Motivation: From Concepts to Applications

1. Motivation: From Concepts to Applications Set me anything to do as a task, and it is inconceivable the desire I have to do something else. -- G.B. Shaw

2. Chapter Outline • Management By Objectives • Employee Recognition Programs • Employee Involvement Programs • Variable Pay Programs • Skill-Based Pay Plans • Flexible Benefits • Special Issues in Motivation

3. Learning Objectives Motivation: From Concepts to Applications • Identify the four ingredients common to MBO programs • Explain why managers might want to use employee involvement programs • Contrast participative management with employee involvement • Define quality circles • Explain how ESOPs can increase employee motivation • Contrast gainsharing and profit sharing • Describe the link between skill-based pay plays and motivation theories • Explain how flexible benefits turn benefits into motivators • Contrast the challenges of motivating professional employees versus low-skilled employees • Contrast the challenges in motivating professional employees with temporary workers

4. Management by Objectives • A program that encompasses • specific goals • participatively set • for an explicit time period • with feedback on goal progress • MBO operationalizes the concept of objectives by devising a process by which objectives cascade down through the organization. • The result is a hierarchy of objectives that links objectives at one level to those at the next level. • For the individual employee, MBO provides specific personal performance objectives.

5. XYZ Company Overall Organizational Objectives Divisional Objectives Consumer Products Division Industrial Products Division Departmental Objectives Sales Production Marketing Develop Customer Service Research Individual Objectives Exhibit 6-1Cascading of Objectives

6. Linking MBO and Goal-Setting Theory • Goal Setting Theory Demonstrates that: • hard goals result in a higher level of individual performance, • specific hard goals result in higher levels of performance than do no goals or generalized goals, and • feedback on one’s performance leads to higher performance • MBO directly advocates specific goals and feedback.

7. Employee Recognition Programs • What Are Employee Recognition Programs • Programs that use multiple sources and recognizes both individual and group accomplishments. • Linking Programs and Reinforcement Theory • Consistent with the reinforcement theory, rewarding a behavior with recognition immediately following that behavior is likely to encourage its repetition. • Employee Recognition Programs in Practice • In contrast to most other motivators, recognizing an employee’s superior performance often costs little or no money, making them highly attractive to industry.

8. Employee Involvement Programs • A participative process that uses the entire capacity of employees and is designed to encourage increased commitment to the organization’s success. • Examples of Employee Involvement • Participative Management • Representative Participation • Work Councils • Board Representatives • Quality Circles • Employee Stock Ownership Plans

9. Problem Identification Problem Selection Decision Solutions Reviewed Problem Review Solutions Recommended Exhibit 6-2How a Typical Quality Circle Operates

10. Variable-Pay Programs • A portion of an employee’s pay is based on some individual and/or organizational measure of performance. • piece-rate pay plans • profit-sharing plans • gainsharing plans • Linking Variable-Pay Plans and Expectancy Theory • evidence supports the importance of this linkage, especially for operative employees working under piece-rate systems. • group and organization wide incentives reinforce and encourage employees to sublimate personal goals for the best interests of their department or organization.

11. Skill-Based Pay Plans • Pay levels based on how many skills employees have or how many jobs they can do. • What’s the appeal of skill-based pay? • Management’s perspective • flexibility • facilitates communication • lessens “protective territory” behavior • Is there a Downside? • People can “top out” • Employee frustration can increase • Skills become obsolete • Paying people for acquired skills not used

12. Flexible Benefits • Allowing employees to tailor their benefit program to meet their personal needs by picking and choosing from a menu of benefit options.

13. Motivating Professionals • How are “Professionals” different? • Receive a great deal of “intrinsic” satisfaction from their work. • Strong and long-term commitment to their field of expertise • Well paid/ Chief reward is work itself. • Value support • More focused on work as central life interest. • How do we motivate professionals? • Provide challenging projects • Give them autonomy in follow interests and structure work. • Reward with educational opportunities. • Recognize their contributions.

14. Motivating Contingent Workers • No simple solutions to motivating contingent workers. • Contingent or temporary workers have little or no job security/stability, therefore they don’t identify with the organization or display the commitment of permanent employees. • Contingent or temporary workers are typically provided with little or no health care, pensions, or similar benefits. • Greatest motivating factor is the opportunity to gain permanent employment. • Motivation is also increased if the employee sees that the job he or she is doing for the firm can develop salable skills.

15. Motivating the Diversified Work Force • Not all employees are motivated by money. • flexibility is the key to maximizing your employees’ motivation by understanding and responding to the diversity of needs. • specially designed work schedules • flexible compensation plans • flexible benefits plans • physical work settings • child care • elderly care • flexible work hours • job sharing • flexible leave • work teams

16. Motivating the Low-Skilled Service Worker • One of the most challenging problems in industry today. • Many “plans” have been tried, almost all unsuccessfully • flexible work schedules • broader responsibility for inventory, scheduling, and hiring • creation of a “family” atmosphere among employees • Unless pay and benefits rise significantly, continued high turnover can be expected.

17. Motivating People Doing Highly Repetitive Tasks • Motivating individuals in these jobs can be made through careful selection: • People vary in their tolerance for ambiguity. • Many individuals prefer jobs that have a minimal amount of discretion and variety. • High pay and careful selection can reduce: • recruitment problems and high turnover, however, this • doesn’t necessarily lead to highly motivated workers. • Creative personnel programs have exhibited some success by providing: • clean and attractive work surroundings, ample work breaks and opportunity to socialize during breaks, and empathetic supervisors.

18. Summary and Implications for Managers • Recognize Individual Differences • Employees have different needs. • Don’t treat them all alike. • Spend the time necessary to understand what’s important to each employee. • Use Goals and Feedback • Allow Employees to Participate in Decisions That Affect Them • Link Rewards to Performance • Employees must perceive a clear linkage. • Check the System for Equity