Chapter Seven

Motivating Yourself
and Others

The Complex Nature of Motivation

Learning what motivates you is an
essential part of knowing yourself
Knowing what motivates others is basic
to establishing and maintaining effective
relationships
Each person is motivated by different
needs, at varying degrees, and at
different times!

Motivation Defined
Influences that account for
initiation
direction
intensity
persistence of behavior

Reason people do what they do

Motivation Defined
Internal drive that encourages us to
achieve our goals
Possible motives are endless:
Emotional
Social
Biological

Motivation Is
Two-Dimensional
Internal motivation is self-granted and
comes when something is meaningful
or gives sense of purpose
Examples:
Job contentment
Individual growth
Achievement

Motivation Is
Two-Dimensional
External motivation is an action taken
by another person
Usually involves an incentive or
anticipation of a reward
Examples:
Money
Awards
Performance feedback

Motivation Is
Two-Dimensional
Most people need both
Organizations should strive to balance
internal and external motivation

Total Person Insight

Dependent people need others to get
what they want. Independent people
can get what they want through their
own efforts. Interdependent people
combine their own efforts with the
efforts of others to achieve their
greatest success.
Stephen R. Covey
Author, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Motivation to Satisfy Basic Desires

Everything we experience as
meaningful can be traced to one of
sixteen basic desires or combination of
desires
The challenge is to determine which
five or six (core values) are most
important to you

Figure 7.1 Sixteen

Basic Desires in the
Reiss Profile
Source: Steven Reiss, Who Am I?
(New York: Berkeley Books, 2000),
pp. 17-18.

The Motivation Cycle

Motivation cycle describes how most
people satisfy a need
Five steps in the motivational cycle

Steps in the
Motivational
Cycle

Figure 7.1

Characteristics of Motives
The why of human behavior
Five characteristics of motives:
individualistic
changing
may be unconscious
are often inferred
are hierarchical

Influential Motivation Theories

Many psychologists have added to our
knowledge of what motivates people
Basic problem is how to apply
knowledge in the workplace
Several theories are influential

Maslows Hierarchy of Needs

People tend to satisfy their needs in a
particular order
Maslow called this order:

The Hierarchy of Needs

Theory has three main assumptions

Maslows Assumptions
People have a number of needs that
require some measure of satisfaction
Only unsatisfied needs motivate
behavior
Needs are ordered according to
prepotency

Figure 7.2
Maslows Hierarchy
of Needs

Figure 7.2

Physiological Needs
Survival, or lower-order needs
Include needs for food, clothing, sleep,
and shelter
In a good economy, these needs rarely
dominate

Safety and Security Needs

Reflect peoples desire for predictability
in life
Safety needs focus on protection from
physical harm
Security needs reflect the need to
provide for oneself and ones family

Social or
Belongingness Needs
Involve emotional and mental wellbeing
Needs for affection, a sense of
belonging, and group identification are
powerful
Two major aspects
frequent, positive interaction with
consistent group
framework of stable, long-term caring and
concern

Esteem Needs
Self-esteem describes how you feel
about yourself
Esteem needs relate to a persons selfrespect and the respect he or she
receives from others

Self-Actualization Needs
Represent a persons need for growth
Fulfilling potential or realizing fullest
capacities as human beings
Motivates by presence, others motivate
by absence
Rarely fully attained

Maslows Theory Reconsidered

Maslows theory has helped us
understand behavior
The hierarchy should not be taken too
literally
Research shows only two lowest needs
are hierarchical
Humans are motivated at any one time
by a complex array of needs

Herzbergs Motivation-Maintenance Theory

Maintenance factors include things
people consider essential to any job
Include: salary, benefits, social
relationships, working conditions,
policies, and administration
An absence of a maintenance factor
can motivate

Herzbergs Motivation-Maintenance Theory

Motivational factors are benefits above
and beyond the basic elements of a job
Include: recognition, advancement,
more responsibility
They tend to increase worker
satisfaction and can motivate
employees to higher production levels

Herzbergs Motivation-Maintenance Theory

When motivational factors are not met,
workers ask for increased maintenance
factors
Critics point to Herzbergs assumption
that all people are motivated only by
higher-order needs

The Expectancy Theory

Based on assumption that motivation is
tied to whether one believes success is
possible
Perception is important element
Expansion of self-efficacy concept

The Expectancy Theory

Combining aspirations and expectations
is even more powerful
Self-fulfilling prophecy reflects a
connection between your expectations
of yourself and your behavior
If you can conceive it and believe it,
you can achieve it!

The Goal-Setting Theory

Goals tend to motivate in four ways
provide purpose by directing attention to a
specific target
encourage to make the effort to achieve
something specific
requires sustained effort and therefore
encourages persistence
forces connection between the dream and
reality

The Goal-Setting Theory

Goals play a key role in bringing
purpose to life
Goal-setting theory requires an
understanding of the criteria for
developing realistic goals
Should be difficult enough to challenge, but
not impossible to reach

Figure 7.3
A Model of How Goals
Can Improve Performance

Figure 7.3

Source: Robert Kreitner, Management (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000). Reprinted by permission
of Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

McGregors Theory X and Theory Y

Outlines assumptions of human nature
in his book:
The Human Side of Enterprise
Divides assumptions into two
categories:
Theory X
Theory Y

Theory X: A Pessimistic View

Assumes that people
do not really want to work and must be
closely supervised
avoid responsibility
have little or no ambition

Assumes rewards or punishments must

be used

Theory X
Managers who operate under this
theory believe
workers are paid to do a good job
managements function is to supervise the
work and correct employees if needed

Theory Y: An Optimistic View

Assumes work is as natural to people
as play or rest
Assumes people are capable of selfdirection and will learn and accept
responsibility

Theory Y
Managers who operate under this
theory believe
people will become committed to
organizational objectives if they are
rewarded for doing so
a healthy, mutually supportive work climate
based on trust, openness, and respect will
influence workers to give more of
themselves

Contemporary Employee Motivation

Strategies
The search for better ways to motivate
employees has taken on a new level of
importance
International competition and the age of
information require different and more
effective motivation strategies

Contemporary Employee Motivation

Strategies
Strong connection between peoplecentered practices, and higher profits
and lower turnover
Organizations that put people first and
recognize wants, needs, passions, and
aspirations find merit in contemporary
strategies

Motivation Through
Job Design
Job rotation allows employees to move
through a variety of jobs, departments,
or functions
Cross-training workers
Facilitates career advancement
Allows a hedge against absenteeism
Reduces boredom

Motivation Through
Job Design
Job enlargement means expanding an
employees duties or responsibilities
Motivation is often increased when
workers are encouraged to take on new
skills and responsibilities
Can fill strategic gaps by training in
several facets of work

Motivation Through
Job Design
Job enrichment is an attempt to make a
job more desirable and satisfying
Two ways
assign more difficult tasks
grant more authority

Employees can find solutions to

problems

Motivation
Through Incentives
Incentives are used to
improve quality
reduce accidents
increase sales
improve attendance
speed up production

Organizations often use incentives to

drive results

Motivation
Through Incentives
Intrapreneurship rewards the
development of new ideas
Encourage employees to pursue ideas
at work
The company provides funds, space,
and time
Cash bonuses or awards for ideas and
development often given to employee

Motivation Through Learning Opportunities

Learning opportunities can be a strong
motivational force
Education and training are critical to
individual growth and opportunity
Learning can help secure the future
More powerful if perceived as leading to
something that motivates individual

Motivation Through Empowerment

Empowerment means offering authority
and responsibility to all ranks of an
organization
Can give employees a sense of pride,
self-expression, and ownership
Assumes employees want challenge
and personal meaning from jobs
Requires long-term commitment from
top management

Motivation Through Others Expectations

Relationship between a persons level
of motivation and the expectations of
others
High expectations from others leads to
high performance
Supervisors can communicate high and
low expectations

Self-Motivation Strategies
Go outside your comfort zone
Dont be afraid to move outside comfort
zone
Reflect on messages youve received from
family and friends concerning success
Learn to showcase your abilities
Dont be afraid to toot your own horn!

Self-Motivation Strategies
Build an immunity to cynicism
Cynicism is a destructive thinking pattern
Maintain an open mind
Avoid blaming management for every real
or perceived problem
Take time to learn why changes are being
made and try to separate fact from fiction
Remember that bad news gets more
attention than good news

Self-Motivation Strategies
Strive for balance
Motivation decreases when we no longer
have a sense of balance in our lives
Imbalance can happen when employees
are not treated as whole people
Take time to reflect on what is important in
your life
Take stock of your most satisfying
experiences and then try to make the
necessary adjustments

Self-Motivation Strategies
Take action
Take responsibility for the situation you are
in and take action to improve it
Easier to blame others, but you have
power to do something that others wont or
cant

Total Person Insight

People who feel in control of life
can withstand an enormous amount
of change and thrive on it. People
who feel helpless can hardly cope
at all.
Joan Borysenko
Author, Minding the body, Mending the
Mind

Summary
Motivation is a major component in
human relations training
Internal motivation occurs when a task
or duty is meaningful
External motivation is initiated by
another person and is usually based on
a reinforcement or reward

Summary
People are motivated by different things
Motives
change over a lifetime
are individualistic
vary in strength and importance
can only be inferred

Summary
Maslowmotives vary in strength and
importance and can be arranged in an
order called a hierarchy
Herzbergworkers desire more
maintenance factors when motivational
factors are not present

Summary
McGregor Theory X and Theory Y, a
pessimistic and an optimistic view of
human behavior, respectively
Expectancy theorypersonal
expectations have a powerful influence
on motives
Goal-setting theorypeople become
more focused and persistent with
established, realistic goals

Summary
Contemporary theories include
Positive expectations
Job rotation, job enlargement, and job
enrichment
Incentives such as intrapreneurship
Learning opportunities
Empowerment

Summary
Self motivation is important
People need to
strive to go beyond their comfort zone
avoid cynicism
strive for balance between work and
personal life
take responsibility
take action