceived. This study tends to affirm what Dan Pink states in his speech that, “there is a mismatch between what science knows and what business does”. This is because they often put a lot of pressure on an individual therefore undermining the intrusive motivations. When studying the impact of extrinsic motivation, several questions come to mind. Why do employers impose the use of incentives as a reward, yet it is a counterproductive method? Should an employee be given a bonus for a job he or she is supposed to do? How do external factors affect the effort and performance of employees? These questions challenge the way one thinks about and perceives extrinsic motivations. Economists perceive incentives as positive reinforcement. As a result workers will put in more effort and register high production levels. However these workers will only feel the need to work extra hard if they are promised a reward. Fehr and Schmidt, 2000, p.20, note that excessive use of incentives as a form of reward, result to a relatively poor compliance as compared to the performance levels in the labor sector. Extrinsic motivations tend to be effective on a short term basis but eventually they are costly. These types of motivation whether in form of incentives or other rewards, encourage workers to be dependant. This due to the fact that once these rewards are withdrawn, employees reduce their current level of performance and register low production levels. Therefore they become negative reinforcements once they are withdrawn. According to Deci and Ryan, 1985, extrinsic motivations not only undermine intrusive motivators but are also less effective. Placed in a similar situation the workers will be hesitant to take another task of its kind in the future, since they are expecting a reward to motivate them in taking part in the job level. Furthermore extrinsic motivations completely diminish intrinsic motivation and reduce performance (Pink, 2009, P. 114). Influence from external factors such as family and financial constraints, will deter an employee from putting in more effort in a task. This is because the employee will not fully participate in the task at hand because he or she has the capability, but will do it out of pressure. Therefore this only encourages the employee to complete the task without considering the quality of the work done. In addition to this, effort and the ability to perform are perceived as complementary vices in the field of production. This only goes to affirm that extrinsic motivations will not only interfere with the intrinsic motivations but will also get in the way of production in an organization. Regardless of this, the field of human resource management still acknowledges the use of incentives and recognition as a way to boost workers morale. Managers will do this by criticizing the efforts and achievements of the worker’s colleague, friend, or relative. This method negatively impacts an organization as it paves way for the battle of dominance (Andrew and Kent, 2007, P. 35). Since the employee whose ego is boosted through downsizing others feels more superior to the rest. He or she will consider taking part or initiating projects within the organization that only seem viable to them. Moreover this type of employee is eventually demoralized from choosing good projects that create more profit for the company and also deter them from contributing their efforts at the implementation stage. According to the research by Dan, he affirms that “incentives dull thinking and creativity instead of sharpening a person’s ability to think and be creative”. Such an example of extrinsic motivations tends to be biased and at the same time lowers the self esteem and morale of other employees. Instead of the rest of the employees to be rejuvenated and inspired to improve on their performance they feel despised and their efforts not appreciated. Thus by showing favor to the most promising employee or using incentives to award some employees so as to challenge the rest only has a short term benefit on the organization. This form of extrinsic motivation is regarded as a short term positive reinforce, since it gears employees to exert effort in areas that they would not if there was no reward being offered. On the other hand it is a long term negative reinforcement, since it completely tears away the self confidence of the other employees. As a result these employees will not exhibit high confidence regardless of the project outcome (Bull, 2005, P. 26). Self confidence, self control, and self obligation are normally perceived as driving factors in motivating a person’s intrinsic motivations. Thus the introduction of extrinsic motivations completely bashes these three driving forces. As a result there is unequal participation by workers in the pursuit to achieve the organizational goals and objectives. Participation according to studies is a coordinating factor that is believed to be an alternative to markets (Bull, 2005, P.20). Consequently if the employees do not equally participate in achieving the set goals and objectives of an organization, chances are that the organization will fail in being successful. According to (Oosthuizen, 2001, P.38) contingent rewards tend to attract the undesirable workers in an organization. For instance the lazy workers will only exert efforts in any organizational projects in which they are promised a reward for. This type of workers will take part in a project only for the rewards and do not care about the outcome of the project. Eventually the organization will succeed in getting these workers more involved but at the end lose more on the profits made. Dan pink in his Ted Talk states that, “Contingent motivators -- if you do this, then you get that -- work in some circumstances. But for a lot of tasks, they actually either don't work or, often, they do harm”. The studies on both the short term and long term impacts of contingent rewards, suggest that a reward once offered will always be required (Frey, Fehr and Benz, 2000, P.150). This goes to explain the fact that employees tend to be more dependent on external factors in order to perform. Thus without extrinsic motivation they become reluctant and register low levels of production. Several experiments have provided evidence that most workers tend to be less eager about their jobs when a reward is withdrawn. Additionally, these workers will start reacting in undesirable manners instead of being proactive. The use of incentives as a way of rewarding employees should be avoided at all costs. Employers should train their employees to put in the same amount of efforts in a job, whether there is a reward or not. Allowing the management and staff members to efficiently perform under all circumstances creates a favorable and profitable working environment. This strategy will also open new opportunities for the company, as the organization and its staff members are not scared of venturing into new projects. Consequently this strategy enables the organization to strike a balance between employee commitment and performance management (Mayer and Kirsten, 2005, P.33-34). Thus the commitment and performance of employees should not be solely dependent on the rewards and recognition. Organization should therefore embrace other methods that encourage workers to exert the needed amount of efforts. The commitment of employees should be inwardly motivated; hence the need to exhibit high performance levels should not be out of external pressure. The organization should therefore focus in integrating the efforts of all departments within the organization. This aligns the contribution of all junior and staff members thus promoting fairness and transparency among employees (Oosthuizen, 2001, P. 35). Instead of relying of extrinsic motivations as a way to improve on performance an organization should promote a consistent performance assessment. By conducting regular assessments, employees are educated and reminded of their tasks and job description. Board, 2007, P. 66 states that an assessment also allows managers to understand the means in which the organization can manage each employee pay slip according to their job description. Moreover it will deter the organization from rewarding employees for their jobs since an employee is well aware that he or she will only receive a fixed amount of salary. The employees exert the same amount of effort for a new project as they did in an old one. However managers should recognize the nature of competitive pay. Competitive pay refers to the amount of salary other companies in the market are willing to pay to their workers. Whereas other organizations may be relying on rewards and recognition in order to attract and maintain workers, managers are supposed to come up with a counteractive strategy so as to compete favorably. In order to effectively compete with other organizations, the management team should invest in analyzing and evaluating the cycle of competitive pay in the market place. This can be done by carrying out a market analysis research project that seeks to identify what other potential basics the rest of the organizations have not tapped into (Barton, 2002, P.15). Therefore after analyzing and evaluating this cycle, it is important that the organization invests adequately in reviewing the payrolls and pay costs of its employees. Consequently, in revising these pay rolls managers should have two things in mind; the quality of work by each employee, and the management of the salary structure. Managing the annual salary structure should ensure that the employees are paid and treated fairly without inclusive of ‘side’ payments as a way of motivating a worker. This ensures that the organization maintains high production levels with an equally high performance and still maintains capable and quality employees (Barton, 2002, P.22). Hence employees are only paid for their expertise and not paid so as to throw in some extra effort in reaching the goals and objectives of an organization. In addition to this the organization will not feel compelled to use bonuses, rewards or advance payments in order to improve performance amongst its employees. Coaching, training and mentorship programs should also be included in the administration system of an organization. These programs educate the employees of their job descriptions, what it entails, and advices them on how much salary to expect (Board, 2007, P. 15). Employees are also informed of what is expected of them, their duties and departments within the organization. Hence the organization will have employees that self driven, internally motivated and have the passion to perform their duties and play their significant role in achieving the objectives of the organization. Moreover they will not be working expecting any form of rewards in order to exert extra effort in their field of work. This is an indication that the employee is self confidence and beliefs that he or she is capable of committing to the duties within the organization without any sort of external motivations. According to Board, 2007, P.66, Participation by employees in the decision making procedure encourages them to be more enthusiastic about their jobs. These employees feel a sense of belonging and significance. Thus both the organization and employees are able to come into an agreement in which both parties should contribute in achieving the goals of the organization. Commitment and performance management within the organization are also addressed in greater lengths. Allowing the organization to screen their employees and identify which employees are not committed enough. This participatory method is a form of deterrence that shifts the organization from focusing on rewards. The organization will instead focus on providing a conducive and favorable working environment for their employees. Participation by employees in the development of decisions also contributes in creating great and creative thinkers amongst them. Conclusion It is worth noting that most business enterprises tend to adopt the use of extrinsic motivations, as a way to boost employees’ morale. The 21st century has established a competitive nature within the corporate world, therefore pushing business all over the world in adopting several ways in which they can motivate their employees. However it is crucial to understand that an employee should first have a self driven spirit so as to register a relatively high performance. Marketing research and evaluation are the key factors in ensuring a business performs exceptionally well and not motivating workers through incentives. Incentives are short term reinforcements that turn out to be a dangerous way to ensure employee commitment and performance. This study has explored several ways in which extrinsic motivations impact the intrinsic motivations of and employee. Additionally it seeks to establish some disadvantages of external factors in the management of an organization. Extrinsic factors affect the morale of workers in a much larger scale than most business personnel perceive. Most organizations will mainly focus on the short term benefits of extrinsic motivations and forget the long terms once which have a negative effect on both the organization and its workers. Therefore to effectively implement the organizational rules, goals and objectives it is vital for the management team to critically analyze factors that interfere with the job performance. This provides an opportunity for the organization to exploit other possible solutions other than just focusing on extrinsic measures of motivation. References Ali, R., & Ahmed, M. S. 2009. The impact of reward and recognition programs on employee’s motivation and satisfaction: an empirical study. International Review of Business Research Papers, 5(4): 270-279. Andrew, D. P. S., & Kent, A. 2007. The impact of perceived leadership behaviors on satisfaction, commitment, and motivation: An expansion of the multidimensional model of leadership. International Journal of Coaching Science, 1(1): 35-56. Barton, G. M. 2002. Recognition at work. Scottsdale: World at Work. Board, L. M. 2007. Coaching a stockholder on performance improvement option, ASTD International conference Atlanta GA, USA. Bull, I. H. F. 2005. The relationship between job satisfaction and organizational commitment amongst high school teachers in disadvantaged areas in the Western Cape. Unpublished Masters Dissertation. Cape Town: University of the Western Cape. Dan Pink. 2009. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. New York: Riverhead Books (110-119). Dan Pink, 2009, The Puzzle Of Motivation, Retrieved, 30th November, 2014 from, Deci, E. & Ryan, R. 1985. Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior. New York: Plenum Press. Fehr, E. & Schmidt, K. 2000. Fairness, Incentives, and Contractual Choices. European Economic Review, 44 (4–6): 1057–1068. Frey, B., Fehr, E. And Benz, M. 2000. Does Motivation Crowding Out Spread Beyond the Area of Intervention? Experimental Evidence. Mimeo: University of Zurich. Kreitner, R., & Kinici, A. 2004. Organizational Behavior, (6th Edition). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, Irwin. Meyer, M., & Kirsten, M. 2005. Introduction to Human Resource Management. Claremont: New Africa Books (Ptv) Ltd. Oosthuizen, T. F .J. 2001. Motivation influencing worker performance in a technical division of Telkom SA. Acta Commercii, 1: 19-30. Read More