Week 5 - Motivation

Question 1

Intrinsic Motivation

Answer 1

• Stems from the direct relationship between the worker and the task and is
usually self applied.
• E.g., Feelings of achievement, accomplishment, challenge, and competence
derived from performing one s job, and the sheer interest in the job itself.

Question 2

Extrinsic Motivation

Answer 2

• Stems from the work environment external to the task. It is usually applied
by others.
• E.g., Pay, fringe benefits, company policies, and various forms of
supervision.

Question 3

Difference between intrinsic and extrinsic performance?

Answer 3

Intrinsic is correlated with quality

Extrinsic is correlated with quantity

Question 4

What is Performance?

Answer 4

Performance refers to the extent to which an organizational

member contributes to achieving the objectives of the organization.

Question 5

What other factors contribute to performance other than motivation?

Answer 5

Personality
General Cognitive Ability
Task Understanding
Emotional Intelligence
Chance

Question 6

Define Emotional Intelligence

Answer 6

The ability to understand and manage one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions.

Question 7

Peter Salovey and John Mayer developed an EI model that consists of four interrelated sets of skills or
branches. What are they?

Answer 7

Perceiving emotions accurately in oneself and others.
–>Using emotions to facilitate thinking.
–>Understanding emotions, emotional language, and the signals
conveyed by emotions.
–>Managing emotions so as to attain specific goals.

Question 8

What is motivation

Answer 8

Extent to which persistent effort is directed toward a goal.

Question 9

Why is motivation important in contemporary organizations?

Answer 9

• Need for increased productivity Global competitiveness
• Rapid changes Need for flexibility
• Attention to customers

Question 10

What are some key terms relating to motivation?

Answer 10

Intensity:
concerned
with how hard a
person tries.
-->Direction:
the
orientation that
benefits the
organization.
-->Persistence
a
measure of how long
a person can
maintain his/her
effort.
--> Goal

Question 11

List theories of motivation specifically Need theories

Answer 11

What motivates you (aka Need theories)

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Aldefer’s ERG Theory

McClelland’s Theory of Needs

Achievement, Affiliation, Power.

Question 12

List theories of motivation specifically Process theories

Answer 12

How motivation occurs (aka Process Theories)

Expectancy Theory

Equity Theory

Goal Setting Theory

Question 13

Maslow’s Need Hierarchy

Answer 13

--Higher Order--
Self-actualization
Self-esteem
Belongingness
Safety
Physiology
--Basic Needs--

Question 14

Alderfer’s ERG Theory

Answer 14

–Intrinsic Motivation–
Growth (self-actualization)
Relatedness(belongingness and self esteem)
Existence - material conditions (little physiology and safety)
–Extrinsic Motivation–

***This is NOT a hierarchy so you don’t need to pass one before another.
If one higher is not being satisfied I may look for more of a lower

Question 15

Expectancy Theory

Answer 15

Expectancy theory: a tendency to act in a certain way depends
on an expectation that the act will be followed by a given
outcome and on the attractiveness of that outcome to the individual.

Three relationships:
Individual effort

1. Effort performance relationship

Individual performance

2. Performance reward relationship

Organizational rewards

3. Rewards personal goals relationship

Personal goals

Question 16

Expectancy Examples of 1st level outcomes to 2nd level outcomes

Answer 16

Good attendance or high productivity (lvl 1) leads to more $ or accomplishment (lvl 2)

Question 17

Instrumentality

Answer 17

Probability that a 1 st lvl outcome will be followed
by 2nd lvl outcome

Precedes the actual outcome (final layer what actually happens)

Question 18

Valence

Answer 18

How attractive is the outcome to a person ex. higher pay

Precedes Instrumentality

Question 19

Expectancy

Answer 19

Probability that lvl 1 outcome can be achieved

Precedes Valence

Question 20

Force

Answer 20

Effort directed toward a 1st lvl outcome

Question 21

Goal setting Theory

Answer 21

A process theory that states that goals are
motivational
when they are specific , challenging , and when
organizational members are committed to them and
feedback about progress toward goal attainment is provided.

Question 22

Why are goals motivational?

Answer 22

They
direct attention toward goal relevant activities.
--> They lead to greater
effort.
--> They increase and prolong
persistence.
--> They lead to the discovery and use of task
relevant
strategies for goal attainment.

Question 23

What are SMART goals

Answer 23

Specific - direct, detailed, and measurable

Measurable - quantifiable, and trackable

Attainable - Realistic and
grounded in resources
that you are able to
access/acquire

Relevant - Aligns with your (your
organizations) path/
objective

Time-based - Has a clear end point/deadline

Question 24

Goal Proximity

Answer 24

Distal goal - long term

Proximal - short term

Question 25

Do your best goals

Answer 25

no standards for performance

performance defined individually

low performance

Question 26

Specific and difficult goals

Answer 26

clear performance standard results in higher performance

Question 27

What are the three main goal orientations

Answer 27

Performance Prove
–show yourself that you can do it
Learning
–develop competence and acquire new knowledge
Performance avoid
–show up early so people don’t think you’re lazy

Question 28

T/F High learning goals are more effective when learning a novel or complex task

Answer 28

True!

Question 29

T/F There is no such thing as a subconscious goals

Answer 29

False there is evidence from a poster study that showed people with posters showing goals worked more effectively

Question 30

Management by Objectives Processes

Answer 30

Objectives made by top management team

These are translated to behavioral objectives

The interaction between managers and employees in this process is key

Question 31

Talk about the MBO cycle

Answer 31

Goal setting - employer works with employees to make objectives
including task, performance, and development objectives

Check ins- they are what they sound like

Appraisal meeting- held to evaluate the extent we achieved a objective

Repeat – repeat the mbo cycle

Question 32

What makes MBO efficient

Answer 32

Lack of
commitment from
top management.

An overemphasis
on measurable
objectives at the
expense of more
qualitative
objectives.

Excessive short
term orientation.

Performance
review becomes
an exercise in
browbeating or
punishing
employees for
failure to achieve
objectives.

Question 33

Why is money a good motivator?

Answer 33

Pay can satisfy lower level needs & higher level needs
–good potential as a motivator.

Financial incentives and pay for performance

increase performance and lower turnover.

Pay may well be the most important and effective motivator of
performance.

The ability to earn money for outstanding performance is a
competitive advantage for attracting, motivating, and retaining
employees.

Question 34

Potential problems with wage incentives

Answer 34

Wage incentives have some potential problems when they are
not managed with care:

Lowered quality

Differential opportunity

Reduce cooperation

Incompatible job design

Restriction of productivity

Question 35

Motivating teamwork

Answer 35

Profit sharing - when the company does well you get a bonus

Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) - incentive plans that allow employees to own a set amount of a company’s shares and provide employees with a stake in the company’s future earnings and success

Gainsharing
•A group pay incentive plan based on productivity or performance improvements over
which the workforce has some control.
•Such plans often include reductions in the cost of labour , material, or supplies

Skill-based pay
•A system in which employees are paid according to the number of job skills they have
acquired.
•motivate employees to learn a wide variety of skills and work tasks.

Question 36

Job design as a motivator

Answer 36

Job design refers to the structure, content, and configuration of
a person’s work tasks and roles.

It is an attempt to capitalize on intrinsic motivation.

The goal of job design is to identify the characteristics that make
some tasks more motivating than others and to capture these
characteristics in the design of jobs.

Question 37

Job Scope and Motivation

Answer 37

Job scope refers to the breadth and depth
of a job.

Breadth refers to the number of different
activities performed on the job.

Depth refers to the degree of discretion or
control the worker has over how these tasks
are performed.

Jobs that have great breadth and depth are
called high scope jobs.

Question 38

Job scope and motivation

Answer 38

Job scope refers to the breadth and depth
of a job.

Breadth refers to the number of different
activities performed on the job.

Depth refers to the degree of discretion or
control the worker has over how these tasks
are performed.

Jobs that have great breadth and depth are
called high scope jobs.

Question 39

Give 4 job scope adjustments

Answer 39

Stretch Assignments:
•They provide employees challenging opportunities to broaden their skills by
working on a variety of tasks with new responsibilities.

Job rotation:
•Employees are rotated to different tasks and jobs in an organization.

Job Enrichment
•Job enrichment involves increasing the motivating potential of jobs via the
arrangement of their core job characteristics.

Job Enlargement
•Increasing job breadth by giving employees more tasks to perform at the same
level.

Question 40

Give some examples of alternative working schedules

Answer 40

Some of the most common alternative working schedules:

Flex time - a system of working a set amount of hours but choosing start and end by employees

Compressed workweek - Work 5 days at 8hrs or 4 days at 10hrs

Job and work sharing - usually leads to layoff

Telecommuting

Income averaging - get a paycheck everymonth that adds to your reduced work term but you get payed the reduced amount regularily

Question 41

Talk about a high scope role

Answer 41

Has high job breadth and depth so it leads to high motivation