Motivation and Internal Frames of Reference: Do We Have the Wisdom to Help Employees Flourish at Work?
By Taylor Peyton
Abstract
Motivation lies at the heart of many of the problems that both leaders and human resource development (HRD) practitioners face within the daily events of their work. They may ask themselves such questions as how can they become motivated and stay motivated or, perhaps more importantly, how can they more effectively motivate others. The importance of motivation in human functioning and flourishing is well documented. Yet, the understanding and effective use of sound motivational principles within organizational settings often remain elusive, confusing, and at best sporadically applied. When we review the history of academic studies and publications on motivation and behavior, we might notice that a strange thing happened on the way to understanding human motivation. Much of the early literature and research was concerned with studies that used animals as the basis for understanding and learning human motivation.