Motivation

Motivation
The processes that account for an individual’s intensity,
direction, and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal
Motivation consists of a conscious decision to direct effort
in an activity to achieve a goal that will satisfy a
predominate need

Key Elements
1. Intensity: How hard a person tries
2. Direction: Toward beneficial goal
3. Persistence: How long a person tries
 Hierarchy of Needs Theory 
(Maslow)
Hierarchy of Needs Theory
There is a hierarchy of five needs:
physiological, safety, social, esteem,
and self-actualization; as each need
is substantially satisfied, the next
need becomes dominant.

Self-Actualization
The drive to become what one is capable of
becoming
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
 Assumptions of Maslow’s 
Hierarchy
Movement Up the Pyramid
Individuals cannot move to the next higher level until all
needs at the current (lower) level are satisfied.

Individuals therefore
must move up the
hierarchy in order.
Maslow Application
A homeless person
will not be motivated to
meditate!
Comparison of Satisfiers and 
Dissatisfiers

Factors characterizing
events on the job that led to
extreme job dissatisfaction Factors characterizing
events on the job that led to
extreme job satisfaction

Source: Reprinted by permission of Harvard Business Review. An exhibit from One More Time:
How Do You Motivate Employees? by Frederick Herzberg, September–October 1987. Copyright
© 1987 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College: All rights reserved.
© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.
Contrasting Views of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.
 Criticisms of the Two‐Factor 
Theory
Herzberg says that hygiene factors must be met to 
remove dissatisfaction. If motivators are given, 
then satisfaction can occur.

•Herzberg is limited by his methodology 
• Participants had self‐serving bias
•Reliability of raters questioned 
• Bias or errors of observation
•No overall measure of satisfaction was used
•Herzberg assumed, but didn’t research, a strong 
relationship between satisfaction and productivity
7-10
 Your Needs
Mean SD
Career advancement 4.87 0.341
Work Conditions 4.67 0.472
Meaningfulness of work 4.63 0.486
Compensation 4.59 0.493
Flexibility 4.56 0.499

Relationship with Superior 4.55 0.5

Opportunities to use skills 4.49 0.52

Relationship with co-workers 4.45 0.5

Corporate culture 4.44 0.499

Job Security 4.34 0.494
Autonomy 4.3 0.48
 David McClelland’s Theory of
Needs
Need for Achievement
The drive to excel, to
achieve in relation to a set
of standards, to strive to
succeed
Need for Power
The need to make others
behave in a way that they
would not have behaved
otherwise
 
Need for Affiliation
The desire for friendly
and close personal
relationships
Bottom Line
Individuals have
different levels of needs
in each of these areas,
and those levels will
drive their behavior.
 Mean SD
N Ach 4.62 .540
N Power 3.87 .750
N Affiliation 4.12 .717
 Equity Theory
Equity Theory
Individuals compare their job inputs and outcomes with
those of others and then respond to eliminate any
inequities

Referent
Comparisons:
Self-inside
Self-outside
Other-inside
Other-outside
Justice and Equity Theory
 Mean SD
Fairness of outcome 4.63 .554
Fairness of processes 4.56 .656
Respectful and fair  4.50 .599
treatment
 Procedural Justice

• Factors contributing to perceptions of procedural fairness, The

Allocator:
• gives adequate reasons for the decisions
• Follow consistent procedure over time and across people
• Use accurate information and appears unbiased
• Allows two-way communication during the allocation process
• Welcomes appeals of the procedure or allocation

20
• Procedural fairness seems especially
likely to provoke dissatisfaction when
people also see distributive fairness as
being low
• Distributive Justice – satisfaction 
• Dissatisfaction will be maximized when with outcome and organizational 
people believe that they would have commitment
obtained better outcomes if the decision
maker had used other procedures that • Procedural justice – job satisfaction, 
should have been implemented employee trust, withdrawal from 
the organization, job performance 
and OCB 
 Expectancy Theory

Ethical Values and

Behaviors of Leaders

Bottom Line
All three links between the boxes must be intact or motivation
will not occur. Thus,
• Individuals must feel that if they try, they can perform and
• If they perform, they will be rewarded and
• When they are rewarded, the reward will be something they
care about.
Key Constructs of Expectancy Theory

Expectancy – belief that effort leads to performance

Instrumentality – belief that performance is related to 
rewards

Valence – value or importance placed on a particular 
reward
Causes of Motivational Problems
• Belief that effort will not result in 
performance

• Belief that performance will not result in 
rewards

• The value a person places on, or the 
preference a person has for, certain rewards
• Increasing E P Expectancies
 Increasing P O
• Influenced by the individual’s
self-efficacy
• Increase “can do attitude” –
necessary competencies, clear
role perceptions, and favorable
situational conditions to reach
desired level of performance
• Proper equipment & training,
demonstrating correct work
procedures, carefully explaining
how performance is evaluated
and listening to employee
performance problems
 Increasing Outcome Valences
Instrumentality
◦ Performance outcome
influence work effort only
◦ Measure employee when those outcomes are
performance accurately and valued by employees
distribute more valued
rewards to those with ◦ Appreciate Diverse Needs
higher performance – individualized
“Motivational packages”
◦ Regularly communicate the
existence of performance
based reward systems
 Mean SD
Self‐efficacy 4.62 .540
Probability of  4.15 .722
receiving reward
 Goal‐Setting Theory (Edwin Locke)
Intentions to work toward goal are major source of
Motivation
Basic Premise: That specific and difficult goals, with
self-generated feedback, lead to higher performance.
But, the relationship between goals and performance
will depend on:
•Goal commitment
–“I want to do it & I can do it”
•Task characteristics (simple, well-learned)
•National culture
 Mean SD
Challenging goal 3.97 .661
Feedback for  4.45 .641
performance
Involvement in goal  4.28 .619
setting
Goal Setting in Action: MBO 
Programs
Management By Objectives Programs
• Company wide goals and objectives
• Goals aligned at all levels
• Based on Goal Setting Theory
 What Is MBO?
Management by Objectives (MBO)
A program that encompasses specific goals,
participatively set, for an explicit time period, with
feedback on goal progress

Key Elements
1. Goal specificity
2. Participative decision making
3. An explicit time period
4. Performance feedback
Cascading of Objectives
Bandura’s Self‐Efficacy Theory
• Self‐efficacy is an individual’s belief that he 
or she is capable of performing a task.  

• Higher efficacy is related to:
• Greater confidence
• Greater persistence in the face of difficulties
• Better response to negative feedback (work 
harder)
 Increasing Self‐Efficacy
• Enactive mastery
• Most important source of efficacy
• Gaining relevant experience with task or job
• “Practice makes perfect”
• Vicarious modeling
• Increasing confidence by watching others perform the task
• Most effective when observer sees the model to be similar to him‐ or herself
• Verbal persuasion
• Motivation through verbal conviction
• Pygmalion effects – self‐fulfilling prophecies
• Arousal
• Getting “psyched up” – emotionally aroused – to complete task
 Reinforcement Theory
• Similar to goal‐setting theory, but focused on a behavioral approach 
rather than a cognitive one.

• Behavior is environmentally caused
• Thought (internal cognitive event) is not important
• Feelings, attitudes,  and expectations are ignored
• Behavior is controlled by its consequences – reinforces
• Is not a motivational theory but a means of analysis of behavior
• Reinforcement strongly influences behavior but is not likely to be the sole 
cause
 Self‐Determination Theory
People prefer to feel they have control over their actions, so 
anything that makes a previously enjoyed task feel more like an 
obligation than a freely chosen activity will undermine 
motivation.
•Major Implications for Work Rewards
• Extrinsic rewards may decrease intrinsic rewards
• Goal setting is more effective in improving motivation
• Verbal rewards increase intrinsic motivation; tangible rewards 
reduce it
 Mean SD
Intrinsic interest in  4.35 .609
task
Extrinsic reward 4.05 .679
 Employee Motivation –A Powerful New Model (Nitin Nohria, Boris 
Groysberg, and Linda‐Eling Lee –HBR, 2008)

• Four Drive
• The Drive to Acquire 
• Physical goods, experiences travel and entertainment, events that improve social status 
(promotion)
• The Drive to Bond
• Accounts for the enormous boost in motivation when employee feel proud of belonging 
to org.
• The Drive to comprehend
• Jobs that challenge them and enable them grow and learn
• The Drive to Defend
• Quest to create institutions that promote justice, that have clear goals and intentions and 
allow people to express their ideas and opinions 
 Employee Motivation –A 
Powerful New Model (cont.)
• Primary Lever
• Four Indicators of 
• Reward System
Motivation
• Culture
• Employee 
• Job Design engagement 
• Performance  Satisfaction
Management and 
Resource Allocation 
• Commitment
Process • Intention to quit

• Explain Around 60% variance in employee 
motivation
The Job Characteristics Model

Source: J.R. Hackman and G.R. Oldham, Work Design (excerpted from pp. 78–80). © 1980 by
Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., Inc. Reprinted by permission of Addison-Wesley Longman, Inc.
 Computing a Motivating 
Potential Score

People who work on jobs with high core dimensions

are generally more motivated, satisfied, and
productive.
Job dimensions operate through the psychological
states in influencing personal and work outcome
variables rather than influencing them directly.
How Can Jobs be Redesigned?

Job Rotation
• The shifting of an employee from one task 
to another with similar skill requirements.

Job Enrichment
• The expansion of a job by increasing the 
degree to which the worker controls the 
planning, execution, and evaluation of the 
work.

8-43
Strengths of Job Rotation

Helps 
Reduces 
managers in 
boredom
scheduling

Increases 
understanding 
Increased skills
of work 
contribution

8-44
 Job Enrichment – Possible 
8-45
Actions
Combine Tasks

Form Natural Work Units

Establish Client Relations

Expand Jobs Vertically

Open Feedback Channels