Muhammad Junaid Murshed
Southern New Hampshire University
Abstract
In this research paper, I will be discussing some of the methods that may be used to effectively motivate a culturally diverse workforce in an organization. At first, I will present a brief introduction to motivation, some of the well-known motivational theories and cultural diversity. Then, I will look into a few reasons for demotivation among the workforce of an organization, followed by some of the distinguished and effective motivational techniques that may be utilized to ascertain and/or deal with the same, citing real-life examples. Finally, I will conclude the paper with a brief summary of the key points discussed in the paper together-with a personal opinion about the effectiveness of the motivational methods discussed above.
“Motivation is defined as the desire to achieve a goal or a certain performance level, leading to goal-directed behavior” (Bauer and Erdogan, 2010, p. 97).
As can be seen from the above statement motivation may be directly linked to performance. Although the direct correlation, motivation alone may not be sufficient to elicit the desired result. This is so, as, it (motivation) usually is influenced by factors such as an individual’s ability (p. 97) to perform the task and the resources available (p. 97) to him/her to aid in achieving the objective(s).
“Culture refers to values, beliefs, and customs that exist in a society” (Bauer and Erdogan, 2010, p. 40).
“Diversity refers to the ways in which people are similar or different from each other” (Bauer and Erdogan, 2010, p. 29).
The world consists of various different cultures (p. 40) entailing a diverse (p. 29) population base
i.e. in terms of age, gender, race, religion, physical abilities etc. Therefore, motivating (p. 97) individuals require understanding their descent first, as, it is most likely to influence the dominant need in their
Bibliography: 1. Bauer T. & Erdogan B. (2010) Demographic Diversity. Organizational Behavior, 29. 2. Bauer T. & Erdogan B. (2010) Cultural Diversity. Organizational Behavior, 40. 3. Bauer T. & Erdogan B. (2010) Theories of Motivation. Organizational Behavior, 97. 4. Bauer T. & Erdogan B. (2010) Theories of Motivation: Need-Based Theories of Motivation. Organizational Behavior, 100-102. 5. Self-Determination Theory: An Approach to Human Motivation & Personality. Retrieved from http://www.selfdeterminationtheory.org/theory