The Process Perspective on Employee Motivation- Chapter 12 Management

Process perspectives

the thought processes by which people decide to act

three process perspectives

equity theory, expectancy theory, goal setting theory

equity theory

how people strive for fairness and justice in the work place(social exchange, give or take relationships) 

• justice theory 

three key elements in equity theory 

outcomes, inputs, and comparison

outcomes are the rewards that people receive from the organization

include: pay, benefits, bonuses, status

inputs are the contributions people bring to their organization

Include: time, effort, training, education

comparisons  

when someone compares their outcomes(rewards) and inputs to someones elses

when employees perceive equity

they are satified with the ratio and don’t change their behavior

when employees perceive inequity

they feel resentful and try to act

The justice theory 

distrubutive justice, procedural justic, interactional justice 

organizational justice

which people perceive they are treated fairly at work

distributive justice

how fair are the rewards that are being given out

procedural justice

how fair is the process of handing out the rewards

Interactional justic 

how fair is the treatment when rewards are given out?

expectancy theory

boils down to deciding how much effor to exert in a specific task situation

expectancy theory has three levels

expectancy, instrumentality, valance

expectancy

particular level of effor will lead to particular level of performance 

• high and low 

instrumentality

successful performance of the task will lead to the outcome that’s desired

• performance to outcome

Valance

is value, the importance a worker assigns to the possible outcome or reward

• what is a healthy motivator or unhealthy motivator

goal setting theory

employees can be motivated by goals that are specific and challenging, but achievable 

why is setting goals good

they direct your attention to whats important, the effort that you put into the goal explains its difficulity, helps you overcome obstacles, you will realize success

stretch goals

goals beyond what they actually expect to achieve

all goals should be 

specific and linked to action plans