Chapter 7

Motivating individuals and groups

Satisfaction Motivation Reward

Theories

ContentProcess

Maslow Herzberg McGregor Vroom

Chapter Outline

Definitions

Motivation is ‘a decision-making process through which the individual chooses desired outcomes and sets in motion the behaviour appropriate to acquiring them’. (Huczynski and Buchanan)

Motivation can be defined as the will to do, the urge to achieve goals, the drive to excel.

Motivation is all those inner tensions or the needs that we describe as hope, wishes, desires, fears, intentions – any inner state that activates and moves people.

Definitions

Continuous inner process which begins with an awareness of a need or a sense of tension and proceeds through the satisfaction of that need or the dispersal of that tension to the awareness of another need or the sense of further tension and so on.

It is concerned both with why people choose to do one thing rather than another and also with the amount of effort or intensity of action that people put into their activities.

Various internal and external activators determine the direction and perseveration of motivated behavior.

Satisfaction

Satisfaction refers to being content with your job and not looking for another. Relates to contentment.

Characteristics of a satisfied worker: High degree of trust in the company Employees takes pride in their job Identifies with company aims and feels a part of the

overall org.

Satisfaction

Benefits of job satisfaction: High staff loyalty – low labour turnover Better time keeping and attendance Good general morale Good interpersonal relations

Benefits of motivated staff: Work harder Make fewer mistakes – generates less wastage Better communication – requests feedback High job satisfaction – less time wasted

Content and process theories of motivation

CONTENT PROCESS

Ask the question WHAT are the things that motivate people?

Also referred to as need theories

Assumes that everyone responds to motivating factors in the same way & that there is one best way to motivate.

Focus - HOW to motivate?

Looks at how individuals start, sustain & direct behaviour. Assumes - people are able to select their own goals & means of achieving those goals through a process of calculation.

Change emphasis from needs to goals & processes by which workers are motivated.

2. Classical Theories of motivation

Basic physiological needs

Safety and security needs

Social

Self esteem

Self-actualization

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Basic salary

Job security

Friendship at work

High status job title

Challenging job with creative job demands, achievement in work

Evaluating Maslow’s theory

Simple and intuitively attractive Several major limitations:

Individual behaviour may be in response to several needs, and the same need may cause different behaviour

Ignores concept of deferred gratification (people are prepared to ignore current suffering for the promise of future benefits) and altruistic behaviour (people sacrifice their won need for others)

Empirical verification is hard to come by Reflects UK and US cultural values, which may not transfer

to other contexts

Herzberg’s theory of motivation

Dissatisfied and

demotivated

No longer dissatisfied but not yet motivated

Satisfied

&

motivated

Hygiene factors Motivators

Policies & procedures for staff treatment

Suitable level & quality of supervision

Salary & job status

Team working

Sense of achievement

Recognition of good work

Increasing levels of responsibility

Career advancement

Attraction of the job itself

Herzberg’s theory of motivation cont.

Referred to as Herzberg’s two-factor theory Motivators – factors concerned with a need for personal

development: factors related to job content incl. responsibility, achievement, recognition, growth intrinsic motivation

=> job satisfaction

Herzberg’s theory of motivation

Hygiene factors – concerned with non-job related factors:

physical working conditions

company policy, salary, supervision, relationship with co-workers

external factors

=> job dissatisfaction

Herzberg’s theory of motivation cont.

Herzberg’s theory of motivation cont.

If hygiene factors were not adequate, subjects would be dissatisfied with their work.

If hygiene factors were adequate, however, subjects would not be satisfied with their work, because job satisfaction derives from motivators.

If motivators were inadequate, subjects did not feel job dissatisfaction, and neither were they motivated.

Herzberg’s theory provided an impetus for designing jobs vertically, i.e. expanding jobs to provide workers with more individual responsibility in planning and controlling their work.

Evaluating Herzberg’s theory

Inadequately small sample size

Limited cultural context (Western professionals, i.e. 203 Pittsburgh engineers and accountants)

Job rotation:

Changing from one routine task to another to alleviate boredom

To broaden interests and capabilities, larger range of skills

Benefits for employee and organization (=> absenteeism)

Demotivating for people who seek to acquire specific responsibilities in a specific field

Job design

Giving people additional tasks at the same time to alleviate boredom

Expanding the job on a horizontal level; variety of tasks within a job

F. ex. typist - alternating typing with administrative tasks

Job enlargement

Changing a task to make it inherently more rewarding, motivating, and satisfying

Expanding the job on a vertical level; by addition of more complex tasks

F. ex. administrative officer – more authority, incl. planning, executing, evaluating

Accountability is important

Enrichment reduces absenteeism and turnover, increases job satisfaction, but it doesn’t necessarily increase productivity

Similar to empowerment

Job enrichment

Job simplification

Advantages Disadvantages

Little training Monotonous

Easy replacement No sense of contributing

Flexibility Excessive specialization isolates the individual

Control

Standardization means that quality is easier to predict

Excessive simplification leads to lower quality, through inattention and loss of morale.

Job Optimisation

A well designed job should provide the individual with five core dimensions which contribute to job satisfaction: Skill variety Task identity Task significance Autonomy Feedback

McGregor: Theory X and Theory Y

McGregor suggested that a manager’s approach is based on attitudes somewhere on a scale between two extreme sets of assumptions: Theory X (workers have to be coerced) and Theory Y (workers want to be empowered)

McGregor’s Theory X/Y

McGregor’s Theory X/Y

Theory X: People dislike work & responsibility People must be coerced to get them to make an effort Subordinates prefer to be directed, wish to avoid

responsibility, have little ambition, & want security

Theory Y: Physical & mental effort in work is natural People do not inherently dislike work & can exercise

self-direction & self control to achieve objectives. People can learn to enjoy & seek responsibility

Theory X/Y and management style

Theory X – adopt an authoritarian, repressive style with tight control; use ‘carrot and stick’ motivators

Theory Y – adopt a participative, liberating, developmental approach; use positive feedback, challenge and responsibility as motivators

McGregor: Theory X and Theory Y

Both are intended to be extreme sets of assumptions – not actual types of people.

They also tend to be self-fulfilling prophecies. Employees treated as if Theory X/Y were true will begin

to behave accordingly.

Theory X and Y can be used to heighten managers’ awareness of the assumptions underlying their motivational style

Vroom’s expectancy theory: A theory proposing that people will behave based on their perceived likelihood that their effort will lead to a certain outcome and on how highly they value that outcome.

VIE => valence-instrumentality-expectancy theories. Valence: the value an outcome holds for the person

contemplating it Instrumentality: The perceived likelihood that performance will

be followed by a particular outcome Expectancy: Employees’ perception of the likelihood that their

efforts will enable them to attain their performance goals

Expectancy Theory

Valence is the importance placed upon the reward.

Expectancy is the belief that efforts are linked to performance.

Instrumentality is the belief that performance is related to rewards.

Expectancy Theory cont.

Expectancy Theory cont.

Expectancy Theory cont.

For example a salesman's expectancy is his belief that more number of phone calls (effort) will result in higher sales (performance). His instrumentality is that higher sales (performance) will result in higher commissions (rewards). His valence is the importance attached to the commissions (rewards).

If any one of these factors doesn't exist then motivation vanishes.

If the salesman doesn't believe greater effort leads to performance then there is no motivation. Similarly, if commissions don't increase with sales then instrumentality disappears

Lawler & Porter use the above model, but also incorporate the terms efforts, ability, role perception.

Abilities (required skills and personality traits) and role perception (individual’s understanding of what the job entails) influence the actual performance.

Expectancy Theory cont.

Perception that effort will lead to effective

performance

Perception that effective

performance will lead to rewards

Perception that attractive rewards are available

Actual performance

Intrinsic

Rewards

ExtrinsicCharacteristics

of the individual

Role perception

Effort

Managerial implications of process theories

Intended results should be made clear, so that the individual can complete the motivation calculation by knowing what is expected, the reward, and how much effort it will take

Individuals are more committed to specific goals which they have helped to set themselves, taking their needs and expectations into account

If individual is rewarded according to performance tied to standards (MBO), the individual may well set lower standards

Reward Systems

Achievement of high performance may be through positive rewards or the fear of job insecurity

Rewards help to: Attract & retain staff Demonstrate care for employees Improve org image & further org objectives Encourage desirable behaviour Provide fair & consistent basis for motivating & rewarding

employees Reward progression or promotion To recognise employee behaviour – other than performance Control labour costs

Intrinsic and Extrinsic rewards

Extrinsic – are separate from (or external to) the job itself, and is dependant on the decisions of others. Pay benefits, non-cash incentives & working conditions. Herzberg’s hygiene factors.

Intrinsic – are those which arise from the performance of the work itself. It includes the satisfaction that comes from the job itself, the feeling of achievement that comes from doing a difficult job. Example: job rotation, enlargement & enrichment.

Feedback as a motivator

Motivational feedback is used to reward and reinforce positive behaviour and performance by praising and encouraging the individual.

Developmental feedback is given when a particular area of performance needs to be improved, helping the individual to identify what needs to be changed and how this might be done.

Feedback as a motivator

Constructive feedback Balanced with positives Specific Focused on behaviours/results – not personalities Objective (felt to be fair) Supportive/co-operative, emphasising the resources

available to help the person improve Selective (not tackling all shortcomings at once) encouraging

Pay as a motivator

Pay is the most important of the hygiene factors, but it is ambiguous in its effect on motivation

Pay can be related to motivation in the theories of Maslow, McClelland & Herzberg, and in equity theory and expectancy theory. Money is important for its ability to provide purchasing power as well as status.

Pay is important because: It is a major cost for the organisation People feel strongly about it: it ‘stands in’ for a number of

human needs and goals It is a legal issue (minimum wage, equal pay legislation)

How is pay determined?

Job evaluation Systematic process for establishing the relative worth

of jobs within an organisation Provides a rational basis for the design and

maintenance of an equitable and (legally defensible) pay structure

Salary structure is based on job content, and not on the personal merit of the job holder (who can get extra personal bonuses in reward for performance)

How is pay determined?

Fairness Pay must be perceived and felt to match the level of

work, and the capacity of the individual to do it. Negotiated pay scales

Pay scales, differentials and minimum rates may have been negotiated at plant, local or national level, according to factors such as legislation, govt policy, economy, power of trade unions, state of the labour market for relevant skills, etc

How is pay determined?

Market rates If a org’s rates fall below the benchmark rates in the

local or national labour market from which it recruits, it will have trouble attracting and retaining employees

Individual performance in the job Resulting in merit pay awards, or performance-

related bonuses

Incentive Schemes

Incentive schemes tie pay directly to performance & the reward should encourage improvements in performance.

3 main types of incentive schemes:1. Performance related pay (PRP)

Piecework Management by objectives Points system Commission

2. Bonus schemes3. Profit sharing

Evaluating PRP

Benefits Improves commitment and

capability Complements other HR initiatives Improves focus on the org

performance objectives Encourages two-way

communication Greater supervisory responsibility It recognises achievement when

other means are not available

Potential problems Subjectivity of award for less

measurable criteria (e.g. teamwork)

Encouraging short-term focus and target-hitting (rather than improvements)

Divisive/against teamwork (if awards are individual)

Difficulties gaining union acceptance (if perceived to erode basic pay)

Bonus schemes Group incentive schemes typically offer a bonus for a team

which achieves or exceeds specified targets. Appropriate for tasks

Where individual contributions cannot be isolated Workers have little control over their individual output because

tasks depend on each other Where teambuilding is particularly required

May enhance team spirit and co-operation as well as performance incentives

But may also create pressures within the group if some individuals are seen not to be pulling their weight

Profit-sharing schemes

Offers bonuses directly related to profits or value added

Bases on the belief that all employees can contribute to profitability, and that this contribution should be recognised

Effects e.g. Profit consciousness, motivation, commitment to future prosperity of the org

Profit-sharing schemes Actual incentive value and effect on productivity may be

wasted, if scheme is badly designed: Sum should be significant Clear and timely link between effort or performance and

reward Profit forecasts must indicate a reasonable chance of

achieving it: profit sharing is welcome when profits are high, but potential for disappointment is great.

Greatest effect on productivity may arise from its use as a focal point for discussion with employees about relationship between performance and areas for improvement. Mgmt must be committed to the principle.

Incentive Schemes cont.

Long-term incentives – those that are designed to continually motivate & deliver org objectives

Short-term incentives – those that motivate in the short term but do not deliver on-going motivation and are often achieved at the detriment of longer term objectives

Satisfaction Motivation Reward

Theories

ContentProcess

Maslow Herzberg McGregor Vroom

Chapter Summary