0. Motivation: From Concepts to Applications8
Motivation: From Concepts to Applications

1. Chapter Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
Describe the job characteristics model and evaluate the way it motivates by changing the work environment.
Compare and contrast the main ways jobs can be redesigned.
Identify three alternative work arrangements and show how they might motivate employees.
Give examples of employee involvement measures and show how they can motivate employees.
Demonstrate how the different types of variable-pay programs can increase employee motivation.
Show how flexible benefits turn benefits into motivators.
Identify the motivational benefits of intrinsic rewards.

2. The Job Characteristics Model
Five Core Job Dimensions
Skill Variety: degree to which the job incorporates a number of different skills and talents
Task Identity: degree to which the job requires the completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work
Task Significance: how the job impacts the lives of others
Autonomy: identifies how much freedom and independence the worker has over the job
Feedback: how much the job generates direct and clear information about the worker’s performance
The job characteristics model looks at describing any job in terms of five core job dimensions. These job dimensions include skill variety, which is the degree to which the job incorporates a number of different skills and talents. Task identity is another dimension that looks at the degree to which the job requires the completion of whole and identifiable piece of work. Task significance is included and looks at how the job impacts the lives of others. Autonomy, the fourth dimension, identifies how much freedom and independence the worker has over their job. And finally, feedback is how much the job generates direct and clear information about the worker’s performance.
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3. How Can Jobs be Redesigned?
Job Rotation
The shifting of an employee from one task to another with similar skill requirements.
Job Enrichment
The expansion of a job by increasing the degree to which the worker controls the planning, execution, and evaluation of the work.
There are some helpful ways to redesign a job to increase the motivation of the employees. Two common practices are job rotation and job enrichment. In job rotation an organization will shift the employee to different tasks with similar skill requirements but all in the same organizational level. In job enrichment a manager will expand an employee’s job by increasing the level of control the worker has in planning their job, executing it or evaluating the work.
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4. Strengths of Job Rotation
Reduces boredom
Increases understanding of work contribution
Increased skills
Helps managers in scheduling
There are many strengths of utilizing job rotation in the workplace. The first is that it helps to reduce boredom with workers as they are constantly expanding their skills. By seeing other jobs and what requirements they have to succeed, it helps the workers see how their work contributes to the overall process of getting a product out. One obvious benefit is that it increases the skills of the workers and, finally, since the worker has a stronger skill set, it helps the manager in scheduling as they have more options to fill the vacancy when someone is sick or on vacation.
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5. Job Enrichment – Possible Actions
Combine Tasks
Form Natural Work Units
Establish Client Relations
Expand Jobs Vertically
Open Feedback Channels
Job enrichment is helpful in keeping the worker engaged in their work. There are many actions a manager can take to help the worker. These actions help to achieve core job dimensions. For example, if the manager combines tasks for the worker it can help the worker increase the amount of skills they are utilizing and help them to identify tasks that need to be completed. This action can help the worker to have a better understanding of their job and how it helps the organization complete its goals as well as help the worker enjoy their work more because they are using more of their skill set.
E X H I B I T 8-2
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6. Alternative Work Arrangements
Flextime
Flextime allows employees to choose the hours they work within a defined period of time.
Job Sharing
Job sharing allows two or more individuals to split a traditional 40-hour-a-week job.
Telecommuting
Telecommuting allows workers to work from home at least 2 days a week on a computer linked to the employer’s office.
There are some alternative work arrangements that have been successful in helping increase the motivation of workers. These arrangements give the worker more control over their work and thereby can increase their level of motivation. An example of this is Flextime. Flextime is short for flexible work hours and allows the workers to choose what hours they work within a set time period. So for example, if the worker needs to work 8 hours a day, the manager may say you can choose 8 hours between 6am and 8pm. That may allow a mom to be home when her kids are coming home from school. Another example is job sharing where two workers split a job and each works part-time. Telecommuting is another alternative work arrangement that has been utilized. This is when workers work from home at least 2 days a week.
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7. Social and Physical Context of Work
Social Context
Some social characteristics that improve job performance include:
Interdependence
Social support
Interactions with other people outside of work
Physical Context
The work context will also affect employee satisfaction
Work that is hot, loud, and dangerous is less satisfying
Work that is controlled, relatively quiet, and safe
will be more satisfying
There is both a social and a physical context to work. The social context can help to improve job performance by creating a sense of interdependence, social support, and interactions with people outside of work. The physical context can also impact job satisfaction by creating a pleasant and safe environment.
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8. Examples of Employee Involvement Programs
Employee involvement is a participative process that uses employees’ input to increase their commitment to the organization’s success.
Examples of Employee Involvement Programs
Participative Management
Representative Participation
Employee involvement is defined as a participative process that uses employees’ input to increase their commitment to the overall success of the organization. Some examples of programs that help with employee involvement are participative management and representative participation. Participative management is when managers include employees in the decision-making process. Representative participation tries to redistribute power by putting labor on a more equal footing with the interest of managers and stockholders. They do this by letting the workers be represented by small groups of employees who participate in decisions.
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9. Using Rewards to Motivate Employees
Although pay is not the primary factor driving job satisfaction, it is a motivator.
Establish a pay structure
Variable-pay programs
As we saw in previous chapters, money is not the primary driver for job satisfaction. However, it does motivate individuals and companies often underestimate its impact in keeping top talent.
It is critical to figure out what to pay and to establish a pay structure that makes sense for your industry and organization. Then it is imperative that an organization utilizes this pay system and applies it to the pay of individual employees.
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10. Establishing a Pay Structure
Internal Pay Equity
External Pay Equity
Setting pay levels can be complex and requires a balance of internal and external pay equity. Internal equity looks at the worth of the job to the organization and compares it with what others are making within the organization. External equity looks at external competitiveness of an organization’s pay relative to pay elsewhere.
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11. Variable-Pay Programs
How to Pay
Variable-Pay Programs
Piece-Rate Pay
Merit-Based Pay
Bonuses
Skill-Based Pay
Profit-Sharing Plans
Gainsharing
Employee Stock Ownership Plans
There are many forms of Variable-Pay programs. They include piece-rate pay, merit-based pay, bonuses, skill-based pay, profit-sharing plans, gainsharing, and employee stock ownership plans.
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12. Types of Variable-Pay Programs
Piece-Rate Pay
Pays a fixed sum of money for each unit of production completed. For example: Workers selling peanuts and soda get Rs.10 for each bag of peanuts sold.
Merit-Based Pay
Pays for individual performance based on performance appraisal results. If appraisals are designed correctly, workers performing at a high level will get more pay.
Bonuses
Pay a lump sum at the end of a designated period of time based on individual and/or organizational performance.
Some types of variable-pay programs include piece-rate, merit- based, and bonuses. Piece-rate pay plans pay a fixed amount of money for each unit of production. Merit-based pay plans are similar where they pay based on performance. However, it is not necessarily tied to production because in some jobs, output is not as easy to measure. Bonuses is another method that is becoming increasingly popular. Bonuses are a lump sum at the end of a set period of time. The amount of the bonus is typically dependent upon the performance of the individual or the organization or some combination of both.
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13. More Types of Variable-Pay Programs
Skill-Based Pay
Pays based on the number of skills employees have or the number of jobs they can do.
Profit-Sharing Plans
Pays out a portion of the organization’s profitability. It is an organization-wide program and is based on a predetermined formula.
Gainsharing
Pays for improvements in group productivity from one period to another. It is a group incentive plan.
Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP)
Provides each employee with the opportunity to acquire stock as part of their benefit package.
Additional methods of variable-pay programs include skill-based pay, profit-sharing plans, gainsharing, and employee stock ownership plans, otherwise known as ESOPs.
Skill-based pay will add compensation to workers as they gain more skills and the ability to do additional jobs. It rewards the employees for continuous improvement. Profit-sharing plans are organizational-wide programs where some of the profits of the company are shared with all workers. Gainsharing is a group incentive where a department or unit will earn additional income if they improve group productivity from the previous period. ESOPs are a method used to motivate the employees toward the organizational goals. As part of their benefit package, they are able to earn or purchase company stock, often at below-market rates. This encourages them to work toward the overall profitability of the organization as they have ownership in it and will gain as the company gains.
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14. Flexible Benefits
Flexible benefits give individual rewards by allowing each employee to choose the compensation package that best satisfies his or her current needs and situations.
Flexible benefits allow employees choices between different benefits. This allows them to customize their options and create a plan that best meets their needs and situation. This increases their motivation because they realize the organization has their best interest in mind.
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15. Employee Recognition Programs
Employee rewards need to be intrinsic and extrinsic. Employee recognition programs are a good method of intrinsic rewards.
The rewards can range from a simple thank-you to more widely publicized formal programs.
Advantages of recognition programs are that they are inexpensive and effective.
Some critics say they can be politically
motivated and if they are perceived to be
applied unfairly, they can cause more harm
than good.
A method of motivation that has been highly successful is employee recognition programs. This idea recognizes the importance of coupling extrinsic and intrinsic methods to help motivate employees. Recognition is an intrinsic motivation technique that can range from giving an employee the proverbial pat on the back to a more public recognition ceremony. Recognition programs are highly effective and cost very little to administer. There are critics of such programs, however, who say that they can be politically motivated and if the perception is that they are applied unfairly, they can cause more harm than good.
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16. Global Implications Job Characteristics and Job Enrichment
Studies do not yield consistent results about applicability to other cultures
Telecommuting
Most common in the United States
Variable Pay
Most believe variable pay systems work best in individualistic cultures such as the United States.
Fairness is an important factor
Flexible Benefits
Popular in all cultures
Employee Involvement
Differ among countries
There is some application of these various theories to other cultures. However, there has not been a lot of research to support common assumptions and understandings. It would make sense that these ideas apply across the globe, but more research needs to be done.
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17. Summary and Managerial Implications
Recognize individual differences
Use goals and feedback
Allow employees to participate in decisions that affect them
Link rewards to performance
Check the system for equity
The motivational theories presented in this chapter and the last chapter set forth the following overarching ideas. It is important to recognize individual differences when designing and applying motivational programs. Managers will get better results if they use goals, feedback, and allow employees to participate in the decisions that impact them. Finally, by linking rewards to performance and making sure the system is equitable, better results will follow.
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