Diversity and Motivational Theories Paper

Diversity and Motivational Theories

There are many factors which influence each individual’s behavior which include; gender, age, religion, and occupation. Bunton and Reaves define diversity as, “characteristics and experiences of each person in society”. The previously listed diversity and demographic characteristics impact the way individuals may respond to motivational theories because of the values which each person has in place. There are many motivational theories currently being analyzed and used in the work place, two of the them are Goal Setting Theory and Equity Theory. Motivational theories analyze relationships between management and increased productivity in a workplace, attempting to better understand what is bringing an increase.

Gender

The inequity between men and women in the workplace has been studied immensely. It is well known and the majority of the population has read about them. It is well known that men on average make more money than women for the same work, which will later relate to the discussion of Equity Theory. For men and women the individual behaviors are quite different: men seem to be more active, decisive, and competitive; women, caring, emotional, and considerate. However, it must be stated that this will not always the case as women start becoming more active, decisive, and competitive in the workplace. It is certain that these vastly different descriptions will be less true in the future. Women, because of their communal traits, will be more ethically aware and willing to do the right thing regardless of other factors.

Age

Age provides yet another diversity factor in the workplace, the younger and older. For our purposes, we will consider the following age groups: younger (18-35) and older (36-69). The younger generation that is currently in the workforce put a lot of value on the freedom and flexibility their positions will provide them to do hobbies or other events. One example is a story that was once heard, “the...