where you felt extremely motivated going to college

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Think about an experience you had where you felt extremely motivated (Going to college). In a 4 page paper, analyze this experience according to the experiential format below. Each subtitle represents a different section of the paper. You can use the subtitles as headings.

Introduction: Discuss the topic of the paper and how you will approach it. It is best to write this section after you have written the rest of the paper.

The Experience: Begin with a specific situation/event. Describe the experience where you felt extremely motivated. Be objective and focus on just the facts: who, what, where, when, and how.

Reflection: Reflect upon that experience from the multiple perspectives of other people involved or affected in the experience. Step back from the situation, look at the experience from your own viewpoint, and the viewpoints of other parties involved or affected. Look at the circumstances surrounding the experience from every relevant perspective. Why was the experience motivating to you? What did others do that increased your motivation? Was the situation (or would the situation) also be motivating to others? (Note: Your discussion of theories and models from your module materials belongs in the following section.)

Abstract Conceptualization: [Important: This Abstract Conceptualization section is the “heart” of your paper. Use critical thinking skills to understand and interpret the experience at a deeper, more generalizable level. Interpret and understand the events you have described by drawing on the concepts, theories, and models in the background material from this module. What behavior patterns can you identify in yourself and others that are similar to the ones described in the material on motivation, values, and/or goals? How do these concepts and principles explain why you were motivated? What general principles of motivation can you derive from this analysis? Apply at least three concepts, theories, and/or models and cite all references to concepts and ideas that you use from sources. Be sure to cite all references to concepts, ideas, and quotes you use that come from any outside source.

Experimentation: Identify ways to respond to the next occurrence of a similar experience. How are you going to put what you have learned to use? How will you use this knowledge to motivate yourself and others? What actions will you take to create a work environment that is motivating?

Conclusion: Sum up the main points of your analysis and the key learnings you are taking from it.

Reference List: List all references that you have cited in the paper using APA formatting. References include materials from the required background readings as well as any outside Internet or library sources you used in researching and writing your paper. If you have APA questions, refer to the optional listings on the Background page.

Module 1 – Background

Managing Individual Behavior

Required Sources

Values, Attitudes, and Perceptions

Often, we assume that the way we perceive and experience the world is the same way other people do. This assumption is false and can lead to ineffective leader and manager behaviors. Understanding how attitudes and perceptions influence individual behavior and performance at work is important to organizational study. Read how personality, values, perceptions, and attitudes affect work behaviors.

Luthans, F., Luthans, K. W., & Luthans, B. C. (2015). Chapter 5: Personality, perception, and employee attitudes. In Organizational behavior: An evidence-based approach, 13th Ed., (pp. 102-129). Charlotte, North Carolina: Information Age Publishing. Retrieved from the EBSCO database in the Trident Online Library.

Many people believe that a happy worker is a productive worker, but research tells us that people can be highly satisfied with their jobs and still not get much done! Nevertheless, organizations have reasons to care about employees’ satisfaction with their jobs.

The following reading is an excellent explanation of the job satisfaction model and why it is important to maintaining a highly productive workforce.

Redmond, B. F. & Bower, C. P. (2015). Job satisfaction. In Work Attitudes and Job Motivation. Retrieved from https://wikispaces.psu.edu/display/PSYCH484/11.+Job+Satisfaction

Motivation and Job Design

With a variety of values, perceptions, and attitudes, people are not motivated by the same things. The following reading summarizes key theories to help you understand what motivates you and those around you. Be sure to watch the 4-minute video at the start of the article.

Motivation and motivation theory (2015). In Reference for Business: Encyclopedia of Business(2nd ed.) Retrieved from http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Mar-No/Motivation-and-Motivation-Theory.html

Learn about the importance of job design in creating and maintaining a work environment that employees will find motivating. See the following talk on the Job Characteristics Model of Motivation:

Theories of Motivation: The Job Characteristics Model (2015). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUWsFHQsbh0

Goal Setting

Since the 1960s, management scholars have touted the effectiveness of setting high, but achievable, goals in attaining high levels of performance from employees. The following article reviews goal-setting theory and how to put it into practice.

Chin, D. (n.d.). How to motivate employees using E. A. Locke’s goal-setting theory. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/motivate-employees-using-ea-lockes-goalsetting-theory-24176.html

EPM. (2018, October 23). Locke’s goal setting theory of motivation [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtX_Ueh0j-E

Once we understand the power and potential of goal-setting, it is easy to overdo it. Here is a cautionary tale from the Harvard Business Review:

High goals often improve performance, but they also exacerbate unethical behavior: In one research exercise, the participants given the hardest math problems were 84% likelier to cheat than other participants, on average. The researchers—David T. Welsh, of the University of Washington, and Lisa D. Ordóñez, of the University of Arizona—say that demanding tasks deplete people’s self-regulatory resources over time, and that managers should be aware of the negative organizational consequences of consecutive rigorous goals.

Source: Stat Watch (2014). Harvard Business Review, 92(6), 28. Available in the Trident Online Library.

Optional Sources

Experiential Learning

Hay Group. (2012). What is Experiential Learning? Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZeAdN4FB5A

Early Management Theorists

To gain an understanding of the evolution of management thinking from a historical perspective, see this excellent article:

History of organizational behavior. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.wisdomjobs.com/e-university/principles-of-management-and-organisational-behaviour-tutorial-366/history-and-evolution-of-organisational-behaviour-12812.html

The following paper is an overview of four important areas of management theory: Frederick Taylor’s Scientific Management, Elton Mayo’s Hawthorne Works experiments and the human relations movement, Max Weber’s idealized bureaucracy, and Henri Fayol’s views on administration. It will provide a general description of each of these management theories together with observations on the environment in which these theories were applied and the successes that they achieved.

Kerns, D. (n.d.). An overview of management theory. http://www.kernsanalysis.com/sjsu/ise250/history.htm