Self Interest Motivation example essay topic

Humanity is always left to wonder. What is it that drives human personality. How come that we have great and successful artists, managers, poets, scientists. And some not very successful and some outright mediocre.

What motivates us to do what we do, to purse success, or to pursue happiness. Is it self interest. We associate motivation with human behaviour, meaning, a state of mind that moves us to action. Why am I pursuing a post graduate degree in Business.

Each day brings with it an endless list of decisions to be made. The process of making those decisions is driven, in large part, by the hope of a benefit or the fear of a consequence. Is that benefit our self interest or a we scare of the consequence of inaction or failure. For example many immigrants, like myself, come to America with a future that is so uncertain, they pick up menial jobs right away because they have to survive today, but they attend community college in the night either because they seen education as a veritable vehicle for material success or because they are so fearful of getting stuck in doing menial job. Literally, every decision we make is filtered through this process. Some psychologists have defined these consequences as needs.

Our needs for sustenance, safety, security, belonging, recognition, and a sense of growth and achievement become strong drivers (motivators) of behavior. Everyone, either directly or indirectly motivates every other person. Parents motivate kid to be the best they can. The CEO motivates and influence his managers. The managers motivates his / her troops. Do we get moving by imagining the benefits of what we are going to do or do we imagine the consequences of not doing it.

So as we attempt to understand motivation and what drives it, we need to appreciate the subtleties that exist in human behavior, and focus our attention on general principles of motivation that have wider application. At least if we can understand some of these principles, we might be in a better position to understand the roles of self interest and fear in human behavior. Understanding human behavior is fundamental to understanding how organizations and human society operate and met it set goals and objectives. Let us explore motivation based on fear and self interest as a veritable avenue to motivation and consequent goal attainment. Fear motivation is the easiest form of motivation. It is based on intimidation.

It is founded on "do it or else we can replace you" approach. It is always coupled with threat of loss or punishment for not attaining envisaged goal (s). It leads to situations where "when the cat is away, the mice will play.".. Though a measure of achievement could be attained through fear motivation, however, it always result in inner anger and resentment against organization, society or the person who induced it.

Self interest motivation occurs when and environment is created that cause people to want to achieve and excel because their interest is coterminous with the envisage objective. People will work their hardest for something they accept and believe in. When self interest underlines motivation, then the need pose the question "What's in it for me?" became relevant. And this question must be unequivocally answered. People will always want a return on their investment of time, talent, money and efforts. Think for a second.

Is self interest motivation the antithesis of altruism. Does self interest subvert public interest and public good. In 1776, Adam Smith -- the acknowledged father of economics -- published "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations". He stated, and I totally agree: "He (the businessman) generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it...

He intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain". Smith continues: "He is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention... By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good...

It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest". As Walter E. William stated in one of his papers "Self-Interest Makes the World Go Round" on self interest Self-interest is the human motivation that is most trustworthy and predictable, and gets the most wonderful things done. I love it when people, in effect, offer, "Williams, I really don't give a hoot about you, but if you do this wonderful thing for me, I'll do this wonderful thing for you". What worries me is when someone tells me, particularly a politician, "There's nothing in it for me, but I really care about the health and education of your daughter". Even more disturbing is when I ask that politician whether he even knows my daughter's name and he can't answer. It is therefore in our self interest to strive to meet this needs, In essence the question that confronts us is.

Self-interest is the human motivation that is most trustworthy and predictable, and gets the most wonderful things done.