Motivational Theories and Factors
Motivational Theories and Factors
Joyce Clary
Psy 302 Industrial / Organizational Psychology
Dr. John Moore
August 30, 2010
Stress and conflict in the workplace can cause major emotional and physical damage to the facility and workers. In the past, there have been reports of tragedies caused by disgruntled workers who may have clocked in with a gun in hand. We are going to look into ‘three motivational theories including the relationship of stress and conflict in relation to individual motivations.’ Many factors can motivate employees while at work. Some of the motivating factors could include the structure of the lives of the employees before they became employed. Personality is a big factor in employee performance and motivation. Someone that is an introvert may not have the same mind set as an extrovert. This will definitely dictate how that employee behaves and responds to directives at work. Turmoil has happened in recent years in workplace settings. Let us take a closer look at a tragic workplace incident. Omar Thornton was a thirty-four year old black delivery driver in Manchester Connecticut. On August 4, 2010, he signed his resignation papers in front of witnesses after he saw video footage of him stealing beer from his company. Before leaving the room he reportedly pulled a gun and started randomly shooting workers he came across. In the end, he killed eight, leaving two wounded before he killed himself. Thornton’s relatives and girlfriend said he had been harassed in a racial manner. This story is not the only one we have seen in the news. It proves that motivation can be a source of good behavior or negative. In Thornton’s case he was motivated by what he thought to be racially aimed mistreatment from his white co workers. This caused him to become stressed and it reached a deadly point of conflict, a him against them scenario. In the real world, no employee should allow their job stress to
Joyce Clary
Psy 302 Industrial / Organizational Psychology
Dr. John Moore
August 30, 2010
Stress and conflict in the workplace can cause major emotional and physical damage to the facility and workers. In the past, there have been reports of tragedies caused by disgruntled workers who may have clocked in with a gun in hand. We are going to look into ‘three motivational theories including the relationship of stress and conflict in relation to individual motivations.’ Many factors can motivate employees while at work. Some of the motivating factors could include the structure of the lives of the employees before they became employed. Personality is a big factor in employee performance and motivation. Someone that is an introvert may not have the same mind set as an extrovert. This will definitely dictate how that employee behaves and responds to directives at work. Turmoil has happened in recent years in workplace settings. Let us take a closer look at a tragic workplace incident. Omar Thornton was a thirty-four year old black delivery driver in Manchester Connecticut. On August 4, 2010, he signed his resignation papers in front of witnesses after he saw video footage of him stealing beer from his company. Before leaving the room he reportedly pulled a gun and started randomly shooting workers he came across. In the end, he killed eight, leaving two wounded before he killed himself. Thornton’s relatives and girlfriend said he had been harassed in a racial manner. This story is not the only one we have seen in the news. It proves that motivation can be a source of good behavior or negative. In Thornton’s case he was motivated by what he thought to be racially aimed mistreatment from his white co workers. This caused him to become stressed and it reached a deadly point of conflict, a him against them scenario. In the real world, no employee should allow their job stress to
References: Baily, Everton. Worker Kills Nine at Beer Distributor after Losing Job August 4, 2010. http://www.chem.info/News/2010/08/Plant-Operation- Worker-Kills-Nine-at-Beer-Distributor-After-Losing-Job. Retrieved August 30, 2010. Dubrin, A. (2004) Applying Psychology: Individual and Organizational Effectiveness (6th Ed) Upper Saddle River Pearson/Prentice Hall Employee Motivation Theory and Practice. Retrieved August 27, 2010. http://www/accel-team.com/motivation/index.html