There's nothing to fear...or is there?

Previously, the term "motivation" was simply a word I often used interchangeably with "inspiration". I thought the two were one in the same. After further enhancing my knowledge of the subject, I found that I was very wrong in my thoughts, and motivation was a word and subject all its own.

In the article, Wellborne presents the concept of fear and ways in which it is used within organizations to drive results that align with the company's goals. In my current work setting, several supervisors manage their teams by instilling fear of unwanted consequences. Other supervisors manage their teams by withdrawing the aspect of fear, in hopes that by lowering the thought of consequence and increased focus on the task or goal itself, desired departmental goals will be achieved. Not all supervisors that instill fear are successful, nor are supervisors that neglect to instill fear. The reading was interesting to me in terms of researching factors and methods other than fear that produce an organization's desired results from employees.

Shah and Shaw mention that motivational drives differ among individuals and that individuals are motivated based upon their area of interest. I find this statement to be agreeable, as differing interest result in the need for various motivational approaches among individuals. Expressing to me the need to keep my house clean so that guests will be impressed means nothing to me if I do not care to have guests over, thus I will not be motivated to clean. However, by expressing the need clean in order to avoid ants or roaches will motivate me to act immediately, as I have a fear of insects and definitely would avoid their presence at all costs.

The reading mentions that when fear is presented, employees will weigh the fear-induced event against their ability to cope with the consequence(s). This theory is one in which I never considered and found it to be significantly relevant to my organization. As mentioned above, supervisors within my organization have different methods of motivating their teams to produce desired results. The finding of this concept provides insight as to why supervisors may or may not be successful when they attempt to instill fear as a means of achieving department/organizational goals. For example, employees who do not achieve monthly goals allow the risk of being terminated. If the employee can cope with losing his or her employment with the organization (consequence), they may be less motivated to achieve monthly goals, versus an employee who cannot afford to lose their job with the organization. In this scenario, the supervisor may manage both employees and instill fear; however, the outcome will differ.

Jeremy Bentham's "The Carrot and the Stick Approach" theory of motivation most applies to the current work setting within my organization. This theory is working, in some aspect. Various contests are conducted to increase sales and production rates among employees with prizes being small, such as a free lunch in the cafeteria or a company t-shirt. Again however, as each individual is motivated in differently, these contests may be effective to some employees who desire recognition for their sales, or the prize offered. Other employees may not be interested in recognition or the prize; therefore their efforts will be minimal.


When motivating others in a global and multi-cultural organization, it is critical that the communication be ethical. Leaders must understand that all cultures differ, and motivational communication must be scripted as such. Persons of various cultures have different values and goals; therefore any motivational means must be tailored to provoke action based on the cultural values and goals of the audience. Context also must be acknowledged among cultures so that the communication is not offensive to the audience. When understood and executing accordingly, leaders can successfully motivate individuals of various cultures.

To be a successful leader in the 21st Century, leaders should understand various theories and concepts of motivation (Carrot and the stick, achievement, power, etc.). Leaders should also understand that these theories should be applied base upon the audience in which they are trying to motivate. Fear is often used as a way to motivate others to act, however this method may not always be appropriate for the situation. By understanding this, leaders will have the capability to efficiently motivate audiences to act to achieve desired results.


The website www.learningandteaching.info, provides further detail of what motivates others to act. The website introduces two concepts to the motivation theory: intrinsic/expressive and extrinsic/instrumental. The intrinsic individual would be motivated to act based on a reward which would benefit his or herself. The extrinsic individual would be motivated to act based on other reasons. Wellborne does not segment the audience intended to be motivated, and does not acknowledge that individuals differ and motivation purposes should be communicated as such.

In my terms, Motivation is triggering others to act in a way in which desired results of the motivator are achieved. My newfound knowledge on the theories and concepts of motivation will allow me to improve my communication by providing me the necessary tools to properly encode communication to my audience and achieve desired results. I now understand that as individual differ, they also require different approaches for motivational purposes. Reward in exchange for a desired outcome must also vary among individuals, and knowing this I now understand that rewards must differ when possible to increase the success of my communication and achieve desired results. Knowing this will allow me to tailor my message appropriately for various audiences.

References

Welbourne, T. (1995, March). Fear: The Misunderstood Component of Organizational Transformation. Human Resource Planning, 18(1), 30-37. Retrieved February 26, 2009, from Business Source Complete database.

Shah, K. & Shaw, P. (n.d) Motivation. Retrieved February 26, 2009, from http://www.laynetworks.com/Motivation.html.

Learning and teaching. (2007).Motivation to learn. Retreived February 26, 2009, from http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/motivation.htm.

Tutor2u. (2007). Motivation in theory-herzberg two factor theory. Retreived February 26, 2009, from http://www.tutor2u.net/business/people/motivation_theory_herzberg.asp.

Um, Could you repeat that?... I wasn't listening

I never stopped to think of how important listening is in the communication process. It would seem that listening is a natural skill every person possessed (unless medical reasons prohibit). I’ve found that doing so is much more complex than I originally thought!

In the article, The Listening Style Inventory (LSI) as an Instrument for Improving Listening Skill, Lu discusses barriers that prevent us from listening effectively. In my current work setting, it is most difficult for me to listen when I have important tasks on my mind. In these situations I externally show that I am listening (nodding my head and such). Internally however, I am thinking of tasks I need to complete. This surely makes me a poor listener, but not purposely. As the author mentions, daydreaming and mental escape from conversation is often caused because a person speaks 125 words per minute, and listens at 400 words per minute, which allows for “mental gaps”. This is the most important concept I took away from the article. I don’t believe my lack of listening to others during a busy day at work is intentional, but because I believe I am multi-tasking inside my head, I previously felt this was okay. I should actually be providing my full listening attention to the speaker, as I would like others to provide their full attention to me while I am speaking. Now that I am aware of the mental gap allowance, I plan to make better efforts in truly listening to others. Should I continue to take advantage of the ability to daydream while others are speaking, these actions would then be intentional and make me a poor communicator, which is contrast to my career goals within my organization.

Culture is also an important factor in the art of listening. An example provided by the author is the indicators on faucets for hot and cold temperatures. Americans read “H” for hot and “C” for cold. In Spanish however, the word for hot begins with the letter “C” (Caliente) and the term for cold begins with the letter “H” (Helado). I imagine the misinterpretation of these terms could cause a world of confusion, if not communicated properly and the message not received effectively. This is a perfect example of the need to understand that other cultures will not always be similar to our own. It is important to keep this in mind and make efforts to research other cultures in which we will interact as businesses continue to globalize and become interdependent.

In the article Talking Hi-Tech at Work, Grenny mentions that technical communication tools such as email and text messaging also make workplace relationships difficult, and I certainly agree. The enrichment reading, Listening in the 21st Century, provides interesting data where the American worker handles 201 messages in one day via multiple channels of communication. This overload allows us to become increasingly selective to what communication we actually “listen” to. As non-verbal communication is absent in technical communication, encoding and decoding messages may become misinterpreted and create conflict between the speaker and listener.

As I furthered my knowledge of the topic of listening, there wasn’t anything I found disagreeable. All of the authors made valid and facts based points. The reading was useful in revealing that listening is definitely a skill I have taken for granted. Fine-tuning my listening skills will take some work. Here are a few skills I will use to further enhance my listening ability:

- Give the speaker my full attention
- Provide Feedback: Paraphrase the speakers thoughts
- Ask questions for details not clearly understood

References

Bentley, S. (2000, May). Listening in the 21st Century. International Journal of Listening,14, 129. Retrieved February 21, 2009, from Communication & Mass Media Complete database.

Grenny, J. (2005, November). Talking Hi-Tech at Work. T+D,59 (11),14-14. Retrieved February 16,

2009, from Business Source Complete database.

Lu, Jianying. (2005). The listening style inventory (LSI) as an instrument for improving listening

skill. Sino-US English Teaching, 2 (5), 45-50.

Who Am I?

"Who Am I?" is the question I ask myself as I enter this unfamiliar journey in Graduate School. Hopefully, upon graduating I will be able to define who I am. For now though, I'll provide a little insight about myself and who I hope to become.

After I completed my undergraduate degree in 2007, I had absolutely no intention of seeking a master's degree. Actually,when several people asked , I responded matter-of-factly that continuing college was something I DID NOT want to do. Well, I was proved wrong.

I noticed that something was missing, something I just couldn't describe. I'm not sure exactly what moment triggered these feelings, but there was a definite time in which I began to consider the idea of returning to school. Perhaps I was more comfortable with an absolutely full schedule, and the down-time received after graduation just wasn't me. Or maybe I missed learning new things day to day, and needed that stimulation once again. I believe it was the need to contiuously push myself beyond what I think my limits are. Proving to myself that I have the ability to do things I don't think I can do is the actual reason I am here.

Fear began to sink in as I began my first graduate class. Hearing the intellectual thoughts and opinions of others in class discouraged me. During those first days, I began to reconsider the idea of returning to school. The first few assignments boosted and maintained my stress levels. An internal battle began. Would I quit because I didn't believe in myself? Or would I continue because I did believe in myself? This question stayed in my mind during the second week of class. But then I began to learn new things I had never learned before. The assignments became an oppurtunity to reflect my newly discovered knowledge, not just an assignment for a passing grade. By the end of the class I had answered the question: I had to keep going. I do believe in myself.

So here I am. I am continuing this jouney, and I know the ride will not be an absolutely smooth one. There will be obstacles in the form of my own fears and others doubts, but I plan to stay diligent in discovering who I am.