Motivation Flashcards
Motivation
A set of energetic forces that originate within and outside an employee that initiates work-related effort and determines direction, intensity and persistence
- Intrinsic Motivation: internal force (confidence, needs)
- Extrinsic Motivation: external force (goals, incentives)
Aspects of Effort
Direction (What are you going to do?)
Intensity (How hard are you going to work on it?)
Persistence (How long are you going to work on it?)
Why is motivation important?
Motivation has a strong correlation with job performance and moderate correlation with organizational commitment
Theories of Motivation
Expectancy Theory
Goal Setting Theory
Equity Theory
Expectancy Theory
Describes the cognitive process that employees go through to make choices among different voluntary responses
- Direction of Effort (towards pleasure and away from pain)
Components of Expectancy Theory
Expectancy
Instrumentality
Valence
Expectancy
Efforts will result in performance
Instrumentality
Performance will result in outcomes
Valence
These outcomes are of value
Expectancy Hinderances
- Lack of necessary resources
- Lack of supportive leadership
- Low self efficacy
Self Efficacy
The belief that a person has the capabilities needed to execute the behaviors required for task success
Instrumentality Hinderances
- Poor methods for measuring performance
- Inadequate budget
- Use of policy (reward seniority not performance)
- Timing delays
What is the MOST IMPORTANT motivator?
NOT PAY – pay is important but not the most important
Expectancy Theory Equation for Motivation
Motivation = expectancy x instrumentality x valence
(if any of them are 0… motivation is 0)
Goal Setting Theory
Motivation is fostered when employees are given specific and difficult
Yerkes-Dodson Law
Job performance is related to goal difficulty. Too easy - uninterested; too hard - overwhelmed
SMART Goal
Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Result-based, Timely
Goal Setting Factors that Increase Motivation
-provide FEEDBACK
-task is COMPLEX
-employees are COMMITTED to the goal
Equity Theory
Motivation is maximized when an employee’s ratio of ‘outcomes’ to ‘inputs’ is equal (matches) those of a comparable other (***depends on outcomes received by other employees)
Equity
Your outcome to input ratio matches other’s
- desirable
- no action needed
Under-rewarded inequity
With equal input, your outcomes are less than another’s
- anger and envy
- increase your outcome (protest or negotiation)
- decrease your input (withdrawal)
- decrease other’s outcomes (counterproductive behavior)
Over-rewarded inequity
Your input is less than another’s, with equal outcomes
- guilt and anxiety
- increase your input (work harder, cognitive distortion)
- increase other’s outcomes (citizenship behavior)
Cognitive Distortion
rethink your input – ‘Actually I think I do deserve it’
Intrinsic Motivators
- enjoyment
- knowledge gain
- accomplishment
