Sylvie Hanes says that motivation can exist even in the absence of a long
term commitment from (or to) a company. "I think when it comes to
commitment and motivation, if one can see something that in the long run
will be good for him/herself, then the commitment/motivation might be more
apparent. Whatever length of time the current employment will be, if
people know it will empower them for the next one, or the next one after
that... I think it can work in a positive way."
I thoroughly agree with this, and I think many professionals are motivated
in exactly this way. Engineers and information services people tend to be
loyal to their own growth within the profession.
However, I wonder if this model doesn't break down with the majority of
people who are not professionals. I believe 75% of Americans do not
finish college or never attended, or 3 out of every 4 people. Factory
workers, clerks, and so forth. It's not that they're not potentially
motvated, but they just don't see many options in their future. If there
are not a lot of opportunities, isn't it difficult for them to see how
current work will open up future choices? I suspect this is a major
problem in the so-called "lower levels" of even the best organizations.
It's very hard to have high morale in a world with few options.
-- Rol Fessenden LL Bean 76234.3636@compuserve.comLearning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>