Motivation Case Study

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The purpose of this essay is to discuss the topic, motivation, by conducting a detailed literature review, interpreting the results from motivation self-assessment tests and analysing a motivation-related case study. This paper will be divided into three main sections and the first section will demonstrate the key concepts suggested by various researchers such as Ryan (1995) and Herzberg’s (1996) theory about motivation. Secondly, an analysis of outcomes from personal motivation surveys will indicate my work behaviour and they will be underpinned by the literature discussed in the first section. The third section will use needs, equity, expectancy and goal-setting to discuss the case study and this paper will conclude with implications for that case study.

Motivation has been defined as reasons that someone engages in some activities or behaves in a particular way (Oxford University Press, 2010). Robbins et al. (2008, p.696) also have a different definition which is that ‘the processes that account for an individual’s intensity, direction and persistence of effort towards attaining a goal’. Numerous researches use the two main classifications of motivations which are extrinsic and intrinsic motivations to analyse different contexts of studies (Deci & Ryan, 1987; Vallerand, 2000). Extrinsic motivation refers to participation in specific behaviours for instrumental reasons or goal-oriented reasons, for example, benefits or rewards will be provided when goals are being achieved. On the other hand, intrinsic motivation is when individuals performing an activity for their own enjoyment and satisfaction of that specific activity (Ryan, 1995). Collectively, these two motivations have strong influences on individual intentions when un...

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...Journal of Information Science, vol.33, no.2, pp.135-149, Sage, viewed 24 September 2010,

Robbins, SP, Judge, TA, Millett, B & Waters-Marsh, T (eds) 2008, Organisational Behaviour, 5th edn, Pearson Education, Frenchs Forest, NSW.

Ryan, RM 1995, ‘Psychological needs and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development and well being’, American Psychologist, vol.63, no. 3, pp.397-427, ISI Knowledge, viewed 25 September 2010,

Vallerand, RJ 2000, ‘Deci and Ryan’s self-determination theory: a view from the hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation’, Psychological Inquiry, vol. 11, no. 4, pp.312-318, EBSCO, viewed 24 September 2010,

< http://web.ebscohost.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au >.

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