FREE ESSAY ON IDENTITY AND MOTIVATED BEHAVIOUR

IDENTITY AND MOTIVATED BEHAVIOUR

Foote discusses identity as a collection of self-conceptions that are confirmed or changed
both by other people and by other experiences. The identity we portray is a conscious
choice of roles that is also empathetic to another person's identity in a given
situation. Examples of identity and motivated behaviour can be seen everywhere, but the
workplace does provide frequent illustrations of the concept, specifically as a member of
a department relates to their own department and to others.
An employment identity begins with the hiring process, the act of being named as an
employee. A title is given to further identify this new individual to the group: for
instance, Operations Specialist. As the individual learns what is expected of him or her,
they acquire perceptions of their new identity. However, Operations, as the emergency
response team, is an under-respected group within the company. A specific action, such as
waking up in the middle of the night to correct an operational failure, is motivated both
by the expectations of the individual's position, as well as the desire to maintain or
increase the level of respect attributed to the Operations group. These motives give
value to the behaviour, which is otherwise unappreciated and uncompensated. The
Operations group also creates competition with other departments, such as assigning the
reason for the operational failure to another department. This shows their commitment to
identity as dependent on their role within the group, as separately defined from other
groups.
Bibliography
Foote, Identification as the Basis for a Theory of Motivation.