Work Motivation Strategies: Unlocking Employee Potential

Management and Organisational Behaviour 7th Edition CHAPTER 12 Work Motivation and Rewards

The meaning of motivation • The driving force within individuals by which they attempt to achieve some goal in order to fulfil some need or expectation • The degree to which an individual wants and chooses to engage in certain behaviour

Common characteristics underpinning definitions of motivation • Motivation is typified as an individual phenomenon • Motivation is described, usually, as intentional • Motivation is multifaceted • The purpose of motivational theories is to predict behaviour Mitchell

Figure 12.1 A basic motivational model

Intrinsic & extrinsic motivation Extrinsic motivation Related to tangible rewards, e.g. salary, security, promotion, conditions of work Intrinsic motivation Related to psychological rewards, e.g. a sense of challenge and achievement, receiving appreciation

Higher set of motivational needs system • Attachment / affiliation – the need for engagement & sharing, a feeling of community and a sense of belonging • Exploration / assertion – the ability to play & work, a sense of fun & enjoyment, the need for self-assertion & the ability to chooseKets de Vries

Broad classification for motivation at work • Economic rewards – such as pay, fringe benefits, pension rights, security (instrumental orientation) • Intrinsic satisfaction – derived from the nature of work itself (personal orientation) • Social relationships – such as friendships, group working, status & dependency (relational orientation)

Figure 12.2 The needs & expectation of people at work

Identification Equity Equality Consensus Instrumentality Rationality Development Group dynamics Internalisation Cartwright Culture & motivating factors

Figure 12.3 A basic model of frustration

Factors influencing frustration • The level & potency of need • The degree of attachment to the desired goal • The strength of motivation • The perceived nature of the barrier or blocking agent • The personality characteristics of the individual

Effective recruitment, selection & socialisation Training & development Job design & work organisation Equitable personnel policies Recognition & rewards Effective communications Participative styles of management Attempting to understand the individual’s perception of the situation Ways managers can reduce potential frustrations

Money as a motivator Rational – economic concept Taylor asserted that what workers wanted from employers was high wages ‘Theory M’ (Weaver) – based on direct cash rewards for above average performance In a survey of HR managers 62% of respondents had a problem retaining minimum wage workers strictly on pay. Other incentives were needed to keep workers in a job

Motivation other than money Historically loyalty was bought & employees offered gradual progression up the hierarchy, a decent salary & job security in return for a hard day’s work Increasingly motivation is based on values rather than purely a financial reward Grayson & Hodges

Figure 12.4 Main theories of work motivation

Figure 12.5 Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Relating Maslow’s model to work situations There are a few problems doing this – • People do not necessarily satisfy their needs, especially higher-level needs, just through work • There is doubt about the time that elapses between satisfying lower-level & emergence of higher-level needs • Some rewards or outcomes may satisfy more than one need • The motivating factors may not be the same for each person

Table 12.1 Applying Maslow’s hierarchy Source: Steers, R.M. and Porter, L.W., Motivation and Work Behaviour, Fifth edition, McGraw-Hill (1991) p.35. Reproduced with permission from The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.

Alderfer’s modified approach • Existence needs – concerned with sustaining human existence & survival and covers physiological & safety needs of a material nature • Relatedness needs – concerned with relationships to the social environment and covers love or belonging, affiliation, and meaningful interpersonal relationships • Growth needs – concerned with the development of potential and covers self-esteem & self-actualisation

Figure 12.6 Herzberg – two factor theory

McClelland’s achievement motivation theory Based on four arousal-based & socially developed motives – • Achievement • Power • Affiliative • Avoidance

Stages in developing achievement drive • Striving to attain feedback on performance • Developing models of achievement by seeking to emulate people who have performed well • Attempting to modify self-image & to see themselves as needing challenges & success • Controlling day-dreaming & thinking about themselves in more positive termsMcClelland

Process theories of motivation • Expectancy-based models – Vroom and Porter & Lawler • Equity theory – Adams • Goal theory – Locke • Attribution theory – Heider and Kelley

Figure 12.8 Basic model of expectancy theory

Figure 12.10 Lawler’s expectancy model

Implications for managers of expectancy theories Managers need to – • Use rewards appropriate in terms of individual performance • Attempt to establish clear relationships between effort-performance & rewards, as perceived by the individual • Establish clear procedures for the evaluation of individual levels of performance • Pay attention to intervening variables • Minimise undesirable outcomes that may be perceived to result from a high level of performance, e.g. industrial accidents

Behaviour as a consequence of inequity Six broad types of possible behaviour as consequences of inequity – • Changes to input levels • Changes to outcomes • Cognitive distortion of inputs & outcomes • Leaving the field • Acting on others Adams

Practical implications of equity theory • It provides managers with another explanation of how beliefs & attitudes affect job performance • It emphasises the need for managers to pay attention to employees’ perceptions of what is fair & equitable • Managers benefit by allowing employees to participate in decisions about important work outcomes Kreitner et al.

Practical implications of equity theory • Employees should be given the opportunity to appeal against decisions that affect their welfare • Employees are more likely to accept & support organisational change when they believe it is implemented fairly Kreitner et al.

Figure 12.12 Locke’s theory of goal setting

Work Motivation Strategies: Unlocking Employee Potential