The Importance of Internal Motivation - Essay Example

On the other hand, internal motivation is the desire to act in a particular manner that is fueled by factors internal to the individual. These factors include interest, desire to succeed, desire to achieve perfection; and other such factors. These factors will motivate behavior even in the absence of any external rewards; since the primary reward that the individual is looking for is the satisfaction of having reached pre-set goals. From the perspective of an organization; employees with higher levels of internal motivation make good employees, since they are driven to perform well without continually offering them incentives to work better (Rothman, Baldwin, Hertel, 2004; Alderman, 2004).

The Self-Motivation Assessment Tool accessible from Think impact (2010) is a scale that measures the extent to which the individual feels internal motivation to perform. It is a 12 item tool; each item being rated on a 5-point Likert scale with a minimum score of 12 and a maximum score of 60. A score is assigned to each item; and the total score gives an estimate of the extent to which the individual experiences internal motivation. . reasonably accurate score; as I do believe myself to be internally motivated to keep doing well in the workplace; but suffer from moments of self doubt and concerns about the accuracy of the steps I take.

Upon introspection, it is evident that the self doubt does hamper my ability to take initiative and voice opinions that I may personally believe to be appropriate. On occasion, I do let my analysis of my own abilities be guided by the faith and encouragement shown by others. I have realized that providing myself with strategies to work effectively; and incorporating objective feedback will encourage me to take initiative and keep working with the assurance that I am on the right track (Alderman, 2004).

Although I do feel that perhaps I should have scored slightly higher; the general profile does fit the understanding I have of myself. I do believe that in an attempt to not inflate my scores; I may have short-changed myself and erred towards the lower end of the scale. Testing for the internal motivation experienced by an employee would be an important part of the selection process for any organization. Employees high on internal motivation work regularly and efficiently without as much supervision and involvement at their own levels of expertise (Bruno, & Osterloh, 2002).

They are also employees who constantly strive to enhance their own abilities and qualifications; and become an asset to any organization because of their dedication and commitment to the job. They respond with more zeal to the smallest of incentives, and are likely to take initiative, handle multiple jobs, and motivate other employees as well. Such employees are also more likely to develop creative solutions and attempt to learn new techniques and transfer this training to the work environment