Week 1 680 Replies

Respond to at least two other posts regarding items you found to be compelling and enlightening. To help you with your reply, please consider the following questions:
What did you learn from the posting?
What additional questions do you have after reading the posting?
What clarification do you need regarding the posting?
What differences or similarities do you see between your initial discussion thread and your classmates’ postings?
How do your classmates’ chosen theories apply to other situations?
Your reply posts should be a minimum of 150-250 words each.

1. Scenario C 
You have been employed at the same company for 20 years. You have come to terms with the fact that you have no promotional opportunities here and you are at a “dead end job.” You contemplated changing jobs a few times in the last few years, but some of the reasons you stay include a manageable work load, flexible work hours, friendly co-workers, and a supportive upper management team. Yet, you are not motivated to go above and beyond the expectations identified for your position and job description. 
“Motivation is goal directed and derived from both personal needs and the decision process used to satisfy those needs”  ( Blanchard, P. N., & Thacker, J. W, 3.3. ) In Scenario C , the employee has been with their company for 20 year and has realized there is no opportunity for growth or a promotion. Although the company has great benefits such as flexible hours , friendly environment etc according to Alderfer ERG manager need to know that employees have several needs to satisfy such as Growth , Relatedness and Existence. Growth is the need to advance , relatedness need is to satisfy others , and existence is basic human survival needs. An employee is motivated when his efforts are being rewarded . In absence of GRW the employee will not be happy , productive or motivated to do his job .(Blanchard, P. N., & Thacker, J. W. ,2013).  
I also agree with Llopis , the most important motivational factor is the ability to grow with the company (  Llopis, 2012 ) . Employees are motivated when they know advancements is the reward. During every interview I’ve been in, I always asked are there opportunities for growth , and how long do you have to stay in one position before you can be promoted . I could only imagine how frustrated this employee is , being with a company for that long and  it’s a dead end job . I would never be with a company that long and my efforts not be recognized. I’m eager to learn and grow so the last thing I want is for my career to be stagnant.  

2.  You have been employed at the same company for 20 years. You have come to terms with the fact that you have no promotional opportunities here and you are at a “dead end job.” You contemplated changing jobs a few times in the last few years, but some of the reasons you stay include a manageable workload, flexible work hours, friendly co-workers, and a supportive upper management team. Yet, you are not motivated to go above and beyond the expectations identified for your position and job description.
With this job, there are definitely pros and cons that come along with the job. Being able to obtain a manageable workload, flexible hours, friendly staff, and a supportive upper- management team are definitely things many people would want in a job. If the employee is thinking that the job is a dead end job, there has to be reasoning behind these thoughts, in which the expectancy theory can be applied. The expectancy theory describes cognitive processes when deciding the best actions to satisfy our needs (Blanchard and Thacker, 2013). The questions that need to be asked would be if the employee is not getting paid enough, if they have to travel too far from home, if the employee is receiving benefits and a retirement plan, not being recognized for hard work, bad parking, and etc. Being able to establish what the employee would be looking forward to can offer ideas to upper-management to put into effect. If the company has not recognized the hard work and dedication for a worker that has dedicated 20 years of their life to a company with no promotional opportunities, I think it would be best to search for a job that offers promotions, benefits, and the great things that their current job offers. After 20 years of service to a company, I am pretty sure that the employee knows the ropes around the company and could possibly become a consultant for the company and experience greater opportunities. Time is something that no one can get back, and staying at the company another 20 years without any motivational effort will only make a person even more miserable until they try out for something and see if they can make the impossible become possible.
Blanchard, P. N., & Thacker, J. W. (2013). Effective training: Systems, strategies, and practices (5th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.