Foundations of Employee Motivation

These flashcards provide a comprehensive review of the foundational theories and concepts of employee motivation, including drive theories, expectancy theory, reinforcement, goal setting, and organizational justice.

Motivation

The forces within a person that affect the direction, intensity, and persistence of voluntary behaviour.

Direction

The goal or outcome toward which people steer their effort.

Intensity

The amount of physical, cognitive, and emotional energy expended at a given moment.

Persistence

How long people sustain their effort.

Human Drives

Innate brain activity that produces emotions that energize us to correct deficiencies or maintain an internal equilibrium.

Human Needs

Goal-directed forces that people experience when energy from emotions is channeled toward specific goals.

Drive to acquire

The drive to seek, acquire, control, and retain objects or experiences.

Drive to bond

The drive to form social relationships and develop mutual caring commitments with others.

Drive to comprehend

The drive to satisfy curiosity and know and understand ourselves and the environment.

Drive to defend

The drive to protect ourselves physically and socially.

Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy Theory

A motivation theory grouping primary needs into seven categories (five in a hierarchy) where the lowest unmet need is the strongest until satisfied.

Self-actualization

A need in Maslow's hierarchy that continually develops and is only temporarily satiated.

Intrinsic motivation

Occurs when people fulfil their needs for competence and autonomy by engaging in the activity itself rather than an externally controlled outcome.

Extrinsic motivation

Occurs when people want to engage in an activity to receive something that is beyond their personal control.

Need for achievement (nAch)

A learned need to accomplish goals, receive clear feedback, and perform moderate risk tasks.

Need for affiliation (nAff)

A learned need to seek approval from others, conform to others’ wishes, and avoid conflict.

Need for power (nPow)

A learned need to seek power for social or personal purposes.

E-to-P Expectancy

The probability that a specific effort level will result in a specific performance level.

P-to-O Expectancy

The probability that a specific performance level will result in a specific outcome.

Outcome Valences

The anticipated satisfaction or dissatisfaction that an individual feels toward an outcome.

Antecedents

What happens before behaviour in the organizational behaviour modification (OB Mod) model.

Positive reinforcement

A reinforcement contingency in OB Mod used to increase the frequency of a desired behaviour by introduced a consequence.

Continuous reinforcement schedule

An OB Mod schedule where reinforcement is provided after every occurrence of the desired behaviour.

Social Cognitive Theory

A theory explaining motivation through learning behaviour consequences, behaviour modelling, and self-regulation.

SMARTER

An acronym for effective goal setting: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-framed, Exciting, and Reviewed.

Strengths-Based Coaching

A process focusing on employee strengths rather than weaknesses, helping employees discover how to leverage their potential.

Multisource feedback

Feedback provided by a full circle of people around an employee, including managers, co-workers, and customers.

Organizational Justice

The perception that appropriate formal or informal rules have been applied to a situation.

Equity Theory Model

A model where people compare their own $\text{Outcome/Input Ratio}$ with a comparison other’s $\text{Outcome/Input Ratio}$.

Procedural Justice

The fairness of decision-making processes and procedures, including the presence of voice and appeal mechanisms.

Interactional Justice

The perception that employees are treated with politeness, respect, and provided with honest, candid, and timely information about decisions.