Reference no: EM132225664

Discussion 1: Motivation is the psychological process that arouses and directs behavior. There are three theories that will help us understand the motivation of employees in the workplace.

1. Goal-setting theory - Suggests behavior can be motivated with specific, challenging goals that are obtainable. The key to goal-setting theory is ensuring employees understand what is expected and accept the goals.

2. Self-efficacy - Is the belief "I Can/Can't Do this Task." Self-efficacy is the belief in one's personal ability to do a task. There is a lot to be said to scoring high in this trait. People who are confident about their ability tend to succeed, whereas those who doubt their ability tend to fail.

3. Reinforcement theory - Explains how behavior can be altered by administering positive or negative consequences to actions of employees. Behavior with positive consequences tends to be repeated, and behavior with negative consequences tends not to be repeated.

For this week's discussion, I want you to take a moment to think about what it would take to motivate you to achieve your goals at work, and what it would take to motivate people that you've worked with, or your family or friends, to achieve their goals.

• Of the four areas of study listed above, which would you focus on first?

• Make sure to explain why you chose this area, and why it would take precedence over the other areas.

Discussion 2: We have all worked in a group or team at some point in our careers. A team is brought together to achieve a common goal. The team needs to have members who have complementary skills and who are committed to a common purpose to achieve performance goals. However, teams don't move immediately toward performing, but instead evolve over time. There are five stages of group and team development.

1. Forming - Getting oriented and getting acquainted. High degree of uncertainty as members as they try to figure out who is in charge.

2. Storming - Personalities start to emerge, along with roles and conflicts within the group.

3. Norming - In the third stage conflicts are resolved, relationships developed, harmony and unity surfaces.

4. Performing - The members concentrate on solving problems and completing the assigned task.

5. Adjourning - Members prepare to disband. Some members may be reassigned, terminated from the group or the group is resolved.

Think about a time when you joined a new group . . . it could be at work, in a family setting or with a social group.

• Which of the five stages was the most challenging for the group to work through, and why?

• How might you have helped the group work through that stage differently based upon what you know now about the five stages of group and team development?

Discussion 3:

Decision making is the process of identifying and choosing alternative courses of action. While we want to make rational decisions, sometimes we don't sometimes we make non-rational decisions.

There are four steps in rational decision-making:

1. Recognize and define the problem or opportunity-In business the problem can come in the form of customer complaints, supplier breakdowns, staff turnover, sales decline, etc. Organizations proactively seek opportunities to exceed goals, surpass the industry expectations and to expand and grow the business.

2. Identify and analyze alternative courses of action-Leaders should seek input from multiple sources to interpret and analyze the problem/opportunity to come up with as many options as possible to solve the issue.

3. Choose a preferred course of action-The group want to answer the following: (1) Is the action ethical?; (2) Is it feasible? (costs, technology availability; (3) Is it effective? If your answer to this question is the resolution is "good enough" you want to rethink this solution it will cause more harm than good.

4. Implement the preferred course of action-You need to the participation from all teams to successfully implement the action.

On the other hand, non-rational decisions are generally the result of either Satisficing (going with the first available option without much research) or Intuition(using your "gut" or just your own feelings to make decisions).

For this week's discussion, think about a time when you made a non-rational decision on the job or in your personal life.

• Was it the result of satisficing or intuition?

• How would your decision have been different using the four steps for rational decision-making?

• How would the steps have helped you to make a better, or more sound, decision?