Self-Determination Theory and Work Motivation - Essay Example

Of special interest to this author within the above mind, the map is the level to which collaboration is fostered and develops both institutionally and once the group or team has been established.  As the mind map illustrates, teams themselves are not all created equal.  Traditional teams, self managed teams, and virtual teams all have their unique drawbacks and strengths.  However, the level of collaboration and strength of the process is especially compounded within the virtual team as team members do not have the same sense of combined mission/goal and are somehow less able to empathize with the shared sacrifice for a desired result. (Sarker, 2003).   Because of this, not all teams and groups are created equal.  Investor/shareholder buy-in and the realization of the group as a greater whole must be realized before positive action is likely to take place.

3: Motivation Stress and Decision Making

What was of interest to this author was that after creating this mind map, it was plainly clear that the break down in conflict resolution alls stems from three salient points that are housed within the emotions, personal beliefs, and experience of the individual; specifically his/her needs, wants and desires (Gagne/Deci, 2005).  As such, even though the literature provided offered solid and reasoned approaches to diffusing conflict and working towards an amicable resolution in nearly every case, the unknown variable is again the individual.  As each and every employee (or group) involved in a situation of conflict will necessarily have their own needs, wants, and desires, it becomes increasingly difficult to find a suitable resolution dependent upon this fact.  In a sense, this has to be ignored in favor of instilling attributes organization-wide that work to prevent individuals towards reverting to selfish need gratification on a personal level and work to esteem the company/organization’s needs, wants, and desires first.

4: Organization

What was most interesting in the mind map above was the level to which organizational culture can be the detriment of any positive growth.  Products will remain unchanged; ways in which organizations handle stress will remain unchanged and the overall strength of the entity will come into question (Erickson/Gratton, 2007).

5: The Individual as Part of the Organization

I chose to perform this mind map last as it is the heart of all of the mind maps and is best understood as the final product in the assignment.  Because the individual lies at the very heart of each of the previous mind maps, understanding the functional motivations, psychology, beliefs, needs, and process management of the individual is of vital importance (Bernstein et al, 2008).  Although not specifically discussed in the readings, the idea and the old dictum that states, “Perception is reality” is especially noteworthy in this mind map.  As one can notice from a careful review, information gathering and decision making leads to sensing and feeling.   Likewise, perceiving and judgment lead to thinking and intuition.  What is of special interest concerning this is that within each of these components, an individual’s perception will have a large impact upon how any particular information