While Terry’s methods of motivation might be a little unconventional, I bet it raises productivity in the workplace! However, this is due to fear he is creating, rather than the wanting to actual to work and be successful at it. Creating a fearful environment is definitely not the way to create a positive working atmosphere. It puts a focus much more on “I hope he didn’t see me doing that” or “I hope he likes how I wrote this” then actually focusing on your own work and how you feel about it. This would make any workplace or classroom a very negative place to be. In a classroom setting, if Terry was the teacher, students would probably be very afraid to talk to him. This causes problems if the students have questions and a classroom should be a very open environment for ideas. This wouldn’t motivate students in a positive way other than motivating them to skip class.
Yes, the goal does become looking good to Terry rather than doing a job you are satisfied with. It also brings in the idea of appearing to understand or do good work while not actually putting in much effort. In schools, many students will do anything to appear 'intelligent' or more commonly, to not look 'stupid'. Unfortunately, that goal can replace actual understanding and interest in the material....
ReplyDeleteA teacher like Terry would be Terry-fying (ha), but imagine a teacher who embarrasses students frequently as a punishment. THis would also make students shut down. Even something less severe, like calling a student's answer 'wrong' rather than simply one way to look at a situation, could act as a punishment and be unmotivating.