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CHAPTER 12. MOTIVATING EMPLOYEES: Achieving Superior Performance in the Workplace Motivation (from Latin “movere” or “to move”) is a hotly-desired, often overused and misunderstood concept that lies deeply in the core of the human nature. Hence, most of the chapter concentrates on various theories developed predominantly in the field of psychology and, later, applied to business. Our major query in this chapter is to seek out possible answers to a simple question, “Why do people act the way they do?” The chapter gives an overview of what motivation is, then describes two sets of theories of motivation: (1) need-based and (2) process-based, and concludes with the application of these theories to job design, compensation, and other job-related rewards. Motivation is an aim, desire, effort, enthusiasm, goal-seeking activities, impetus, etc. Its importance to any organization (see Five Reasons on page 373) is apparent. But how is motivation initiated? What triggers it? Where does it come from and why (or why not)? Please go to the discussion board to share/learn some ideas/answers to these questions. Motivation has two components: the move (the physical action or behavior, such as being tardy to work, or being excited to take up more responsibilities) it’s the How of motivation, an easily observable act, an outcome or surface level of motivation The motive (the deeply-seated reasoning underlying specific behaviors/”moves”) this is the Why of motivation. This is our query. Motivators could be classified as extrinsic and intrinsic. (p. 373). My job as a teacher has plenty of intrinsic motivators: academic freedom, the joy of having a class learn a new concept, the actual teaching, developing curricula, my personal constant learning and intellectual motivation, etc. At the same time, extrinsic motivators are also important: salary, pension, time off, status, autonomy, personal office, and so forth. The importance, however, of each of these motivators is different for different teachers. Before moving to explore motivational theories, review A Simple Model of Motivation in Figure 12.1. Think about any need you had/have (buying a car, a desire to make a better living, a need to be in a relationship) and how it motivated certain behaviors in you, which led you (or not) to fulfill the original need completely or partially. The first group of theories (need-based or content perspectives) believes that needs spark motivation. We have already reviewed the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Please learn the five levels of the hierarchy (starting from the bottom), and how each level of needs could be fulfilled by the employer) – Fig 12.2 on p. 375. Please also see Net MBA’s webpage and a link to the Abraham Maslow’s biography. The second theory is McClelland’s Acquired Needs Theory. It directly relates to Maslow’s Hierarchy but looks at needs as being learned, acquired, and not hereditary. Review an excellent figure (Fig. 12.5, p. 380) that compares three theories of motivation: Maslow, Herzberg, and McClelland. Frederick Herzberg also related his Two-Factor (or Hygiene) Theory to Maslow’s hierarchy (pp. 379-380). Make sure to explore your textbook, the BusinessBalls and Net MBA websites to understand how the theory explains satisfaction, dissatisfaction, and the neutral area, as well as the relationship between Maslow’s and Herzberg’s theories. The second group of theories argues that motivation comes from the thought process that goes through people’s minds as they act. These are the Process Perspectives (p. 381), which include: Vroom’s Expectancy Theory Equity Theory Goal-Setting Theory The expectancy theory (pp. 383-384) could be described by a simple formula: E P R. The thought process is as follows: if I put an extra effort (E) into a project, my performance (P) will be improved, which will allow me to obtain a certain reward (R). Your text book also defines the three elements of the theory: expectancy, instrumentality, and valence. At first glance, this theory seems most applicable to a traditionalattitude work situation where the level of employee’s motivation depends on the importance of the final reward/achieving a goal, etc. However, it could equally apply to any situation where someone does something because they expect a certain outcome. For example, I recycle paper because I think it's important to conserve resources and take a stand on environmental issues (valence); I think that the more effort I put into recycling, the more paper I will recycle (expectancy); and I think that the more paper I recycle, less resources will be used (instrumentality). Thus, this theory of motivation is not about self-interest in rewards but about the associations people make towards expected outcomes and the contribution they feel they can make towards those outcomes. You can learn more information about Victor Vroom and the expectancy theory by visiting Wikipedia. The equity theory (p. 381) describes the employees’ thought process (remember, these are the process theories!) as a quest to whether they perceive to be treated/compensated fairly. There are three levels of equity-related thought: 1. Personal: what I perceive I am worth vs. the actual compensation package ($ + nonmonetary) I receive. 2. Internal: what I think I deserve to get paid based on my knowledge/skills/experience vs. how I think my colleagues in the same/similar positions are getting compensated. 3. External: my compensation vs. the compensation for an equal position in a different organization. If an employee perceives inequity to exist in any of the above scenarios, he/she will become unmotivated and might fight this inequity in various ways (see Table 12.1, p. 383). The goal-setting theory is described on p. 386. We have already discussed this theory in chapter 5 when we introduced the concept of MBO. You can learn more about this theory by visiting ChangingMinds.com or Time Management Guide. The third group of theories (which include just one theory) describes motivation in relationship to employees’ behavior. It is known as the reinforcement theory (p. 391). The idea includes four types of reinforcements (pp. 391-393): positive , negative , extinction, and punishment. Based on all of the theories, job satisfaction is crucial to motivating employees. If workers enjoy their jobs, are challenged, interested in what they are doing, then their motivation will be increased and sustained. The process of job design (p. 387) uses various techniques to create more satisfying and challenging jobs. Some of these techniques include job enlargement and job enrichment (see pp. 387-388). Overall, a manager can design more motivational jobs if she implements the job characteristics model (p. 389-390 and also Fig. 12.8). The model includes five core job characteristics: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Skill variety Task identity Task significance Autonomy, and Feedback All of these are defined on pp. 389390. Higher level for each of these characteristics leads employees to experience three psychological states of (1) meaningfulness of work, (2) responsibility for work outcomes, and (3) the knowledge of actual results of the work. As workers engage in these behaviors, the management will see some tangible outcomes of increased motivation, performance, job satisfaction, and decreased absenteeism and turnover. The last part of chapter 12 applies theories of motivation to developing incentive compensation plans (both monetary and nonmonetary rewards) to motivate workers. Some of the tools mentioned in the book include profit sharing, gainsharing, stock options, and so forth (see p. 395396).