Test Results
Organizational behavior is the complex set of relationships between group and individual levels, based on individual performance and motivation. Luthans et al (2007) define a positive organization as the study of the application of positive human resource strengths and their capacity on the psychological level. The authors suggest that such capacities can only be applicable and used by the organization once they can be measured, developed and utilized for collective performance improvement. With the above in mind, one of the interesting tools that provide companies with an opportunity to evaluate individual positive emotional and psychological capacity is the PsyCap test. The framework looks at individual profile by analyzing four pillars of psychological identity: hope, resiliency, optimism and self-efficacy. The test aims at providing a specific and measurable tool to ensure that individuals can improve their motivation, performance, and productivity in personal as well as professional lives.
My strengths include working under pressure and dealing with stress while seeing future in a positive way. This will help me to advance my career as a leader of self and, later on, leader of others. Understanding self and being able to optimistically see the future outcomes of the currently set goals enables me to build not only on own intrinsic motivation and increase performance, but also become an effective leader, who inspires and delegates the confidence to others. I, however, recognize that strong scores in each of the factors make me vulnerable when it comes to flexibility and critical view of the situation. With that in mind, I will be able to benefit from self-awareness and continuous learning (Walumbwa et al. 2011).
Motivation is built upon intrinsic and extrinsic factors. While personal goal setting allows individual reward himself or reevaluate his life or professional position, external motivation comes from the ability of the company,as an example, to create environment and conditions, which can advance, develop and improve individual performance, boosting his self-confidence, hope and level of satisfaction. Companies aim at increasing their average retention rates and building motivating work environment is the key to increasing individual and collective performance (Sandler, 2003). Motivated individuals tend to perform better and increase their level of internal drive, which makes them more effective and efficient in fulfilling their functions and reaching goals set by the company. By setting the goals, individuals can build on certainty and ensure that individuals know exactly how they contribute towards the strategic goals of the company and what are the specific measurements and expectations for their work. At the same time, goal-setting allow more accurate and effective rewarding program, which also helps motivating individuals.
Personal engagement and satisfaction makes individuals enjoy their work and become part of a team. Additionally, proactive approach to work and self-drive make individuals look for specific ways to become more effective and efficient at work and go an extra mile. The above factors influence performance of each of the individuals at work, consequently improving the group and departmental performance, positively affecting the organizational bottom line.
As it was previously mentioned motivation is a complex element of individual performance. Intrinsic motivation, and more specifically, personal goals and objectives that drive people's choices in life and at work, build on the connection and satisfaction that this individual receive from their work. Work environment, work-life balance, personal development and other important strategic programs can boost intrinsic motivation and increase not only retention rate but the overall performance of the company. Extrinsic motivation is an effective tool that companies can use to boost job performance. This can be done through effective incentive-based pay program, Key Performance Indicators and Performance Appraisal Systems, which aim at creating measurable, personalized and specific tools to reward employees for high performance and, at the same time, create a framework for personal and professional development and improvement, also resulting in the positive performance.Acquired Needs Theory, also known as Three-Needs theory, outlines the tendencies of individuals that drive their performance, based on the categorization in achievement, affiliation, and power as the core individual drivers. Based on the understanding of the tendencies and preferences of individuals, the company can develop personalized motivation system and performance appraisal approach to the employees, driving their performance towards the common goals. Giving employees what they need to be motivated at work is the way to use this approach for boosting job performance. Self-determination theory, on the other hand, suggests that motivation of employees depends mostly on our internal drives and intrinsic motivation. With that, focusing on building the environment that increases this motivation will result in better performance and higher individual effectiveness, bringing positive results to the company as a whole Cropanano et al. 1999). Finally, the equity theory suggests that organizational and individual performance can be achieved through the adequate distribution of resources for both partners. In other words, the company should be able to ensure that it offers a balance between individual input and output and build on the effective reward system to recognize that. Under this theory, individual performance is based on such inputs as time, education, experience, loyalty, commitment and other elements, while the output is measured by job level, salary, praise, stimuli, employee benefit, among other elements. Equity theory, in contrary to other discussed frameworks, does not differentiate intrinsic and extrinsic elements of employee motivation and suggests to build the program based on elements, which are more relevant for each of the individuals.
References
Sadler Ph (2003). Strategic Management. 2nd Edition. London: Kogan Page Limited
Walumbwa, F., Luthans, F., Avey, J. B., & Oke, A. (2011). Authentically leading groups: The mediating role of collective psychological capital and trust. Journal of Organisational Behavior, 32, 4-24. DOI: 10.1002/job.653
Luthans F., Bruce A., Avey J., and Norman S. (2007). Positive Psychological Capital: Measurement and Relationship with Performance and Satisfaction. Retrieved 21 May 2016, http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1010&context=leadershipfacpub.
Cropanzano R, Wright TA. (1999). A five-year study of change in the relationship between wellbeing and job performance. Consulting Psychology Journal, 51, 252– 265.
