Chapter 3: Motivation

from Concept to
Applications

Organizational Behavior-
OB202E
Fall 2021
Outline

• Motivation: A Fundamental Internal Influence on

Employee Behavior,
• Motivation: Theoretical Approaches,
• Motivation by Job Design : The Job Characteristics
Model,
• Alternative work arrangement,
• Employee Involvement,
• The Social and Physical Context of Work,
• Using rewards to motivate employees,
• Intrinsic Rewards: Employee Recognition Programs,

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 What is motivation?

The processes that accounts for an

individual’s intensity, direction, and
persistence of effort toward attaining a goal.
•Intensity describes how hard a person tries.
•Direction …. Effort is channeled in a
direction that benefits the organization.
•persistence measures how long a person can
maintain effort.
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Motivation: a fundamental internal influence
on employee behavior

• One of the most basic elements of human

behavior,
• “Factors that cause the arousal, direction,
and persistence of voluntary actions that are
goal directed,” according to Terry Mitchel.

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The Need based approach

• Underlying needs such as the needs for safety or

power, drive, motivation
• Theories include:
• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory,
• Aldefer’s Existence, Relatedness, and Growth
(ERG) Theory,
• McClleland Theory of Needs,

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 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
1. Physiological: hunger, thirst, shelter, sex, and other bodily needs.
2. Safety: Security and protection from physical and emotional harm.
3. Social: Affection, belongingness, acceptance, and friendship.
4. Esteem: Internal factors such as self-respect, autonomy, and achievement,
and external factors such as status, recognition, and attention.
5. Self-actualization: Drive to become what we are capable of becoming;
includes growth, achieving our potential, and self-fulfillment.

Source: A. H. Maslow, Motivation and Personality, 3rd ed., R. D. Frager and J. Fadiman (eds.). © 1997. Adapted by permission of 6
Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.
 ERG Theory

• Alderfer proposed that basic human needs may be grouped under three
categories: Existence, Relatedness, and Growth.
• Existence need corresponds to Maslow’s physiological and safety needs,
• Relatedness corresponds to social needs,
• Growth need refers to Maslow’s esteem and self actualization.
• ERG theory does not rank needs in any particular order
• Explicitly recognizes that more than one need may operate at a given
time.

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ERG Theory

Source: Based on Alderfer, C. P. (1969). An empirical test of a new theory of human 8

needs. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 4, 142–175.
 McClleland Theory of Needs
• McClelland’s theory of needs was developed by David McClelland,

• Need for achievement (nAch) is the drive to excel, to achieve in

relationship to a set of standards.
• Need for power (nPow) is the need to make others behave in a way they
would not have otherwise.
• Need for affiliation (nAff) is the desire for friendly and close interpersonal
relationships.

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 Cognitive approach
• Motivation is a process that is controlled by
conscious thoughts, beliefs and judgments,
• Theories include:
• Expectancy Theory,
• It argues that the strength of our tendency to act a certain way
depends on the strength of our expectation of a given outcome and
its attractiveness.
Expectancy: judgment of whether applying an effort will result
in positive outcomes,
Instrumentality: perceived connection between the task and the
outcomes,
valence : the placed value on a particular outcome, 10
Non cognitive approach
• Motivation is explained as an interaction between
behaviors and external events without appealing to
internal thoughts or needs,
• Theories include:
• Reinforcement theory,
• Based on the “law of effect”
Behavior that is followed by a pleasurable outcomes will
occur more frequently “reinforcement”
Behavior that is followed by an adverse outcomes will occur
less frequently,
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 Non cognitive approach (2)

• Reinforcement theory can be applied using « behavior modification »

1.Positive reinforcement: increasing the behavior by following it with a
pleasurable consequences,
2.Negative reinforcement: increase the frequency of a behavior by removing
something aversive after the behavior is performed,
3.Extinction: seeks to decrease the frequency of a behavior by removing the
consequence that is reinforcing it,
4.Punishment: seeks to decrease the frequency of a behavior by introducing an
aversive consequences after the behavior,
Motivation by Job Design

• Job design:

The way the elements in a job are organized and can

increase or decrease effort.
• Job characteristics Model:
A model that says that any job can be described in terms
of 5 core job dimensions: skill variety, task identify,
task significance, autonomy, and feedback.
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 Motivation by Job Design
1. Skill variety: The extent to which a job requires a variety of
activities so that it can be well done  the worker will use a
number of different skill and talent to achieve it.
2. Task identity: The degree to which a job requires completion of a
whole and identifiable piece of work.
3. Task significance: The degree to which a job affects the lives or
work of other people.
4. Autonomy: The degree to which a job provides the worker
freedom, independence and discretion in scheduling work and
determining the procedures in executing it.
5. Feedback: The degree to which executing a work activities
generate direct and clear information (constructive and
comprehensive feedback) about your own performance.

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JOB CHARACTERISTICS MODEL

Exhibit 3-1: The Job Characteristics Model

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Motivation by Job Design

• The presence of the five core job dimensions

leads employees to experience three
psychological states:
1.They view their work as meaningful,
2.they feel responsible for the outcomes,
3.and they acquire knowledge of results.
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 Motivation by Job Design
• The more the three psychological states are present  the greater will be
employees' motivation, performance, and satisfaction  the lower their
absenteeism will be.

• Individuals with a high growth needs are more likely to experience the
critical psychological states when their jobs are enriched than are their
counterparts with low growth need.

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How Can a Job be
Redesigned?
 Employees are less motivated when their jobs’ become
routine and repetitive.
There are many ways to redesign a job:
1.Job Rotation: (also called cross-training) the periodic
shifting of an employee from one task to another with
the same requirements and at the same level of the
organization.
Example: Singapore Airlines,
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How Can a Job be Redesigned?
1. Job Enrichment: The vertical expansion of jobs, which increases
the degree to which the worker controls the planning,
execution, and evaluating of the work.

Exhibit 3-2: The Benefits of Job Enrichment

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How Can a Job be
Redesigned?
• The set of guidelines for enriching a job, which is derived from the 5 core job dimensions.

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Exhibit 3-3: Guidelines for Job Enrichment
Alternative Work Arrangement
• Altering work arrangements with flextime, job sharing or
telecommuting is another way to motivate employees.
Source of motivation for:
- Dual earner couples
- Single parents
- Employees caring for a sick or aging relative.

1- Flextime: Flexible work hours

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Alternative Work Arrangement
2- Job sharing: An arrangement that allows two or more people to split a
traditional 40-hour-a-week job.

Advantages Disadvantages
- Allows the organization to draw on
the talent of more than one individual - Finding compatible pairs that agree
in a given job  to get two heads but that program
"paid for one"

- The opportunity to acquire-hire-

skilled workers who might not be
available on a full-time basis

- Increases:
- Motivation
- Flexibility
- Satisfaction

Exhibit 3-4: Advantages and Disadvantages of Job Sharing 22

Alternative Work Arrangement
Telecommuting: Working from home at least two days a week on a computer
that's linked to the employer's office.

Advantages Disadvantages

- No commuting, flexible hours, and freedom to FOR EMPLOYER:

dress as you please.
- Less direct supervision of employees
- Larger labor pool from which to select - Difficulties to coordinate teamwork > reduce
- Higher productivity feedbacks in the organization
- Less turnover
- Reduces office-space costs FOR EMPLOYEE:
- Positive "telecommuters-supervisors" - For employees with high social need > increase
feeling of isolation > vulnerable to the "out of
relationship sight, out of mind" effect
- Increase Flexibility and job satisfaction

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Exhibit 3-5: Advantages and Disadvantages of Telecommuting
The Social and Physical Context of
Work
• Job Characteristics model (JCM) shows that employees are motivated when
their tasks are engaging.
• Employees may not be satisfied with their jobs when they feel isolated.
• Research showed that social aspects and work context are as important
as other job design features.
• Some social aspects that increase motivation and satisfaction are
interdependence, social support, interaction with other people outside the
work,
• Does the employee have adequate tools, equipment, materials, and
supplies? Does the employee have favorable working conditions, helpful
co-workers, supportive work rules and procedures?

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Employee Involvement
 A participative process that uses employees’ inputs to increase
their commitment to their organization’s success.

 Employees should be engaged in decisions that:

 Affect them,
 Increase their autonomy,
 Control over their work lives,

 Employees involvement increases motivation, commitment to the

organization, productivity, satisfaction with their job.

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Employee Involvement
There are two major forms of employees’ involvement

Participative Management:
A process in which subordinates share a significant degree of
decision-making power with their immediate superiors.

 For it to work employees must :

- Be engaged in issues related to their interests,
- Have the competence and knowledge to make useful
contribution,
- Trust and confidence  among all parties

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Employee Involvement

Representative Participation:
A system in which workers participate in organizational decision
making through a small group of representative employees,
• Its goal is to redistribute power inside the organization through
putting labor on a more equal footing with shareholders.
• there are most common forms :
- Works councils: Groups of elected employees who must be
consulted when a decision about employee is made,
- Board Representatives: Employees who sit on the company’s
board of directors and who represent employee’s interests,

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 Using Rewards to Motivate
Employees

• Giving a pay to an employee is so important as it motivates

them.

• There is a pay structure established through a job evaluation

showing that the best pay system is paying what the job is
worth.

• Paying more  get better-qualified work, motivated employees

who will stay with the organization longer.

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 Using Rewards to Motivate
Employees
• A number of organizations are setting a variable pay program
which attributes a portion of an employee’s pay on some
organization’s measure of performance.

Exhibit 3-6:Variable Pay Program

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Using Rewards to Motivate
Employees

• Piece-Rate Pay:
• It’s the most popular way to pay, with a fixed sum for
each unit and task completed.
• The piece-rate pay does not provide a base salary, but
it pays the employee only for what s/he produces.
• Ex: Ballpark workers take 1$ for each peanut they sell,
the harder they work and the more peanuts they sell,
the more they earn.

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Using Rewards to Motivate
Employees
 Merit-Based pay :

 This plan pays for individual performance based on

performance appraisal ratings; the main advantage is that
people thought to be high performers can get bigger raises.
 To motivate and retain the best employees, more
companies are increasing the differential between top and
bottom performers.

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Using Rewards to Motivate
Employees

 Bonuses :

 it is a significant component of total compensation for

many jobs.
 It’s a pay plan that rewards employees for recent
performance rather than historical one.
 People have begun to live as if bonuses were a part of
their expected annual income.
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Using Rewards to Motivate
Employees
 Skill-Based pay : (called competency based or
knowledge based pay)
 Pay is tied to skills, abilities et knowledge that an
individual possesses.
 This plan does not address level of performance but
only whether someone can perform the skill.

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 Using Rewards to Motivate
Employees
 Profit sharing plans :
 Distributes compensation based on established formula
designed around a company’s profitability.
 Profit-sharing plans at the organizational level appear to
have positive impacts on employee aptitudes : they report a
greater feeling of ownership,

 Gainsharing :
 A system of management in which an organization seeks a
higher level of performance through the involvement and
participation of its people.
 Gainsharing differs from profit sharing in tying rewards to
productivity instead of profits.
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