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Motivational Concepts Analysis

The following paper will explore the motivational concept of Hull’s Drive Theory as it applies to practical experience in two different applications in the workplace. Hull’s Drive Theory focuses on the principal that behavior can be predicted before it occurs based on a consequence of reinforcement and that reinforcement will cause learning and thus future predictable behavior. The concept that Drive causes energy only supports the theory to a point. It is what happens with the energy and the reward that impacts learning and then behavior. In the case of work related experiences, motivation of employees to reach higher levels of performance are key to an organizations growth and success. As a manager and leader of a work team, it is critical to find points of stimulus that will match well with the individuals needs. In the article Don’t let them be like Mike, the author made the statement “the best thing you can do when trying to motivate very successful people is ask them how they want to be rewarded”(Alonzo, 1999, p. 22). This statement helps focus attention on what an employee sees as important. Once a manager understands what the source of energy is, they can apply a stimulus to cause behavior that will drive success. The learning that will occur by the employee over time will then reinforce the desired behavior to reach the goal.

Work Example 1 - Restructure The company has just undertaken a major restructuring to focus closer attention on its dealer body. This restructuring is being done at a time in which the industry was in the middle of its worst downturn, yet the company just recorded its best year ever. As part of the restructuring, a significant number of employees will be put into new positions and many will even have to relocate. The news of the restructuring has impacted the work force in many ways. .According to Schneider, Gunnarson, and Niles-Jolly (1994) “One risk of change is that the organization will operate less effectively for a while as the new climate is being created; when the practices and procedures are changing, employees become less certain about what management has as its priorities” (p. 18). Fears, concern, excitement, are just what could be seen on the surface. The restructuring announcement was made in mid September, yet will not be fully be in place until January. The need for the company to keep everyone engaged and focused on their current position while also laying the groundwork for the future was critical. How the company met the challenges of both communicating and driving the needed behavior were imperative. The company set specific time aside to communicate the plan. The first step was to get key mangers in 100% agreement with the new direction. Managers then engaged each employee to discuss the change and seek input on both a personal and company wide level. The phrase that was used to start most of the conversations was “we are building a bridge to the future, but we are walking on it at the same time”. Employees we asked about their current position, how they saw the position align in the new structure, if the had any thoughts on where their talents could be used in the new structure and potential relocation. The need to provide direction/stimulus to the energy that was in place was critical and this discussion was a foundational part of this effort. The overall success of the restructuring is still a work in process, however it clearly has not caused the company to miss a beat as 2010 was the single best year in the company’s history in terms of sales and profitability. Dealer satisfaction and value of the franchise are at industry record levels.

Work Example #2 –Team Work Work example #2 focuses on an ongoing employee behavior issue regarding an employee’s choice to work outside the framework of the team. In this situation, the employee is a member of a district team that consists or two people. Each position and employee has specific job responsibilities but one of the key parts of both positions is the ability to work as a team with dealer needs. This situation has been an ongoing problem for a significant amount of time. The employee does not see the value of working with others to accomplish mutual goals. The employee values his time and only focuses on what will reduce the amount of time needed to accomplish his specific measurable performance goals. In order to address this situation, multiple levels of management have discussed this behavior with the employee. "Carrots and sticks” have been laid out in an effort to find a point of stimulation to focus the energy into a behavior that will support the needed change in behavior. The carrots/rewards have been designed to allow more freedom to schedule dealer contacts once the required team based contacts have been made. Additionally, rewards were structured based on concerns raised by the employee through open feedback discussions. Stick/punitive actions were also put into place to allow the employee to fully understand the impact of the need for behavior change. The “sticks” included having a manager schedule the employees dealer contacts for the entire month and included a requirement to check in on a daily basis from the required contact. Discussions with the employee indicate that he fully understands the need to change his behavior. The desired freedom created by the use of the reward for meeting the joint contact goal appear to be serving as a source of stimulation and the learning from meeting the goal will help formulate a long term change in behavior.

Conclusion The use of Hull’s Drive theory has been a successful tool in seeking to gain an understanding into what will make employee behavior predictable and focus energy upon meeting company goals. The two examples cited detailed issues and application of the theory to motivate change. In each case, a relevant change in employee behavior was needed. Management identified the need for a stimulus to push the employee energy in a positive direction. In both cases, the change was positive and predictable.

Reference Alonzo, Vincent. (1999). Don't let them be like Mike. Sales and Marketing Management, 151(4), 22-24. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/docview/211869523?accountid=35812

Schneider, B., Gunnarson, S. K., & Niles-Jolly, K. (1994, Summer). Creating the climate and culture of success. Organizational Dynamics, 23(1), 17-29.

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