Motivation: Theory and Practice

Internal and External Motivation

External motivation: an action is performed for external rewards or to avoid punishment: money, recognition, fines.

Internal motivation: an action is performed for the action itself: interest, pleasure, meaning.

Crowding out effect: excessive external rewards suppress internal motivation. Classic experiment: children who drew for pleasure lost interest once rewards were introduced and then removed.

Self-Determination Theory (Deci and Ryan)

Three basic psychological needs:

• Autonomy: feeling that actions originate from oneself, not imposed
• Competence: feeling effective, growing expertise
• Relatedness: sense of belonging, meaningful relationships

An environment supporting these three needs → high internal motivation, engagement, well-being.

Hackman-Oldham Model (Job Characteristics Model)

Five job characteristics that influence motivation:

1. Skill variety — variety of skills used
2. Task identity — seeing a whole, finished task
3. Task significance — importance for others
4. Autonomy — independence in execution
5. Feedback — receiving information about the result

Money and Motivation

Money is important — up to the level that ensures comfort. Beyond that level, the correlation between income and happiness/motivation significantly weakens. This does not mean money is unimportant in negotiations — but it does mean that money alone is not enough for a high level of engagement.

Practical Assignment

Assess the motivational profile of your team: (1) To what extent does the work support autonomy, competence, relatedness? (2) Which of Hackman-Oldham's five characteristics are strong, which are weak? (3) What can be changed without additional budgets?