Chapter 5
Chapter Five: Foundations of Employee Motivation
Employee Motivation
Definition: The forces within a person that impact the direction, intensity, and persistence of voluntary behavior.
Direction: The goal or outcome toward which people steer their efforts.
Intensity: The amount of physical, cognitive, and emotional energy expended at a given moment.
Persistence: The duration for which people sustain their efforts.
Employee Drives and Needs
Human Drives
Definition: Innate brain activities that produce emotions motivating us to correct deficiencies or maintain equilibrium.
Universality: Everyone possesses the same drives, though there is no definitive consensus on the specifics.
Role of Emotions: These emotions can energize individuals and put them in a state of motivation.
Human Needs
Definition: Goal-directed forces that individuals experience with energy from emotions directed toward specific goals.
Influences: The self-concept, social norms, and personal experiences help shape individual goals and differences in needs.
Four Drive Theory
Drive to Acquire: The desire to seek, acquire, control, and retain objects or experiences.
Drive to Bond: The need to form social relationships and develop caring commitments.
Drive to Comprehend: The urge to satisfy curiosity and understand the self and the environment.
Drive to Defend: The need to protect oneself physically and socially.
Source: Based on Lawrence and Nohria's research (2002).
How Drives Motivate Behaviour
Drives tag specific emotions to incoming sensory information.
These emotions lead to a state of readiness (motivation) that becomes needs when conscious.
A mental skill set directs this motivation into goal-directed efforts.
Practical Implications of Four Drive Theory
Effective workplaces help employees fulfill all four drives, maintaining balance:
Drive to bond counterbalances the drive to acquire.
Drive to comprehend counterbalances the drive to defend.
Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy Theory
Framework: Primary needs are categorized into seven categories, with five forming a hierarchy.
Dynamics: The lowest unmet need is the strongest motivator until satisfied.
Self-Actualization: This need continuously develops and is only temporarily satisfied.
Critique: Lacks empirical support and shows variability across individuals and time.
Emphasis: Provides a holistic, positive perspective on motivation.
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation
Intrinsic Motivation: Occurs when individuals fulfill needs for competence and autonomy by engaging in the activity itself.
Extrinsic Motivation: Occurs when individuals seek to engage in an activity for external rewards beyond their control.
Effect on Motivation: Extrinsic motivators may reduce intrinsic motivation, though the effect is usually minimal.
ERG Theory of Motivation
Introduced by Clayton Alderfer in 1969, it redefines Maslow's hierarchy to align with empirical findings.
Argument: No specific order exists; individuals do not follow a strict hierarchy for pursuing needs.
David McClelland’s Learned Needs Theory
Definition: Needs that are learned through self-concept, social norms, and past experiences.
Elements:
Need for Achievement (nAch): Desire to accomplish goals, seek feedback, and take moderate risks.
Need for Affiliation (nAff): Instinct to seek approval and avoid conflict.
Need for Power (nPow): Desire to gain power for personal or social purposes.
Vroom’s Expectancy Theory of Motivation
Increasing Expectations
E-to-P Expectancies: Hire/train staff to align job duties with skills, provide necessary resources, and offer coaching to build self-efficacy.
P-to-O Expectancies: Accurately measure performance, clarify reward-performance linkages, and showcase examples of rewarded peers.
Outcome Valences: Ensure rewards are valued, individualized, and minimize countervalent outcomes.
A-B-Cs of Behaviour Modification
Antecedents: What happens before behavior occurs.
Example: Checking phone for a message.
Behaviour: The actions or words of a person.
Consequences: What happens after behavior.
Example: Receiving a useful message.
Reinforcement Contingencies and Schedules
Contingencies of Reinforcement: Includes positive reinforcement, punishment, extinction, and negative reinforcement.
Schedules of Reinforcement:
Continuous reinforcement: Every time a behavior occurs.
Variable ratio: Reinforcement delivered after varying amounts of responses.
Social Cognitive Theory
Learning through observation of behavioral consequences.
Anticipate consequences and model observed behaviors.
Self-Regulation: Involves setting goals, anticipating consequences, and self-reinforcement.
Effective Goal Setting Features
Specific: Clear details about the task.
Measurable: Criteria for assessing progress.
Achievable: Challenge accepted by the employee.
Relevant: Within the employee’s control.
Time-Framed: Established deadlines.
Exciting: Aims for commitment beyond mere compliance.
Reviewed: Incorporates regular feedback and recognition.
Characteristics of Effective Feedback
Specific: Clear behaviors or outcomes identified.
Relevant: Behavior within employee's control.
Timely: Delivered as soon as possible.
Credible: From a reliable source.
Sufficiently Frequent: Frequency adjusted based on learning stage or task cycle.
Strengths-Based Coaching
Focuses on employee strengths rather than weaknesses.
Process:
Employee identifies strengths.
Coach aids in leveraging strengths.
Discuss barriers and solutions.
Motivation arises from feedback about strengths rather than flaws.
Sources of Feedback
Nonsocial Sources: Feedback not provided directly by people (e.g., electronic displays).
Social Sources: Feedback from individuals such as managers and co-workers.
Preferred Source: Use nonsocial feedback for progress and social sources for positive reinforcement.
Organizational Justice
Definition: The perception of appropriate rules being applied.
Types:
Distributive Justice: Perceived fairness in outcomes.
Procedural Justice: Fairness in processes and procedures.
Interactional Justice: Treatment and explanation fairness.
Adam’s Equity Theory Model
Developed by John Stacey Adams in 1963.
Base Principle: Individuals are motivated by fairness; perceived inequity prompts behavior adjustments.
Example: An employee may reduce their work output if they perceive unfair wage discrepancies.
How Inequity Motivates Behaviour
Inequity Tension: Negative emotions arising from perceived inequity.
Actions to reduce inequity include:
Lessening inputs.
Increasing outcomes.
Altering perceptions.
Changing comparison partners.
Leaving the field if necessary.
Procedural Justice Rules
Key principles include self-interest-free decision-making, consideration of all information and affected interests, ethical compatibility, consistency in application, opportunity for employee input, and the ability to appeal decisions.
Interactional Justice Rules
Critical elements include respectful treatment, thorough explanations, honest communication, and timely information delivery.