In Natasha Widjaja’s blog post entitled “The Effectiveness of Money Motivation”, she uses a firm as exemplar to stimulate the greater argument of money as a primary source of motivation. John Schnatter, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Papa John’s has eliminated the workplace hierarchy through distributing equal amounts of dividends to all members of the organization, despite their exclusive positions.

I agree with Natasha’s statements supporting her claim that equity is a foolproof way to motivate employees. The first is Theory X, that belief that most people are not keen about their tasks and need a sort of external motivation – as they somewhat lack in the department. Natasha’s second statement is that through additional equity (workplace bonuses), physiological needs such as homeostasis, breathing, food, etc. are entirely fulfilled. A final assertion is the potential value one has to capital, and that if a worker does perceive money to be of value they will, in fact be motivated – driving an improved performance.

It is quite controversial if I were to agree with Widjaja’s last claim that money is only a short-run extrinsic motivator. Some individuals – some more in certain careers, such as finance – really do dislike their jobs and are solely working for the vast amount of capital. As an aspiring finance major myself, I am aware of the extremely long hours and tedious work which is a definite given in the workplace. Despite the horror stories I have heard, I am fully prepared to push through the tough tasks and dreadful hours to acquire a salary that would compensate for my hard work. Henceforth, I do partially agree with Natasha’s point that yes, money would not be a long-run motivator for a firm, however I can say with no doubt that some fields – finance in particular – are not examples of this claim.

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Zappos – one of the many firms that was brilliantly showcased in the Comm 101 Class of my first semester at the Sauder School of Business. The company’s extreme generosity, exertion of ethical behavior and remarkably unique business scheme truly piqued my attention. I was thrilled when I noted Nikki Abbott had conducted further research on Zappos. She enlightens her blog post with accurate relevancy to Organizational Behaviour (Comm 292) through elaboration of ethics and positive organizational scholarship.

As noted in Comm 101, Zappos is composed of a very diverse workforce. With a dominating group of women (60.65%) and outstanding percentage of minority groups (37.27%), it is evident that the company truly acknowledges the importance of equity. As Nikki mentions, Zappos discards prehistoric mentalities and biases of gender and racial discrimination. I applaud the corporation as it differs itself immensely from others, such as Microsoft, who was sued for gender discrimination in 2015.

Positive organizational scholarship is the greater concept in Organizational Behaviour that puts emphasis on the positive outcomes, systems and goals of a firm and its employees. Zappos is known to treat their employees with utmost respect and attempts to satisfy any and all needs of their workers. The company wants all employees to be in full control of their undertakings, as quoted by NPR in Abbott’s blog, “no one and everyone is the boss”. This lack of supremacy and hierarchy allows for a positive, interconnected workplace environment that is enjoyable for everyone.

Through embracing twenty-first century norms of equity and positive organizational behavior, Zappos is a role-model company that all firms should take note of.

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