Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
MotivationalFactorsforAbstractThinking
AustinDonovan
AsiaMartinez
LauraMeng
TaylorShelpuk
KeithThompson
PointLomaNazareneUniversity
15April2014
MOTIVATIONALFACTORSFORABSTRACTTHINKING 2
Abstract
Moneyisoftenusedasthelargestmotivatorforemployeesintheworkplace.Recentstudieshave
discoveredthatmoneyisnotthemostinfluentialmotivatorintheworkplaceforabstractthinking.
AccordingtoDanPink(2009),moneyisagoodmotivatorforsimpletasks,butnotfordifficulttasks
thatrequiremorecomplexthinking.Withquestionssuchas,Ismoneyagoodmotivatorforabstract
thinkingintheworkplace?andWhatisthebestmotivatorforabstractthinkingintheworkplace?has
ledtotheconclusionthatleadershipandtheimpactofworkaremoreeffectivemotivatorsthanmoney
forabstractthinking.Employeeswhoworkforencouragingleaderstendtobemorecreativeintheir
thinkingthanemployeesthataremotivatedbymoneyalone.AlanGoodhue(2001)states,Whenwe
exchangefearfortrust,informationbeginstoflow(p.61).Whenthereisahealthyrelationshipbetween
employeeandboss,creativity,problemsolvingskills,andmotivationincreaseintheworkplace.Also,
employeesthatfindtheirjobtohavemeaningcanleadtohigherperformance.AccordingtoSheaVan
Fossen,individualswhofindmeaningfromtheirpaidemployment,beyondthefinancialrewardsthata
jobbrings,reporthigherjobandlifesatisfaction,betterjobperformance,longertenure,andlower
numberofselfreportedsickdays(Fossen,p.1).StudieshaveshownthatAmericanemployeesvalue
meaningfulworkovermoneyinabstractjobswheremoneyisnotconsideredaneedsbasemotivation.
Throughthisresearchwewouldliketofindwhatisthebestmotivatorbetweenmoney,leadershipand
impactfulworkforabstractbasedworkplaces.
MOTIVATIONALFACTORSFORABSTRACTTHINKING 3
BackgroundofStudy
Moneyisgoodmotivationforroutinejobs,wheretheresultispredictable.Moneyprovides
goodmotivationforaleftbrainrelatedjob.However,forcreative,rightbrainrelatedjobs,money
destroyscreativity,narrowsemployeesfocus,andlimitsthepotentialanemployeecouldbringtothe
table.AccordingtoDanPink(2009),thepreviousstatementsarefacts,notfeelingsorphilosophy.
Pinkgoesontoclaimthatformechanicalskillsthehigherthepay,thebettertheperformanceof
anemployee,butoncethetaskcalledforevenrudimentarycognitiveskillalargerrewardledto
poorerperformance.Thisshowsthatmoneyisagoodmotivatortoacertainextentandwhenmoneyis
anecessityforliving.TheFederalReserveBankoftheUnitedStatesfoundedstudiestodiscoverthe
bestincentivesformotivation.Whenthestudieswereconductedeightoutoftheninetasksthathad
highermoneyincentives,ledtoworseperformance.Thisresearchconfirmsthatmoneyasmotivationis
outdatedandunexamined(Pink2009).AnotherstudyputonbyDr.BerndIrlenbusch,LondonSchool
ofEconomics,stateswefindthatfinancialincentivescanresultinanegativeimpactonoverall
performance.Moneyisaneffectivemotivatorwhenmoneyisaneedsbasedapproach.Forabstract
jobsmoneyisnolongerthemosteffectivemotivationwhentheemployeeisalreadypaidfairly.
MotivationintheworkplaceisrelevantbecauseAmericanworkersarebecominglessandless
motivatedandarelosingtheirsenseofownership.Motivationdoesnotstrictlyrelyonimprovingthe
productivityofwork,butalsocreatesthewillingnesstodosomethingthatonemightnotwanttodo
otherwise.Productivityofemployeesdependsonmorethanreasonableeffortandworkpaceitalso
dependsontheemployeeswillingnesstodothingsinapositiveway,whichtheywouldotherwise
choosenottodo,notthinktodoandoccasionally,dislikedoing(Sibson,RobertE.,1976,p.171).
Whenemployeesarenotmotivatedtoaccomplishgoals,thewholecompanyisnegativelyimpacted.
MOTIVATIONALFACTORSFORABSTRACTTHINKING 4
Motivationismorethanmoneymotivationisemployeeempowerment.Abstractthinkingbeginswith
money,butreachesitsfullpotentialthroughothermeansofmotivationsuchasleadershipandimpactof
theworkbeingdone.
LiteratureReview
Traditionalmethodsofmotivationintheworkforcehavemoretimesthannotdealtwith
monetarycompensation.Ifyoucompletethistask,inthisamountoftimeyouwillreceivexamountof
dollars.Recently,studieshavebeguntoarisethathaveactuallystatedotherwise.Whatisthebest
motivationforworkthatrequirescreativity,problemsolvingorthinkingoutsideofarepeatedtask?Asa
resultofthisrecentuncertainty,wewouldliketopinpointwhatitisthatmotivatesemployees.Doesitin
factcomeouttobemoney?Orthetypeofpersonyouareworkingfororiftheworkisimportantor
impactfultothecompany?
Money
ShereeR.Curry(1997),intheFortuneMagazinearticle:Surprise!MoneyTalkstheLoudest,
claimsthataboveallpossiblemotivators,monetaryincentivereignssupremeingettingproductivityout
ofemployees.CurryreferencesarecentsurveyofU.S.employeesontheirsourcesofmotivation.The
resultsledwithmoneyfollowedbyinterestinspecifictasksandasupportiveboss.Furtherevidenceis
providedgivenacasestudyofContinentalAirlineswhereunsubstantialcashbonusesweregivento
employeeswiththebestontimeperformance.Theresultconcludedthatthecompanyhasgonefrom
arankingofdeadlasttoaconsistentlead.
WhatMotivatesEmployees?NotWhatYouThinkbyMichaelBartiett(2011),coversDan
Pinkspopularizedanalysisonmotivationintheworkplacewithregardtothetypeofworkbeingdone.
Pinkisquotedtoagreethatmoneyisagreatermotivatorincertaincontexts,suchaswithsimpletasks,
MOTIVATIONALFACTORSFORABSTRACTTHINKING 5
butnotforcomplextasksthatrequirecreativethinking(Bartiett,2011,p.18).Hecontinuestodescribe
howcommissionedworkthatisbeingpaidforasaproductorserviceisautomaticallymetwith
constraintsthatlimitcreativeworkflowandoutcome.
ExecutiveCoach,PamelaYorkKrainercritiquesthemodernworkingadult,claimingthatnow,
asidefromraisingtheirfamilies,theymostlyjustwork(Gary,2004,p.3).LorenGary(2004),inThe
NextIdeas:RethinkingMoneyandMotivation,juggleswheremotivationcancomefrominthis
workplacethattakesupalargemajorityofourlives.Themosttangibleindicatorweseeinmaking
progressisagreateraccumulationofmoneyasanincentive,butGarychallengesthisasthereal
motivatorwithintheworkplace.Garyexplainsthatintodayssociety,moneycannotbecompletely
separatedasamainmotivator.Thearticlereads:Today,however,withmoneysocentraltoallaspects
ofcontemporarylife,somearebeginningtobelievethatcandidconversationsaboutmoneymightclarify
ratherthancloudworkerssearchfortheirmostdeepseatedinterests(Gary,2004,p.3).Thissuggests
thatmoneycannotbeescapedasamotivator,duetoitsroleasadrivingforceinsociety,buttoreacha
pointwhereanemployeecanfindfulfillmentandmotivationintheirposition,moneyshouldbe
addressedcandidlysothatitisnotamajorconcernoftheemployees.Inaway,thatwouldfreeits
dominanceasamotivator.Thereisapotentialtomovetoamotivationfargreaterthanmoneybyhow
welookatmoneyitself.Gary(2004)writes:
Anunflinchinglookatourattitudesandbeliefsaboutmoneycanhelpusidentifyourintrinsic
motivationsandleadustoaricherunderstandingofthedeepseatedsourcesofinterestand
fulfillmentthatmoneycanneversatisfy.(p.3).
Leadership
Whenaskedaboutwhetheryouwouldliketoworkforagoodbossorbadboss,theanswer
MOTIVATIONALFACTORSFORABSTRACTTHINKING 6
willgenerallycomeouttobeagoodboss.Whenaskedaboutmotivation,thisanswerrarelyseemsto
cometomind.Agoodbossmaybethebestmotivatorforjobsthatrequirecriticalthinkingorhavea
creativenaturetothem.AccordingtoAlanGoodhue(2001),wheninreferencetoarelationship
betweenabossandemployer,Whenweexchangefearfortrust,informationbeginstoflow(p.61).
Asabossbeginstotreatanemployeewithtrust,itallowsarelationshiptobuildandtearsdownthewall
thatcankeepcreativityandproblemsolvingskillsfrombeingfullyusedasaresultoffear(Goodhue,
2001,p.61).Goodhue(2001)alsoelaboratesontheimportanceoftheintegrityoftheboss
Integrityisrequiredforcooperation.Lyingtoemployeesisclearlynotdemandedby
cooperatingwiththem,asitsometimesisbycompetingwiththempeoplerespondtothose
whohavetheconvictiontostandupfortheirbeliefs.Thisprovidestheincentiveforpeopleto
bringtheirownethicalandspiritualvaluestoworkandbecomethebestatwhichtheyare
capable.(p.61)
Simplethingslikeencouragementcanhelpmotivateemployeesandimprovehowtheyusetheskillsthey
have,whichcanhelpimprovecreativityandperformanceinjobsthatrequirecriticalthinking.Saumya
Bhattacharya(2009)describesinherMotivationBlueprintthattobeamastermotivatoritisimportant
to,Usepositivereinforcementtohelpthemrecognizetheirdevelopedabilities(p.1).Smallgestures
likethismayleadtoincreasedconfidenceintheirownability,whichcanhelpwithcreativityaswellas
problemsolving.
Impact/Meaning
IntheHarvardbusinessreviewRosabethMossKanter(2013)statesthatstrongleadershave
turnedchangefromexhaustingtoexhilaratingbyaskingemployeestoopentheirimaginations.Although
someprofessionalsseetransformationasathreat,mostfindchancesforcreativeexpression,especially
MOTIVATIONALFACTORSFORABSTRACTTHINKING 7
asthecompaniesevolvefromsiloeddepartmentstoflexiblecollaboration.(Kanterpar.6)Byopening
workersimaginationsitallowsselfexpression,happiness,andloyaltyintheworkplace.
Peoplehappyintheirworkareoftenfoundinmissiondrivenorganizationswherepeoplefeel
theyhaveapositiveimpact.Strongleadersarenowaskingemployeestoopentheirimaginationto
createanopportunityforpositiveimpact.Highperformanceteamsfocusontheworkanditsimpact
theyworkharder,longer,andyetwithmoreenergythanlowperformanceteams.Theymakea
differencedaybyday,makingprogressthroughsmallwins(Kanter,2013,par.9).
Wherethereismeaningthereismotivation.Accordingtothearticle,Findingmeaning
employeesgiveworkiskeytobetterperformanceHRFocussaysthatifHRprofessionalsdiscover
themeaningsemployeesattachtotheirwork,thentheycanimproveworkersperformance.Butthe
meaningofworkvariesnotonlybetweendifferentpeople,butevenwithinthesamepersonatdifferent
times.(HRFocus,2013,p.14)HRfocusalsoquotesJohnBuddaprofessoranddirectorofthe
CenterforHumanResourcesandLaborStudiesonhistakeoffindingthatmeaning.Hestatesthat
ratherthanlimitingthediscussiontotraditionalperformanceobjectivethediscussionaboutemployee
goalscouldbebroadenedtoincludethepossibilityofderivingdeepermeaningsfromtheirwork.(
Budd,13)
Itissimplynotjusttheemployerstasktofindmeaningfortheirworkers.Employeesneedto
alsofindmeaningintheirworkthemselves.SheaVanFossenwroteaboutworkmeaningand
motivationthroughworkorientation(Fossen,2011).Fromherresearchshefoundthatitistheindividual
whofindsmeaning,Individualswhofindmeaningfromtheirpaidemployment,beyondthefinancial
rewardsthatajobbrings,reporthigherjobandlifesatisfaction,betterjobperformance,longertenure,
andlowernumberofselfreportedsickdays.(Fossen,p.1)ShegoesontosaythatAmericansreport
MOTIVATIONALFACTORSFORABSTRACTTHINKING 8
thattheyvaluemeaningfulworkoverpromotions,income,jobsecurity,andhours.
StatementoftheProblem
Monetaryincentivesarenotenoughtomotivateemployeesinabstractworkplaces.Whatisthe
bestmotivationforabstractworkplaces?Isitleadership,meaning,orisitdifferentforeachindividual?It
isclearthattraditionalmonetarymethodsofmotivationarenotthemosteffective,unlessitisarepetitive
taskorientedjob.
Recentresearchshowsthatselfdirection,suchasleadershipandmeaning,arebettermotivation
forabstractthinkingthanmoney.Whenanemployeeenjoyshisorherjob,itcreatesinterestandleads
totheemployeefeelingasiftheirjobmatters.Thisalonecreatesmoremotivationthanafinancial
incentive.Pinksummarizeseffectivemotivationunder:autonomy,mastery(desiretogetbetterand
better)andpurpose(somethingbiggerthanourselves).Empoweringemployeesencouragesemployees
toworkfreely,creativelyandeffectively(Management:ChallengesforTomorrowsLeaders).Ina
study,employeesweregiventwentyfourhourstoworkonwhatevertheywanted,withnomoney
involved.Whatthisstudyshowedwasthattheseemployeesworkedmorecreativelyandpassionatelyin
thosetwentyfourhoursthannormallyintheirjobs(Pink).Thisshowshowmoneynotonlydoesnot
improveeffectiveworking,butalsohinderseffectiveworkinginabstractworkingenvironments.
Exampleswheremoneydoesnotmotivateeffectivelyisrelativetowhen,(1)productivebehaviorisnot
defined,(2)therearepoor,ifany,measuresofproductivity,(3)theamountofmoneyistoosmallto
makeaneffectivedifferenceinmotivation(Lewis,PamelaS.,Goodman,StephenH.,Fandt,Patricia
M.,Michlitsch,JosephF.,2007,390).Thisshowsthattherearemoreeffectivemotivationtechniques
thanmoneyforabstractjobs.
Motivatorssuchasleadershipandmeaningaremoreeffectivethanthetraditionalmonetary
MOTIVATIONALFACTORSFORABSTRACTTHINKING 9
motivator.Thistechniqueisoutdatedandmaynotbeaseffectiveforabstractjobs.Forbusinessesto
havethemosteffectiveproductivityfromemployees,leadershipandmeaningshouldbeincreasedinthe
workplace.
PurposeofStudy/ResearchQuestions
Thepurposeoftheproposedstudyistoanswertherecurringquestionmanagersaskwhen
lookingtoincreaseproductivityand/orprofits:Whatmotivatesworkers?Aspreviouslymentionedthis
studywillfocusonindustriesandworkplacesthatrequireabstractthinking,versusthoseutilizinghard
labororconcretethoughtprocesses.Inordertodecipherthevarietyofresponsesastowhatmotivates
anindividual,thestudywillfocusonacoupleofoverarchingresearchquestions,whichareasfollows:
Accordingtoemployeeswhoutilizeabstractorcreativethinkingintheirjobonadailybasis,
whatisthebestmotivatorforthistypeofposition?
Ismoneythebestmotivatorforpositionsrequiringabstractthinking?
OverviewofMethodology
Inthisstudy,wewillconductaquantitativesurveytogatherinformationonemployeeswho
workinvariousindustriesthatrequiresomelevelofcognitivethinkingintheirwork.Aquantitative
surveyisclearlythebestmethod,asourgoalistogatherspecificidentifiersoftheemployeeswho
receivethesurvey.Weusethreesectionsinthesurvey:alikerttypescale,multiplechoicequestions,
andarankingorder,toconglomeratedatathatcanbeeasilyanalyzedtoobtainaconclusion.
Thesurveyisinitiatedwithalikerttypescaletoidentifythelevelofcognitivethinkingthateach
employeeisinvolvedin.Withthiswecanseparateemployeeswhoworkinajobthatisdominatedby
repetitivetasksthatdonotrequirehigherlevelthinkingfromemployeeswhosejobsaredominatedby
MOTIVATIONALFACTORSFORABSTRACTTHINKING 10
creative,abstracttasksthatrequirealargeamountofcognitivethinking.Itisinthelatterthatwemean
tofocusourresearch.Whileoursurveywillbeissuedouttoindustriesthatshouldrequirealarge
amountofcognitiveability,thereasuretobeoutlierswithinthecompanies.Withthisfirstsection,we
canidentifythose.
Withthespecificpositionsofeachemployeeanalyzed,thesecondsectionofthesurveyuses
multiplechoicequestionstofocusontheworkplaceandculturetheidentifiedemployeeissurrounded
by.Thefirstquestionidentifiestheemployeesindustry.Thesecondidentifiesthemethodofmotivation
theirsuperiorusesmost.Thissecondquestionisimportanttocomparewiththesectionthatfollows.
Thethirdandfinalsectionofthesurveyrequirestheemployeetorankthemethodsof
motivationthataremostimportanttothem.Themotivators:money,strongleadership,andimpactof
work,whichworkasumbrellatopics,however,shouldadifferentpointofmotivationcometothe
employee,thereisaspacetolistanother.
Throughthisgathereddata,wewillbeabletofindtrendsamongtypesofthinkingrequiredin
variousindustries,theconnectionsbetweenthemotivationemployeesarereceivingandthemotivation
theywouldliketoreceivemost,andmostimportantly,itwillshowbypopularvote,whatthegreatest
motivatorwithintherealmofcognitivework.
LimitationsofStudy
Withanyresearchstudycomeshurdlesthatmustbeovercome,thebiggestlimitationthatmay
comefromthisstudywillbethevarietyofresponsesreceivedfromeachsurvey.Thequestionofwhat
motivatesanindividualwillvarygreatlyacrossthosesurveyedandtheresponseswillbeimpactedby
eachpersonsbackground.Foroneperson,monetaryincentivesmaybethegreatestmotivatorsimply
becauseheorsheisstrugglingfinancially,howeverforanindividualwhoisfinanciallysecureheorshe
MOTIVATIONALFACTORSFORABSTRACTTHINKING 11
maybemotivatedbyhavingasupervisorwhoisrespectfulandtrustworthybecauseofbadexperiences
withsuperiorspreviously.Anotherlimitationofthestudymaycomefromtherestrictedaccessto
individualswhoutilizeabstractthinkingonadailybasisfortheircareer.Theresearchersconductingthe
studyarecurrentlyenrolledinasecondaryeducationalprogramandthereforehavelittleexperiencein
theprofessionalworld.Withfewconnectionstoparticipantsthatneedtobetargeted,thesamplesizeof
thosesurveyedwillbesmall.Ifnotenoughindividualspartakeinthestudy,thevariationofanswerswill
skewthedataandleadtoaninconclusiveresult.
SignificanceofStudy
Overtheyearstherehavebeennumerousstudiesconductedonthemosteffectivewayto
motivateworkers.Amajorityofthestudiesonthetopichavefocusedoncareersthatconsistofeither
hardlabor,salesskills,orrepetitioustasks.Thegroupproposingthisstudywasunabletofindany
conclusiveresearchthatfocusesonwhatmotivatesworkersincreativethinkingfields,thustheproject
hasadireneed.
Whenamanagerisabletoeffectivelymotivatehisorherworkforcemanybenefits,rangingfrom
anincreaseinproductivitytosizeablechangesincompanyordepartmentalprofitability,ensue.Research
hasbeenconductedonthegeneralquestionofwhatmotivatesworkers,however,ourstudywillpave
thewayforresearchinspecificindustriesandcareers.Thestudyhasthecapacitytoenablemanagers
andbusinessownersthatdealwithabstractthoughttoseenumerousbenefitsfromanincreasein
employeemotivation.
MOTIVATIONALFACTORSFORABSTRACTTHINKING 12
ReferencePage
Bartiett,M.(2011).WhatMotivatesEmployees?NotWhatYouThink.CreditUnionJournal,
15(25),18.
Bhattacharya,S.(2009).BeaMasterMotivator.BusinessToday,18(21),192.
CURRY,S.R.(1997).Surprise!MoneyTalksLoudest.Fortune,136(4),227.
FindingMeaningEmployeesGiveWorkIsKeytoBetterPerformance.(2013).HRFocus,90(1),
1314.
Gary,L.(2004).RethinkingMoneyandMotivation.HarvardManagementUpdate,9(4),3.
Goodhue,A.W.,&Norum,K.E.(2001).WhenanIncentiveIsn't:AnAddictiveMotivatorthat
WorksTooWell.Emergence,3(4),5064.
Kanter,R.(2013).ThreeThingsthatMotivateEmployees.HarvardBusinessReview.
Lewis,PamelaS.,Goodman,StephenH.,Fandt,PatriciaM.,Michlitsch,JosephF.(2007).
Management:ChallengesforTomorrowsLeaders.5thedition.390.
SheaVanFossen,R.J.(2011).Whywework:Aninvestigationofworkmeaningthroughwork
orientation.DissertationInternationalSectionA,71,122.
Sibson,RobertE.(1976).IncreasingEmployeeProductivity,171.
Pink,Dan(2009).DanPink:ThePuzzleofMotivation.InTedTalks.
Retrievedfromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrkrvAUbU9Y/
MOTIVATIONALFACTORSFORABSTRACTTHINKING 13
AppendixA
Survey
ParticipantName:___________________ ParticipantTitle:___________________
Choosefromascaleof15(1=stronglydisagree5=stronglyagree)
1.Yourjobrequiresrepetitivetasks 1 2 3 4 5
2.Yourjobrequiresabstractthinking 1 2 3 4 5
Circleoneofthechoiceslisted
3.Whatindustryareyouemployedin?
a.Entertainment b.Sciences c.Arts d.PublicAdministration
e.Education f.Retailg.Healthcareh.Business
4.Youremployermotivatesemployeesby?
MOTIVATIONALFACTORSFORABSTRACTTHINKING 14