Motivation in Organizations “If you’re not happy doing what you do on a daily basis … you’ll just be getting things done for the sake of getting things done.” • —Productivity consultant Sara Caputo M.A. ELEMENTS OF PERFORMANCE P=M+A+E To reach high levels of performance, an employee must want to do the job well (motivation); must be able to do the job effectively (ability); and must have the materials, resources, equipment, and information required to do the job (environment) A deficiency in any one of these areas hurts performance. The Motivational Framework We can start to understand motivation by looking at need deficiencies and goal-directed behaviors. A need is anything an individual requires or wants. PERSPECTIVES OF MOTIVATION 1. Historical Perspectives on Motivation Historical views on motivation, although not always accurate, are of interest for several reasons: They provide a foundation for contemporary thinking about motivation They generally were based on common sense and intuition. The Traditional Approach Scientific Management by Frederick Taylor He advocated incentive pay systems As one basic premise of this approach, Taylor assumed that employees are economically motivated and work to earn as much money as they can. Economic Gain is the primary thing that motivated everyone. The Human Relations Approach Assumed that employees want to feel useful and important, that employees have strong social needs, and that these needs are more important than money in motivating employees. The illusion of involvement and importance were expected to satisfy workers’ basic social needs and result in higher motivation to perform. The Human Resource Approach Assumes that the contributions themselves are valuable to both individuals and organizations 2. NEED-BASED PERSPECTIVES ON MOTIVATION Assumes that humans are motivated primarily by deficiencies in one or more important needs or need categories. The Hierarchy of Needs Developed by psychologist Abraham Maslow Assumes that human needs are arranged in a hierarchy of importance. ERG theory Developed by Yale psychologist Clayton Alderfer Extends and refines Maslow’s needs hierarchy concept The E, R, and G stand for three basic need categories: o Existence needs- those necessary for basic human survival o Relatedness needs—those involving the need to relate to other o Growth needs are analogous to Maslow’s needs for self-esteem and self-actualization Difference of Maslowe’s and Alderfer’s Hierarchy of Needs o Believed that each need level must be satisfied before the level above it can become important. ERG Theory o Suggests that more than one kind of need motivate a person at the same time. Both of them includes a satisfaction-progression component and a frustration-regression component. The Dual-Structure Theory Originally called the “two-factor theory” Developed by Frederick Herzberg and his associates Traditional View Satisfaction Dissatisfaction Herzberg’s View Satisfaction No Satisfaction Motivation Factors Achievement Recognition The Work Itself Responsibility Advancement and Growth o Motivation factors affect one dimension, ranging from satisfaction to no satisfaction o Motivation factors are intrinsic to the work itself and include factors such as achievement and recognition. Dissatisfaction No Dissatisfaction Hygiene Factors Hygiene factors are assumed to affect another dimension, ranging from dissatisfaction to no dissatisfaction. Are extrinsic to the work itself. o Supervision o o o o Working Conditions Interpersonal Relationships Pay and Job Security Company Policies Other Important Needs A. The NEED FOR ACHIEVEMENT is most frequently associated with the work of David McClelland. This need arises from an individual’s desire to accomplish a goal or task more effectively than in the past. Individuals who have a high need for achievement tend to set moderately difficult goals and to make moderately risky decisions. B. The NEED FOR AFFILIATION Need for human companionship. C. The NEED FOR POWER The desire to control one’s environment, including financial, material, informational, and human resources. 3. PROCESS-BASED PERSPECTIVE ON MOTIVATION Are concerned with how motivation occurs rather than attempting to identify motivational stimuli. Focus on why people choose certain behavioral options to satisfy their needs and how they evaluate their satisfaction after they have attained these goals. Three useful process perspectives on motivation are the equity, expectancy, and goal-setting theories. The Equity Theory of Motivation Is based on the relatively simple premise that people in organizations want to be treated fairly. Focuses on people’s desire to be treated with what they perceive as equity and to avoid perceived inequity. Equity is the belief that we are being treated fairly in relation to others; inequity is the belief that we are being treated unfairly in relation to others. Outcome (self) Inputs (self) COMPPARED WITH Outcome (other) Inputs (other) Comparison of Self with Other Inequality Equality e Motivation to Reduce Inequality: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Motivation to Maintain Current Situation Change Inputs Change Outcomes Alter Perception of Self Alter Perception of Other Change Comparison Leave Situation The Expectancy Theory of Motivation Suggests that people are motivated by how much they want something and the likelihood they perceive of getting it. Developed by Victor Vroom The Basic Expectancy Model The model’s general components are effort (the result of motivated behavior), performance, and outcomes. Expectancy theory emphasizes the linkages among these elements, which are described in terms of expectancies and valences. Effort-to-performance expectancy is a person’s perception of the probability that effort will lead to successful performance. An outcome is anything that might potentially result from performance. The valence of an outcome is the relative attractiveness or unattractiveness—the value—of that outcome to the person. The Porter-Lawler Expectancy Model Provides interesting insights into the relationships between satisfaction and performance. That satisfaction is determined by the perceived equity of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards for performance. That is, rather than satisfaction causing performance, which many people might predict, this model argues that it is actually performance that eventually leads to satisfaction. 4. LEARNING-BASED PERSPECTIVES ON MOTIVATION Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior or behavioral potential resulting from direct or indirect experience. How Learning Occurs The Traditional View: Classical Conditioning o Develop by Ivan Pavlov in his famous experiments with dogs. o A simple form of learning in which a conditioned response is linked with an unconditioned stimulus. The Contemporary View: Learning as a Cognitive Process o Generally views learning as a cognitive process; that is, it assumes that people are conscious, active participants in how they learn. Reinforcement Theory and Learning Also called “operant conditioning” Is generally associated with the work of B. F. Skinner In its simplest form, reinforcement theory suggests that behavior is a function of its consequences. Types of Reinforcement in Organizations Reinforcements are the consequences of behavior. 1. Positive reinforcement is a reward or other desirable consequence that a person receives after exhibiting behavior. 2. Avoidance, or negative reinforcement, is the opportunity to avoid or escape from an unpleasant circumstance after exhibiting behavior. 3. Extinction decreases the frequency of behavior by eliminating a reward or desirable consequence that follows that behavior. 4. Punishment is an unpleasant, or aversive, consequence that results from behavior. Schedules of Reinforcement in Organizations Schedules of reinforcement indicate when or how often managers should reinforce certain behaviors. Social Learning in Organizations Occurs when people observe the behaviors of others, recognize their consequences, and alter their own behavior as a result. Organizational Behavior Modification Learning theory alone has important implications for managers, but organizational behavior modification has even more practical applications. Organizational behavior modification is an important application of reinforcement theory some managers use to enhance motivation and performance. Is the application of reinforcement theory to people in organizational settings. Motivating Employee Performance Through Work Enhancing Performance WORK DESIGN IN ORGANIZATIONS Work Design Work design is an important method managers can use to enhance employee performance. When work design is addressed at the individual level, it is most commonly referred to as Job Design How organizations define and structure jobs As we will see, properly designed jobs can have a positive impact on the motivation, performance, and job satisfaction of those who perform them. On the other hand, poorly designed jobs can impair motivation, performance, and job satisfaction. Job Specialization credited to the work of Frederick Taylor argued that jobs should be scientifically studied, broken down into small component tasks, and then standardized across all workers doing those jobs. Early Alternatives to Job Specialization Job Rotation o systematically moving workers from one job to another in an attempt to minimize monotony and boredom. Job Enlargement o or horizontal job loading o is expanding a worker’s job to include tasks previously performed by other workers Job Enrichment o entails giving workers more tasks to perform and more control over how to perform them Job Characteristics Theory Identifies five motivational properties of tasks and three critical psychological states of people Three Critical Psychological States The core of the theory Are presumed to determine the extent to which characteristics of the job enhance employee responses to the task. 1. Experienced meaningfulness of the work o The degree to which the individual experiences the job as generally meaningful, valuable, and worthwhile. 2. Experienced responsibility for work outcomes o The degree to which individuals feel personally accountable and responsible for the results of their work. 3. Knowledge of result o The degree to which individuals continuously understand how effectively they are performing the job. Five Characteristics of the Job Triggers the three critical psychological states Also known as CORE JOB DIMENSION 1. SKILL VARIETY o Degree to which the job requires a variety of activities that involve different skills and talents 2. TASK IDENTITY o The degree to which the job requires o completion of a “whole” and an identifiable piece of work; o the extent to which a job has a beginning and an end with a tangible outcome 3. TASK SIGNIFICANCE The degree to which the job affects the lives or work of other people, both in the immediate organization and in the external environment. 4. AUTONOMY The degree to which the job allows the individual substantial freedom, independence, and discretion to schedule the work and determine the procedures for carrying it out. 5. FEEDBACK The degree to which the job activities give the individual direct and clear information about the effectiveness of his or her performance. EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT AND MOTIVATION Employees’ involvement in their work can also play an important role in motivation Involvement is most often enhanced through what are called participative management and empowerment. In most cases, managers who use these techniques are attempting to enhance employee motivation In a sense, participation and empowerment are extensions of job design because each fundamentally alters how employees in an organization perform their jobs. Participation Entails giving employees a voice in making decisions about their own work Empowerment Is the process of enabling workers to set their own work goals, make decisions, and solve problems within their sphere of responsibility and authority FLEXIBLE WORK ARRANGEMENTS Beyond the actual redesigning of jobs and the use of employee involvement, many organizations today are experimenting with a variety of flexible work arrangements. These arrangements are generally intended to enhance employee motivation and performance by giving workers more flexibility about how and when they work Among the more popular flexible work arrangements are variable work schedules, flexible work schedules, extended work schedules, job sharing, and telecommuting. Traditional Work Schedules Work starts at 8:00 or 9:00 in the morning and ends at 5:00 in the evening, five days a week. Variable Work Schedules Compressed Work Schedule o Employees work a full forty-hour week in fewer than the traditional five days, leaving an extra day off. “Nine-Eighty” work schedule o Under this arrangement, an employee works a traditional schedule one week and a compressed schedule the next, getting every other Friday off Flexible Work Schedules Give employees more personal control over the hours they work each day Also known as flextime. FLEXTIME All employees must be at their workstations during CORE TIME All employees can choose their own schedules during FLEXIBLE TIME Extended Work Schedules One that requires relatively long periods of work followed by relatively long periods of paid time off. Used by firms to limit the number of workforce on duty Job Sharing Two or more part-time employees share one full-time job Desirable for people who only want to work part time or when job markets are tight. There are also cost benefits for the organization. Telecommuting A work arrangement in which employees spend part of their time working off-site By using e-mail, web interfaces, and other technology, many employees can maintain close contact with their organization and do as much work at home as they could in their offices Also known as e-commuting or working from home Advantage of Telecommuting 1. They can reduce absenteeism and turnover since employees will need to take less “formal” time off 2. They can save on facilities such as parking spaces because fewer people will be at work on any given day 3. There are also environmental benefits, given that fewer cars are on the highways. Disadvantage of Telecommuting 1. Some feel isolated and miss the social interaction of the workplace 2. Others simply lack the self-control and discipline to walk away from the breakfast table to their desk and start working 3. Managers may also encounter coordination difficulties in scheduling meetings and other activities that require face-to-face contact.
