BUSI 101 Week 5 Discussion Board Forum 3 Thread Example

Reviewed by Thomas Kerrigan, MBA, CPA · Liberty University · Updated

This BUSI 101 Week 5 sample thread asks how managers should motivate employees, the question behind Forum 3. Its answer is that pay matters, but differently than many managers assume: financial incentives reliably raise the quantity of work, while the quality of work and enthusiasm for it depend more on how people experience the work itself. A meta-analysis of incentive studies, a meta-analysis of experiments on rewards and intrinsic motivation, and the textbook's account of Herzberg's motivators carry the argument, and a verse from Colossians on working wholeheartedly frames it. In Liberty University BUSI 101, this post is worth up to 40 points to a BS in Business Administration student, written while they work through Nickels et al.'s tenth to twelfth chapters and Connect Assignment 5.

CourseBUSI 101 Introduction to Business (BUSI101)
Module/Week5
AssignmentDiscussion Board Forum 3 Thread
Paper typeDiscussion thread
Lengthabout 318 words (thread and replies). Course guide: a thread of 300 to 500 words showing course-related knowledge, with a Scripture reference, at least 2 scholarly peer-reviewed sources and the course text, in current APA format
FormatAPA 7 citations and reference list
Points40
SchoolLiberty University Online
ProgramBS in Business Administration
Where it sitsModule/Week 5 in Liberty's published BUSI 101 course guide; current sections can differ
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for BUSI 101 Week 5

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Discussion Board Forum 3 Thread: Motivating Employees

BUSI 101 Introduction to Business, Discussion Board Forum 3 Thread

Thread by [Student Name]

The thread answers a composite prompt on employee motivation; the studies, textbook and Scripture cited are real.

Why this part earns its pointsThe opening gives a qualified answer, which the evidence then supports point by point.
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Money motivates employees, but mainly to do more of something, not necessarily to do it better or to care about it. A manager who relies on pay alone can raise output while leaving quality and engagement untouched.

Nickels et al. (2018) summarize Herzberg's two-factor theory: pay, policies and conditions can make people unhappy when they are poor, but enthusiasm grows from achievement, recognition, responsibility and the content of the job. On that view, fair pay prevents discontent but does not inspire effort.

Research partly supports and partly corrects Herzberg. Jenkins et al. (1998) combined dozens of studies and found that financial incentives were positively related to performance quantity, but not to performance quality. Paying per unit gets more units; it does not get better ones. Deci et al. (1999) reviewed experiments on rewards and intrinsic motivation and found that expected, tangible rewards for doing an interesting task tended to reduce people's interest in the task, while verbal praise did not. A reward can teach people that the work is only worth doing for the reward.

Why this part earns its pointsThe Scripture paragraph offers a view of work that does not rest on pay alone.
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Scripture offers a different foundation for motivation. In Colossians, workers are told to labor wholeheartedly, since their real employer is the Lord (English Standard Version Bible, 2001/2016, Colossians 3:23). A Christian manager can hold to that ideal personally while still paying people fairly, since the same Scripture insists elsewhere that workers deserve their wages.

Putting these ideas together suggests three steps. Pay fairly and transparently, so pay does not become a source of resentment. Use incentives where the goal really is quantity, such as sales calls, but not where quality or judgment matters most, since a bonus tied to speed can quietly teach people to cut corners. Invest in motivators the research supports: recognition, responsibility and showing people how their work helps others.

Have any of you worked under an incentive plan that changed what you paid attention to, for better or worse?

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References

Deci, E. L., Koestner, R., & Ryan, R. M. (1999). A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 125(6), 627-668. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.125.6.627

English Standard Version Bible. (2016). Crossway. (Original work published 2001)

Jenkins, G. D., Jr., Mitra, A., Gupta, N., & Shaw, J. D. (1998). Are financial incentives related to performance? A meta-analytic review of empirical research. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83(5), 777-787. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.83.5.777

Nickels, W. G., McHugh, J. M., & McHugh, S. M. (2018). Understanding business (12th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

What the BUSI 101 Week 5 instructions ask

Module/Week 5 of BUSI 101 has no exam, leaving room for the Forum 3 thread, Connect Assignment 5 and three chapters of Nickels et al. on management of human resources, motivation and employee-management relations. The thread must run 300 to 500 words and show knowledge from those chapters. Source rules stay the same as in Forum 1: Scripture, a minimum of two journal studies, and the textbook. Classmates reply in Module/Week 6. Motivation is a topic where personal opinion comes easily, so the requirement for peer-reviewed sources pushes the thread toward what studies have actually found rather than what seems obvious. The chapters on motivation describe several theories, so the thread can apply one of them in depth.

How this BUSI 101 Week 5 example is built

The thread opens with a qualified answer, that pay motivates some things and not others. A paragraph on the textbook's motivation theories sets up the distinction between hygiene factors and motivators. A meta-analysis of financial incentives shows their effect on how much people produce, and a second meta-analysis shows when rewards can undermine interest in a task. Colossians supplies a biblical view of work that does not depend on reward alone. The thread then turns these findings into three practical suggestions for a manager, ending with a question about classmates' own experience of incentives, and it stays within the 500-word ceiling.

BUSI 101 Week 5 grading rubric: where the points go

Graders want the motivation question answered with ideas from chapters 10 to 12, a post that respects the 500-word cap, and every required citation present: a verse, two journal studies and Nickels et al. Correctly applying a named theory from the chapters, Herzberg's two factors for instance, and describing each study's result faithfully both weigh in the grade. Threads built entirely on personal experience, or that cite popular articles in place of peer-reviewed research, score lower. A clear claim helps, since two classmates must reply, and a closing question invites a better discussion. Asking classmates about an incentive plan they have lived under is a natural way to end.

BUSI 101 Week 5 help: mistakes that cost points

Pick one question within the prompt, such as whether pay motivates, and answer it directly. Use the textbook to name the theory you are applying and explain it in a sentence. Then find two peer-reviewed studies, ideally ones that combine many experiments, and report what they found without stretching it. Choose a Scripture passage about work and explain how it shapes your view of motivation. Offer two or three practical steps a manager could take. Count your words, since 500 is the limit, and make sure the reference list includes the textbook, both articles and the Bible. Keep the Scripture reference connected to a specific point in your argument. Avoid stretching a study's finding into a rule it never tested.

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BUSI 101 Week 5 questions, answered

What is the BUSI 101 Forum 3 Thread?

The 40-point thread due in Module/Week 5 of BUSI 101: 300-500 words on the motivation prompt with Scripture, two scholarly sources and the course text, with replies due the following module/week.

Where can I find a free BUSI 101 Week 5 sample paper?

You will find a full BUSI 101 Week 5 thread on this page about whether money motivates, using two meta-analyses, Herzberg's theory and Colossians 3.

Do financial incentives improve employee performance?

Pooled evidence from dozens of studies shows cash incentives tend to raise how much people produce while doing little for how well they produce it.

Can rewards reduce motivation?

Experiments show that expected, tangible rewards given for doing an interesting task can reduce people's intrinsic interest in it, while unexpected rewards and verbal praise generally do not.

What else is due in BUSI 101 Module/Week 5?

Connect Assignment 5 is due the same module/week, there is no exam, and the reading is chapters 10 to 12 of Nickels et al. with one presentation.

Use it as a model, or ask for your own

This paper is an original model written by our desk for study. It is not a submitted student paper and not an official Liberty University document. Read it for structure and reasoning, then write your own to the instructions in your Canvas course. If you want a version built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.

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