OB Ch 6

Gainsharing

unit-focused, a bonus is received for meeting unit goals (department goals, plant goals, business unit goals) for criteria controlled by employees (labor costs, use of materials, quality). No change is made to base salary. The potential bonus represents "at risk" pay that must be re-earned each year. Base salary may be lower in cases in which potential bonuses may be large

Intrinsic Motivation

Motivation that is felt when task performance serves as its own reward ex: enjoyment, interestingness, accomplishment, skill development, personal expression

Merit Pay

An increase to base salary is made in accordance with performance evaluation ratings

Equity Distress

An internal tension that can only be alleviated by restoring balance to the ratios

Control

(Autonomy, Responsibility) The need to be able to predict and control one's future

Recognition Awards

(Ex: gift cards, merchandise, trips, special events, time off, plaques) given on an impromptu basis to recognize achievement

Relatedness

(Love, Belongingness) the need to create and maintain lasting, positive, interpersonal relationships

Existence

(Psychological, Safety) the need for food, shelter, safety, and protection required for human existence

Esteem

(Self-Regard, Growth) the need to hold a high evaluation of oneself and to feel effective and respected by others

Meaning

(Self-actualization) the need to perform tasks that one cares about and that appeals to one's ideals and sense of purpose

What four beliefs determine empowerment levels?

-Meaningfulness captures the value of a work goal or purpose, relative to a person's own ideals and passions. -Self-determination reflects a sense of choice in the initiation and continuation of work tasks. -Competence captures a person's belief in his or her capability to perform work tasks successfully. -Impact reflects the sense that a person's actions "make a difference"—that progress is being made toward fulfilling some important purpose.

How important is motivation?

-Strongest performance effect is self-efficacy / competence; people who feel a sense of internal self-confidence tend to outperform those who doubt their capabilities. -Difficult goals are the second most powerful motivating force. -The motivational force created by high levels of valence, instrumentality, and expectancy is the next most powerful motivational variable for task performance. -Perceptions of equity have a somewhat weaker effect on task performance.

Motivational Force

=E->P x Σ [ (P->O) x V]

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. (critical consideration because job performance often requires high levels of this)

Piece-Rate

A specified rate is paid for each unit produced, each unit sold, or each service provided

Equity Theory

Acknowledges that motivation doesn't just depend on your own beliefs and circumstances but also on what happens to other people

Meaningfulness

Captures value of a work goal or purpose, relative to a person's own ideals and passions

Needs

Cognitive groupings or clusters of outcomes that are viewed as having critical psychological or physiological consequences

Participation

Collaborate on setting the specific proficiency level and due date for a goal, so that the employee feels a sense of ownership over the goal

Company Equity

Compare with other in the same organization doing substantially different jobs

Occupational Equity

Compare with others doing essentially the same job in other organizations

Job Equity

Compare with others doing the same job in the same organization

Age Equity

Compare with others of the same age

Educational Equity

Compare with others who have attained the same education level

Feedback

Consists of update on employee progress toward goal attainment

Expectancy Theory

Describes the cognitive process that employees go through to make choices among different voluntary responses

How do employees respond to inequity?

Employees create a "mental ledger" of the outcomes (or rewards) they get from their job duties

Engaged Employees

Employees that completely invest themselves and their energies into their jobs

Three possible outcomes of the equity theory comparison

Equity, underreward inequity, overreward inequity

What are the three beliefs that help determine work effort, according to the expectancy theory?

Expectancy, Instrumentality, and Valence (effort is believed to result in performance (expectancy), performance is believed to result in outcomes (instrumentality), and those outcomes are anticipated to be valuable (valence))

Task Strategies

Learning plans and problem-solving approaches used to achieve successful performance

What steps can organizations take to increase employee motivation?

Organizations use compensation practices to increase motivation. Those practices may include individual-focused elements (piece-rate, merit pay, lump sum bonuses, recognition awards), unit-focused elements (gainsharing), or organization-focused elements (profit sharing).

Support

Provide supportive supervision to aid employees if they struggle to attain the goal

Resources

Provide the resources needed to attain the goal and remove any constraints that could hold back task efforts

Publicity

Publicize the goal to significant others and coworkers to create some social pressure to attain it

Cognitive Calculus

Ratio or outcomes to inputs is balanced between you and your comparison other

Psychological Empowerment

Reflects an energy rooted in the belief that work tasks contribute to some larger purpose

Task Complexity

Reflects how complicated the information and actions involved in a task are, as well as how much the task changes

Expectancy

Represents the belief that exerting a high level of effort will result in the successful performance of some task. Subjective probability, ranging from 0 to 1 that a specific amount of effort will result in a specific level of performance (E to P)

Σ

Signifies that instrumentalities and valences are judged with various outcomes in mind

Comparison Other

Some person who seems to provide an intuitive frame of reference for judging equity

Valence

The anticipated value of the outcomes associated with performance (abbreviated V). Can be positive, negative, or zero.

Self-Efficacy

The belief that a person has the capabilities needed to execute the behaviors required for task success ex: past accomplishments, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, emotional cues

Instrumentality

The belief that successful performance will result in some outcome(s). Set of subjective probabilities, each ranging from 0 to 1 that successful performance will bring a set of outcomes (abbreviated P to O)

Goal Commitment

The degree to which a person accepts a goal and is determined to try to reach it

Rewards

The goal achievement to the receipt of monetary or nonmonetary rewards

Goal Setting Theory

Views goals as the primary drivers of the intensity and persistence of effort

Competence

captures a person's belief in his or her capability to perform work tasks successfully

What are two qualities that make goals strong predictors of task performance, according to the goal setting theory?

goals become strong drivers of motivation and performance when they are difficult and specific. Specific and difficult goals affect performance by increasing self-set goals and task strategies. Those effects occur more frequently when employees are given feedback, tasks are not too complex, and goal commitment is high.

Self-Set Goals

internalized goals that people use to monitor their own task progress

Extrinsic Motivation

motivation that is controlled by some contingency that depends on task performance ex: pay, bonuses, promotions, benefits, praise, job security, free time

Profit Sharing

organization-focused, a bonus is received when the publicly reported earnings of a company exceed some minimum level, with the magnitude of the bonus contingent on the magnitude of the profits. no change is made to base salary. the potential bonus represents "at risl" pay that much be re-earned each year. Base salary may be lower in cases in which potential bonuses may be large

Self-determination

reflects a sense of choice in the initiation and continuation of work tasks.

What is psychological empowerment?

reflects an energy rooted in the belief that tasks are contributing to some larger purpose. Psychological empowerment is fostered when: -work goals appeal to employees' passions (meaningfulness), -employees have a sense of choice regarding work tasks (self-determination), -employees feel capable of performing successfully (competence), and -employees feel they are making progress toward fulfilling their purpose (impact).

Impact

reflects the sense that a person's actions "make a difference"—that progress is being made toward fulfilling some important purpose.

Lump-Sum Bonuses

represents "at risk" pay that must be re-earned each year. base salary may be lower in cases in which potential bonuses may be large

What does it mean to be equitably treated according to the equity theory?

rewards are equitable when a person's ratio of outcomes to inputs matches those of some relevant comparison other. A sense of inequity triggers equity distress. Underreward inequity typically results in lower levels of motivation or higher levels of counterproductive behavior. Overreward inequity typically results in cognitive distortion, in which inputs are reevaluated in a more positive light.

How does motivation affect job performance and organizational commitment?

strong positive relationship with job performance and a moderate positive relationship with organizational commitment. Of all the energetic forces subsumed by motivation, self-efficacy/competence has the strongest relationship with performance and commitment.