Organizational Behavior:
Motivation
Essence of Life
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Motivation Defined
Motivation: Psychological processes that cause the arousal
direction, and persistence of voluntary actions that are goal directed.
Implications Associated with This Definition
• Behavior is purposive rather than random
- People exhibit both positive (work done on time) and negative (arrive
late for work) behavior for a reason
• Motivation arouses people to do something
- People are unlikely to change a behavior or do something different unless
they are motivated to do so
• Motivation causes people to focus on a desired end-result or goal
• Motivation fuels the persistence needed to exhibit sustained effort on a
task
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Types of Motives
1- Primary Motives
Physiological, Unlearned
2- General Motives
Not Physiological, Unlearned
3- Secondary Motives
Learned, Psychological
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Content vs. Process Motivation
Theories
Content theories
explain why people have different needs at different times.
Implications of Content Theories:
1. Match rewards with employee needs
2. Offer employees a choice of rewards
3. people have different needs at different times
4. Limit use of financial rewards as a source of motivation
Process theories
describe the processes through which needs are translated into
behavior
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
The Motivation Process
Unsatisfied
Tension
Need
Search
Drives
Behavior
Satisfied Reduction
Need of Tension
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Maslow’s Self-
Hierarchy
of Needs actualization
Esteem
Social
Safety
Physiological
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Needs Hierarchy Theory
Needs Hierarchy
Theory
Self- • Maslow arranged five needs
Actualization
in a hierarchy
Esteem
• Satisfaction-progression
process
Belongingness
• People who experience self-
Safety actualization desire more
rather than less of this need
Physiological
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
ERG Theory
Needs Hierarchy ERG
Theory Theory
Self- • Alderfer’s model has
Actualization
Growth three sets of needs
Esteem
• Adds frustration-
regression process
Belongingness Relatedness
to Maslow’s model
Safety
Existence
Physiological
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Content Theories of Motivation
Needs Hierarchy ERG Motivator--Hygiene McClelland’s
Theory Theory Theory Learned Needs
Self- Need for
Actualization Achievement
Growth Motivators
Need for
Esteem
Power
Need for
Belongingness Relatedness
Affiliation
Safety Hygienes
Existence
Physiological
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory
Hygiene Factors Motivational Factors
• Quality of supervision • Career Advancement
• Rate of pay • Personal growth
• Company policies
• Recognition
• Working conditions
• Relations with others • Responsibility
• Job security • Achievement
High Job Dissatisfaction 0 Job Satisfaction High
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Herzberg’s Motivator-Hygiene Model
No Satisfaction Motivators Satisfaction
Jobs that do not Jobs offering
offer achievement achievement,
recognition, recognition,
stimulating work, stimulating work,
responsibility, responsibility,
and advancement. and advancement.
Dissatisfaction Hygiene Factors No Dissatisfaction
Jobs with poor Jobs with good
company policies, company policies,
and administration, and administration,
technical supervision technical supervision,
salary, interpersonal salary, interpersonal
relationships with relationships with
supervisors, and supervisors, and
working conditions. working conditions.
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
David C. McClelland and
Achievement Needs
Characteristics of High Achievers
. Moderate Risk Taking
. Need for Immediate Feedback
. Satisfaction with Accomplishments
. Preoccupation with the Task
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Little Ambition
Theory X Dislike Work
Workers
Avoid Responsibility
Self-Directed
Theory Y
Enjoy Work
Workers
Accept Responsibility
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Specific Goals
Goal-Setting Challenging
Theory Goals
Goals and
Participation
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Effective Goal Setting
Specific
Relevant
Challenging
Task Task
Effort Performance
Commitment
Participation
Challenging
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Reinforcement Theory
Rewards
Consequences No Rewards Behavior
Punishment
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Equity Theory
Perceived Employee’s
Ratio Comparisona Assessment
Outcomes A < Outcomes B
Inequity (Under-Rewarded)
Inputs A Inputs B
Outcomes A = Outcomes B
Equity
Inputs A Inputs B
Outcomes A > Outcomes B
Inequity (Over-Rewarded)
Inputs A Inputs B
a
Person A is the employee, and person B is a relevant other or referent.
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Elements of Equity Theory
• Outcome/input ratio
– inputs -- what employee contributes (e.g. skill)
– outcomes -- what employees receive (e.g. pay)
• Comparison other
– person/people we compare ratio with
– not easily identifiable
• Equity evaluation
– compare outcome/input ratio with
the comparison other
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Negative and Positive Inequity
A. An Equitable Situation
Other
Self
$2 $4
= $2 per hour = $2 per hour
1 hour 2 hours
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Negative and Positive Inequity (cont)
B. Negative Inequity
Self Other
$2 $3
= $2 per hour = $3 per hour
1 hour 1 hour
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Negative and Positive Inequity (cont)
C. Positive Inequity
Other
Self
$3 $2
= $3 per hour = $1 per hour
1 hour 1 hours
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Consequences of Inequity
1. Change inputs
2. Change outcomes
3. Change perceptions
4. Leave the field
5. Act on the comparison other
6. Change the comparison other
Equity Sensitivity
• Benevolents
– Tolerant of being underrewarded
• Equity Sensitives
– Want ratio to be equal to the comparison other
• Entitleds
– Prefer receiving proportionately more than others
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Organizational Justice
Distributive Justice:
The perceived fairness of how resources and rewards are
distributed.
Procedural Justice:
The perceived fairness of the process and procedures used to
make allocation decisions.
Interactional Justice:
The perceived fairness of the decision maker’s behavior in the
process of decision making.
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Expectancy Theory of Motivation
E-to-P P-to-O Outcomes
Expectancy Expectancy & Valences
3
1 2
Outcome 1 Organizational
+ or - Rewards
Individual Individual Outcome 2
Effort Performance + or -
Outcome 3 Personal
1. Effort-performance relationship + or - Goals
2. Performance-rewards relationship
3. Rewards-personal goals relationship
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Vroom’s Expectancy Theory Concepts
Expectancy: Belief that effort leads to a specific level of performance
Instrumentality: A performance outcome perception.
Valence: The Value of a reward or outcome
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Managerial Implications of Expectancy
Theory
• Determine the outcomes.
• Identify good performance so appropriate behaviors can be rewarded.
• Make sure employees can achieve targeted performance levels.
• Link desired outcomes to targeted levels of performance.
• Make sure changes in outcomes are large enough to motivate high effort.
• Monitor the reward system for inequities.
Expectancy Theory in Practice:
• Increasing the E-to-P expectancy
– training, selection, resources, clarify roles, provide coaching and feedback
• Increasing the P-to-O expectancy
– Measure performance accurately, explain how rewards are based on past
performance
• Increasing outcome valences
– Use valued rewards, individualize rewards, minimize countervalent outcomes
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Organizational Implications of Expectancy Theory
• Reward people for desired performance, and do not
keep pay decisions secret.
• Design challenging jobs.
• Tie some rewards to group accomplishments to build
teamwork and encourage cooperation.
• Reward managers for creating, monitoring, and
maintaining expectancies, instrumentalities, and
outcomes that lead to high effort and goal attainment.
• Monitor employee motivation through interviews or
anonymous questionnaires.
• Accommodate individual differences by building
flexibility into the motivation program.
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Goals
Goal: What an individual is trying to accomplish.
Directing
one’s attention
Regulating
one’s effort
Goals
motivate the Task
individual performance
by... Increasing
one’s persistence
Encouraging the
development of goal-
attainment strategies
or action plans
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Insights from Goal-Setting Research
Difficult Goals Lead to Higher Performance.
- Easy goals produce low effort because the goal is too easy
to achieve.
- Impossible goals ultimately lead to lower performance
because people begin to experience failure.
Specific Difficult Goals Lead to Higher Performance for Simple Rather Than Complex
Tasks.
- Goal specificity pertains to the quantifiability of a goal.
- Specific difficult goals impair performance on novel, complex
tasks when employees do not have clear strategies for
solving these types of problems.
Feedback Enhances The Effect of Specific, Difficult Goals.
- Goals and feedback should be used together.
Participative Goals, Assigned Goals, and Self-Set Goals Are Equally Effective.
- Managers should set goals by using a contingency approach.
Different methods work in different situations.
Goal Commitment and Monetary Incentives Affect Goal-Setting Outcomes.
- Difficult goals lead to higher performance when employees
are committed to their goals.
- Difficult goals lead to lower performance when employees
are not committed to their goals.
- Goal based incentives can lead to negative outcomes for
employees in complex, interdependent jobs requiring
cooperation.
* Employees may not help each other.
* Quality may suffer as employees pursue quantity goals.
* Commitment to difficult goals may suffer.
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Guidelines for Writing “SMART”
Goals
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Results oriented
Time bound
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Effect of Goal Difficulty on
Performance
High
Task Performance
Area of
Optimal
Goal
Difficulty
Low Moderate Challenging Impossible
Goal Difficulty
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Approaches to Job Design
1. The Mechanistic Approach focuses on identifying the most efficient way
to perform a job. Employees are trained and rewarded to perform their jobs
accordingly.
2. Motivational Approaches these techniques (job enlargement, job
rotation, job enrichment, and job characteristics) attempt to improve
employees’ affective and attitudinal reactions and behavioral outcomes.
3. Biological and Perceptual- Motor Approaches Biological techniques
focus on reducing employees’ physical strain, effort, fatigue, and health
complaints. The Perceptual-Motor Approach emphasizes the reliability of work
outcomes by examining error rates, accidents, and workers’ feedback about
facilities and equipment.
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
The Job Characteristics Model
Core job Critical
characteristics psychological Outcomes
states
*Skill variety *Experienced *High internal
*Task identity meaningfulness of the work
*Task work motivation
significance *Experienced *High growth
responsibility for satisfaction
*Autonomy outcomes of the work *High general
*Feedback from *Knowledge of the actual job satisfaction
job results of the work *High work
activities effectiveness
Moderators
1. Knowledge and skill
2. Growth need strength
3. Context satisfactions
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Skills and Best Practices: Applying
the Job Characteristics Model
1. Diagnose the level of employee motivation and
job. satisfaction and consider redesigning jobs
when motivation ranges from low to moderate.
2. Determine whether job redesign is appropriate in a
given context.
3. Redesign jobs by including employees’ input.
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
How Satisfied are You with Your Job?
Job satisfaction is an effective or emotional response toward
various facets of one’s job.
• What is your level of job satisfaction with recognition,
compensation, and supervision?
• Is satisfaction across various aspects of your job
equally important? Explain.
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Causes of Job Satisfaction
• Need Fulfillment: Satisfaction is based on the extent to
which a job satisfies a person’s needs.
• Discrepancies: Satisfaction is determined by the extent to
which an individual receives what he or she expects from a
job.
• Value Attainment: Satisfaction results from the extent to
which a job allows fulfillment of one’s work values.
• Equity: Satisfaction is a function of how “fairly” an individual
is treated at work.
• Trait/Genetic Components: Satisfaction is partly a
function of personal traits and genetic factors.
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Correlates of Job Satisfaction
Variables Related Direction of Strength of
with Satisfaction Relationship Relationship
Motivation Positive Moderate
Job Involvement Positive Moderate
Organizational Citizenship behavior Positive Moderate
Organizational Commitment Positive Strong
Absenteeism Negative Weak
Tardiness Negative Weak
Turnover Negative Moderate
Heart Disease Negative Moderate
Perceived Stress Negative Strong
Pro-Union Voting Negative Moderate
Job Performance Positive Weak
Life Satisfaction Positive Moderate
Mental Health Positive Moderate
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
What Is Management by Objectives?
Organizational
Objectives
Divisional
Objectives
Departmental
Objectives
Individual
Objectives
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Key Elements of MBO
Goal Participation in
Specificity Decision Making
Explicit Performance
Time Period Feedback
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Linking MBO and
Goal-Setting Theory
Difficulty Specificity
of Goals of Goals
Feedback Participation
on Performance in Goal Setting
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Employee Recognition
Programs
Defining Recognition and
Recognition Reinforcement
Recognition Plans
in Practice
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Employee Involvement
Programs
Participative Representative
Management Participation
Quality Employee
Circles Stock Ownership
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Variable Pay Plans
Piece Profit
Rate Sharing
Bonus
Gainsharing
Plans
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Skill-Based Pay Plans
• Promotes Flexibility
Advantages • Facilitates Communication
• Satisfies Ambitious Workers
• “Topping Out”
Disadvantages • Obsolescence of Skills
• Performance versus Skills
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Skill-Based Plans and
Motivation Theories
Hierarchy Need for
of Needs Achievement
Reinforcement
Equity Theory
Theory
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
The Meaning of Money
• Money and employee needs
– affects several needs, not just existence needs
• Money and attitudes
– Money ethic -- not evil, represents success, should be
budgeted carefully
• Money and self-identity
– Influences our self-perceptions
– Evidence that men more than women identify with
money
..
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Types of Rewards in the Workplace
• Membership and seniority
• Job status
• Competencies
• Performance
..
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Membership/Seniority Based Rewards
• Fixed wages, seniority increases
• Advantages
– guaranteed wages may attract job applicants
– seniority-based rewards reduce turnover
• Disadvantages
– doesn’t motivate job performance
– discourages poor performers from leaving
– may act as golden handcuffs
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Job Status-Based Rewards
• Includes job evaluation and status perks
• Advantages:
– job evaluation tries to maintain pay equity
– motivates competition for promotions
• Disadvantages:
– employees exaggerate duties, hoard resources
– creates psychological distance across hierarchy
– Inconsistent with flatter organizations
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Competency-Based Rewards
• Pay increases with competencies acquired or
demonstrated
• Skill-based pay
– Pay increases with skill modules learned
• Advantages
– More flexible work force, better quality, consistent with
employability
• Disadvantages
– Potentially subjective, higher training costs
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Performance-Based Rewards
• Stock ownership
Organizational • Stock options
rewards • Profit sharing
Team • Gainsharing
rewards • Bonuses
• Piece rate
Individual • Commissions
rewards • Royalties
• Merit pay
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Problems with Performance Rewards
• Shift attention away from motivation job itself to
extrinsic rewards
• Create a psychological distance with reward
giver
• Discourage risk taking
• Used as quick fixes
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Improving Reward Effectiveness
• Link rewards to performance
• Ensure rewards are relevant
• Team rewards for interdependent jobs
• Ensure rewards are valued
• Beware of unintended consequences
..
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Job Design
• Assigning tasks to a job, including the
interdependency of those tasks with other jobs
• Technology influences, but does not determine,
job design
• Employability affects job design
.
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Evaluating Job Specialization
Advantages Disadvantages
• Less time changing • Job boredom
tasks • Discontentment
• Lower training costs pay
• Job mastered quickly • Lower quality
• Better person-job • Lower motivation
matching
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Job Characteristics Model
Core Job Critical
Characteristics Psychological Outcomes
States
Skill variety Work
motivation
Task identity Meaningfulness
Task significance Growth
satisfaction
Autonomy Responsibility General
satisfaction
Feedback Knowledge Work
from job of results effectiveness
Individual
differences
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Job Rotation vs. Job Enlargement
Job Rotation
Job 1 Job 2 Job 3
Operate Camera Operate Sound Report Story
Job Enlargement
Job 1 Job 2 Job 3
Operate Camera Operate Camera Operate Camera
Operate Sound Operate Sound Operate Sound
Report Story Report Story Report Story
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Job Enrichment Strategies
• Empowering employees
– giving employees more autonomy
– feeling of control and self-efficacy
• Forming natural work units
– completing an entire task
– assigning employees to specific clients
• Establishing client relationships
– employees put in direct contact with clients
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
Obstacles to Job Design
• Difficult to accurately measure job characteristics
• Resistance to change
– skilled workers
– labor union leaders
– supervisors
• Problem finding optimal level of enrichment and
specialization
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
A Job Performance Model of Motivation
Individual Inputs Skills
Ability, Job knowledge
Dispositions & Traits
Emotions, Moods, &Affect
Beliefs & Values
Motivational Processes
Arousal Attention Intensity
Motivated
& &
Behaviors
Direction Persistence
Job Context
Physical Environment
Task Design
Rewards & Reinforcement
Supervisory Support & Enable, Limit
Coaching
Social Norms
Organizational Culture
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
A Job Performance Model of Motivation (cont.)
Skills
Individual
Inputs
Motivated Behaviors
Focus: Direction, What we do
Intensity: Effort, how hard
Motivational we try
Processes Quality: Task strategies, the Performance
way we do it
Duration: Persistence, how
long we stick to it
Job Enable, Limit
Context
Gholipour A. 2006. Organizational Behavior.
