Motivation Theories Summary

Motivation: Forces that initiate, direct, and sustain effort toward a goal.
- Initiation of effort: Deciding how much effort to exert.
- Direction of effort: Deciding where to apply effort.
- Persistence of effort: Deciding how long to sustain the effort.
Job Performance Equation: $Job\ performance = Motivation \times Ability \times Situational\ constraints$
- Motivation: Effort put into a job.
- Ability: Knowledge, skills, and talent.
- Situational constraints: Factors beyond employee control.

Needs: Physical or psychological requirements for survival and well-being.
- Lower-order needs: Safety, physiological, and existence requirements.
- Higher-order needs: Relationships, challenges, accomplishments, and influence.
Extrinsic Reward: Tangible, visible, and contingent on performance.
- Controlled by external agents (e.g., managers).
- Used to motivate joining the organization, attendance, performance, and retention.
Intrinsic Reward: Natural reward from performing a task.
- Examples: Accomplishment, responsibility, learning, and challenging tasks.

Identify employee needs.
Satisfy lower-order needs first.
Recognize that needs change.
Create opportunities to satisfy higher-order needs as lower-order needs are met.

Equity theory: People are motivated when they perceive fairness.
Components:
- Inputs: Employee contributions.
- Outcomes: Employee rewards.
- Referents: Others used for comparison.
Outcome/input (O/I) ratio.
Forms of inequity:
- Underreward: Receiving fewer outcomes relative to inputs compared to a referent.
- Overreward: Receiving more outcomes relative to inputs compared to a referent.
Reactions to perceived inequity: Reducing inputs, increasing outcomes, rationalizing, changing referent, or leaving.

Correct major inequities.
Reduce employee inputs where appropriate.
Ensure fair decision-making processes.
- Distributive justice: Fairness in outcome allocation.
- Procedural justice: Fairness in procedures used for allocation.

Expectancy theory: Motivation depends on:
- Expectancy: Effort leads to good performance.
- Instrumentality: Good performance will be rewarded.
- Valence: Offered rewards are attractive.
Equation: $Motivation = Expectancy \times Instrumentality \times Valence$
Components:
- Expectancy: Perceived relationship between effort and performance.
- Instrumentality: Perceived relationship between performance and rewards.
- Valence: Attractiveness of a reward.

Reinforcement theory: Behavior is a function of its consequences.
- Positive consequences increase behavior frequency.
- Negative consequences decrease behavior frequency.
Reinforcement: Changing behavior by changing consequences.
Components:
- Reinforcement contingencies: Cause-and-effect between behaviors and consequences.
- Schedule of reinforcement: Rules specifying which behaviors are reinforced and when.

Positive reinforcement: Strengthens behavior with desirable consequences.
Negative reinforcement: Strengthens behavior by withholding unpleasant consequences (avoidance learning).
Punishment: Weakens behavior with undesirable consequences.
Extinction: Weakens behavior by removing positive consequences.

Continuous reinforcement schedule: Consequence after every instance of a behavior.
Intermittent reinforcement schedule: Consequences after specified or average time/behaviors.
Interval-based systems usually produce weak results.

Identify, measure, analyze, intervene, and evaluate performance-related behaviors.
Avoid reinforcing the wrong behaviors.
Administer punishment correctly and timely.
Choose the simplest, most effective schedule (continuous may be best).

Goal: A target, objective, or result.
Goal-setting theory: Motivation through:
- Accepting specific, challenging goals.
- Receiving feedback on progress.