Work Motivation

Abstract

Motivation to perform excellent takes a lot of effort and sometimes dedication. The employees at organization “A” have been task with multiple diversity training programs. Their motivation to perform well in the programs has greatly been impacted and is currently in a down spiral. Minimum effort is applied and majority of the participant fail the final exam which result in retaking the training. The importance of this training is very important to organization “A” since it deals with a diverse workforce and the awareness of equal employment opportunity legislation, and the challenges of working in a multicultural workforce. So why are employees at organization “A” are not motivated to perform well in the programs?

After researching different theories dealing with motivation two come to mind that directly relate to this issue, the Expectancy and Reinforcement Theories. First I will break down and relate the Expectancy Theory and then discuss the Reinforcement Theory. Expectancy theory is broken down to three questions that I will relate to organization “A”. The first question deals with the employees and if they believe the effort they put into things will result in success or performance. As of now the employees in organization “A” feel there is no outcome for the effort put into it the training. All it is to them is a day away from work with no responsibility. The second question is if the person believes performance is related to rewards. The only incentive for the diversity training programs are you will be paid for the time spent at the training program and that it’s usually conducted in a nice hotel outside the workplace. No major rewards for completing the course in a timely manner or highest end of course pass rate. The third question in the Expectancy Theory is the value of the rewards that will come if performance is excellent. The employees at organization “A” have no value in gaining approval from the instructor or any...