Chapter 15: Motivating Employees

Managers in other companies are discovering that creating an environment where people
feel valued and feel that they have opportunities for growth and development is one key to
high employee motivation which leads to organizational success

Motivation refers to the forces either within or external to a person that arouse enthusiasm
and persistence to pursue a certain course of action

 Manager’s job is to channel motivation toward the accomplishment of organizational

goals
 It is the responsibility of managers to find the right combination of motivational
techniques and rewards to satisfy employees’ needs and simultaneously encourage
great work performance

Intrinsic rewards are the satisfactions that a person receives in the process of performing a
particular action. Extrinsic rewards are given by another person, typically a manager, and
include promotions, praise, and pay increases

For example: Google, which is built on the philosophy of creating the “happiest, most
productive workplace in the world,” provides some of the most amazing extrinsic rewards in
corporate America—free breakfast, lunch, and dinner; subsidized massages; free yoga and
Pilates classes; fitness centers; free snacks, beverages, and candy all day and much more.

 People can be driven to act by fear, but good managers avoid the use of fear tactics to
motivate people because this approach damages employee commitment and
performance in the long run
 In addition to providing appropriate extrinsic rewards, effective managers try to help
people achieve intrinsic rewards from their work
Content Perspectives on Motivation
Content theories emphasize the needs that motivate people. At any point in time, people
have a variety of needs. These needs translate into an internal drive that motivates specific
behaviors in an attempt to fulfill the needs

 Hierarchy of Needs: Proposes that people are motivated by multiple needs and that
these needs exist in a hierarchical order
1. Physiological needs - heat, air, and base salary to ensure survival
2. Safety needs - safe jobs, fringe benefits, and job security
3. Belongingness needs - good relationships with coworkers, participation in a work
group, and a positive relationship with supervisors
4. Esteem needs - motivation for recognition, an increase in responsibility, high status
5. Self-Actualization needs - opportunities to grow, be creative, and acquire training for
challenging assignments and advancement

According to Maslow’s theory, low-order needs take priority—they must be satisfied before
higher-order needs are activated

 ERG Theory of needs: Modification of Maslow’s theory in an effort to simplify it

1. Existence needs - The needs for physical well- being
2. Relatedness needs - The needs for satisfactory relationships with others
3. Growth needs - The needs that focus on the development of human potential
and the desire for personal growth and increased competence

The ERG model and Maslow’s needs hierarchy are similar because both are in hierarchical
form and presume that individuals move up the hierarchy one step at a time

The ERG model is less rigid than Maslow’s needs hierarchy, suggesting that individuals may
move down as well as up the hierarchy, depending on their ability to satisfy needs

 Two factor Theory: Herzberg believed that two entirely separate dimensions contribute
to an employee’s behavior at work

Hygiene factors, involves the presence or absence of job dissatisfiers, such as working
conditions, pay, company policies, and interpersonal relationships
For example: Working conditions, Pay and security, Company policies, Supervisors,
Interpersonal relationships
Motivators focus on high level needs and include achievement, recognition, responsibility,
and opportunity for growth
For example: Achievement, Recognition, Responsibility, Work itself, Personal growth

 Acquired Needs: Certain types of needs are acquired during the individual’s lifetime
1. Need for achievement - The desire to accomplish something difficult, attain a high standard of
success, master complex tasks, and surpass others
2. Need for affiliation - The desire to form close personal relationships, avoid conflict, and establish
warm friendships
3. Need for power - The desire to influence or control others, be responsible for others, and have
authority over others

Content theories focus on people’s underlying needs and label those particular needs that motivate
behavior. The hierarchy of needs theory, the ERG theory, the two-factor theory, and the acquired
needs theory all help managers understand what motivates people

Process Perspectives on Motivation

Process theories explain how people select behavioral actions to meet their needs and
determine whether their choices were successful

 Goal-setting theory: Proposes that managers can increase motivation and enhance
performance by setting specific, challenging goals, and then helping people track their
progress toward goal achievement by providing timely feedback
 Goal specificity refers to the degree to which goals are concrete and unambiguous
 Vague goals can be frustrating for employees
 Hard goals are more motivating than easy ones. Highly ambitious but achievable goals
ask people to stretch their abilities and provide a basis for greater feelings of
accomplishment and personal effectiveness
 Having people participate in setting goals is a good way to increase acceptance and
commitment
 Goals also energize behavior because people feel compelled to develop plans and
strategies that keep them focused on achieving the targets

Feedback means that people get information about how well they are doing in progressing
toward goal achievement

 Equity theory: Focuses on individuals’ perceptions of how fairly they are treated
compared with others

A state of equity exists whenever the ratio of one person’s outcomes to inputs equals the ratio of
another’s outcomes to inputs. According to equity theory, if people perceive their compensation as
equal to what others receive for similar contributions, they will believe that their treatment is fair
and equitable

The most common methods for reducing a perceived inequity are these:

 Change work effort

 Change outcomes
 Change perceptions
 Leave the job
The implication of equity theory for managers is that employees indeed evaluate the perceived
equity of their rewards compared to others’. Employees and managers who support transparency
argue that it ensures that everyone is paid fairly and reduces discrimination. Others say that
perceived inequity will always be a problem in organizations no matter what

 Expectancy theory: Suggests that motivation depends on individuals’ expectations

about their ability to perform tasks and receive desired reward

Expectancy theory is based on the relationship among the individual’s effort, the individual’s
performance, and the desirability of outcomes associated with high performance

It involves determining whether putting effort into a task will lead to high performance. For this
expectancy to be high, the individual must have the ability, previous experience, and necessary
equipment, tools, and opportunity to perform

Valence is the value of outcomes, or attraction to outcomes, for the individual. If the outcomes that
are available from great effort and good performance are not valued by employees, motivation will
be low. Likewise, if outcomes have a high value, motivation will be higher

Expectancy theory attempts not to define specific types of needs or rewards, but only to establish
that they exist and may be different for every individual. One employee might want to be promoted
to a position of increased responsibility, and another might have high valence for good relationships
with peers. The first person will be motivated to work hard for a promotion and the second for the
opportunity of a team position that will keep him or her associated with a group

Reinforcement Perspective on Motivation

 Reinforcement theory: simply looks at the relationship between behavior and its
consequences. It focuses on changing or modifying employees’ on-the-job behavior through the
appropriate use of immediate rewards and punishments

Behavior modification is the name given to the set of techniques by which reinforcement theory is
used to modify human behavior

Reinforcement is defined as anything that causes a certain behavior to be repeated or inhibited

Reinforcement tools

Positive reinforcement is the administration of a pleasant and rewarding consequence following a

desired behavior
Avoidance learning is the removal of an unpleasant consequence once a behavior is improved,
thereby encouraging and strengthening the desired behavior. Avoidance learning is sometimes
called negative reinforcement
Punishment is the imposition of unpleasant outcomes on an employee. Punishment typically occurs
following undesirable behavior
Extinction is the withholding of a positive reward. Whereas with punishment, the supervisor imposes
an unpleasant outcome such as a reprimand, extinction involves withholding praise or other positive
outcomes. With extinction, undesirable behavior is essentially ignored

 Social learning theory: Related to the reinforcement perspective, but it proposes that an
individual’s motivation can result not just from direct experience of rewards and punishments,
but also from the person’s observations of other people’s behavior

Vicarious learning, or observational learning, occurs when an individual sees others perform certain
behaviors and get rewarded for them

Managers typically pair a new employee with someone who models the type of behavior that the
organization wants. Managers also promote social learning by highlighting top performers’ strengths
and grooming them as examples for others

Job Design for Motivation

A job in an organization is a unit of work that a single employee is responsible for performing
Job design is the application of motivational theories to the structure of work for improving
productivity and satisfaction

Managers need to know what aspects of a job provide motivation as well as how to compensate for
routine tasks that have little inherent satisfaction.

Managers in many companies are redesigning simplified jobs into jobs that provide greater variety
and satisfaction. One technique, called job rotation, is to move employees systematically from one
job to another to provide variety and stimulation. Another approach is to combine a series of small
tasks into one new, broader job so that people perform a variety of activities, which is referred to as
job enlargement

Job enrichment means incorporating high-level motivators into the work, including responsibility,
recognition, and opportunities for growth, learning, and achievement. In an enriched job, employees
have control over the resources necessary for performing tasks, make decisions on how to do the
work, experience personal growth, and set their own work pace

The five dimensions that determine a job’s motivational potential

1. Skill variety - number of diverse activities that compose a job and the number of skills used to
perform it
2. Task identity - degree to which an employee performs a total job with a recognizable beginning
and ending
3. Task significance - degree to which the job is perceived as important and having an impact on
the company or consumers
4. Autonomy - degree to which the worker has freedom, discretion, and self determination in
planning and carrying out tasks
5. Feedback - extent to which doing the job provides feedback to the employee about his or her
performance
Empowerment
Empowerment is power sharing, the delegation of power and authority to subordinates in an
organization

Empowering employees involves giving them four elements that enable them to act more freely to
accomplish their jobs: information, knowledge, power, and rewards

1. Employees receive information about company performance

2. Employees have knowledge and skills to contribute to company goals
3. Employees have the power to make substantive decisions
4. Employees are rewarded based on company performance

New Motivational Programs

Employee engagement means that people enjoy their jobs and are satisfied with their work
conditions, contribute enthusiastically to meeting team and organizational goals, and feel a sense of
belonging and commitment to the organization. Fully engaged employees care deeply about the
organization and actively seek ways to serve the mission

 People feel that they are working toward something important

 People feel connected to the company, to one another, and to their managers
 People have the chance to learn, grow, and advance

Making progress principle is the idea that the single most important factor that can boost
motivation, positive emotions, and perceptions during a workday is making progress toward
meaningful goals.78 People are most motivated when they have the opportunity to experience
achievement