MAN3025 - Exam 3

Content Theory of Motivation

Approach to motivation that tries to answer the question, “What factor or factors motivate people?”

Process Theory

How people are motivated

Approaches to motivation that focus on why people choose certain behavioral options to fulfill their needs and how they evaluate their satisfaction after they have attained these goals

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Suggests that people must satisfy five groups of needs in order—physiological, security, belongingness, self-esteem, and self-actualization

McClelland Two - Factor Theory

Suggests that people’s satisfaction and dissatisfaction are influenced by two independent sets of factors—motivation factors and hygiene factors

Hygiene factors

Things like status and security

Motivators

Things like achievement, recognition, and responsibility

Motivation

The set of forces that cause people to behave in certain ways

ERG Theory of Motivation

Suggests that people’s needs are grouped into three possibly overlapping categories—existence, relatedness, and growth

Need for power

The desire to be influential in a group and to control one’s environment

Need for achievement

The desire to accomplish a goal or task more effectively than in the past

Expectancy theory

Suggests that motivation depends on two things—how much we want something and how likely we think we are to get it

Suggests that motivation leads to effort and that effort, combined with employee ability and environmental factors, results in performance. Performance, in turn, leads to various outcomes, each of which has an associated value, called its valence.

Need for Affilitation

The desire for human companionship and acceptance

Performance-to-outcome expectancy

The individual’s perception that performance will lead to a specific outcome

Effort-to-performance expectancy

The individual’s perception of the probability that effort will lead to high performance

Outcomes

Consequences of behaviors in an organizational setting, usually rewards

Reinforcement Theory

Approach to motivation that argues that behavior that results in rewarding consequences is likely to be repeated, whereas behavior that results in punishing consequences is less likely to be repeated

Positive Reinforcement

A method of strengthening behavior with rewards or positive outcomes after a desired behavior is performed

Valence

An index of how much a person wants a particular outcome; the attractiveness of the outcome to the individual

Equity Theory

Suggests that people are motivated to seek social equity in the rewards they receive for performance

Avoidance

Used to strengthen behavior by avoiding unpleasant consequences that would result if the behavior were not performed

Extinction

Used to weaken undesired behaviors by simply ignoring or not reinforcing them

Variable-Interval Schedule

Provides reinforcement at varying intervals of time, such as occasional visits by the supervisor

Punishment

Used to weaken undesired behaviors by using negative outcomes or unpleasant consequences when the behavior is performed

Fixed-Interval Schedule

Provides reinforcement at fixed intervals of time, such as regular weekly paychecks

Fixed-Ratio Schedule

Provides reinforcement after a fixed number of behaviors regardless of the time interval involved, such as a bonus for every fifth sale

Variable-ratio Schedule

Provides reinforcement after varying numbers of behaviors are performed, such as the use of compliments by a supervisor on an irregular basis

Participation

The process of giving employees a voice in making decisions about their own work

Empowerment

The process of enabling workers to set their own work goals, make decisions, and solve problems within their sphere of responsibility and authority

Compressed Work Schedule

Working a full 40-hour week in fewer than the traditional five days

Behaviour Modification

Method for applying the basic elements of reinforcement theory in an organizational setting

Job Sharing

When two part-time employees share one full-time job

Piece-rate Incentive Plan

Reward system wherein the organization pays an employee a certain amount of money for every unit she or he produces

Telecommuting

Remote work

Merit Pay Plan

Compensation plan that formally bases at least some meaningful portion of compensation on merit

Gainsharing Programs

Designed to share the cost savings from productivity improvements with employees

Scanlon Plan

Similar to gainsharing, but the distribution of gains is tilted much more heavily toward employees

Stock option plan

Established to give senior managers the option to buy company stock in the future at a predetermined fixed price

Weaknesses of Maslow’s Theory of Needs

• All levels of need are not always present

• Order is not always the same

• Cultural Differences can impacts needs

Goal Setting Theory

Behavior is a result of conscious goals and intentions

Individual incentive pay plan

Used to reward individual performance on a REAL-TIME basis

Which approach to motivation is based on the premise that managers know more about the job than workers and therefore should be paid more?

Traditional Approach

Intangible determinant of individual performance

Motivation

Leadership

• As a process – it's about using positive (non-forceful) influence to guide a group or organization toward setting goals, motivating people to reach those goals, and shaping the culture of the group.

• As a property – it's the qualities or traits that people believe make someone a leader.

Leader

People who can influence the behaviors of others without having to rely on force; those accepted by others as leaders

Power

The ability to affect the behavior of others

Legitimate power

Power granted through the organizational hierarchy; the power defined by the organization to be accorded to people occupying particular positions (Ex. Manager or Boss)

Reward Power

The power to give or withhold rewards, such as salary increases, bonuses, promotions, praise, recognition, and interesting job assignments

Coercive Power

The power to force compliance by means of psychological, emotional, or physical threat

Employee-Centered Leader Behavior

The behavior of leaders who develop cohesive work groups and ensure employee satisfaction

Job-Centered Leader Behavior

The behavior of leaders who pay close attention to the job and work procedures involved with that job

Expert Power

The personal power that accrues to someone based on the information or expertise they possess

Referent Power

The personal power that accrues to someone based on identification, imitation, loyalty, or charisma

Initiating-Structure Behaviour

The behavior of leaders who define the leader–subordinate role so that everyone knows what is expected, establish formal lines of communication, and determine how tasks will be performed

Consideration Behavior

The behavior of leaders who show concern for subordinates and attempt to establish a warm, friendly, and supportive climate

Concern for production

how much a leader cares about getting the work done, setting clear goals, organizing tasks, and ensuring high performance.

Concern for People

The part of the Leadership Grid that deals with the human aspects of leader behavior

Least-Preferred Coworker (LPC) Measure

The measuring scale that asks leaders to describe the person with whom he or she is able to work least well

Least-Preferred Coworker Theory

A theory of leadership that suggests that the appropriate style of leadership varies with situational favorableness

Path-Goal Theory

A theory of leadership suggesting that the primary functions of a leader are to make valued or desired rewards available in the workplace and to clarify for the subordinate the kinds of behavior that will lead to those rewards

Vroom’s decision tree approach

Predicts what kinds of situations call for different degrees of group participation

Leader-member exchange (LMX) model

Suggests that leaders do not treat all employees the same way; instead, they develop different types of relationships with each team member,

Substitutes for Leadership

Leaders might not need to do much because the situation, the task, or the team members themselves naturally guide behavior and get things done.

Charismatic Leadership

Assumes that charisma is an individual characteristic of the leader

Strategic Leadership

The ability to understand the complexities of both the organization and its environment and to lead change in the organization in order to achieve and maintain a superior alignment between the organization and its environment

Transformational Leadership

Helps people grow, motivates them to do more than they thought they could, and encourages new ideas.

Impression Management

A direct and intentional effort by someone to enhance his or her image in the eyes of others

Political behavior

Activities carried out for the specific purpose of acquiring, developing, and using power and other resources to obtain one’s preferred outcomes (doing stuff to get what you want in situations)

Leader behaviours

• Achievement-Oriented: Sets challenging goals and motivates high performance.

• Directive: Gives clear instructions and expectations.

• Participative: Involves team in decision-making.

• Supportive: Shows concern for team members’ well-being.

Vroom’s Decision-Making Styles:

• Decide – The manager makes the decision alone and tells the group.

• Consult (individually) – The manager asks team members one-on-one for input, then decides.

• Consult (group) – The manager asks the group for input in a meeting, then decides.

• Facilitate – The manager leads a group discussion and helps the group make the decision together.

• Delegate – The group makes the decision on their own without the manager’s input.

The LPC theory classifies leaders into two types based on  _____.

Whether they are task oriented or relationship oriented

Why is transformational leadership becoming more vital to the success of a business?

Rapid change and turbulent environments

Middle-of the road management

Maintains adequate concern for both people and production.

What leadership behavior tends to be more effective

Employee-centered leadership

More important and complex = more team involvement.
Less important or clear-cut = leader can decide alone.

True

Communication

The process of transmitting information from one person to another

Effective Communication

The process of sending a message in such a way that the message received is as close in meaning as possible to the message intended

Nonverbal communication

Any communication exchange that does not use words or uses words to carry more meaning than the strict definition of the words themselves

Oral Communication (Personal)

Face-to-face conversation, group discussions, telephone calls, and other circumstances in which the spoken word is used to transmit meaning

Communication Network

The pattern through which the members of a group communicate

Written Communication (Impersonal)

Memos, letters, reports, notes, and other circumstances in which the written word is used to transmit meaning

Kinesics

facial gestures in communication

Proxemics

physical distance in communication

Grapevine

An informal communication network among people in an organization (75 Percent accurate)

Horizontal communication

when people at the same level in an organization (like coworkers or team members) share information with each other. It often happens between people in different departments or teams who need to work together.

Vertical communication

It happens when information moves up or down the chain of command—like between employees and their managers, or managers and higher-ups. It usually follows the official structure of the organization.

Management by wandering around

An approach to communication that involves the manager’s literally wandering around and having spontaneous conversations with others

Steps in the decision process

• Deciding to transmit a fact, idea, opinion, or other information to the receiver: Choosing to share something with someone.

• Encoding the meaning into a form appropriate to the situation: Putting your thoughts into words, symbols, or gestures that fit the moment.

• Transmitting through the appropriate channel or medium: Sending the message using the best method (like talking, emailing, texting, etc.).

• Decoding the message back into a form that has meaning to the receiver: The other person receives the message and tries to understand what it means.

• “Noise” is anything disrupting the communication process: Anything that gets in the way of clear communication, like distractions or misunderstandings.

Information technology

The resources used by an organization to manage information that it needs to carry
out its mission

According to researchers, why is informal communication in the form of the grapevine increasing in organizations?

The recent increase in merger, acquisition, and takeover activity

Group

Consists of two or more people who interact regularly to accomplish a common purpose or goal. (Functional groups, informal or interest groups, Task groups)

Task group

A group created by the organization to accomplish a relatively narrow range of purposes within a stated or implied time horizon

Functional group

A permanent group created by the organization to accomplish a number of organizational purposes with an unspecified time horizon

Virtual teams

Team comprised of people from remote worksites who work together online

Informal or Interest Group

Created by its members for purposes that may or may not be relevant to those of the organization

Team

A group of workers that functions as a unit, often with little or no supervision, to carry out work-related tasks, functions, and activities (Self-managed teams, Cross-functional teams, High performance teams)

Role structure

The set of defined roles and interrelationships among those roles that the group members define and accept

Role

The parts individuals play in groups in helping the group reach its goals

Role conflict

Occurs when the messages and cues composing the sent role are clear but contradictory or mutually exclusive

Norms

Standards of behavior that the group accepts for and expects of its members

Role overload

Occurs when expectations for the role exceed the person’s ability to perform