Assignment: Theories of Motivation

One interview question Ana was asked when she applied for the accounts receivable specialist position at Riverville Medical Center (RMC) was, “What motivates you?” She took some time to give her reply. Ana said, “I need to support my family. I need the experience in the health care field, and I like to learn.” Ana is a mother of two and an online student in her final year in the BS in Healthcare Management program at Walden University. Ana had replied based on her needs. Needs motivate most of us. We do things because we need to, because we want to, and because we like to.

McClellan’s Theory of Needs states that there are three important factors that help explain motivation: achievement, power, and affiliation (Robbins & Judge, 2018). Maslow’s Theory of Needs states that people are motivated by satisfying lower-level needs before they can move on to being motivated by higher-level needs (Fowler, 2014). Equity Theory states that individuals compare their job inputs and outcomes with those of others and then respond to eliminate any inequities (Robbins & Judge, 2018). These theories can help us understand what motivates us at our workplace. The theories can also help us design plans to foster and motivate our colleagues and employees at our health care organization.

For this Assignment, you will apply theories of motivation to a specific case.

References
Fowler, S. (2014, November 26). What Maslow’s hierarchy won’t tell you about motivation. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2014/11/what-maslows-hierarchy-won…

Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2018). Essentials of organizational behavior (14th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

To prepare for this Assignment:

• Review this week’s Learning Resources.
• Download the Document: Case Study: Central West Medical Center.
• Reflect on the scenarios presented in the case study.

To complete this Assignment:

Write a 2- to 3-page paper that analyzes the motivational factors for each situation. Include the following in your response:

• What level(s) of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs does each person exhibit? Suggest one or two levels and explain.
• Which type of motivation is each person in the case study exhibiting? Please explain.
• Do you think that goal setting applies to any of the individual situations in the case study? Explain your answer.
• Describe how one of the individual’s situation in the case study applies to McClellan’s Theory of Needs.
• Which situation in the case study is an example of the Equity Theory of Motivation? Please explain how the situation relates to that theory.