An assessment of the motivational impacts of a career ladder/merit pay pilot program

Abstract

<p>The purposes of this descriptive investigation were (l) to construct a reliable instrument for assessing attitudes toward teaching of high school teachers, and (2) to determine if there was a difference in attitudes toward teaching between those high school teachers who were and those who were not involved in a career ladder/merit pay pilot program. Frederick Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene Theory served as the theoretical basis for the investigation.</p> <p> Analysis of work motivation indicates that motivation factors may be classified in two categories, intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation emanates from needs within the individual. Intrinsic motivators include the following: achievement, recognition, responsibility, advancement and growth possibilities. Extrinsic motivators include the following: organizational policies, salary, working conditions, status, job security, effects on personal life, and interpersonal relations.</p>