Chapter 7 - Motivation: from concepts to applications

Motivating by job design: the job characteristics model (JCM)

@@Job design@@: way the elements in a job are organized.
@@Job characteristics model (JCM)@@: model that proposes that any job can be described in terms of five core job dimensions: skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback.
  * Five core dimensions
    * $Skill variety$ : degree to a which a job requires a variety of different activities.
    * $Task identity$ : degree to which a job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work.
    * $Task significance$ : degree to which job has substantial impact on the lives or work of other people.
    * $Autonomy$ : degree to which job provides substantial freedom and discretion to the individual in scheduling the work and in determining the procedures to be used in carrying it out.
    * $Feedback$ : degree to which carrying out the work activities required by a job results in the individual obtaining direct and clear information about the effectiveness of his/her performance.
  * Motivating potential score (MPS): predictive index that suggests the motivating potential in a job.
  * How can jobs be redesigned?
    * @@Job rotation@@: periodic shifting of an employee from one task to another.
    * @@Job enrichment@@: vertical expansion of jobs, which increases the degree to which the worker controls the planning, execution and evaluation of work.
    * @@Relational job design@@: making employees see the effects their job.
  * Alternative work arrangements
    * @@Flexi-time@@: flexible work hours, hours a week are obligatory but can be chosen when to invest those hours.
    * @@Job sharing@@: arrangement that allows two or more individuals to split a traditional 40-hour-a-week job (one from 8 to 12, the other from 1-5).
    * @@Teleworking@@: working from home at least two days a week on a computer that is linked to the employers office.

Employee involvement

@@Employee involvement@@: participative process that uses the input of employees and is intended to increase employee commitment to an organization’s success.
  * Examples of employee involvement programs
    * $Participative management$ : process in which subordinates share a significant degree of decision-making power with their immediate superiors.
    * $Representative participation$ : system in which workers participate in organizational decision making through a small group of representative employees.

Using rewards to motivate employees

What to pay: establishing a pay structure
How to pay: rewarding individual employees through variable-pay programs
  * @@Variable-pay program@@: pay plan that bases a portion of an employee’s pay on some individual and/or organizational measure of performance.
    * $Piece-rate pay$ : pay plan in which workers are paid a fixed sum for each unit of production completed.
    * $Merit-based pay$ : pay plan based on performance appraisal ratings.
    * $Bonuses$ : pay plan that rewards employees for recent performance rather than historical performance.
    * $Skill-based pay$ : pay plan that sets pay levels on the basis of how many skills employees have or how many jobs they can do.
    * $Profit-sharing plan$ : organization-wide program that distributes compensation based on some established formula designed around a company’s profitability.
    * $Gainsharing$ : formula-based group incentive plan to determine amount of money allocated.
    * $Employee stock ownership plans (ESOP)$ : company-established benefits plan in which employees acquire stock, often at below-market prices, as part of their prices.
Flexible benefits: developing a benefits package
* @@Flexible benefits@@: benefits plan that allows each employee to put together a benefits package individually tailored to their own individual needs and situation.
Intrinsic rewards: employee recognition programs
* Rewards are intrinsic in the form of employee recognition
* Extrinsic in the form of compensation systems