Motivation in Organizations

CH7: 223-240Organizational Behavior 261

Gabrielle Durepos

Reminders for Today

• Attendance

• Group Projects due November 21st – In less than 2 weeks

Outline

• Toward an Understanding of Motivation• Contemporary Theories of Motivation: Process Theories

– Expectancy Theory– Goal-Setting Theory– Equity Theory

• Problems with Current Theories of Motivation• Alternative Approaches to Motivation

– The Whole-Self Needs Theory

• Managerial Implications– Rewards– Job Design– Leadership

• Conclusions

Toward an Understanding of Motivation

• Motivation– Individual desire to direct and sustain energy towards performing a goal– Can be intrinsic and extrinsic

• Early Theories of Motivation– Hedonism– Taylor’s Scientific Management and Motivation– Mayo & The Hawthorn Studies

• Contemporary Theories of Motivation – Content / Needs Theories– Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs– Alderfer’s Existence-Relatedness-Growth Theory– McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y– Herzberg’s Motivator-Hygiene Theory– McClelland’s Learned Needs Theory

Contemporary Theories of Motivation

• Contemporary theories of motivation are more sophisticated– Account for many factors & complexity of human behavior

• Have been classified as:

– Content Theories• All people strive to fulfill certain needs• Look at the “content” of those needs – what are the needs that people are

seeking to fulfill?• Are they safety needs, self esteem needs, self actualization needs?• Looks at the “what”

– Process Theories• Refer to the actual process by which individuals are motivated• What mental processes do people use to inform what they will do? How are

people motivated at work?• Do they feel that the effort they “put in” will mirror what they “get out”? Do

they compare themselves with others to gauge their work efforts? • Looks at the “how”

Contemporary Theories of Motivation – Process Theories:

Expectancy Theory

• Expectancy theory states that:– Individuals are motivated to work hard if they are subsequently rewarded

with rewards which they value

– What you ‘put in’ will mirror what you ‘get out’

• Assumptions:– Humans have the ability to decide whether to work hard or not

– Humans are rational, we apply reasoned action to acquire rewards?

• Criticisms– Theory does not account for the fact that not all rewards are valued by all

people• Different individuals value different rewards• Individual's perception of rewards can change over time

– Assumes individuals have adequate level of self-efficacy

– Based on a rational model of human action

– Based on extrinsic reward structure

Contemporary Theories of Motivation – Process Theories:

Goal-Setting Theory

• Goal-Setting theory states that:– People will work harder when they have clear goals that are mutually agreed upon

• For Goal-Setting theory to be effective, goals should be:– Specific– Challenging– Achievable– Followed by feedback

• Most researched and valid of process theories

• Criticisms– Based on a rational model of human behavior– Goals can have adverse or unanticipated effects– Setting a goal will not solve all motivation problems– Goals may only work short term– Employee must value the goal

Contemporary Theories of Motivation – Process Theories:

Equity Theory

• Equity theory is based on the belief that:– People compare their efforts & rewards with others in same situations

• i.e. Individuals perceive fairness in comparison to another

– Perceptions of efforts and rewards are relative

– If a person perceives that their efforts are being unfairly rewarded in comparison to another then work dissatisfaction occurs

• Criticisms– Assumes a rational model of human behavior

– Only focuses on extrinsic rewards• EX - Has focused overly on financial incentives

– Does not account for the complexity of factors that may affect motivation

Problems with Current Theories of Motivation 1/4

1. Motivation theories are deemed valid or not based on our view of human nature

– Volunteerism – assumes that humans are responsible for their own destiny; humans have choice in their lives

– Determinism – assumes that humans are totally shaped by their external environment

– Some theories of motivation are overly deterministic are humans totally shaped by their external environment? Only affected by extrinsic rewards?

Determinism Volunteerism

Humans are shaped by external factors

Humans have free will

Problems with Current Theories of Motivation 2/4

2. Cultural Bias

– Theories of motivation are only relevant in certain cultures that value what the theory proposes

– EX – In high power distance countries (China), McClelland’s learned theory of needs – where individuals acquire a need for power through socialization – does not hold

Problems with Current Theories of Motivation 3/4

3. They fail to take into account individual values, personality and meaning

– If the work does not fit with the nature of the person then no matter what strategies are used, the motivator is likely to be ineffective

– EX: For certain of these theories to work, such as goal-setting theory, the values of the person must be aligned with the goals being set by the organization / manager

Problems with Current Theories of Motivation 4/4

4. Sole focus on individualism– Motivation theories have been developed to understand

individual motivation– Work practices are moving towards team-work– Are motivation theories suitable for understanding group

motivation?

5. Focus on extrinsic motivation– Most theories of motivation focus on manipulating motivation through

extrinsic means

– In many instances – extrinsic motivation can have an adverse effect on intrinsic motivation

Alternative Approaches to Motivation

The Whole-Self Needs Theory

• The Whole-Self Needs theory advocates the need for the co-existence of spirituality and the corporation

• Based on the premise that:– People look for more than compensation at work

– People look for spiritual needs, deep meaning, existential guidance at work

• If people derive meaning from work then they are more likely to be self-motivated – They will have little need for extrinsic motivation

• Does this theory apply to all types of employment? – Corporate executives? Blue-collar workers?

Managerial Implications: Rewards 1/2

• Rewards play an important part in the motivation of employees

• Rewards can take many forms:– Pay, Health plans, Retirement plans, Vacation time– Notice that these are all material and extrinsic type motivators

• Rewards may:– Not always be available– Only work in the short term– Promote an over-dependence on the supervisor relationship– Have an adverse effect on intrinsic motivators

Managerial Implications: Rewards 2/2

• Discussion Questions:

– Are all motivation theories a variation of the carrot and stick approach?

– What about time, feedback and trust as rewards?

– Do material rewards (pay, health plans) work better than non-material rewards (time, feedback, being nice) in motivating people?

– Do we need a combination of both material and non-material rewards?

– Will all employees value the same rewards?

Managerial Implications: Job Design

• The design of work may be an important motivator for employees

• Changes to the design of work can take many forms– Job enlargement – added tasks – Job rotation – experiencing different jobs– Job enrichment – added responsibilities

• The design of work can stimulate intrinsic motivation:– Through more challenging work tasks if the worker welcomes a challenge– Through a chance for personal growth if the worker values learned skills– Workers must receive meaningful feedback on performance– Workers must feel that they have a ‘say’ on goals & goal achievement – Worker skill set must be compatible with their work

• if workers do not have the correct capabilities for their work then no amount of motivation will enable high work performance

Managerial Implications: Leadership

• Leaders need to understand:– The complexity of human motivation– The role that they may play in various processes of motivation

• Leaders can affect motivation in a number of ways:– Provide feedback– Setting clear goals– Implementing expectancy theory– Ongoing coaching

Conclusions

• Motivation is a complex human phenomenon

• Most theories of motivation lack empirical validity– Validity – does the theory measure what it purports to measure?– Because human motivation is complex, difficult to measure

• There is not one best motivation theory – Certain motivation theories are better suited for certain situations

• Motivation theories must be aligned appropriately– With individual values, attitudes and beliefs– According to a particular situation

• i.e. can not introduce financial incentives in difficult financial times

• We need a more holistic approach to motivation– To account for both intrinsic and extrinsic factors