Positive and negative effects of Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation Research Paper

Positive and negative effects of Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation used by organizations and if the benefits outweigh the negat - Research Paper Example Employee motivation is a good mix of direction of behavior, level of effort, and level of persistence (Mosley Jr., Pietri, & Mosley Sr., 2011, p. 197). As Ellis-Christensen (n.d.) states, â€Å"when employee motivation is low, businesses can have a difficult time† (p. 1). This statement shows that without employee motivation, companies come across a number of problems, such as, poor employee performance, decreased income and profits, decreased level of employee commitment, decreased employee productivity, poor customer service, and increased employee absenteeism. On the other hand, when employees feel valued and their level of motivation is high, they show more commitment and dedication to their job related goals and responsibilities, which results in increasing the overall organizational performance. In this paper, we will discuss two main types of motivation that organizations use to build employee motivation. The paper will also include a discussion on whether the benefits of both types of motivation outweigh the negative consequences or not. Types of Motivation There are two main types of motivation, which include intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation s the type of motivation that comes from the inner self of a person and makes a person put some special efforts to achieve personal or professional goals. On the other hand, extrinsic motivation comes from the outside of a person. External sources play their role in building this type of motivation in a person. "Extrinsic motivation comes from external sources, motivating you with incentives to push your performance" (Ingram, n.d., p. 1). Both extrinsic and intrinsic motivations have certain advantages and disadvantages. Let us discuss how organizations use both of these types of motivation to raise the level of employee performance at the workplace. Intrinsic Motivation As described by various psychologists, intrinsic motivation has no external source that may drive a pers on to achieve his/her goals. Rather it builds in the person inside and is directly related to the desires, perceptions, and ambitions of a person. "Intrinsically motivated people are not influenced by external rewards or punishments for their work, such as earning money for doing a job or getting a poor grade on a school assignment" (Jeffress, n.d.). Individuals who are intrinsically motivated do things to get pleasure or to achieve a sense of accomplishment. There is no external element pushing employees to work hard for their ambitions (Thomas, 2009). They do not work for rewards, money, or other things like that. A very important point that distinguishes intrinsic motivation from extrinsic motivation is that people who are motivated intrinsically usually show long-term consistency and dedication to their tasks as compared to extrinsically motivated people. Intrinsically motivated people want to satisfy their inner-self and to do this, they put up big efforts. Another very importa nt point is that intrinsically motivated individuals feel more enjoyment and fun in doing things because of which their performance level are on the higher ends most of the times. The desire of personal satisfaction is the key to achieve goals and objectives. Intrinsically mo