Information Technology Management and Leadership and Leadership

Getting paid to do something you love can totally ruin the experience.

Odd, eh?

I am vaguely aware that there are many ways of understanding this phenomenon. Many investigators think we have more than one motivational system, and these systems compete - activating one can knock out the other.

One study I've found focuses precisely on this phenomenon. It's called Effort for Payment: A Tale of Two Markets by James Heyman and Dan Ariely, in Psychological Science (Vol15—Num11: 787-793). They were studying "homo economicus", and they wanted to see if adding compensation to a task would affect how much effort people put into a task. If humans are rational self-maximizers, they argued, then the more you pay them, the better they will perform. This is not borne out empirically. In their words:

In this 49-minute recording from the 2006 EDUCAUSE Annual Conference, we'll hear from Susan McKinnon in a session entitled The Power of Team Leadership. McKinnon shares how, at Georgia Perimeter College, the Office of Information Technology is overcoming hurdles to discover the power behind team leadership.

EDUCAUSE is pleased to announce the 2006 award recipients, whose exemplary contributions to information technology in higher education are worthy of commendation.

• Howard Strauss (posthumous)—Leadership Award
  Daniel A. Updegrove—Leadership Award
• Dennis A. Trinkle, "The 361° Model for Transforming Teaching and Learning with Technology"—EDUCAUSE Quarterly Contribution of the Year Award
• Course Management Systems—Catalyst Award (new in 2006)

Hear their stories at the official award sessions at EDUCAUSE 2006 this October inDallas.