Chapter 16: motivating employees

Clayton Alderfer proposed a modification of Maslow's theory in an effort to simplify it and respond to criticisms of its lack of empirical verification. His ERG theory identified three categories of need:

1. Existence needs - the need for physical well being 2. Relatedness needs - the needs for satisfactory relationships with others 3. growth needs - the needs that focus on the development of human potential and the desire for personal growth and increased competence

Four categories of motives managers can use based on two criteria. the vertical dimension contrasts intrinsic versus extrinsic rewards. the horizontal dimension contrasts behaviors that are driven by fear or pain versus those driven by growth or pleasure

1. Negative approach - Threats and punishment (Extrinsic and pain/fear) 2. Negative approach - tap into self-doubts (intrinsic and pain/fear) 3. positive approach - rewards such as pay raises, bonuses, praise (extrinsic and pleasure/growth) 4. positive approach - help people enjoy their work, get a sense of accomplishment (intrinsic and pleasure/growth)

most common methods for reducing a perceived inequity are:

Change work effort Change outcomes Change perceptions Leave the job

Frederick Herzberg developed the two-factor approach to motivation

Herzberg believed that two entirely separate dimensions contribute to an employee's behavior at work. The first, called hygiene factors and the second is motivators

a simple model of motivation

Need (creates desire to fulfill needs) --> Behavior (results in actions to fulfill needs) --> Rewards (Satisfy needs; intrinsic or extrinsic rewards)

Extrinsic rewards

are given by another person, typically a manager, and include promotions, praise, and pay increase

Intrinsic rewards

are the satisfactions that a person receives in the process of performing a particular action.

Richard Hackman and Greg Oldham research concerned work redesign, which is...

defined as altering jobs to increase both the quality of employees work experience and their productivity

goal-setting theory

described by Edwin Locke and Gary Latham, proposes that managers can increase motivation and enhance performance by setting specific, challenging goals, and then helping people track their progress toward goal achievement by providing timely feedback. Challenging + provide feedback + acccepted + specific = higher motivation

content theories

emphasizes the needs that motivate people.

process theories

explain how people select behavioral actions to meet their needs and determine whether their choices were successful. important perspectives in this area include goal-setting, equity theory, and expectancy.

motivators

focus on high-level needs and include achievement, recognition, responsibility, and opportunity for growth. Herzberg believed that when motivators are absent, workers are neutral toward work, but when motivators are present, workers are highly motivated and satisfied

Equity theory

focuses on individuals perceptions of how fairly they are treated compared with others. Developed by J. Stacy Adams, equity theory proposes that people are motivated to seek social equity in the rewards that they receive for performance.

E -> P expectancy

involves determining whether putting effort into a task will lead to high performance. for this expectancy to be high, the individual must have the ability, previous experience, and necessary equipment, tools, and opportunity to perform.

P -> O expectancy

involves determining whether successful performance will lead to the desired outcome or reward

Hygiene factors

involves the presence or absence of job dissatisfiers, such as working conditions, pay, company policies, and interpersonal relationships. When hygiene factors are poor, work is dissatisfying. how ever good hygiene factors simply remove the dissatisfaction; they do not in themselves cause people to become highly satisfied and motivated in their work

The job characteristics model

is a model of job design that considers core job dimensions, individuals critical psychological states, and employee growth-need strength.

Reinforcement

is defined as anything that causes a certain behavior to be repeated or inhibited

empowerment

is power sharing, the delegation of power and authority to subordinates in an organization. increasing employee power heightens motivation for task accomplishment because people improve their own effectiveness, choosing how to do a task and using their creativity

social learning theory

is related to the reinforcement perspective, but it proposes that an individuals motivation can result not just from direct experience of rewards and punishments, but also from the persons observations of other peoples behavior

positive reinforcement

is the administration of a pleasant and rewarding consequence following a desired behavior. Research shows that positive reinforcement does help motivate behaviors. Moreover, non financial reinforcements such as positive feedback, social recognition and attention are just as effective as financial incentives.

Job design

is the application of motivational theories to the structure of work for improving productivity and satisfaction

making progress principle

is the idea that the single most important factor that can boost motivation, positive emotions, and perceptions during a workday is making progress toward meaningful goals

Punishment

is the imposition of unpleasant outcomes on an employee. punishments typically occurs following undesirable behavior.

behavior modification

is the name given to the set of techniques by which reinforcement theory is used to modify human behavior

Avoidance learning

is the removal of an unpleasant consequence once a behavior is improved, thereby encouraging and strengthening the desired behavior. avoidance learning is sometimes called negative reinforcement. the idea is that people will change a specific behavior to avoid the undesired result that the behavior provokes. example, supervisor constantly nags employee who is goofing off, stops nagging when the employee stops goofing off

Valence

is the value of outcomes, or attraction to outcomes, for the individual

extinction

is the withholding of a positive reward. whereas with punishment, the supervisor imposes an unpleasant outcome such as reprimand, extinction involved withholding praise or other positive outcomes. with extinction, undesirable behavior is essentially ignored. the idea is that behaviors that is not positively reinforced will gradually disappear.

three elements that create employee engagement

meaningfulness, connectedness, and learning/growth. these make employees engagement grow which leads to high motivation and high organizational performance

job enrichment

means incorporating high-level motivators into the work, including responsibility, recognition, and opportunities for growth, learning, and achievement. in an enriched job, employees have control over the resources necessary for performing tasks, make decisions on how to do the work, experience personal growth, and set their own work pace.

employee engagement

means that people enjoy their jobs and are satisfied with their work conditions, contribute enthusiastically to meeting team and organizational goals, and feel a sense of belonging and commitment to the organization

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

most famous content theory. proposes that people are motivated by multiple needs and that these needs exist in a hierarchical order Lower needs 1. physiological needs - needs for adequate heat, air, and base salary 2. safety needs - safe work, fringe benefits job security 3. belongingness needs - work groups, clients, coworkers, supervisors 4. esteem needs - recognition, approval, high status, increased responsibilities 5. self-actualization needs - opportunities for advancement, autonomy, growth, creativity Higher needs

Alderfer reduced the number of need categories to three and proposed that movement up the hierarchy is more complex, reflecting a frustration regression principle:

namely, that failure to meet a high-order need may trigger a regression to an already fulfilled lower-order need.

the acquired needs theory, developed by David McClelland, proposes that certain types of needs are acquired during the individuals lifetime. in other words, people are not born with these needs but may learn them through their life experiences. the needs most frequently studied are

need for achievement, need for affiliation, need for power

vicarious learning

or observational learning, occurs when an individual sees others perform certain behaviors and get rewarded for them.

the four reinforcement tools are

positive reinforcement, avoidance learning, punishment, and extinction

motivation

refers to the forces either within or external to a person that arouse enthusiasm and persistence to pursue a certain course of action

Reinforcement theory

simply looks at the relationship between behavior and its consequences. it focuses on changing or modifying employees on the job behavior through the appropriate use of immediate rewards and punishments

Hackman and Oldham identified five dimensions that determines a jobs motivational potential

skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, feedback

Expectancy theory

suggest that motivation depends on individual's expectations about their ability to perform tasks and receive desired rewards. this theory is associated with the work of Victor Vroom, although a number of scholars have made contributions in this area. the keys to expectancy theory are the expectancies for the relationship among effort, performance, and the value of the outcomes to the individual.

the basic assumption underlying behavior modification is the law of effect, which states...

that behavior that is positively reinforced tends to be repeated, and behavior that is not reinforced tends not to be repeated.

the managers role is to remove dissatisfiers-

that is, to provide hygiene factors sufficient to meet basic needs and - and then to use motivators to meet higher-level needs and propel employees toward greater achievement

The job characteristics model says that

the more these five core characteristics can be designed into the job, the more the employees will be motivated and the higher will be the employees' performance, quality of work, and satisfaction

a state of equity exists whenever

the ratio of one person's outcomes to inputs equals the ratio of another's outcomes to inputs.

Task identity

this is the degree to which an employee performs a total job with a recognizable beginning and ending

task significance

this is the degree to which the job is perceived as important and having an impact on the company or consumers.

autonomy

this is the degree to which the worker has freedom, discretion, and self determination in planning and carrying out tasks

feedback

this is the extent to which doing the job provides feedback to the employee about his or her performance

skill variety

this is the number of diverse activities that compose a job and the number of skills used to perform it