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.
What needs does the drive to comprehend create?
- Need of curiosity.
2. Need to reach knowledge potential.
What is the drive to defend?
This is the drive to protect ourselves physically, psychologically and socially.
Are drives dependent on one another (according to the 4 drives model).
No. They are independent and equal (meaning no hierarchy of importance).
How do drives influence motivation?
TBC
How do drives influence behavior?
TBC
What is the 2 main recommendation of 4 drive theory?
- employee motivation, performance and wellbeing are optimal when employees fulfil all four drives.
- Fulfilment of the four drives must be kept
in balance (not too much or too little) as they counterbalance each-other.
What are some limitations of 4 drive theory?
- Room for more drives to be added.
2. Intermediate factors (norms, values, experience) might not cover everything.
What is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
This theory organizes human needs into 5 categories, which are ordered from lowest (first) to highest (last). This theory also includes 2 other drives that don’t fit in the hierarchy.
What are the 5 needs in Maslow’s hierarchy
- physiological
- safety
- belongingness/love
- esteem
- self-actualization
What are the two ‘drives’ in Maslow’s hierarchy that are innate (and not in the pyramid).
- Need to know
2. Need for beauty.
In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, what are deficiency needs?
These are the bottom 4 needs. They are called this because these needs are ‘triggered’ when unfulfilled.
In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, what are growth needs?
This is the top need (on the pyramid) - self-actualization. This is called this because the need continues to develop, even when temporarily satiated.
What are the issues with In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs?
- Evidence suggests that each of us has a unique needs hierarchy.
- Our hierarchies likely change over time.
Why is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs important?
- Emphasized that needs should be studied holistically (together).
- Motivation can be shaped by human thoughts.
- Adopted a positive view of motivation.
What is intrinsic motivation?
Motivation that occurs when people seek need fulfilment from doing the activity itself, not as a means to some other outcome.
What is extrinsic motivation?
This is where people are motivated to receive something that is beyond their personal
control for instrumental reasons e.g. a reward that is held by others.
What are the 2 hypotheses regarding intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
- They are ‘additive’ (people are more motivated when they are applied together).
- They are ‘contrasting’ (if you add extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation decreases).
Which of the 2 hypotheses regarding intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is correct?
- At this time the answer is TBC.
What is learned needs theory?
This states that need strength can be strengthened or weakened through reinforcement, learning and social influences.
What are the three ‘learned’ needs?
- Need for affiliation
- Need for achievement
- Need for power
What do people who rate highly in need for achievement tend to do?
- Choose moderately challenging tasks.
- Desire unambiguous feedback.
- Recognition for success.
- Prefer working alone.
How does money interact with the need for achievement?
- High need for achievement individual = money is a weak motivator.
- Low need for achievement individual = strong motivator.
What do people who rate highly in need for affiliation tend to do?
- Seek approval from others.
- Conform to others wishes.
- Avoid conflict/confrontation.
- Work well in jobs about maintaining long term relationships.
- Less effective at allocating scarce resources.
- Making conflict driving decisions.
Should high up leaders have high or low need for affiliation?
- Generally low so they don’t need others approval.
What do people who rate highly in need for power tend to do?
- Want to exercise control over others.
- Highly involved in team decisions.
- Rely on persuasion.
- Concerned with maintaining their leadership position.
What are the 2 kinds of need for power?
- Personalized power
2. Socialized power
What is the need for personalized power?
This is when individuals enjoy their power for its own sake, use it to advance personal interests and wear their power as a status symbol.
What is the need for socialized power?
When individuals desire power as a means to help others.
Which kind of need for power should leaders have?
Need for socialized power.
How did McClelland apply the learned needs model (on people) when it come to improving motivation?
Developed a program to adjust how people viewed themselves (self concept) in order to change their needs.
What is expectancy theory?
The theory states that work effort is aimed towards behaviors that people believe will produce the most favorable outcomes.
What is the assumption of expectancy theory?
That people are rational decision makers who choose where to direct their effort based on the probability of outcomes occurring and the positive or negative valences.
What is E-P expectancy?
The individual’s perception that his or her effort will result in a particular level of performance.
What is P-to-O expectancy?
The perceived probability that a specific behavior or performance level will lead to a particular outcome.
What are outcome valences?
A valence is the anticipated satisfaction or dissatisfaction that an individual feels towards an outcome.
Why do people like expectancy theory?
It provides clear guidelines for increasing employee motivation.
How might a company increase E-P expectancy?
- Assuring employees they have the abilities.
- Give clear role perceptions.
- Give the necessary resources to reach the performance goal.
- Matching employees with the job.
How might a company increase P-O expectancy?
- Measure employee performance.
- Reward higher performers.
- Communicate the link between reward and performance.
How might a company increase outcome valences?
- Individualize rewards.
- Make sure the reward is valued by everyone.
- Watch out for countervalent effects.
What is a limitation of expectancy theory?
- Has difficulty explaining intrinsic motivation.
- Ignores emotions.
- Doesn’t explain how employees develop expectancies.
What are the A-B-C’s of organizational behavior modification?
This is a form of OBmod that attempts to change Behavior by controlling Antecedents, and Consequences (A-B-C).
What are antecedents?
Antecedents are events preceding the behavior, informing employees that a particular action will produce specific consequences.
What are consequences (A-B-C)?
Consequences are events following a particular behavior that influence its future occurrence.
What are contingencies of reinforcement?
These are types of consequences that shape behavior.
What are the different contingencies of reinforcement?
- Positive reinforcement
- Punishment
- Extinction
What is the positive reinforcement contingency?
Positive reinforcement occurs when the introduction of a consequence increases or maintains the frequency or future probability of a specific behavior.
What is the punishment contingency?
Punishment occurs when a consequence decreases the frequency or future probability of a specific behavior occurring.
What is the extinction contingency?
Extinction occurs when the target behavior decreases because no consequence follows it.
What is the negative reinforcement contingency?
Negative reinforcement occurs when the removal or avoidance of a consequence increases or maintains the frequency or future probability of a specific behavior.
Which type of reinforcement is best?
Most orgs tend to go towards positive reinforcement because it avoids creating negative states within people. Sometimes punishment does need to be used though (extreme situations).
What are schedules of reinforcement?
These control the frequency of reinforcement according to behavior modification theory.
What are the different schedules of reinforcement?
- Continuous reinforcement (best for new learning).
2. Variable ratio-schedule (best for motivation).
What are the limitations of behavior modification theory?
- Reward inflation
- Variable ratio-schedule can create a ‘lottery’ type system.
- View that behavior is only learned via the environment.
What is social cognitive theory?
SCT states that much learning and motivation occur by observing and modelling others as well as by anticipating the consequences of our behavior.
What are the three elements of social cognitive theory relevant to OB?
- Learning behavior consequences
- Behavior modelling
- Self-regulation
What are learning behavior consequences?
This states that people learn the consequences of behavior by observing or hearing about
what happened to other people, not just by directly experiencing the consequences.
What is behavior modelling?
This states that people learn by imitating and practicing their behaviors.
What is self regulation?
Self regulation is the setting of goals and engagement in other forms of intentional, purposive action (such as self reinforcement).
What are the potential benefits of goal setting?
- by amplify the intensity and persistence of effort.
- Give employees clearer role perceptions so that their effort is channeled towards behaviors that will improve work performance.
What is the SMARTER system of goal setting?
This is an abbreviation that states goals should be:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-framed
- Exciting
- Reviewed
What are the characteristics of effective feedback?
- Specific
- Relevant
- Timely
- Credible
- Sufficiently frequent
What is strengths based coaching?
As the name suggests, this is where coaching is focused on giving positive feedback to strengths.
What are the different possible sources of feedback?
- Social
2. Non-social
What is a non-social source?
This is a source that provides feedback without someone communicating that information.
When is feedback from a non-social source better?
- when employees need to learn about goal progress and accomplishment.
- When its negative feedback.
When is feedback from a social source better?
- When the feedback is positive.
What are the issues with goal setting/feedback?
- Favors reinforcing areas that are measurable.
- Difficult goals motivate some people to engage in unethical behavior.
- Difficult goals are stressful.
- Tends to interfere with learning in complex jobs.
- Financial goals sometimes result in employees deliberately giving themselves easy goals.
What are the different kinds of Org Justice?
- Distributive
2. Procedural
What is distributive justice?
Distributive justice refers to perceived fairness in the outcomes we receive compared with our contributions and the outcomes and contributions of others.
What is procedural justice?
Procedural Justice refers to fairness of the procedures used to decide the distribution of resources.
