Gamification is the idea of “gamifying” work, to make it more intrinsically motivating. This is an incredibly important aspect of management theory because it gives a different approach to the age old question, how do I motivate my employees to perform better? This study not only looks at gamification, what it is, and how it is used successfully and unsuccessfully; but also looks at gamification from a different light. This study dives into the idea of employee gamification, or when employees “gamify” their own work to keep themselves motivated, without the direction or guidance of a manager. Most importantly, this study looks at the correlation between gamification, likeness of manager, enthusiasm, physical engagement, and a few other variables to figure out what truly is the driving force behind employee motivation. Without the study and proper application of gamification, both managers and employees could be missing out on the potential to increase motivation dramatically, thus in turn creating a more efficient and productive work environment. At the end of the day, every single company is concerned with efficiency; and increasing it should be of the highest concern. This study looks at the potential benefits of gamifying work, while also figuring out what truly is the driving force behind workplace motivation.

Unethical behavior is a phenomenon that is unavoidable in the workplace. Ethical transgressors, when caught, often receive feedback regarding their actions. Though such moral feedback—feedback that is in response to an ethical transgression—may be aimed at curtailing future unethical behavior, I seek to demonstrate that under certain conditions, moral feedback may promote subsequent unethical behavior. Specifically, I propose that moral intensity and affective tone are two primary dimensions of moral feedback that work together to affect ethical transgressor moral disengagement and future behavior. The notion of moral disengagement, which occurs when self-regulatory systems are deactivated, may account for situations whereby individuals perform unethical acts without associated guilt. Despite the burgeoning literature on this theme, research has yet to examine whether feedback from one individual can influence another individual’s moral disengagement. This is surprising considering the idea of moral disengagement stems from social cognitive theory which emphasizes the role that external factors have in affecting behavior. With my dissertation, I draw from research primarily in social psychology to explore how moral feedback affects transgressor moral disengagement. To do so, I develop a typology of moral feedback and test how each moral feedback type affects transgressor future behavior through moral disengagement.