| Course | IOP-5100 Industrial and Organizational Psychology |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 9 |
| Paper type | Written assignment: work motivation |
| Length | About 524 words, 4 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | Master of Science in Management |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for IOP 5100 Module 9
The Wrong Goal Works Too Well: Rethinking Motivation for Contact Center Agents
Student Name
Master of Science in Management, Thomas Edison State University
IOP-5100: Industrial and Organizational Psychology
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
The Wrong Goal Works Too Well: Rethinking Motivation for Contact Center Agents
The Problem
Two years ago the center set a target of 6 minutes average handle time per call, with weekly rankings posted by team. Average handle time fell from 7.4 to 5.9 minutes. In the same period, the share of customers who called back within a week about the same issue rose from 14 to 23 percent, and quality scores fell. The goal worked; it simply rewarded the wrong behavior. Agents describe rushing callers off the line and transferring difficult calls.
Goal Setting
Locke and Latham (2002) reviewed thirty-five years of their own and others' studies: a precise, stretching target beats being told to do one's best, because it steers attention, lifts effort, keeps people at it and sparks better methods, especially with feedback and real acceptance of the goal. Our handle-time target is a textbook example of that power. The same research warns that goals narrow attention: people work toward what is measured and neglect what is not. A goal that measures only speed will be met at the expense of resolution.
Self-Determination
Gagné and Deci (2005) carried self-determination theory into the workplace, separating effort people choose because the work interests them or matters to them from effort pushed out of them by pressure or pay. They proposed that work conditions supporting autonomy, competence and relatedness foster autonomous motivation, which is linked to better performance on complex tasks and to well-being. Public rankings and real-time timers are controlling; they push agents to protect their numbers rather than solve customers' problems.
Job Characteristics
Hackman and Oldham (1976) tied motivation to five features of a job, variety of skills, a whole and visible piece of work, significance to others, autonomy and feedback from the task, which together make work feel meaningful and personally owned. Our agents' work scores low on autonomy, since scripts dictate every step, and on task identity, since difficult calls are transferred before resolution. Feedback comes mainly from a supervisor's ranking rather than from the work itself.
Redesign
The new goal is still specific and difficult, preserving what goal setting research shows works, but it measures the outcome customers care about. Handle time becomes a range, so agents are not punished for the extra minute that prevents a callback. Public rankings end; agents see their own data, which supports competence without the controlling pressure of comparison.
| Element | Current | Redesigned |
|---|---|---|
| Primary goal | Handle time under 6 minutes | First-contact resolution of at least 80 percent |
| Secondary goal | None | Handle time within a range, not a ceiling |
| Feedback | Weekly team ranking | Each agent's own resolution and repeat-call data, daily |
| Autonomy | Fixed scripts | Agents may skip script steps and offer approved credits up to $25 |
| Task identity | Transfer hard calls | Agents keep calls they can resolve with help |
Evaluation
We will pilot the redesign with eight teams for three months and compare repeat calls, quality, handle time and agent turnover with the other teams.
Conclusion
Motivation research explains both why the handle-time target succeeded and why it backfired. A resolution goal, more autonomy and feedback agents see themselves should direct effort toward what matters.
References
Gagné, M., & Deci, E. L. (2005). Self-determination theory and work motivation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26(4), 331-362. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.322
Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1976). Motivation through the design of work: Test of a theory. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 16(2), 250-279. https://doi.org/10.1016/0030-5073(76)90016-7
Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705-717. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.57.9.705
IOP 5100 Module 9 instructions, in plain terms
Motivation fills the ninth IOP-5100 module, and a written assignment on it is shown here, scheduled by the course calendar rather than the syllabus. Expect to explain major motivation theories, summarize what research shows about how they work and their limits, and apply them to redesign goals, rewards or jobs for a real group of employees. Muchinsky and Culbertson's chapter on motivation introduces the theories. Use data from the workplace to show the current problem, compare more than one theory and show the redesign in enough detail to be piloted. Keep what the current system does well while you fix what it distorts, since a redesign that discards everything is hard to sell.
How the IOP 5100 Module 9 example is put together
The paper opens with a goal that succeeded too well: handle time fell while repeat calls rose. Locke and Latham's goal setting research explains both the success and the narrowing of attention. Gagné and Deci's self-determination theory explains why rankings and timers push controlled motivation, and Hackman and Oldham's five job characteristics show low autonomy and task identity. A five-row table compares the current and redesigned goals, feedback, autonomy and task identity, keeping a specific, difficult goal aimed at resolution. A three-month pilot with comparison teams closes the paper. The redesign keeps a hard goal, because the research favors challenging targets, but points it at resolution instead of speed.
Where the marks sit in the IOP 5100 Module 9 rubric
The motivation paper is judged on theories understood correctly, research used well, one real problem explained and a redesign that hangs together, in APA form. Papers earn credit for showing how a theory explains an observed problem rather than summarizing theories in turn. Recognizing a theory's limits or side effects, such as goal setting's narrowing of attention, shows critical depth. A redesign that keeps what works while fixing what does not shows judgment. A pilot with measures shows the evidence-based approach of I/O psychology. Mentors also look for awareness of how rewards and public comparisons can crowd out the motivation the job needs. Mentors also look for a goal design that remains specific and measurable after the redesign, not a vague call for quality.
Common IOP 5100 Module 9 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Students lose points by listing motivation theories one after another, by recommending bonuses as the answer to every motivation problem or by redesigning work without evidence of what is wrong. Others ignore unintended effects of goals. Start with data on a motivation problem, apply two or three theories to explain it, design changes to goals, feedback or the job that follow from the theories and plan a pilot. A free first draft of your IOP-5100 Module 9 written assignment can be built on your team's goals. Show the before and after figures for the behavior you want to change, so the case for redesign rests on evidence. Name who will see the new feedback and how often, because feedback shapes behavior only when it arrives soon after the work.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Thomas Edison State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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IOP 5100 Module 9 questions, answered
Where can I find a free IOP 5100 Module 9 sample paper?
The paper above redesigns contact center agents' goals, autonomy and feedback using goal setting, self-determination and job characteristics research.
What does goal setting theory say?
Precise, hard targets lift performance more than vague ones when people accept them and see feedback, yet they also pull attention toward whatever is counted.
What is self-determination theory?
A theory that distinguishes autonomous from controlled motivation and holds that support for autonomy, competence and relatedness fosters autonomous motivation.
What are Hackman and Oldham's five core job characteristics?
Using several skills, completing a whole task, doing work that matters to others, choosing how to work and seeing results from the work itself.
Can a performance goal backfire?
Yes; a goal that measures only part of the job can be met at the expense of what it leaves out, as with speed over resolution.