Motivation and Job

Satisfaction

Professor Ming Sun

School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure & Society

Heriot-Watt University

MEANING OF MOTIVATION

The Meaning of Motivation

• A combination of desire and commitment

demonstrated by effort

• The driving force within individuals by which

they attempt to achieve some goal in order to

fulfil some need or expectation

• The degree to which an individual wants and

chooses to engage in certain behaviour

Why Motivation is Important? • Managers get things done through employees;

therefore need to know what motivates them

• Motivation influences productivity

• Managers ultimately do not motivate others, they create

the conditions where other people motivate themselves

• Most people believe they could give as much as 15%

more effort at work than they do

• The top 15% of workers produce 20-50% more output

than the average worker

Motivation and Performance • Performance = function( ability x motivation)

• Performance = function( ability x motivation –

environmental constraints)

Motivation

Ability

Effort

Environment

Performance

Common Characteristics of

Motivation

• Motivation is typified as an individual

phenomenon

• Motivation is described, usually, as intentional

• Motivation is multifaceted

• The purpose of motivational theories is to

predict behaviour

Mitchell

Intrinsic & Extrinsic Motivation

Extrinsic motivation

Related to tangible

rewards, e.g. salary,

security, promotion,

conditions of work

Intrinsic motivation

Related to

psychological rewards,

e.g. a sense of

challenge and

achievement, receiving

appreciation

MOTIVATION THEORIES

Types of Motivation Theories

• Content theories

– Human needs and how people with

different needs may respond to different

work situations.

• Process theories

– How people give meaning to rewards and

make decisions on various work-related

behaviours.

Content Perspectives on Motivation

• Content Perspectives

– Approaches to motivation that try to answer the question,

“What factors in the workplace motivate people?”

• Content Perspectives of Motivation

– Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

– Aldefer’s ERG Theory

– Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory

– McClelland’s Achievement,

Power, and Affiliation Needs

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Figure 12.5

Developed by Abraham Maslow.

Lower-order and higher-order needs affect workplace behaviour and attitudes.

Lower-order needs:

Physiological, safety, and social needs.

Desires for physical and social well being.

Higher-order needs:

Esteem and self-actualization needs.

Desire for psychological growth and development.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Figure 12.5

Deficit principle A satisfied need is not a motivator

of behaviour.

Progression principle A need at one level does not

become activated until the next lower-level need is satisfied.

Applying Maslow’s Hierarchy

Table 12.1

Problems with Applying Maslow’s

Model at Work

• People do not necessarily satisfy their needs, especially

higher-level needs, just through work

• There is doubt about the time that elapses between

satisfying lower-level & emergence of higher-level

needs

• Some rewards or outcomes may satisfy more than one

need

• The motivating factors may not be the same for each

person

ERG Theory

• Developed by Clayton Alderfer.

• Three need levels:

– Existence needs – concerned with sustaining human existence & survival and covers physiological & safety needs of a material nature

– Relatedness needs – concerned with relationships to the social environment and covers love or belonging, affiliation, and meaningful interpersonal relationships

– Growth needs – concerned with the development of potential and covers self-esteem & self-actualisation

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ERG Theory

• Any/all needs can influence behavior at one

time.

• Frustration-regression principle.

– An already satisfied lower-level need

becomes reactivated when a higher-level

need is frustrated.

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Two-factor Theory

• Developed by Frederick Herzberg.

• Hygiene factors:

– Elements of the job context.

– Sources of job dissatisfaction.

• Satisfier factors:

– Elements of the job content.

– Sources of job satisfaction and motivation.

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Herzberg’s Two-factor Theory.

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Comparison of Maslow’s, Alderfer’s, and

Herzberg’s Motivation Theories

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Process Theories of Motivation

• Process theories address how the motivation

process works and sustains itself over time.

• Process Perspectives of Motivation

– Expectancy-based models – Vroom and Porter &

Lawler

– Equity theory – Adams

– Goal theory – Locke

Expectancy Theory • Developed by Victor Vroom.

• Key expectancy theory variables:

– Expectancy — belief that working hard will result in desired level of performance.

– Instrumentality — belief that successful performance will be followed by rewards.

– Valence — value a person assigns to rewards and other work related outcomes.

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Expectancy Theory

• Motivation (M), expectancy (E), instrumentality

(I), and valence (V) are related to one another

in a multiplicative fashion:

M = E x I x V

• If either E, I, or V is low, motivation

will be low.

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Maximise Motivation

Equity Theory • Developed by John Adams

• …the thinking process by which one makes a decision

to exert effort is a function of social comparison

• Based on individual perceptions of outcomes (what

your receive from expending effort to complete a task),

job inputs (what you bring or contribute to the task) and

perceptions of a referent person.

How Does Equity Theory Work? • Employees mentally construct outcome-to-input ratios for

themselves and their referent other and “socially compare”

• If equity exists:

Outcome/Input Self = Outcome/Input Reference person

employees experiences no tension and persist at their current level

of effort

• However, when:

Outcome/Input Self =/= Outcome/Input Reference person

Tension is created and employees are “motivated” to restore equity

Behaviour as a Consequence of

Inequity

Goal-setting Theory

• Developed by Edwin Locke.

• Properly set and well-managed task goals can be

highly motivating.

• Motivational effects of task goals:

– Provide direction to people in their work.

– Clarify performance expectations.

– Establish a frame of reference for feedback.

– Provide a foundation for behavioral self-management.

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Locke’s Theory of Goal Setting

Figure 12.12

MOTIVATION AT THE

WORKPLACE

Factors Influencing Employee’s

Motivation • Employee characteristics

– priority needs with

expectations

– age and maturity

• Management factors

– management/leadership

style

– personnel and HRM

• Organizational factors

– job characteristics

– structure and job design

– work environment

– communication (group

cohesiveness)

• Outcome

– task performance/goal

achievement

– employee job satisfaction.

Job Characteristics Influencing

Employee’s Motivation • Skill variety: the extent to which a job entails different activities

and involves a range of knowledge, skills and abilities.

• Task identity: the extent to which the job has an identifiable beginning and visible completion.

• Task significance: the extent to which a job is important and its impact on people inside and outside the organization.

• Autonomy: the extent to which a job is independent.

• Feedback: the extent to which the tasks result in direct and clear information about progress and effectiveness of job performance.

Motivating Potential Score (MPS) formula

Increase Motivation Through Job

Design

• Good job design can enhance the personal

satisfaction that people derive from work and

make the best use of people as a resource.

• Three job design principles:

– Job rotation

– Job enlargement

– Job enrichment

Job Rotation

• Move a person from one job to another to add

some variety and remove boredom.

• Give the person additional skills.

• Help the person identify more with the

completed product or service.

• It can be used as a form of training.

Job Enlargement

• Increase the scope of a job and tasks of a

person, by combining a number of operation at

the same level.

• Increase job variety also the time required to do

it. People may see it as more work to do

without any rewards.

Job Enrichment

• Give a person greater autonomy and authority

over the planning, execution and control of their

own work.

• Increase the complexity of the work and provide

employee a more meaningful and challenging

job.

• Provide greater opportunities for psychological

growth.

Quality Work Life (QWL) to Motivate

Employees

• Allowing people to be more involved in the production

process by participating in problem solving and decision

making

• Improvement of environmental conditions

• Increasing the flow of communication within the organization

• Employee involvement in target setting

• Introduction of staff development systems

• Having employees solve workplace problems

• Better leadership styles and interpersonal relationships

• Stress-reduction programmes.

Expected Learning Outcomes • Students should know the meaning of motivation;

• Students should know the principles of the two main groups of motivation theories, and example theories in each group:

– Content theories: Maslow, ERG, Two-Factor;

– Process theories: Expectancy model, Equity theory, Goal theory;

• Students should know the main factors that influence staff motivation in a workplace;

• Students should know how to enhance job satisfaction through job design;

• Students should understand the relationship between motivation and performance.