Dan Ariely TED talk "What Makes Us Feel Good About Our Work?" Is about the importance of Motivation, and what is it that motivates people at work. I would think that the financial reward is the biggest motivator for the majority of people, but according to Ariely, people are motivated by more than just that. The sense of purpose and progress, the feeling of making a meaningful contribution that will help the group achieve the goal, is what motivates people the most.

The examples of IKEA and cake mix are very interesting, making me think of my own kids. My youngest daughter can be very messy and disorganized, especially when being creative and doing art projects. I have a big cabinet full of arts and crafts supplies which I have spent many hours organizing since the girls got older enough to have access to it. I have added drawer organizers and boxes and labeled every single one, so every supply has its place, making it easy to find if things get put back. As you might guess, my daughter is always in a hurry and has no time to find the right place for every single thing she has used, so it all ends up mixed together. When I take time to organize the cabinet, usually it is messy again within a week. Still, when she is the one spending a few hours on a Saturday cleaning and organizing it, it is very interesting to see how careful and protective she gets of the cabinet afterward, noticing every little thing that someone else might put in the wrong place, at least for the first few weeks.

In 1968 Richard Charms came up with The theory of personal causation (pg.224), which argues that nobody wants to unthinkingly simply follow orders, but instead people are motivated when they are treated as active participants of a group. Ariely's argument is very much connected to Charms' theory because it suggests that when people feel in control of their work, they are more likely to be engaged and motivated. On the other hand, if people feel they have no control over their work or the outcomes, they are less likely to be motivated.

The concepts of Theory X and Theory Y management directly apply to Ariely's argument because if Theory X management assumes that people are inherently lazy, the way this manager will treat their employees will be by coercing them into working, by controlling them. On the other hand, Theory Y management which sees people as inherently motivated and will work hard if they are given the opportunity to do so will value people's hard work and ideas, giving them control over their outcomes. Ariely's argument aligns more closely with Theory Y management because this approach gives people a sense of purpose and progress, the feeling of making a meaningful contribution that will help the group achieve the goal, in other words, motivation.

If companies understand the benefits of a more diverse and inclusive society and emphasize the progress that has already been made in reducing discrimination and inequality, it could be a great motivation for employees to continue working toward a more just and equitable society. In the view of Theory X, management would use external incentives and coercion to try to change structural racism among white employees. Differently and more effectively,Theory Y would appeal to people's sense of personal causation, allowing them to feel active participants in the process of changing structural racism.