Motivation and the meaning of work (chapter 9) Flashcards
B.F. Skinner
Pioneered operant conditioning, which is used in workplace behavioural modification techniques.
Abraham Maslow (1943)
Developed the hierarchy of needs, which was then used as a theory of workplace motivation.
Frederick Herzberg (1966)
Suggested that only some job characteristics motivate people in the workplace, while other hygiene factors only cause dissatisfaction.
John Stacey Adams (1963)
Developed equity theory, which suggests that people are motivated by comparing their workplace rewards with others.
Victor Vroom
Developed expectancy theory, which suggests that people are motivated by actions that help them to achieve their desired goals.
John Goldthorpe
Suggested that people had different predispositions, or orientations, to work, which influence the meaning and identity that people derive from their work.
Extrinsic motivators
Motivating factors that come from factors external to an activity, e.g. pay, prestige.
Intrinsic motivators
Motivating factors that come from the activity itself.
Behavioural theories of motivation
A use of stimulus and response techniques whereby behaviour is altered by a planned provision of rewards and punishments.
Content theories of motivation
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.
Process theories of motivation
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.
Social theories of motivation
Theories of motivation which see motivation as part of the role of work in creating meaning and identity for people within society.
Motivation
The will or desire someone has to engage in a particular behaviour or perform a particular task.
Extrinsic reward
Is provided by somebody else. E.g. pay, promotion, working conditions, perks of the job (company car, etc.)
Intrinsic reward
A reward that someone senses for themselves. E.g. a sense of achievement, job satisfaction.
Social reward
Comes from the feeling of being part of a group/team.
Reward
In behaviourism, a positive response that is received for performing a particular behaviour.
Punishment
In behaviourism, a negative response that is received for performing a particular behaviour.
Coercion
Behaviour that arises from being forced in some way into performing that behaviour.
Taylor (1911)
Believed that workers had a ‘natural laziness’ - piece rate payments were used as an incentive to increase productivity among workers. Use of extrinsic rewards.
Lottery question
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).
Hawthorne studies/Mayo (1933)
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.
Behaviourism
An area of psychology which suggests that behaviour can be changed through the planned use of rewards and punishments.
Stimulus-response
The underlying relationship of behaviourism, whereby a particular response, or behaviour, is the result of a particular stimulus - either a reward or a punishment.
Pavlov and classical conditioning (1927)
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.
Conditioning
A change in behaviour brought about using stimulus-response techniques typical of behavioural psychology.
Classical conditioning
A type of conditioning of behaviour where a reward or punishment accompanies and reinforces every instance of the behaviour to be conditioned.
Aversion therapy
A type of classical conditioning whereby a particular behaviour is continually accompanied by a punishment so as to discourage that behaviour.
Extinction
Where a conditioned behaviour dies out because the reward or punishment is no longer provided.
Reinforcement
In behavioural psychology, the continued encouragement of a behaviour by the provision of a particular reward.
Villere and Hartman (1991)
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.
Operant conditioning (Skinner, 1969)
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.
Organisational behaviour modification (OB Mod)
The use of operant conditioning techniques in a workplace setting (Luthans, Kreitner, 1985).
Schedules of reinforcement
A blend of fixed and variable reinforcements designed so as best to reinforce desired behaviours.
Fixed-interval reward
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.
Variable rewards
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.
What is the motivational value of blending different types of reward and reinforcement?
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.
Critique of behavioural techniques
They see people in simplistic, mechanistic terms; no account is taken of the cognitive processes whereby people think for themselves.
Hierarchy of needs (Maslow, 1943)
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.
Critique of the hierarchy of needs (Maslow, 1943)
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.
The 5 basic needs as outlined by Maslow’s hierarchy (1943)
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.
Prepotency
One characteristic having dominance over the other.
Davis (1957)
Applied Maslow’s theory to the workplace setting.
Insights from Maslow (1943)
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.
Self-actualisation
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.
Conclusion of Maslow (1943)
Maslow’s theory should not be seen as the one and only model of motivation itself - but should be used alongside other theories.
Motivating factors (Herzberg, 1966)
The characteristics of a job which can bring about increases in job satisfaction and motivation.
Hygiene factors (Herzberg, 1966)
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.
Job simplification
Where a job is broken down into simple tasks, as with Taylorism or Fordism. Herzberg (1966) suggested a move away from this.
Horizontal loading
Increasing the scope of a job by adding elements of work of a similar nature and at the same level of hierarchical responsibility.
Job rotation
Where workers alternate between tasks of a different nature.
Job enlargement
Where more tasks are added to increase the challenge and variety of a job.
Herzberg (1987) discusses two forms of job redesign…
these emphasise the horizontal loading of the task:
- job rotation
- job enlargement
Job enrichment
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.
Vertical loading
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.
Equity theory (Adams, 1963)
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.
Inputs
In equity theory, efforts and contributions made by an individual to their work.
Outcomes
In equity theory, the rewards and results of a person’s inputs.
Workers’ reactions if they perceive unfairness or injustice (Adams, 1963)
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.
Organisational justice
A concept that stresses the importance of the process as well as the outcome for the perceived fairness of a decision.
Expectancy theory (Vroom, 1964)
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
Goal setting theory (Locke, 1990)
An approach that argues that motivation is influenced by the difficulty, specificity, and feedback of reaching your goals.
Social approaches to motivation: the meaning of work (Hughes, 1951)
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.
Problems with the psychological approaches to workplace motivation
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.
Why do we work?
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).
Orientations to work (Goldthorpe, 1968)
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.
Work-life balance
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.
Karl Marx (1867/1990)
Motivation is innate and workers are innately motivated themselves - managers do not need to motivate them.
