Ch 16 - Motivating Employees

Question 1

What is motivation?

Answer 1

= the forces either within or external to a person that arouse enthusiasm and persistence to pursue a certain course of action

Question 2

What is a simple model for explaining the process of motivation?

Answer 2

1. Need = desire is created to fulfill needs (money, friendship, achievement, etc)
2. Behaviour = actions to fulfill needs
3. rewards = satisfy needs with intrinsic or extrinsic rewards
4. feedback = reward informs person whether behaviour was approproate and should be used again

Question 3

What are intrinsic and extrinsic rewards? What do managers want to give employees?

Answer 3

Intrinsic rewards: the internal satisfactions and positive feelings that a person receives in the process of performing a particular action

Extrinsic rewards: something given by another person, typically a manager; include promotions, praise, and pay increases

managers want people to receive both!!

Question 4

What are the approaches to motivating people that managers can use?

Answer 4

1. negative-extrinsic = threats and punishments
2. negative-intrinsic = tap into self-doubts
3. positive-extrinsic = rewards like pay raises, bonuses, praise (limited, lose effect over time)
4. postitive-intrinsic = help ppl enjoy their work, sense of accomplishment

Question 5

What are content theories of motivation? the types? What is the general guiding concept behind this?

Answer 5

Content theories: emphasize the needs that motivate people

1) The hierarchy of needs theory
2) ERG theory
3) Two-factor theory
4) Acquired needs theory

guiding concept: People have a variety of needs that motivate specific behaviors

Question 6

What is hierarchy of needs theory? Steps? Who?

Answer 6

= people are motivated by multiple needs, and
these needs exist in a hierarchical order
who: Abraham Maslow

bottom to top
physiological needs = heat, air, base salary
safety needs = safe work, job security
belongingness needs = work groups, coworkers, supervisors
esteem needs = recognition, approval, status, responsibilities
self actualization needs = opportunities for advancement, autonomy, growth, creativity

Question 7

What is ERG theory? Who? What did they say about failure to meet a high order need?

Answer 7

Clayton Paul Alderfer
maslow but 3 categories and with more empirical verification?

1) Existence needs: needs for physical well-being
2) Relatedness needs: needs for satisfactory relationships with others
3) Growth needs: needs that focus on the development of human potential and the desire for personal growth and increased competence

failure to meet = frustration-regression principle = failure to meet a high-order need may cause a regression to an already satisfied lower-order need (can move down as well as up!)

Question 8

What is the two-factor theory approach to needs? Who?

Answer 8

who = Frederick Herzberg

theory: work characteristics associated with dissatisfaction are different from those pertaining to satisfaction, so must be two factors that influence work motivation

A) Hygiene factors: presence or absence of job dissatisfiers (good hygiene factors simply remove the dissatisfaction = keep at baseline or go below)
B) Motivators: influence job satisfaction based on fulfilling higher-level needs (bring above baseline = when motivators are absent, workers are neutral toward work)

Question 9

What is acquired needs theory? who?

Answer 9

= certain types of needs are acquired during the individual’s lifetime (oft in childhood when encouraged/rewarded for certain things)
- David McClelland

Need for achievement: the desire to accomplish something difficult
Need for affiliation: the desire to form close personal relationships
Need for power: the desire to influence or control others, be responsible for others, and have authority over others

Question 10

What is definition of process theories on motivation? What are the main ones?

Answer 10

= explanations of how people select behavioral actions to meet their needs and determine whether their choices are successful

a) Goal-setting theory
b) Equity theory
c) Expectancy theory

Question 11

What is goal-setting theory? Key components?

Answer 11

= proposes that managers can increase motivation and enhance performance by setting specific, challenging goals and providing timely feedback

Key components:
1) Goal specificity = need to know when actually acheived the goal
2) Goal difficulty = too hard is demotivating, too easy is too easy
3) Goal acceptance = employees need to buy in, care about it and the why
4) Feedback

Question 12

Why does goal setting increase motivation?

Answer 12

• focus their energies in the right direction
• energize behavior because people feel compelled to develop plans and strategies that keep them focused on achieving the targets
• when goals are achieved, pride and satisfaction increase, contributing to higher motivation and morale

Question 13

Which of the following descriptions best indicates what goal-setting theory is about?
a) The focus is on individuals’ perceptions of how fairly they are treated relative to others
b) An individual’s motivation can result from thoughts, beliefs, and observations of other people’s behavior
c) Positively reinforced behavior tends to be repeated, and unreinforced or negatively reinforced behavior tends to be inhibited
d) Managers increase motivation and enhance performance by setting specific, challenging targets and providing timely feedback

Answer 13

d) Managers increase motivation and enhance performance by setting specific, challenging targets and providing timely feedback

Question 14

What is equity theory? definition of equity?

Answer 14

Equity theory: focuses on individuals’ perceptions of how fairly they are treated/perceived to be treated compared to others (my treatment vs others around me)

Equity: the ratio of one person’s inputs to outcomes equals the ratio of another’s inputs to outcomes – Inequity occurs when inputs-to-outcomes ratios are out of balance (ex: new employee gets same pay as experienced one)

Question 15

What methods are used to reduce perceived inequity?

Answer 15

• Change work effort (ex: increase if feeling overpaid, decrease if feeling underpaid)
• Change outcomes (ex: underpaid person request bigger office or salary increase)
• Change perceptions (ex: show employee actual situation and reduce misperception)
• Leave the job

Question 16

What is expectancy theory? What are the parts?

Answer 16

motivation depends on individuals’ expectations about their ability to perform tasks and receive desired rewards (motivated to put in effort in order to achieve outcome)

E → P (effort to performance): expectancy that effort will lead to high performance
–> high = individual must have ability, previous experience, and necessary equipment, tools, and opportunity to perform
P → O (performance to outcome) expectancy: probability that performance will produce the desired outcome
–> ex: believe that higher sales will lead to better raise = HIGH PO exp

Question 17

What is valence? how does it tie into expectancy therory? How does one get highly motivated emlpoyees with this thoery?

Answer 17

= the value of outcomes, or attraction to outcomes, for the individual

w/ expectancy theory: If the outcomes that are available from great effort and good performance are not VALUED by employees, motivation will be low

highly motivated employees = all three factors are HIGH

Question 18

You know that you have a great idea and only need a few more hours to finish a project that will contribute to how your team functions in the future. In other words, you have
a) high E → P expectancy
b) low valence
c) low P → O expectancy
d) high vicarious learning

Answer 18

a) high E → P expectancy

Question 19

What is reinforcement theory perspectice on motivation? What are two main parts?

Answer 19

looks at the relationship between behavior and its consequences; focuses on changing employees’ on-the-job behavior through the appropriate use of immediate rewards and punishments

parts:
- direct reinforcement = happens to you
- social learning = happens to someone else

Question 20

What law underlies direct reinforcement?

Answer 20

law of effect = behavior that is positively reinforced tends to be repeated, and behavior that is not reinforced tends not to be repeated

Question 21

What are the 4 reinfrcement tools?

Answer 21

1. positive reinforcement = pleasant and rewarding consequence following a desired behavior (ex: praise + gratitude, give bonus)
2. avoidance learning (aka negative reinforcement) = removal of an unpleasant consequence once a behavior is improved (ex: stop yelling at them)
3. punishment = imposition of unpleasant outcomes, oft following undesirable behaviour (ex: suspend employee)
4. extinction = withholding of a positive reward, undesirable behaviour ignored bc not positively reinforced means it will eventually disappear (ex: withhold raise, praise)

Question 22

What is social learning theory? What is vicarious learning?

Answer 22

social learning = proposes that an individual’s motivation can result from the person’s observations of other people’s behavior (ex: I am motivated to try amazon fba because they did it and were rewarded with pools of money)

Vicarious learning = observational learning; learning from seeing others’ behaviors and getting rewarded for them

Question 23

How can managers take advatnage of social larning?

Answer 23

ensuring that each individual…
1) has a chance to observe the desirable behaviors
2) accurately perceives the behaviors
3) remembers the behaviors
4) has the necessary skills to perform the behaviors
5) sees that the behaviors are rewarded by the organization

Question 24

What is the definition of job design?

Answer 24

Job design: the application of motivational theories to the structure of work for improving productivity and satisfaction

Question 25

What is job enrichment? What are some job enrichment techniques? Who has control in enriched jobs? What does research say about this control?

Answer 25

job enrichment: incorporating high-level motivators into the work (recognition, opportunities for growth, learning)
- job rotation = move employees systematically from one job to another to provide variety and stimulation
- job enlargement = combine a series of small tasks into one new, broader job so that people perform a variety of activities

employees have control!
research says: when jobs designed this way, people feel a greater sense of involvement, commitment, and motivation
= higher morale, lower turnover, stronger organizational performance

Question 26

What is work redesign? What are the parts of job characteristics model?

Answer 26

work redesign = altering jobs to increase both the quality of employees’ work experience and their productivity

1) core job dimensions
2) critical psychological states
3) employee growth-need strength

Question 27

What are the core job dimensinos of the job characteristics model?

Answer 27

a) skill variety = number of diverse activities that compose a job and the number of skills used to perform it (routine vs complex)
b) task identity = degree to which an employee performs a total job with a recognizable beginning and end (prep entire meal vs just chopping veggies)
c) task significnace = degree to which the job is perceived as important and having an impact on the company or consumers
d) autonomy = degree to which the worker has freedom, discretion, and self-determination in planning and carrying out tasks
e) feedback = extent to which doing the job provides feedback to the employee about his or her performance

Question 28

What are the main psychological states related to core job dimensions in the job characteristics model?

Answer 28

i) experienced meaningfulness of work = the work itself is satisfying and provides intrinsic rewards for the worker
ii) experienced responsibility = The job characteristic of autonomy
iii) knowledge of actual results = The job characteristic of feedback = the employee thus knows how he or she is doing and can change work performance to increase desired outcomes.

Question 29

What outcomes do the impact of the five job characteristics on the psychological states lead to?

Answer 29

• high work motivation
• high work performance
• high satisfaction
• low absenteeism and turnover

Question 30

What is employee growth-need strength in the job characteristics model? Where is this model effective/not?

Answer 30

= recognition that people have different needs for growth and development

effective when
- ppl looking for higher needs (less effective when focused on safety + physiological)
not effective in collectivist countries that dont as much value autonomy (or other countries that place more value on extrinisic rather than intrinsic values)

Question 31

What are some main ways organizations motivate their employees now? What are two new approaches that are gaining traction?

Answer 31

main ways: incentive motivation
–> bonuses, profit sharing, shares, merit pay

new approaches: NOT financial!
- empowerment
- engagement

Question 32

What is empowerment? Main elements in the context of employee motivation?

Answer 32

= power sharing; the delegation of power and authority to subordinates in an organization

• Employees receive information about company performance (not kept in dark)
• Employees have knowledge and skills to contribute to company goals (training programs etc)
• Employees have the power to make substantive decisions (trust! self directed work teams)
• Employees are rewarded based on company performance (based on bottom line)

Question 33

What is engagement? How can managers improve engagement?

Answer 33

emotional and mental state in which employees enjoy their work, contribute enthusiastically to meeting goals, and feel a sense of belonging and commitment to the organization

improve with 3 key elements:
1) People feel that they are working toward something important = accomplish something of value = pride and dignity
2) People feel connected to the company, to one another, and to their managers = managers listen to employees, genuinely care about their concerns, and help them develop positive relationships with colleagues
3) People have the chance to learn, grow, and advance = give people the chance to work on challenging projects, offer high-quality training and learning programs, and provide opportunities for advancement