There will be many times in the workplace when you will have to justify your ideas and why you think that a project should be undertaken. It is important to understand how to explain your ideas to demonstrate the thinking behind them and provide a cohesive plan to initiate the project.
Imagine you are a team manager for an automotive parts manufacturer. Over the past few years, the company has been experiencing increased competition and pressure to reduce costs while maintaining a high level of quality products. Your production line workers have been with the company for an average of 10 years and over time have grown accustomed to routine tasks. Additionally, due to the increased pressure and competition, they are experiencing decreased situational motivation* as they are expected to do more at the same level of pay. You know that it is important to increase the level of motivation for your workers and want to do so in a way that rewards them and provides them with new ways to do their routine tasks.
You have brought the issues to the attention of your manager, and they have asked you to prepare a proposal analyzing the impact of situational motivation that includes your ideas for change and information that supports your points.
*Remember that situational motivation refers to the motivation individuals experience when they are currently engaging in an activity, and it results in the behavior of those individuals. It can either be internal or external motivation.
Assessment Prep
Watch the following videos from the University Library:
- “What is a Peer-Reviewed Journal?“
- “Locating a Peer-Reviewed Journal“
Locate a minimum of 2 peer-reviewed journal articles in the University Library that relate to motivation and behavior. At least 1 of your articles should fit in with the motivational theory you discuss in your proposal.
Assessment Deliverable
Write a 700- to 1,050-word proposal, including the following:
- Discuss what behavior you seek from your employees. In your discussion:
- Describe at least 2 specific employee behaviors that need to be changed.
- Explain the role that situational motivation plays in achieving this behavioral change.
- Include at least 1 motivational theory to support your proposed employee behavior change. How does the theory you chose relate to the changes you are proposing? What is that connection? Make sure to clearly relate your theory to your proposed changes and how they connect to each other. The theory should be similar to (or from) the list in Table 1.4, “Thirty-Seven Theories in the Study of Motivation and Emotion (with Supportive References),” on page 18 of Understanding Motivation and Emotion.
- Explain how you are going to implement your planned employee behavior change. This is the plan portion of the assignment. In your plan:
- Explain what actions you will take to accomplish your plan. Provide at least 3 specific ideas.
- Provide steps that you will take to help employees. Make sure what you propose is realistic and something that could actually happen in a work setting.
- Explain how your chosen journal articles support your points about using motivation to increase the likelihood of employee behavior change.
Tip: An effective proposal is judged on the quality of your writing. Therefore, it is important that your writing is coherent, clear, and compelling. Use words like we/our, instead of I/me, in your assignment.
Include a separate title and reference page.
Cite at least 2 peer-reviewed journal articles.
Format your citations and references according to APA guidelines.
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Submit your assessment.
