Foundations of Employee Motivation Flashcards
Define Motivation.
Motivation refers to the forces within a person that
affect the direction, intensity and persistence of voluntary behavior.
What are the three elements used to measure motivation?
Direction, Intensity and Persistence.
Is motivation an essential driver of behavior and performance?
Yes.
What is employee engagement?
Employee engagement is an
individual’s emotional and cognitive (logical) motivation, particularly a focused, intense, persistent and purposive effort towards work-related goals.
What personality trait is employee engagement associated with (check this when you go over these).
Self efficacy.
Why is employee engagement important to management?
It predicts individual and business unit performance.
What’s an issue with comparing employee engagement and performance?
It’s not always clear which causes which (e.g. being successful may cause employees to be engaged or vice versa).
What are the problems associated with actively disengaged employees?
They tend to be disruptive to the rest of the workplace.
What are the different elements of OB theory that contribute to employee engagement?
- The MARS Model.
- Affective Commitment (attachment to org)
- Motivation Practices
- Org Level Communication
- Leadership
What is a drive (with reference to motivation)?
Drives are hardwired characteristics of the brain that
attempt to keep us in balance by correcting deficiencies.
What is the alternative term for a drive?
A primary need.
What are some potential human drives (according to studies)?
- Social Interaction
- Competence
- Comprehension of surroundings
- Self defense (physiological and psychological)
Are there a list of agreed upon human drives?
No.
What are needs?
Needs are goal-directed forces that people
experience.
Out of drives, decisions & behavior, and needs what order do they come in (conceptually)?
- Drives
- Needs
- Decisions and behavior
Does everyone have the same drives?
Yes. They are hardwired into us via evolution.
Is everyone’s needs the same in a situation?
No - peoples self concept, social norms and past experience mediate how drives are expressed as needs and behavior.
What is four drive theory?
This theory states that emotions are the source of human motivation and that these emotions are generated through four types of drives.
What are the four drives (from four drive theory)?
- Drive to acquire
- Drive to bond
- Drive to comprehend
- Drive to defend
What is the drive to acquire?
This is the drive to seek, take, control and retain objects and personal experiences.
What needs does the drive to acquire create?
- Need for achievement.
- Need for competence.
- Need for status.
- Need for self-esteem.
What is the drive to bond?
This is the drive that motivates people to cooperate.
What 2 needs does the drive to bond create?
- Need for belonging.
2. Need for affiliation.
What is the drive to comprehend?
This drive states that humans are inherently curious and need to make sense of our environment and
ourselves.