What Is Motivation?

Direction

Intensity Persistence
Motivation
Why Rewards Often Fail to
Motivate
 Too much emphasis on monetary
rewards
 Rewards lack an “appreciation effect”
 Extensive benefits become
entitlements
 Counterproductive behavior is
rewarded
 Too long a delay between
performance and rewards
 Too many one-size-fits-all rewards
 Use of one-shot rewards with a short-
lived motivational impact
 Continued use of demotivating
practices
Contingent Consequences in Operant
Conditioning
Nature of Consequences
Behavior-Consequence Relationship

Positive or Pleasing Negative or Displeasing

Positive Reinforcement Punishment

Contingent Behavioral outcome: Behavioral outcome:
Presentation Target behavior occurs Target behavior occurs
more often. less often.

Punishment Negative Reinforcement

Contingent (Response Cost) Behavioral outcome:
Withdrawal Behavioral outcome: Target behavior occurs
Target behavior occurs more often.
less often.
(no contingent consequence)
Extinction
Behavioral outcome:
Target behavior occurs less often
Schedules of Reinforcement
Schedule Description
Continuous Reinforcer follows every response
(CRF)

Intermittent Reinforcer does not follow every

response

Fixed ratio (FR) A fixed number of responses must be

emitted before reinforcement occurs.

Variable ratio (VR) A varying or random number of responses

must be emitted before reinforcement
occurs.

Fixed interval (FI) The first response after a specific

period of
time has elapsed is reinforced
Maslow’s
Hierarchy
of Needs Self

Esteem

Social

Safety

Physiological
 Herzberg’s Two-Factor
Theory
Hygiene Factors Motivational Factors
• Quality of supervision • Career Advancement
• Rate of pay • Personal growth
• Company policies
• Working conditions • Recognition
• Relations with others • Responsibility
• Job security • Achievement

High Job Dissatisfaction 0 Job Satisfaction High

Alderfer’s ERG Theory

Existence Growth

Relatedness
 Need for
Achievement
The Theory
(nAch) of Needs
Need for
Power
(nPow)

Need for David

Affiliation McClelland
(nAff)
Cognitive Evaluation

Intrinsic Extrinsic
Motivators Motivators
 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 *Knowledge of the job
from actual satisfaction
job results of the work *High work
activities effectiveness

Moderators
1. Knowledge and skill
2. Growth need strength
3. Context satisfactions
 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. Approaches these techniques (job
2. Motivational
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.
 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.
 Equity Theory
Ratio Employee’s
Comparison* Perception
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

*
Where A is the employee, and B is a relevant other or referent.
 Negative and Positive
Inequity
A. An Equitable
Situation Other
Self

$2 $4
= $2 per hour = $2 per hour
1 2
hour hours
Negative and Positive Inequity (cont)
B. Negative Inequity

Self Other

$2 $3
= $2 per hour = $3 per hour
1 1 hour
hour
Negative and Positive Inequity (cont)

C. Positive Inequity
Other
Self

$3 $2
= $3 per hour = $1 per hour
1 1
hour hours
 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.
Research into Equity

Distributive Procedural
Justice Justice

Amount and Perceived

Allocation Fairness of the
of Rewards Distribution Process
 Equity Sensitivity
Equity Sensitivity is an individual’s
tolerance for negative and positive equity.

• Benevolents
• Sensitives
• Entitleds
Motivation Theories
Are Culture Bound

Hierarchy Need for

of Needs Achievement

Equity Theory
 Expectancy Theory

Individual 1 Individual 2 Organizational

Effort Performance Rewards

1. Effort-performance relationship
Personal
2. Performance-rewards relationship
Goals
3. Rewards-personal goals relationship
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
 Managerial Implications of
Expectancy Theory

• Determine the outcomes employees

value.
• 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.
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 oucomes 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.
 Goal-Setting Theory

• Specificity • Commitment
• Challenge • Self-efficacy
• Feedback • Characteristics
• Participation • Culture
 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.
Insights from Goal-Setting
Research
(continued)
 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.
 Guidelines for Writing
“SMART” Goals

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Results oriented
Time bound
 An Integrative Model of Motivation
High
nAch
Equity
Ability
Comparison
Opportunity Performance O O
Appraisal Criteria IA IB

Individual Individual Organization Personal

Effort Performance Rewards Goals

Performance Reinforcement Dominant

Appraisal Needs
System
Goals Direct
Behavior
Special Motivation Issues
• Professionals

• Contingent workers

• Diversified workforce

• Low-skilled service workers

• Highly repetitive tasks