Lost in Translation?

I had a difficult time applying this article to my present position. I work in a small organization where your value or lack of value is abundantly obvious. Inherently all organizations apply "The Carrot and Stick Approach" as defined by Jeremy Bentham (Shah & Shah, 2007). We are all doing our job for the financial rewards otherwise it would be volunteer work. Though I do not have any statistical data to back this claim, Douglas McGregor's "Theory X and Theory Y " makes a poor assumption. It states that there are only two types of employees X and Y. X doesn't want to work and will do so only by threat of punishment. (Shah & Shah, 2007, part 4 ). Y on the other hand, suggests that work "is as natural as rest or play." (Shah & Shah, 2007). What about type Z, employees who work autonomously enough and avoid enough mistakes but are not interested in contributing to the advancement of their organization. Of the theories presented, my company is Participative as defined by Rensis Likert. (Shah & Shah, 2007) We are encouraged to carefully evaluate and challenge ideas, either those presented by team members or managers. Often we have elongated discussions which end with "Let's try it and see." Failure is carefully controlled but it is not an unacceptable outcome. Failure provides an opportunity to examine what did not work and how we should change a process for the future.

To me, motivation is a verb not a noun. I would define it as a person or group who actively participates in an action without regard for its success or failure. Though the article provided a general overview of several existing motivational theories I felt that some were not explored or even properly discussed. One in particular, Rensis Likert's theories, were bullet points with no explanation. I also felt that Shah & Shah's summation and recommendations were simplistic. Did they really need to examine the history of behavioral studies to determine that you should "Treat staff well" or "Set realistic goals" to manage a successful team? Did I miss something? What do U think?

Shah, K. & Shah, P. (n.d.) Motivation. Retrieved July 10, 2007, from http://www.laynetworks.com/Motivation.html.