Chapter 5: Motivation
Copyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Learning Objectives
• Define motivation.
• Describe four early theories of motivation » Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory» Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory» McClelland’s Acquired Needs Theory
• Describe three contemporary motivation theories» Expectancy Theory » Goal Setting Theory » Equity theory
• Understand how motivation affects job performance and organizational commitment.
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What is Motivation?
• Forces that initiate work-related effort.
» Determine direction, intensity, and persistence of the effort. » Originates within and outside an employee.» Is critical because performance is a function of motivation
and ability.
• Motivating employees is an important organizational concern in the U.S. workforce. » 73 percent of American employees are not excited about
their work.
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Motivation and Effort
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Motivation Theories
• Early (Need-Based) Theories» Deal with the question of what determines work
motivation.» In other words, focus on profiling the needs that
people seek to fulfill (e.g. need for power).
• Contemporary (Process) Theories» Explain how and why motivation occurs but that do
not indicate any specific values or needs.» In other words, focus on people’s thought or
cognitive processes (e.g. expectancy).
Content Theories
• Focus on profiling the needs that people seek to fulfill.» Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory» Herzberg’s Two-Factor (Motivatior-Hygiene) Theory» McClelland’s Acquired Needs Theory
• They were formulated during the 1950s and 1960s.» Although they have been heavily attacked, they are
the main basis for contemporary motivation theories. » Many practicing managers still use these theories.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory(certain needs must be met before other needs can motivate)
• Humans are motivated by multiple needs and those needs exist in a hierarchical order.
• A satisfied need may lose its motivational potential
Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory
“If you want people to do a good job, give them a good job to do.”
McClelland’s Acquired Needs Theory
• Need for achievement (nAch)» The desire to do something better or more efficiently,
to solve problems, or to master complex tasks.
• Need for affiliation (nAff)» The desire to establish and maintain friendly and
warm relations with others.
• Need for power (nPower)» The desire to control others, to influence their
behavior, or to be responsible for others.
McClelland’s Acquired Needs Theory
Managerial Implications:
• Achievement, affiliation, and power needs can be considered during the selection process, for better placement.
• Managers should create challenging task assignments or goals.
• Effective managers have– high need for power,– high need for achievement;– low need for affiliation.
Content theories
Critique• Content theories are considered questionable
in terms of validity.• Content theories failed:
» to account for individual differences» to link motivation and needs to both satisfaction
and performance» to consider cultural and professional differences
Contemporary (Process) Theories
• Explain the process by which internal factors and cognitions influence a person’s motivation
• In other words, focus on the thought processes through which people choose one action over another in the workplace.
• Process theories:» Expectancy theory» Equity theory» Goal-setting
Expectancy Theory
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• Describes cognitive processes in choosing among voluntary responses.
• Is based on the idea that behavior is directed toward pleasure and away from pain
Expectancy Theory
• Expectancy - belief that a high level of effort will result in successful performance
(Effort → Performance).
» Is influenced by self-efficacy (belief that you have the capabilities needed to perform a certain task).
– Based on: Past accomplishmentsVicarious experiencesVerbal persuasionEmotional cues
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Expectancy Theory
• Instrumentality - belief that successful performance will result in certain outcomes (Performance → Outcomes).
• Valence - the value of the outcomes.» Outcomes are positively valenced (attractive) when
they satisfy needs (e.g. existence, safety, relatedness, esteem, meaning).
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Slide 6-16
Expectancy Theory
• Factors that influence the Expectancy Theory Process:
» Type of Motivation/What Outcomes are at Work:
– Extrinsic motivation – comes from external factors (e.g., pay, bonuses, promotions).
– Intrinsic motivation – comes from inside the individual (e.g., enjoyment, interest, knowledge gain).
» How Much the Person Values Money
– Meaning of money - the degree to which money is seen as having symbolic value.
Expectancy Theory
Goal Setting Theory
• Goal Setting Theory views goals as the primary drivers of the intensity and persistence of effort.
• Goals increase performance when the goals are:
» Specific
» Difficult, but accepted by employees
» Accompanied by feedback (especially self-generated feedback)
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Goal Difficulty and Task Performance
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What is a difficult goal?
Goal Setting Theory
• Why do specific, difficult goals have positive effects?
» Assignment of a specific and difficult goal shapes people’s own self-set goals — the internalized goals that people use to monitor their own task progress.
» Goals trigger the creation of task strategies, defined as learning plans and problem-solving approaches used to achieve successful performance.
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Goal-Setting Theory
Equity Theory
• Suggests motivation depends on what happens to other people.
» Employees create a “mental ledger” of their outcomes & inputs.
» Employees compare their outcomes-to-inputs ratio to the ratio of a comparison other.
– Referred to as “Cognitive calculus.”
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Three Outcomes of Equity Theory Comparisons
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1. Equity: Your ratio is equal to your comparison other’s.
2. Underrewarded: Your ratio is less than your comparison other’s.
3. Overrewarded: Your ratio is greater than your comparison other’s
Equity Restoration Behaviors
• Any imbalance in ratios triggers equity distress —an internal tension that can only be alleviated by restoring balance to the ratios.
• Equity Restoration Behaviors• :Change work inputs (e.g., reduce performance efforts)• Change the outcomes received (e.g., ask for a raise)• Leave the situation (e.g., quit)• Change the comparison person• Psychologically distort the comparisons• Take actions to change the inputs or outputs of the
comparison person
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Global Implications
Are motivation theories culture-bound?» Most were developed for and by the United States» Goal-setting and expectancy theories emphasize goal
accomplishment and rational individual thought » Maslow’s Hierarchy may change order» McClelland's nAch presupposes acceptance of a
moderate degree of risk concern for performance» Equity theory closely tied to American pay practices» Hertzberg’s two-factor theory does seem to work
across cultures
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What Do These Theories Tell Us About Compensation Systems?
• Designing Compensation Systems» Provide specific, difficult goals (Goal Setting Theory).
– Lump sum bonuses & gainsharing create goals which increase productivity.
» Use individual monetary outcomes.– Employees feel higher instrumentality (Expectancy Theory). – Employees are likely to feel their ratio is equal to their
comparison others’ (Equity Theory).
» Focus on employees’ self-efficacy (Expectancy Theory).
Effects of Motivation on Performance and Commitment
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Takeaways
• Motivation: forces that initiate work-related effort.
• Content theories deal with the question of what determines work motivation.
• Expectancy theory: describes cognitive process in making choices among voluntary behaviors. » Includes: expectancy, instrumentality, valence
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Takeaways
• Goal setting theory: suggests specific, difficult goals lead to higher performance.
• Equity theory: suggests rewards are equitable when a person’s outcomes-to-inputs ratio matches those of a comparison other.
• Motivation has a positive relationship with job performance and organizational commitment.