MBA621Motivation.ppt

Motivation

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Motivation

  • A behavioral process that involves the initiation, the energization, and the persistence of behavior.
  • Concerns issues of “choice”, “effort”, and “persistence”.

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2 Approaches to Motivation

  • Content Approach – focus on the idea of human needs. Example theories are by McClelland, Maslow, Alderfer
  • Process Approach – focus on employee perceptions. A cognitive, rational approach. Example theories include reinforcement theory, equity theory, expectancy theory

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McClelland’s Need Theory

  • Individuals have 3 needs:
  • Need for Achievement (nAch)
  • Need for Power (nPow)
  • Need for Affiliation (nAff)
  • These needs are on a continuum, e.g., can have high nAch, medium nPow, and low nAff (or any combination thereof).

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McClelland’s Need Theory

  • Those with high nAch want challenging yet difficult goals, are concerned with personal achievement, and want feedback on their progress.
  • Those with high nPow want to influence or control other people and desire recognition.
  • Those with high nAff enjoy working in groups, want acceptance/to be liked, and dislike conflict.

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Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory

  • Individuals have 5 needs. Once a need it satisfied, it no longer motivates an individual.
  • Implication for managers is to try and understand employees’ needs, and what would satisfy them.

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Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

  • Needs are organized as a pyramid. Needs in order from bottom to top include:
  • Physiological needs – e.g., food, shelter, clothing
  • Security needs – e.g., protection, stability
  • Social needs – e.g., affiliation, belongingness
  • Esteem needs – e.g., power, recognition, independence
  • Self-actualization needs – e.g., achieving full potential, personal growth

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Alderfer’s ERG Theory

  • Individuals have 3 levels of needs:
  • Existence – e.g., physiological and safety needs
  • Relatedness – e.g., belongingness, friendship
  • Growth – e.g., esteem and self-actualization needs
  • Parallels Maslow’s hierarchy. According to Alderfer, you can be motivated by one than one level at the same time.

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Reinforcement Theory (B. F. Skinner): Operant Conditioning

  • Behaviors that are rewarded get repeated. Behaviors with negative consequences are not likely to be repeated.
  • For managers, need to be very aware of what behaviors are being rewarded in the organization. You do not want to reward poor behaviors.

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Equity Theory (Adams, 1963)

  • What individuals want is to feel equitably rewarded for their efforts. Individuals compare themselves with a “comparison person” to determine whether equity exists.
  • This may be a coworker in your current organization (e.g., started at the same time) or a colleague performing a similar job in another organization.

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Equity Theory

  • Equity depends on how you perceive your (& the comparison person’s) inputs and outcomes.
  • Outcomes – what you receive from the organization, e.g., salary, office/cubicle, parking space, computer equip., furnishings.
  • Inputs – job performance, hours worked, education, skills, experience, seniority.

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Equity Theory

  • Compare ratio of Outcomes/Inputs for yourself with that of your comparison person. If ratio is equal, you have equity.
  • If ratio is not equal, then inequity exists. According to the theory, this creates tension that individuals must address to get back into balance.

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Equity Theory

  • If your ratio is ‘higher’ than your comparison person’s, you feel ‘over-rewarded’.
  • To get in balance, you may increase your inputs (e.g., work harder), cognitively distort the situation by rationalization (e.g., decide you are worth it and add more value than the comparison person), or select a new comparison person.

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Equity Theory

  • If your ratio is ‘lower’ than your comparison person, you feel ‘under-rewarded’.
  • To get into balance, you can increase your outcomes (e.g., ask for a raise), reduce your inputs (e.g., work less), or in extreme cases quit the organization.

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Organizational Justice (Greenberg, 1987)

  • Distributive Justice – Fairness of the outcomes (e.g., rewards/punishments) received. Should be proportionate to behavior and employees should know what to expect.
  • Procedural Justice – Fairness of the procedures used to determine outcomes. Incorporate employee voice in development, apply consistently, and have an appeals mechanism.
  • Interactional/Interpersonal Justice – Fairness of treatment of employee. Explain decisions and treat respectfully.

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Procedural Justice
(Leventhal, 1980)

  • Procedures should be applied consistently
  • Personal bias should not come into play
  • Procedures should be based on accurate info
  • An appeals mechanism should be in place
  • Representation/voice of relevant parties into the determination of procedures
  • Procedures based on ethical standards

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Affective Events Theory (AET): (Weiss & Cropanzano, 1996)

  • Events in the environment affect an employee’s emotions, and those consequences have an immediate impact on job performance.

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Expectancy Theory (Vroom, 1964)

  • Motivation = Expectancy * the sum of (Instrumentality * Valence)
  • Expectancy theory explains your level of effort for a particular goal.
  • You want expectancy, instrumentality, and valence to all be high for individuals to be motivated.

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Expectancy Theory

  • Expectancy – Likelihood you can perform a task if you try. Ranges from 0 to 1.
  • Instrumentality – Probability of performing a task and receiving a reward. Ranges from 0 to 1.
  • Valence – Value of the Reward. Ranges from -1 to +1.

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Expectancy Theory

  • Increase expectancy by providing training, coaching, support, and sufficient resources.
  • Increase instrumentality by making rewards contingent on performance.
  • Increase valence by providing rewards employees value.

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Goal-Setting Theory (Locke & Latham, 1990)

To be effective, goals need to be SMART:

  • Specific (no vague goals)
  • Measureable (be able to evaluate progress)
  • Aligned (engenders goal commitment)
  • Realistic (no easy goals – need difficult ones)
  • Timeframe (helps assess progress)

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Goals vs Goal Orientation

  • Type of goal set is a “state”
  • Goal orientation (Dweck, 1999) is a “trait”
  • Those with a “learning goal orientation” desire to increase knowledge & learn skills
  • Those with a “performance goal orientation” try to choose goals where they will excel. Try to avoid tasks where they may perform poorly and look bad.

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Big 5 Personality Factors (FFM)
(Costa & McRae; Digman; Wiggins)

  • Openness to Experience
  • Conscientiousness
  • Extraversion
  • Agreeableness
  • Neuroticism (Emotional Stability)

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Selected Findings

  • Conscientiousness and emotional stability are related to job performance.
  • Emotional stability and agreeableness important for teamwork.
  • Extraversion related to performance for managers and those in sales/marketing.
  • Those higher in openness to experience perform better in training.

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Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura)

  • Task-specific self-efficacy is the extent to which an individual believes he or she can perform a certain task.
  • There is also Generalized self-efficacy, which refers to an overall assessment an individual makes as to ability to perform.

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Determinants of Self-Efficacy

  • Enactive mastery – gain by practice
  • Behavioral modeling – learning from watching others
  • Verbal persuasion – from others or self
  • Self-efficacy is vital for performance.

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Core Self-Evaluation (CSE) – A Higher Order Construct Composed of 4 Traits

  • Self-esteem
  • Generalized self-efficacy
  • Locus of control
  • Emotional stability
  • Those higher in CSE have higher job performance and job satisfaction

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Newer Research on Motivation

  • Focusing on the subconscious and priming effects.
  • See Project Implicit tests you completed

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Practices of Successful Organizations (Pfeffer & Veiga)

  • Employment security
  • Selective hiring
  • Self-managed teams & decentralization
  • High compensation contingent on performance
  • Extensive training
  • Reduction of status differences
  • Sharing information

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