Chapter 4

Motivation Concepts and their Applications

Introduction
 Poorly motivated workers express themselves through detrimental behaviors such

as absenteeism and high turnover.

workplace.
4.1 Definitions and Theories of Motivation
Motivation: the processes that account for an individual’s intensity, direction, and
persistence of effort toward attaining a goal, specifically for OB, toward attaining an
organizational goal.
 Intensity: how hard a person tries to meet a goal( We have 2 principles of
motivation:Principle of gain or pain
 Direction: efforts are channeled toward organizational goals.
 Persistence: how long a person maintains effort toward a goal.
CLASS DISCUSSION POINTS
 Identify and explain about source of motivation?
 How motivation is related with success?
 What is the difference between inspiration and motivation?
EARLY THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
1.Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory
 In this, perhaps best known (and least supported) of all
motivational theories, Abraham Maslow proposed that there are
five levels of human needs.
 As each of the lower level needs are satisfied, the next unsatisfied
need becomes dominant. Satisfied needs no longer motivate, only
unsatisfied needs motivate people. The 5 need of man as per
Maslow are as follows
1. Physiological: About basic needs of man
2. Safety: lower order need, includes security and protection from
physical and emotional harm.
3. Social: Affection and related needs
4. Esteem: Self respect, dignity and achievement
5. Self-actualization: upper order need, defined as the drive to “be
all one can be” it includes growth, achieving one’s potential, and
self-fulfillment
2. McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y
 Douglas McGregor’s theory proposed that there were two basic
views of human nature, one essentially negative (Theory X) and
the other positive (Theory Y).
 Which view a manager believed was true would give that manager
a pre-set series of assumptions and related behaviors.
Theory X
 In this negative view of human nature, workers are basically lazy
and need firm guidance. The assumptions related to Theory X are:
 Work Avoidance. Employees dislike work and so will try to avoid
it.
 Need for Control. Since employees dislike work, they must be
coerced, controlled, or threatened with punishment to get them to
achieve organizational goals.
 Avoidance of Responsibility. Workers seek formal direction and
dislike taking responsibility.
Theory Y
 In this positive view, employees are willing workers who actively
seek responsibility. The underlying assumptions are
 Work as play. Work is as natural as play or rest.
 Commitment. When employees are committed, they will exercise
self-direction and self-control.
 Accepting Responsibility. Workers accept, and will even seek,
responsibility.
 Innovation is Common. The ability to make innovative decisions is
widely disbursed throughout the population; it does not only exist
in the managerial ranks.
3. Herzberg’s Two-Factor (Motivation-Hygiene) Theory
 Frederick Herzberg proposed that an individual’s relation to work
is basic and that one’s attitude toward work can very well
determine success or failure.
 In other words, things that people feel good about at work are
motivating and those things they don’t feel good about are de-
motivating
1. Hygiene Factors. These workplace factors, when not met, lead
to job dissatisfaction. When they are met, they do NOT lead to
job satisfaction, but rather, to a lack of dissatisfaction. So,
meeting hygiene factors does NOT increase motivation, it
merely placates the workers. Hygiene factors include quality of
supervision, pay, company policies, physical working
conditions, relations with others, and job security.
2. Motivation Factors. These are intrinsically rewarding factors in
the work environment such as promotion and personal growth
opportunities, recognition, responsibility, and achievement.
Meeting these factors will increase motivation by creating a
satisfying work environment
CONTEMPORARY THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
 Unlike the historic theories of motivation, these contemporary
theories of motivation do have a reasonable degree of supporting
documentation.
 It is important to remember that these are still theories. None of
these has been totally proven to be true.
1. McClelland's Theory of Needs. David McClelland created a
theory based on three needs:
A. Need for Achievement (nAch): the drive to excel and to achieve
in relation to a set of standards. Achievers seek rapid feedback
on performance, they like tasks of intermediate difficulty, and
they accept personal responsibility for success or failure.
 High achievers tend to be successful entrepreneurs. However,
having a high need for achievement does not necessarily mean the
person would be a good manager for larger organizations, as his or
her desire for recognition supersedes his or her concern for the
organization
Employees with low achievement needs can be trained to increase
their need for achievement.
Need for Power (nPow): the need to make others behave in a way
they would not have behaved otherwise. People with high power
needs feel they have to have an impact or be influential with other
people.
 They prefer to be placed into competitive and status-oriented
situations. High power people are more concerned with prestige
and gaining influence over others than with effective
performance.
Need for Affiliation (nAff): the desire for friendly and close
interpersonal relationships. Affiliates strive for friendship, prefer
cooperative situations, and desire friendships with a high degree of
mutual understanding.
 The best managers appear to be those with a high need for power,
and a low need for affiliation.
Cognitive Evaluation Theory
 This theory proposes that the introduction of extrinsic rewards,
such as pay, tends to decrease overall motivation.
 This is because the intrinsic reward of the work itself declines in
the face of extrinsic rewards.
Goal-Setting Theory
 This theory studies the effects goal specificity, challenge, and
feedback has on performance.
 The study of goal setting has created the following general rules:
 Specific goals produce a higher level of output than do
generalized goals.
 Typically, the more difficult the goal, the higher level of
performance, assuming that goal has been accepted by the
employee.
Management by Objectives
 To formalize goal-setting theory into an organization one of the
more effective ways to do this is through management by
objectives or MBO.
 Management by objectives emphasizes participative set goals
that are tangible, verifiable, and measurable.
 Four ingredients common to MBO programs: goal specificity,
participation in decision-making ,an explicit time period, and
performance feedback.
Bandura's Self-Efficacy Theory (also known as "social cognitive
theory" or "social learning theory")
• Typically, people with high self-efficacy respond better to
challenges and negative feedback than those with low self-
efficacy.
• Self-efficacy: related to confidence, this is an individual's belief
that he or she is capable of performing a task
Adams' Equity Theory
 This view holds that motivation can be affected by the
comparisons employees make of their job inputs (effort,
experience, education, confidence) and the job's outcomes (salary
levels, raises, recognition) relative to the inputs and outcomes of
other employees.
 If the ratios of inputs to outputs are roughly equal between
employees, a state of equity is said to exist. The situation is
perceived to be fair.
Equity Theory and Pay. The following prepositions are based on
equity theory under conditions of inequitable pay.
The purpose of each of the prepositions is to bring the ratios back
into balance.
Justice and Equity. Equity is closely tied to a desire for fairness
and fairness is normally associated with justice. There are a number
of views of justice that relate to equity theory
Distributive Justice. The historical type of justice used in equity
theory, distributive justice is the perceived fairness of the amount and
allocation of rewards among individuals.
 This form of justice is most strongly related to satisfaction with
outcomes and organizational commitment.
Organizational Justice. In this, more recently accepted view of
justice, justice is the employee’s overall perception of what is fair in
the workplace.
 The key element in organizational justice is perception, and since
we've already learned that perception is a highly individual process,
it should be obvious that judgments of fairness in organizations can
vary significantly between individuals.
Procedural Justice. This view of justice focuses on the fairness of the
process used to distribute rewards.
Vroom's Expectancy Theory.
 This widely accepted explanation of motivation deals with a
coupling of three beliefs.
 The belief that (1) effort will lead to a good performance
appraisal, (2) good appraisals will lead to organizational rewards,
and (3) organizational rewards will satisfy the employee's
personal goals. The relationship between these three beliefs and
the strength of the links between them are the focus of this theory.
The Three Key Relationships:
1. Effort-Performance Relationship. Defined as the probability
perceived by the individual that exerting a given amount of effort
will lead to successful performance.
2. Performance-Reward Relationship. The degree to which the
individual believes that performing at a particular level will lead to
the attainment of a desired outcome
3. Rewards-Personal Goals Relationship. The degree to which
organizational rewards satisfy an individual's personal goals or
needs and the attractiveness of those potential rewards for the
individual. Unless organizational rewards are tailored to individual
employee wants and needs, they will not be very motivational and
little effort will be expended.
End of chapter four!!
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