The Scholarship of Motivation Theory

ntroduction

The scholarship of motivation theory has been widely discussed in a number of studies. This paper summarizes and criticizes the article entitled “Participatory organizational change in community-based health and human services: From tokenism to political engagement,” by Bess, Prilleltensky, Perkins, & Collins, 2009.

According to the authors’ of this article, community-based human service organizations have a significant responsibility of enhancing processes for participation. The efforts should be based on establishing practices for engagement and participation within the existing individual-wellness model regarding human services. For example, the authors’ argue that addressing the collective social well-being necessitates organizations to respond to the community’s justice needs, as well as establish a more openly political approach in engaging community participation (Bess, Prilleltensky, Perkins, & Collins, 2009).

Based on two comparative case studies of organizations, the authors’ demonstrates the practical process that could used to transform the organizations’ practice and managerial model. The process moves from the first-order approach, ameliorative change, towards the promotion of the second-order, that is, the transformation based on approaches that focus on empowerment and participation to change the existing community conditions. The article discuses four critical participatory tensions including partners versus clients, passive versus active participation, surplus subjection versus combined efficacy, and reflection versus action (Bess, Prilleltensky, Perkins, & Collins, 2009).

The authors’ incorporates hedonic, cognitive, and growth motivation theories to help community-based service organizations to engage and empower community participation.  The author’s arguments is convincing in the view that organizations can serve as a significant catalyst for community change and promote the social well being. For scholar-practitioners working in the field of HR, the article offers an important value of “token empowerment,” which mandates the organizations to extend collective wellness not only to its members, but also to promote and build on openly politically participatory practices (Bess, Prilleltensky, Perkins, & Collins, 2009).

In conclusion, gaining public involvement and participation is paramount for any organization to carry out its activities. It serves to achieve greater community involvement in decision makings, which helps the organizations to identity and respond to the community needs effectively.

Reference

Bess, K. D., Prilleltensky, I., Perkins, D. D., & Collins, L. V. (2009). Participatory organizational change in community-based health and human services: From tokenism to political engagement. American Journal of Community Psychology, 43(1/2), 134–148.