MOTIVATIONALFACTORSFORABSTRACTTHINKING 1

MotivationalFactorsforAbstractThinking

AustinDonovan

AsiaMartinez

LauraMeng

TaylorShelpuk

KeithThompson

PointLomaNazareneUniversity

15April2014

MOTIVATIONALFACTORSFORABSTRACTTHINKING 2

Abstract

Moneyisoftenusedasthelargestmotivatorforemployeesintheworkplace.Recentstudieshave

discoveredthatmoneyisnotthemostinfluentialmotivatorintheworkplaceforabstractthinking.

AccordingtoDanPink(2009),moneyisagoodmotivatorforsimpletasks,butnotfordifficulttasks

thatrequiremorecomplexthinking.Withquestionssuchas,Ismoneyagoodmotivatorforabstract

thinkingintheworkplace?andWhatisthebestmotivatorforabstractthinkingintheworkplace?has

ledtotheconclusionthatleadershipandtheimpactofworkaremoreeffectivemotivatorsthanmoney

forabstractthinking.Employeeswhoworkforencouragingleaderstendtobemorecreativeintheir

thinkingthanemployeesthataremotivatedbymoneyalone.AlanGoodhue(2001)states,Whenwe

exchangefearfortrust,informationbeginstoflow(p.61).Whenthereisahealthyrelationshipbetween

employeeandboss,creativity,problemsolvingskills,andmotivationincreaseintheworkplace.Also,

employeesthatfindtheirjobtohavemeaningcanleadtohigherperformance.AccordingtoSheaVan

Fossen,individualswhofindmeaningfromtheirpaidemployment,beyondthefinancialrewardsthata

jobbrings,reporthigherjobandlifesatisfaction,betterjobperformance,longertenure,andlower

numberofselfreportedsickdays(Fossen,p.1).StudieshaveshownthatAmericanemployeesvalue

meaningfulworkovermoneyinabstractjobswheremoneyisnotconsideredaneedsbasemotivation.

Throughthisresearchwewouldliketofindwhatisthebestmotivatorbetweenmoney,leadershipand

impactfulworkforabstractbasedworkplaces.

MOTIVATIONALFACTORSFORABSTRACTTHINKING 3

BackgroundofStudy

Moneyisgoodmotivationforroutinejobs,wheretheresultispredictable.Moneyprovides

goodmotivationforaleftbrainrelatedjob.However,forcreative,rightbrainrelatedjobs,money

destroyscreativity,narrowsemployeesfocus,andlimitsthepotentialanemployeecouldbringtothe

table.AccordingtoDanPink(2009),thepreviousstatementsarefacts,notfeelingsorphilosophy.

Pinkgoesontoclaimthatformechanicalskillsthehigherthepay,thebettertheperformanceof

anemployee,butoncethetaskcalledforevenrudimentarycognitiveskillalargerrewardledto

poorerperformance.Thisshowsthatmoneyisagoodmotivatortoacertainextentandwhenmoneyis

anecessityforliving.TheFederalReserveBankoftheUnitedStatesfoundedstudiestodiscoverthe

bestincentivesformotivation.Whenthestudieswereconductedeightoutoftheninetasksthathad

highermoneyincentives,ledtoworseperformance.Thisresearchconfirmsthatmoneyasmotivationis

outdatedandunexamined(Pink2009).AnotherstudyputonbyDr.BerndIrlenbusch,LondonSchool

ofEconomics,stateswefindthatfinancialincentivescanresultinanegativeimpactonoverall

performance.Moneyisaneffectivemotivatorwhenmoneyisaneedsbasedapproach.Forabstract

jobsmoneyisnolongerthemosteffectivemotivationwhentheemployeeisalreadypaidfairly.

MotivationintheworkplaceisrelevantbecauseAmericanworkersarebecominglessandless

motivatedandarelosingtheirsenseofownership.Motivationdoesnotstrictlyrelyonimprovingthe

productivityofwork,butalsocreatesthewillingnesstodosomethingthatonemightnotwanttodo

otherwise.Productivityofemployeesdependsonmorethanreasonableeffortandworkpaceitalso

dependsontheemployeeswillingnesstodothingsinapositiveway,whichtheywouldotherwise

choosenottodo,notthinktodoandoccasionally,dislikedoing(Sibson,RobertE.,1976,p.171).

Whenemployeesarenotmotivatedtoaccomplishgoals,thewholecompanyisnegativelyimpacted.
MOTIVATIONALFACTORSFORABSTRACTTHINKING 4

Motivationismorethanmoneymotivationisemployeeempowerment.Abstractthinkingbeginswith

money,butreachesitsfullpotentialthroughothermeansofmotivationsuchasleadershipandimpactof

theworkbeingdone.

LiteratureReview

Traditionalmethodsofmotivationintheworkforcehavemoretimesthannotdealtwith

monetarycompensation.Ifyoucompletethistask,inthisamountoftimeyouwillreceivexamountof

dollars.Recently,studieshavebeguntoarisethathaveactuallystatedotherwise.Whatisthebest

motivationforworkthatrequirescreativity,problemsolvingorthinkingoutsideofarepeatedtask?Asa

resultofthisrecentuncertainty,wewouldliketopinpointwhatitisthatmotivatesemployees.Doesitin

factcomeouttobemoney?Orthetypeofpersonyouareworkingfororiftheworkisimportantor

impactfultothecompany?

Money

ShereeR.Curry(1997),intheFortuneMagazinearticle:Surprise!MoneyTalkstheLoudest,

claimsthataboveallpossiblemotivators,monetaryincentivereignssupremeingettingproductivityout

ofemployees.CurryreferencesarecentsurveyofU.S.employeesontheirsourcesofmotivation.The

resultsledwithmoneyfollowedbyinterestinspecifictasksandasupportiveboss.Furtherevidenceis

providedgivenacasestudyofContinentalAirlineswhereunsubstantialcashbonusesweregivento

employeeswiththebestontimeperformance.Theresultconcludedthatthecompanyhasgonefrom

arankingofdeadlasttoaconsistentlead.

WhatMotivatesEmployees?NotWhatYouThinkbyMichaelBartiett(2011),coversDan

Pinkspopularizedanalysisonmotivationintheworkplacewithregardtothetypeofworkbeingdone.

Pinkisquotedtoagreethatmoneyisagreatermotivatorincertaincontexts,suchaswithsimpletasks,
MOTIVATIONALFACTORSFORABSTRACTTHINKING 5

butnotforcomplextasksthatrequirecreativethinking(Bartiett,2011,p.18).Hecontinuestodescribe

howcommissionedworkthatisbeingpaidforasaproductorserviceisautomaticallymetwith

constraintsthatlimitcreativeworkflowandoutcome.

ExecutiveCoach,PamelaYorkKrainercritiquesthemodernworkingadult,claimingthatnow,

asidefromraisingtheirfamilies,theymostlyjustwork(Gary,2004,p.3).LorenGary(2004),inThe

NextIdeas:RethinkingMoneyandMotivation,juggleswheremotivationcancomefrominthis

workplacethattakesupalargemajorityofourlives.Themosttangibleindicatorweseeinmaking

progressisagreateraccumulationofmoneyasanincentive,butGarychallengesthisasthereal

motivatorwithintheworkplace.Garyexplainsthatintodayssociety,moneycannotbecompletely

separatedasamainmotivator.Thearticlereads:Today,however,withmoneysocentraltoallaspects

ofcontemporarylife,somearebeginningtobelievethatcandidconversationsaboutmoneymightclarify

ratherthancloudworkerssearchfortheirmostdeepseatedinterests(Gary,2004,p.3).Thissuggests

thatmoneycannotbeescapedasamotivator,duetoitsroleasadrivingforceinsociety,buttoreacha

pointwhereanemployeecanfindfulfillmentandmotivationintheirposition,moneyshouldbe

addressedcandidlysothatitisnotamajorconcernoftheemployees.Inaway,thatwouldfreeits

dominanceasamotivator.Thereisapotentialtomovetoamotivationfargreaterthanmoneybyhow

welookatmoneyitself.Gary(2004)writes:

Anunflinchinglookatourattitudesandbeliefsaboutmoneycanhelpusidentifyourintrinsic

motivationsandleadustoaricherunderstandingofthedeepseatedsourcesofinterestand

fulfillmentthatmoneycanneversatisfy.(p.3).

Leadership

Whenaskedaboutwhetheryouwouldliketoworkforagoodbossorbadboss,theanswer
MOTIVATIONALFACTORSFORABSTRACTTHINKING 6

willgenerallycomeouttobeagoodboss.Whenaskedaboutmotivation,thisanswerrarelyseemsto

cometomind.Agoodbossmaybethebestmotivatorforjobsthatrequirecriticalthinkingorhavea

creativenaturetothem.AccordingtoAlanGoodhue(2001),wheninreferencetoarelationship

betweenabossandemployer,Whenweexchangefearfortrust,informationbeginstoflow(p.61).

Asabossbeginstotreatanemployeewithtrust,itallowsarelationshiptobuildandtearsdownthewall

thatcankeepcreativityandproblemsolvingskillsfrombeingfullyusedasaresultoffear(Goodhue,

2001,p.61).Goodhue(2001)alsoelaboratesontheimportanceoftheintegrityoftheboss

Integrityisrequiredforcooperation.Lyingtoemployeesisclearlynotdemandedby

cooperatingwiththem,asitsometimesisbycompetingwiththempeoplerespondtothose

whohavetheconvictiontostandupfortheirbeliefs.Thisprovidestheincentiveforpeopleto

bringtheirownethicalandspiritualvaluestoworkandbecomethebestatwhichtheyare

capable.(p.61)

Simplethingslikeencouragementcanhelpmotivateemployeesandimprovehowtheyusetheskillsthey

have,whichcanhelpimprovecreativityandperformanceinjobsthatrequirecriticalthinking.Saumya

Bhattacharya(2009)describesinherMotivationBlueprintthattobeamastermotivatoritisimportant

to,Usepositivereinforcementtohelpthemrecognizetheirdevelopedabilities(p.1).Smallgestures

likethismayleadtoincreasedconfidenceintheirownability,whichcanhelpwithcreativityaswellas

problemsolving.

Impact/Meaning

IntheHarvardbusinessreviewRosabethMossKanter(2013)statesthatstrongleadershave

turnedchangefromexhaustingtoexhilaratingbyaskingemployeestoopentheirimaginations.Although

someprofessionalsseetransformationasathreat,mostfindchancesforcreativeexpression,especially
MOTIVATIONALFACTORSFORABSTRACTTHINKING 7

asthecompaniesevolvefromsiloeddepartmentstoflexiblecollaboration.(Kanterpar.6)Byopening

workersimaginationsitallowsselfexpression,happiness,andloyaltyintheworkplace.

Peoplehappyintheirworkareoftenfoundinmissiondrivenorganizationswherepeoplefeel

theyhaveapositiveimpact.Strongleadersarenowaskingemployeestoopentheirimaginationto

createanopportunityforpositiveimpact.Highperformanceteamsfocusontheworkanditsimpact

theyworkharder,longer,andyetwithmoreenergythanlowperformanceteams.Theymakea

differencedaybyday,makingprogressthroughsmallwins(Kanter,2013,par.9).

Wherethereismeaningthereismotivation.Accordingtothearticle,Findingmeaning

employeesgiveworkiskeytobetterperformanceHRFocussaysthatifHRprofessionalsdiscover

themeaningsemployeesattachtotheirwork,thentheycanimproveworkersperformance.Butthe

meaningofworkvariesnotonlybetweendifferentpeople,butevenwithinthesamepersonatdifferent

times.(HRFocus,2013,p.14)HRfocusalsoquotesJohnBuddaprofessoranddirectorofthe

CenterforHumanResourcesandLaborStudiesonhistakeoffindingthatmeaning.Hestatesthat

ratherthanlimitingthediscussiontotraditionalperformanceobjectivethediscussionaboutemployee

goalscouldbebroadenedtoincludethepossibilityofderivingdeepermeaningsfromtheirwork.(

Budd,13)

Itissimplynotjusttheemployerstasktofindmeaningfortheirworkers.Employeesneedto

alsofindmeaningintheirworkthemselves.SheaVanFossenwroteaboutworkmeaningand

motivationthroughworkorientation(Fossen,2011).Fromherresearchshefoundthatitistheindividual

whofindsmeaning,Individualswhofindmeaningfromtheirpaidemployment,beyondthefinancial

rewardsthatajobbrings,reporthigherjobandlifesatisfaction,betterjobperformance,longertenure,

andlowernumberofselfreportedsickdays.(Fossen,p.1)ShegoesontosaythatAmericansreport
MOTIVATIONALFACTORSFORABSTRACTTHINKING 8

thattheyvaluemeaningfulworkoverpromotions,income,jobsecurity,andhours.

StatementoftheProblem

Monetaryincentivesarenotenoughtomotivateemployeesinabstractworkplaces.Whatisthe

bestmotivationforabstractworkplaces?Isitleadership,meaning,orisitdifferentforeachindividual?It

isclearthattraditionalmonetarymethodsofmotivationarenotthemosteffective,unlessitisarepetitive

taskorientedjob.

Recentresearchshowsthatselfdirection,suchasleadershipandmeaning,arebettermotivation

forabstractthinkingthanmoney.Whenanemployeeenjoyshisorherjob,itcreatesinterestandleads

totheemployeefeelingasiftheirjobmatters.Thisalonecreatesmoremotivationthanafinancial

incentive.Pinksummarizeseffectivemotivationunder:autonomy,mastery(desiretogetbetterand

better)andpurpose(somethingbiggerthanourselves).Empoweringemployeesencouragesemployees

toworkfreely,creativelyandeffectively(Management:ChallengesforTomorrowsLeaders).Ina

study,employeesweregiventwentyfourhourstoworkonwhatevertheywanted,withnomoney

involved.Whatthisstudyshowedwasthattheseemployeesworkedmorecreativelyandpassionatelyin

thosetwentyfourhoursthannormallyintheirjobs(Pink).Thisshowshowmoneynotonlydoesnot

improveeffectiveworking,butalsohinderseffectiveworkinginabstractworkingenvironments.

Exampleswheremoneydoesnotmotivateeffectivelyisrelativetowhen,(1)productivebehaviorisnot

defined,(2)therearepoor,ifany,measuresofproductivity,(3)theamountofmoneyistoosmallto

makeaneffectivedifferenceinmotivation(Lewis,PamelaS.,Goodman,StephenH.,Fandt,Patricia

M.,Michlitsch,JosephF.,2007,390).Thisshowsthattherearemoreeffectivemotivationtechniques

thanmoneyforabstractjobs.

Motivatorssuchasleadershipandmeaningaremoreeffectivethanthetraditionalmonetary
MOTIVATIONALFACTORSFORABSTRACTTHINKING 9

motivator.Thistechniqueisoutdatedandmaynotbeaseffectiveforabstractjobs.Forbusinessesto

havethemosteffectiveproductivityfromemployees,leadershipandmeaningshouldbeincreasedinthe

workplace.

PurposeofStudy/ResearchQuestions

Thepurposeoftheproposedstudyistoanswertherecurringquestionmanagersaskwhen

lookingtoincreaseproductivityand/orprofits:Whatmotivatesworkers?Aspreviouslymentionedthis

studywillfocusonindustriesandworkplacesthatrequireabstractthinking,versusthoseutilizinghard

labororconcretethoughtprocesses.Inordertodecipherthevarietyofresponsesastowhatmotivates

anindividual,thestudywillfocusonacoupleofoverarchingresearchquestions,whichareasfollows:

Accordingtoemployeeswhoutilizeabstractorcreativethinkingintheirjobonadailybasis,

whatisthebestmotivatorforthistypeofposition?

Ismoneythebestmotivatorforpositionsrequiringabstractthinking?

OverviewofMethodology

Inthisstudy,wewillconductaquantitativesurveytogatherinformationonemployeeswho

workinvariousindustriesthatrequiresomelevelofcognitivethinkingintheirwork.Aquantitative

surveyisclearlythebestmethod,asourgoalistogatherspecificidentifiersoftheemployeeswho

receivethesurvey.Weusethreesectionsinthesurvey:alikerttypescale,multiplechoicequestions,

andarankingorder,toconglomeratedatathatcanbeeasilyanalyzedtoobtainaconclusion.

Thesurveyisinitiatedwithalikerttypescaletoidentifythelevelofcognitivethinkingthateach

employeeisinvolvedin.Withthiswecanseparateemployeeswhoworkinajobthatisdominatedby

repetitivetasksthatdonotrequirehigherlevelthinkingfromemployeeswhosejobsaredominatedby
MOTIVATIONALFACTORSFORABSTRACTTHINKING 10

creative,abstracttasksthatrequirealargeamountofcognitivethinking.Itisinthelatterthatwemean

tofocusourresearch.Whileoursurveywillbeissuedouttoindustriesthatshouldrequirealarge

amountofcognitiveability,thereasuretobeoutlierswithinthecompanies.Withthisfirstsection,we

canidentifythose.

Withthespecificpositionsofeachemployeeanalyzed,thesecondsectionofthesurveyuses

multiplechoicequestionstofocusontheworkplaceandculturetheidentifiedemployeeissurrounded

by.Thefirstquestionidentifiestheemployeesindustry.Thesecondidentifiesthemethodofmotivation

theirsuperiorusesmost.Thissecondquestionisimportanttocomparewiththesectionthatfollows.

Thethirdandfinalsectionofthesurveyrequirestheemployeetorankthemethodsof

motivationthataremostimportanttothem.Themotivators:money,strongleadership,andimpactof

work,whichworkasumbrellatopics,however,shouldadifferentpointofmotivationcometothe

employee,thereisaspacetolistanother.

Throughthisgathereddata,wewillbeabletofindtrendsamongtypesofthinkingrequiredin

variousindustries,theconnectionsbetweenthemotivationemployeesarereceivingandthemotivation

theywouldliketoreceivemost,andmostimportantly,itwillshowbypopularvote,whatthegreatest

motivatorwithintherealmofcognitivework.

LimitationsofStudy

Withanyresearchstudycomeshurdlesthatmustbeovercome,thebiggestlimitationthatmay

comefromthisstudywillbethevarietyofresponsesreceivedfromeachsurvey.Thequestionofwhat

motivatesanindividualwillvarygreatlyacrossthosesurveyedandtheresponseswillbeimpactedby

eachpersonsbackground.Foroneperson,monetaryincentivesmaybethegreatestmotivatorsimply

becauseheorsheisstrugglingfinancially,howeverforanindividualwhoisfinanciallysecureheorshe
MOTIVATIONALFACTORSFORABSTRACTTHINKING 11

maybemotivatedbyhavingasupervisorwhoisrespectfulandtrustworthybecauseofbadexperiences

withsuperiorspreviously.Anotherlimitationofthestudymaycomefromtherestrictedaccessto

individualswhoutilizeabstractthinkingonadailybasisfortheircareer.Theresearchersconductingthe

studyarecurrentlyenrolledinasecondaryeducationalprogramandthereforehavelittleexperiencein

theprofessionalworld.Withfewconnectionstoparticipantsthatneedtobetargeted,thesamplesizeof

thosesurveyedwillbesmall.Ifnotenoughindividualspartakeinthestudy,thevariationofanswerswill

skewthedataandleadtoaninconclusiveresult.

SignificanceofStudy

Overtheyearstherehavebeennumerousstudiesconductedonthemosteffectivewayto

motivateworkers.Amajorityofthestudiesonthetopichavefocusedoncareersthatconsistofeither

hardlabor,salesskills,orrepetitioustasks.Thegroupproposingthisstudywasunabletofindany

conclusiveresearchthatfocusesonwhatmotivatesworkersincreativethinkingfields,thustheproject

hasadireneed.

Whenamanagerisabletoeffectivelymotivatehisorherworkforcemanybenefits,rangingfrom

anincreaseinproductivitytosizeablechangesincompanyordepartmentalprofitability,ensue.Research

hasbeenconductedonthegeneralquestionofwhatmotivatesworkers,however,ourstudywillpave

thewayforresearchinspecificindustriesandcareers.Thestudyhasthecapacitytoenablemanagers

andbusinessownersthatdealwithabstractthoughttoseenumerousbenefitsfromanincreasein

employeemotivation.

MOTIVATIONALFACTORSFORABSTRACTTHINKING 12

ReferencePage

Bartiett,M.(2011).WhatMotivatesEmployees?NotWhatYouThink.CreditUnionJournal,

15(25),18.

Bhattacharya,S.(2009).BeaMasterMotivator.BusinessToday,18(21),192.

CURRY,S.R.(1997).Surprise!MoneyTalksLoudest.Fortune,136(4),227.

FindingMeaningEmployeesGiveWorkIsKeytoBetterPerformance.(2013).HRFocus,90(1),

1314.

Gary,L.(2004).RethinkingMoneyandMotivation.HarvardManagementUpdate,9(4),3.

Goodhue,A.W.,&Norum,K.E.(2001).WhenanIncentiveIsn't:AnAddictiveMotivatorthat

WorksTooWell.Emergence,3(4),5064.

Kanter,R.(2013).ThreeThingsthatMotivateEmployees.HarvardBusinessReview.

Lewis,PamelaS.,Goodman,StephenH.,Fandt,PatriciaM.,Michlitsch,JosephF.(2007).

Management:ChallengesforTomorrowsLeaders.5thedition.390.

SheaVanFossen,R.J.(2011).Whywework:Aninvestigationofworkmeaningthroughwork

orientation.DissertationInternationalSectionA,71,122.

Sibson,RobertE.(1976).IncreasingEmployeeProductivity,171.

Pink,Dan(2009).DanPink:ThePuzzleofMotivation.InTedTalks.

Retrievedfromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrkrvAUbU9Y/

MOTIVATIONALFACTORSFORABSTRACTTHINKING 13

AppendixA

Survey

ParticipantName:___________________ ParticipantTitle:___________________

Choosefromascaleof15(1=stronglydisagree5=stronglyagree)

1.Yourjobrequiresrepetitivetasks 1 2 3 4 5

2.Yourjobrequiresabstractthinking 1 2 3 4 5

Circleoneofthechoiceslisted

3.Whatindustryareyouemployedin?
a.Entertainment b.Sciences c.Arts d.PublicAdministration
e.Education f.Retailg.Healthcareh.Business

4.Youremployermotivatesemployeesby?
MOTIVATIONALFACTORSFORABSTRACTTHINKING 14

a.Money b.StrongLeadership c.ImpactofYourWork d.Other_____

Rankfromgreatesttoleast

5.Inyourindustry,whatmotivatesyoumostasanindividual?
_____ 1.Money
_____ 2.StrongLeadership
_____ 3.ImpactofYourWork
_____ 4.Other:__________