Title: Motivation Paper: Expectancy Theory
Author: Tsubasa Kya
Disclaimer: I do not own "Naruto".
This will be AU Naruto and is FINISHED. It is a sequence of four one-shots, so will be thus posted as four one-shots.
I wrote this for Psychology of Human Relations to make writing the paper more interesting. My teacher loved it, and I asked if she had a problem with me posting it online. She said no, so therefore you get to read it! Yay!
For those who want to read all four parts in order:
...Part 1: Maslow's Hierarchy
...Part 2: Theory X and Theory Y
...Part 3: Motivation-Hygiene Theory
...Part 4: Expectancy Theory
I am posting each part separately because I believe they can be read separately. I hope you enjoy each separate part, and offer up a review for feed-back.
YES THIS CONTAINS AN OC AS A MAIN CHARACTER! PLEASE DON'T JUDGE IT BY THAT!
STORY IS WRITTEN IN FIRST PERSON NARRATIVE!
Motivation Paper
Expectancy Theory
Winter vacation ending was always a hard time for a small business like Gaara's Book & Café, but at least not as hard as the end of summer vacation. Many of my part-time help went back to school during that time and we had to hire more help. Due to the new hires lack of motivation, I've seen a small decline in the pleasant atmosphere around the business. Most of the café workers are full-time simply because they choose to be. I would hire more help if they didn't want the hours.
The bookstore is a different story however. I have six workers in the bookstore, two full-time and four part-time. Even if the bookstore and café run as completely separate businesses, they are part of the same building with only a shallow half-wall dividing the two, so one business's workers affects the other as easily as whipped topping can completely change the flavor of pumpkin pie.
My job is to fix this and I hope to do so using the Expectancy theory of motivation. "People will be motivated if they believe that their efforts will lead to desired outcomes." Since the one-year anniversary of my ownership of Gaara's Book & Café, I had decided to relinquish most of my hiring duties to the supervisor in the particular area of the business that needed more help, so I haven't yet met the two newest members of the bookstore staff.
Upon entering the café, Temari greets me pleasantly, as the woman always does if I show up. Since I first met her, she's made drastic improvements. Her temper no longer flares out, making me think all her problems were definitely contributed to by her lack of sleep.
I decline her offer for a cup of coffee this time, but I talk to her for a while; it's been nearly a month since I have had the chance to talk to her. She tells me she's currently planning her wedding and has an unexpected surprise on the way: a baby girl. She's happy to have the child, so I'm happy for her. With a wedding coming up, and a baby to plan for, Temari hopes to take off a little bit more from work. I assure her she can take as much time as she needs for whatever she needs. I know she's trained her shift of the wait staff well, so I don't have much reason to intervene as long as I know she's taking the time off.
After talking to Temari for a while, I make my way over to the bookstore and find Iruka putting new books on a shelf. He greets me and launches into an explanation of what had been going on in the past month at the business. He's kept me updated with emails every Friday, so I don't really think it's entirely necessary for him to explain it all again. However, he feels I should be reminded and I don't want him to feel put out by interrupting so I listen to what he has to say.
When he finishes talking, I say to him, "Thank you, Iruka, I will speak to your new hires. When do they come in next?" He tells me both of them work after lunch time.
I let Iruka know I would be back to speak with them at that time and head for the kitchen to touch base with Kankuro on how things are going in the kitchen. After a few minutes I let him get back to his work and then head into my office to do a bit of 'early spring cleaning'. I really don't know how I manage to do it, but my office in Gaara's Book & Café is the only place in the world I manage to be disorganized, and I'm hardly ever there. Everywhere else my office is pristine perfect. I suppose that's because I spend more time in those places, whereas if I am at Gaara's Book & Café, I'm usually only there long enough to set down a piece of paper or two and leave.
After 1 PM and my office is clean, I make my way out to the bookstore and find the first unrecognizable worker. I introduce myself, let them know who I am, and ask them about themselves. She says her name is Shizune and she's going to college to be a doctor. She's happy to meet me, she says, though she doesn't look happy. Her lips are slightly downturned and her eyes are filled with irritation.
After a little idle chatter, she does begin to warm up, though it's only a little. I feel confident enough to ask her, "Shizune, I value my employees and hope to inspire a welcoming atmosphere in this workplace. To do this, I like to make sure my employees like the work they do. I want you to feel you are gaining something out of this work experience. Is there anything I can do to help you in that area?"
She seems startled by my question. I guess she wasn't expecting that out of me. "Well, I must admit I feel underworked. Mostly I've just been given simple tasks but I'm used to performing multiple tasks simultaneously. When I can't do that, I feel the quality of my work drops."
Her answer startled me as much as my question surprised her. I had never expected to hear something like that. But I did say I would try to help her any way I could, and that's definitely what I want to do. I smile at her. "Well, I think we can work something out," I tell her. "Iruka wants to open a children's activity center in the bookstore, and we'll be needing a great deal of things done. If you like I will talk to him about you helping?" She nodded, looking warm and pleased.
We chatter a little more, and she's definitely more welcoming of me now. I bid her goodbye and go to find my second new hire. That new hire is a male by the name of Neji. I do the same introduction process I did for Shizune, only this time he doesn't warm up to me even the slightest.
Throughout the minimal chatter I was able to drag out of him, I find he's in school for accounting and bookkeeping. I don't think I was surprised to find out he was a bookworm type. He does seem more a reclusive type of personality. I inquire of him what I could do to make him feel he's doing his job to the fullest potential.
"I feel I do my best work as an accountant. I'm in my last semester. Accounting is my goal." He tells me.
I have to think for a moment to figure out if I could help him in any way, hopefully to show him he will get something out of his job with me. After all, it's what I want, and I generally get what I want. A thought hits me, so I bring it up to Neji. "Would you be interested in working toward an accounting position in my company? I've been meaning to hire someone to do it for me, I just haven't had all that much time to send out an ad because I'm too busy doing the actual job itself."
Neji stared at me gape-jawed.
"What?" I ask. I worry I said something wrong.
He asked, "Interested? I'd definitely like it!"
I smile at him. "Well, don't get on the high-horse yet. First you'll need that degree in accounting you said you were going for. The job would have to be full-time; you'd be managing the accounts of both the bookstore and the café, and it's a lot of work. If you can get the degree and prove yourself working out here for Iruka, maybe I can train you to do the accounts for me. Still interested?"
He nodded eagerly. I'm happy to have been able to help him. It's not much later that I'm able to leave the store after a successful motivational session with two of my employees. Shizune was under-motivated because she wasn't doing enough at one time. Neji was under-motivated because he wasn't in the job he really wanted and enjoyed. Most businesses didn't have the flexibility I have with mine. I was able to easily tell Neji that with hard work he could have a chance at being the accountant for Gaara's Bookstore and Café.
I have no doubt that in the future, I'll have to motivate someone else, or I'll come up with some small or big project that will motivate my workers, but until then, I'm just happy to have had a successful day.
I might get extra credit if you review... THERE IS NO SEQUEL.