Ch 7 - Motivation

motivation

the force that energizes (causes ppl to act), directs behavior toward attainment of specific goals, and sustains behavior (effort expended)

• energizes, directs, and sustains behavior

needs

physiological or psychological deficiencies that an organism is compelled to fulfill

need theories

propose that motivation is process of interaction among various needs and drives to satisfy those needs

• basic need theories

  • need hierarchy theory

  • ERG theory

• McClelland’s achievement motivation theory

Need Hierarchy Theory

a motivation theory proposed by Maslow that arranges needs in a hierarchy from lower, more basic needs to higher-order needs

• deficiency needs

  • 1. physiological needs

  • 2. safety needs

  • 3. social needs

• higher order needs

  • 4. esteem needs

  • 5. self-actualization needs

ERG Theory

Alderfer’s (1972) motivation model that categorizes needs into existence, relatedness, and growth needs

• 3 need categories

  • 1. existence needs → basic physiological and safety

  • 2. relatedness needs → social

  • 3. growth needs → full develop and reach potential

Achievement Motivation Theory

McClelland’s model of motivation that emphasizes the importance of three needs (achievement, power, affiliation) in determining worker motivation

• needs (order differs based on individual)

  • achievement

    • compelling drive to succeed and get job done; those who love challenge of work

  • power

    • need to direct and control activities of others and be influential; gain influence and prestige

    • 2 sides of power → personal power used toward personal ends OR institutional power oriented toward organizational objectives

  • affiliation

    • desire to be liked and accepted by others; strive for friendship; prefer working w/ others; motivated by cooperative work

• used TAT variation to assess

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

projective test that uses ambiguous pictures to assess psychological motivation

• study ambiguous pictures, write a story it suggests, and scored using standardized procedure that measures presence of three basic needs; obtains “motivational profile”

• used by McClelland for his Achievement Motivation Theory

behavior-based theories of motivation

focus on behavioral outcomes as critical to affecting work motivation

• reinforcement theory

• extrinsic vs intrinsic motivation

• self-determination theory

• goal-setting theory

reinforcement theory

theory that behavior is motivated by its consequences; draws from operant conditioning

• argues that reinforcement better than punishment (designed to strengthen motivation to perform particular desired behavior)

positive reinforcers

desirable events that strengthen tendency to respond

• add something; behavior increases

negative reinforcers

events that strengthen a behavior through the avoidance of an existing negative state

• take away something; increases behavior

punishment

unpleasant consequences that reduce the tendency to respond

• poor managerial strategy

schedules of reinforcement

in work settings, typically thought of as representing different schedules of pay

• 4 types

  • fixed-interval

  • variable-interval

  • fixed-ratio

  • variable-ratio

• ratio schedules result in higher levels of motivation than fixed-interval

fixed-interval

reinforcement that follows passage of a specified amount of time; fixed amount of time

• ex: employees paid on hourly or daily wage / weekly or monthly salary

variable-interval schedule

reinforcement that follows the passage of a specified amount of time, w/ exact time of reinforcement varying; variable amount of time

• ex: worker for small business paid average of once a month, but exact time depends when owner does payroll

fixed-ratio schedule

reinforcement that is contingent on performance of a fixed number of behaviors; fixed #

• ex: workers paid for number of components assembled, baskets of fruit picked, or reports written

variable-ratio schedule

reinforcement that depends on performance of a specified but varying number of behaviors; variable #

• ex: sales-person on commission; gambling

• high levels of motivation

organizational behavior modification

the application of conditioning principles to obtain certain work outcomes

• used when reinforcement theory is applied formally as a program to increase worker motivation

• certain target behaviors are specified, measured, and rewarded

intrinsic motivation

the notion that ppl are motivated by internal rewards

• ppl often motivated by this

• derived from sense of accomplishment and competence at performing and mastering work tasks

things organizations can do to support intrinsic motivation

• create challenging and interesting opportunities for employees to leverage skills and abilities

• remove bureaucracy, poorly designed processes, and other institutional barriers that stand in way

• empower employees to devise new ways of working based on their unique differences and perspectives

• encourage managers to recognize employees who go above and beyond

self-determination theory

a motivational theory that focuses on the conditions and processes that lead to self-motivation and growth on the job

• 3 factors critical for motivation

  • autonomy → options/choices

  • competence → sense of mastery and skill

  • relatedness → feeling of social connections

goal-setting theory

the motivational theory that emphasizes the setting of specific and challenging performance goals

• Edwin Locke (1968)

• goals must be clear, specific, attainable, and quantified (when possible)

• employees should be committed to goals to be motivated

job design theories of motivation

stress structure and design of jobs as key factors in motivating workers

• Hertzberg’s two factor theory

• job characterstics model

two-factor theory

Herzberg’s motivational theory that proposes that two factors (motivators and hygienes) are important in determining worker satisfaction and motivation

• to eliminate job dissatisfaction, basic hygienes must be present

• to motivate effort and energy, motivators must be present

motivators

elements related to job content that, when present, lead to job satisfaction

• inherent in the work itself

• ex: type of work, level of responsibility, and chances for advancement, recognition, and personal achievement

• ex: responsibility, achievement, recognition, content of work, advancement, growth on job

  • ex: teacher and paramedic → high in these

hygienes

elements related to job context that, when absent, cause job dissatisfaction

• related to context in which ppl perform their jobs

• ex: benefits, working conditions (physical and social), type of supervision, base salary, company policies

• ex: company policy and administration, supervision, interpersonal, working, salary

  • ex: teacher and paramedics → low in these (low pay)

job enrichment

innovative strategy used to increase worker motivation inspired by Herzberg’s two-factor theory

job characteristics model

a theory that emphasizes the the role that certain aspects of jobs play in influencing work motivation (Hackman and Oldham)

• 3 important psychological states in order to be motivated

  • must perceive work as meaningful

  • associate sense of responsibility w/ job

  • have some knowledge of results of efforts

• 5 core job characteristics that contribute to the 3 psychological states

  • 1. skill variety

  • 2. task identity

  • 3. task significance

  • 4. autonomy

  • 5. feedback

5 core job characteristics (job characteristic model)

5 core job characteristics that contribute to the 3 psychological states

• experience of meaningfulness in work

  • 1. skill variety → degree to which job requires workers to use variety of abilities/skills

  • 2. task identity → degree to which job requires completion of entire job/function (worker needs to see observable outcome/product of efforts)

  • 3. task significance → degree to which job has substantial impact on other ppl within the organization (e.g., coworkers, consumers)

• sense of responsibility

  • 4. autonomy → degree to which job gives worker freedom and independence to choose how to schedule and carry out necessary tasks

• experience of work results

  • 5. feedback → degree to which job allows worker to receive direct and clear info a/b effectiveness of performance

growth need strength

a moderator that can affect success of the job characteristics model in predicting worker motivation

• the need and desire for personal growth on the job

job diagnostic survey (JDS)

a questionnaire designed by Hackman and Oldham (1975) that measures the 5 core job characteristics

job enrichment

a motivational program that involves redesigning jobs to give workers a greater role in the planning, execution, and evaluation of their work

• developed from Herzberg’s theory and job characteristics model

• raises level of responsibility associated w/ job

• includes…

  • increasing level of responsibility, sense of freedom, and independence

  • allowing workers to complete entire task or function

  • providing feedback so that workers can learn to improve their own performance

  • encouraging workers to learn on job by taking on additional, more challenging tasks and by improving their expertise in jobs they perform

cognitive theories of motivation

assume individuals constantly aware of important elements in work environment, and that motivation is determined by conscious processing of info received

• equity theory

• expectancy theory

equity theory

a theory that workers are motivated to reduce perceived inequities between work inputs and outcomes; motivated by desire to be treated equitably or fairly

• Stacey Adams (1965)

• worker brings inputs to job and expects to receive certain outcomes

• determines if situation equitable by making social comparisons between input-outcome ratio of themselves and comparison others

  • based on workers’ perceptions of equity/inequity

• lack of motivation caused by 2 types of perceived inequity

  • 1. underpayment inequity

  • 2. overpayment inequity

• difficulty predicting behavior when ppl act irrationally

inputs

elements that a worker invests in a job, such as experience and effort

• ex: experience, education and qualifications, energy, effort

outcomes

those things that a worker expects to receive from a job, such as pay and recognition

• ex: pay, fringe benefits, recognition, interesting and challenging work

comparison others

persons used as basis for comparison in making judgements of equity/inequity

• ex: coworkers, ppl w/ similar job or occupation, workers’ own experiences

underpayment inequity

worker’s perception that inputs are greater than outcomes

• results when workers feel they are receiving fewer outcomes from job in ratio to inputs

• motivated to try to balance situation by one of the following…

  • increasing outcomes

  • decreasing inputs

  • changing comparison other

  • leaving situation

overpayment inequity

worker’s perception that outcomes are greater than inputs

• motivated to try to balance situation by one of the following…

  • increasing inputs

  • decreasing outcomes

  • changing comparison other

  • distorting situation

moderators of equity

equity sensitivity

• individuals vary in concern over equity of input-outcome ratios

  • 3 types of individuals

    • benevolents → “givers”; altruistic and content w/ receiving lower outcomes for inputs

    • entitleds → “takers”; concerned w/ high outcomes, regardless of level of inputs

    • equity sensitives → adhere to notions of equity; become distressed when feeling underpayment inequity and feel guilt when overrewarded

expectancy (VIE) theory of motivation

a cognitive theory of motivation that states that workers weigh expected costs and benefits of particular courses before they are motivated to take action (Vroom, 1964)

• 3 components

  • 1. valence

  • 2. instrumentality

  • 3. expectancy

valence

the desirability (or undesirability) of an outcome to an individual

• → whether the outcome of the behavior is desirable

  • how outcomes serve to satisfy individual goals

instrumentality

the perceived relationship between the performance of a particular behavior and the likelihood of receiving a particular outcome

• link between one outcome (worker’s behavior) and another outcome (obtaining recognition or pay raise)

• ex: “if I complete Y amount of work, I will likely get promoted”

• → whether the performance of the behavior will lead to the expected outcome

  • link between performance and outcomes

expectancy

the perceived relationship between the individual’s effort and performance of a behavior

• ex: “if I expend X amount of effort, I will probably complete Y amount of work”

• → whether the individual has the ability, skills, or energy to get the job done

  • link between effort and performance

application/suggestions for leaders in applying expectancy theory

managers/leaders should…

• define work outcomes (potential rewards and costs associated w/ performance) clearly to all workers

• relationship between performance and rewards should be made clear (if workers achieve certain goals, rewards sure to follow)

• any performance-related goal should be within reach of employee involved

other variables that can affect productivity

• systems and technology variables

  • ex: inadequate work systems, procedures, tools, equipment

• individual difference variables

  • variety of factors within individual, regardless of motivation

  • ex: lacking basic skills or talents

• group dynamics variables

  • individual efforts must be coordinated for group to be efficient/productive

• organizational variables

  • concerted/coordinated efforts of number of work units (ex: different inputs/outputs of different departments)