EXAM 2

Motivation

a set of energetic forces that originates both within and outside an employee, initiates work-related effort, and determines its direction, intensity, and persistence

Equity sensitivity: 3 types

• Benevolents: higher tolerance for negative inequity • Sensitives: motivated to resolve both positive or negative inequity • Entitled's: no tolerance for negative inequity (prefer positive inequity than equity)

What are the three types of comparisons/outcomes?

1. Positive inequity is "over rewarded" 2. Equity is "appropriately rewarded" 3. Negative inequity is "under rewarded"

What makes an outcome have high valence?

A specific amount of effort will result in a specific level of performance

What is equity theory?

A theory that suggests that employees create a mental ledger of the outcomes they receive for their job inputs, relative to some comparison other.

What do we mean by inputs and outputs for equity theory?

Inputs: they bring to a job (ability, experience, effort) Outputs: they receive (pay, promotions)

What are the two qualities that make goals strong predictors of task performance?

Intensity and Persistence

Extrinsic incentive bias

Is an attributional bias according to which people attribute relatively more weight to "extrinsic incentives" (such as monetary reward) than to "intrinsic incentives" (such as learning a new skill) to others rather than themselves.

Difficulties with incentive systems; misaligned incentive systems (what are the implications?)

It is difficult to measure performance "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts." What is measured is often determined by feasibility -- it can be costly to monitor performance Incentive systems are difficult to change People are typically distrustful of change, particularly when it comes to pay and incentives

How do the three components of motivation fit into the theories of motivation?

Motivation theories should increase a person's intensity, persistence, and direction, but through different mechanisms. For instance, expectancy theory would help increase direction, persistence, and effort since individuals should perceive that their effort leads to performance and their performance should lead to important outcomes. For goal setting theory, direction, persistence, and effort should be tied to setting difficult, specific, goals since people have clear expectations as to what they need to do to perform. The same type of thinking can also be applied to psychological empowerment, equity theory etc. It's not that one theory is better/worse for these, but that the motivational process unfolds differently.

Two-factor theory: How do motivators and hygiene factors function within this theory?

Motivators: achievement, personal growth, challenging work Presence leads to increased motivation, but absence is not necessarily demotivating Hygiene factors: a salary, benefits, safe and clean working environment, etc. Presence does not motivate, but absence is demotivating

What are the basic assumptions of needs theories?

Certain fundamental human needs must be met in a hierarchical order to facilitate motivation. E.g.: Existence / security > affiliation / belonging > growth needs Need: Physiological or psychological deficiencies that drive behavior.

What are the basic tenants of self-determination theory?

Choice/motivation to continue pursuing more tasks

What is expectancy theory, and what are the paths (expectancy, instrumentality, valence) that help determine how work effort is directed? How do the three paths work together?

Describes the cognitive processes that employees go through to make choices among different voluntary responses (i.e., how employees choose what tasks to pursue); critically, the theory is made up of three parts, and is multiplicative - if one part of the expectancy theory "puzzle" is zero, then motivation is zero - Motivation is fostered when the employee believes three things 1. effort will result in performance 2. performance will result in outcomes 3. outcomes will be valuable

How do motivation, direction, and persistence fit into the theories of motivation?

Direction of effort: what are going to do right now Intensity of effort: how hard are you going to work on it Persistence of effort: how long are we going to work on it

What is motivations relationship with engagement?

High levels of motivation leads to higher engagement in workspace

What is goal setting theory?

Motivation and performance can be maximized by assigning specific levels of performance for workers to attain

How does motivation relate to job performance and organizational commitment?

Motivation has a strong positive effect on Job Performance. People who experience higher levels of motivation tend to have higher levels of Task Performance. (Represents a strong correlation (around .50 in magnitude).

What do we know about intrinsic/extrinsic sources of motivation in organizations? How do they relate to different work-related outcomes?

People are motivated by Extrinsic factors: Tangible/instrumental rewards: pay increases, promotions, bonuses, stock options, etc. Status, recognition, esteem, etc. People are motivated by Intrinsic factors (not just money): Challenge, desire to learn, task enjoyment, task meaningfulness, fairness, social interaction, etc. Provides feelings of accomplishment and self-worth As long as it's not so challenging as to be impossible

When do extrinsic reward systems work well?

Performance is objective and easily measured Need for coordination amongst employees is low Tasks are routine, require little cognitive effort Intrinsic interest in the task is less important e.g. telemarketing, manufacturing, etc.

What is psychological empowerment? What are the four beliefs that help foster psychological empowerment?

Psychological empowerment: An energy rooted in the belief that tasks are contributing to some larger purpose Fostered by four beliefs: Meaningfulness: Value of a work goal/purpose relative to one's own values Self-Determination: Choice/initiation to continue pursuing work tasks Competence: Belief in one's own ability to work hard, perform Impact: Belief that one's work is "making a difference"

What role does self-efficacy play in expectancy theory?

Self-Efficacy is the belief that a person has the capabilities needed to execute the behaviors required for task success. Employees who feel more "efficacious" (i.e., self-confident) for a particular task will tend to perceive higher levels of expectancy

Types of inertia:

Structural Inertia: Resistance to change rooted in size, complexity and interdependence in an organization's structures, systems and formal processes. Cultural inertia: Resistance to change rooted in shared expectations of how things are done, myths that have evolved and become embedded over time. Ind. Resistance: Uncertainty avoidance, fear, failure to perceive benefits, apathy.

Theory X versus Theory Y

Theory X: People are inherently lazy, will avoid work if they can. People need to be monitored/controlled, and incentives/punishments are necessary to keep people motivated. THEORY Y: People do not inherently dislike work. Instead, under the right conditions, they can be self-motivated and seek out challenges and responsibilities.

20/60/20 Rule:

Use TOP 20 to influence the middle 60 and diminish power of the BOTTOM 20. The MIDDLE 60 can be moved upward or downward - they can be led. The BOTTOM 20 are the "comfortably miserable" - they can do damage.

Under what conditions do these effects occur (think the large, goal setting theory model reviewed in class)? For instance, how does goal commitment affect motivation? Feedback? Task complexity?

When trying to achieve a goal this condition occur Feedback: gives an employee information about his/her current level of performance Task Complexity: reflects how complicated and complex aspects of the goal are: Effects of specific versus difficult goals are almost twice as strong on simple tasks as compared to complex tasks Goal Commitment: degree to which an employee has internalized and accepted the goal and is committed to actually trying to achieve it.

What are the three components of motivation?

intensity, direction, persistence