Lecture Notes on Motivation

Motivation in Leadership Context

  • Motivation is a psychological process driving behavior towards achieving or avoiding something (Clegg et al., 2021).
    • This object can be a person, relationship, concept (like love), or material good (like money).

Human Needs and Motivation

  • Why do some individuals work enthusiastically and persevere, while others hold back?
  • What strategies can maximize performance for every individual, task, and job?

Origins of Motivation Theory

  • Based on Abraham Maslow's ‘A Theory of Human Motivation’ (1943).

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

  • Figure 14.1: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
  • Physiological Needs:
    • What satisfies lower-order needs. Base compensation and benefits.
    • Rest and refreshment breaks.
    • Physical comfort on the job.
    • Reasonable work hours.
  • Safety Needs:
    • Job security.
    • Safe working conditions.
  • Social Needs:
    • Friendly co-workers.
    • Interactions with customers.
    • Pleasant supervisor.
  • Esteem Needs:
    • Promotion to higher status job
    • Responsibility of an important job.
    • Job flexibility and autonomy.
    • Participation in decision making.
  • Self-Actualization Needs:
    • Creative and challenging work.
    • What satisfies higher-order needs?
    • Praise and recognition from boss

McClelland’s Acquired Needs Theory (Individual Focus)

  • Everyone possesses three needs, varying in strength:
    • Need for achievement: Desire to improve, solve problems, or master tasks.
    • Need for power: Desire to control, influence, or be responsible for others.
    • Need for affiliation: Desire to establish and maintain good relationships.
  • Consider how these needs influence behavior among coworkers.

McClelland and Atkinson’s Trilogy of Needs

  • Need for achievement:
    • Accomplish
    • Achieve
    • Make progress
  • Need for affiliation:
    • A feeling of belonging
    • Being accepted
    • Being liked
  • Need for power:
    • To control
    • To be influential
    • To make an impact

Fredrick Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory of Motivation (Individual and Organizational Focus)

  • Traditional view: satisfaction and dissatisfaction as opposite ends of a single dimension.
  • Herzberg's theory: motivation factors affect satisfaction, while hygiene factors affect dissatisfaction.
  • Herzberg, F. (1959). Motivation to work. Routledge.

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

  • Intrinsic:
    • Behavior driven by self-expression, interest, and enjoyment.
    • Example: Reading because you are interested.
    • Motivated to work in difficult jobs that challenge you
    • Studying to improve yourself
  • Extrinsic:
    • Behavior driven by rewards or punishments.
    • Example: Reading to meet a deadline.
  • Working because you need the money
  • Changing jobs because you are certain you will be fired
    • Motivated to work in difficult jobs to get a pay rise
    • Studying to get a high-paying job
  • Source: Adapted from Deci and Ryan (1987): Myers (2001: 451-2): Ryan and Deci (2000), Clegg et al (2021)

Process-Based Perspectives on Motivation

  • Focus on how people behave when trying to satisfy their needs.
  • Includes equity and expectancy theories.

Equity Theory of Motivation

  • Focuses on people’s desire to be treated with equity and to avoid perceived inequity
    • Equity: the belief that we are being treated fairly in relation to others
    • Inequity: the belief that we are being treated unfairly in relation to others
  • Equity comparison.

Driving factors of Equity: The application of Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB)

  • OCB: Defining the job broader than the legal contract. It stems from the psychological contract formed between the manager and worker.
  • Factors contributing to OCB:
    • Distributive justice: Future expectation of benefits
    • Procedural justice?: notion of how fair processes were applied to all workers
    • Interaction justice?: Relationship with managers

Expectancy Theories of Motivation (Vroom, 1964)

  • Motivation is affected by expectations and whether they are met.
  • Focuses on outcomes, not needs.
  • Vroom: motivation requires a link between effort, performance, and motivation.
    • Variables: Valence, Expectancy, and Instrumentality.

Expectancy

  • Belief that increased effort leads to increased performance.
  • Affected by:
    • Resources (raw materials, time).
    • Skills.
    • Support (supervisor, information).

Instrumentality

  • Belief that good performance leads to a valued outcome.
  • Affected by:
    • Understanding the link between performance and outcomes.
    • Trust in decision-makers.
    • Transparency in the decision process.

Valence

  • The reward is something that the individual values.

Expectancy Theory (Vroom)

  • Effort → Expectancy → Performance → Instrumentality → Outcome → Valence
  • Equity?

Learning-Based Perspectives on Motivation

  • Reinforcement theory: behavior is a function of its consequences.
  • Operant conditioning (Skinner):
    • Repetition/discontinuance of behavior depends on consequences (reinforcement/punishment).
    • Learning through consequences (e.g., performance-based pay).

Social learning

  • Observing and imitating others' behaviors and consequences.
    • Behavior must be simple and concrete.
  • Learner must be physically able to imitate the observed behavior for social learning.

Reinforcement Strategies to Influence Work Behavior

  • Figure 14.7: Reinforcement strategies to influence work behaviour
  • Manager's Objective: Consistent error-free performance
  • Reinforcement Strategy: Positive reinforcement, Negative reinforcement, Extinction, Punishment
  • Type of reinforcement: Offer verbal praise for a job well done
  • Stop previous complaining about poor-quality work
  • Withhold praise and stop giving rewards
  • Verbally reprimand for doing a poor job

Goal Setting & Motivation

  • Well-chosen goals are motivating.
    • Provide direction.
    • Clarify expectations.
    • Establish a frame of reference.

Goal Setting and Motivation

  • Purposes of setting goals:
    • Manage motivation.
    • Serve as a control device for monitoring.
  • Social learning theory: feelings of pride/shame are related to goal achievement.
  • Goal setting theory (Locke and Latham): goals influence behavior and performance.

Expanded Goal-Setting Theory (Locke)

  • Goal-directed effort depends on:
    • Goal difficulty: how challenging a goal is.
    • Goal specificity: clarity of a goal.
    • Goal acceptance: accepting a goal as one's own.
    • Goal commitment: personal interest in reaching a goal.

The Goal-Setting Theory of Motivation

  • Appropriate goal difficulty, specificity, acceptance, and commitment contribute to goal-directed effort, impacting performance.

Goal Setting and Motivation: Broader Perspectives

  • Management by objectives (MBO):
    • A collaborative goal-setting process throughout the organisation
  • MBO model steps:
    1. Top managers set overall goals.
    2. Managers and employees set subsidiary goals.
    3. Ensure employees have necessary resources.
    4. Repeat steps with subordinates.
    5. Periodically check progress and make adjustments.

Is There One Best Way to Motivate Workers?

  • No single theory explains all motivation.
  • Multiple theories/methods can enhance performance.
  • Each theory/method must be translated into operational terms.

Foundations of Motivation (Schermerhorn et al., 2020, p. 389)

  • Shawn Doyle’s 10 tips for managers/leaders:
    1. Provide purpose.
    2. Encourage passion.
    3. Offer learning opportunities.
    4. Provide and be a mentor.
    5. Understand and act on individual motivations.
    6. Reward appropriately.
    7. Keep the big picture in mind.
    8. Avoid complacency.
    9. Regularly evaluate progress.
    10. Aim for life balance.

Summary/Reflection

  • Leaders/managers play a key role as motivators.
  • Individual, process, and learning models enhance motivation.
  • Motivation is a human need and improves organizational performance and individual goals.

Assessment III: Presentation

  • Two components:
    • Applying leadership models to evaluating the leadership of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. (4 minutes Maximum)
    • A reflection on how your have developed your persuasive argument skills this semester (2 mins Maximum)
  • Time: 5-6min
  • Due: Week 12, video record your presentation then submit to Canvas By Sunday 18 May 23:59.
  • Why:
    • To demonstrate your understanding of leadership theories
    • To make meaning of what you have learnt about persuasive argument making

Assessment II - Criteria

  • High distinction
    • Essential knowledge (50%) (Logos)
    • Detailed examination, insightful analysis or interpretation, synthesis, extrapolation, and evaluation of management theories and concepts to develop a comprehensive demonstration of understanding and application of knowledge.
  • Communication (25%) (Ethos)
    • Presentation was very succinct and clear. Skilfully using verbal communication to build a narrative around the topic. All sentences are well constructed and have varied structure and length. Exceptionally high-quality grammar, mechanics, and/or spelling providing exceptional understanding
  • Delivery of presentation (25%) (Pathos)
    • Highly engaging and professional presentation to the intended audience through the use of exemplary projection, rhetoric, modulation, pace, enthusiasm, humour, gestures, movement, attire, demeanour. Employed highly innovative and creative tools to support the pitch and within the allocated time.

Recommended structure

  • Introduction
    • Set the context for Analysis
    • Introduce the main leadership theories you will be using to analyse the leader provided and indicate what your overall conclusion might be
  • Part 1: Leadership Evaluation (~4min)
    • Apply the leadership models you have chosen to develop your answer
    • Integrate materials to support your propositions. The use of academic peer reviewed material will be crucial here. You should also be referring to specific real case examples that help illustrate the arguments you make
    • Using the principles of Logos, Pathos and Ethos used this semester in debates, develop logical and convincing arguments that demonstrate to the marker what YOU know about leadership
  • Part 2: Reflection on persuasive argument making (~2min)
    • Explain what you have learnt about argument making from the feedback provided by your peers in class
    • Use reflective writing to structure your reflection
    • Use examples from your class and feedback provided in assignments 1 & 2 to back up your reflections
    • Indicate how you intend to develop your learning of this skill over the next 12 months
  • Conclusion
    • Outline importance of how your insights on feedback can help you in your academic career
      Remember!
  • This task is aimed at assessing your argument making and critical evaluation skills.
  • This is NOT about your personal opinion of the leader. Instead, this task is focused on assessing your ability to apply academically recognised models of leadership to develop persuasive arguments that demonstrate to the marker your knowledge of the subject.
  • Remember credibility is strengthened by using a wide range of materials to support your propositions (academic material, contemporary examples of how the leader displays characteristics of the leadership model you have chosen etc.)