Week 5 Assignment Theories of Motivation

The purpose of this assignment is to apply the motivation and job satisfaction theories to a specific situation. Describe the theories and key assumptions on what motivates people or makes them satisfied. Apply one of the theories to a specific situation related to motivation you have witnessed or experienced professionally. 

In your paper: 

• Define each of the following major motivation and job satisfaction theories: need theories, individual differences, cognitive theories, situational theories, and job satisfaction. 
• Describe a specific situation in the workplace related to motivation and job satisfaction from your own professional experience and apply one of the theories to the situation. 
• Discuss how useful this theory is in explaining the lack of effort or the high performance of employees. 
• Provide examples of the advantages and disadvantages of this particular theory in explaining employee motivation or job satisfaction. 

Your paper should be three to four pages in length (excluding the title and reference pages). Your paper must be formatted according to APA style and it must include citations and references. 

Forbes School of Business Faculty

References

De Cremer, D., & van Knippenberg, D. (2002). How do leaders promote cooperation: The effects of charisma and procedural fairness. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(5), 858-866. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.87.5.858 

Hughes, R. L., Ginnett, R. C., & Curphy, G. J. (2009). Leadership: Enhancing the lessons of experience (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. 

Nadler, D. A., Gerstein, M. S., & Shaw, R. B. (1992). Organizational architecture: Designs for changing organizations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. 

Schermerhorn, J. R., Jr., Hunt, J. G., & Osborn, R. N. (2005). Organizational behavior (9th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. 

Required Resources 

Text 

Warrick, D.D. (2016). Leadership: A high impact approach [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/ 

Recommended Resources 

Article 

Yun, S., Cox, J., & Sims, H. P., Jr. (2006). The forgotten follower: A contingency model of leadership and follower self-leadership. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 21(4), 374-388. Retrieved from the ProQuest database. 

Multimedia 

INTELECOM (Producer). Contingency theory (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://searchcenter.intelecomonline.net:80/playClipDirect.aspx?id=4870EEC7664070BB9915C7C9656B6ED52F514680433C867266498D8F1CBAE88DE16BD42E3D16FAAAFFFE711DF0EEE1EF80B913E9D1B2BC6D  

Grading Rubric:  

Distinguished – Provides a thorough definition of the major motivation and job satisfaction theories. 
Distinguished – Provides a thorough description of a specific situation related to motivation and job satisfaction. 
Distinguished – Comprehensively applies one of the theories to the situation. The application is supported with relevant examples from scholarly articles. Distinguished – Comprehensively discusses the usefulness of the theory in explaining employee performance. The discussion is supported with relevant examples from scholarly sources. 
Distinguished – Provides thorough examples of advantages and disadvantages of the theory explaining employee motivation or job satisfaction. 
Distinguished – Clearly and comprehensively explains the issue to be considered, delivering all relevant information necessary for a full understanding.