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The
drives themselves are complete and elemental, offering a comprehensive
explanation for human motivation that cannot be broken down into further
constituent elements. Each of the four drives (acquire, bond,
comprehend, and defend) includes features and components that influence
interactions and outcomes in the workplace.
The drive to acquire includes both material goods and status and can
lead to both excellent performance and detrimental competition. The
drive to acquire includes physical objects and wealth, relating to
gathering the necessities for survival, and social relationships,
concerning the acquisition of status, accomplishments, and power. Those
social "goods" are proxies for the material necessities that improve the
survival odds for one's self and descendents. Providing clear links
between job performance and fulfillment of this drive is recommended as a
core component for building a satisfying job. The drive to acquire can
be moderated by the drive to bond to help dampen unhealthy competition
in an organization.
The drive to bond manifests itself in our urge to find others and
engage them with in relationships of mutual caring. Research has
repeatedly shown that we tend to bond with others of similar
demographics and outlook. Organizations can work to expand this natural
inclination with pro-diversity human resource development
programs. Once workers are successful in establishing individual
relationships the connections can grow to include groups and work teams.
This drive can be used to advantage by organizations that promote
attachments to work groups, divisions, and the entire organization. The
drive to bond leads to interactions of healthy support among work teams
if supported with team-based rewards and professional goals. While the
drive to bond is directed towards persons, the drive to learn relates
mostly to work activities.
The drive to learn is satisfied by work environments that stimulate
curiosity and allow for exploration and developing understanding. It
also relates to understanding one's role in the firm and the
significance of that role. A good example of the strength of this drive
is the degree of job satisfaction that experienced knowledge
workers derive from challenges in the workplace. The sense of
stimulation and excitement from acquiring new skills can actually
outweigh pay and benefits as a job satisfaction factor. The drive to
learn can function well in a group context, interacting with the drive
to bond. The three drives previously described are almost always
desirable in the workplace, contrasting with the drive to defend.
While acquisition, bonding, and learning are active drives that
humans seek to fulfill, the drive to defend is latent: it must be
stimulated by a threat to become active. Threats to the individual,
their group, and the firm as a whole can trigger the drive to defend.
The firm, then, can work to adjust this drive by eliminating or
correcting information sources that communicate unintentional or
misguided threats. It can also provide workers the means to respond to
legitimate threats in the firm's competitive or regulatory environment.
If properly tempered and focused the drive to defend can be a source of
motivation and energy, but it is in nature and not beneficial if
over-stimulated.
While the Four Drive theory describes the motivations to acquire,
bond, learn and defend as fundamental to human psychology, the relative
strength of each drive varies in individuals. Also, the influence of
individual drives can vary over time in a single individual. It is
detrimental when one drive dominates, leading to unbalanced personal and
organization outcomes. For instance, acting purely on the drive to
acquire can lead to destructive competition, and over-stimulation of the
drive to defend to paranoia. An important theme of the Four Drive
theory is balance between and among drives so they can compliment and
regulate each other. Structuring jobs to support this interaction is an
important consideration in the workplace.
It is feasible to measure employee perceptions about the workplace
and relate those to Four Drive motives. A sample Four Drive survey
relating the four core drives to job satisfaction is given below. The
survey questions themselves provide information on areas that managers
can consider in light of the Four Drive theory.
Drive to Acquire and Achieve
Are workplace monetary rewards tied to performance in your organization?
Is your pay competitive?
Are expectations by which your performance is evaluated clearly expressed?
Is the need for high performance clearly expressed in your firm?
Are you appropriately recognized for your performance?
How satisfied are you with your pay from work?
Are you able to distinguish yourself through your job?
Drive to Bond
Does your firm encourage you to count on support from others?
Are collaboration and teamwork valued and recognized by your organization?
Does your firm's culture encourage sharing of best practices?
Is your firm is supportive of friendship among workers?
Do you feel strongly that you are a part of the team?
Are your managers people-oriented?
Does your management show that it cares about you on a personal level?
Drive to Learn and Comprehend
Does your job include work that interests you?
Do you have the opportunity to learn new things at work?
Does your job accomplish something meaningful in your organization?
Are your assignments challenging?
Does your work include a variety of tasks?
Does your firm actively support personal growth and learning?
Are you are gaining skills and/or knowledge as a part of your work?
Drive to Defend
Is your firm's performance rating system open and transparent?
Is your work environment welcoming and non-intimidating?
Do you feel your firm's performance rating system is fair?
Do your managers treat people fairly?
Do you trust the firm's performance rating system?
Does your firm support open communications - are you able to speak up?
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Lawerence, P. & Norhira, N. (2001). Driven: How Human Nature Shapes our Choices. San Fransico, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Copyright © Stan Emelander 2009
The most popular job searches connected to the sector of wealth are included in teh list below, so let's have a lookk at them:
