Ryan Sommerfeldt, Paul Black and Cathy Jun & Terryberry Partner Webinar – How Being More Specific in Recognition Can Increase Employees’ Sense of Meaning and Motivation
Webinar04/17 | 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM ET
Employees at organizations are consistently looking for more meaning in their work, particularly employees with certain personality types. Many companies have implemented recognition systems to help motivate their employees, however it is important to understand what makes recognition impactful. While prior research has shown that recognition systems can lead to more effort and motivation, we examine how the content of recognition messages impacts employees.
In our research study, we examine how a recognition message can influence employees’ sense of meaning at work and their effort levels based on whether the recognition is generic or specific. We ran two experiments to examine how employees would respond to these different types of recognition. Results of our experiments indicate that when recognition is more specific, rather than generic, it can lead employees to find more meaning in their work and, in turn, exert more effort, but only for employees whose personality types prioritize benefiting others. For employees who care less about benefiting others, the specificity of the recognition message does not have an effect on perceived meaning or effort exertion.
These findings are important for organizations to consider as they seek to help their employees find meaning and motivate their employees to exert more effort to achieving organizational objectives. During our workshop, we will discuss how our experiments were conducted and what we learned. We will finish by discussing implications for organizations and highlight when being more specific in recognition messages is likely to have the desired motivational effect.
Learning Objectives:
- Gain an overview of recognition systems
- Understand the role that meaning plays in employee motivation
- Explore how different types of employees may respond differently to recognition
- Understand when specific, rather than generic, recognition is most beneficial
Presenters
Paul Black
Paul Black is an assistant professor in the School of Accountancy at Auburn University. He earned a doctorate degree from the University of South Carolina and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Brigham Young University. He has a passion for both teaching and research and enjoys exploring new ideas. His research examines managerial accounting topics including recognition, measurement, incentives, and control systems, as well as other areas. His work has been published in many outlets including Accounting, Organizations and Society, Management Science, Journal of Management Accounting Research, Journal of Financial Reporting, and Issues in Accounting Education. When not at work, Paul enjoys spending time with his wife and children and singing, including occasionally singing the National Anthem at Auburn University sporting events.
Cathy Jun
Cathy Jun is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Accountancy at Washington State University. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. Prior to entering academia, Cathy worked as an external audit senior at Deloitte and Touché, LLP, in Atlanta, Georgia, and as an internal audit senior at the Coca-Cola Company. Cathy is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensed in the State of Georgia. Inspired by her work and academic experiences, Cathy’s research interests lie at the intersection of audit and managerial accounting. Her research specifically focuses on aspects of the organizational culture that deter and detect fraud as well as motivate and incentivize employees. In her free time, she enjoys playing sports and giving back to the community.
Ryan Sommerfeldt
Ryan Sommerfeldt is an assistant professor in the School of Accountancy at Brigham Young University, where he currently teaches courses in managerial accounting. Prior to joining the faculty at Brigham Young University, he was a faculty member at Washington State University. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Brigham Young University, and his doctoral degree from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Prior to earning his doctoral degree, Ryan worked on the advisory team at Squire and Company, PC, and owned and operated a landscaping company. His research lies at the intersection of managerial accounting and audit and has been published in top-tier journals such as The Accounting Review, Management Science, Contemporary Accounting Research, Journal of Business Ethics, and Issues in Accounting Education. His research specifically focuses on the effects of management controls designed to deter and detect misreporting, factors that influence the rationalization of misreporting, and factors that motivate and incentivize employee performance. In his free time, he enjoys sports and spending time with his wife and four children.
Qualifies for HRCI and SHRM recertification credits.
