Organizational Behavior and

Leadership
Motivation at Work

Claudia Toma
[email protected]
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Learning Objectives for today
• Understand the role of motivation in determining employee
performance.

• Classify the basic needs of employees.

• Describe how fairness perceptions are determined and

consequences of these perceptions.

• Understand the importance of rewards and punishments.

• Apply motivation theories to analyze performance problems.

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MOTIVATION & PERFORMANCE

• Motivation is the desire to achieve a goal or a

certain performance level, leading to goal-directed
behavior
• Ability is having the skills and knowledge required to
perform the job
1-4 • Environmental factors include the resources,
information, and support one needs to perform well
What is motivation?

• Motivation is defined
simply as what causes
people to behave as
they do.
• Main job of managers /
leaders

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What is NOT motivation ?

–job satisfaction
–personality trait

–directly observable
–always conscious
–directly controllable
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PepsiCo case
• Would this be the company you would be
interested in working for? Why or why not?
• How do you think PepsiCo motivates its
employees?
• Which employees ' needs do you think
PepsiCo can satisfy?

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How do we motivate people ?

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ERG THEORY

• ERG theory groups Maslow’s basic human needs

into three categories:
– Existence corresponds to Maslow’s
physiological and safety needs
– Relatedness corresponds to social needs
– Growth refers to esteem and self-actualization
• ERG theory does not rank the needs in any order
• “Frustration-regression” hypothesis suggests that
individuals who are frustrated trying to satisfy one
need may regress to another
Two –Factor Theory
(Motivation-hygiene theory of Herzberg)

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Acquired Needs Theory

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ACQUIRED-NEEDS THEORY

• Individuals acquire three types of needs as a result

of their life experiences:
– The need for achievement – want to be
successful
– The need for affiliation – want to be liked and
accepted by others
– The need for power – want to influence others
and control their environment
• Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) assesses the
dominant need
Sum up
What motivates people ?

• FULFILLED NEEDS
– Maslow’s Hierarchy need theory
– ERG theory
– Two-factor theory
– Acquired needs theory
Descriptive theories with few predictive value
Early theories of motivation!
Overlap with other concepts like attitudes, personality
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GROUP EXERCISE: WHAT DO YOU THINK?

1. Many managers assume that if an employee is not

performing well, the reason must be a lack of
motivation. Do you think this reasoning is accurate?
What is the problem with the assumption?
2. Review Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Do you agree
with the particular ranking of employee needs? How
can an organization satisfy employee needs included
in Maslow’s hierarchy?
3. Do you agree with the distinction between hygiene
factors and motivators? Are there any hygiene factors
that you would consider to be motivators?
4. Which motivation theory have you found to be most
useful in explaining why people behave in a certain
way? Why?
How do we motivate people ?

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Self-determination theory
• Proposed by Deci & Ryan
• Proposes that people prefer to feel they have
control over their actions.

People are driven by need for

autonomy
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How do we motivate people ?

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Cognitive evaluation hypothesis

• (Deci, 1975) makes the distinction extrinsic vs.

intrinsic motivation

• Extrinsic reward will reduce intrinsic interest in the

task.
Ex: People paid for work feel less like they want to
do it and more like they have to it.

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Predictions regarding
intrinsic and extrinsic rewards

• Extrinsic rewards used as payoffs for superior

performance -> employees feel they are doing a good
job.
• Eliminating extrinsic rewards can also shift an
individual’s perception of why she works on a task from
an external to an internal explanation.
• Extrinsic rewards (e.g., verbal praise, feedback on
competence) can improve intrinsic motivation under
specific circumstances.

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How do we motivate people ?

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Goal-Setting theory

• Proposed by Edwin Locke.

• Goals tell an employee what needs to be done and
how much effort is needed.
• Evidence strongly suggests
– that specific goals increase performance,
– that difficult goals, when accepted, result in higher
performance than do easy goals;
– that feedback leads to higher performance
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Goal setting theory and
management by objectives (MBO)

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How do we motivate people ?

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Self-Efficacy theory

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How do we motivate people ?

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Reinforcement Theory

• Behaviorism (Watson & Skinner)

• Operant conditioning

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Interaction between behavior and consequences

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TIMING IS EVERYTHING: UTILIZING
REINFORCEMENT SCHEDULES

Wise parents stock up on stickers and other rewards to utilize this

A continuous schedule schedule when potty training their children.
reinforces all instances of Some companies ring a bell to provide positive feedback or
positive behavior give employees sales commission every time a sale is
made.
Fixed ratio schedules involve Some hair salons hoping to keep regular customers often
providing rewards every nth give away a free haircut after every 10th haircut.
time the right behavior is Some companies give an employee a bonus for every 10
demonstrated sales made.
Estee Lauder was the first company to provide a “gift with
Fixed interval schedules purchase” certain times of the year to increase cosmetics
involve providing a reward sales.
after a specified period of
time Many employers provide an end-of-the-year bonus to align
with the holiday season.
Casino slot machines pay out on a variable ratio schedule to
Variable ratio involves a provide an element of chance to their patrons.
random pattern Firms that provide a sales bonus every time the manager
is in a good mood use this schedule at their own risk.
OB TOOLBOX: BE EFFECTIVE IN
YOUR USE OF DISCIPLINE

Consider whether
Be sure that the
punishment is the
punishment fits the
most effective way
crime
to modify behavior

Be consistent in Document the

your treatment of behavior in
employees question

Be timely with
discipline
Disney case
• Disney firmly believes in rewarding and
recognizing its employees. If you were an
employee at Disney, what types of
rewards/recognition would motivate you the
most?
• If you were a manager at Disney, what else might
you do to “create happiness” for your
employees?
• Is there a relationship between employee
motivation and customer experience? Why or
why not?

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How do we motivate people ?

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Equity Theory
Proposed by J. Stacy Adams
Employees make comparisons of their job inputs and
outcomes relative to those of others

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Equity Theory

• Fairness is when the input-to-outcome ratio is similar to the input-

to-outcome ratio of a comparison person

• Inputs are the contributions people feel they are making to the
environment
• Outcomes are the perceived rewards
• A referent may be another person or a category of people

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REACTION TO UNFAIRNESS

Reactions to Inequity Example

Distort perceptions Changing one’s thinking to believe that the referent
actually is more skilled than previously thought.

Increase referent’s Encouraging the referent to work harder.

inputs
Reduce own input Deliberately putting forth less effort at work.
Reducing the quality of one’s work.
Increase own Negotiating a raise for oneself or using unethical
outcomes ways of increasing rewards such as stealing from
the company.
Change referent Comparing oneself to someone who is worse off.

Leave the situation Quitting one’s job.

Seek legal action Suing the company or filing a complaint if the
unfairness in question is under legal protection.
FAIRNESS BEYOND EQUITY: PROCEDURAL
AND INTERACTIONAL JUSTICE

• Distributive justice refers to the

degree to which the outcomes
received from the organization are
perceived to be fair
• Procedural justice refers to the
degree to which fair decision-making
procedures are used to arrive at a
decision
• Interactional justice refers to the
degree to which people are treated
with respect, kindness, and dignity in
interpersonal interactions
OB TOOLBOX: BE A FAIR PERSON!

When distributing rewards, make sure you pay attention

to different contribution levels of employees

Sometimes you may have to disregard people’s

contributions to distribute certain rewards

Pay attention to how you make decisions

Pay attention to how you talk to people

Remember that justice is in the eye of the beholder

People do not care only about their own justice level

How do we motivate people ?

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Expectancy Theory (Victor Vroom)

Expectancy theory argues that motivation is determined by

a rational calculation in which individuals evaluate their situation.

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Expectancy Theory (Victor Vroom)

• Tendency to act in a certain way depends on:

– Expectation that the act will be followed by a given
outcome
– Attractiveness of that outcome

• An employee will be motivated to exert a high level

of effort when he/she believes that:
– Effort will lead to a good performance appraisal.
– A good appraisal will lead to rewards.
– The rewards will satisfy his/her personal goals.

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INFLUENCING EXPECTANCY,
INSTRUMENTALITY, AND VALENCE

Expectancy Instrumentality Valence

• Make sure • Reward employee • Find rewards that
employees have performance are desirable to
proper skills, • Inform people in employees
abilities, and advance about the • Make sure that
knowledge rewards rewards are
• Ensure that the • Try to eliminate viewed as fair
environment non-performance • Give employees
facilitates influence over choice over
performance rewards rewards
• Encourage
employees so they
believe their effort
makes a difference
Sum up
What motivates people?

– Need of control, autonomy

• Self-Determination Theory
– Clarity of goals
• Goal-Setting Theory
– Efficacy Beliefs
• Self-Efficacy Theory
– Rewards & punishments
• Reinforcement Theory (rewards & punishments)
– Perception of equity
• Equity Theory
– Expectations that meet reality
• Expectancy Theory
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Summary and Implications for Managers

• Managers should be sensitive to individual

differences, induce self-efficacy beliefs
• Spend the time necessary to understand what’s
important to each employee.
• Allow employees to participate in decisions that
affect them (autonomy).
• Link rewards to performance.
• Check the system for equity.

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