Chapter
6
Motivational Methods and
Programs
Fundamentals of
Organizational Behavior 2e
Andrew J. DuBrin
PowerPoint Presentation
by Charlie Cook
Learning Objectives
1. Explain how to enhance motivation through job
enrichment, the job characteristics model, and work
group design.
2. Summarize the basics of a behavior modification
program in the workplace.
3. Identify rules and suggestions for motivating group
members through behavior modification.
4. Describe why recognition is a good motivator and the
nature of reward and recognition programs in the
workplace.
5. Describe how to effectively use financial incentives to
motivate others, including the use of gainsharing.
6. Choose an appropriate motivational model for a given
situation.
A. J. DuBrin, Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior, Second Edition. Copyright © 2002 by South-Western.
6–2
Motivation Through Job Design
Job Enrichment
 Is making a job more motivational and satisfying by adding
variety, responsibility, and managerial decision making.
 Provides workers sense of ownership, responsibility, and
accountability for their jobs.
 Jobs are enriched by including more
planning, decision making, and
responsibility by workers.
A. J. DuBrin, Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior, Second Edition. Copyright © 2002 by South-Western.
6–3
Characteristics and Consequences of an
Enriched Job
Characteristics
Direct feedback
Client relationships
New learning
Scheduling
Unique experience
Control over resources
Direct communication
authority
Personal accountability
Consequences
Increased motivation,
satisfaction, productivity, and quality
of work life
EXHIBIT
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A. J. DuBrin, Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior, Second Edition. Copyright © 2002 by South-Western.
6–4
Guidelines for Implementing Job
Enrichment
1. Determine if employees need or want more
responsibility, variety, and growth.
2. Identify workers with strong needs for growth
and offer them more challenge
and responsibility in
performing enriched work.
3. Use brainstorming to
pinpoint changes for
those who want
enrichment.
A. J. DuBrin, Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior, Second Edition. Copyright © 2002 by South-Western.
6–5
The Job Characteristics Model
A method of job design that focuses on the task and
interpersonal demands of the job.
 Based on both needs theory and expectancy theory.
 Job outcomes help satisfy deficiency and growth needs.
 Core job characteristics relate to critical psychological states.
 Redesigned jobs result in heightened internal motivation
(increases in personal and work outcomes) calculated as an
index called the Motivating Potential Score (MPS):
Skill
Task
Task
MPS = Variety + Identity + Significance x Autonomy x Feedback
3
A. J. DuBrin, Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior, Second Edition. Copyright © 2002 by South-Western.
6–6
The Job Characteristics Model
Five measurable characteristics of jobs:
1. Skill variety—the degree to which there are skills to perform.
2. Task Identity—the degree to which one worker does a complete
job, from beginning to end, with a tangible and possible
outcome.
3. Task Significance—the degree to which work has a heavy impact
on others in the immediate organization or the external
environment.
4. Autonomy—the degree to which a job offers freedom,
independence, and discretion in its implementation.
5. Feedback—the degree to which a job provides direct information
about performance.
A. J. DuBrin, Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior, Second Edition. Copyright © 2002 by South-Western.
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The Job Characteristics Model
of Job Enrichment
Core Job
Characteristics
Skill Variety
Task Identity
Task Significance
Critical
Psychological States
Experienced
Meaningfulness of Work
Autonomy
Experienced Responsibility
for Outcomes of Work
Feedback from Job
Knowledge of Actual Results
of Work Activities
EXHIBIT
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Personal and Work
Outcomes
High Internal Work Motivation
High General Job Satisfaction
High Growth Satisfaction
Low Turnover and Absenteeism
High-Quality Work Performance
Strength of Employee’s
Need for Growth
Source: J. R. Hackman and G. R. Oldham, Work
Redesign, (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1980) p. 77.
A. J. DuBrin, Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior, Second Edition. Copyright © 2002 by South-Western.
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Self-Managed Work Teams
A formally recognized group of employees who
are responsible for an entire work process or
segment that delivers a product or service to an
internal or external customer.
 Concept is widely used form of job design that is an
outgrowth of job enrichment.
 Serves to broaden the responsibility
of team members.
A. J. DuBrin, Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior, Second Edition. Copyright © 2002 by South-Western.
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Key Purposes for Establishing SelfManaged Work Teams
1. Increase productivity.
2. Enhance quality.
3. Reduce cycle time (amount
of time required to complete
a transaction).
4. Respond more rapidly to a
changing workplace.
A. J. DuBrin, Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior, Second Edition. Copyright © 2002 by South-Western.
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Characteristics of a Self-Managed Work Team
1. Team members are empowered to
share many management and
leadership functions, such as making
job assignments and giving pep talks.
2. Members plan, control, and improve
their own work processes.
3. Members set their own goals and
inspect their own work.
4. Members create their own schedules
and review their group performance.
5. Members often prepare their own
budgets and coordinated their work
with other departments.
6. Members typically order materials,
keep inventories, and deal with
suppliers.
7. Members are sometimes
responsible for obtaining any
new training that they might
need. (The organization,
however, usually mandates the
start-up training as described
above.)
8. Members are authorized to hire
their own replacements or
assume responsibility for
disciplining their own members.
9. Members assume responsibility
for the quality of their products
and services, whether provided
to internal or external customers.
EXHIBIT
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A. J. DuBrin, Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior, Second Edition. Copyright © 2002 by South-Western.
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Self-Managed Work Teams
Method of Operation
 Work together on an ongoing day-to-day basis.
 Often given total responsibility or “ownership” of a product
or service and to think in terms of customer requirements.
 Trained in team skills and cross-trained as generalists
rather than specialists.
Self-Managed Work Team Effectiveness
 Pro: Good record of improving productivity, quality, and
customer service.
 Con: Absenteeism is higher; equipment costs are higher in
modular design.
A. J. DuBrin, Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior, Second Edition. Copyright © 2002 by South-Western.
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Organizational Behavior Modification
(OB Mod)
The application of reinforcement theory for
motivating people in work settings
 Focuses on behavior that requires
change or is desired.
 Typically uses positive reinforcement
rather than punishment.
 Links desired behavior with positive
consequences (more effective
and less controversial than
using negative motivators).
A. J. DuBrin, Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior, Second Edition. Copyright © 2002 by South-Western.
6–13
Steps in a Formal OB
Identifying behaviors that require change.
 Behaviors to be reinforced should be observable,
measurable, task-related, and critical to the task.
Measure baseline performance.
 Measurement techniques include direct observation, time
sampling, archival data, and historical data.
Analyze the behavioral antecedents and
contingent consequences.
 What situational factors trigger the desired behavior?
 What are the rewards for the desired behavior?
A. J. DuBrin, Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior, Second Edition. Copyright © 2002 by South-Western.
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Steps in a Formal OB (cont’d)
Select an intervention strategy.
 Positive reinforcement is applied to increase behaviors and
decrease dysfunctional behaviors.
 Punishment is used as a last resort.
Evaluate change in performance.
 If performance does not improve, reevaluate and change the
intervention strategy.
 If performance improves, maintain with reinforcement
through a schedule of reinforcement:
Continuous
Intermittent
(Ratio or Interval)
A. J. DuBrin, Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior, Second Edition. Copyright © 2002 by South-Western.
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Rules for the Application of OB Mod
1. Choose an appropriate reward or punishment.
2. Reinforce the behaviors you really want to
encourage.
3. Supply ample feedback.
4. Rewards should be commensurate with the good
deed.
5. Schedule rewards intermittently.
6. Reward and punishments should follow the
observed behavior closely in time.
7. Make reward visible to the recipient and to
others.
A. J. DuBrin, Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior, Second Edition. Copyright © 2002 by South-Western.
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Motivation Through Recognition
1. Feedback is an essential part of recognition.
2. Praise is one of the most powerful forms of
recognition.
3. Rewards and recognition programs should be
linked to organizational goals.
4. Employee input into what type
of rewards and recognition are
valued is useful.
5. It is important to evaluate the
effectiveness of the reward
and recognition program.
A. J. DuBrin, Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior, Second Edition. Copyright © 2002 by South-Western.
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Motivation Through Financial Incentives
Linking pay to performance
 Financial incentives are more effective when linked to (or
contingent upon) specific performance criteria.
Stock options
 Are the future right to purchase shares of stock at a
specified price (usually at time of issue) .
 Options are used to attract employees and motivate them to
work hard to make the company successful.
If stock price rises, employees benefit from the
appreciation in value.
 If stock price falls, the options are worthless and the
employees receive no benefit from the option.

A. J. DuBrin, Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior, Second Edition. Copyright © 2002 by South-Western.
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Gainsharing
A formal program of allowing employees to
participate financially in the productivity gains
they have achieved.
 Gainsharing is based on positive reinforcement and the
motivational impact of money.
 Productivity gains from reductions in production (or labor)
costs are entered into a formula that calculates the bonus
pool that is distributed to the employees.
 Employee involvement is an essential mechanism through
which operational improvements are identified,
communicated and implemented.
A. J. DuBrin, Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior, Second Edition. Copyright © 2002 by South-Western.
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Problems Associated with Financial
Incentives
1. Creates disagreement with managers over the
value of employees contributions.
2. May foster conflict and lack of
cooperation among competing
groups of employees.
3. Focuses too much attention
on the external reward
and its size at the
expense of intrinsic
rewards.
A. J. DuBrin, Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior, Second Edition. Copyright © 2002 by South-Western.
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Choosing an Appropriate Motivational
Model
1. Carefully diagnose the situation.
2. Choose a motivational approach that best fits the
situation’s deficiencies or neglected opportunity.
3. Observe the people to be motivated. Try to
discern their interests and concerns.
4. Apply the motivational
technique.
5. Monitor for the expected
change in performance.
A. J. DuBrin, Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior, Second Edition. Copyright © 2002 by South-Western.
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