Theories of Work Motivation Flashcards
Motivation
Extent to which persistent effort is directed toward a goal
Effort, persistence, direction, goals
Temporary and fleeting
Effort
How much energy, enthusiasm, vigour, intensity
Persistence
How long
Continued activation and direction despite hardships, obstacles, failures
Direction
For what/quality
Good directions are channeling energy toward goals that benefit the organization
Intrinsic Motivation
Stems from direct relationship between the worker and the task
Feelings of achievement, accomplishment, challenge, and competence derived from performing job
Strongly related to quality of performance
More beneficial for performance on complex tasks
Extrinsic Motivation
Stems from work environment external to the task
Usually applied by another person
E.g. pay, benefits, company policies
Strongly related to quantity of performance
More beneficial for performance on simple and mundane tasks
Can reduce the intrinsic motivation stemming from the task itself
Performance
Extent to which an organizational member contributes to achieving the objectives of the organization
Amount, persistence, and direction of effort lead to motivation
General Cognitive Ability
Person’s basic info-processing capacities and cognitive resources
E.g. verbal, numerical, spatial, and reasoning abilities
Predicts career success, learning, performance, etc
Emotional Intelligence
Ability to understand and manage one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions
Self Interest
Psychological egoism
Hedonism: maximize utility (approach pleasure avoid pain)
Need Theories
Specify the kinds of needs people have and the conditions under which they will be motivated to satisfy these needs in a way that contributes to performance
Focus on WHAT motivates workers
Maslow’s Hierarchy
ERG Theory
Theory of Needs
Self determination theory
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Motivation depends on person’s position in the need hierarchy
Needs are invariant
Prepotency: lowest unsatisfied need becomes largest motivator
Physiological, safety, belongings, esteem, and self actualization needs
Physiological Needs
Needs required for survival including food, water, oxygen, shelter
In an organization could include minimum pay required to survive and good working conditions
Safety Needs
Need for security, stability, freedom from anxiety, and structured and ordered environment
In an organization safe work conditions, fair and sensible rules and regulations, job security, comfortable work environment, pension and insurance plans, pay above min need for survival
Belongingness Needs
Need for social interaction, affection, love, companionship, friendship
In an organization opportunities to interact with others, friendly and supportive supervision, opportunity for teamwork, opportunity to develop new social relationships
Esteem Needs
Needs for feelings of adequacy, competence, independence, strength and confidence, appreciation and recognition of these characteristics by others
In an organization opportunity to master tasks leading to feelings of achievement and responsibility, awards, promotions, professional recognition
Self Actualization Needs
Desire to develop true potential as an individual to the fullest extent and to express one’s skills, talents, and emotions in a manner that is most personally fulfilling
In an organization absorbing jobs with potential for creativity and growth as well as a relaxation of structure to permit self development and personal progression
Alderfer’s ERG Theory
Similar to Maslow’s, less concrete needs, less rigid
The more lower level needs are gratified, the more higher level need satisfaction is desired
The less higher level needs are gratified, the more lower level need satisfaction is desired
Existence, relatedness, growth needs
Existence Needs
Satisfied by material substance or condition (maps onto safety and physiological needs)
E.g. need for food, shelter, pay, safe work conditions
Relatedness Needs
Satisfied by open communication and exchange of thoughts and feelings with others (maps onto belongingness and self esteem)
E.g. open, accurate, honest interaction and not by uncritical pleasantness
Growth Needs
Satisfied by strong personal involvement in the work setting (maps onto self actualization and self esteem)
E.g. full utilization of one’s skills and abilities and the creative development of new skills and abilities
McClelland’s Theory of Needs
Needs reflect relatively stable personality characteristics that one acquires through early life experiences and exposure to selected aspects of one’s society
People only have certain needs, not all needs
People will be motivated to seek out and perform well in jobs that match their needs
Need for Achievement (n ach)
Strong desire to perform challenging tasks well
Preference for situations in which personal responsibility can be taken for outcomes
Tendency to set moderately difficult goals that provide for calculated risks
Desire for performance feedback, concerned with bettering performance
Growth or self actualization need
Need for Affiliation (n aff)
Strong desire to establish and maintain friendly, compatible interpersonal relationships
Communicate frequently with others
Prefer to avoid conflict and competition, exhibit strong conformity
Belongingness or relatedness need
Need for Power (n pow)
Desire influence over others, want to make impact on others
Seek out settings where they can be influential
Power can be used in a variety of ways
Corresponds to self esteem need
Self Determination Theory
Focuses on types of motivation
-Controlled/extrinsic motivation
-Autonomous/intrinsic motivation
-Amotivation
Satisfaction of three basic psychological needs leads to autonomous motivation and controlled motivation
Self Determination Theory: Psychological Needs
Competence: feeling sense of mastery and being effective at optimally challenging tasks
Autonomy: having choice and feeling volitional in one’s behaviour
Relatedness: feeling connected to others, sense of mutual respect
Self Determination Theory: Motivation Types
Autonomous motivation: self motivation or intrinsic motivation
Controlled motivation: motivated to obtain a desired consequence or extrinsic rewards (extrinsic motivation)
Amotivation: complete lack of motivation
Autonomy Study: Hidden Figures Task
Informational feedback during hidden figures (where’s waldo task)
-Not seen as controlling
-Preferred feedback style
-Spent more time engaged in the task
Evaluative feedback during hidden figures (where’s waldo task)
-Scripted statements (e.g. you should try harder, you’re doing excellent work)
-Language communicates controlling nature
SOMA Experiment
Copies of popular magazines and SOMA pieces on table
Gave break in the middle of each study where researcher left room (every day)
How much time would they do the puzzles for after he left
When external rewards and punishments are sole motivator, they lose intrinsic motivation and motivation drops when reward is taken away
Autonomy Support
Providing employees with choice and encouragement for personal initiative
Positively related to satisfaction of needs for competence, relatedness, and autonomy
Process Theories of Motivation
HOW motivation occurs
Expectancy theory
Equity theory
Goal setting theory
Expectancy Theory
Belief that motivation is determined by the outcome that people expect to occur as a result of their actions on the job
Expectancy: probability that effort result in intended result
Instrumentality: probability that effort improves outcomes
Valence: importance of the good outcome
Expectancy Theory: Outcomes
Consequences that follow certain work behaviours
First level outcomes
Of particular interest to the organization
E.g. productivity level, attendance
Second level outcomes
Consequences that follow attainment of a particular first level outcome
More personally relevant to individual worker
E.g. amount of pay, sense of accomplishment, acceptance by peers
Equity Theory
Workers compare inputs and outcome received against inputs and outcomes of others
When ratios are equal, feel fair and equitable exchange exists
Goal Setting Theory
Goals are most motivational when specific, challenging and when organizational members are committed to them
Why Do Goals Work
Direction: direct attention toward goal relevant activities
Effort: lead to greater effort
Persistence: challenging goals increase and prolong persistence
Strategies: lead to discovery and use of relevant strategies for attainment
Good Goals
Specific
Challenge (difficult but not impossible)
Commitment (if not committed to goal won’t be motivated by it)
Feedback (feedback compares current performance and goal)
GPA & Goal Setting
8 step intensive goal setting intervention vs control group
Control group had no GPA increase
Intervention group had a GPA increase across two semesters
Goals & Feedback Study
Count number of times delivery drivers come to a full stop at stop sign
Baseline: less than half the time are coming to a complete stop
Goal + Feedback: come to full stop 75% of the time, give feedback weekly
When removed feedback, stopping decreased again to what it was at baseline
Pitfalls to Goal Setting: Inability
Change content of goal
Pitfalls to Goal Setting: Negative Feedback
Older turkish women facing discrimination in job market
Had many negative self statements about themselves
People who transformed their self statements through verbal self guidance were more likely to find work
Differences persist one year later
Pitfalls to Goal Setting: Ethics
More people lied about performance when there was a specific goal
Even more lied when there was a goal and reward
Incentives enhance motivation of goals which can promote unethical behaviour
Enhancing Goal Commitment
Participation
Rewards
Management support
Goal Commitment
Attachment to or determination to reach a goal
Extent to which discrepancy will motivate you is dependent on your commitment to the goal
People with low goal commitment, goal difficulty has no effect on performance
People with high goal commitment increase performance with high goals
Goal Orientation
Individual’s goal preferences in achievement situations
Learning, performance-prove, performance avoid
Learning Goal Orientation
Most concerned about learning something new and developing their competence in an activity by acquiring new skills and mastering new situations
Performance-Prove Goal Orientation
Concerned about demonstrating their competence in performing a task by seeking favourable judgments about the outcome of their performance
Performance-Avoid Goal Orientation
Concerned about avoiding negative judgements about the outcome of their performance
Goal Proximity
Distal goal: long term or end goal (e.g. certain level of sales performance)
Proximal goal: short term goal or sub-goal is instrumental for achieving a distal goal (progress markers for distal goals)
