Motivation Lecture Notes Flashcards

Motivation - Week 8

Learning Objectives

• Understand what motivation is.
• Differentiate theories of motivation.
• Apply theories of motivation in a job context.

What is Motivation?

• Motivation is the force/drive that serves three purposes:
  • It energizes or causes people to act.
  • It directs behavior toward the attainment of specific goals.
  • It sustains the effort expended in reaching those goals.
• According to Frederick Taylor: "Workers are motivated by money and material gains."
• According to Elton Mayo: "Workers are motivated by interpersonal needs."

Theories of Motivation

• Need Theories
• Behavior-based Theories
• Job Design Theories
• Rational/Cognitive Theories

Need Theories

• People have certain needs that are important in determining motivation.
• Needs can be in the form of physiological or psychological needs.
• Needs theories of motivation propose that motivation is the process of interaction among various needs and the drives to satisfy those needs.
• Need Hierarchy Theory (1965) - Abraham Harold Maslow (1908-1970)
• ERG Theory (1972) - Clayton Paul Alderfer (1940-2015)
  • Physiological & Safety needs
  • Interpersonal love & esteem needs
  • Self-actualization & self-esteem needs
• McClelland’s Achievement Theory (1961) - David McClelland (1917-1998)
  • Need for Achievement
    • Desire to do well relative to a standard of excellence (task, self, against others).
  • Need for Power
    • Desire to have impact, control, and influence over other persons or groups.
  • Need for Affiliation
    • Desire to maintain and establish a positive, affective relationship with others.
• Unlike Maslow’s and Alderfer’s need theories, McClelland’s Achievement Theory has been used extensively in work settings to encourage worker motivation.
• To assess an individual’s motivational needs, McClelland uses a variation of the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT).
• TAT is a projective test that uses ambiguous pictures to assess psychological motivation.

Behavior-Based Theories

• Theories under behavior-based theories focused on behavioral outcomes as critical to affecting work motivation.
• Reinforcement Theory (1938) - Burrhus Frederick Skinner (1904-1990)
  • Reinforcer
    • Positive Reinforcers
      • Any events which increase the likelihood that ongoing behavior will occur.
      • Examples: receiving praise from boss, receiving bonus (monetary rewards)
    • Negative Reinforcers
      • Any events which the termination or reduction increases the likelihood that ongoing behavior will occur.
      • Examples: due date/deadline, watchful supervisors
    • Punishment
      • Any events which decrease the likelihood that ongoing behavior will occur.
      • Examples: demotion (opposite of promotion), receiving warning letter/memo
• Reinforcement theory argues that reinforcement is a better motivational technique than punishment, because the goal of punishment is to stop unwanted behaviors, whereas reinforcement is designed to strengthen the motivation to perform a particular desired behavior.
• Punishment is generally a poor managerial strategy for several reasons:
  • Chronic use of punishment can create feelings of hostility and resentment in workers and reduce morale and job satisfaction.
  • Punished workers may try to retaliate and ‘get back’ at the supervisor.
  • Punishment tends to only suppress behavior; once the threat of punishment is taken away, the worker may continue to use the undesirable behavior.
  • Continual use of punishment leads to inefficient supervisors, who always need to spend time watching/monitoring.
• Goal-Setting Theory (1968) - Edwin A. Locke (1938-still alive)
  • This theory emphasizes the setting of specific and challenging performance goals and worker’s commitment to those goals as key determinants of motivation.
  • Goals must be:
    • Specific
    • Measurable
    • Attainable
    • Relevant
    • Time-bound
  • Higher level of motivation

Job Design Theories

• Theories under job design theories focused on the structural and design of jobs as key factors motivating workers.
• Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory (1966) - Frederick Irving Herzberg (1923-2000)
  • There are 2 factors in determining worker’s satisfaction and motivating them:
    • Motivators
      • Elements related to job content that when present lead to job satisfaction.
      • Responsibility
      • Achievement
      • Recognition
      • Content of work
      • Advancement
      • Growth on job
    • Hygienes
      • Elements related to job context that when absent cause job dissatisfaction.
      • Company policies & administrations
      • Supervisions
      • Interpersonal relations
      • Working conditions
      • Salary
• Job Characteristics Model (1976) - J. Richard Hackman & Greg R. Oldham
  • This theory emphasizes the role of certain aspects/characteristics of jobs in influencing work motivation.
  • Hackman and Oldham proposed the job characteristics model, which states that five core job characteristics influence three critical psychological states that in turn lead to motivation.
  • Skill variety, task identity, and task significance all affect workers’ experience of meaningfulness of their work.
  • Autonomy influences workers’ experience of responsibility for work outcomes.
  • Feedback provides workers with information about the results of their work activities.
  • Skill Variety - the degree to which a job requires the worker to use a variety of abilities and skills to perform work-related tasks.
  • Task Identity - the degree to which a job requires the completion of an entire job/function
  • Task Significance - the degree to which a job has a substantial impact on other people within the organization
  • Autonomy - the degree to which the job gives the workers freedom and independence to choose how to schedule and carry out tasks
  • Feedback - the degree to which the job allows the workers to receive direct and clear information about the performance

Rational/Cognitive Theories

• Theories under rational/cognitive theories view workers as rational beings who cognitively assess personal costs and benefits before taking actions.
• Equity Theory (1965) - J. Stacey Adams
  • Workers are motivated by a desire to be treated equitably/fairly.
  • If workers perceive that they are receiving fair treatment, their motivation to work will be maintained and steady performance can be expected.
  • On the other hand, if not, their motivation will be channeled into some strategy that will try to reduce the inequity.
  • Inputs:
    • experience
    • education
    • qualifications
    • energy
    • efforts
  • Outputs:
    • pay
    • benefits
    • recognitions
    • interesting work
  • Comparison others:
    • co-workers
    • people with a similar job
    • own experiences
  • Underpayment Inequity
    • Worker’s perception that inputs are greater than outputs
  • Overpayment Inequity
    • Worker’s perception that outcomes are greater than inputs
  • If the workers experiencing underpayment inequity, they would be motivated to try to balance the situation by doing 1 of the following:
    • Increasing outcomes
      • Example: confront boss and ask for raise
    • Decreasing inputs
      • Example: limit your work production/quality of work
    • Changing the comparison other
      • Example: find a suitable comparison in order to compare the situation between you and other people.
    • Leaving the situation
      • Example: No longer motivated to work there.
  • If the workers experiencing overpayment inequity, they would be motivated to try to balance the situation by doing 1 of the following:
    • Increasing inputs
      • Example: work harder to try to even up the input-outcome ratio
    • Decreasing outcomes
      • Example: ask for a cut in pay
    • Changing comparison others
      • Example: an overpaid worker might change comparison others to a person of higher work status and ability.
    • Distorting the situation
      • Example: a distortion of the perception of inputs or outcomes might occur. “My work is of higher quality and therefore deserves more pay than the work of others.”
• Expectancy Theory (1964) - Victor Harold Vroom (1932 – still alive)
  • VIE refers to the theory’s core component:
    • Valence
    • Instrumentality
    • Expectancy
  • This theory assumes that workers are rational, decision-making persons whose behavior will be guided by an analysis of the potential costs and benefits of a particular course of action.
  • Valence
    • The desirability of an outcome to an individual
  • Instrumentality
    • The perceived relationship between the performance of a particular behavior and the likelihood of receiving a particular outcome
  • Expectancy
    • The perceived relationship between the individual’s effort and performance of a behavior

Using Motivation Theory at Work

• Theories of motivation are complementary and can provide a more comprehensive way to understand work behavior produced by workers if these theories are taken together.
• Steer and Porter (1979): "Individual who have particularly strong needs (e.g. needs for achievement) may also be inclined to make equity comparisons with regard to how their peers are being rewarded in relation to the types and amounts of rewards that they themselves are receiving….they will likely form ideas (e.g. expectancies) that a certain action/behavior on their part will or will not result in a good response next time.” (p.561)

Intervention Programs

• Pay Incentives Plans
  • It can be money, goods, services, and special privileges.
  • Reported to have good effects on productivity, absenteeism, and tardiness.
• Job Redesign
  • It is a motivational change program intended to increase the inherent value of the job.
  • It aims to:
    • Provide opportunity to satisfy higher-level needs
    • Increase intrinsic satisfaction with the work itself
    • Increase nonmonetary outcomes
    • Provide opportunity for self-set goals
    • Make intangible rewards available
• Behavior Modification
  • It is behavior change techniques to increase or decrease the frequency of behavior through altering/modifying behaviors through rewards and punishment.
  • Example: merit/demerit