Chapter 6: Basic Motivation Concepts

Motivation = “The processes that account for an individual’s intensity, direction, and persistence of effort toward achieving a

goal

”  Intensity = how hard an employee tries  Direction = should benefit the organization (i.e. quality of effort counts!)  Persistence = how long can an employee maintain his/her effort?

Note: the

goal

is an “organizational” goal

Early Theories of Motivation

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

    

Physiological includes hunger, thirst, shelter, sex and other bodily needs Safety includes security and protection from physical and emotional harm Social includes affection, belongingness acceptance, and friendship Esteem includes internal esteem factors such as self-respect, autonomy, and achievement; and external esteem factors such as status, recognition, and attention Self-actualization the drive to become what one is capable of becoming; includes growth, achieving one’s potential, and self fulfillment

Theory X and Theory Y (Douglas McGregor)

Two-Factor Theory



Intrinsic factors are related to job satisfaction, while extrinsic factors are related to job dissatisfaction.

Hygiene factors = when these are adequate, workers “feel OK” (i.e. they are NOT dissatisfied). Examples include quality of supervision, company policies and administration.

Motivators = examines factors contributing to job satisfaction. Thus, there are factors which lead to job satisfaction and things that don’t (i.e. notice there is a difference between “non-satisfying” and “dissatisfying factors”)

Contrasting Views of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction

Presence Absence

Contemporary Theories



Alderfer's “ERG” Theory E xistence R elatedness G rowth This theory does not assume a rigid hierarchy like Maslow's. For example, all 3 of these could be operating at the same time.

McClelland's Theory of Needs



The Need for Achievement: the drive to excel, achieve in relation to a set of standards, strive to succeed.



The Need for Power: The need to make others behave in a way that they would not have behaved otherwise.



The Need for Affiliation: The desire for friendly and close interpersonal relationships. Q: So, what can we “do” with such information about our employees???

Answer: Match People and Jobs (an example…)

Cognitive Evaluation Theory

Goal -Setting Theory

  

The theory that specific and difficult goals lead to higher performance. Goals tell an employee what needs to be done and how much effort will need to be expended. Specific goals increase performance; that difficult goals, when accepted, result in higher performance than do easy goals; and that feedback leads to higher performance than does non-feedback.

 

Specific hard goals produce a higher level of output than does the generalized goal of "do your best."

– The specificity of the goal itself acts as an internal stimulus.

Be sure to note the importance of goal commitment, self efficacy, task characteristics, and national culture on goal setting theory.

Reinforcement Theory 

A counterpoint to the goal-setting theory.



In reinforcement theory, a behavioristic approach, which argues that reinforcement conditions behavior.



Reinforcement theorists see behavior as being behaviorally caused.



Reinforcement theory ignores the inner state of the individual and concentrates solely on what happens to a person when he or she takes some action.

Flow and Intrinsic Motivation Theory

Ken Thomas’s Model of Intrinsic Motivation



Employees are intrinsically motivated when rewards an employee gets from work result from:

– – – – Choice– the ability to freely self-select and perform task activities.

Competence– the sense of accomplishment from skillfully performing chosen tasks or activities.

Meaningfulness– pursuing a task that matters in the larger scheme of things.

Progress– the feeling of significant advancement in achieving the task’s purpose.

Equity Theory

  

Individuals compare their job inputs and outcomes with those of others and then respond so as to eliminate any inequities (this is the “motivation” component) Equity theory recognizes that…

– individuals are concerned not only with the absolute amount of rewards for their efforts, but also with the relationship of this amount to what others receive.

Historically, equity theory focused on: Distributive justice or the perceived fairness of the amount and allocation of rewards among individuals. However, equity should also consider procedural justice or the perceived fairness of the process used to determine the distribution of rewards.

Equity Theory (cont’d)

Choices for dealing with inequity: 1. Change inputs (slack off) 2. Change outcomes (increase output) 3. Distort/change perceptions of self 4. Distort/change perceptions of others 5. Choose a different referent person 6. Leave the field (quit the job)

Equity Theory (cont’d)

Propositions relating to inequitable pay: 1. Overrewarded employees produce more than equitably rewarded employees.

2. Overrewarded employees produce less, but do higher quality piece work.

3. Underrewarded hourly employees produce lower quality work.

4. Underrewarded employees produce larger quantities of lower-quality piece work than equitably rewarded employees

Expectancy Theory    

The strength of a tendency to act in a certain way depends on the strength of an expectation that the act will be followed by a given outcome and on the attractiveness of that outcome to the individual. The theory focuses on three relationships: Effort-performance relationship or the probability perceived by the individual that exerting a given amount of effort will lead to performance. Performance-reward relationship or the degree to which the individual believes that performing at a particular level will lead to the attainment of a desired outcome. Rewards-personal goals relationship or the degree to which organizational rewards satisfy an individual’s personal goals or needs and the attractiveness of those potential rewards for the individual.

Expectancy Theory

Performance Dimensions

Summary and Implications for Managers     

Need Theories

Maslow’s hierarchy, Two factor, ERG, & McClelland’s

Goal Setting Theory

Clear and difficult goals often lead to higher levels of employee productivity.

Reinforcement Theory

Good predictor of quality and quantity of work, persistence of effort, absenteeism, tardiness, and accident rates.

Equity Theory

Strongest when predicting absence and turnover behaviors.

Weakest when predicting differences in employee productivity.

Expectancy Theory

Focus on performance variables It is a “rational” model so be careful when using it This theory may be better applied to employees with greater discretion in their jobs (i.e., as opposed to semi-skilled positions)