C H A P T E R
S I X T E E N
16
Motivating
Employees
Lecture Outline
Introduction
What Is Motivation?
Early Theories of Motivation
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory
McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y
Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory
Contemporary Theories of Motivation
Three-Needs Theory
Goal-Setting Theory
Reinforcement Theory
Designing Motivating Jobs
Equity Theory
Expectancy Theory
Integrating Contemporary Theories of
Motivation
Current Issues in Motivation
Cross-Cultural Challenges
Motivating Unique Groups of Workers
Motivating a Diverse Workforce
Motivating Professionals
Motivating Contingent Workers
Motivating Low-Skilled, MinimumWage Employees
Designing Appropriate Rewards Programs
Open-Book Management
Employee Recognition Programs
Pay-for-Performance
Stock Option Programs
From Theory to Practice: Suggestions for
Motivating Employees
The motivation of employees is a vital key to the
success of managers and the business
organizations they lead. Since the motivation of
employees is so important, your students will
benefit from a careful study of Chapter Sixteen
and will become better equipped to understand
and manage human resources in the future and
interact more effectively with other individuals in
the present.
Managers describe motivating and maintaining a
committed workforce as one of the most—if not
the most—difficult of all managerial challenges.
“A Manager’s Dilemma” opens this chapter by
describing
the
motivational
challenges
encountered by Tom Despres, president and
director of the Puerto Rican manufacturing plant
of Storage Technology (StorageTek). When the
CEO of StorageTek told Tom that he was
considering moving the manufacturing plant from
Puerto Rico to China because of lower production
costs in that country, Tom motivated his
employees to achieve such excellence that the
CEO decided to scrap relocation plans.
Tom’s StorageTek employees now fully embrace
total quality management, Six Sigma, agile
manufacturing, and other methods for process
improvement. These employees decreased
production costs by $2.5 million in one year! Your
students are asked to imagine themselves in
Tom’s shoes and consider what they would do to
sustain the motivation of these employees. How
would they continue to motivate employees
without increasing costs to StorageTek?
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A variety of PowerPoint slides, including both original text art and newly created
images, are available for your use in enhancing the presentation of Chapter Sixteen
materials to your students.
ANNOTATED OUTLINE
1.
INTRODUCTION
Managers need to understand and apply motivational concepts and practices to
encourage their employees to devote maximum effort to their jobs. This chapter
explores essential information on the concepts of motivation.
 NOTES
2.
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WHAT IS MOTIVATION?
Motivation is the process by which a person’s efforts are energized, directed,
and sustained towards attaining a goal.
 NOTES
Materials I Plan to Use:
Self-Assessment Library
Exercise in Motivation
Motivation levels vary for different individuals and among work team members at
different times. Students should complete the SAL #I.C.1 “What Motivates Me?” When
they have answered the questions, they should consider the following:



What did you discover about yourself in doing this exercise? Did anything
surprise you about your assessment?
How can you use this information in helping you understand motivation in others
in your present circumstances?
How do you think this information will help you as a manager?
A.
 NOTES
Effort is a measure of intensity or drive. High levels of effort are
unlikely to lead to favorable job performance unless the effort is
channeled in a direction that benefits the organization.
Materials I Plan to Use:
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B.
 NOTES
3.
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EARLY THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
Three early theories of motivation provide the best-known explanations for
employee motivation, even though their validity has been questioned.
 NOTES
Q&A
A need is an internal state that makes certain outcomes appear attractive.
An unsatisfied need creates tension that stimulates drives within an
individual. These drives generate a search behavior to find particular
goals that, if attained, will satisfy the need and reduce the tension.
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16.1 Just exactly how is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs a motivation theory?
A.
 NOTES
B.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory was developed by psychologist
Abraham Maslow. This theory states that there is a hierarchy of five
human needs:
physiological, safety, social, esteem, and selfactualization. (See Exhibit 16-1 and PowerPoint slide 16-8.)
1.
As each need is substantially satisfied, the next need becomes
dominant.
2.
The text describes these five needs as physiological (basic food,
drink, water, shelter, and sexual needs); safety (security and
protection from physical and emotional harm); social (affection,
belongingness, acceptance, and friendship); esteem (internal
factors such as self-respect, autonomy, and achievement, and
external factors such as status, recognition, and attention); and
self-actualization (a person’s drive to become what he/she is
capable of becoming).
3.
Maslow separated the needs into lower-level needs (including
the physiological and safety needs) and higher-level needs
(including social, esteem, and self-actualization).
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McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y were developed by Douglas
McGregor and describe two distinct views of human nature.
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 NOTES
Materials I Plan to Use:
Self-Assessment Library
Exercise on the Nature of People
Students should complete the SAL #I.C.4 “What’s My View on the Nature of People?”
This exercise enhances the text material on motivation concepts. Students should
consider the following:



What insights about yourself did you gain in doing this exercise? Did anything
surprise you about your assessment?
How can you use this information in helping you understand motivation in
others?
How do you think this information will help you as a manager?
1.
2.
3.
4.
 NOTES
Q&A
Theory X is the assumption that employees dislike work, are
lazy, avoid responsibility, and must be coerced to perform.
Theory Y is the assumption that employees are creative, enjoy
work, seek responsibility, and can exercise self-direction.
Theory X assumes that Maslow’s lower-order needs dominate
individuals, while Theory Y assumes that higher-order needs are
dominant.
No empirical evidence exists to confirm that either set of
assumptions is valid or that altering behavior based on Theory Y
assumptions will increase employees’ motivation.
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16.2 Can a Theory X manager ever be an effective manager?
C.
Motivation-hygiene theory, developed by Frederick Herzberg, is the
motivation theory that intrinsic factors are related to job satisfaction and
motivation, whereas extrinsic factors are associated with job
dissatisfaction. (See Exhibit 16-2 and PowerPoint slide 16-11.)
1.
Herzberg believed that the opposite of satisfaction was not
dissatisfaction. (See Exhibit 16-3 and PowerPoint slide 16-12.)
According to Herzberg, simply removing dissatisfying
characteristics from a job would not necessarily make the job
satisfying.
2.
Hygiene factors are factors that eliminate dissatisfaction. They
include factors such as supervision, company policy, salary,
working conditions, and security—i.e., extrinsic factors
associated with job context, or those things surrounding a job.
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3.
4.
 NOTES
4.
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CONTEMPORARY THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
A number of contemporary theories represent state-of-the-art explanations of
employee motivation. These contemporary theories have a reasonably strong
degree of validity through supporting documentation.
A.
The three-needs theory, developed by David McClelland, is the
motivation theory that says three acquired (not innate) needs—
achievement, power, and affiliation—are major motives in work.
1.
The need for achievement (nAch) is the drive to excel, to
achieve in relation to a set of standards, and to strive to succeed.
a.
McClelland found that high achievers differentiate
themselves from others by their desire to do things
better.
 NOTES
Q&A
Motivators are factors that increase job satisfaction and
motivation. They include factors such as achievement,
recognition, responsibility, and advancement—i.e., intrinsic
factors associated with job content, or those things within the
job itself.
Herzberg’s theory has been criticized for the statistical
procedures and methodology used in his study. In spite of these
criticisms, Herzberg’s theory has had a strong influence on how
we currently design jobs.
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16.3 Are most employees high achievers?
b.
c.
 NOTES
Q&A
High achievers like moderately challenging goals.
They avoid what they perceive to be very easy or very
difficult tasks.
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16.4 How can managers motivate high achievers?
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2.
3.
4.
5.
 NOTES
B.
The need for power (nPow) is the need to make others behave
in a way that they would not have behaved otherwise.
The need for affiliation (nAff) is the desire for friendly and
close interpersonal relationships.
A person’s levels of these three needs are typically measured by
reacting to a set of pictures included in the Thematic
Apperception Test, or TAT. (See Exhibit 16-4 and PowerPoint
slide 16-15.)
What predictions about motivation can be made from a study of
the three-needs theory?
a.
Individuals with a high need to achieve prefer and are
strongly motivated in job situations with personal
responsibility, feedback, and an intermediate degree of
risk.
b.
A high need to achieve does not necessarily lead to
being a good manager, especially in large organizations.
c.
A low need for affiliation and a high need for power is
closely related to managerial success.
d.
Employees can be trained to spur their achievement
need.
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Goal-setting theory is the proposition that specific goals increase
performance, and difficult goals, when accepted, result in higher
performance than easy goals. What is known about goals as motivators?
1.
Intention to work toward a goal is a major source of job
motivation. Specific and challenging goals are superior
motivating forces. Specific hard goals produce a higher level of
output than do generalized goals.
2.
Is there a contradiction between achievement motivation and
goal setting? No, as the following points explain:
a.
Goal-setting theory deals with people in general;
achievement theory is based only on people who have a
high need for achievement. Difficult goals are still
recommended for the majority of employees.
b.
The conclusions of goal-setting theory apply to those
who accept and are committed to the goals. Difficult
goals will lead to higher performance only if they are
accepted.
3.
Will employees try harder if they participate in the planning and
formulation of goals?
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 NOTES
Q&A
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16.5 Who sets the goals in goal-setting theory?
a.
b.
4.
5.
6.
 NOTES
Q&A
It cannot be said that participation is always desirable.
However, participation is probably preferable to
assigning goals whenever a manager expects resistance.
Will people do better when they get feedback on how well they
are progressing toward their goals?
a.
Feedback acts to guide behavior.
b.
Self-generated feedback has been shown to be a more
powerful motivator than externally generated feedback.
What four contingencies exist in goal-setting theory?
a.
Feedback influences the goal-performance relationship.
b.
Goal commitment is most likely to occur when goals are
made public, when the individual has an internal locus
of control, and when the goals are set by the individual
rather than assigned.
c.
Self-efficacy is an individual’s belief that he/she is
capable of performing a task.
d.
National culture is a contingency that also affects goalsetting theory.
One may conclude that intentions, as defined by hard and
specific goals, are a powerful motivating force in goal-setting
efforts.
a.
In the proper conditions, intentions can lead to higher
performance.
b.
However, no evidence exists that such goals are
associated with increased job satisfaction.
c.
Exhibit 16-5 and PowerPoint slide 16-17 summarize
the relationships among goals, motivation, and
performance.
Materials I Plan to Use:
16.6 Isn’t it possible for goals to hinder motivation and performance?
C.
Reinforcement theory is counter to goal-setting theory. It proposes that
behavior is a function of its consequences.
1.
Reinforcement theory argues that behavior is externally caused.
2.
Reinforcers are consequences immediately following a response
that increase the probability that the behavior will be repeated.
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3.
4.
5.
 NOTES
Reinforcement theory ignores factors such as goals,
expectations, and needs; it focuses on what happens when a
person takes an action.
How can the concept of reinforcement be used to explain
motivation?
a.
People will most likely engage in a desired behavior if
they are rewarded for doing so.
b.
These rewards are most effective if they immediately
follow a desired response.
c.
Behavior that isn’t rewarded or is punished is less likely
to be repeated.
Managers can influence employees’ behavior by reinforcing the
work behaviors they desire.
Materials I Plan to Use:
Managing Your Career
What Do You Want from
Your Job?
The results of a recent survey of workers are provided in this feature in order to provide
insights into what students might expect to receive from a job. The top reasons
employees stay with their jobs are listed. Encourage students to discuss, and perhaps
question or challenge, the list of reasons.
Do your students agree or disagree with the listed reasons? Can they suggest additional
reasons that are not included on this list? Ask them to elaborate on their reasons.
D.
Designing Motivating Jobs
Job design can be used to influence employee motivation. Job design is
the way tasks are combined to form complete jobs. Managers should
design jobs to reflect the demands of the changing environment as well
as the organization’s technology, skills, and abilities and preferences of
its employees.
1.
One of the earliest efforts at overcoming the drawbacks of job
specialization was through increasing job scope, the number of
different tasks required in a job and the frequency with which
those tasks are repeated.
a.
This type of job design is called job enlargement—the
horizontal expansion of a job or an increase in job
scope.
b.
Job design programs that focused solely on task
enlargement have had little success.
c.
When knowledge enlargement activities were
implemented, however, workers were more satisfied and
made fewer errors.
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2.
3.
 NOTES
Q&A
Job enrichment, another approach to designing jobs, is the
vertical expansion of a job by adding planning and evaluating
responsibilities.
a.
In job enrichment, job depth, the degree of control
employees have over their work, is increased.
b.
Research evidence has been inconclusive about the
benefits of job enrichment activities.
The job characteristics model (JCM) is a framework for
analyzing and designing jobs that identifies five primary job
characteristics, their interrelationships, and their impact on
outcomes. These five job dimensions are described below (see
Exhibit 16-6 and PowerPoint slide 16-21):
Materials I Plan to Use:
16.7 How do you know when a job needs to be made more motivating?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
Skill variety is the degree to which a job requires a
variety of activities so that an employee can use a
number of different skills and talents.
Task identity is the degree to which a job requires
completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work.
Task significance is the degree to which a job has a
substantial impact on the lives or work of other people.
Autonomy is the degree to which a job provides
substantial freedom, independence, and discretion to the
individual in scheduling the work and determining the
procedures to be used in carrying it out.
Feedback is the degree to which carrying out the work
activities required by a job results in the individual’s
obtaining direct and clear information about the
effectiveness of his or her performance.
Skill variety, task identity, and task significance
combine to create meaningful work. Autonomy leads to
an increased sense of responsibility for outcomes of the
work. Feedback leads to knowledge of the actual results
of the work activities.
The JCM suggests that intrinsic (internal) rewards are
gained when an employee learns (knowledge of results
through feedback) that he/she personally (responsibility
through autonomy of work) has performed well on a
task
that
he/she
cares
about
(experiences
meaningfulness of work through skill variety, task
identify, and/or task significance).
The more these three conditions characterize a job, the
greater the employee’s work motivation, performance,
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and satisfaction and the lower his/her absenteeism and
likelihood of resigning.
 NOTES
Materials I Plan to Use:
Practical Interactive Skills Modules
PRISM #1
Students should visit the Web and consider PRISM #1 dealing
with the design of motivating jobs.
i.
 NOTES
The JCM also provides specific guidelines to managers
for job design (see Exhibit 16-7 and PowerPoint slide
16-22).
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E. Equity theory, developed by J. Stacey Adams, is the theory that an
employee compares his/her job’s input-outcomes ratio with that of relevant
others and then corrects any inequity (see Exhibit 16-8).
 NOTES
Q&A
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16.8 In organizations, do people really pay attention to equity issues? What types of
equity issues might come up?
Self-Assessment Library
Exercise in Equity Sensitivity
Students should complete the SAL #I.C.8 “How Sensitive Am I to Equity Differences?”
Afterwards, ask your students to consider their profiles and discuss the following:



What did you find out about yourself in doing this exercise? Did anything
surprise you about your assessment?
How can you use this information in helping you understand the influence of
equity in the workplace?
Do you think this information will help you as a manager? How?
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1.
 NOTES
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2.
3.
 NOTES
F.
Equity theory recognizes that individuals are concerned with
their absolute rewards as well as the relationship of those
rewards to what others receive.
What will employees do when they perceive an inequity?
a.
Distort either their own or others’ inputs or outcomes.
b.
Behave in some way to induce others to change their
inputs or outcomes.
c.
Behave in some way to change their own inputs or
outcomes.
d.
Choose a different comparison person.
e.
Quit their job.
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4.
 NOTES
Referents are the persons, systems, or selves against which
individuals compare themselves to assess equity.
Historically, equity theory focused on distributive justice.
Recent equity research has focused on issues of procedural
justice.
Materials I Plan to Use:
Expectancy theory is the theory that an individual tends to act in a
certain way based on the expectation that the act will be followed by a
given outcome and on the attractiveness of that outcome to the
individual. Three relationships are important to this theory. (See Exhibit
16-9 and PowerPoint slide 16-29.)
1.
Effort-performance linkage (expectancy) is the probability
perceived by the individual that exerting a given amount of
effort will lead to a certain level of performance.
2.
Performance-reward linkage (instrumentality) is the degree to
which an individual believes that performing at a particular level
is instrumental in, or will lead to, the attainment of a desired
outcome.
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3.
 NOTES
Attractiveness of the reward (valence) is the importance that the
individual places on the potential outcome or reward that can be
achieved on the job.
Materials I Plan to Use:
Self-Assessment Library
Exercise in Valence of Rewards
Students should complete the SAL #I.C.3 “What Rewards Do I Value Most?” This
profile is an excellent fit with the discussion of expectancy theory. Students should
consider their profiles and discuss the following:



What did you find out about yourself in doing this exercise? Did anything
surprise you about your assessment?
How can you use this information in helping you understand how individuals
value rewards differently in the workplace?
Do you think this information will help you as a manager? How?
4.
5.
 NOTES
Q&A
Four features are inherent in expectancy theory:
a.
What perceived outcomes does the job offer the
employee?
b.
How attractive do employees consider these outcomes to
be?
c.
What kind of behavior must the employee exhibit to
achieve these outcomes?
d.
How does the employee view his/her chance of doing
what is asked?
The key to understanding expectancy theory is understanding an
individual’s goal and the linkage between effort and
performance, between performance and rewards, and between
rewards and individual goal satisfaction.
Materials I Plan to Use:
16.9 How would expectancy theory explain someone who seems to lack motivation?
G.
Integrating Contemporary Theories of Motivation
Exhibit 16-10 and PowerPoint slide 16-31 present a model that
integrates much of what is known about motivation.
1.
The basic foundation is the simplified expectancy model.
2.
The model also considers the achievement-need, reinforcement,
equity, and JCM theories.
3.
Rewards also play an important role in the model.
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 NOTES
5.
CURRENT ISSUES IN MOTIVATION
Understanding and predicting employee motivation continues to be one of the
most popular areas in management research. Several significant workplace issues
are important to examine in understanding motivation.
A.
Cross-Cultural Challenges
In today’s global environment, motivational programs that work in one
location may not be effective in another. An American bias exists in
some of the motivational theories. For example, in Japan, Greece, and
Mexico, security needs would appear at the top of Maslow’s pyramid.
The motivation concept of achievement need clearly has an American
bias. Equity theory is relatively strong in the United States, based on
pay-for-performance systems.
B.
Motivating Unique Groups of Workers.
1.
Motivating a diverse workforce requires managers to think in
terms of flexibility. Lifestyle (e.g., single parenthood) is an
important factor.
a.
A compressed workweek is a workweek where
employees work longer hours per day but fewer days per
week.
b.
Flexible work hours (flextime) is a scheduling system
in which employees are required to work a number of
hours a week, but are free, within limits, to vary the
hours of work.
c.
Job sharing is the practice of having two or more
people split a full-time job.
d.
Telecommuting is a job approach where employees
work at home and are linked to the workplace by
computer and modem.
 NOTES
Q&A
Materials I Plan to Use:
Materials I Plan to Use:
16.10 How do you motivate someone who is not physically at the workplace, like a
telecommuter?
e.
The advantages of telecommuting include a decrease in
the time and stress of commuting and an increase in
flexibility to cope with family demands.
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f.
 NOTES
Drawbacks of telecommuting center on the lack of
social contact, the reward system used, and the
separation of organization work and homework.
Materials I Plan to Use:
Managing Workforce Diversity
Developing Employee Potential:
The Bottom Line of Diversity
One of a manager’s more important goals is helping employees to develop their potential.
Development is particularly important in managing the varied talents of a diverse workforce. What
can managers do to provide the best opportunities for employees to develop their individual
talents and skills?
Several ideas are presented in this feature to enhance your students’ study of Chapter Sixteen.
Have students discuss the ideas listed here; then ask them to provide suggestions for other
programs that they believe would foster the development and motivation of employees. Next,
ask students to share methods used by their present/past employers to develop the talents of
the employees (especially of your students) at work. Are any of your students receiving mentoring
from their employer or being prepared to assume a position at a higher level within the company
where they work? Students may not have realized how some of their employers are currently
devoting time and effort to developing their knowledge and managerial skills.
2.
 NOTES
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3.
 NOTES
Motivating professionals
This group of employees values challenging work, problem
solving, and support
Motivating contingent workers
a.
Contingent workers do not have the security or stability
that permanent employees do.
b.
Managers might use the opportunity for permanent
status, opportunity for training, and equitable treatment
to motivate contingent workers.
Materials I Plan to Use:
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4.
 NOTES
Q&A
Materials I Plan to Use:
16.11 Can you enrich minimum-wage service jobs?
C.
 NOTES
Q&A
Motivating low-skilled, minimum wage workers is one of the
most difficult motivation challenges a manager can face.
a.
Although money is important as a motivator, it is not the
only reward that people seek and that managers use.
b.
Job design and expectancy theories can provide some
answers to motivating low-skilled, minimum wage
workers.
Designing Appropriate Rewards Programs
1.
Open-book management is a motivational approach in which
an organization’s financial statements (the “books”) are shared
with all employees.
a.
The goal of open-book management is to motivate
employees to think as an owner would think as a result
of being able to see the impact their decisions and
actions have on financial results.
b.
In order for open-book management to be effective,
employees must be taught the fundamentals of financial
statement analysis.
Materials I Plan to Use:
16.12 How does open-book management work to motivate employees?
2.
 NOTES
Employee recognition programs consist of personal attention
and expressions of interest, approval, and appreciation for a job
well done.
Materials I Plan to Use:
3.
Pay-for-performance programs are variable compensation
plans that pay employees on the basis of some performance
measure.
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a.
Q&A
16.13 Pay-for-performance sounds so logical. Why doesn’t every organization use it?
b.
c.
 NOTES
Q&A
Performance-based compensation is probably most
compatible with expectancy theory.
The increasing popularity of pay-for-performance
programs can be explained in terms of both motivation
and cost control.
Do pay-for-performance programs work? Studies seem
to indicate that they do.
Materials I Plan to Use:
16.14 How do you use pay-for performance in jobs where performance is hard to
measure?
Thinking Critically About Ethics
Pay-for-Performance
?
This will be an interesting situation for students to contemplate and discuss. In fact, some
of your students may have held similar jobs. Encourage them to focus on the implications
of this situation for the three main parties: the customer, the organization, and the
employee. The last question is particularly important in light of the fact that the popularity
of pay-for-performance programs seems to be increasing.
Ask student teams to discuss this critical thinking exercise. Let the teams come up with
responses and then reconvene for a class discussion.
4.
 NOTES
6.
Stock options are financial instruments that give employees the
right to purchase shares of stock at a set price. Exhibit 16-11
and PowerPoint slide 16-39) provide several recommendations
for designing a stock option programs.
Materials I Plan to Use:
FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE: SUGGESTIONS FOR MOTIVATING
EMPLOYEES
Several suggestions for motivating employees are provided, based on what is
currently known about motivation.
A.
Recognize individual differences in terms of needs, attitudes, personality,
and other important individual factors.
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 NOTES
B.
 NOTES
C.
 NOTES
D.
 NOTES
E.
 NOTES
F.
 NOTES
Materials I Plan to Use:
Match people to jobs by identifying what needs are important to
individuals and trying to provide jobs that allow them to fulfill those
needs.
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Use goals because the literature on goal setting suggests that managers
should ensure that employees have hard, specific goals and feedback on
how well they are performing in pursuit of those goals.
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Ensure that goals are perceived as attainable. Employees who see goals
as unattainable will reduce their levels of effort.
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Individualize rewards. Because employees have different needs, what is
a reward and reinforcer to one, may not work for another.
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Link rewards to performance by making rewards contingent on desired
levels of performance.
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G.
 NOTES
H.
 NOTES
Check the system for equity. Employees should perceive that the rewards
or outcomes are equal to the inputs given.
Materials I Plan to Use:
Don’t ignore money. The allocation of performance-based increases,
piecework bonuses, and other pay incentives is important in determining
employee motivation.
Materials I Plan to Use:
Answers to Thinking About Management Issues
1.
Most of us have to work for a living, and a job is a central part of our lives. So
why do managers have to worry so much about employee motivation issues?
Even though most of us have to work for a living in order to support ourselves
and those who are dependent upon us, managers still have to worry about
employee motivation because some employees are not always willing to put
forth the effort to do their job to the best of their ability.
Even when employees are willing to put forth their best effort, managers must
take steps to ensure that their motivation will be sustained over time, in spite of
personal or professional setbacks and factors in the external environment over
which they and their employees may have no control. Managers must have
knowledge of motivational theories and understand the individual differences
and perceptions of their employees in order to choose rewards that will be
effective in motivating them to work together to reach organizational goals.
2.
Describe a task you have done recently for which you exerted a high level of
effort. Explain your behavior by using any of the motivation approaches
described in the chapter.
Student responses to this question will vary. Encourage students to think about
some assignment (at school or work), for instance, to which they have devoted a
great deal of effort. Ask them to apply the motivation theory, or theories, that
they think best explains their behavior in this situation and share their response
with their classmates.
3.
If you had to develop an incentive system for a small manufacturing company
that makes flour and corn tortillas, which elements from which motivation
approaches or theories would you use? Why? Would your choice be the same
if it were a software design firm? Explain.
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Students will probably design different systems, depending on which motivation
approach they choose. Be sure that they take into account the necessity of
motivating different types of employees (that is, professional versus
nonprofessional) as they develop this system. Encourage them to explain their
rationale for using the one(s) that they did.
4.
Could managers use any of the motivation theories or approaches to
encourage and support workforce diversity efforts? Explain.
To maximize motivation in today’s diverse workforce, managers must be
flexible. Employees have different personal needs and goals that they may
attempt to satisfy through their job. As students have learned in the study of
Chapter Sixteen, offering various types of rewards to meet these diverse needs is
a challenge for managers.
Managers could use goal-setting theory to encourage and support diversity
efforts by establishing goals for increasing and embracing diversity. Managers
could use JCM to design jobs to emphasize the skills and abilities of diverse
employees and to recognize the special needs of employees. These jobs could be
designed to accommodate such features as a compressed workweek, flexible
work hours, and job sharing.
5.
Many job design experts who have studied the changing nature of work say
that people do their best work when they’re motivated by a sense of purpose
rather than by the pursuit of money. Do you agree? Explain your position.
Student responses to this interesting question will vary. Other possible criteria
that they may suggest include opportunities to make friends, promotion
possibilities, the chance to travel, not having to relocate, and reimbursement for
further education.
6.
“Too many managers today have forgotten that work should be inspiring and
fun and are too out of touch with what makes people productive.” How would
you respond to this assertion?
This statement highlights the need for managers to engage in lifelong learning
and to be flexible in embracing change. Managers must be informed about up-todate findings of behavioral research for the workplace and practice MBWA
(management by walking around.) Methods used by executives who have
succeeded in motivating their employees to achieve high levels of customer
satisfaction productivity (for example, Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines) can
serve as benchmarks for other managers. Networking and participation in
business events such as Chamber of Commerce meetings can provide venues for
learning about ideas suggested by other leaders who have successfully motivated
employees.
7.
Can an individual be too motivated? Discuss.
This question can serve as an excellent springboard for small group discussion.
Students may express strong opinions in their answers to this question,
depending upon their employment experiences and the types of managers and
employees with whom they have already worked. Their answers to this question
will likely introduce ethical considerations in relation to motivation and the
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willingness of some individuals to lose sight of ethical standards in pursuit of a
goal.
WORKING TOGETHER—Team-Based Exercise
Students are instructed to list and rank order five criteria that would be most important to
them in a job. Then they are to break into small groups and compare responses for
patterns.
You may wish to assign the listing and rank ordering prior to class in order to allow
enough time for students to compile their lists carefully. You may also want to revisit the
“Managing Your Career” box in this chapter, as it provides research results on the topic
of important employment criteria.
Answers to Case Application Questions
Best Buy. . .Best Job
1.
Explain the advantages and disadvantages of Best Buy’s different employee
programs using Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, reinforcement theory, and
expectancy theory.
Students will have a variety of responses here. They should focus on two
advantages and disadvantages for each of these three motivational theories.
Students may tend to see more advantages, given the type of culture and
management style at Best Buy. Remind students that “motivational programs”
and “individual needs” are specific to individuals. This question provides an
excellent opportunity to discuss the importance of managerial flexibility.
2.
Log onto
Best
Buy’s
Career
Center
on the
Internet
at
[http://careers.bestbuy.com]. Click on two job titles listed there and assess
these jobs according to the job characteristics model.
If your classroom has Internet capabilities, you may want to access this site with
your students during class. First, go to Best Buy’s Career Center at
[http://careers.bestbuy.com]; next, click on the “Corporate” link. Students will
select different jobs in response to this question in order to view a typical
workday in the life of individuals who hold one of the jobs. Regardless of the
jobs selected, students should list an element from the job characteristics model
and follow that format for their analysis.
3.
Design an employee recognition program that might fit in with Best Buy’s
managerial philosophy.
To be effective, the program must be consistent with the culture of Best Buy and
its new customer-centricity; therefore, recognition must be based on criteria that
concern customer satisfaction and profitability. The recognition would most
likely be in the form of rewards that are tailored to the needs and wants of
individual employees, since one of Best Buy’s most prominent slogans is “At
Best Buy, People Are the Engines That Drive Our Success.” Implementation of
the program will require careful planning in consideration of the paradigm shift
in rewarded work behaviors that has already occurred at Best Buy.
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4.
Suppose that you’re a store manager for Best Buy and you want to ensure that
your employees are motivated to make this new customer-centricity approach
succeed. What are you going to do?
CEO Brad Anderson has experienced significant success with methods he has
used to motivate his employees thus far. He has enacted, as well as espoused, his
belief in the value of his employees, creating trust between Best Buy’s
management and workforce. He has positioned himself and the management of
Best Buy to effectively lead employees in embracing a new change—the
customer-centricity focus. It appears that Brad Anderson has acted in ways that
have established and strengthened the trust of employees—ways that should
sustain their motivation and dedication to the customers of Best Buy. Encourage
your students to explain what actions they would take if they were in Anderson’s
shoes at this point in the growth of this corporation.
ADDITIONAL CHAPTER INFORMATION
Access Fortune Small Business’s list of “Best Bosses” on the Internet at
[http://www.communispace.com/documents/FSB%20Best%20Bosses_
Release%2005.pdf].
This annual article provides insight into the motivational practices of top managers. By
reading this article, your students will learn about bosses who have been able to adapt
successfully to the current era—a time of economic insecurity, job-loss fears, and
workplace anxiety. You might use this article in a class discussion with students, asking
students to be alert to methods used by excellent managers to motivate their employees.
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