Reflection Paper On Personal Learning
explanatory Essay
2945 words
Personal Learning Reflection Paper
One of the main courses of this semester was to learn various organizational behaviors that are conducted in real business environment. By learning this course, we could understand our future colleagues and ourselves better. Throughout the semester, every week Ashley Hughes gave us an interesting lecture about different topics of oranisational behaviors. Along with the weekly lectures we also had a group presentation that gave us the opportunity to apply the lessons and techniques learnt in our professional and personal lives.During the course of this semester, Organizational Behavior has highlighted numerous topics, which concentrated on investigating the impact that individuals, groups and structures have on behavior within an organization and how their behaviour affect the performance of the organizations for the purpose of applying such technique towards improving an individual’s or an organization's working effectiveness (Jontymagicman, 2012). In this reflection paper, I will discuss the essential areas of organizational behavior: the influence of motivation, managing change and individual learning at an organization.
Motivation
Motivation, as defined in class, is the energy and commitment a person is prepared to dedicate to a task. In most of organisations, motivation is one of the most troublesome problems. Motivation is about the intensity, direction and persistence of reaching a goal. During the class, we have learned a substantial theories of motivation and many theories of motivations are used in real business. Each theory seems to have different basic values. But, they all have been analysed for one reason, recognising what motivates and increases the performance of employees. Ident...
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In this essay, the author
- Explains that ashley hughes' course, organizational behavior, focused on studying the impact of individuals, groups, and structures on behavior within an organization and how their behaviour affect the performance of the organizations.
- Explains how cialdini's six principles of persuasion are useful in real life, explaining tricks of influencing others.
- Explains that the way we act, think, and communicate should consult the theory of social proof. they recommend building a personal relationship with clients by sharing their common preference.
- Explains that a successful company should have logical reward systems, reasonable job designs that highly motivate its employees, expect staff members to manage themselves and transform its controlling leadership into empowering leadership.
- Explains that people from different cultures may have different opinions towards empowering leadership.
- Explains the influence of psychological empowerment, intrinsic motivation, and creative process engagement on employee creativity.
- Explains that motivation is about the intensity, direction, and persistence of reaching a goal.
- Explains the four drive theory, which describes human motivation as a set of dynamic, interacting needs that are written in our gene.
- Explains that communication is essential for effective functioning in every part of an organization. the ability to communicate effectively ranks as the most important skill for new hires.
- Opines that face-to-face networking is more effective than phone calls and emails. respect is earned by hard-work, ability and communication.
- Explains that empowering leadership is the process of implementing conditions that enable sharing power with employees by delineating the significance of the job, providing greater decision-making autonomy, expressing confidence in the employee’s capabilities.
- Opines that empowering leadership requires finding the balance between control and freedom.
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- Motivational Theoriesexplanatory essayThere are numerous motivational theories that attempt to explain how motivation works, but the challenge is applying these theories to actual situations or individuals. Many experts believe utilizing a combination of several motivational theories is more effective than selecting a single theory and applying it all-inclusively. To further explore the practical application of motivational theories, we will attempt to apply different theories to an organization that includes several types of employees, including salespeople, production workers, and administrative staff.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that motivation is the force that makes us do things, whether accomplishing personal goals or completing tasks at work.
- Explains that there are numerous motivational theories that attempt to explain how motivation works, but the challenge is applying them to actual situations or individuals.
- Explains that compensation based solely on commissions does not address other motivational factors that will motivate sales staff to peak performance.
- Explains how a successful motivational program recognizes these factors and combines awards, recognition, and peer pressure. this is consistent with the erg theory developed by clayton alderfer.
- Explains victor vroom's expectancy theory, which suggests people are motivated by two things: how much they want something, and how likely they think they are to get it.
- Explains that motivational theories can be divided into two groups: external rewards and enforcements and internal factors. maslow's hierarchy of needs theory illustrates employee needs beyond a paycheck.
- Explains that human resource management experts believe adequate base pay is essential to retaining employees and basic staff motivation, but it doesn't motivate in the long term.
- Analyzes how solange de santis' story refutes the stereotypical view of factory workers. they were dedicated, hard-working, highly skilled, and creative, but were locked in a tight battle between management and unions.
- Explains how american airlines discovered what can happen when they allowed production workers some creativity. they rigged up old machine parts and built "thumping ralph", a drill-bit sharpener.
- Explains that the brazilian company semco has a large proportion of blue collar workers. they give their workers an unusually large degree of freedom and responsibility, including letting them plan production, set their own work hours, and choose the sites and designs for the factories.
- Explains that employee motivation is not an absolute science and no single motivational theory will work for all employees.
- Cites bizhelp24's article, "the art of motivating salespeople." the article is available at www.johnboe.com.
- Describes compensation today's different types of motivation theories, citing kinicki, williams, and kjeralf.
1748 wordsRead More - Team Differencesexplanatory essayMotivation is the psychological feature that influences a person to act or behave in a way toward obtaining desired goal. Motivation can also be the reason for an individual's action or that which gives purpose and direction to behaviour. In other words, motivation is an incentive that generates goal-directed behaviours. Motivation comes in many forms and what motivates one individual is not necessarily the same for their team members. Therefore, it is important ...
In this essay, the author
- Explains stereotypes are a perceptual process by which we assign characteristics to an identifiable group and automatically transfer those features to anyone we believe assimilate or are members of that group.
- Explains how mental imagery reduces implicit stereotypes, and perspective taking is an effective method to manage them.
- Explains how a team can help organizations be more efficient in problem solving by pooling experienced employees to work together.
- Explains the importance of understanding how motivation differs among individuals and how these differences affect the overall drive and determination of a team toward the goal.
- Explains the effects of stereotype threat, such as the self-fulfilling prophecy, and the social identity theory.
1562 wordsRead More - In-Depth Summary of Expectancy Theoryanalytical essayMoorhead, G. & Griffin, R. Organizational Behavior: Managing People and Organizations. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that expectancy theory addresses the underlying issues that are associated with the belief that a performance or outcome is attainable.
- Explains that when an individual is confronted with a task within the workplace, they first assess if the effort that is required will result in success.
- Explains the correlation between education and motivation amongst employees. lack of basic fundamental skills among individuals with little or no formal education tends to cause them to have a much lower self-esteem and expectancy of success.
- Explains how the study began by administering a basic skills test to all employees, which involved reading, writing, and self-esteem. researchers then designed an enhancement and positive reinforcement for learning class.
- Explains that forklift drivers had little change in motivation and self-esteem while production workers had a very high change.
- Explains that evaluating how well individuals perform their job responsibilities is a tedious task which often does not adequately represent the true worth and value of the employee.
- Explains how the manager uses advantage impact analysis to explain the overall importance and relevance of the task to the organization as a whole.
- Analyzes the utilization of motivation in leader-follower relationships. leaders are characterized as those who have a role close to or part of management, while followers are individuals who aid mangers.
- Argues that employee perceptions and expectations play a vital role in the success and productivity of the organization.
- Cites bradt, j, clinton, m, isaac, r, & zerbe, w.
1251 wordsRead More - Theories of Motivationanalytical essayMotivation is therefore the force that transforms and uplifts people to be productive and perform in their jobs. Maximising an employee's motivation is necessary and vital to successfully accomplish the organisation's objectives and targets. However this is a considerable challenge to any organisation's managers, due to the complexity of motivation and the fact that there is no ready made solution or an answer to what motivates people to work well (Mullins, 2002).
In this essay, the author
- Cites benabou, r., and tirole, j. (2003), intrinsic and extrinesic motivation', in the review of economic studies.
- Explains that motivation is the force that transforms and uplifts people to be productive and perform in their jobs.
- Explains mullins' classification of motivation into intrinsic and extrinsic types.
- Evaluates motivational theories in light of 's previous experiences, but they may not be perfect for every situation.
1158 wordsRead More - Motivation and Conflict Managementexplanatory essayJohn R. Schermerhorn, James G. Hunt, Richard N. Osborn (2008). Organizational Behavior 10th ED. Retrieved November 12, 2010 from Academic Search
In this essay, the author
- Explains that organizations strive for creative ways to enhance employee motivation and resolve conflicts with the desire to have employees perform better within the workplace.
- Explains that motivation is the concept of stimulating, arousing, and motivating people to achieve goals. motivation theories are unique to each organization.
- Explains the five types of behavior styles associated with conflict management: avoidance, accommodation, compromise, competition, and collaboration.
- Explains that managers must use conflict management tools to help resolve a conflict before it gets out of hand. facilitators compile information on team members and enhance the group through collective intelligence.
- Explains the different motivation theories and how motivation is affected by organizational behavior. team b was able to discuss and analyze different conflict strategies used in the workplace.
- Explains lewis, clive, human resource management international digest, bradford: 2007. vol 15, iss.
- Explains that keeping workers motivated in today's workplace can be both a job and an adventure. managers are the driving force for any business and the responsibility and demand to acquire workers is tremendous.
- Explains swinton, lyndsay (2006). workplace conflict management: strategy for successful resolution. john r. schermerhorn, james g. hunt, richard n. osborn (2008).
1025 wordsRead More - Motivation in The Workplaceexplanatory essayWhen it is discovered that a worker can fulfill the requirements of their job, but are experiencing shortcomings in doing so, many times it is believed that worker motivation may be the root of the problem (Laird 95). What, though, is work motivation? According to Laird (2006), “motivation is a fundamental component of performance “ and “is the reason that someone chooses to do some things and chooses not to do others”. In other words, work motivation is what energizes workers to the level of output required to fulfill a task, directs their energy towards the objectives that they need to accomplish, and sustains that level of effort over a period of time (Steers et al., 2004). In essence, worker motivation is what gets the job done. Employee motivation has always been a central problem in the workplace, and, as an individual in a supervisory position, it becomes ones duty to understand and institute systems that ensure the proper motivation of your subordinates. Proper motivation of employees can ensure high productivity and successful workflow, while low worker motivation can result in absenteeism, decreased productivity rates, and turnover. A large body of research has been produced regarding motivation, and much of this research is applicable to the workplace. Due to the nature of man, motivation varies from individual to individual, and, because of this, there is no one system that is the best for ensuring worker motivation in every organizational situation, and, as a product, many theories have been created to outline what drives people to satisfactorily complete their work tasks. Throughout the course of this document, the three main types of these motivational theories will be outlined and examples of each as well...
In this essay, the author
- Explains the three main types of motivational theories and how they can be used to further strengthen and sustain worker motivation.
- Explains maslow's hierarchy of needs, which focuses on personality, needs, and value as a basis of behavioral differences.
- Explains hackman and oldham's model that emphasized individual personality and job characteristics as the determining factors of employee motivation.
- Explains that the second subsystem of motivational theories focuses not on the "inner needs" of individuals as the basis for motivation, but on human beings' ability to be rational decision-makers.
- Explains that self-regulation theories are different from cognitive choice and needs-motives values theories in that they deal with what motivates people to strive to accomplish a goal after it has been set.
- Explains how organizational behavior management, based on locke's goal-setting theory, has been used extensively across organizations to craft effective management systems.
- Explains that subordinates develop an action plan, or how-to map, describing the ways in which they intend to achieve those goals.
- Explains that managers conduct a performance review that examines the progress made since the last formal meeting.
- Describes how the process comes to a temporary conclusion with the participative setting of objectives for the next period.
- Explains that changing employee behavior is extremely effective, as recent studies have shown. 97 percent of the evaluation studies used found increases in productivity.
- Explains that job enrichment is the process of determining the key motivational characteristics, as identified by the job characteristics theory, in order to enhance the motivation potential of the job.
- Explains that motivational theories are often used as a reference in defining, addressing, and solving worker motivation issues.
- Explains 4 main steps involved in the mbo technique of performance appraisal to improve the efficiency of your organisation.
- Explains bandura, albert, and locke, "negative self-efficacy and goal effects revisited." journal of applied psychology.
- Describes hackman, j. r., and oldham's "the job characteristics model." organizational behavior and human decision processes 16.256.
- States that humprhey, s. e., j. d. nahrgang, and f. p. morgeson. integrating motivational, social and contextual work design feautres.
- Explains laird, dugan, naquin, and holton's approaches to training and development.
- Explains locke, edwin a., and gary p. latham's "new directions in goal-setting theory".
- Explains mcclelland, david c., "toward a theory of motive acquisition." american psychologist 20.5 (1965): 321-33.
- Explains that rodgers, robert, and john e. hunter, "impact of management by objectives on organizational productivity."
- Explains that steers, richard m., lyman w. porter, and gregory a. bigley. motivation and leadership at work.
- Introduces richard m. steers, richard t. mowday, and debra l. shapiro to special topic forum: the future of work motivation theory.
1780 wordsRead More - Self-Efficacy Theory: The Feelings Of Self Motisfaction And Motivation In The Workplaceexplanatory essayMotivation is a critical role of management mainly because a manager’s job is to get work done through other people. Therefore a manager needs to understand that each employee has different vales and beliefs and as such different things will motivate them. That being said there are certain aspects of the job that a manager can improve to increase employee satisfaction and commitment, which are linked to the level of which an employee is motivated to work. The purpose of this paper is
In this essay, the author
- Opines that an inadequately motivated employee can be costly to the organization, since the quality and quantity of work produced by the employee is just enough not to be fired.
- Explains that a manager's job is to get work done through other people, so they need to understand that each employee has different vales and beliefs and as such different things will motivate them.
- Defines work motivation as the process that accounts for an individual’s intensity, direction, and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal.
- Explains that vague, nonexistent or inconsistent goals can hurt the organization. in my immediate workgroup specific performance goals are not set. goal setting theory or management by objectives (mbo) involves setting tangible, verifiable, and measurable goals.
- Explains the specificity of the goal, participation between both parties in the setting of goals, a time period, feedback of performance, and what can be done to improve.
- Explains that self-efficacy theory works on the premise that the individual believes that he or she is capable of performing a task.
- Explains that feedback from superiors, peers and subordinates can be negative and destroy motivation in the workplace. goal setting, self-efficacy, and feedback when used together can increase motivation.
- Opines that financial incentives are effective in motivating employees, but they must be regularized and controlled so that they are only given for exceeding performance and achieving the task or goal.
937 wordsRead More - Motivation Theory : Motivate People At Workanalytical essayWhen we need to explore the extent to which motivation theory is useful in understanding what motivates people at work, we need to understand the meaning of motivation. motivation is a state arising in processes that are internal and external to the individual, in which the person perceives that it is appropriate to pursue a certain course of action directed at achieving a specified outcome and in which the person chooses to pursue those outcomes with a degree of vigour and persistence. (Rollinson, D., 2008.) However, during this process, motivation will be defined into different ways, motivation is an internal state or condition that serves to activate or energize behavior and give it direction which is internal state or condition that activates behavior and gives it direction; desire or want that energizes and directs goal-oriented behavior; influence of needs and desires on the intensity and direction of behavior. (Huitt, W. 2011) So that scholars begun to create different theories to explain this process. There are two motivation theories which comes from content theory and process theory. There are Alderfer’s ERG theory and Adam’s equity theory. The task for this essay is to explore the extent to which motivation theory is useful in understanding what motivates people at work.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that motivation is an internal state or condition that serves to activate or energize behavior and give it direction. there are two motivation theories which comes from content theory and process theory.
- Explains the difference between alderfer's erg theory and adam’s theory. both of them thought goals and needs would motivate people, whereas adams' equity theory thought motivation comes from the subjective comparison of the remuneration and the input
- Explains that they made a survey to find out what motivates people in the workplace, based on alderfer's proposition.
- Explains the purpose of writing this question is to confirm the erg theory. they wanted to distinguish whether independent office space is related into good environment or not.
- Analyzes how alderfer's erg theory puts esteem needs and self-actualization into growth needs.
- Explains that the alderfer's erg theory is widely used in organizations. existence, relatedness, and growth are important needs around the workplaces.
- Analyzes the results of adams' equity theory, which suggests that employees create a "mental ledger" of the outcomes they get from their job duties.
- Analyzes how adams proposed that we compare our rewards and contributions with the outputs and inputs of others. if companies and mangers use equity theory, it will establish perceived fairness and ensure compliance.
- Concludes that motivation is a neutral word that can't be positive or negative to tell people they'll lose or not. managers need to understand both the alderfer's erg theory and adams' equity theory.
1950 wordsRead More - Motivation, Organizational Behavior and Performanceexplanatory essayMotivation is an important concept which is critical for understanding of and improvement in organizational behaviour and performance. It is therefore important for the managers to understand motivation. It is an important tool which they can use to get more out of their employees and increase organizational performance. Motivation can be defined as the factors, both internal as well as external which arouse in individuals the desire and commitment for a job (Mele, 2005, p. 15). Organizational performance on the other hand refers to the degree to which the organizational objectives have been achieved.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that motivation is critical for understanding and improvement in organizational behaviour and performance. it is an important tool which managers can use to get more out of their employees.
- Explains that motivation in an employee is an important factor which determines his performance. it is concerned with finding out the reasons which shape and direct the behaviour of the individuals.
- Explains that it is important for managers to understand what motivates individuals. extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation are two types of motivation theories.
- Opines that motivation is a very important concept for managers to understand. understanding what ticks an individual helps in developing the right incentive structure.
525 wordsRead More - The Importance of Motivation in an Organizationexplanatory essayMotivation is the force that transforms and uplifts people to be productive and perform in their jobs. Maximizing employee’s motivation is a necessary and vital to successfully accomplish the organization’s targets and objectives. However, this is a considerable challenge to any organizations managers, due to the complexity of motivation and the fact that, there is no ready made solution or an answer to what motivates people to work well (Mullins,2002).
In this essay, the author
- Explains greenberg's definition of motivation as a process of raising, directing, and maintaining behavior towards the desired outcome.
- Explains that motivation is the force that transforms and uplifts people to be productive and perform in their jobs.
- Explains mullins (2002)'s classification of motivation into intrinsic and extrinsic types — intrinsic motivation involves psychological rewards to enhance job satisfaction.
- Explains that a manager must understand the difference between management and leadership in order to motivate people.
- Explains that managers must understand two well-known theories of motivation: maslow's motivation theory and mcgregor’s x-y theory.
- Explains maslow's theory of humanistic psychology, where he believes that all humans would strive for the higher ground, and that the never fulfilling thrust of achievement.
- Explains that douglas mcgregor, the american social psychologist, took maslow's work and devised the x-y theory, which directly relates to the working environments.
- Explains that the theory x management assumes that most people prefer to be directed, they want a safety above anything and are not interested in assuming responsibility.
- Analyzes how theory x uses the hard way of managing, and for the manager, all employees are lazy and must be supervised.
- Explains that the theory y is described as individual's behavior differently. it assumes that people are not lazy and unreliable. they can be self directed and creative at work if they are properly motivated.
- Explains that employees can view work as natural as rest or play, exercise self-direction, and seek responsibility. innovative decisions are widely dispersed throughout the population and are not necessarily the sole province of managers.
- Explains frederick herzberg's two-factor theory, the hygiene and motivation factors, where employees were asked about their working environment and what motivates them.
- Explains that motivation is an important function in organizations to motivate their employees for their ability to perform well, improving their skills, increasing productivity, job satisfaction, and employee extension.
1539 wordsRead More