Motivation According to One of the Most

Motivation

According to one of the most famous scholars on the subject of motivation, motivation comes from the desire to satisfy first the basic needs within a hierarchical system; then moving from physiological means to self-actualization. This motivation moves from the more basic to advanced psychological levels by adding onto basic needs more emotional, then intellectual needs that allow the human being to capture concepts that are far more detailed, less static, and to analyze problems that have open-ended answers. This view also says that there are a set of needs that must be met before moving on, and that being human is part of focusing on inner needs as well, once the basic physical needs are met (Watkins & Leigh, 2010).

The idea of motivation is so very critical within organizations of all types, that scholars have been studying the topic for decades. However, given the importance of the 21st century global workplace, a motivated workforce that represents high quality profits and efficiencies is both a competitive advantage and a strategic asset within any workplace. There are a number of motivational theories about how humans act and react within the workplace to find ways to actualize. Some believe human beings are dichotomous beings who operate either on a principle of value or a principal of fear -- the Theory X and Theory Y Some believe that goal setting and clear instructions motivate people. Others are more pragmatic, finding that there are needs of recognition and achievement, besides monetary gain, or even that the only way to truly motivate anyone is through incentives (which may be a myriad of options) (O'Neil, H., et al., 2011).

One such method of measuring the aspects of motivational behavior, particularly in the organizational setting, is that of the Work Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation Scale (WEIMS) (Ryan & Desi, 2000). This idea posits that motivation is never unified, but completely unique to the individual's circumstances within the organization, coupled with their own personality. Motivation is a theory of value, and is often divided into intrinsic and extrinsic categories. Intrinsic motivation refers to our doing something because we want to, we are interested in, or is enjoyable to us. Extrinsic motivation refers to doing something because it leads to separate outcomes that have variable degrees of motivational need (a test in a subject that one must pass, a difficult meeting). Dealing with extrinsic motivation is often problematical, since there are a number of types of motivation that require people to act in ways that might be contrary to their own personalities, but they must complete because of a larger goal, workplace pressure, or even fiscal gain (Ryan and Desi).

To help balance and understand the way intrinsic and extrinsic work together, the WEIMS scale is an 18-item measure of the way work motivation is a part of self-determination theory. This means that motivation is part of our innate psychological needs, and a formative factor behind the types of choices we make -- without external influence. The idea of self-determination theory is complex, and focuses on the degree to which the person's behavior is self-motivated and determined -- even if it is extrinsic in nature (Deci, E., et al., eds., 2002). Thus, the WEIMS scale becomes quite important in that it actively looks at divergent organizational environments and the way that the person's needs may or may not be met both intrinsically and extrinsically.

When analyzing the WEIMS scale, we look at the notion of validity. External validity is best understood as cause and effective -- the generalized or causal inferences we make to the research problem, and/or the population under consideration. Internal validity asks if the subjects differ significantly prior to the research, or whether the research (scale) may be predictively used to show cause and effect of results or data sets. Construct validity refers to the way the scale within the measurement instrument relates to the concepts of the issue under study (motivation). Constructs are not restricted to one set of observations, but to a number, making the study more robust (Golafshani, 2003). In the case of the WEIMS, the preliminary research is based on a series of quantitative measures, and thus the causal relationships between the data seem to align with a statistically viable sampling of the population and their needs/trends (Tremblay, M., et al., 2009).

Methodologically, the WEIMS seems quite sound. Certainly, there are subjective issues when dealing with personality, individual differences, and perceptions in organizational support and job satisfaction. However, WEIMS uses a factor analysis methodology for internal consistency, as well as other descriptive statistics, to form a basis for a generalized view of behavior as related to motivation. According to one research study, the positivist validation of research depends upon both the gathering of data and the interpretations used, in which WEIMS is very robust. The nature of the WEIMS study, in fact, fits in with the criteria of using previously validated instruments, with caveats, to support data conclusions. When dealing with personality issues, it is thus almost impossible to adjust for every personality quirk or circumstance, and thus require that journal authors show how and why WEIMS is valid, which the authors do (Boudreau, M., et al., 2001).