Motivational Theories

There are a couple of motivational theories that can be tapped to raise the learning and achievement of a student. They act as a powerful catalyst in motivation of a leaner. One of the appealing theories is the cognitive dissonance which occurs when there is an unresolved issue in the mind of a learner. According to Kim (2013), the conflict is usually between the student and the beliefs, perceptions or thoughts they hold against certain subjects. Cognitive dissonance is powerful motivator in transforming the learner. This can be through creation of discomfort within an individual to change the conflicting cognition which is created by new information. There is also the attribution theory of learning. When an individual makes a mistake, they tend to go through a process with two steps. The first step is the experience of an automatic response that involves an internal attribution or the error. The next step is a conscious which is a slower reaction that tend to seek an alternative attribution hence finding the solution

            If I were a new manager or leader in an organization, I would make sure I motivate my staff by communicating to them in a better way. This is by ensuring I act as a face in newsletters or in emails. I would also make sure I communicate with them as frequently as possible to ensure they understand their goals and solve any issues of misunderstanding. I would ensure I create time to make face-to-face communication. Doing this would make the staff know they are valued and I would also be able to appreciate their hard work. According to Kim (2013), a good manager should act as an example to motivate their staff. This is because one cannot expect the employees to work hard and behave in a nice way if they the leaders fail to lead by example. Furthers, I would empower by staff to have more of a say in their day to day activities. Doing this will give them a chance to suggest ways which they would be able to improve their performance and output at large through holding regular employee reviews.

            One of the techniques I would offer a nurse manager regarding the motivation of nurses is to make sure he/she involves the nurses in leadership. This is a useful technique as it gives nurses an opportunity to experience and demonstrate leadership in the nursing profession on a regular basis. It would also be important for the manager to assign nurses with educational sessions or peer-to-peer learning in subjects like nursing procedure, hospital policies responsibilities and patient care trends (Hokroh, 2014). The other technique is ensuring that he/she commit to positive communication. This is important especially in the stressful and busy nursing environment. The nursing shifts should be started in a positive way to improve even the level of patient care.

            I would evaluate the motivation of the staff by using questionnaires. This would give instant feedback about the attitudes and the general motivation of the employees. Likewise, the questionnaires will be able to show how the employees perceive their work environment. The other way to evaluate the motivation of employees is using the employee turnover data. High turnover rate shows that the employees in the organization may be suffering dissatisfaction in their work (Hokroh, 2014). The rate of productivity in an organization tells a lot about the motivation of employees. The productivity increases with increase in the motivation of employees.

References

Hokroh, M. (2014). A Touch on Employees Motivation. International Journal Of Human Resource Studies, 4(1), 9. http://dx.doi.org/10.5296/ijhrs.v4i1.4936

Kim, M. (2013). Handbook of Moral Motivation: Theories, Models, Applications. Journal Of Teacher Education, 39(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2014v39n1.8