Unmotivated Building Inspector Case Study

During this essay I will examine the case of “the unmotivated building inspector” Arnold, Randall et al, 2010. I will firstly look at why the subject, Simon is unmotivated in his job and try and make some recommendations for change based on the issues I identify. I will then identify primary and secondary case issues and draw on contemporary research in psychology when analysing these issues. I will pick 2 or 3 key areas to focus on when doing this.

Why is Simon unmotivated?

What is it that gives us motivation to work? The meaning of work is 3 fold in that includes economic, social and personal factors. In order to be motivated people need, economic rewards, intrinsic satisfaction and social relationships as people are self interested and will

Self-efficacy is best explained by Bandura (1995) who says that it "refers to beliefs in one's capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations". More simply, self-efficacy is what an individual believes he or she can accomplish using his or her skills under certain circumstances (Snyder & Lopez, 2007). Self-efficacy has been thought to be a task-specific version of self-esteem. The basic principle behind Self-Efficacy Theory is that individuals are more likely to engage in activities for which they have high self-efficacy and less likely to engage in those they do not (Van der Bijl & Shortridge-Baggett, 2002). I think that this research by Snyder & lopez is particularly relevant to Simons case as. It is widely assumed that procrastination is related to low self-esteem, either as a determinant or a consequence. However, there is a negative correlation assumed to be between self-esteem and procrastination. SEF theory says that what we believe about ourselves strongly influences our task choice, level of effort and

Bandura argued that if adequate levels of ability and motivation exist, initial attempts to do and continue to work, will be affected by SEF. It is clear that Simon doesn’t have any real belief in himself which stems largely from his lack of qualifications which make him feel inferior to his co workers. Weak poor efficacy is thought to be involved in avoidance behaviour which is evident in Simons persistence in putting tasks on the long finger. SEF has been found to be one of the strongest factors predicting performance in various domains. SEF has been studied in several previous procrastination studies, with results showing an inverse relationship with procrastination. Self-esteem, refers to judgments self-worth According to Tesser “SES is a global evaluation reflecting our view of our accomplishments and capabilities, our values, our bodies, other’s responses to us, and events, or occasions, our possessions”. The relationship between procrastination and self-esteem has received considerable attention in the procrastination literature. Procrastination has been described as a self-protective strategy that masks a fragile self-esteem, and numerous studies have found a significant inverse relationship between self-report