Motivation Essay

Matthew Andre

Dr. Miller

Organizational Behavior

August 5, 2015

What am I doing here?

 College is a place for all different types of people who flock to campuses for hundreds, if not thousands of reasons. They could be a first generation student trying to get a good job to earn money to support a family, to a rich son of a lawyer who was told at a young age that one day he too would be a lawyer and that college is his destiny. Most of us, including me, fall somewhere in the middle. I am motivated to spend four years and thousands of dollars for a piece of paper by many forces. These forces are outlined by theories such as: Expectancy Theory, McClelland’s Learned Needs Theory, four-drive theory, and finally, the famous, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

        I’ll start with a lesson I was taught by my parents starting from a young age that if I worked hard I would be rewarded for my work. When I was eight years-old we had five massive pine trees and my parents would pay me ten-cents for every pinecone I picked up before my dad mowed the yard and I would buy ice cream with the money. This lesson taught me that I could expect better outcomes with increases in my efforts. These values my parents taught me to hold at a young age are a direct example of expectancy theory, which states that people can be motivated by how much they want an outcome in relation to the likelihood that efforts will bring a reward (Expectancy theory).

        McClelland’s learned needs theory is one of my favorites to study because I find it to more accurately describe my motivations than the other theories. The need for achievement is huge in my reason for being in college. Further, the need for affiliation was not a motivator for me to come to college, but was a learned need when I arrived and sought out new friends and connections. Conversely, the need for power discussed in McClelland’s theory motivates me the least of the three, but still does is a smaller fashion. I do not dislike power, but it is not something I desire. I will take leadership roles and execute them as the best I can, but I do not actively seek power. I enjoy the challenge of leadership, though.

The challenge of college to me is just a goal that must be achieved so I can continue to move on in my life to accomplish my next goals. I thrive on the feeling I get when I do something and do well on it. This need for achievement was also instilled in me by my parents from a young age, especially at school. My parents always told me that I should be making all A’s because I was a smart kid and they taught me to always live to my full potential. They were supportive when I had short comings though as long as I had tried. This taught me to live with a “shoot for the moon” attitude because if I fall short I’m still in the sky. The drive for achievement which is instilled in me is an intrinsic motivator which keeps me on track.  In college I have experienced the need to achieve highly in my classes as well as in social aspects such as in Greek life where I have been an antagonist for us to achieve highly and earn awards and be recognized for our work in the community. I was motivated to help us reach 1400 community service hours not by an outside force, but because I knew we could be the best.