OB exam 2

Motivation

Choice to perform, the choice of effort level, the choice to persist at a given level of effort over time.

• Primary determinant of performance.

performance

a function of the interaction between an individual’s motivation, ability and environment

Predict motivation

KSAOs and job characteristics

Self-efficacy

belief in one’s capabilities to mobilize the motivation, cognitive resources, and course of action needed to meet given situational demands.

• You believe you can do the task.

• Relationship to performance is .38

Intrinsic motivation

doing the activity for the inherent satisfaction of the activity

Extrinsic motivation

performance to obtain an outcome.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

The most well-known theory of motivation

mixed research support

criticisms:

• too simplisitic individuals have multiple needs at a time.

• The hierarchy doesn’t hold – people don’t move up only when a need is satisfied.

ERG Theory

Groups Maslow’s needs into three categories

• existence

• relatedness

• growth

Herzberg’s 2-Factor Theory

Motivation is a function of satisfaction/dissatisfaction:

• Satisfaction is dependent on motivator factors.

• Dissatisfaction is dependent on hygiene factors.

Very little support for this model.

Vroom’s Expectancy Theory

Human behavior is the result of conscious choices made by individuals among alternative courses of action.

Goal = maximize pleasure, minimize pain

Equity Theory

People decide equity by making social comparisons.

Compare my ratio of inputs to outcomes to another person’s ratio of inputs to outcomes.

Motivated by reducing discrepancies between these ratios.

Criticisms:

• Too simplistic and rational

• Predictions are often wrong

  • People aren’t that bothered by getting more than they deserve

• Neglects individual differences

• Ambiguity regarding who we compare ourselves to

Reinforcement Theory

Based on behaviorism.

Three elements: stimulus, response, reward.

Contingent rewards

• Continuous rewards

• Intermittent rewards

Goal Setting Theory

• Most popular of all of the theories.

• Goal setting theory has been backed by a ton of research.

• Having performance goals increases task performance.

• Difficult and specific goals are better than easy, general, or do your-best goals.

• S.M.A.R.T Goals are a popular way to address this.

existence

physiological and safety

relatedness

social needs

growth

esteem and self actualization

motivator factors

Arise from conditions of the job itself. Satisfaction.

hygiene factors

Don’t lead to satisfaction, but the absence of them leads to dissatisfaction

3 components of VIE Theory

Valence

Instrumentality

Expectancy

valence

how much outcomes are valued. Do I find the outcomes desirable?

instrumentality

If i perform well, will I get what I want? Will performance lead to outcomes?

Expectancy

Will increased effort lead to good performance

Do I think I can do it? Will my effort lead to high performance?

Stress

A psychological response to demands that possess certain stakes for the person and that tax or exceed the person’s capacity or resources.

A body’s reaction to a change that requires a physical, mental, or emotional adjustment or response.

A response to a threat, depends on our perception of the threat.

Eustress

Optimal performance

Energised, focuses, work feels effortless.

General Adaptation Sydrome

Sequences the typical response to stress for chronic stress

Three Stages:

1. Alarm reaction stage

2. Resistance stage

3. Exhaustion stage

Alarm reaction stage

bodily reactions to stress.

Resistance stage

Cope with the original stressor; resistance to other stressors is lowered.

Exhaustion stage

resistance drops; experience burnout and mental and physical health problems.

Physical stressors

• Noise

• Extreme temperatures

• Lighting conditions

Task stressors

• workload

• work hours

Role stressors

Psychological stressors

• role ambiguity

• role conflict

• role overload

role ambiguity

the job or role is not clearly defined

role conflict

demands from different roles are incompatible

role overload

expected to fulfill too many roles at the same time

work family conflict

• A specific form of role conflict.

• Work demands and nonwork demands are incompatible.

• This is particularly common in dual-earning families.

• Telecommuting and flexible work schedules.

Psychological stressors

interpersonal stressors

Interpersonal conflict or workplace mistreatment

• Can take many forms

• Subtle, uncivil behaviors

• Physical violence and aggression

challenge stressors

offer potential gain. Example: promotion

• time pressure

• work complexity

• work responsibility

time demands from family, personal development, positive life events

weak correlation with job performance

moderate correlation with organizational commitment.

outcomes of stress

Physiological

Psychological

Behavior

burnout

emotional exhaustion

depersonalization

low personal accomplishment

demand control model

High demands and low control maximize stress

Two factors produce job stress:

1. Job Demands

   1. Workload and intellectual requirements of the job

2. Job Control

   1. Autonomy and discretion for using different skills

Person environment fit

Stress is determined by the amount of fit between the person (employee) and their environment (organization).

Fit occurs when the person’s KSAOs align with the requirements of the job.

Stress is highest when our KSAOs are not matched to our environment.

conservation of resources theory

We experience stress when our resources are depleted or threatened.

People want to maintain and build resources.

Resources include employment, financial security, self-esteem, energy, and time.

Stress occurs when there is a loss of resources or a threat of loss.

locus of control

Belief that what happens is either under your control or not.

hardiness

• Characterized by control, commitment, and challenge.

• Stressors as challenge, not hindrance.

self esteem

positive sense of self worth

primary prevention strategies

Reduce or remove the stressor

Job & Work Design

• Change the nature of the job or work to reduce stressors

Cognitive Restructuring

• Change perceptions and thought processes that lead to stress

secondary prevention strategies

Equip employees to better cope with stressors

Stress Management Training

• Cognitive-behavioral skills training

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

• Tightening and relaxing sets of muscles

Social Support

• Comfort from social relationships

mindfulness

Equip employees to better cope with stressors

• Psychological process of focusing on the present.

• Bring your attention to your surroundings and the current situation.

• Successful in reducing stress, increasing performance, and improving well-being.

recovery

Respite or leisure activities to alleviate consequences of stress

• unwinding from the workday

High duty activities

• job related activities

• household and childcare

Recovery activities

• low effort activities

• social activiites

• physical activities

Hindrance stressors

Interfere with work achievement. Example: organizational politics

• role conflict

• role ambiguity

• role overload

• daily hassles

work-family conflict, financial uncertainty, and negative life events.

weak negative correlation with job performance

strong negative correlation with organizational commitment

learning

Permanent changes in an employee’s knowledge or skill that result from experience.

reinforcement theory

observation

learning goal orientation

goal is development

performance prove goal orientation

goal is to prove competence to others

performance avoid goal orientation

goal is to avoid failure

decision making

• Making choices among alternative courses of action.

• Half of organizational decisions fail.

• There are many biases that lead to faulty decisions.

programmed decisions

routine decisions that have automated responses

nonprogrammed decisions

unique, infrequent decisions that require careful deliberations

strategic decisions

Top management teams, CEOs, and Boards of Directors make these decisions.

tactical decisions

Managers make these decisions

operational decisions

Employees throughout the organization makes these decisions.

rational decision making model

one should use formal steps to arrive at a decision

bounded rationality model

recognizes the limitations of human decision making

intuitive decisions

• Relying on intuition rather than rational decision making.

  • Very common among managers.

  • More likely under strained conditions.

creative decisions

generation of new, imaginative ideas

overconfidence bias

People tend to overestimate their skills and abilities

• overestimation

• overprecision

• overplacement

hindsight bias

• Mistakes others have made seem obvious after they have occurred.

• Makes us poor judges of other people’s decisions.

• Different from hindsight, this is the bias that we believe we could have predicted the outcome.

anchoring

• Tendency for people to rely too heavily on a single piece of information.

• Getting stuck at a starting point.

escalation of commitment

• People continue to commit to a course of action even after indicators of failure.

• Sunken costs fallacy.

• We’ve come too far to go back.

limited information bias

overestimation

estimate one’s performance as better than it is

overprecision

excessive confidence in one’s knowledge

overplacement

overrating oneself compared to others

Availability Bias

Tendency to base judgments on information that is easier to recall.

Recency Bias

Tendency to weight recent events more than earlier events.

Framing bias

Tendency to make different decisions based on how a question or situation is phrased.

Attribution

Regarding something as caused by a person or thing, ascribing results to a particular person or cause.

Fundamental Attribution Error

A tendency to judge others’ behaviors as due to internal factors such as ability or attitude.

Self-Serving Bias

Attribute our failures to external factors and our successes to internal factors.

predictors of motivation

• The Big Five and motivation

  • neuroticism: -.31

  • conscientiousness: .24

• self efficacy

Contingent rewards

reward depends on the response

Continuous rewards

given every time a correct response occurs

Intermittent rewards

only a portion of correct responses are rewarded

positive reinforcement

positive behavior followed by positive consequences

(Manager praises the employee)

Negative reinforcement

Positive behavior followed by removal of negative consequences

(Manager stops nagging the employee)

punishment

negative behavior followed by negative consequences

(Manager demotes the employee)

extinction

negative behavior followed by removal of positive consequences

(Manager ignores the behavior)

strategies for fostering goal commitment

• rewards

• publicity

• support

• participation

• resources

rewards

tie goal achievement to the receipt of monetary and nonmonetary rewards

publicity

publicize the goal to significant others and coworkers to create some social pressure to attain it

support

provide supportive supervision to aid employees if they struggle to attain the goal

participation

collaborate on setting the specific proficiency level and due date for a goal so that the employee feels a sense of ownership over the goal

resources

provide the resource needed to attain the goal and remove any constraints that could hold back task efforts.

piece rate

a specified rate is paid for each unit produced, each unit sold, or each service provided

merit pay

an increase to base salary is made in accordance with performance evaluation ratings

lump sum bonuses

a bonus is received for meeting individual goals, but no change is made to base salary. The potential bolnus represents “at risk” pay that must be re earned each year. Bas salary may be lower in cases in which potential bonuses may be large.

recognition awards

tangible awards (gift cards, merchandise, trips, special events, time off, plaques) or intangible awards (praise) are given on an impromptu basis to recognize achievement.

profit sharing

A bonus is received when a company's publicly reported earnings exceed a minimum level, with the magnitude of the bonus contingent upon the magnitude of the profits. No change is made in base salary. The potential bonus represents “at-risk” pay that must be re-earned each year. The base salary may be lower in cases where potential bonuses are substantial.

gainsharing

A bonus is received for meeting unit goals (department goals, plant goals, business unit goals) for criteria controllable by employees (labor costs, use of materials, quality). No change is made to base salary. The potential bonus represents “at-risk” pay that must be re-earned each year. The base salary may be lower in cases where potential bonuses are substantial.