Motivation
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Motivation
• Research on motivation attempts to determine why
people behave the way they do and to understand the
ramifications of such behavior. The changing role and
interaction of technology at work is one factor that
explains why motivation remains an important research
topic. Additionally, our movement to an information and
service-based economy may have varying effects on
motivation factors and resulting employee behaviors.
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Motivation
• Motivation is derived from the Latin word movere, “to
move.” The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines
motivation (root motive) as “something (as a need or
desire) that causes a person to act” while motivate is
defined as “the object influencing a choice or prompting
an action.”
• Several common themes among motivation definitions
refers to action or behavior toward goals, specifically, the
individual and environmental antecedent factors that
cause action, the goal itself, and feedback acting as a
moderator which can influence the intensity of achieving
the goal
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Motivation
• An understanding of the complexities of
contemporary organizations and how
individual’s differing motivations influence
needs, actions and goals is essential to
fully comprehend the effects of variations
in other factors such as leadership styles,
job design, salary, as they relate to
performance, satisfaction, and other
outcomes
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Other Definitions
• Direction of behavior
• Strength of the response (effort) once employee chooses
to follow a course of action
• Persistence of the behavior or how long the person
continues to behave in a particular manner
• Different motivators for different cultures/situations
• Emphasis on different factors depending on what is being
studied.
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Why does an organization want to
motivate employees?
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Fear of unions
Promote positive climate
Able to pay workers less
Other reasons?
Motivation
Popular definition of “motivation”
• Willingness to perform
• Regarded as an individual-level attitude
• Understood to be affected by “leadership”
May be nothing more than an internal
attribution when observed behavior is
consistent or inconsistent with organizational
expectations
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Motivation Defined
Motivation: Psychological processes that cause the arousal direction, and persistence
of voluntary actions that are goal directed.
Implications Associated with This Definition
 Behavior is purposive rather than random
- People exhibit both positive (work done on time) and negative
(arrive late for work) behavior for a reason
 Motivation arouses people to do something
- People are unlikely to change a behavior or do something different
unless they are motivated to do so
 Motivation causes people to focus on a desired end-result or goal
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 Motivation fuels the persistence needed to exhibit sustained effort
on a task
A Job Performance Model of Motivation
Individual Inputs
Ability, Job knowledge
Dispositions & Traits
Emotions, Moods, &Affect
Beliefs & Values
Arousal
Skills
Motivational Processes
Attention
Intensity
&
&
Direction Persistence
Job Context
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Physical Environment
Task Design
Rewards & Reinforcement
Supervisory Support &
Coaching
Social Norms
Organizational Culture
Enable, Limit
Motivated
Behaviors
A Job Performance Model of Motivation (cont.)
Skills
Individual
Inputs
Motivated Behaviors
Motivational
Processes
Job
Context
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Enable, Limit
Focus: Direction, What we do
Intensity: Effort, how hard
we try
Quality: Task strategies, the
way we do it
Duration: Persistence, how
long we stick to it
Performance
Motivation Theories
• Content theories – focus on factors within the person
that energize, direct, sustain, and stop behavior. They
attempt to determine the specific needs that motivate
people (individual needs for job satisfaction, behavior,
and reward systems). Aware of differences in people
• Process theories – describe and analyze how behavior is
energized, directed, sustained and stopped by factors
external to the person. Understand how individuals
make choices based on preferences, rewards, and
accomplishments.
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Content Theories
• Within a person, individual need deficiencies
activate tensions that trigger a behavioral
response. Managers should:
– Determine what needs trigger performance, group
and personal behaviors
– Offer meaningful rewards to satisfy needs
– Know when it is appropriate to offer rewards
– Adapt to people’s changing needs
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Motivation Theories
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Hierarchy of Needs (Maslow) - content
Nach Theory (McClelland) - content
Reinforcement Theory - process
Self-Efficacy Theory (Bandura)
Job Design (Enlargement, Rotation, Enrichment)
Two-Factor Model (Herzberg) - content
Job Characteristics Model (Hackman & Oldham)
Empowerment (Spreitzer)
Equity Theory (Adams) - process
Expectancy Theory (Vroom) - process
Goal-Setting (Locke) - process
Motivation Theories and
Workplace Outcomes
Outcome of
Interest
Need
Reinforcement
Equity
X
X
X
X
X
• Choice to pursue
a course of action
• Effort
• Performance
• Satisfaction
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X
X
• Absenteeism
X
X
• Turnover
X
X
Motivation Theories and
Workplace Outcomes (continued)
Outcome of
Interest
• Choice to pursue
a course of action
• Effort
Expectancy
Job
Characteristics
X
X
X
X
X
X
• Performance
• Satisfaction
X
• Absenteeism
X
• Turnover
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Goal Setting
X
X
Maslow’s Need Hierarchy
Esteem
Need for
reputation,
prestige, and
recognition
Love
The desire to from others.
love and be
loved.
Safety
Consists of
the need to
be safe.
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Physiological
Most basic
need.
SelfActualization
Desire for
selffulfillment.
Research on Maslow
• Very few studies can confirm or refute the theory. It may be
that the dynamics implied are too complex to be
operationalized and confirmed by scientific research. Helps to
explain aspects of human behavior but it is not
accurate/thorough to explain individual behavior.
• A satisfied need may lose its motivating potential. Managers
are advised to motivate employees by devising programs
aimed at satisfying emerging or unmet needs.
• Managers high in the organization place greater emphasis on
self-actualization
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Alderfer ERG Theory
• Existence – needs satisfied by factors such as
food, air, water, pay, and working conditions
• Relatedness- needs satisfied by meaningful
social and interpersonal relationships
• Growth – needs satisfied by creative
contributions
• In addition to satisfaction-progression
hierarchy, there is frustration-regression.
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Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory
• Views on job satisfaction
• Extrinsic conditions or job context include pay, status, working
conditions. The presence of these conditions does not
motivate the person but the absence results in dissatisfaction.
Also called hygiene factors
• Intrinsic conditions or job content include feelings of
achievement, increased responsibility and recognition. The
absence does not lead to dissatisfaction but when present
they build levels of motivation that result in good job
performance. Also called motivators.
• Requires an enriched job to motivate employees
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Herzberg’s Motivator-Hygiene Model
Motivators
No Satisfaction
Jobs that do not
offer achievement
recognition,
stimulating work,
responsibility,
and advancement.
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Satisfaction
Jobs offering
achievement,
recognition,
stimulating work,
responsibility,
and advancement.
Herzberg’s Motivator-Hygiene
Model (continued)
Hygiene Factors
Dissatisfaction
Jobs with poor
company policies,
and administration,
technical supervision
salary, interpersonal
relationships with
supervisors, and
working conditions.
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No Dissatisfaction
Jobs with good
company policies,
and administration,
technical supervision,
salary, interpersonal
relationships with
supervisors, and
working conditions.
McClelland’s Need Theory
Need For Achievement: Desire to excel and accomplish something difficult.
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Achievement-motivated people prefer
 tasks of moderate ability that they can achieve
 situations in which their performance is due to their own
efforts
 more feedback on their success and failures than do low
achievers
Need For Affiliation: Desire to spend time in social
relationships and activities.
Need For Power: Desire to influence, coach, teach, or
encourage others to achieve.