Chapter 8 Motivating Employees

 Would you continue to work if you already had enough money on which to live?

Surveys have found that most of us would continue to work even if we didn't need the
money, suggesting that people are motivated by more than just a paycheck. The quest to
find success in an interesting career is a major goal for many. What's more, this appears to
be the case all around the world, making the motivation to work a universal phenomenon

Importance of work motivation

 Motivation is a key determinant of workplace behavior and performance. Low motivation

generate many problems (absenteeism, turnover, work accidents, low productivity…).

 However, motivation is not synonymous with performance. Even the most highly motivated
employees may have poor results if they lack the required skills or if they works under
unfavorable conditions.

 But even if motivation does not completely account for job performance, it is an important
factor that managers may have some control over it.

 If managers understand employees’ motivations, they can design appropriate actions to

influence their behaviors.

What Is Motivation?

Motivation is the process of arousing, directing, and maintaining behavior toward a goal

As this definition suggests, motivation involves three components. The first component,
arousal, has to do with the drive, or energy intensity behind our actions. For example, when
we are hungry, we are driven to seek food. The direction component involves the choice of
behavior made. A hungry person may make many different choices--eat an apple, have a
pizza delivered, go out for a burger, and so on. The third component, maintenance, is
concerned with people's persistence, their willingness to continue to do effort until a goal is
met. The longer you would continue to search for food when hungry, the more persistent
you would be.

We can think of motivation by using the analogy of driving a car. In this manner, arousal may
be likened to the energy generated by the car's engine and fuel system. The direction it
takes is dictated by the driver's manipulation of the steering wheel. And finally, maintenance
may be thought of as the driver's determination to stay on course until the final destination
is reached.

While motivation, in general, can be described by this simple analogy, it is really a highly
complex concept. This is reflected by the fact that people often are motivated by many
things at once, sometimes causing internal conflicts. For example, a factory worker may be
motivated to make a positive impression on his supervisor by doing a good job, but at the
same time he may be motivated to maintain friendly relations with his co-workers by not
making them look bad.

Motivation Process
• The motivation process progresses through a series of discrete steps. Unsatisfied needs are
the starting point of motivation.

• A need is a physiological or psychological deficiency which arises when there is a gap

between your current and your aspired situation.

• This gap creates a tension, that is a situation of frustration, stress and discomfort that you
can not explain especially at the beginning

• This tension stimulates drives within the individual. Gradually, the accumulation of tension
drive you or stimulate you to mobilize your time and energy searching for the appropriate
behaviors to satisfy your needs

• Once your needs are satisfied the tension is down. But this is only a question of time
(sometimes its few minutes only) and the whole process is started again.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

According to Abraham Maslow, within every human being, the following hierarchy of needs
exists. The first three are deficiency needs because they must be satisfied if the individual is
to be healthy and secure. The last two are growth needs because they are related to the
development and achievement of one’s potential. As each of these needs becomes
substantially satisfied, the next higher need becomes dominant.

1. Physiological. Hunger, thirst, shelter, sex, and other survival needs.

2. Safety. Security, stability, and protection from physical or emotional harm.

3. Social. Social interaction, affection, companionship, and friendship.

4. Esteem. Self-respect, autonomy, achievement, status, recognition, and attention.

5. Self-actualization. Growth, self-fulfillment, and achieving one’s potential.

According to Maslow:

• A need is not effective motivator unless those lower in the hierarchy are more or less
satisfied

• A satisfied need is not a motivator

• These needs are activated in a hierarchical order

As a manager, you can satisfy the needs of your employees by providing

 Physiological needs: comfortable working conditions, reasonable work hours and the
necessary breaks.

 Safety needs :safe working conditions, secure compensation and job security.

 Belongingness needs: encouraging cooperative teamwork, being accessible and kind

supervisor

 Esteem needs: offering praise and recognition when the employee does well, offering
promotions and additional responsibility.

 Self-actualization needs : challenging work, participation in decision-making, job flexibility

and job autonomy.
Little Ambition

Theory X
Dislike Work
Workers
Avoid Respons

Self-Directed
Theory Y
Enjoy Work
Workers
Accept Respon

Douglas McGregor said that managers hold one of two sets of assumptions about human nature:
either Theory X or Theory Y. Seeing people as irresponsible and lazy, managers who follow Theory X
assume the following:

1. Employees inherently dislike work and will try to avoid it.

2. Since employees dislike work, they must be coerced, controlled, or threatened to achieve
goals.

3. Employees avoid responsibilities and seek formal direction, if possible.

4. Most workers place security above all other work-related factors and will display little
ambition.

Since they see people as responsible and conscientious, managers who follow Theory Y assume the
following:
1. Employees can view work as being as natural as rest or play.

2. When committed to their objectives, people will exercise self-direction and self-control

3. The average person can learn to accept, even seek, responsibility.

4. Many workers besides managers have innovative decision-making skills.

No hard evidence confirms that either set of assumptions is universally true. It is more likely that the
assumptions of Theory X or Theory Y may or may not be appropriate, depending on the situation at
hand.

Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory

Proposes that employees are motivated by motivators rather than by maintenance factors

• The two-factor theory is based on the assumption that there are two sets of factors that
influence motivation in the workplace by either enhancing employee satisfaction or
dissatisfaction.

• Herzberg used the term 'hygiene' to describe factors that cause dissatisfaction in the
workplace, are extrinsic (or independent of the work itself), and are linked to things such as
compensation, job security, organizational politics, working conditions, and relationships
between supervisors, subordinates, and peers.

• According to Herzberg, these factors do not motivate employees. However, when they are
missing or inadequate, hygiene factors can cause serious dissatisfaction. Just think about
how unhappy you would be in a job where you were underpaid, were in fear of losing your
job, and were surrounded by coworkers you don’t like. Hygiene factors are all about making
an employee feel comfortable.

• The second factor is motivators. These are linked to employee satisfaction and arise from
intrinsic characteristics of the job itself.
Expectancy Theory

Individual 1 Individual 2
Organizati
Effort Performance
Reward

3
1. Effort-performance relationship
2. Performance-rewards relationship
Individual
3. Rewards-personal goals relationship
Goals

Expectancy theory argues that an employee will be motivated to produce more when he or she
believes that the effort will lead to a good performance appraisal; that a good appraisal will lead to
organizational rewards; and that the rewards will satisfy the employee’s personal goals. This theory
focuses on three relationships.

1. The effort-performance relationship is the probability perceived by the individual that

exerting a given amount of effort will lead to performance.

2. The performance-rewards relationship is the degree to which an individual believes that

performing at a particular level will lead to the attainment of a desired outcome.

3. The rewards-personal goals relationship is the degree to which the rewards of an

organization satisfy an individua l’s personal goals or needs and the attractiveness of those rewards.
Goal Setting Theory

• Assignment of specific, moderately difficult goals, and providing feedback will provide
motivation to work

• Employee participation

• Receive rewards

• Provide competencies for achievement

Hig
h

Task
Area of
Performance
Optimal
Goal
Difficulty

Lo Modera Challengi Impossi

w te Goal ng ble
Difficulty
Motivating by Changing the Job Design: JCM

Skill variety. The degree to which the job requires a variety of activities so the worker can use a
number of different skills and talentsTask identity The degree to which the job requires completion
of a whole and identifiable piece of work

Task significance. The degree to which the job affects the lives or work of other people

Autonomy The degree to which the job provides freedom, independence, and discretion in
scheduling the work and in determining the procedures to be used in carrying it out

Feedback. The degree to which carrying out the work activities would result in obtaining direct and
clear information about the effectiveness of work performance
Skill Var
Task Iden

Task Signifi

The Job Autono

Characteristics Feedba

Model
Examples of High and Low Job Characteristics

Characteristics Examples
Skill Variety
• High variety The owner-operator of a garage who does electrical repair, rebuilds engi
does body work, and interacts with customers
• Low variety A bodyshop worker who sprays paint eight hours a day
Task Identity

• High identity A cabinetmaker who designs a piece of furniture, selects the wood, build
object, and finishes it to perfection
• Low identity A worker in a furniture factory who operates a lathe to make table legs
Task Significance

• High significance Nursing the sick in a hospital intensive-care unit

• Low significance Sweeping hospital floors
Autonomy
• High autonomy A telephone installer who schedules his or her own work for the da
decides on the best techniques for a particular installation
• Low autonomy A telephone operator who must handle calls as they come according to a
routine, highly specified procedure
Feedback

• High feedback An electronics factory worker who assembles a radio and then tests it to
determine if it operates properly
• Low feedback An electronics factory worker who assembles a radio and then routes it t
quality control inspector who tests and adjusts it
Skills variety: The degree to which the job requires a variety of activities so the worker can use a
number of different skills and talents.

The Job Characteristics Model

• The first three dimensions--skill variety, task identity, and task significance--combine to
create meaningful work.

• The jobs that possess autonomy give the worker a feeling of personal responsibility for the
results.

• If a job provides feedback, the worker will know how well he or she is performing.

• The more that these 5 elements are present, the greater will be the employee’s motivation,
performance, and satisfaction.

Research has shown the following:

1. Workers whose jobs rate high on core job dimensions are generally more
motivated, satisfied, and productive than workers whose jobs rate low.

2. Job dimensions influence personal and work outcome by operating

through the critical psychological states rather than influencing outcomes directly.

How jobs can be redesigned ?

 Job Rotation

 Job Enlargement
 Job Enrichment

Job Design for Motivation

 Job Rotation: The employees are moved periodically from one job to another. Job rotation
helps in reducing job monotony, routinization and help in developing a flexible workforce.
Job rotation creates multi skilled employees.

 Job Enlargement: It is about increasing the number of tasks in a job for an employee. It helps
in improving work efficiency and flexibility.

 Job Enrichment: It occurs when the employees are entrusted with additional responsibilities
for scheduling, coordinating and planning their own work.

Job Design for Motivation