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A non-linear approach to modelling motivation in the workplace using artificial neural networks

Includes bibliographical references.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Jaquet, Jean-Michel
Other Authors: Baets, Walter
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Information Systems 2015
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access_status_str Open Access
author Jaquet, Jean-Michel
author2 Baets, Walter
author_browse Baets, Walter
Jaquet, Jean-Michel
author_facet Baets, Walter
Jaquet, Jean-Michel
author_sort Jaquet, Jean-Michel
collection Thesis
description Includes bibliographical references.
format Thesis
id oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/13956
institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:33:55.830Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2015
publishDateRange 2015
publishDateSort 2015
publisher Department of Information Systems
publisherStr Department of Information Systems
record_format dspace
source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/13956 A non-linear approach to modelling motivation in the workplace using artificial neural networks Jaquet, Jean-Michel Baets, Walter Information Systems Includes bibliographical references. The standard business conception of the employee is as a blank slate machine motivated through a behaviourist system of reward and punishment. In contrast to this conception, studies of human evolution, neurology and cognition suggest that motivation emerges from the interaction of a complex and non-linear system of variables. This two-part study uses a conceptual model of work motivation based on systems and complexity theory to identify and interpret the significance of outlying variables in the motivations of groups of working professionals with different career orientations. In the first part of the fieldwork, fifty respondents from each of four career orientations (business managers, professional creative artists, entrepreneurs and students studying in creative fields) completed a self-assessment tool in which they indicated their strength of agreement or disagreement with the presence of fifteen motivation variables in their pursuit of a work goal. The responses of each career group were clustered using artificial neural network analysis and outlying motivation variables within clusters that differed significantly from the mean were identified. In the second part of the fieldwork, the meanings of outlying variables were interpreted by focus groups representing each of the four different career orientations. While on average, respondents agreed that all motivational variables were fulfilled in their pursuit of a work goal, unsupervised artificial neural network clustering identified between two and four clusters of respondents within each career group that showed responses differing significantly from the mean. These were mainly in the form of disagreement with fulfilment of one or more variables of motivation. Focus groups were able to identify with and provide context to these outlying responses. 2015-09-15T10:20:15Z 2015-09-15T10:20:15Z 2012 Doctoral Thesis Doctoral PhD http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13956 eng application/pdf Department of Information Systems Faculty of Commerce University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Information Systems
Jaquet, Jean-Michel
A non-linear approach to modelling motivation in the workplace using artificial neural networks
thesis_degree_str Doctoral
title A non-linear approach to modelling motivation in the workplace using artificial neural networks
title_full A non-linear approach to modelling motivation in the workplace using artificial neural networks
title_fullStr A non-linear approach to modelling motivation in the workplace using artificial neural networks
title_full_unstemmed A non-linear approach to modelling motivation in the workplace using artificial neural networks
title_short A non-linear approach to modelling motivation in the workplace using artificial neural networks
title_sort non linear approach to modelling motivation in the workplace using artificial neural networks
topic Information Systems
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13956
work_keys_str_mv AT jaquetjeanmichel anonlinearapproachtomodellingmotivationintheworkplaceusingartificialneuralnetworks
AT jaquetjeanmichel nonlinearapproachtomodellingmotivationintheworkplaceusingartificialneuralnetworks