Motivation and the meaning of work (chapter 9)

Question 1

B.F. Skinner

Answer 1

Pioneered operant conditioning, which is used in workplace behavioural modification techniques.

Question 2

Abraham Maslow (1943)

Answer 2

Developed the hierarchy of needs, which was then used as a theory of workplace motivation.

Question 3

Frederick Herzberg (1966)

Answer 3

Suggested that only some job characteristics motivate people in the workplace, while other hygiene factors only cause dissatisfaction.

Question 4

John Stacey Adams (1963)

Answer 4

Developed equity theory, which suggests that people are motivated by comparing their workplace rewards with others.

Question 5

Victor Vroom

Answer 5

Developed expectancy theory, which suggests that people are motivated by actions that help them to achieve their desired goals.

Question 6

John Goldthorpe

Answer 6

Suggested that people had different predispositions, or orientations, to work, which influence the meaning and identity that people derive from their work.

Question 7

Extrinsic motivators

Answer 7

Motivating factors that come from factors external to an activity, e.g. pay, prestige.

Question 8

Intrinsic motivators

Answer 8

Motivating factors that come from the activity itself.

Question 9

Behavioural theories of motivation

Answer 9

A use of stimulus and response techniques whereby behaviour is altered by a planned provision of rewards and punishments.

Question 10

Content theories of motivation

Answer 10

Theories of motivation which suggest that the content of work be designed so as best to meet the needs which motivate workers; examples include Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Herzberg’s two factor theory.

Question 11

Process theories of motivation

Answer 11

Theories of motivation which suggest that motivation is as a result of individual processes of perception, comparison, and calculation; examples include Adams’ equity theory and Vroom’s expectancy theory.

Question 12

Social theories of motivation

Answer 12

Theories of motivation which see motivation as part of the role of work in creating meaning and identity for people within society.

Question 13

Motivation

Answer 13

The will or desire someone has to engage in a particular behaviour or perform a particular task.

Question 14

Extrinsic reward

Answer 14

Is provided by somebody else. E.g. pay, promotion, working conditions, perks of the job (company car, etc.)

Question 15

Intrinsic reward

Answer 15

A reward that someone senses for themselves. E.g. a sense of achievement, job satisfaction.

Question 16

Social reward

Answer 16

Comes from the feeling of being part of a group/team.

Question 17

Reward

Answer 17

In behaviourism, a positive response that is received for performing a particular behaviour.

Question 18

Punishment

Answer 18

In behaviourism, a negative response that is received for performing a particular behaviour.

Question 19

Coercion

Answer 19

Behaviour that arises from being forced in some way into performing that behaviour.

Question 20

Taylor (1911)

Answer 20

Believed that workers had a ‘natural laziness’ - piece rate payments were used as an incentive to increase productivity among workers. Use of extrinsic rewards.

Question 21

Lottery question

Answer 21

A question which asks whether people would give up work if they had enough money to live without having to work.
68.8% of respondents in the UK, and 93.4% in Japan, said they would continue to work in some form, even if they no longer needed the money (Harpaz, 1989).

Question 22

Hawthorne studies/Mayo (1933)

Answer 22

Mayo suggested that it was the social side of the organisation that motivated workers, and in examining work groups and teams, it was determined that group loyalty rather than management control can motivate people immediately.

Question 23

Behaviourism

Answer 23

An area of psychology which suggests that behaviour can be changed through the planned use of rewards and punishments.

Question 24

Stimulus-response

Answer 24

The underlying relationship of behaviourism, whereby a particular response, or behaviour, is the result of a particular stimulus - either a reward or a punishment.

Question 25

Pavlov and classical conditioning (1927)

Answer 25

Pavlov proposed the idea of classical conditioning whilst conducting research on the behaviour of dogs. He found that through the reinforcement and use of an unconditioned stimulus (food) and a conditioned stimulus (a bell) he could get the dog to salivate; this caused an unconditioned response. After a while, the dog would salivate at the sound of the bell even without the food, and salivation became a conditioned response. However, eventually this conditioned response became extinct and the dogs would no longer salivate - to maintain the behaviour, continuous reinforcement is needed.

Question 26

Conditioning

Answer 26

A change in behaviour brought about using stimulus-response techniques typical of behavioural psychology.

Question 27

Classical conditioning

Answer 27

A type of conditioning of behaviour where a reward or punishment accompanies and reinforces every instance of the behaviour to be conditioned.

Question 28

Aversion therapy

Answer 28

A type of classical conditioning whereby a particular behaviour is continually accompanied by a punishment so as to discourage that behaviour.

Question 29

Extinction

Answer 29

Where a conditioned behaviour dies out because the reward or punishment is no longer provided.

Question 30

Reinforcement

Answer 30

In behavioural psychology, the continued encouragement of a behaviour by the provision of a particular reward.

Question 31

Villere and Hartman (1991)

Answer 31

Punishment needs to be immediate and happen every time a behaviour occurs and rewards need to be supplied continually to avoid extinction of the desired behaviour.

Question 32

Operant conditioning (Skinner, 1969)

Answer 32

A conditioning of behaviour that recognises that rewards and punishments do not need to be continuous, but can be scheduled in a way to still condition behaviour. He found that rewards that were variable rather than fixed were more effective motivators.

Question 33

Organisational behaviour modification (OB Mod)

Answer 33

The use of operant conditioning techniques in a workplace setting (Luthans, Kreitner, 1985).

Question 34

Schedules of reinforcement

Answer 34

A blend of fixed and variable reinforcements designed so as best to reinforce desired behaviours.

Question 35

Fixed-interval reward

Answer 35

A regular salary is an example of a fixed-interval reward - it is provided regularly, at a set time. Whilst this might motivate us to turn up to work, it doesn’t necessarily motivate us into putting extra effort in the workplace from day to day.

Question 36

Variable rewards

Answer 36

Tend to have higher success rates at motivating workers into specific behaviours that managers would like them to possess - over and above what is done simply in order to be paid.
Examples of these rewards: bonuses, promotion, a pat on the back from a manager, etc.

Question 37

What is the motivational value of blending different types of reward and reinforcement?

Answer 37

Operant conditioning (Skinner, 1969) demonstrates that blending different types of rewards and reinforcements can act as a motivator. The regular salary is important - without it people wouldn’t turn up for work; however, blending this with variable forms of reward has a greater effect in motivating specific day-to-day behaviours.

Question 38

Critique of behavioural techniques

Answer 38

They see people in simplistic, mechanistic terms; no account is taken of the cognitive processes whereby people think for themselves.

Question 39

Hierarchy of needs (Maslow, 1943)

Answer 39

Maslow’s theory which shows that individuals have a set of needs in hierarchical order, whereby people are motivated by the most immediate unsatisfied need.

Question 40

Critique of the hierarchy of needs (Maslow, 1943)

Answer 40

Often the framework is applied to simplistically, with Maslow’s original insights either misrepresented or simply removed. Also, Maslow did not intend for it to be a theory of workplace motivation, which tarnishes its relevance in a workplace context.

Question 41

The 5 basic needs as outlined by Maslow’s hierarchy (1943)

Answer 41

physiological needs - needed for survival, e.g. food and water; safety needs - e.g. physical health, security; love and belongingness - social needs, e.g. being a part of the group; esteem needs - a need for status, recognition, and respect; self-actualisation - ultimate self-fulfilment.

Question 42

Prepotency

Answer 42

One characteristic having dominance over the other.

Question 43

Davis (1957)

Answer 43

Applied Maslow’s theory to the workplace setting.

Question 44

Insights from Maslow (1943)

Answer 44

Provides counter argument to Taylorism - people are motivated differently, not everyone is the same; the hierarchy integrates several motivators, including extrinsic, intrinsic, and social rewards; the hierarchy shows that motivation is not fixed but dynamic; previous experiences can shape what needs may be more dominant for them (e.g. unstable childhood = belongingness needs); people do not necessarily start from the bottom of the hierarchy.

Question 45

Self-actualisation

Answer 45

For Maslow, a realisation, or actualisation, of an individual’s ultimate human potential. Similar to the views presented in a social-radical approach - that people have unrealised potential and that it is the role of society/organisations to release this potential.

Question 46

Conclusion of Maslow (1943)

Answer 46

Maslow’s theory should not be seen as the one and only model of motivation itself - but should be used alongside other theories.

Question 47

Motivating factors (Herzberg, 1966)

Answer 47

The characteristics of a job which can bring about increases in job satisfaction and motivation.

Question 48

Hygiene factors (Herzberg, 1966)

Answer 48

Characteristics of a job which cannot bring about increases in job satisfaction and motivation, but which can cause dissatisfaction/demotivation if they are not addressed sufficiently.

Question 49

Job simplification

Answer 49

Where a job is broken down into simple tasks, as with Taylorism or Fordism. Herzberg (1966) suggested a move away from this.

Question 50

Horizontal loading

Answer 50

Increasing the scope of a job by adding elements of work of a similar nature and at the same level of hierarchical responsibility.

Question 51

Job rotation

Answer 51

Where workers alternate between tasks of a different nature.

Question 52

Job enlargement

Answer 52

Where more tasks are added to increase the challenge and variety of a job.

Question 53

Herzberg (1987) discusses two forms of job redesign…

Answer 53

these emphasise the horizontal loading of the task:

1. job rotation
2. job enlargement

Question 54

Job enrichment

Answer 54

Where the quality of work is increased through the provision of increased responsibility, autonomy, and variety of tasks.
Herzberg (1987) suggested that intrinsic motivators, and thus job satisfaction, will be increased through job enrichment.
He also noted that not all jobs can be enriched, and that not all workers want enrichment.

Question 55

Vertical loading

Answer 55

Where a job is enriched by adding tasks which would normally be associated with elements of responsibility linked to positions higher in an organisation’s hierarchy.
Enrichment stems from vertical loading.

Question 56

Equity theory (Adams, 1963)

Answer 56

A process theory of motivation which suggests that people are either motivated or demotivated depending on how they are rewarded in the workplace compared with others.

Question 57

Inputs

Answer 57

In equity theory, efforts and contributions made by an individual to their work.

Question 58

Outcomes

Answer 58

In equity theory, the rewards and results of a person’s inputs.

Question 59

Workers’ reactions if they perceive unfairness or injustice (Adams, 1963)

Answer 59

If people feel they are being under-rewarded, they will feel anger and try to redress the balance through negotiating a pay rise, decreasing their effort levels, or engaging in some form of workplace resistance.

If people feel over-rewarded, they will feel guilt and work harder and, although Adams realises this is unlikely, take a pay cut.

Other actions may be taken, such as changing the point of comparison so that the balance seems fairer.

Question 60

Organisational justice

Answer 60

A concept that stresses the importance of the process as well as the outcome for the perceived fairness of a decision.

Question 61

Expectancy theory (Vroom, 1964)

Answer 61

A process theory of motivation which suggests that people will be motivated into actions and behaviours that they can link with them achieving goals and rewards that they desire.
MF = V x I x E

Question 62

Goal setting theory (Locke, 1990)

Answer 62

An approach that argues that motivation is influenced by the difficulty, specificity, and feedback of reaching your goals.

Question 63

Social approaches to motivation: the meaning of work (Hughes, 1951)

Answer 63

For Hughes (1951) work is one of the ‘most significant’ things by which we are judged in society; the name of our occupation is both a ‘price tag’ and a ‘calling card’. Therefore, the work we do is a significant indication of our value and position within society.

Question 64

Problems with the psychological approaches to workplace motivation

Answer 64

It is difficult to find empirical evidence for these theories.
When applied to work they are often boiled down to a very simplistic framework or equation.
Motivation theories tend to just focus on one aspect of the job - e.g. pay, recognition - rather than having an overall view of the job and how it links to the outside world.

Question 65

Why do we work?

Answer 65

Foucault (1984) believed that power shapes our view of the world and that society engrains the idea that our bodies are working bodies and that it is abnormal if one’s inclination is not to work.
“The body becomes a useful force only if it is a productive body” (Foucault, Rainbow, 1984).

Question 66

Orientations to work (Goldthorpe, 1968)

Answer 66

A perspective which suggests that people have a predisposition to work that is influenced by our lives outside work and the meaning that we attach to work.
He outlines three orientations: instrumental, bureaucratic, solidaristic.

Question 67

Work-life balance

Answer 67

A balance between work and career on the one hand, and wider aspects of family life, such as family and leisure time, on the other.

Question 68

Karl Marx (1867/1990)

Answer 68

Motivation is innate and workers are innately motivated themselves - managers do not need to motivate them.