Motivation Flashcards
What is motivation?
The set of forces that initiates, directs and makes people persist in their efforts to accomplish a goal
Motivation =
Motivation = Initiation + Direction + Persistence
What is job performance?
How well someone performs the requirements of the job
Job performance =
Job performance = Motivation x Ability x Situational constraints
What is ability as it pertains to job performance?
The degree to which workers possess the knowledge, skills and talent needed to do a job well
What are situational constraints?
The factors beyond the control of individual employees, such as tools, policies and resources that have an effect on job performance
What are needs?
The physical or psychological requirements that must be met to ensure survival and wellbeing
What are the main principles of all needs theories?
- People are motivated by unmet needs.
- Once a need is met, it no longer motivates
What are the needs theories?
- Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
- Alderfer’s ERG theory
- McClelland’s Learned needs theory
What is the core principle of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs?
People are motivated by their lowest unsatisfied needs first
What are the needs in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs from lowest to highest?
- Physiological
- Safety
- Belongingness
- Esteem
- Self-actualisation
What are the core principles of Alderfer’s ERG theory?
- People can be motivated by more than one needs at a time
- People are just as likely to move down the needs hierarchy as up, particularly when they are unable to achieve satisfaction at the next higher need level
What are the needs in Alderfer’s ERG theory from lowest to highest?
- Existence
- Relatedness
- Growth
What are the core principles of McClelland’s Learned needs theory?
- The degree to which particular needs motivate varies from person to person
- Needs are learned, not innate
What are the needs in McClelland’s Learned needs theory from lowest to highest?
- Affiliation
- Achievement
- Power
What is empirically true of all needs theories?
- Higher order needs will not motivate people as long as lower order needs remain unsatisfied
- Once lower order needs are satisfied, it’s difficult to predict which higher order needs will motivate behaviour
What are the lower order needs?
- Safety
- Physiological
- Existence
What are the higher order needs?
- Relationships
- Accomplishments
- Influence
What is true of both extrinsic & intrinsic rewards?
Both are important
What kinds of rewards are there?
- Extrinsic Reward
* Intrinsic Reward
What are extrinsic rewards?
A reward that is tangible, visible to others and given to employees contingent on the performance of specific tasks or behaviours which external agents determine and control the distribution, frequency and amount of
What are extrinsic rewards used for and what are examples of them?
- Used to motivate people to perform four basic behaviours: join the organisation, regularly attend their jobs, perform their jobs well and stay with organisation
- Pay
- Company stock
- Benefits
- Promotions
- Performance bonuses
What are intrinsic rewards?
The natural rewards associated with performing a task or activity for its own sake
What are examples of intrinsic rewards?
- Jobs found interesting or enjoyable
- Sense of accomplishment or achievement
- Feeling of responsibility
- Chance to learn something new or interact with others
- The fun that comes from performing work
What are the steps to motivate people with the basic model?
- Ask what people’s needs are
- Satisfy lower order needs first
- Expect people’s needs to change
- As needs change and lower order needs are satisfied, create opportunities for employees to satisfy higher order needs
In motivating, how can lower order needs be satisfied?
- Provide the equipment, training and knowledge to create a safe workplace free of physical risks
- Pay employees well enough to provide financial security and offer an attractive benefits package
What are the components of Equity Theory?
- Inputs
- Outcomes
- Referents
- Outcome/Income ratio
What are inputs in Equity Theory?
The contribution an employee makes to an organisation
What are outcomes in Equity Theory?
The reward an employee receives from their contributions to an organisation
What are referents in Equity Theory?
- Someone with whom a person compares themselves to determine if they have been treated fairly
- A single person
- Generalised other
- Oneself over time
What is the core mechanism of Equity Theory?
- Outcome/Income ratio
What is the Outcome/Income ratio and how is it used?
- An employees perception of how the rewards received from an organisation compare with the employee’s contributions to that organisation
- (Self-Outcomes / self-inputs) / (referent-outcomes / referent-inputs)
- When people perceive that their O/I ratio is different from their referents O/I ratio, they conclude that they have been treated inequitably or unfairly
In Equity theory, what are the types of inequality?
- Under-reward
* Over-reward
What is under-reward and what does it result in?
- Occurs when ones O/I ratio is worse than the referent’s
- Leads to anger & frustration
What is over-reward and what does it lead to?
- Occurs when ones O/I ratio is better than the referent’s
- Leads to guilt
- People tend to have a very high tolerance for over-reward