Human Resources - Motivation and Rewards

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Please see the attached file (also presnted below). Also see the attached article on motivation. .

RESPONSE:

Interesting questions! Let's take a closer look at the three questions through discussion, research, theory and examples, which you can draw on for your final copy. I also attached a supportive article for other ideas and links to other resources and articles.

1. In considering the concepts of motivation and reward, what is the relationship between motivation and performance?

This question is straightforward and is basically asking how rewards impact the relationship between motivation and performance.

In fact, motivation and performance are positively related, meaning that as motivation increases, so does performance; and rewards increase motivation. Therefore, rewards act to increase motivation, which is in turn increases levels of performance. Higher levels of reported motivation are directly related to higher levels of reported performance, at last in part, due to rewards.

Is this your understanding as well?

2. Consider different perspectives on human behavior and motivation - how do they tie into an organizations reward and performance management systems?

The question is more complex and there are many different perspectives to consider. Let's narrow this down to Maslow's theory of motivation as it impacts an organizations reward and performance management systems and other links provides for articles for different theories of motivation to also consider.

A. Maslow's Theory of Human Behavior and Motivation

Maslow's great insight was to place actualization into a hierarchy of motivation. Self-actualization, as he called it, is the highest drive, but before a person can turn to it, he or she must satisfy other, lower motivations like hunger, safety and belonging. Again, the hierarchy has five levels of needs that result in personality development through meeting human needs.

1. Physiological (hunger, thirst, shelter, sex, etc.)
2. Safety (security, protection from physical and emotional harm)
3. Social (affection, belonging, acceptance, friendship)
4. Esteem (also called ego). The internal ones are self-respect, autonomy, achievement and the external ones are status, recognition, and attention.
5. Self-actualization (doing things)(http://www.politicalscience.utoledo.edu/faculty/davis/maslow.htm).

In addition, Maslow's theory has been influential in other fields (business, motivation, etc.), mainly because this highly popular theory strikes most people as intuitively right. For example, Douglas McGregor makes it the building block for his Theory X and Theory Y. Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi continues the tradition in his concept of "flow." A 1990s example of ...