Motivation, like most issues in international organizational behavior, varies with culture. In some cultures a particular type of motivation is an intrinsic part of the economic system and culture. For example, the Protestant Ethic--the view that hard work, industriousness, and thrift are positive values--is an important cause of the success of capitalist societies. Other cultures understand these values as excessively individualistic and encourage work for the benefit of the entire group or society. In yet other cultures, for example, communist countries, motivation is based on values imposed by the central government that regulate economic activities such as the accumulation of personal wealth and career choices. In the recent past this situation has changed dramatically but the underlying motivational factors that will replace communist principles remain unclear.

Of course, even within societies with relatively homogenous values, different people are motivated by different things. Some workers find challenge in routine work while others require complex intellectual tasks to motivate them. Similarly, different types of organizations within a society provide their members with more or less effective motivational techniques. The following Web sites are useful for understanding motivation:

1. The Keirsey Temperament Sorter
   http://sunsite.unc.edu/personality/keirsey.html The Keirsey Temperament Sorter is designed to help you understand your personality and how it shapes your behavior. It is particularly useful for considering general and specific personality factors that affect motivation.
   
   
2. Employee Motivation
   http://www.saic.com
   This site provides information on an employee owned and operated company focusing on its culture, rewards, and bonuses as they affect employee motivation .
   
   

Because different people are motivated by different things, consider what motivates:

• You
• A classmate
• A close friend
• A family member

Try to select people you believe have different motivation patterns, if possible, from a variety of national cultures. For example, some people are motivated by the need to achieve something, others are motivatated by the opportunity to accumulate money, and yet others by the need for obtaining popularity. Cultural differences include differences in need for achievement and need to be a member of a group.

1. Administer the Keirsey Temperament Sorter to two of the people you have analyzed to see if your analysis is similar to the "objective" analysis of the Keirsey instrument.
2. After scoring the Keirsey Temperament Sorter discuss the results with your subject to develop a deeper understanding of motivation.

What conclusions can you draw about motivation? What practices can managers use to motivate people with different motivational needs then their own? How does culture affect motivation? Is the Keirsey Temperament Sorter a useful measure of motivation? Is the Keirsey Temperament Sorter sensitive to cultural variations in motivation?