CHAPTER 9: Employee Motivation

motivation

the force that drives an employee to perform well.

organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs)

behaviors that are not part of an employee's job but which make the organization a better place to work (e.g., helping others, staying late).

Self-Esteem

the extent to which a person views themself as a valuable and worthy individual.

consistency theory

Korman's theory that employees will be motivated to perform at levels consistent with their levels of self-esteem.

chronic self-esteem, situational self-esteem, socially influenced self-esteem

consistency theory becomes somewhat complicated in that there are three types of self-esteem.

chronic self-esteem

the positive or negative way in which a person views himself or herself as a whole.

situational self-esteem

also called self-efficacy, the positive or negative way in which a person views him or herself in a particular situation.

socially influenced self-esteem

the positive or negative way in which a person views him or herself based on the expectations of others.

organization-based self-esteem

the level of an employee's competence and self-worth as a member of an organization.

self-fulfilling prophecy

the idea that people behave in ways consistent with their self-image.

Galatea effect

when high self-expectations result in higher levels of performance.

Pygmalion effect

the idea that if people believe that something is true, they will act in a manner consistent with that belief.

Golem effect

when negative expectations of an individual cause a decrease in that individual's performance.

Intrinsic Motivation

work motivation in the absence of such external factors as pay, promotion, and coworkers.

extrinsic motivation

work motivation that arises from such non-personal factors as pay, coworkers, and opportunities for advancement.

Work Preference Inventory (WPI)

a measure of an individual's orientation toward intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation.

self-regulation

a theory that employees can be motivated by monitoring their own progress toward the goals they set and adjusting their behavior to reach those goals.

realistic job preview (RJP)

a method of recruitment in which job applicants are told both the positive and the negative aspects of a job.

job characteristics theory

the theory proposed by Hackman and Oldham that suggests that certain characteristics of a job will make the job more or less satisfying, depending on the particular needs of the worker.

Maslow's needs hierarchy, ERG (existence, relatedness, and growth) theory, and two-factor theory.

a discrepancy between an employee's needs, values, and wants and what a job offers can also lead to low levels of motivation and satisfaction. Three theories focus on employees' needs and values:

employee resource groups

a group of employees with similar interests, experiences, or demographics who meet to discuss those experiences.

needs theory

a theory based on the idea that employees will be satisfied with jobs that satisfy their needs.

ERG Theory

Aldefer's needs theory, which describes three levels of satisfaction: existence, relatedness, and growth.

Two-Factor Theory

Herzberg's needs theory, postulating that there are two factors involved in job satisfaction: hygiene factors and motivators.

hygiene factors

in Herzberg's two-factor theory, job-related elements that result from but do not involve the job itself.

motivators

in Herzberg's two-factor theory, elements of a job that concern the actual duties performed by the employee.

need for achievement

according to trait theory, the extent to which a person desires to be successful.

need for affiliation

the extent to which a person desires to be around other people.

need for power

according to trait theory, the extent to which a person desires to be in control of other people.

self-determination theory

a theory that postulates that people have an innate need for three things: competence, autonomy, and relatedness.

competence

the need from self-determination theory to be able to successfully perform the tasks that are important to us.

autonomy

the need from self-determination theory to decide what we want to do and how we are going to do it.

relatedness

the need from self-determination theory to feel that we are part of a group.

Four Drive Theory of Human Nature

similar to self-determination theory, the _ postulates that employees are influenced by four drives: acquiring, bonding, learning, and defending.

drive to acquire, drive to bond, drive to learn, drive to defend

employees will be motivated to perform well and remain in a job if each of these drives is met. Lawrence and Nohia define these four drives as follows:

drive to acquire

a drive to seek, take, control, and retain objects and personal experiences that humans value.

drive to bond

a drive to form social relationships and develop mutual caring commitments with other humans.

drive to learn

a drive to satisfy curiosity, to know, to comprehend, to appreciate, to develop understandings or representations of their environment and of themselves through a reflective process.

drive to defend

a drive to defend themselves and their valued accomplishments whenever they perceive them to be endangered.

goal setting

a method of increasing performance in which employees are given specific performance goals to aim for.

operant conditioning

a type of learning based on the idea that humans learn to behave in ways that will result in favorable outcomes and learn not to behave in ways that result in unfavorable outcomes.

Premack Principle

the idea that reinforcement is relative both within an individual and between individuals.

reinforcement hierarchy

a rank-ordered list of reinforcers for an individual.

Financial Rewards

can be used to motivate better worker performance either by making variable pay an integral part of an employee's compensation package or by using this as a "bonus" for accomplishing certain goals.

social recognition

a motivation technique using such methods as personal attention, signs of approval, and expressions of appreciation.

Individual Incentive Plans

are designed to make high levels of individual performance financially worthwhile, and the research is clear that monetary incentives increase performance over the use of a guaranteed hourly salary.

pay for performance

a system in which employees are paid on the basis of how much they individually produce.

merit pay

an incentive plan in which employees receive pay bonuses based on performance appraisal scores.

Profit Sharing

a group incentive method in which employees get a percentage of the profits made by an organization.

Gainsharing

a group incentive system in which employees are paid a bonus based on improvements in group productivity.

baseline

the level of productivity before the implementation of a gainsharing plan.

Stock Options

a group incentive method in which employees are given the option of buying stock in the future at the price of the stock when the options were granted.

Expectancy Theory

Vroom's theory that motivation is a function of expectancy, instrumentality, and valence.

expectancy (E)

in expectancy theory, the perceived relationship between the amount of effort an employee puts in and the resulting outcome.

instrumentality

in expectancy theory, the perceived probability that a particular level of performance will result in a particular consequence.

valence

in expectancy theory, the perceived desirability of a consequence that results from a particular level of performance.

internal locus of control

the extent to which people believe that they are responsible for and in control of their success or failure in life.

equity theory

a theory of job satisfaction stating that employees will be satisfied if their ratio of effort to reward is similar to that of other employees.

inputs

in equity theory, the elements that employees put into their jobs.

outputs

in equity theory, what employees get from their jobs.

input/output ratio

the ratio of how much employees believe they put into their jobs to how much they believe they get from their jobs.

organizational justice

a theory that postulates that if employees perceive they are being treated fairly, they will be more likely to be satisfied with their jobs and motivated to do well.