Learn: COB 300 Management Exam 2 (Eliason)

Motivation (definition)

The processes that account for an individual's intensity, direction, and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal.

Three key elements of motivation

Intensity (how hard a person tries), Direction (effort oriented toward what benefits the organization), Persistence (how long the effort is maintained).

Is motivation a personal trait?

No. Everyone can be motivated; motivation comes from the interaction between the individual and the situation.

Performance formula

P = f(M x A). Performance is a function of Motivation times Ability. If either is zero, performance is zero.

Ability (A) in the performance formula

Skill + Technology + Role clarity.

Three ways to organize the motivation theories (professor's method)

Needs, Behaviors, and Goals. Reinforcement theory fits under Behaviors.

Content theories vs. process theories

Content theories focus on WHAT motivates people (needs). Process theories focus on HOW people become motivated (equity, expectancy, reinforcement, goals).

Maslow's hierarchy of needs (lowest to highest)

1. Physiological 2. Safety/security 3. Social/belongingness 4. Esteem 5. Self-actualization.

Two needs added to Maslow's pyramid in class

Need to Know (learning and growth) and Need for Aesthetic Beauty.

Maslow's lower-order needs (textbook)

Physiological and safety/security needs.

Maslow: which need gets attention?

The lowest-level need that is not yet satisfied. A satisfied need stops motivating.

Maslow: where most people get fixated

At the esteem level.

Self-actualization

The need to become everything one is capable of becoming. It is never fully satisfied.

Maslow: manager examples by level

Physiological: adequate pay. Safety: job security, safe conditions. Social: cohesive work groups. Esteem: recognition, titles. Self-actualization: challenging work.

Murray's manifest needs theory

Behavior is driven by the desire to satisfy many needs (achievement, affiliation, autonomy, dominance, etc.). Don't memorize the list; be able to recognize a need.

Manifest needs vs. latent needs

Manifest needs are motivating a person right now. Latent needs can't be inferred from current behavior but the person may still have them.

McClelland's learned needs theory

Needs are learned from life experience. Three needs: Achievement (nAch), Power (nPow), Affiliation (nAff).

Need for Achievement (nAch)

The need to excel at tasks, especially difficult ones.

High achievers prefer...

Personal responsibility, rapid feedback, moderately challenging goals (about 50-50 odds of success); they dislike succeeding by chance.

Need for Power (nPow)

The desire to have impact, be influential, and control others.

High power individuals...

Enjoy being in charge, strive for influence, prefer competitive and status-oriented situations, may care more about prestige than performance.

Need for Affiliation (nAff)

The need to establish and maintain warm, friendly relationships with others.

Best manager profile (McClelland)

High need for power, low need for affiliation. High nAch alone does NOT make a good manager.

Alderfer's ERG theory

Compresses Maslow's five needs into three: Existence, Relatedness, Growth.

ERG: Existence needs

Physiological and material safety needs; satisfied by material conditions.

ERG: Relatedness needs

Social needs plus social safety and social esteem; satisfied through relationships with others.

ERG: Growth needs

Self-esteem and self-actualization; satisfied through full involvement in work.

ERG: satisfaction progression

As one need is satisfied, energy moves to the next need (agrees with Maslow).

ERG: frustration

Failing to satisfy a need can make that need even more important.

ERG: frustration-regression

After repeated failure to satisfy a higher need, attention shifts back to a previously satisfied, more concrete need.

ERG: aspiration

Growth is intrinsically satisfying; the more we grow, the more we want to grow.

ERG vs. Maslow

Same needs, compressed to three. ERG adds how people move between needs, including falling back (frustration-regression).

Herzberg's two-factor (motivator-hygiene) theory

Satisfaction and dissatisfaction are separate scales. Motivators create satisfaction; hygiene factors only prevent dissatisfaction.

Herzberg's motivators (satisfiers)

Achievement, recognition, responsibility, career advancement, personal growth. They relate to job CONTENT.

Herzberg's hygiene factors (dissatisfiers)

Pay, job security, working conditions, company policies, quality of supervision, relations with others. They relate to job CONTEXT.

Opposite of satisfaction (Herzberg)

No satisfaction (not dissatisfaction).

Opposite of dissatisfaction (Herzberg)

No dissatisfaction (not satisfaction).

A pay raise stops complaints but nobody works harder. Which theory explains it?

Herzberg. Pay is a hygiene factor: it removes dissatisfaction but doesn't motivate. Add motivators.

Extrinsic rewards

Rewards given by other people (pay, bonuses, promotions, praise from a boss). They satisfy lower-order needs.

Intrinsic rewards

Rewards people give themselves because the task is interesting or fun (sense of achievement, pride, getting better at a skill). They satisfy higher-order needs.

Self-Determination Theory (SDT)

Explains what causes motivation and how extrinsic rewards affect intrinsic motivation. Tasks are intrinsically motivating when they satisfy competence, autonomy, or relatedness.

SDT's three needs

Competence, autonomy, relatedness.

SDT: effect of increasing extrinsic rewards

Intrinsic motivation decreases (the paid hobby stops being fun).

SDT: how to motivate a dull job vs. an interesting job

Dull job: tie performance to extrinsic rewards. Interesting job: give chances to learn, freedom from interference, meaningful relationships, not just bonuses.

Equity theory

People judge fairness by comparing their own outcome/input ratio with the ratio of a referent other (coworker, friend, family).

Equity theory: examples of inputs

Qualifications and skills, education and experience, effort, cooperative behavior.

Equity theory: examples of outcomes

Pay, benefits, status and recognition, interesting and fulfilling work.

Five ways to restore equity (note sheets)

1. Ask for a raise/promotion (change outcomes) 2. Reduce inputs (e.g., use sick days) 3. Distort perceptions 4. Compare to someone else 5. Leave/quit.

Textbook's extra ways to restore equity

Change the referent other's inputs or outcomes (textbook lists 7 ways total vs. 5 in the note sheets).

Overreward inequity

Perceiving your outcome/input ratio is higher than the other person's. It fades quickly; few people complain about it.

Organizational justice

The modern extension of equity theory (14.4). Includes distributive and procedural justice.

Distributive justice

Is the outcome itself fair? (Was it fair that I was laid off?)

Procedural justice

Was the process used to decide fair? (Layoffs by seniority usually feel fairer than by a supervisor's opinion.)

Expectancy theory (Victor Vroom)

People exert effort based on what they expect the consequences will be. Explains why some workers do only the minimum.

Expectancy (E1)

Effort -> performance link. 'If I try, can I do it?'

Instrumentality (E2)

Performance -> reward link. 'If I perform, will I get rewarded?'

Valence

Reward -> personal goals link. How much the person wants the reward (positive, negative, or neutral).

How a manager improves expectancy

Regular feedback, recognizing effort and tying it to expected outcomes; training and resources.

How a manager improves instrumentality

Consistently reward measurable performance with appropriate rewards through a system.

How a manager improves valence

Identify rewards that match the employee's personal values, interests, and goals.

Expectancy theory formula

Motivation = Expectancy x Instrumentality x Valence. If any one is zero, motivation is zero. (14.4: newer research finds the parts predict performance even without multiplying.)

Employee hit her target but never got the promised bonus. Which link broke?

Instrumentality (E2), the performance -> reward link.

Bonus is a gift card the employee doesn't want. Which part of expectancy theory?

Valence.

Self-efficacy

A person's confidence in their ability to perform work successfully. The biggest driver of E1.

High self-efficacy people...

Set higher goals, persist longer, find and use better task strategies, and respond better to negative feedback.

Reinforcement theory (also called)

Behavior modification or operant conditioning.

Law of effect

Behavior followed by positive consequences tends to be repeated; behavior followed by negative consequences tends not to be repeated.

Positive reinforcement

Adding something desirable after the desired behavior. Increases the behavior. Most effective strategy, but must continue and the reward loses value over time.

Negative reinforcement

The desired behavior makes something unpleasant go away. Increases the behavior. Ex: Ted stocks faster so Philip stops nagging.

Extinction (nonreinforcement)

No consequence follows the behavior. Decreases it. Low visibility, but ignoring bad behavior can strengthen it, and ignoring good behavior extinguishes it.

Punishment

An unpleasant consequence after a behavior. Decreases it. Fast and deters onlookers, but may cause retaliation and doesn't say what TO do.

Avoidance learning (textbook)

Behaving a certain way to avoid a threatened unpleasant consequence (arriving on time to avoid a write-up). Basis of most discipline systems.

Negative reinforcement vs. punishment

Negative reinforcement INCREASES a behavior by removing something unpleasant. Punishment DECREASES a behavior by adding something unpleasant.

Which reinforcement strategies increase behavior? Which decrease it?

Increase: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement (and avoidance learning). Decrease: extinction and punishment.

Schedule of reinforcement

How often desired behavior is reinforced (every time vs. only some of the time).

Best reinforcement schedule (textbook)

Continuous while someone is learning the job; then variable-ratio. Fixed-interval is least effective.

Recent research on punishment (14.4)

Use it sparingly, only after extinction fails, and never excessively or destructively.

Goal-setting theory (Locke and Latham)

Behavior is regulated by values and goals. People perform better with difficult, specific, accepted goals they are committed to.

Values (goal-setting theory)

Beliefs about how the world should be, often worded with 'should' or 'ought.'

Goals (goal-setting theory)

Overall conditions one is trying to achieve.

SMART goals (this course's version)

Specific, Measurable, Agreed upon, Realistic, Timely.

Goal commitment

The degree to which people dedicate themselves to achieving a goal.

Four types of goals (textbook)

Self-set, participative (jointly set), assigned, and 'do your best' (vague, so it underperforms).

Four mechanisms that make goals work

Goals 1. direct attention 2. mobilize effort 3. encourage persistence 4. lead people to find and use task-relevant knowledge and strategies.

Participatively set vs. assigned goals (note sheets)

No significant performance difference, as long as the reason for the goal is explained. (Textbook: participation usually raises commitment.)

Yerkes-Dodson Law

Performance is best at a medium level of arousal.

How to make goals important

Public commitment, raising self-efficacy (training, role modeling, expressing confidence), and feedback.

Goal-setting cautions

Neglect of duties without goals; quantity crowds out quality; setting easy goals to look good; individual goals can hurt teamwork.

Management by objectives (MBO)

A management technique based on goal-setting theory.

'Increase sales' becomes 'raise regional sales 8% by June 30.' Which theory?

Goal-setting theory (specific, measurable, timely goal).

Profit sharing

Supplemental income based on company profitability. Limitation: requires commitment from all employees.

Gainsharing

Supplemental income based on a unit's productivity gains; common in manufacturing. Limitation: hard to apply to non-profit parts of the business.

ESOP

Employee Stock Ownership Plan. Limitations: complicated, tied to the stock market, tax issues.

Stock options

Right to buy stock at a set price later. Limitations: complicated, tax issues, deferred reward and cost.

Open-book policy

Sharing financial, operational, and sensitive information with employees, training them to use it, and rewarding them for improving results.

Flextime

Employees choose start and end times around set core hours.

Compressed workweek

A full 40 hours in fewer days, e.g., four 10-hour days.

Organizational structure

The framework defining how tasks are divided, resources deployed, and departments coordinated. Drawn as an organization chart.

Four characteristics of all organizations

Coordination of effort, a common goal or purpose, division of labor, hierarchy of authority.

Formal vs. informal organization

Formal: officially defined relationships created by managers; shown on the org chart. Informal: the invisible network of relationships between employees; how the organization actually works.