Using Strengths to Increase Motivation

USING STRENGTHS TO INCREASE MOTIVATION

Michelle Erickson

MGT/312

8/04/16

Prof. Tyler Allen

PSYCAP - Psychological Capital

Dictionary.com defines the noun perception as an “immediate or intuitive recognition or appreciation, as of moral, psychological, or aesthetic qualities; insight; intuition; discernment”, however, it is as a synonym that it is used as a process for retrieval and interpretation of information as our reading has suggested.  Motivational theories all suggest that it is in the perception of the employee toward the organization as to how to get the most out of the work force.  This paper discusses using those strengths to increase motivation.

The modern work force is diverse consisting of employees from across all regions in every organization.  The world has become a global work force.  Management has had to adapt its understanding and sensitivity to these different cultures.  Managing employees with positivity requires training that overlaps all cultures and gets to the heart of productivity.  That is where positive psychology and development are characterized by Psychological Capital (PSYCAP) based on the employee’s own hope and optimism for success.

Managers are finding that by using PsyCap techniques, they are creating ways that the organizations benefit the most from their employees.  One method is the positive organization behavior flow.  It is basically a positive behavior model used in the work place for team work which has turned out to be a very successful management tool benefiting both employees and the organizations.

Positive behavior stems from self-confidence and self-efficacy both in the employee and his abilities as well as in his job performance in the work place.  People draw from their life experiences.  If they have been kicked around and are constantly down on their luck, then they are likely to not do well on the job simply because they are in a negative frame of mind and do not have positive past experiences from which to draw from.  For the same reasons, a person with positive past experiences have positive events and memories to draw support and conclusions from that they can use as transferable skills to bring to the table.  They are more successful for their organization and are better at task management and accomplishment.  Their stress management is on an even keel usually and the choices that they make are generally better suited for the organization promoting positivity.  Drawing from the definition and synonym for perception, we can understand the perception process and its four stages: (1) selective attention, (2) encoding and simplification, (3) storage and retention, and (4) retrieval and response.  This perception process is used by both employees and employers to create a healthy and positive work force.