Good Example Of Report On Motivation Of A Summer Day Camp Counselor

A counselor at a Summer Day Camp is expected by management to perform his duties to the letter at all times. Anyone who wanders off from his responsibilities even for a moment is sternly reprimanded and threatened that the next time such an incident happens he would be fired. One such responsibility is accommodating the limitations of campers especially during sports activities. This means adjusting one’s skill level in order to allow the campers to feel good about their performance in these games. Being young and competitive, counselors often find it difficult to adjust one’s skill level especially when the game becomes really intense and every player wants to make the win. Counselors therefore prefer to play against or with their friends rather than with the campers. The motivational problem that this paper shall focus on is increasing the counselors’ desire to play sports games with the campers and in the process making them adjust their skill levels when they compete. The solution to this problem is found in Vroom’s Expectancy Theory of Motivation. In the succeeding sections, this writer will lay out the argument, counter-argument, and counter-counter argument based on this theory.
This motivational theory can be solved by utilizing Vroom’s Expectancy Theory of Motivation. There are three important concepts in this theory: valence, instrumentality, and expectancy. In the case of the counselor, the valence would be having an opportunity to compete in sports with his co-workers and play according to his own skill level. To be able to provide that, management can institute a weekly sports and recreational activity at the end of the work week that can be participated in by counselors who have accomplished their task efficiently for the week. This is the instrumentality aspect, counselors who are efficient in that week are the ones who are able to participate in the weekly gathering. The expectancy aspect is in working hard to adhere to the requirements of the job. This means following all instructions, never leaving one’s assignment for one second, and accommodating the needs of the campers. When the counselor fulfills his job responsibilities as required, then he would be considered an efficient worker, and if he is an efficient worker, then he would be allowed to participate in the recreational/sports activity. In this way the counselors would have a chance to meet with their friends and play the sports activity against each other without having to adjust their skill level. Engaging in the games will strengthen the bond among the counselors and would allow friends to update each other.
However, there is a counter-argument for the preceding scenario. What if the recreational/sports activity is not rewarding because of the limitations imposed on the attendees. One member of a group of friends may not be allowed to attend, thus the enjoyment expected by the counselor will not happen. What if instead of becoming an opportunity to play in a competitive way, the activity will be transformed into just a team-building activity? If such an activity is perceived that way, the counselors would not see that as a reward. Even if they perform efficiently, the outcome would still not be desirable. This may even result in decreasing their intrinsic motivation to perform well. In order to avoid this, management can instead have an “employee of the month” awards system where all outstanding employees are publicly acknowledged and they receive either a monetary incentive. Among the criteria for selecting the employee of the month would be feedback from the campers, particularly in the aspect of being assisted to play in the sports/games. Each counselor therefore believes that when he is efficient in his job, he would be recognized as the efficient employee of the month.
As a counter-argument to the previous section, it is note-worthy to be raised at this point that cash gifts and public recognition are forms of extrinsic motivation. Counselors need be motivated by something within themselves to be able to inspire campers as well. If counselors believe that sharing their skills and knowledge with the new campers will develop the campers love for sports, the arts, or the outdoors, then they will work hard to be as efficient as possible in their jobs. The counselors would prioritize the camper’s gaining of confidence about the game rather than his own’s (the counselor’s) interest in winning during the sports activity. Adjusting their own skill levels will be regarded by the counselors as necessary strategies for the training and confidence-building of the campers. To develop such expectancy, management has to provide counselors with an in-depth training where they are thoroughly oriented about the strategies to develop the skills and confidence of young campers. The rewards here would be seeing a camper go home extremely satisfied with his/her own experience in the camp. Thus, in accordance with Vroom’s Expectancy Theory, the counselor’s act of working efficiently is driven by his expectation that when he is doing an excellent job, he is providing each camper he handles when an extraordinary experience at camp, something that would also give him (the counselor) the most satisfaction.