Dan Pink In Ted Talks

In chapter one of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, Author Daniel Pink introduces two types of motivators that he refers to as, “Human operating systems”. Times have changed, and business models are changing as well. Just like we need to upgrade our computer software when it begins to fail. We also need to upgrade our human operating systems, when our current method is not keeping up with the ever-changing business world. The concept of reward and punishment to encourage employees to be more productive is an outdated way of managing people. In order to create a better work environment and increase productivity, we need to upgrade our idea of motivation to include autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

Of the many mini theories developed, intrinsic motivation plays a role in workplace situations I have personally experienced. Factors that encourage intrinsic motivation include challenge, curiosity, control, fantasy, competition, cooperation, and recognition. Intrinsic motivation challenges the way we learn, our purpose, interests, and meaning. Intrinsic motivation occurs when there is a generalized interest in a goal and it benefits us when the behavior to achieve the goal is self-imposed (Reeve, 2009).

Extrinsic motivation it is the motivation brought about by what a person is getting from a certain task, rather than interest in the task. An example of extrinsic motivation is when a student who is not particularly interested in math works hard in order to attain a good grade, and in a working person’s life, it could be working on a task that is not necessarily interesting to him/her, but that is giving a good amount of financial reward. A good example of intrinsic motivation is working as a volunteer in a children’s home because taking care of children is of personal interest and satisfaction, to the person, despite getting no reward.

Intrinsic motivation is gaining more recognition in the workplace. Books like Driven by Daniel Pink talk about the scientific data that supports the notion that humans are not wired to be rewarded with more money, but instead a sense of purpose. The connection between intrinsic motivation and working independently is that by working in a team there is less individual contribution, therefore limiting the sense of ownership in a project. When a person works independently they set their own goals and deadlines (Halvorson) while forced to comprehend the task at hand clearer. The quality of the work is higher in part because the success of the work is left entirely on one person, but also because individuals find reasons to remain motivated and

According to Bateman & Snell (2009), Motivators to employee job performance are centered on extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. Extrinsic rewards are characteristics of the workplace that attract and retain people. They revolve around organization and management policies, working conditions, pay, benefits, and other so-called “hygiene” factors. Intrinsic rewards are motivators that provide employees personal satisfaction in the performance of their jobs such as opportunities for personal and career growth, recognition and the feeling of achievement in the successful completion of a task. (p. 486). Herzberg’s two-factor theory suggests

In “The Surprising Science of Motivation”, Dan Pink explained how the 21st century is requiring people to become more creative and think outside of the box. Allowing yourself to view all the possibilities instead of restricting solutions can provide more positive rewards. As a result, I find myself understanding the concept that external rewards like money are not the best way to motivate ourselves or others. Therefore, motivation lies within everyone by giving them the power to examine three elements of motivation which include autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Those that follow this motivation are not receiving cash reward but a reward of accomplishing their own task. In summary, I know understand that a person can be motivated by their

In “Understanding Management”, there is a chapter on motivation that covers both extrinsic and intrinsic reward. The material does highlight the increasing trend of motivating people through appealing to those intrinsic needs and how it

Pink (2009) and Latham (2012) both share that enriched or complex jobs tend to do better with intrinsic motivators, while simple or very structured jobs tend to do better with extrinsic motivators. This may have some very important effects on modern day workplaces and could be used to link the most effective incentive with a particular kind of work. For example, jobs such as sales may do very well with extrinsic motivation like bonuses or commission, while jobs such as advertising may do better with intrinsic motivation such as comparisons to other companies, groups, or previous work. Pink (2009) discusses that routine or rule-based work of the last century responded very well to extrinsic rewards, but that in modern work that is more complex and has multiple solutions, intrinsic rewards have been shown to be more effective. Complex problem solving will be more effective with intrinsic motivators, and Pink (2009) provides the three elements of autonomy, mastery, and purpose as part of the reason; which is that people in many jobs want to know that they are an important part of the overall

Leaders who rely on extrinsic motivators are consumed by how they are viewed by others and seek superficial rewards. Extrinsic motivators include wealth accumulation, power, titles, elevated social status, and prestige (George, 2015). On the other hand, leaders who pursue intrinsic motivators more self-aware and seek profound rewards that go beyond the surface of superficiality. Intrinsic motivators may include personal growth, helping other people, taking on social causes, creating great products or services, and making a difference in the world through your efforts (George, 2015).

In the book “DRIVE - the surprising truth about what motivates us”, Daniel Pink says that people will not do a better job if they’re offered a reward. They will do a better job if given the opportunity to work on their own time, be creative and do good. He states, “The secret to high performance and satisfaction is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, learn and create new things and to do better by ourselves and our world”. He speaks about a whole new way that companies should look at human motivation. The book discusses three main components of motivation- autonomy, mastery and purpose. Autonomy describes how people want to be

Intrinsic/Internal Rewards are obtained from within the individual. This could be an employee feelings good about a job they performed and taking pride in it.

(Pierce et al, 2003) The more confident they are, the more likely they find enjoyment on their task. Therefore the presence of extrinsic reward is more likely to have both sides of effect rather only being positive or negative. The positive effect is that, reward can increase intrinsic motivation when people perceived the reward as “providing competency information.” The negative effect is when people perceived the reward as “controlling by the recipient”. (Wiersma, 1992) Therefore, it really depends on how intrinsic motivation is operationalized. (Wiersma, 1992)

Business organizations use extrinsic motivation and a performance-reward system for energizing employees. Pay raises, bonuses, additional time offs, or other benefits are common forms of extrinsic motivation. Companies institute performance management systems to achieve maximum efficiency from employees when offering these benefits. They may also be able to reduce employee workplace accidents by offering extrinsic safety rewards.

g. Motivating reward can either be intrinsic or extrinsic. An intrinsic reward appeals to a person’s desire for self-actualization, curiosity, enjoyment, or interest in the work itself. An extrinsic reward appeals to a person’s desire for attainment distinct from the work itself: a cash bonus, a promotion, or stock options.

Being rewarded and recognised for their work or contribution is what keeps an employee motivated to work towards achieving the organisational as well as personal goals. When the employees is motivated by rewards, they will have job satisfaction consequently increasing the productivity of the organisation. It necessitates the need of managers to pay more attention in understanding their employees and come up with suitable types of reward systems for the organisation so that the employees are intrinsically and extrinsically motivated all the time. The hypotheses that I put forward here is to support this statement that effective reward management is critical to