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MOTIVATION
In lecture number 20, we started understanding the concept of empowerment.
Continuing the same
concept, we will try to understand delegation before moving to new topic
Motivation.
Delegation: Delegation is the handing over a task to another person,
usually a subordinate. It is the
assignment of authority and responsibility to another person to carry out
specific activities. It allows a
subordinate to make decisions, i.e. it is a shift of decision-making authority
from one organizational
level to a lower one.
_ Reasons for Lack of
Delegation
• Aspects of the leader’s personality
• Fear of subordinate making a mistake
• High need for personal achievement
• Characteristics of the subordinate
• Nature of the work
Guidelines for Delegating
_ What to Delegate
o Tasks that can be done better by
a subordinate
o Tasks that are urgent but not high
priority
o Tasks relevant to a subordinate’s
career
o Tasks of appropriate difficulty
o Both pleasant and unpleasant tasks
o Tasks not central to the manager’s
role
_ How to Delegate
o Specify responsibilities clearly
o Provide adequate authority and
specify limits of discretion
o Specify reporting requirements
o Ensure subordinate acceptance of
responsibilities
_ How to Manage Delegation
o Inform others who need to know
o Monitor progress in appropriate ways
o Arrange for the subordinate to
receive necessary information
o Provide support and assistance, but
avoid reverse delegation
o Make mistakes a learning experience
Let’s shift to another very important topic Motivation.
Motivation: There are over 140 definitions of the term motivation that
have been used in various
capacities. Motivation is important because it explains why employees behave as
they do. Work
Motivation can be defined as the psychological forces within a person that
determine the direction of a
person’s behavior in an organization, a person’s level of effort, and a person’s
level of persistence in the
face of obstacles.
_ Definition: Motivation
is the result of the interaction of the individual and the situation.
Motivation is the processes that account for an individual’s intensity,
direction, and
persistence of effort toward attaining a goal.
_ The process that initiates,
directs, and sustains behavior to satisfy physiological or
psychological needs or wants; the energizing and directing of behavior, the
force behind our
yearning for food, our longing for sexual intimacy, and our desire to achieve.
Sources of Motivation: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation;
Intrinsically Motivation: is behavior that is performed for its own sake;
the source of motivation is
actually performing the behavior.
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a. Employees who are intrinsically motivated often remark that their work gives
them a sense
of accomplishment and achievement or that they feel they are doing something
worthwhile.
b. Motives are intrinsic when an independent third party cannot easily verify
them.
Extrinsic Motivation: is behavior that is performed to acquire material
or social rewards or to avoid
punishment.
a. The behavior is not performed for its own sake but rather for its
consequences.
b. This form of motivation may be linked to operant conditioning.
c. Motives are extrinsic when they can easily be verified by an independent
third party.
Motivation at Work: A historical perspective
Traditional Approach:
Frederick Taylor (Scientific Management): In 1911, Frederick W. Taylor
published one of the earliest
approaches to job design, The Principles of Scientific Management.
_ Taylor was concerned that
employees were slacking off and not performing as highly as they
should on their jobs.
_ Scientific management, a set
of principles and practices stressing job. Simplification and
specialization, was developed by Taylor to increase the performance of
individual employees.
_ His premise was that there was
one best way to perform any job, and management’s responsibility
was to determine what that way is.
Assumptions:
_ Managers know more than
workers.
_ Economic gain (money) is the
primary motivation for performance.
_ Work is inherently unpleasant.
Human Relations Approach
_ Emphasized the role of
social processes in the workplace.
Assumptions:
_ Employees want to feel
useful and and important.
_ Employees have strong social
needs, more important than money.
_ Maintaining the appearance of
employee participation is important.
Human Resource Approach
Assumptions:
_ Employee contributions are
important and valuable to the employee and the organization.
_ Employees want to and are able
to make genuine contributions.
_ Management’s job is to
encourage participation and create a work environment that motivates
employees.
Groups of Motivational Theories:
_ Internal
o Suggest that variables within the
individual give rise to motivation and behavior
o Example: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
theory
_
_ Process
o Emphasize the nature of the
interaction between the individual and the environment
o Example: Expectancy theory
_ External
o Focus on environmental elements
to explain behavior
o Example: Two-factor theory
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Why People Do What They Do?
Points about human motivation help explain the complicated relationship
between personal goals and
work behavior.
_ Satisfied need is not a
motivator. People are motivated by:
o What they don’t have or have done
without
o A need that is not fully satisfied
o
_ Employee motivation
and company success are related. Seven practices successful
companies share:
o Employment security
o Empowered teams and decentralization
o High compensation
o Extensive training
o Reduced status distinctions and
barriers
o Sharing of information
_ Psychological needs and
social values are not the same
o Psychological forces are the
same, but the values are not
o Psychological needs explain human
motivation
o Social values are the ethics concern
_ The same act can satisfy
any motivation levels
o One person may work to survive;
another may do the same job for recognition or
personal satisfaction
_ All people have the same
needs, but to different degrees, and accompanied by different
wants
– What it takes and how much vary by
person.
_ A person can be
deficiency-motivated, bringing harm to self or others
– It is possible to have a fixation so
strong it can lead to destructive behavior
– A healthy person is ready to satisfy other
needs
_ Unsatisfied needs can harm
your health.
– A motivation condition can develop to
satisfy the unsatisfied need.
_ Leadership is important in
meeting employee needs and preventing motivation problems
– What a leader does will vary with the
circumstances.
_ The ideal is to integrate
the needs of individuals with the goals of the organization
– The needs of the individual can be
satisfied, while advancing the goals of the
organization
Let’s discuss basic theories of motivation.
Theory X:
Douglas McGregor concluded that a manager’s view of the nature of human
beings is based on a
certain grouping of assumptions and he or she tends to mold his or her behavior
toward employees
according to these assumptions. Theory-X Management view that assumes workers
generally dislike
work and must be forced to do their jobs.
Theories X assumptions are basically negative.
1. Employees inherently dislike work and, whenever possible, will attempt to
avoid it.
2. Since employees dislike work, they must be coerced, controlled, or threatened
with
punishment.
3. Employees will avoid responsibilities and seek formal direction whenever
possible.
4. Most workers place security above all other factors and will display little
ambition.
Theory Y
Management view that assumes workers like to work and under proper
conditions, employees will seek
responsibility to satisfy social, esteem, and self-actualization needs
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Theory Y assumptions are basically positive.
1. Employees can view work as being as natural as rest or play.
2. People will exercise self-direction and self-control if they are committed to
the objectives.
3. The average person can learn to accept, even seek, responsibility.
4. The ability to make innovative decisions is widely dispersed throughout the
population.
What are the implications for managers? This is best explained by using
Maslow’s framework:
1. Theory X assumes that lower-order needs dominate individuals.
2. Theory Y assumes that higher-order needs dominate individuals.
3. McGregor himself held to the belief that Theory Y assumptions were more valid
than
Theory X.
4. There is no evidence to confirm that either set of assumptions is valid.
5. Either Theory X or Theory Y assumptions may be appropriate in a particular
situation.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is the
most well-known theory
of motivation. He hypothesized that within every human being there exists a
hierarchy of five needs.
1. Physiological: Includes hunger, thirst, shelter, sex, and other bodily
needs.
2. Safety: Includes security and protection from physical and emotional
harm
3. Social: Includes affection, belongingness, acceptance, and friendship
4. Esteem: Includes internal esteem factors such as self-respect,
autonomy, and achievement; and
external esteem factors such as status, recognition, and attention.
5. Self-actualization: The drive to become what one is capable of
becoming; includes growth,
achieving one’s potential, and self-fulfillment
_ As a need becomes
substantially satisfied, the next need becomes dominant. No need is ever fully
gratified; a substantially satisfied need no longer motivates.
_ Maslow separated the five
needs into higher and lower orders.
o Physiological and safety needs
are described as lower-order.
o Social, esteem, and
self-actualization are as higher-order needs.
o Higher-order needs are satisfied
internally.
o Lower-order needs are predominantly
satisfied externally.
_ Maslow’s need theory has
received wide recognition, particularly among practicing managers.
Research does not generally validate the theory.
_ Maslow provided no empirical
substantiation, and several studies that sought to validate the theory
found no support for it.
Alderfer’s ERG Theory: Clayton Alderfer’s existence-relatedness-growth
(ERG) theory builds on
some of the Maslow’s thinking but reduces the number of universal needs from
five to three and is
more flexible on movement between levels. Alderfer lifts the restriction used by
Maslow that lowerorder
needs must be addressed first.
a. Needs at more than one level can be motivators at any time.
b. Alderfer proposes that when an individual is motivated to satisfy a higher-
level need but has
difficulty doing so, the person’s motivation to satisfy lower-level needs will
increase.
o Existence
o Concerned with providing basic
material existence requirements
o Relatedness
o Desire for maintaining important
interpersonal relationships
o Growth
o Intrinsic desire for personal
development
The Research Evidence:
o Though logical, the theories
proposed by Maslow and Alderfer do not receive much support from
research.
o Difficulties include:
o It may be unreasonable to expect a
relatively small set of needs ordered in a particular
fashion to apply to all human beings.
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o It may be unrealistic to expect that
all people become motivated by different types of needs
in a set order.
Herzberg’s Motivation/Hygiene Theory: The Two-Factor Theory is sometimes
also called
motivation-hygiene theory. Proposed by psychologist Frederick Herzberg when he
investigated the
question, “What do people want from their jobs?” He asked people to describe, in
detail, situations in
which they felt exceptionally good or bad about their jobs. These responses were
then tabulated and
categorized.
Motivators—account for job satisfaction and motivation
• Achievement • Recognition • Work itself
• Responsibility • Advancement
Hygiene factors—cause dissatisfaction with work
• Interpersonal relationships
• Company policy/administration
• Supervision • Salary • Working
conditions
From the categorized responses, Herzberg concluded:
• Intrinsic factors, such as advancement,
recognition, responsibility, and achievement seem to be
related to job satisfaction.
• Dissatisfied respondents tended to cite
extrinsic factors, such as supervision, pay, company policies,
and working conditions.
• The opposite of satisfaction is not
dissatisfaction.
• Removing dissatisfying characteristics
from a job does not necessarily make the job satisfying.
• Job satisfaction factors are separate
and distinct from job dissatisfaction factors. Managers who
eliminate job dissatisfaction factors may not necessarily bring about
motivation.
• When hygiene factors are adequate,
people will not be dissatisfied; neither will they be satisfied. To
motivate people, emphasize factors intrinsically rewarding that are associated
with the work itself
or to outcomes directly derived from it.
Criticisms of the theory:
• The procedure that Herzberg used is
limited by its methodology.
• The reliability of Herzberg’s
methodology is questioned.
• No overall measure of satisfaction was
utilized.
• Herzberg assumed a relationship between
satisfaction and productivity, but the research
methodology he used looked only at satisfaction, not at productivity.
• Regardless of criticisms, Herzberg’s
theory has been widely read, and few managers are unfamiliar
with his recommendations.
• The popularity of vertically expanding
jobs to allow workers greater responsibility can probably be
attributed to Herzberg’s findings.
This is also known as Two-Factor Theory as explained earlier.
Two-Factor Theory
Motivation factors
• Achievement
• Recognition
• The work itself
• Responsibility
• Advancement and growth
Hygiene factors
• Supervisors
• Working conditions
• Interpersonal relations
• Pay and security
• Company policies and administration
McClelland’s Theory of Needs: The theory focuses on three needs:
achievement, power, and
affiliation.
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• Need for achievement: The drive
to excel, to achieve in relation to a set of standards, to strive to
succeed
o Some people have a compelling drive
to succeed. They are striving for personal
achievement rather than the rewards of success per se. This drive is the
achievement need
(nAch).
o McClelland found that high achievers
differentiate themselves from others by their desire
to do things better.
o They seek personal responsibility for
finding solutions to problems.
o They want to receive rapid feedback
on their performance so they can tell easily whether
they are improving or not.
o They can set moderately challenging
goals. High achievers are not gamblers; they dislike
succeeding by chance.
o High achievers perform best when they
perceive their probability of success as 50-50.
o They like to set goals that require
stretching themselves a little.
• Need for power: The need to make
others behave in a way that they would not have behaved
otherwise,
o The need for power (nPow) is
the desire to have impact, to be influential, and to control
others.
o Individuals high in nPow enjoy being
“in charge.”
o Strive for influence over others.
o Prefer to be placed into competitive
and status-oriented situations.
o Tend to be more concerned with
prestige and gaining influence over others than with
effective performance.
• Need for affiliation: The desire
for friendly and close interpersonal relationships
o The third need isolated by McClelland
is affiliation (nAfl).
o This need has received the least
attention from researchers.
o Individuals with a high affiliation
motive strive for friendship.
o Prefer cooperative situations rather
than competitive ones.
o Desire relationships involving a high
degree of mutual understanding.
Relying on an extensive amount of research, some reasonably well-supported
predictions can be made
based on the relationship between achievement need and job performance.
Equity Theory: The equity (equity means fairness) theory of work
motivation was developed in the
1960s by J. Stacy Adams.
• Equity theory is based on the premise
that an employee perceives the relationship between
outcomes (what an employee gets from a job and organization) and inputs (what
the employee
contributes to a job and organization).
• According to equity theory, it is not
the objective level of outcomes and inputs that is important.
Instead, what is important is the way an employee perceives his or her
outcome/input ratio
compared to the outcome/input ratio of another person (called a referent by
Adams).
• It is the employee’s perceptions of the
referent’s outcomes and inputs that are compared – not any
objective measure of actual outcomes or inputs.
• Are the outcomes perceived as being at
an appropriate level in comparison to the inputs? Managers
need to ensure that different employee’s outcome-input ratios are approximately
equal so that
employees who contribute more inputs receive more outcomes and vice versa.
Equity:
• Equity exists when an individual’s
outcome/input ratio equals the outcome/input ratio of the
referent.
• When employees perceive that the
employee’s and the referent’s outcome/input ratios are
proportionally equal, they are motivated either to maintain the status quo or to
increase their inputs
to receive more outcomes.
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. Inequity:
• Inequity, or lack of fairness,
exists when outcome/input ratios are not proportionally equal.
• Inequity creates tension and unpleasant
feelings inside an employee and a desire to restore
equity.
There are two types of inequity:
• Overpayment inequity exists when an
individual perceives that his or her outcome/input ratio is
greater than that of a referent.
• Underpayment inequity exists when a
person perceives that his or her outcome/input ratio is
less than that of a referent.
Ways to Restore Equity:
• Employees can change their inputs or
outcomes.
• Employees try to change their referents’
inputs or outcomes.
• Employees change their perceptions of
inputs and outcomes (either their own or the referents’).
• Employees can change their referent.
• Employees leave the job or organization
or force the referent to leave.
Expectancy Theory:
_ Expectancy theory is one
of the most widely accepted explanations of motivation. Victor
Vroom’s expectancy theory has its critics but most of the research is
supportive.
_ Expectancy theory argues that
the strength of a tendency to act in a certain way depends on the
strength of an expectation that the act will be followed by a given outcome and
on the
attractiveness of that outcome to the individual.
_ It says that an employee will
be motivated to exert a high level of effort when he/she believes
that:
o Effort will lead to a good
performance appraisal.
o That a good appraisal will lead to
organizational rewards.
o That the rewards will satisfy his/her
personal goals.
Three key relationships
1. Effort-performance relationship: the probability perceived by the
individual that exerting a
given amount of effort will lead to performance
2. Performance-reward relationship: the degree to which the individual believes
that
performing at a particular level will lead to the attainment of a desired
outcome
3. Rewards-personal goals relationship: the degree to which organizational
rewards satisfy an
individual’s personal goals or needs and the attractiveness of those potential
rewards for the
individual
Expectancy theory helps explain why a lot of workers merely do the minimum
necessary to get
by. For example:
If I give a maximum effort, will it be recognized in my performance
appraisal?
_ No, if the organization’s
performance appraisal assesses nonperformance factors. The
employee, rightly or wrongly, perceives that his/her boss does not like him/her.
If I get a good performance appraisal, will it lead to organizational rewards?
_ Typically many employees see
the performance-reward relationship in their job as weak.
If I am rewarded, are the rewards ones that I find personally attractive?
• It is important that the rewards be
tailored to individual employee needs
o The key to expectancy theory is the
understanding of an individual’s goals and the linkage
between effort and performance, between performance and rewards, and finally,
between the
rewards and individual goal satisfaction.
o As a contingency model, expectancy
theory recognizes that there is no universal principle for
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explaining everyone’s motivations.
o Attempts to validate the theory have
been complicated by methodological criterion and
measurement problems.
o Published studies that purport to
support or negate the theory must be viewed with caution.
o Importantly, most studies have failed
to replicate the methodology as it was originally
proposed.
o Some critics suggest that the theory
has only limited use, arguing that it tends to be more valid
for predicting in situations where effort-performance and performance-reward
linkages are
clearly perceived by the individual.
Reinforcement Theory: In contrast to Goal-Setting theory, which is a
cognitive approach,
Reinforcement theory is a behaviorist approach. It argues that reinforcement
conditions behavior.
Reinforcement theorists see behavior as being environmentally caused.
Reinforcement theory ignores
the inner state of the individual and concentrates solely on what happens to a
person when he or she
takes some action.
Concepts:
• Behavior is environmentally caused.
• Behavior can be modified (reinforced) by providing (controlling) consequences.
• Reinforced behavior tends to be repeated |
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