Greenberg & Baron:
Behavior In Organizations
Chapter Six
Motivation in Organizations
Chapter Summary
Motivation is concerned with the set of processes that arouse, direct, and maintain behavior
toward a goal. It is not equivalent to job performance but is one of several determinants of job
performance. Today’s work ethic motivate people to seek interesting and challenging jobs instead of just
money.
Maslow’s need hierarchy theory postulates that people have five basic needs, activated in a
specific order from the most basic, lowest-level need (physiological needs) to the highest-level need (need
for self-actualization). Although this theory has not been supported by rigorous research studies, it has
been quite useful in suggesting several ways of satisfying employees’ needs on the job. A less restrictive
conceptualization, Alderfer’s ERG theory proposes that people have only three basic needs: existence,
relatedness, and growth. Following from these theories, companies are encouraged to do several things to
motivate their employees. Notably, they should promote a healthy workforce, provide financial security,
provide opportunities to socialize, and recognize employees’ accomplishments.
Locke and Latham’s goal-setting theory claims that an assigned goal influences a person’s beliefs
about being able to perform a task (referred to as self-efficacy) and his or her personal goals. Both of
these factors, in turn, influence performance. Research has shown that people will improve their
performance when specific, acceptably difficult goals are set and feedback about task performance is
provided. The task of selecting goals that are acceptable to employees is facilitated by allowing employees
to participate in the goal-setting process.
Distributive justice concerns people’s perceptions of the fairness of the distribution of rewards.
The major theory of distributive justice is equity theory. This theory claims that people desire to attain an
equitable balance between the ratios of their work rewards (outcomes) and their job contributions (inputs)
and the corresponding ratios of comparison others. Inequitable states of overpayment inequity and
underpayment inequity are undesirable, motivating people to try to attain equitable conditions. Responses
to inequity may be either behavioral (e.g., raising or lowering one’s performance) or psychological (e.g.,
thinking differently about work contributions). People are concerned not only about establishing equitable
relationships but also about procedural justice—that is, having organizational decisions made by way of
fair processes (both in structural terms, such as having a voice in decision-making procedures, and
interpersonally, such as by being treated with dignity and respect). In addition, people also are concerned
about the fairness of the manner in which they are treated by others, known as interactional justice. These
concepts (known collectively as theories of organizational justice) suggest that companies should avoid
intentionally underpaying or overpaying employees, that managers should follow fair procedures (e.g.,
ones that are consistent and correctible), and that managers should explain the basis for outcomes in a
thorough and socially sensitive manner.
Expectancy theory recognizes that motivation is the product of a person’s beliefs about
expectancy (effort will lead to performance), instrumentality (performance will result in reward), and
valence (the perceived value of the rewards). In conjunction with skills, abilities, role perceptions, and
opportunities, motivation contributes to job performance. Expectancy theory suggests that motivation may
be enhanced by linking rewards to performance (as in pay-for-performance plans) and by administering
rewards that are highly valued (as may be done using cafeteria-style benefit plans).
An effective organizational-level technique for motivating people is the designing or redesigning of
jobs. Job design techniques include job enlargement (performing more tasks at the same level) and job
enrichment (giving people greater responsibility and control over their jobs). The job characteristics model
identifies the specific job dimensions that should be enriched (skill variety, task identity, task significance,
autonomy, and feedback) and relates these to the critical psychological states influenced by including
these dimensions on a job. These psychological states will, in turn, lead to certain beneficial outcomes for
both individual employees (e.g., job satisfaction) and the organization (e.g., reduced absenteeism and
turnover). Jobs may be designed to enhance motivation by combining tasks, opening feedback channels,
establishing client relationships, and loading jobs vertically (i.e., enhancing responsibility for one’s work).
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Chapter Six
Learning Objectives
1. Define motivation, and explain its importance in the field of organizational behavior.
2. Describe need hierarchy theory and what it recommends for improving motivation in organizations.
3. Identify and explain the conditions through which goal setting can be used to improve job
performance.
4. Describe distributive justice and procedural justice, and interactional justice, and explain how they
may be applied to motivating people in organizations.
5. Describe expectancy theory and how it may be applied in organizations.
6. Distinguish between job enlargement and job enrichment, and the job characteristics model as
techniques for motivating employees.
Lesson Planning
At the end of every chapter are a variety of questions pertaining to the learning objectives which can be
used any number of ways to reinforce your presentation of the material. Ideas include using the
questions to lead a class discussion, breaking students into small groups and giving them a question to
respond to (“buzz groups”), assigning them for homework, or using at the end of class in an evaluative
manner by choosing one for students to respond to in a timed writing for just a minute or two (one-minute
essay). If you choose to use the one minute essay format—don’t use it for a grade for the student—but
as a feedback mechanism for yourself to evaluate what the students learned.
Also at the end of the chapter are exercises for individuals and groups. Web surfing exercises are also
included to allow you to introduce e-learning applications to your lessons. They can be done outside of
class for homework/group projects, or you might try using them as a demonstration if you have internet
access in your classroom. Additionally, the class could meet in the computer lab where they can work on
them together. Other exercises include a practice exercise to give students an opportunity to apply their
new knowledge and a case study with critical thinking questions. Each of the exercises found in the text
is noted within shadowed boxes throughout the lecture outline which follows. Remind students to bring
their text to every class so that they will be able to reference the material if you choose to include an
exercise in your presentation. There is far more material included here than can be accomplished in an
average undergraduate class—but the goal was to provide you choices so that your can offer your
students a variety of learning experiences. Suggested answers for the case study’s critical thinking
questions and other review questions can be found at the end of these chapter notes.
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I.
Behavior In Organizations
Chapter Six
MOTIVATION IN ORGANIZATIONS: ITS BASIC NATURE
Notes
Figure 6.1
A. COMPONENTS OF MOTIVATION
p. 190
1. Motivation is defined as the set of processes that arouse,
direct, and maintain human behavior toward attaining some
goal. Let’s define each term:
a. Arousal--the drive or energy behind our actions.
b. The choices that people make, with the direction their
behavior takes.
c. The final part of our definition deals with maintaining
behavior. How long will people continue attempting to
meet their goal?
2. To summarize, motivation requires all three components of
goal-directed behavior, arousal, direction, and
maintenance.
B. THREE KEY POINTS ABOUT MOTIVATION
1. Motivation and job performance are not synonymous:
a. Motivation is one of several possible determinants of
job performance.
b. Just because someone performs a task well does not
mean that he or she is highly motivated. This person
actually may be very skilled but not putting forth much
effort at all.
2. Motivation is multifaceted.
a. People may have several different motives operating at
once, and sometimes, these motives may conflict.
3. People are motivated by more than just money.
a. Surveys show that most Americans would continue to
work even if they did not need the money.
b. Today’s workers are motivated by the prospects of
performing interesting and challenging not just wellpaying jobs. They also seek jobs that actively involve
them in the success of the business that reward them
for this success.
II. MOTIVATING BY MEETING NEEDS
1. Two Key Theories:
a. Maslow’s need hierarchy theory.
b. Alderfer’s ERG theory.
A. MASLOW’S NEED HIERARCHY THEORY
Figure 6.3
1. Probably the best-known conceptualization of human
needs. Abraham Maslow was a clinical psychologist who
introduced a theory of personal adjustment, the need
hierarchy theory, based on his observations of patients
throughout the years.
2. His premise was that if people grow up in an environment
where their needs are not met, they will be unlikely to
function as healthy, well-adjusted individuals.
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Maslow theorized that people have five types of needs and
that these are activated in a hierarchical manner. The
needs are aroused in a specific order, from lowest to
highest. The lowest-order need must be fulfilled before the
next-higher-order need.
3. Physiological needs:
a. At the bottom of the hierarchy are physiological needs.
b. They refer to satisfying fundamental biological drives
(e.g., the need for food, air, water, and shelter).
c. Organizations must provide employees with a salary
that affords them adequate living conditions. Similarly,
sufficient opportunities to rest (e.g., coffee breaks) and
to engage in physical activity (e.g., fitness and exercise
facilities) also are important for people to meet these
needs.
4. Safety needs:
a. The second level of need.
b. Safety needs refer to the need for a secure
environment that is free from threats of physical or
psychological harm.
c. Organizations can provide employees with safety
equipment (e.g., hard hats and goggles), life and health
insurance, and security forces (e.g., police and fire
protection). Similarly, jobs that provide tenure (e.g.,
teaching) and no-layoff agreements provide a
psychological security blanket that helps to satisfy
safety needs.
5. Social needs:
a. The third level of need.
b. Social needs are the needs to be affiliative (e.g., to
have friends, to be loved and accepted by other
people).
c. Organizations may encourage participation in social
events (e.g. office picnics or parties).
6. As a group, physiological needs, safety needs, and social
needs are known deficiency needs. Maslow’s idea was that
if these needs are not met, an individual will not develop
into a healthy person.
7. In contrast, the two highest-order needs, the ones at the
very top of the hierarchy, are known as growth needs.
Gratification of these needs to said to help a person to grow
and to develop to his or her fullest potential.
8. Esteem needs:
a. The fourth level of needs.
b. Esteem needs, are a person’s need to develop selfrespect and to gain the approval of others--the desire to
achieve success, have prestige, and be recognized by
others.
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Notes
Best Practices: Meeting Needs
In High Style p. 198
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c.
Behavior In Organizations
Chapter Six
Companies may have awards banquets to recognize
distinguished achievements. Giving monetary bonuses-even small ones--in recognition of employees’
suggestions for improvement also helps to promote
their esteem. Nonmonetary awards (e.g., trophies and
plaques) provide reminders of an employee’s important
contributions as well and continuously fulfill esteem
needs.
9. Self-actualization needs:
a. The top of Maslow’s hierarchy.
b. This is the need to become all that one can be, to
develop one’s fullest potential. Individuals who have
self-actualized are working at their peak, and they
represent the most effective use of an organization’s
human resources.
10. Research has supported Maslow’s distinction between
deficiency needs and growth needs. Research also has
shown that not all people can satisfy their higher-order
needs on the job.
11. Maslow’s theory has not received a great deal of support
regarding the exact needs that exist and the order in which
they are activated.
B. ALDERFER’S ERG THEORY
1. In response to the criticisms of Maslow’s theory, an
alternative formulation has been proposed by Alderfer.
Known as ERG theory, his approach is much simpler.
2. Alderfer specifies only three types of needs instead of five,
but he also holds these are not necessarily activated in any
specific order.
3. The three needs are the needs for existence, relatedness,
and growth.
a. Existence needs correspond to Maslow’s physiological
and safety needs.
b. Relatedness needs correspond to Maslow’s social
needs.
c. Growth needs correspond to Maslow’s esteem and selfactualization needs.
4. ERG theory is much less restrictive than need hierarchy
theory. It fits better with research evidence suggesting that
although basic needs exist.
C. MANAGERIAL APPLICATIONS OF NEED THEORIES
1. Probably the greatest value of need theories is their the
practical implications for management. Here is what
organizations can do to help satisfy their employee’s needs.
2. Promote a healthy workforce.
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Notes
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Chapter Six
a. Some companies help to satisfy their employees’
physiological needs by providing incentives to stay
healthy--giving insurance rebates to employees with
healthy lifestyles and charge extra premiums to
employees whose habits (e.g., smoking) put them at
greater risk for health problems.
b. Companies also are interested in promoting their
employees’ mental health as well by providing
psychological services.
Notes
3. Provide financial Security.
a. This goes beyond the more traditional forms of payroll
savings and profit-sharing plans. For example, low
interest loans to help children through college.
b. Financial security is a key aspect of job security,
particularly in troubled economic times.
c. To help soften the blow of layoffs, more and more
organizations are providing outplacement services--that
is, assistance with securing new employment.
4. Provide opportunities to socialize.
a. Traditionally companies have offered picnics and
holiday parties.
b. Some companies today have interwoven socialization
into their culture with “theme days,” goofy Olympics,
etc.
5. Recognize employee accomplishments.
a. Whatever form they take, awards are enhance esteem
only when they are clearly linked to desired behaviors.
III. MOTIVATING BY SETTING GOALS
A. GOAL-SETTING THEORY
1. Theorists claim that an assigned goal influences people’s
beliefs about their ability to perform the task in question.
2. The basic idea behind goal setting theory is that a goal
serves as a motivator because it causes people to compare
their present capacity to perform with that required to
succeed at the goal.
3. To the extent people believe they will fall short of the goal,
they will feel dissatisfied and work harder to attain it--so
long as they believe it is possible to do so. When they
succeed at meeting a goal, they feel competent and
successful.
4. This model also claims that assigned goals lead to
acceptance of those goals as personal goals--assigned
goals will become accepted as one’s own. This is the idea
of goal commitment, which is the extent to which people
invest themselves in meeting a goal.
5. The more strongly that people believe they can meet a goal,
the more strongly they accept it as their own.
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Group Exercise:
Does Goal Setting Really
Work? Demonstrate It For
Yourself p. 222
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Chapter Six
6. Finally, this model claims that beliefs about both selfefficacy and goal commitment influence task performance.
People will exert greater effort when they believe they will
succeed than when they believe their efforts will be in vain.
Goals that are not personally accepted have little capacity
to guide behavior.
B. MANAGERS’ GUIDELINES FOR SETTING EFFECTIVE
PERFORMANCE GOALS
Notes
Figure 6.7
p. 197
Figure 6.8
p. 199
Figure 6.9
p. 201
1. Assign specific goals.
a. The best-established finding on goal setting is that
people perform at higher levels when asked to met a
specific, high-performance goal than when asked
simply to “do your best” or when no goal at all is
assigned.
2. Assign difficult, but acceptable performance goals.
a. The key point is that a goal must be difficult as well as
specific for it to raise performance.
b. People will work hard to reach challenging goals so
long as these goals are within the limits of their
capability. As goals become too difficult, performance
suffers, because people reject those goals as being
unrealistic and unattainable.
c. A way of enhancing goal acceptance is to involve
employees in the goal-setting process.
3. Provide feedback concerning goal attainment.
a. Feedback helps people to attain their performance
goals.
b. The importance of using feedback in conjunction with
goal setting was demonstrated by a study of pizza
delivery drivers.
c. The experimental group--was asked to come to a
complete stop 75 percent of the time, and over a 4week period, they were given regular performance
appraisals on how successful they were in meeting this
goal. Drivers in the control group were not asked to
meet any goals, however, and they were not given any
feedback on their driving.
d. Feedback led the drivers in the experimental group to
come very close to the assigned goal of stopping
completely at intersections three-quarters of the time.
e. Once that feedback was withdrawn, however, these
drivers returned to stopping only half the time.
f. Providing feedback, however, shines a spotlight on task
performance that is essential to success.
IV. MOTIVATING BY BEING FAIR:
JUSTICE
ORGANIZATIONAL
1. Organizational justice is an individual-based theory, but with
a social component.
2. The various conceptualizations of organizational justice
view motivation from the perspective of the social
comparisons people make, what they see when they
compare themselves with others and with the prevailing
standards.
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Figure 6.10
p. 201
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Chapter Six
3. Organizational justice had three major approaches:
distributive justice, procedural justice and interactional
justice.
A. DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE;
EQUITY THEORY
Notes
Figure 6.11
p. 202
Table 6.1
p. 203
1. Distributive justice is the perceived fairness of the way
rewards are distributed among people.
2. Equity theory, proposes that individuals are motivated to
maintain fair--or equitable--relationships among them
selves and to avoid those relationships that are unfair-or
inequitable.
3. Equity theory states that people compare themselves with
others and focus on two variables; outcomes, and inputs.
a. Outcomes are things we get out of our jobs and include
pay, fringe benefits, and prestige.
b. Inputs are things we contribute, such as the amount of
time worked, amount of effort expended, number of
units produced, and the qualifications we bring to the
job.
4. Equity theory is concerned with outcomes and inputs as
they are perceived by the people involved, not with what
they actually might be based on objective standards.
5. People compare their outcomes and inputs with those of
others and then judge the equitableness of these
relationships in the form of a ratio.
a. This “other” who serves as the basis for comparison
may be almost anyone against whom we can compare
ourselves.
b. Comparisons can result in any of three different states:
overpayment inequity, underpayment inequity, or
equitable payment.
c. Individuals seek to create a state of equitable payment
in which their outcome/input ratios are equal, thus
leading them to feel satisfied.
6. People change inequitable states to equitable ones several
ways.
a. People who are underpaid may lower their inputs or
raise their outcomes.
b. People who are overpaid might do the opposite and
either raise inputs or lower outcomes.
7. People may be unwilling to do some of the things that are
necessary to respond behaviorally to inequities.
a. As a result, they may resort to resolving the inequity not
by changing their behavior, but by changing how they
think about the situation.
b. So by changing how they see things, people may come
to perceive inequitable situations as being equitable,
thus effectively reducing their distress over the inequity.
8. A great deal of evidence suggests that people are
motivated to redress inequities at work and that they
respond much as equity theory suggests.
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B. PROCEDURAL JUSTICE: MAKING DECISIONS FAIRLY
1. The idea of procedural justice originally came from the legal
arena, where it has long been understood that for the
outcome of a trial to be fair, the procedures used in that trial
(e.g., rules regarding the nature of evidence) must be fair.
2. Procedural justice as the perceived fairness of the
processes by which organizational decisions are made.
3. Several things that can be done to make organizational
decisions seem fair.
a. Give people a say in how decisions are made.
b. Provide an opportunity for errors to be corrected.
c. Apply rules and policies consistently.
d. Make decisions in an unbiased manner.
4. Interactional justice is the perceived fairness of the
interpersonal treatment used to determine organizational
outcomes.
5. Two major factors of Interactional justice:
a. Informational justification--the thoroughness of the
information received about a decision.
b. Social sensitivity--the amount of dignity and respect
demonstrated when presenting an undesirable outcome
(e.g., a pay cut or loss of a job).
c. People respond much more favorably to negative
outcomes when these are presented in a very through
and informative manner-- and with a great deal of
interpersonal sensitivity.
C. ORGANIZATIONAL JUSTICE: SOME MOTIVATIONAL TIPS
FOR MANAGERS
1. Avoid underpayment.
a. Companies that attempt to save money by reducing
employees’ salaries may find that employees “even the
score” in many different ways.
b. A particularly unsettling form of institutionalizing
underpayment has materialized in the form of two-tier
wage structures.
c. Under these payment systems, newer employees are
paid less than those who were hired to do the same
work at an earlier point in time. Such systems are
considered to be highly unfair, particularly by those in
the lower tier.
2. Avoid overpayment.
a. Increases in performance resulting from overpayment
inequity tend to be temporary.
b. When you overpay one employee, you are underpaying
all the others. In turn, when most employees feel
underpaid, they will lower their performance.
c. Part of the difficulty is because feelings of equity and
inequity are based on perceptions, and perceptions are
not always easy to control.
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Notes
Individual Exercise:
Do You Receive Fair
Interpersonal Treatment on
the Job? p. 221
Greenberg & Baron:
Behavior In Organizations
Chapter Six
d. One approach that may help is to be open and honest
about outcomes and inputs.
Notes
3. Give people a voice in decisions that affect them.
a. People are likely to believe that decisions have been
made fairly to the extent they have a chance to
influence those decisions.
b. When people are denied a voice they believe they
should have, they respond negatively even if the
resulting decision is the same as it would have been if
they had participated.
4. Explain outcomes thoroughly using a socially sensitive
manner.
a. People’s assessments of fairness on the job go beyond
what their outcomes and inputs are. These
assessments also involve their knowledge of how these
outcomes and inputs were determined.
b. Even negative outcomes such as layoffs, pay freezes,
and pay cuts can be accepted and recognized as being
fair to the extent that people understand the procedures
involved in making those decisions.
c. Findings suggest that even if managers cannot do
anything to eliminate workplace inequities, they might
be able to ease the sting by explaining why these
unfortunate conditions are necessary.
V. MOTIVATING BY ALTERING EXPECTATIONS
1. Instead of focusing on individual needs, goals, or social
comparisons, expectancy theory takes a broader approach.
It looks at the role of motivation in the overall work
environment.
2. It asserts that people are motivated to work when they
expect they will achieve the things that they want from their
jobs.
A. BASIC ELEMENTS OF EXPECTANCY THEORY
1. Three different types of beliefs that people have;
expectancy--the belief that one’s effort will result in
performance; instrumentality--the belief that one’s
performance will be rewarded; and valence--the perceived
value of the rewards to the recipient.
2. Expectancy
a. People believe that by putting forth a great effort, they
will get a lot accomplished.
b. In other cases, however, people do not expect their
efforts to have much effect on how well they do (e.g.,
using a faulty piece of equipment).
3. Instrumentality
a. Even if an employee works hard and performs at a high
level, his or her motivation may falter if that
performance is not suitably rewarded, if the
performance is not perceived as instrumental to
bringing about the rewards.
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Figure 6.14
p. 207
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Behavior In Organizations
Chapter Six
4. Valence
a. Even if employees believe that hard work will lead to
good performance and that their reward will be
commensurate with their performance, they still may be
poorly motivated if those rewards have a low valence.
b. Employees will be motivated to the degree to which
they care about the specific reward.
Notes
5. Combining all three components.
a. Expectancy theory claims that motivation is a
multiplicative function of all three components.
b. Higher levels of motivation result when expectancy,
instrumentality, and valence are all high than result
when they are all low.
c. If any one component is zero, then the overall level of
motivation also is zero.
6. Other determinants of job performance.
a. Motivation is not equivalent to job performance.
Expectancy theory recognizes that motivation is only
one of several important determinants in job
performance.
b. Expectancy theory assumes that both skill and abilities
also contribute to a person’s job performance.
c. Expectancy theory also recognizes that job
performance is influenced by people’s role perceptions,
what they believe is expected of them on the job.
d. Finally, expectancy theory also recognizes the role of
opportunities to perform one’s job. Even the best
employees may perform at low levels if their
opportunities are limited.
7. Expectancy theory has generated much research and been
applied successfully to understanding behavior in many
different organizational settings.
B. MANAGERIAL APPLICATIONS OF EXPECTANCY THEORY
1. Clarify people expectations that their effort will lead to
performance.
a. Motivation may be enhanced by training employees to
do their jobs more efficiently.
b. Effort-performance expectations also may be enhanced
by following employees’ suggestions about ways to
change their jobs.
2. Administer rewards with a positive valence to employees.
a. The carrot at the end of the stick must be tasty for it to
be a motivator.
b. It is misleading to assume that all employees care
about having the same rewards. Companies have
introduce cafeteria style benefit plans—incentive
systems—allowing employees to select fringe benefits
from a menu of alternative.
96
OB In a Diverse World Why
Do Americans Work Longer
Hours than Germans? p.
210
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Chapter Six
3. Clearly link valued rewards and performance.
a. A recent survey found that only 25 percent of
employees see a clear link between good job
performance and pay raises.
4. To the extent that employees can be paid in ways directly
linked to their performance --such as through piece-rate
incentive systems, sales commission plans, or bonuses-expectancy theory specifies it would be effective to do so.
Notes
Web Surfing Exercise:
Pay Equity in Sports
p. 223
5. Of course, rewards need not be monetary in nature. Even
symbolic and verbal recognition for a job well done can be
very effective.
6. Some companies are so serious about paying for
performance they give employees a piece of the company
in exchange for their contributions. Known as ISO plans
(Incentive Stock Options) they give the employee an
opportunity to purchase stock at some future time at a
specified price. The employee can exercise his or her
option at a profit with certain income tax advantages.
OB In An E-World
Incentive Stock Options At
Dot-Coms: Then and Now
p. 214
7. The rational is straightforward—give employees a stake in
the company. What’s good for the employee is good for
the company.
VI.
MOTIVATING BY STRUCTURING JOBS TO MAKE THEM
INTERESTING
Table 6.2
p. 212
1. This approach is the largest in scope, because it aims to
improve the nature of the work performed. The idea behind
job design is that by making jobs more appealing to people,
motivation can be enhanced.
A. JOB ENLARGEMENT AND JOB ENRICHMENT
1. Job enlargement--monotony can be minimized if people
perform an increased number of different tasks all at the
same level.
2. Employees have no more responsibility nor use any greater
skills, but they do perform a wider variety of different tasks
at the same level. Adding tasks in this fashion is said to
increase the horizontal job loading of the position.
3. Most reports on the effectiveness of job enlargement have
been anecdotal, but a few carefully conducted empirical
studies have examined their impact as well.
a. In enlarged jobs, however, these various functions were
combined into larger jobs performed by the same
people. Although it was more difficult and expensive to
train people for the enlarged than for the separate jobs,
important benefits resulted.
b. Employees with enlarged jobs expressed greater job
satisfaction and less boredom, and because one
person followed the job all the way through, greater
opportunities to correct errors existed.
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Figure 6.17
p. 216
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Behavior In Organizations
Chapter Six
Notes
4. Job enrichment gives employees more tasks to perform at
a higher level of skill and responsibility. Job enrichment
provides the opportunity for employees to take greater
control. The job enrichment process is said to increase
vertical loading.
5. Evidence suggests that job enrichment programs have
been successful but several factors limit their popularity.
Two barriers exist:
a. Difficulty of implementation.
b. The lack of employee acceptance. “If you want to
enrich the job, enrich the paycheck.”
Figure 6.18
B. THE JOB CHARACTERISTICS MODEL
1. The model assumes that jobs can be designed to help
people get enjoyment from them and to care about the work
they do, feel they are doing meaningful and valuable work.
2. This approach specifies that enriching certain elements of
jobs alters people’s psychological states in a manner that
enhances their work effectiveness.
3. The five critical job dimensions in this model are skill
variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and
feedback.
4. Skill variety is the extent to which a job requires a number
of different activities using several of the employees skills
and talents.
5. Task identity is the extent to which a job requires
completing an entire piece of work from beginning to end.
6. Task significance is the degree of impact the job is believed
to have on others.
7. Autonomy is the extent to which employees have the
freedom and discretion to plan, schedule, and perform their
jobs as desired.
8. Feedback is the extent to which a job allows people to have
information about the effectiveness of their performance.
9. The model specifies that these job dimensions have
important effects on various critical psychological states.
For example, Skill variety, task identity, and task
significance jointly contribute to a task’s experienced
meaningfulness.
10. Jobs that provide a great deal of autonomy are said to
make people feel personally responsible and accountable
for their work.
11. Effective feedback gives employees knowledge of the
results of their work.
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Notes
12. The job characteristics model specifies that the three
critical psychological states affect various personal and
work outcomes; people’s feelings of motivation, the quality
of work performed, satisfaction with work, absenteeism,
and turnover.
13. The higher the experienced meaningfulness of the work,
the responsibility for the work performed, and the
knowledge of results, the more positive the personal and
work benefits will be.
14. We should note the model is theorized to be especially
effective in describing the behavior of individuals who are
high in growth need strength, people with a high need for
personal growth and development.
15. Based on the proposed relationship between the core job
dimensions and their associated psychological reactions,
job motivation should be highest when the jobs being
performed rate high on the various dimensions.
16. To assess this idea, a questionnaire known as the Job
Diagnostic Survey (JDS) has been developed to measure
the degree to which various job characteristics are present
in a given job.
17. The formula.
MPS =
Skill variety + Task identity + Task significance
3
× Autonomy × Feedback
18. The MPS is a summary index of a job’s potential for
motivating people. The higher the score for a given job, the
greater the likelihood of experiencing the personal and work
outcomes as specified by the model. Knowing a job’s MPS
helps one to identify jobs that might benefit from being
redesigned.
Table 6.3
p. 219
C. TECHNIQUES FOR DESIGNING JOBS THAT MOTIVATE:
SOME MANAGERIAL GUIDELINES
1. Combine tasks.
a. Instead of having several workers perform separate
parts of a whole job, have each person perform the
entire job. This provides greater skill variety and task
identity.
2. Open feedback channels.
a. Jobs should be designed to give employees as much
feedback as possible.
b. The more people know about how well they do (be it
from customers, supervisors, or coworkers), the better
equipped they are to take appropriate corrective action.
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3. Establish client relationships.
a. The job characteristic model suggests that jobs should
be designed so that the person performing a service
(e.g., an auto mechanic) comes into contact with the
recipient of that service (e.g., the car owner).
4. Load jobs vertically.
a. This involves giving people greater responsibility for
that job. Taking responsibility and control over
performance away from managers and then giving it to
their subordinates increases the level of autonomy
these jobs offer the lower-level employees.
b. According to a recent poll, autonomy is among the most
important things people look for in their jobs--even
more important than high pay.
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Notes
Practicing OB:
Motivating Workers at a
Chemical Company
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Summary and Review of Learning Objectives
1. Define motivation and explain its importance in the field of organizational behavior.
Motivation is concerned with the set of processes that arouse, direct, and maintain behavior toward a
goal. It is not equivalent to job performance but is one of several determinants of job performance.
Today’s work ethic motivate people to seek interesting and challenging jobs instead of just money.
2. Describe need hierarchy theory and what it recommends about improving motivation in organizations.
Maslow’s need hierarchy theory postulates that people have five basic needs, activated in a specific
order from the most basic, lowest-level need (physiological needs) to the highest-level need (need for
self-actualization). Although this theory has not been supported by rigorous research studies, it has
been quite useful in suggesting several ways of satisfying employees’ needs on the job. A less
restrictive conceptualization, Alderfer’s ERG theory proposes that people have only three basic needs:
existence, relatedness, and growth. Following from these theories, companies are encouraged to do
several things to motivate their employees. Notably, they should promote a healthy workforce, provide
financial security, provide opportunities to socialize, and recognize employees’ accomplishments.
3. Identify and explain the conditions through which goal setting can be used to improve job
performance.
Locke and Latham’s goal-setting theory claims that an assigned goal influences a person’s beliefs
about being able to perform a task (referred to as self-efficacy) and his or her personal goals. Both of
these factors, in turn, influence performance. Research has shown that people will improve their
performance when specific, acceptably difficult goals are set and feedback about task performance is
provided. The task of selecting goals that are acceptable to employees is facilitated by allowing
employees to participate in the goal-setting process.
4. Describe distributive justice, equity theory, procedural justice, and interactional justice, and explain
how they may be applied to motivating people in organizations.
Distributive justice concerns people’s perceptions of the fairness of the distribution of rewards. The
major theory of distributive justice is equity theory. This theory claims that people desire to attain an
equitable balance between the ratios of their work rewards (outcomes) and their job contributions
(inputs) and the corresponding ratios of comparison others. Inequitable states of overpayment inequity
and underpayment inequity are undesirable, motivating people to try to attain equitable conditions.
Responses to inequity may be either behavioral (e.g., raising or lowering one’s performance) or
psychological (e.g., thinking differently about work contributions). People are concerned not only about
establishing equitable relationships but also about procedural justice—that is, having organizational
decisions made by way of fair processes (both in structural terms, such as having a voice in decisionmaking procedures, and interpersonally, such as by being treated with dignity and respect). In
addition, people also are concerned about the fairness of the manner in which they are treated by
others, known as interactional justice. These concepts (known collectively as theories of
organizational justice) suggest that companies should avoid intentionally underpaying or overpaying
employees, that managers should follow fair procedures (e.g., ones that are consistent and
correctible), and that managers should explain the basis for outcomes in a thorough and socially
sensitive manner.
5. Describe expectancy theory and how it may be applied in organizations.
Expectancy theory recognizes that motivation is the product of a person’s beliefs about expectancy
(effort will lead to performance), instrumentality (performance will result in reward), and valence (the
perceived value of the rewards). In conjunction with skills, abilities, role perceptions, and opportunities,
motivation contributes to job performance. Expectancy theory suggests that motivation may be
enhanced by linking rewards to performance (as in pay-for-performance plans) and by administering
rewards that are highly valued (as may be done using cafeteria-style benefit plans).
6. Distinguish between job enlargement, job enrichment, and the job characteristics model as techniques
for motivating employees.
An effective organizational-level technique for motivating people is the designing or redesigning of
jobs. Job design techniques include job enlargement (performing more tasks at the same level) and
job enrichment (giving people greater responsibility and control over their jobs). The job
characteristics model identifies the specific job dimensions that should be enriched (skill variety, task
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identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback) and relates these to the critical psychological
states influenced by including these dimensions on a job. These psychological states will, in turn, lead
to certain beneficial outcomes for both individual employees (e.g., job satisfaction) and the
organization (e.g., reduced absenteeism and turnover). Jobs may be designed to enhance motivation
by combining tasks, opening feedback channels, establishing client relationships, and loading jobs
vertically (i.e., enhancing responsibility for one’s work).
Questions for Review
1. What are Maslow’s five categories of needs, and how might each be satisfied on the job?
Answer:
 Physiological needs: Refers to satisfying fundamental biological drives (e.g., the need for food,
air, water, and shelter). Organizations must provide employees with a salary that affords them
adequate living conditions. Similarly, sufficient opportunities to rest (e.g., coffee breaks) and to
engage in physical activity (e.g., fitness and exercise facilities) also are important for people to
meet these needs.
 Safety needs: Refers to the need for a secure environment that is free from threats of physical
or psychological harm. Organizations can provide employees with safety equipment (e.g., hard
hats and goggles), life and health insurance, and security forces (e.g., police and fire protection).
Similarly, jobs that provide tenure (e.g., teaching) and no-layoff agreements provide a
psychological security blanket that helps to satisfy safety needs.
 Social needs: Refers to the need to be affiliative (e.g., to have friends, to be loved and accepted
by other people). Organizations may encourage participation in social events (e.g. office picnics or
parties).
 Esteem needs: Refers to the need to develop self-respect and to gain the approval of others-the desire to achieve success, have prestige, and be recognized by others. Companies may have
awards banquets to recognize distinguished achievements. Giving monetary bonuses--even small
ones--in recognition of employees’ suggestions for improvement also helps to promote their
esteem. Nonmonetary awards (e.g., trophies and plaques) provide reminders of an employee’s
important contributions as well and continuously fulfill esteem needs.
 Self-actualization needs: Refers to the need to become all that one can be, to develop one’s
fullest potential. Individuals who have self-actualized are working at their peak, and they represent
the most effective use of an organization’s human resources. Organizations can offer training,
tuition reimbursement, more challenging projects, etc.
2. What rules should be followed when setting goals to motivate workers?
Answer: The basic idea behind goal setting theory is that a goal serves as a motivator because it
causes people to compare their present capacity to perform with that required to succeed at the goal.
Some guidelines to follow are:
 Make goals specific
 Assign challenging, but attainable goals
 Provide feedback concerning goal attainment
3. What does equity theory say about the role of money as a motivator?
Answer: Equity theory states that people compare themselves with others and focus on two
variables; outcomes, and inputs. Outcomes are things we get out of our jobs and include pay, fringe
benefits, and prestige. Inputs are things we contribute, such as the amount of time worked, amount of
effort expended, number of units produced, and the qualifications we bring to the job.
People compare their outcomes and inputs with those of others and then judge the
equitableness of these relationships in the form of a ratio. Comparisons can result in any of three
different states: overpayment inequity, underpayment inequity, or equitable payment. Individuals seek
to create a state of equitable payment in which their outcome/input ratios are equal, thus leading them
to feel satisfied. People change inequitable states to equitable ones several ways.
 People who are underpaid may lower their inputs or raise their outcomes.
 People who are overpaid might do the opposite and either raise inputs or lower outcomes.
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People may be unwilling to do some of the things that are necessary to respond behaviorally to
inequities. As a result, they may resort to resolving the inequity not by changing their behavior, but by
changing how they think about the situation. So by changing how they see things, people may come to
perceive inequitable situations as being equitable, thus effectively reducing their distress over the
inequity.
4. How do procedural justice and interactional justice contribute to motivation on the job?
Answer: Procedural justice as the perceived fairness of the processes by which organizational
decisions are made. Things that can be done to make organizational decisions seem fair are: 1)
Give people a say in how decisions are made, 2) Provide an opportunity for errors to be corrected, 3)
Apply rules and policies consistently, and 4) Make decisions in an unbiased manner.
Interactional justice is the perceived fairness of the interpersonal treatment used to determine
organizational outcomes. There are two major factors of Interactional justice: Informational
justification--the thoroughness of the information received about a decision and Social sensitivity--the
amount of dignity and respect demonstrated when presenting an undesirable outcome (e.g., a pay cut
or loss of a job).
Both Procedural justice and Organizational justice contribute to motivation by providing workers
with information and the opportunity to succeed in a “level playing field.” Even when the news is
bad—such in the case of layoffs—workers are more accepting of the news if they know the decisions
were made in an unbiased manner and if the news is delivered with dignity and respect for the
workers.
5. What are the basic components of expectancy theory and how are they combined to predict
performance?
Answer: Expectancy theory recognizes that motivation is the product of a person’s beliefs about
expectancy (effort will lead to performance), instrumentality (performance will result in reward), and
valence (the perceived value of the rewards). In conjunction with skills, abilities, role perceptions, and
opportunities, motivation contributes to job performance. Expectancy theory suggests that motivation
may be enhanced by linking rewards to performance (as in pay-for-performance plans) and by
administering rewards that are highly valued (as may be done using cafeteria-style benefit plans).
6. How, specifically, can jobs be designed in an effort to enhance motivation?
Answer: Job design techniques include job enlargement (performing more tasks at the same level)
and job enrichment (giving people greater responsibility and control over their jobs). The job
characteristics model identifies the specific job dimensions that should be enriched (skill variety, task
identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback) and relates these to the critical psychological
states influenced by including these dimensions on a job. These psychological states will, in turn, lead
to certain beneficial outcomes for both individual employees (e.g., job satisfaction) and the
organization (e.g., reduced absenteeism and turnover). Jobs may be designed to enhance motivation
by combining tasks, opening feedback channels, establishing client relationships, and loading jobs
vertically (i.e., enhancing responsibility for one’s work).
Experiential Questions
1. What experiences have you had in setting personal goals (e.g., for saving money, for losing weight,
for getting a certain job)? Which rules of goal setting did you follow? Which rules might you have
followed to be even more successful?
Answer: Students’ answers will vary, but should include the components of goal setting. They are:
1) Make goals specific, 2) Assign challenging, but attainable goals, and 3) Provide feedback
concerning goal attainment
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2. Think of a time in which you felt unfairly treated by your employer or manager. How did it make you
feel, and how did you respond as a result? Which particular forms of organizational justice were
involved, and how?
Answer: Students’ answers will vary, but should include components of organizational justice
theory: distributive justice, equity theory, procedural justice, and interactional justice.
3. Think of the job you currently do or one that you have done recently. Describe two specific things that
could be done to redesign that job so that employees will be more motivated to perform it.
Answer: Students’ answers will vary, but should include elements of job design or job enlargement
techniques.
Questions to Analyze
1. Consider a poor-performing employee who explains to his boss that he is trying very hard. According
to expectancy theory, what factors would contribute to such effort? What additional factors, besides
motivation, contribute to task performance?
Answer: Expectancy theory state that motivation is the product of a person’s beliefs about
expectancy (effort will lead to performance), instrumentality (performance will result in reward), and
valence (the perceived value of the rewards). In conjunction with skills, abilities, role perceptions, and
opportunities, motivation contributes to job performance. If the employee is comparing himself to a
lower performing employee—he may believe that he is working hard. Additionally, he may not have
the required skills to do the job and therefore is working very hard just to keep up.
2. Explain the role that money plays as a motivator in all of the theories of motivation presented in this
chapter.
Answer: Money in Maslow’s Need Hierarch theory would meet a physiological need and in ERG
theory would meet and existence need. Money could be used in goal setting theory as a specified
amount that an employee might aspire to. According to distributive justice theory money as a
motivator would need to be paid equitably for the tasks performed. Expectancy theory would suggest
that an employee would be motivated to work harder believing rewards (money) will be there.
3. Imagine that you are devising a policy for determining the order in which vacation times are selected
in your department. How could you do so in a manner that the people involved will believe is
procedurally fair?
Answer: People are concerned not only about establishing equitable relationships but also about
procedural justice—that is, having organizational decisions made by way of fair processes (both in
structural terms, such as having a voice in decision-making procedures, and interpersonally, such as
by being treated with dignity and respect). Asking employees for input into the process could be an
effective tool—they are more likely to accept a decision they have had some say in. Additionally,
once the policy is developed, communicate directly with employees explaining the policy and how the
final decisions were obtained.
Critical Thinking Questions
1. What specific things does Wal-Mart to motivate employees?
Answer: It tries to keep work fun by having meetings that energetic and encourage participation.
2. What do you see as the strengths and limitations of these tactics?
Answer: Strengths are: information is conveyed to employees, it’s inexpensive, it’s motivating and
a fun way to start the day. Limitations are: may do much for long-term motivation.
3. How effective do you think these various tactics would be in the job you perform in the company in
which you work?
Answer: Students’ answers will vary.
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