The Nature of Motivation Motivation is the set of forces that cause people to behave in certain ways. Individual performance is generally determined by three things: motivation – the desire to do the job ability – the capability to do the job work environment – the resources needed to do the job

The Motivational Framework Need or deficiency Search for ways to satisfy needs Choice of behavior to satisfy need Determination of future needs and search/choice for satisfaction Evaluation of need satisfaction

The Nature of Motivation. . . [continued] If an employee lacks ability, the manager can provide training. If there is a resource problem, the manager can correct it. If motivation is the problem, the task of the manager is more challenging.

The Nature of Motivation Perspectives to Motivation considered: Historical Perspectives Content Perspectives Process Perspectives Reinforcement Perspectives

Historical Perspectives on Motivation The Traditional Approach – [Frederick W Taylor] Assumptions of this approach: Economic gain is the primary thing that motivates everyone. Work is inherently unpleasant for most people. The money people earn is more important to employees than the nature of the job they are performing; so, people could be expected to perform any kind of job if they were paid enough.

Historical Perspectives on Motivation The Human Relations Approach Assumptions of this approach: Employees want to feel useful and important. Employees have strong social needs and these needs are more important than money in motivating them. Advises managers to make workers feel important and allow them a degree of self-direction and self-control in carrying out routine activities. [provides the illusion of participation in decision making]

Historical Perspectives on Motivation The Human Resource Approach Assumptions of this approach: Assumes that people want to contribute and are able to make genuine contributions. Management’s task is to encourage participation and to create a work environment that makes full use of the HR’s available. [use of work teams to solve problems]

Content Perspectives on Motivation Content Perspectives Approach to motivation tries to answer the question: ‘What factor or factors motivate people?’ Content Perspectives include: The Needs Hierarchy Approach The ERG Theory The Two-Factor Theory

Content Perspectives on Motivation The Needs Hierarchy Approach [Abraham Maslow] Assumptions of this approach: Individuals will concentrate on satisfying physiological level needs to the exclusion of the other levels. When each level’s needs are satisfied, the individuals ‘move up’ the hierarchy and the next level’s needs will become their primary motivating force. See Figure 16.2, page 515.

Figure 16.2 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Content Perspectives on Motivation ERG Theory of Motivation Theory suggests that people’s needs are grouped into three possibly overlapping categories: Existence [physiological and security] Relatedness [belongingness and esteem of others] Growth [self-esteem and self-actualization]

Content Perspectives on Motivation ERG Theory of Motivation: Theory disagrees with Maslow’s five levels. Believes that these five levels are not always present and that the order of the levels is not always the same. Believes that people from different cultures are likely to have different need categories and hierarchies.

Content Perspectives on Motivation ERG Theory of Motivation: Theory suggests that more than one level of need can cause motivation at the same time. [people can be motivated by money, friendship and the opportunity to learn new skills all at once] Theory has a ‘frustration-regression’ element. If needs are not met, the individual will become frustrated, regress to a lower level and begin to pursue those needs again. [worker receives a salary increase to meet ‘existence’ needs, attempts unsuccessfully to make new friends at work to satisfy ‘relatedness’ needs, and regresses to being motivated by earning more money again.]

Content Perspectives on Motivation The Two-Factor Theory: [Frederick Herzberg] Theory suggests that people’s satisfaction and dissatisfaction are influenced by two independent sets of factors – motivation factors and hygiene factors.

Content Perspectives on Motivation The Two-Factor Theory: A person might identify ‘low pay’ as causing dissatisfaction but would not necessarily mention ‘high pay’ as a cause of satisfaction. Job satisfaction and dissatisfaction are not at opposite ends of a continuum. See Figure 16.3, page 518.

Figure 16.3: The Two-Factor Theory of Motivation

Content Perspectives on Motivation The Two-Factor Theory: Motivation factors are related specifically to the work content. Hygiene factors are related to the work environment. Both sets of factors must be addressed if managers are to motivate employees and create a high level of job satisfaction.

Individual Human Needs The three most important individual needs that are important to organizations are: The need for achievement The need for affiliation The need for power

Individual Human Needs The Need for Achievement: [David C McClelland] The desire to accomplish a goal or task more effectively than in the past. People in this category have a high need to assume personal responsibility, a tendency to set moderately difficult goals, a desire for specific and immediate feedback and a preoccupation with their task. [10% in the US, 25% in Japan]

Individual Human Needs The Need for Affiliation: The desire for human companionship and acceptance. People in this category are likely to prefer a job that requires a lot of social interaction and offers opportunities to make friends.

Individual Human Needs The Need for Power: The desire to be influential in a group and to control one’s environment. People in this category are likely to be superior performers, have good attendance records and occupy supervisory positions.

Content Perspectives – A Review Content perspectives provide useful insights into factors that cause motivation. However, they do not explain the ‘process’ of motivation – they do not explain why people might be motivated by one factor rather than another at a given level or how people might go about trying to satisfy the different needs.

Process Perspectives on Motivation Process Perspectives approach to motivation is to focus on why people choose certain behavioral options to fulfill their needs and how they evaluate their satisfaction after they have attained these goals.

Process Perspectives on Motivation Process perspectives on motivation include: Expectancy theory Equity theory

Process Perspectives on Motivation Equity Theory suggests that people are motivated to seek social equity in the rewards they receive for performance. It states that after needs have stimulated the motivation process and the individual has chosen an action that is expected to satisfy those needs, the individual assesses the fairness, or equity, of the resulting outcome.

Process Perspectives on Motivation Expectancy Theory suggests that motivation depends on two things: (1) how much we want something and (2) how likely we think we are to get it. [Graduation first job – VP, cleaner, management trainee]

Process Perspectives on Motivation Expectancy theory is based on four basic assumptions: Behavior is determined by a combination of forces in the individual and in the environment. People make decisions about their behavior in organizations. Different people have different types of needs, desires and goals. People make choices from among alternative plans of behavior based on their perception of the extent to which a given behavior will lead to desired outcomes.

Process Perspectives on Motivation Effort-to-Performance Expectancy is the individual’s perception of the probability that effort will lead to high performance. If employee believes effort will lead to high performance, expectancy will be quite strong – [close to 1.00]. If employee believes effort and performance are unrelated, the effort-to-performance expectancy will be very weak [close to 0.00].

Process Perspectives on Motivation Performance-to-Outcome Expectancy is the individual’s perception that performance will lead to a specific outcome. If the employee believes that high performance will lead to an increase in salary or a promotion, the performance-to-outcome expectancy is high [approaching 1.00] The employee who believes that performance has no relationship to rewards has a low performance-to-outcome expectancy [close to 0.00]

Process Perspectives on Motivation Outcomes are consequences of behaviors in an organizational setting, usually rewards. Valence is an index of how much an individual desires a particular outcome; the attractiveness of the outcome to the individual.

Figure 16.4: The Expectancy Model of Motivation

Process Perspectives on Motivation In Expectancy Theory, for motivated behavior to occur, three conditions must be met: Effort-to-performance must be greater than 0.00 – the employee must believe that if effort is put forth, high performance will result. Performance-to-outcome expectancy must be greater than 0.00 – the individual must believe that if high performance is achieved, certain outcomes will follow. The sum of the valences for the outcomes must be greater than 0.00 – one or more outcomes may have negative valences but they are offset by positive valences.

Process Perspectives on Motivation Equity is an individual’s belief that the treatment he or she is receiving is fair relative to the treatment received by others. Outcomes (self) Outcomes (others) Inputs (self) = Inputs (others) Both the formulation of the ratios, and comparisons between them, are very subjective and based on individual perceptions.

Process Perspectives on Motivation As a result of the comparisons, three conditions may result: The individual may feel equitably rewarded [secondary vs college education or work experience] The individual may feel under-rewarded [ask for raise, get other person to change inputs, leave situation] or The individual may feel over-rewarded [decrease output, help others to increase their output]

Equity Theory Example An excellent example of equity theory occurs at the beginning of each new football season. Top draft choices sign big contracts, and disgruntled veterans almost immediately start calling for their own contracts to be renegotiated

Reinforcement Perspectives on Motivation Reinforcement theory argues that behavior that results in rewarding consequences is likely to be repeated, whereas behavior that results in punishing consequences is less likely to be repeated.

Reinforcement Perspectives on Motivation Kinds of reinforcement used in organizations may include: Positive reinforcement Avoidance Punishment Extinction

Reinforcement Perspectives on Motivation Positive reinforcement is a method of strengthening behavior with rewards or positive outcomes after a desired behavior is performed. Avoidance is used to strengthen behavior by avoiding unpleasant consequences that would result if the behavior were not performed.

Reinforcement Perspectives on Motivation Punishment is used to weaken undesired behaviors by using negative outcomes or unpleasant consequences when the behavior is performed. Extinction is used to weaken undesired behaviors by simply ignoring or not reinforcing them.

Reinforcement Perspectives on Motivation Fixed-interval schedule provides reinforcement at fixed intervals of time, regardless of behavior. [regular pay cheques] provides least incentive for good work because employee knows he/she will be paid regularly regardless of effort.

Reinforcement Perspectives on Motivation Variable-interval schedule provides reinforcement at varying intervals of time. [occasional visits by supervisor] Appropriate for praise or other rewards based on visits or inspections. Because employees do not know when supervisor’s visit may occur, they maintain a reasonably high level of effort all the time.

Reinforcement Perspectives on Motivation Fixed-ratio schedule provides reinforcement after a fixed number of behaviors regardless of the time interval involved. [bonus received after every fifth sale] Motivation is high because each new application approved gets the employee closer to the next bonus.

Reinforcement Perspectives on Motivation Variable-ratio schedule provides reinforcement after varying numbers of behaviors are performed. [supervisor complements performance on an irregular basis] Employee is motivated to increase the frequency of the desired behavior because each performance increases the probability of receiving a reward. See Table 16.1, page 528.

Reinforcement Perspectives on Motivation Behavior Modification (OB Mod) is a method for applying the basic elements of reinforcement theory is an organizational setting. Starts by specifying behaviors that are to increased or decreased. These target behaviors are then tied to specific forms or kinds of reinforcement. [Example: not providing consequences for unacceptable behavior]