Organizational Behaviour:

Understanding and Managing Life at Work

Chapter 5 & 6
Motivation:

In theory and in practice

Copyright © 2020 Pearson Canada Inc. 2-1

WHY STUDY MOTIVATION?
• Motivation is especially important in contemporary organizations:
– Need for increased productivity
– Global competitiveness
– Rapid changes
– Need for flexibility
– Attention to customers

• The number one problem facing many organizations today.

 WHAT IS MOTIVATION?

• The extent to which persistent effort is directed toward a goal.

• The basic characteristics of motivation:

– Effort
– Persistence
– Direction
– Goals

• Motivation means working smart as well as working hard.

EXTRINSIC AND INTRINSIC MOTIVATION

• Experts in organizational behaviour distinguish between intrinsic and

extrinsic motivation.

• What is the difference?

INTRINSIC MOTIVATION

• Motivation that stems from the direct relationship between the

worker and the task and is usually self-applied.

• Examples include:
– Feelings of achievement, accomplishment, challenge, and
competence derived from performing one’s job, and the sheer
interest in the job itself.
EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION

• Motivation that stems from the work environment external to

the task and is usually applied by others.

• Examples include:
– Pay, fringe benefits, company policies, and various forms of
supervision.
EXTRINSIC VERSUS INTRINSIC
MOTIVATORS
• Intrinsic motivation is a moderate to strong predictor of performance
even when extrinsic rewards are present.
• Some motivators have both extrinsic and intrinsic qualities.
• Both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are related to performance.
• Extrinsic motivation is more strongly related to the quantity of
performance.
• Intrinsic motivation is more strongly related to the quality of
performance.
• Both kinds of rewards are important and compatible in enhancing work
motivation and performance.
MOTIVATION AND PERFORMANCE

• Performance refers to the extent to which an organizational member

contributes to achieving the objectives of the organization.

• While motivation contributes to performance, the relationship is not

one-to-one because a number of other factors also influence
performance (e.g., personality, intelligence).
FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO
INDIVIDUAL JOB PERFORMANCE
GENERAL COGNITIVE ABILITY
• General cognitive ability predicts learning, training and career success,
and job performance in all kinds of jobs and occupations.

• It is an even better predictor of job performance for more complex and

higher-level jobs.

• An individual’s overall capacity and efficiency to mentally process,

understand, and learn information.
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (EI)

• The ability to understand and manage one’s own and others’ feelings
and emotions.

• It involves the ability to:

– Perceive and express emotion.
– Assimilate emotion in thought.
– Understand and reason about emotions.
– Manage emotions in oneself and others.
FOUR-BRANCH MODEL OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
PERCEIVING EMOTIONS ACCURATELY
IN ONESELF AND OTHERS

• The ability to perceive emotions and to accurately identify one’s own

emotions and the emotions of others.

• The ability to accurately identify emotions in people’s faces and in non-

verbal behaviour.

• The most basic level of EI; it is necessary to be able to perform the

other steps in the model.
USING EMOTIONS TO FACILITATE
THINKING

• The ability to use and assimilate emotions and emotional experiences

to guide and facilitate one’s thinking and reasoning.

• Using emotions in functional ways such as making decisions.

UNDERSTANDING EMOTIONS, EMOTIONAL
LANGUAGE, AND THE SIGNALS CONVEYED
BY EMOTIONS
• Involves being able to understand emotional information, the
determinants and consequences of emotions, and how emotions
evolve and change over time.

• An understanding of how different situations and events generate

emotions and how others are influenced by various emotions.
MANAGING EMOTIONS TO ATTAIN
SPECIFIC GOALS

• The ability to manage one’s own and others’ feeling and emotions as
well as emotional relationships.

• This is the highest level of EI and requires one to have mastered the
previous stages.

• The ability to regulate, adjust, and change one’s own emotions as well
as others’ emotions to suit the situation.
THE MOTIVATION-PERFORMANCE
RELATIONSHIP

• We cannot consider motivation in isolation.

• High motivation will not result in high performance if employees have

low cognitive ability and EI, do not understand their jobs, or encounter
unavoidable obstacles over which they have no control.

• Motivational interventions will not work if employees are deficient in

important skills and abilities.
NEED THEORIES OF WORK
MOTIVATION
• Motivation theories that specify the kinds of needs people have and
the conditions under which they will be motivated to satisfy these
needs in a way that contributes to performance.

• Needs are physiological and psychological wants or desires that can

be satisfied by acquiring certain incentives or achieving particular
goals.

• It is the behaviour stimulated by this acquisition process that reveals

the motivational character of needs:
NEEDS → BEHAVIOUR → INCENTIVES AND GOALS
NEED THEORIES OF WORK
MOTIVATION

• Three prominent need theories of motivation:

– Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

– Alderfer’s ERG Theory

– McClelland’s Theory of Needs

MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
• A five-level hierarchical need theory of motivation that specifies that
the lowest-level unsatisfied need has the greatest motivating potential.
• The needs include:
– Physiological needs
– Safety needs
– Belongingness needs
– Esteem needs
– Self-actualization needs
PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS

• Needs that must be satisfied for the person to survive, such as food,
water, oxygen, and shelter.

• Organizational factors that might satisfy these needs include:

– Minimum pay necessary for survival
– Working conditions that promote existence
SAFETY NEEDS

• Needs for security, stability, freedom from anxiety, and a structured

and ordered environment.

• Organizational conditions that might meet these needs include:

– Safe working conditions
– Fair and sensible rules and regulations
– Job security
– Comfortable work environment
– Pension and insurance plans
– Pay above the minimum standard
BELONGINGNESS NEEDS

• Needs for social interaction, affection, love, companionship, and

friendship.

• Organizational factors that might meet these needs include:

– Opportunity to interact with others on the job
– Friendly and supportive supervision
– Opportunity for teamwork
– Opportunity to develop new social relationships
ESTEEM NEEDS

• Needs for feelings of adequacy, competence, independence, strength,

confidence, and the appreciation and recognition of these
characteristics by others.

• Organizational factors that might satisfy these needs include:

– Opportunity to master tasks leading to feelings of achievement and
responsibility
– Awards, promotions, prestigious job titles, professional recognition
SELF-ACTUALIZATION NEEDS

• These needs are difficult to define.

• They involve the desire to develop one’s true potential as an individual

to the fullest extent and to express one’s skills, talents, and emotions
in a manner that is most personally fulfilling.

• Organizational conditions that might provide self-actualization include

absorbing jobs with the potential for creativity and growth.
MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
What is the motivational premise of the theory?
• The lowest-level unsatisfied need category has the greatest motivating
potential.
• When a need is unsatisfied, it exerts a powerful effect on the
individual’s thinking and behaviour and is therefore motivational.
• When needs at a particular level of the hierarchy are satisfied, the
individual turns his or her attention to the next higher level.
• A satisfied need is no longer an effective motivator.

• The single exception involves self-actualization needs. Self-

actualization needs become stronger as they are gratified.
ALDERFER’S ERG THEORY

• Streamlines Maslow’s need classifications and makes some different

assumptions about the relationship between needs and motivation.

• A three-level hierarchical need theory of motivation (existence,

relatedness, growth) that allows for movement up and down the
hierarchy.
EXISTENCE NEEDS
• Needs that are satisfied by some material substance or condition.

• They correspond closely to Maslow’s physiological needs and to those

safety needs that are satisfied by material conditions rather than
interpersonal relations:

– Need for food, shelter, and pay

– Safe working conditions
RELATEDNESS NEEDS

• Needs that are satisfied by open communication and the exchange of

thoughts and feelings with other organizational members.

• They correspond closely to Maslow’s belongingness needs and to

those esteem needs that involve feedback from others:

– Open, accurate, honest interaction rather than uncritical pleasantness

– Safe working conditions
GROWTH NEEDS

• Needs that are fulfilled by strong personal involvement in the work

setting.

• They correspond to Maslow’s need for self-actualization and the

aspects of esteem needs that concern achievement and responsibility:

– The full utilization of one’s skills and abilities

– The creative development of new skills and abilities
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MASLOW’S AND
ALDERFER’S NEED THEORIES
ALDERFER’S ERG THEORY

Agreement with Maslow:

– As lower-level needs are satisfied, the desire to have higher-level needs
satisfied will increase.
– The least concrete needs (growth needs) become more compelling and more
desired as they are fulfilled.

Differs from Maslow:

- Does not assume that a lower-level need must be gratified before a less
concrete need becomes operative.
- If the higher-level needs are ungratified, individuals will increase their desire
for the gratification of lower-level needs.
MCCLELLAND’S THEORY OF NEEDS
• A non-hierarchical need theory of motivation that outlines the
conditions under which certain needs result in particular patterns of
motivation.

• Needs reflect relatively stable personality characteristics.

• Concerned with the specific behavioural consequences of three

needs:
– Need for Achievement
– Need for Affiliation
– Need for Power
NEED FOR ACHIEVEMENT

• A strong desire to perform challenging tasks well.

• Individuals with a high need for achievement exhibit the following

characteristics:
– A preference for situations in which personal responsibility can be taken for
outcomes.
– A tendency to set moderately difficult goals that provide for calculated risks.
– A desire for performance feedback.
NEED FOR AFFILIATION
• A strong desire to establish and maintain friendly, compatible
interpersonal relationships.

• People with a high need for affiliation have an ability to learn social
networking quickly and a tendency to communicate frequently with
others.

• They prefer to avoid conflict and competition with others.

NEED FOR POWER

• A strong desire to influence others, making a significant impact or

impression.

• People with a high need for power seek out social settings in which
they can be influential.

• Power can be used to serve the power seeker, other people, or the
organization.
MCCLELLAND’S THEORY OF NEEDS

• People with high need for achievement:

– Sales jobs or entrepreneurial positions

• People with high need for affiliation:

– Social work or customer relations

• People with high need for power:

– Journalism and management
PROCESS THEORIES OF WORK
MOTIVATION

• Motivation theories that specify the details of how motivation occurs.

• Three important process theories:

– Expectancy theory
– Equity theory
– Goal setting theory
EXPECTANCY THEORY

• A process theory that states that motivation is determined by the

outcomes that people expect to occur as a result of their actions on
the job.

• The basic components of Victor Vroom’s expectancy theory are:

– Outcomes
– Instrumentality
– Valence
– Expectancy
– Force
OUTCOMES
• The consequences that may follow certain work behaviours.

• First-level outcomes are of particular interest to the organization (e.g.,

high vs. average productivity).

• Expectancy theory is concerned with specifying how an employee

might attempt to choose one first-level outcome (e.g., high
productivity) over another (e.g., average productivity).
OUTCOMES

• Second-level outcomes are consequences that follow the attainment

of a particular first-level outcome.

• They are of particular interest to the individual worker and involve

things such as the amount of pay, sense of accomplishment,
acceptance by peers, and so on.
INSTRUMENTALITY (PERFORMANCE →
OUTCOME LINK)

• The probability that a particular first-level outcome (e.g., high

productivity) will be followed by a particular second-level outcome
(e.g., pay).

High productivity → 80% chance of a pay increase

Average productivity → 30% chance of a pay increase
VALENCE

• The expected value of outcomes, the extent to which they are

attractive or unattractive to the individual.
FORCE
• Force is the end product of the other components of the theory.

• It represents the relative degree of effort that will be directed toward

various first-level outcomes.

• The force directed toward a first-level outcome is a product of the

valence of that outcome and the expectancy that it can be achieved:
force = first-level valence × expectancy

• We can expect an individual’s effort to be directed toward the first-level

outcome that has the largest force product.
THE PREMISES OF EXPECTANCY
THEORY
• People will be motivated to perform in those work activities that they
find attractive and that they feel they can accomplish.

• The attractiveness of various work activities depends on the extent to

which they lead to favourable personal consequences.

• Expectancy theory is based on the perceptions of the individual

worker.
MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS OF
EXPECTANCY THEORY

• The motivational implications of expectancy theory involve “juggling

the numbers” that individuals attach to expectancies, instrumentalities,
and valences.

• Three implications:
– Boost expectancies
– Clarify reward contingencies
– Appreciate diverse needs
CLARIFY REWARD CONTINGENCIES
• Managers should try to ensure that the paths between first- and
second-level outcomes are clear.
• Employees should be convinced that first-level outcomes are clearly
instrumental in obtaining positive second-level outcomes and avoiding
negative outcomes.

• Appreciate diverse needs:

• Managers should analyze the diverse preferences of employees
and attempt to design individualized “motivational packages” to
meet their needs.
EQUITY THEORY
• Equity theory explains people’s job satisfaction through a comparison
process of inputs and outcomes.

• When workers’ perceive equity they experience job satisfaction; when

they perceive inequity, they experience job dissatisfaction.

• In what sense is equity theory a theory of motivation?

EQUITY THEORY

• Motivation stems from a comparison of the inputs one invests in a job

and the outcomes one receives in comparison with the inputs and
outcomes of another person or group.

• Individuals are motivated to maintain an equitable exchange

relationship.

• How do people reduce inequity and achieve equity?

EQUITY THEORY EXAMPLE

• Terry is a middle manager in a consumer products company.

• Terry’s inputs and outcomes:

– 5 years work experience
– M.B.A. degree
– Good performance
– A salary of $75,000 a year
EQUITY THEORY EXAMPLE

• Terry learns that Maxine, a co-worker makes the same salary he does.
• Maxine’s inputs and outcomes:
– 1 year of work experience
– A Bachelor’s degree
– Average performance

• What will Terry conclude when he compares his outcome/input ratio to

Maxine’s and what might he do?
MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS OF
EQUITY THEORY

• Perceived underpayment will have a variety of negative motivational

consequences for the organization (e.g., low productivity, low quality,
theft).

• Understand that feelings about equity stem from a perceptual social

comparison process.

• Understanding the role of comparison people is especially crucial.

GOAL SETTING THEORY
• A process theory that states that goals are motivational when they
are specific, challenging, and when organizational members are
committed to them and feedback about progress toward goal
attainment is provided.

• Goals are most motivational when they are:

– Specific
– Challenging
– Organizational members are committed to them
– Feedback about progress toward goal attainment is provided
WHY ARE GOALS MOTIVATIONAL?

• Four mechanisms explain why goals are motivational:

– They direct attention toward goal-relevant activities.
– They lead to greater effort.
– They increase and prolong persistence.
– They lead to the discovery and use of task-relevant strategies for goal
attainment.
MANAGEMENT SUPPORT

• When supervisors behave in a coercive manner to encourage goal

accomplishment, they can badly damage employee goal commitment.

• Supervisors must demonstrate a desire to assist employees in goal

accomplishment and behave supportively if failure occurs.

• Threat and punishment in response to failure will be extremely

counterproductive.
RESEARCH SUPPORT FOR GOAL
SETTING THEORY
• Research has demonstrated that specific, difficult goals lead to
improved performance and productivity on a wide variety of tasks and
occupations.
• The effect of group goal setting on group performance is similar to the
effect of individual goal setting.
• The positive effects of goals persist over a long enough time to have
practical value.
• When individuals lack the knowledge or skill to perform a novel or
complex task, a specific and challenging performance goal can
decrease performance.
CH.6 MOTIVATION IN PRACTICE
MONEY AS A MOTIVATOR

How important is pay for you?

MONEY AS A MOTIVATOR

How effective is pay as a motivator?

MONEY AS A MOTIVATOR: NEED
THEORIES

• Pay can satisfy lower-level needs as well as social, self-esteem, and

self-actualization needs so it should have good potential as a
motivator.
• How can this potential be realized?
• If pay can satisfy a variety of needs, it should be highly valent, and it
should be a good motivator to the extent that it is clearly tied to
performance.
MONEY AS A MOTIVATOR

• Pay may well be the most important and effective motivator of

performance.

• The ability to earn money for outstanding performance is a competitive

advantage for attracting, motivating, and retaining employees.

• Variable pay or incentive compensation involves providing employees

some portion of their pay that is based on a measure of performance.
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS WITH WAGE
INCENTIVES

• Wage incentives have some potential problems when they are not
managed with care:
– Lowered quality
– Differential opportunity
– Reduce cooperation
– Incompatible job design
– Restriction of productivity
LINKING PAY TO PERFORMANCE ON
WHITE-COLLAR JOBS
• Merit pay plans are systems that attempt to link pay to performance on
white-collar jobs.
• There is some evidence that pay-for-performance merit pay plans and
bonus pay have a positive effect on job performance, especially in jobs
where performance is more objectively measured.
• Although merit pay can improve performance, many merit pay systems
are ineffective.
• Individuals who work under such a system often do not perceive a link
between their job performance and pay.
PAY PLANS TO MOTIVATE TEAMWORK

• Each of the following plans has a different motivational focus:

– Profit sharing
– Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs)
– Gainsharing
– Skill-based pay
PROFIT SHARING

• The return of some company profit to employees in the form of a cash

bonus or a retirement supplement.

• One of the most commonly used group-oriented incentive systems.

• A major problem is that many factors beyond the control of the

workforce can affect profits no matter how well people perform their
jobs.
EMPLOYEE STOCK OWNERSHIP PLANS
(ESOPS)

• Incentive plans that allow employees to own a set amount of a

company’s shares and provide employees with a stake in the
company’s future earnings and success.
• They align employees’ goals and interests with those of the
organization and create a sense of legal and psychological ownership.
• Many other factors can influence the value of a company’s stock
besides employee effort and performance (lose their motivational
potential in a weak economy when a company’s share price goes
down.)
OTHER WAYS TO MOTIVATE….

Job Design
Job Scope (stretch assignments)
Job Rotation
Job Enrichment
MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVES

• An elaborate, systematic, ongoing program designed to facilitate goal

establishment, goal accomplishment, and employee development.

• Objectives for the organization as a whole are developed by top

management and diffused down through the organization.

• Organizational objectives are translated into specific behavioural

objectives for individual members.

• The nature of the interaction between managers and individual

workers in an MBO program is important.
THE MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVES
PROCESS
• MBO manager-employee interactions:
– The manager meets with individual workers to develop and agree on employee
objectives which can include job performance and personal development
objectives.

– There are periodic meetings to monitor employee progress in achieving

objectives.

– An appraisal meeting is held to evaluate the extent to which the agreed upon
objectives have been achieved.

– The MBO cycle is repeated.

FLEXIBLE WORK ARRANGEMENTS AS
MOTIVATORS FOR A DIVERSE WORKFORCE

• Many organizations have modified traditional working schedules and

offer their employees flexible work arrangements.

• Flexible work arrangements are work options that permit flexibility in

terms of “where” and/or “when” work is completed.

• The purpose is to meet diverse workforce needs and promote job

satisfaction and help employees manage work and non-work
responsibilities and achieve a better work-life balance.
FLEXIBLE WORK ARRANGEMENTS

• Some of the most common flexible work arrangements:

– Flex-time
– Compressed workweek
– Job and work sharing
– Telecommuting
TELECOMMUTING: POTENTIAL
PROBLEMS
• Negative consequences can result due to a lack of informal
communication.

• It can have a negative effect on relationships with co-workers.

• Distractions in the home environment.

• Feelings of isolation and overwork.

• Concerns about trust and control and that workers will not be as
productive.
• What motivational system should an organization use?
• The motivational system used by an organization has to fit with
the organization’s culture and other management practices.

• The most effective approach will depend on:

– Employee needs (e.g., money, challenge)
– The nature of the job (e.g., individual, group work)
– Organizational characteristics (e.g., strategy, culture)
– Desired outcome (e.g., job performance, retention)