Assignment 2 - Organizational Behavior

Name: AL- AAMRI HADAYA ALI MUSALLAM

Student No.: 7530-34-7726

Case Study Summary: Bored by Interest: How Intrinsic Motivation In One Task Can Reduce
Performance On Other Tasks

Although previous research has shown that intrinsic motivation can improve task performance, since a
task is typically involved a variety of activities, it is still unclear how the performance of one task would
be impacted by the intrinsic drive for other tasks. We expect that performance on tasks with lower
intrinsic motivation will be reduced, drawing on theories of psychological contrast. The research paper
enhances understanding of intrinsic motivation's negative side, work design, and task performance
determinants. Intrinsic motivation has long been acknowledged by organizational experts as a
significant factor in determining performance at work. Employees who are motivated by intrinsic
factors find their work to be naturally engaging, which causes them to pay closer attention and put up a
more consistent effort, just doing the work itself is rewarding in and of itself.

Numerous field research has connected intrinsic motivation to improved job performance, and
laboratory studies have shown that intrinsic motivation has a causal impact on task performance. Ryan
and Deci (2000) said, “Perhaps no single phenomenon reflects the positive potential of human nature as
much as intrinsic motivation.” These studies, however, only take into account how intrinsic motivation
in one task impacts performance in that task and ignore how it impacts performance in other activities.
Due to the fact that employers typically consist of a variety of tasks, this is a crucial empirical question.
The average work was determined to consist of five to six core functions in an investigation of 67
distinct positions in the supervisory, professional, technical, clerical, and service categories. As Ashford
and Northcraft (2003: 538) remarked, "We do not know as much as we need to know about how people
manage and allocate their resources among many, competing demands," despite the fact that all
professions require employees to execute multiple tasks.

Intrinsic Motivation in Multiple-Task Environments

Ryan & Deci (2000) defined Intrinsic motivation as “the doing of an activity for its inherent satisfactions
rather than for some separable consequence”. Three hierarchical layers can be used to conceptualize
intrinsic motivation:
•Intrinsic motivation, on a global scale, is the propensity to pursue
Global fascinating and rewarding activities across a range of life domains.
•Intrinsic motivation at work, on a contextual level, is the desire to put
Contextual forth effort based on finding one's job fascinating and rewarding.
•At the situational level, the degree to which employees are inspired to
Situational work on particular activities out of interest and delight is known as
intrinsic motivation.
By proposing that the cross-task impact of intrinsic motivation is curvilinear, we bring these opposing
ideas into harmony. Performance in other activities will deteriorate when an activity is particularly dull
since making progress needs willpower, and forcing oneself to work drains one's energy. Employees are
liberated from emotion regulation and have greater energy to work well in other jobs when a task is
fairly appealing. However, the intrinsic drive is likely to have diminishing gains and rising costs when a
task is exceptionally engaging. Organizational researchers have found that when workers are extremely
intrinsically motivated by a task, they are drawn to completing it. The push away from interest in other
tasks could result from this at the same time. According to psychological research, people may approach
other tasks more aggressively if they want to avoid doing one. As Csikszentmihalyi (1990: 4) advised,
there is a chance that strong intrinsic drive will cause individuals to become “so involved in an activity
that nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great
cost.” For instance, research conducted by (Alter, 2017; Chou & Ting, 2003) were they found that video
game players might become so engrossed in the fun of playing that they ignore other activities, as
demonstrated by addictive technologies. Expecting high levels of intrinsic motivation for one activity is
likely to have a negative impact on performance on other tasks.

According to this theory, high intrinsic drive in one task lowers performance in less engaging ones by
making people more bored. An unpleasant emotional state called "boredom" is characterized by a lack
of interest and trouble focusing. Working on an intrinsically motivated job may cast an affective shadow
on less attractive tasks, making them appear more boring than they would otherwise, according to
theories of psychological comparison. When one task has a high intrinsic drive, it increases the bar by
which other activities are judged, resulting in a striking contrast in which uninteresting tasks appear
next to intriguing ones.

Employees are more likely to make errors and have incidents when they are bored. Additionally, they
could engage in counterproductive actions like stealing or causing property damage in an effort to
escape their boredom. Employees are more inclined to overlook their less engaging duties when there is
an intrinsically stimulating task present because it gives them an avenue for reducing boredom.
Employees frequently make decisions about how to split their time and attention across jobs, giving
priority to those that prove to be more rewarding, according to a key premise of motivational theory.

High intrinsic motivation is probably only detrimental to performance in less appealing tasks. Contrast
effects are less likely to happen if other tasks are also enjoyable. Similar experiences are combined
rather than opposed when they are present. When two tasks are both extremely intrinsically
motivating, they are more likely to create a greater sense that the overall portfolio of tasks in the job or
project is exciting than they are to create an experience of boredom. Therefore, we anticipate that a task
with strong intrinsic motivation may decrease performance by increasing boredom in tasks that are less
engaging but not in tasks that are equally or more fascinating. This is a first-stage moderated mediation
model where boredom affects performance when one task's intrinsic incentive is high while it is low in
other activities, resulting in an inverted U-shaped effect.

Research Hypothesis Overview

An investigation was carried out in the lab and the field to test our hypotheses. In Study 1, to
establish external validity, a field survey is conducted for sales employees of salespeople at a
Korean department store whose jobs comprised six core tasks. The study investigated if and
how performance in an employee's other, less intrinsically motivating activities was related to
the intrinsic motivation level in that employee's most intrinsically motivating activity.
 Study 1: Method - Data were collected from 105 salespeople and their supervisors in Seoul, South
Sample and Korea department store
Procedures - Sales employees had an average tenure of five years and were 65% female. Seven
days a week, the department store was open, and it was frequently busy. The busiest
times were in the late afternoons and on weekends and holidays.
- The salespeople had six core tasks in their job: (1) selling, (2) inventory
management, (3) product learning, (4) arranging items for display, (5) making
returns and exchanges, and (6) assisting other salespeople.
Study 1: Measures - Four-item measure adapted from existing intrinsic motivation scales (Grant, 2008;)
asking employees to rate the extent to which they found each task interesting,
enjoyable, fun, and engaging.
Study 1: Results The unconstrained model for task intrinsic motivation revealed that there was a large
variance in task intrinsic motivation at the task level of 78% compared with 22% at
the employee level and less than 1% at the supervisor level, demonstrating that
intrinsic motivation differed across tasks. In addition, there was a large variance in
task performance at the task level of 84%, as opposed to 14% at the employee level
and 2% at the supervisor level, according to the unconstrained model for task
performance. Showing that 78% of employees in the company lacked motivation

Plot of Average
The study investigated if and how performance in an employee's Performance in Other
5.5 Tasks
other, less intrinsically motivating activities was related to the 5.4
intrinsic motivation level in that employee's most intrinsically
Average Performance on
5.3
motivating activity. Maximum intrinsic motivation, as seen in 5.2
the figure, exhibited an inverted U-shaped association with Other Tasks 5.1
minimum performance in other, less intrinsically stimulating 5
tasks. Employees with very high intrinsic motivation in one task 4.9
underperformed on average and at the minimum on other tasks 4.8
compared to those with more moderate intrinsic motivation, as 4.7
did those with low maximum intrinsic drive. 4.6
4.5
These findings are consistent with the idea that performance on Low Maximum Intrinsic High Maximum Intrinsic
the main task benefits from stronger intrinsic motivation, but not Motivation Motivation
necessarily performance on other, less intrinsically compelling
activities. These results support our original hypothesis, although there are a number of restrictions on
them. First, it is not obvious if intrinsic motivation in one task affects performance in other activities in a
casual way. It's possible that missing factors, including disparities in task competence or skill, are typical
causes of intrinsic motivations in the primary task and performance in other activities. Second, unable to
adequately test our moderating hypothesis that intrinsic desire in one task affects task performance
because task sequencing was not controlled.

Conclusion
The research indicates that high intrinsic motivation for one task may negatively impact performance on
less engaging tasks, but it does not imply that managers or staff members should try to reduce intrinsic
motivation. In fact, poor intrinsic motivation had detrimental effects on both task and the other tasks. The
study instead emphasizes the importance of being aware of the negative impacts of high intrinsic drive and
the sequence in which activities are finished. This requires managers to understand that when staff
members are engrossed in a work, they run the danger of executing less interesting activities with less
enthusiasm. Such understanding can assist employees in managing their time, effort, and energy to avoid
putting off jobs that are crucial but unappealing.
 Case Study Questions:

1. The research study suggested that any organization leader must stay mindful of the side effect of
high intrinsic motivation, in this context, how should they understand what are the major factors
that promote high intrinsic motivation?

Considering what are the major factors which promote intrinsic motivation allows the organization to see
how it works and how it can manage, as well as how it can benefit the company’s productivity. Employees
that are intrinsically driven do their jobs because they enjoy and find the challenges engaging. The
opportunity for employees to learn, develop, and reach their full potential in this situation serves as the
reward. There are various factors including;
- Challenge: being challenged allows the employee to help to strive toward meaningful goals
while operating at a consistently optimal level or goal. However, you can occasionally assign
them additional responsibilities that they find interesting. It is here that the idea of talent
management is introduced. Giving them the opportunity to use their skills at work might
provide them a chance to challenge themselves. And this will inspire them internally.
- Giving Recognition: The first step in fostering intrinsic motivation at work is fostering a
culture of acknowledgment. Even when businesses acknowledge external benefits, workers are
intrinsically driven. Better results are obtained, and staff engagement is increased.

2. What negative outcomes can be expected from the employee engaging in high intrinsic
motivation?

Based on the research paper findings, they found that intrinsic motivation for one task rose above
moderate levels, and performance on that task increased while performance on other tasks decreased.
This happened even when individuals have the necessary abilities to finish every duty. To put it another
way, excessive intrinsic motivation for one task has a detrimental impact on all the others. On the other
hand, lower levels of intrinsic motivation on one task were linked to better performance outcomes for
subsequent activities, and the greatest outcomes were obtained with moderate levels of intrinsic
motivation. Together, these results show a curvilinear relationship, sometimes known as an "inverted U
shape" due to the way it appears on a graph. There are various negative outcomes that can be the result
of high intrinsic motivation, including not having enough time to learn or perform other required tasks,
the learning process being more important than the outcome, working with no completion or absolute
deadlines, and losing track of timeline when focusing on certain tasks only. Intrinsic motivation may help
somebody to achieve a result. But it doesn't help them to define what that result should be.

3. What are the effects of employees’ perceived intrinsic motivation on knowledge sharing and
creative self-efficacy?

One of the benefits of intrinsic motivation in knowledge sharing it illustrates how individuals' intrinsic
motivation can direct the action of knowledge sharing and reflect the consequence of creative self-
efficacy in intelligent transportation jobs by drawing on the motivation action outcome model.
Implementing knowledge-sharing methods need to be aware of the value of information system
assistance. Relationships with the participants are crucial for encouraging their collaboration and
providing feedback on contributions. It appears that maintaining internal drive is essential to the process'
effectiveness. Employee knowledge considers a fundamental and valuable resource for any organization
therefore, implementing intrinsic motivation can support it by making the workplace more enjoyable and
a space to share and exchange knowledge.