Motivation at Work Flashcards
What is motivation and what are the characteristics of motivation?
Motivation is the extent to which persistent effort is directed towards a goal.
Characteristics are effort, persistence, direction (do workers channel effort in a direction that benefits an organization), and goals.
What motivates us?
Both extrinsic and intrinsic factors. Extrinsic are outside ourselves and are applied by others, come from work environment outside the task (compensation, awards, social norms), intrinsic are inside ourselves and are self-applied, come from the relationship between the worker and task (feelings of accomplishment, achievement, and challenge)
Needs also motivate us (Maslow, Alderfer, McClelland), and processes (expectancy, equity, and goal-setting theory)
What are cons of each type of motivation?
Cons of intrinsic motivation are that they’re very hard to change, and it is too difficult for organizations to have a structure that accommodates everyone’s intrinsic motivators because they are very unique.
Cons of extrinsic motivators are that these motivators are the means to an end, so when the extrinsic motivator is gone, the motivation is gone, this kind of motivation is not persistent or reliable.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Key point is that when individuals have needs that are not met, this has the potential to create motivation.
Maslow’s hierarchy says we must fulfill our most basic needs (physiological) before moving up to the next level. The highest tier is self-actualization which is achieving our full potential. Once a level is satisfied, additional things in that category do not produce as strong of motivation. There are issues with how rigid this model is and it does not always explain people’s behaviours, like why people living on less than $1 per day put money towards weddings, funerals, and religious ceremonies.
Alderfer’s ERG theory
This model is less rigid than Maslow’s, this model allows for movement between any and all of these needs but there is still a hierarchy. Existence needs (satisfied by material substance or condition), relatedness needs (satisfied by open communication and relationships with others), and growth needs (satisfied by strong personal involvement in the work setting)
McClelland’s theory of needs
This is a non-hierarchal need theory. The needs are achievement (desire to perform challenging tasks well), power, and affiliation (establish and maintain friendly, compatible interpersonal relationships)
Expectancy theory (EIV)
This is a process theory, process theories are concerned with how motivation occurs. Motivation is determined by outcomes that people expect to occur as a result of their actions in the workplace.
E: expectancy (if you try, you can perform), I: instrumentality (if you perform you will be rewarded), and V: valence (you will value the reward)
How can you use this theory in the workplace in combination with goal setting?
Use this theory in the workplace to set realistic goals, know expectations of how to perform, and build self efficacy in people. A key is that people need to know the task is achievable and have a clear understanding of how they are expected to perform. When tryng to motivate employees, make sure all components (EIV) are clearly laid out and understood.
Talk about goal setting theory and what kinds of goals motivate
The kind of goals that motivate are SMART goals, specific, measurable, attainable, result-oriented, and time-bound. They are specific and challenging but also attainable. Evaluation is a key component of goal setting, need to edit your goals sometimes to ensure they are attainable.
What is the performance orientation and learning orientation?
Performance orientation is the preference to demonstrate competence, these people tend to stick with what they’re good at, they try to avoid negative judgments.
Learning orientation focuses on developing confidence and acquiring new skills. Both can be adaptive and help work towards goals. Goals can be negative if they act as a ceiling, cause risk-taking, or short term focus.
What are the two main ways you see motivation in action in the workplace.
In reward systems and job design. Many workplaces are adopting a variable based pay program, a portion of the pay is based on individual or orgnaizational performance. Like stock options, and bonuses.
Talk about job design and motivation
Job design has 5 dimensions: skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback.
Jobs can be reconstructed, such as job rotation which gives opportunities to work in different areas, gives you an overview of each part of the company, reduces boredom and increases skill variety, this is horizontal expansion and helps employees see how their contribution impacts the whole company. Job enrichment is vertical expansion, targets task identity, it’s when you follow a task from start to completion. Relational job design targets task significance, makes jobs more prosocially motivating, bettwe connect with employees and the benefits of their work.
