志愿工作和个人绩效之间的关系

中图分类号：G641文献标识码：A文章编号：1003-2738（2012）02-0331-01

Abstract：Many individuals are volunteered to do activities，in my life.They are proud of being a volunteer and have enthusiasm to help others. They do volunteer activities without compensation but they are pleased to do volunteer activities and have a better performance.

Key words: volunteer work；individual performance；Cognitive Evaluation Theory

Introduction

In my life, many individuals are volunteered to do activities. They are proud of being a volunteer and have enthusiasm to help others. They do volunteer activities without compensation but they are pleased to do volunteer activities and have a better performance. And almost every activity, whether big or small, has volunteers. They cleaning space, guiding people around the space, help people who are in troubles or rescue person who is sick. Every work they do without complaint. And they take proud of themselves.

Basis of theory

Next, I will try to explain these phenomenon according to Cognitive Evaluation Theory[1], which proposes that the introduction of extrinsic rewards, such as pay, for work effort that was previously intrinsically rewarding due to the pleasure associated with the content of the work itself tends to overall motivation. Cognition Evaluation Theory has been extensively researched, and a large number of studies have supported it. As we all show, the major implications of this theory relate to work rewards.

Historically, motivation theorists generally assumed that intrinsic rewards such as interesting work were independent of extrinsic rewards such as high pay[1]. But cognitive evaluation theory suggests otherwise. It argues that when extrinsic rewards are used by organizations as payoffs for superior performance, the intrinsic rewards, which are derived from individuals doing what they like, are reduced. In other words, when extrinsic rewards are given to someone for performing an interesting task, it causes intrinsic interest in the task itself to decline. The popular explanation of this outcome is that an individual experiences a loss of control over her own behavior so that the previous intrinsic motivation diminishes. Furthermore, the elimination of extrinsic rewards can produce a shift―from an external to an internal explanation―in an individual’s perception of causation of why she works on a task[3]. And a recent outgrowth of the cognitive evaluation theory isself-concordance, which considers the degree to peoples’ reasons for purchasing goals are consistent with their interests and core values. If individuals pursue goals because of an intrinsic interest, they are more likely to attain their goals and are happy even if they do not attain them. Because the process of striving toward them is fun. In contrast, people who pursue goals for extrinsic rewards (money, status, or other benefits) are less likely to attain their goals and are less likely and are less happy even if they do achieve them. Because the goals are less meaningful to them.

And this essay focuses on the relationship between the volunteer work and the individual performance. And many elements can affect individual performance[4]. What I say above explain that why many people are willing to do jobs with many internal rewards. Because they can attain satisfaction from doing volunteer work and have a positive attitude to this work. And why attitude can promote individual performance. Then I will talk about the relationship between attitude and individual performance. Firstly, attitudes are evaluative statements―either favorable or unfavorable- -about objects, people, or events. And we view attitude as being made up of three components―cognition, affect, and behavior. In addition, the major job attitudes help us understand the relationship of attitudes and performance furthermore. Job attitudes includes Job Satisfaction, Job Involvement, Psychological Empowerment, Organizational Commitment, Perceived Organizational Support and Employee Engagement. Individuals with a high level of job satisfaction holds positive feelings about his or her job, while a dissatisfied person holds negative feelings. As for psychological empowerment, it is employees’ beliefs in the degree to which they influence their work environment, their competence, the meaningfulness of their job, and the perceived autonomy in their work.

Inspire and implication for managers and employees

The cognitive evaluation theory is valid, it should have major implications for managerial practices. Extrinsic rewards that are verbal (for example, receiving praise from a supervisor or coworker) or tangible (for example, money) can actually have different effects on individuals’ intrinsic motivation. That is, verbal rewards increase intrinsic motivation, whereas tangible rewards undermine it. When people are told they will receive a tangible reward, they come to count on it and focus more on the reward than on the task. Verbal rewards, however, seem to keep people focused on the task and encourage them to do it better. As for managers, they should give more verbal extrinsic rewards to employees. Managers need to provide intrinsic rewards in addition to extrinsic incentives. In other words, managers need to make the work interesting, provide recognition, and support employee growth and development. Employees who feel that what they do is within their control and as a result of free choice and likely to be more motivated by their work and committed to their employees. In this way employees can perform better and are loyal to this organization. As for employees, we should choose jobs carefully. Make sure we are choosing to do something for reasons other than extrinsic rewards. Maybe someone choose jobs with high compensation. Others choose jobs with good work environment. However, volunteers love to do volunteer job because volunteer work itself. Volunteer work can bring satisfaction and achievement to volunteers.

And till to this, I finish my essay about the relationship between volunteer work and individual performance.

References：

[1] 《Behavioral and Social Cognitive Approaches 》 Jesse Espinoza Yulina Cordero October 21, 2010.

[2]《Criteria and evaluation of cognitive theories》Gelepithis,Petros A M2003.

[3]《Stumpf's Cognitive-Evaluative Theory of Emotion》Rainer Reisenzein and Wolfgang Schnpflug1992.

[4]《Implicit theories and evaluative processes in person cognition》Chiu, Chi-yue; Dweck, Carol S.1997.