I/O Psychology Chapter 9 - Employee Motivation

motivation

the force that drives an employee to perform

organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs)

behaviors that are not part of an employees's job but which make the organization a better place to work (ex: helping others, staying late)

consistency theory

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

Korman

theorized that employees high in self-esteem are more motivated and will perform better than employees with low self-esteem

chronic self-esteem

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

situational self-esteem

positive or negative way in which a person views himself or herself in a particular situation

socially-influenced self-esteem

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

self-fulfilling prophecy

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 (ex: pay, promotion, and coworkers)

extrinsic motivation

work motivation that arises from such nonpersonal factors (ex: pay, coworkers, and opportunities for advancement)

Work Performance Inventory (WPI)

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

need for achievement

the extent to which a person desires to be successful

need for affiliation

extent to which a person desires to be around other people

need for power

the extent to which a person desires to be in control of other people

Realistic Job Preview (RJP)

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

job characteristics theory

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

Job characteristics theory provides employees with:

meaning, autonomy, feedback, motivation potential, skill variety, task identification, and task significance

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

basic biological needs, safety needs, social needs,ego needs, self-actualization needs

ERG Theory

existence, relatedness, growth - Aldefer's needs theory which describes levels of satisfaction - suggests people can skip levels In Maslow's Hierarchy

two-factor theory

Herzberg's needs theory - two factors are involved in job satisfaction, hygiene factors and motivators

hygiene factors

job-related elements that result from, but do not involved the job itself

motivators

elements of a job that concern the actual duties performed by the employee

goal setting

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

Properties of goal setting:

specific, measurable, difficult but attainable, relevant, time-bound, employee participation

operant conditioning

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

self-regulation theory

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

Effectiveness of incentive programs:

timing, contingency, type used, individual-based vs. group-based, positive vs. negative, fairness

Premack Principle

reinforcement is relative both within an individual and between individuals

Types of incentives used:

recognition, financial rewards, travel

pay for performance

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

merit pay

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

Types of group incentive plans:

gainsharing, baseline, stock options

gainsharing

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

baseline

level of productivity before the implementation of a gainsharing plan

expectancy theory

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

expectancy (E)

perceived relationship between the amount of effort an employee puts in and resulting outcome

instrumentality (I)

the extent to which the outcome of a worker's performance, if noticed, results in the particular consequence

valence (V)

extent to which an employee values a particular consequence

Formula for employee's level of motivation:

motivation = E(I x V)

internal locus of control

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

equity theory

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

organizational justice

employees perceive they are being treated fairly, they will be more likely to be satisfied with their job and motivated to do well