Interrelationship of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation Essay

In the article â€Å"Interrelationship of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation† by Jerry Dermer, there are three different assumptions about the interrelationship between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation from three different researchers. Firstly, Deci, E.L. stated that an extrinsic performance-contingent reward reduces people’s intrinsic motivation. Secondly, Hofstede, G.H. supported that intrinsic motivation is a necessary co-requisite for extrinsic rewards to be motivating; however, intrinsic motivation is not reduced in the occurrence of extrinsic rewards. Thirdly, the general assumption of many motivational researchers believed that intrinsic and extrinsic motivations are unrelated. The purpose of the study was to firstly determine if there is a relationship between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, and then to help management in resolving the dilemma of whether or not they should provide rewards based on performance. The study conducted a questionnaire which was distributed to 81 department store managers in a large department store chain. The questionnaire included measurements for extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. For extrinsic motivation’s measurement, the questionnaire listed seven statements for managers to rate on the Likert scale. The budget performance in these seven statements was linked to seven extrinsic outcomes: recognition, advancement, job security, better peer relations, better supervisory relations, increased responsibility, and increased salary. For example, â€Å"‘exceeding budgeted performance will lead to more responsibility’† (Dermer, 1975). For intrinsic motivation’s measurement, the questionnaire only listed three statements asking the managers to rate the level to which higher order need satisfaction is affected by good performance. For instance, â€Å"‘Doing my job well gives me a feeling of accomplishment’† (Dermer , 1975). In order to have a fair and accurate result, both statements were presented in Likert format. Managers needed to rank the statements from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Also, the questionnaire was intermixed with other random statements to minimize halo effects and hence increase the accuracy of the result. The result reinforces Hofstede’s statement and overthrows Deci’s and the general assumptions. This research showed that the higher a store manager’s intrinsic motivation, the greater his responsibility, recognition, pay and motivation for advancement. The main finding was that intrinsic motivation was an essential co-requisite for extrinsic motivation. Meanwhile, extrinsic reward would not reduce workers’ intrinsic motivation. The research found out that the higher one’s intrinsic motivation, the greater his motivation for extrinsic rewards. Therefore, based on this concept, management should implement some strategies to stimulate workerâ⠂¬â„¢s intrinsic motivation. During the hiring process, the hiring manager of the organization should inquire about the interviewees’ interests. The main purpose of doing this is to make sure that the interviewee does like the job. The goal of the interview is to hire people who are intrinsically motivated because these individuals are more willing to learn and to accept challenges. Depending on the nature of the organization, the human relations department should carefully select candidates that fit the job requirement, as well as to consider one’s personality. For example, a hospital requires nurses to be extraverted and agreeable. As the employees achieve the person-job fit, which is defined as the workers finding the job that fits their values the most, the employees will have a higher level of intrinsic motivation. For example, when a patient is recovered, the nurse will be proud of herself, hence her intrinsic motivation will increase. Besides, management should work to increase the level of organizational commitment of the workers. The higher the affective commitment, the higher the level of job performance the workers achieve. The reason is that if the workers have high affective commitment, they are more motivated to stay in the organization and is happy to devote their time and energy in benefiting the firm. High affective commitment implies these workers are intrinsically motivated because they love their work. To increase the level of organizational commitment, management should provide a fun workplace and encourage them to think creatively. Moreover, managers should permit workers to have great autonomy and encourage new ideas at the workplace so that workers will be more willing to think about ideas in a greater depth. However, promoting intrinsic motivation may lead to several potential costs. Firstly, a long period of time is needed to foster each worker’s intrinsic motivation. Secondly, the strategies to nurture intrinsic motivation vary from person to person. Even though there are potential costs for promoting intrinsic motivation, the potential benefits resulting from intrinsic motivation are much greater. Firstly, an organization will be more profitable and efficient as its employees are more self-motivated and satisfied with their job. The more self-motivated the employees are, the higher their efficiency. Also, workers will be more motivated and will not need continuous supervision if they like the job. Another benefit from having intrinsically motivated workers is that these workers are less likely to be late as they like their job. Also they are more likely to excel at their jobs. Hence, the organization’s efficiency will be improved significantly. To conclude, the article â€Å"Interrelationship between Intrinsic Motivation and Extrinsic Motivation† by Jerry Dermer is informative in explaining the relationship between two different types of motivation. The reason is that Jerry found three different authoritative researchers and compared their views. Instead of taking away from the research, readers should think about Deci’s and Hofstede’s statement critically because Jerry Derman also talked about the saving grace of Deci’s statement. Lastly, the recommendations for management practices are appropriate as all of the organizations highly demand intrinsically motivated employees. Reference Dermer, J. (1975). The interrelationship of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The Academy of Management Journal, 18(1), 125-129. 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