Motivating Employees and Creating Self-Managed Teams

Motivating Employees and Creating Self-Managed Teams

Chapter 10

I. Evolution of Motivation Theory

A. Scientific Management 1. Develop a scientific approach for each element of a job

2. Scientifically selecting and training workers

3. Match individuals to well-suited tasks and responsibilities

B. Hawthorne Studies/Hawthorne effect

attention, caring, observation = productivity

C. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needshumans satisfy needs and are motivated to fulfillhigher-level needs

Physiological needs

Safety needs

Social needs

Esteemneeds

Self-actualization needs

D. Theories of Human Motivation

1. Theory X- people dislike work, people need to be controlled & threatened, people avoid responsibility

2. Theory Y- work is as natural as play, people respond to positive incentives, people enjoy responsibility & like to solve problems

3. Theory Z - employees participate in goal setting, problem solving, decision making, designing and implementing changes. Motivation is increased because workers feel appreciated.

E. Herzberg’s Motivator-Hygiene Theory

Motivating factors:intrinsic job elements that lead to worker satisfaction (e.g. achievement, recognition, advancement, responsibility)

Hygiene factors:extrinsic elements of the work environment that, if not managed well, lead to worker dissatisfaction (e.g. salary, job security, working conditions, company policies)

II. II. Contemporary Motivation Theories

A. Expectancy Theory

1. Employees expect that the amount of effort leads to a certain performance level.

2. Employees expect that their performance level leads to certain outcomes

3. Employees expect the outcome will satisfy their personal needs.

(employees expect something in return for their efforts)

B. Equity Theory - Worker satisfaction is influenced by employees’ perceptions about how fairly they are treated compared with their co-workers. Pay should be proportional to the employee’s contribution to the firm.

1. Upward social comparison: comparing oneself to another who is better off on a particular attribute

frequently results in decreased satisfaction

2. Downward social comparison: comparing oneself to another who is worse off on a particular attribute

frequently results in increased satisfaction

C. Goal-Setting Theory - an individual’s intention to work toward a goal is a primary source of motivation.

Three integral components of goal-setting theory:

-goals must be specific

-goals must be challenging (not too easy/hard)

-must provide feedback on employee progress toward goal

III. Applying Motivation Theory

A. Motivational job design 1. job enlargement ( no. & variety of tasks)

2. job enrichment (more autonomy, responsibility, authority)

3. job rotation (shift from one job to another)

B. Work scheduling options 1. Compressed workweek (4/10) 2. Flextime (start/stop times vary) 3. Job sharing (a job shared by 2 workers) 4. Telecommuting

C. Economic incentives -bonus, merit increases, addt’l vacation,

addt’l benefits, etc.D. Non-economic incentives

1. Verbal praise 2. Recognition 3. Empowerment 4. Given new tasks 5. Asked to work on special projects and/or assignments

IV. Using Teams A. Understanding Group Behavior

1. Group cohesiveness - the degree to which

group members want to stay in the group

and tend to resist outside influences

a. Interpersonal cohesiveness: strong bonds &

liking between people

b. Task cohesiveness: strong commitment to the

group task among members

B. Types of Teams1. Problem-solving

• Employees from same department, area of expertise, and level of hierarchy

• Meet to share information and discuss ways to improve processes and procedures in specific functional areas

2. Cross-functional • Employees of same hierarchical level but different functional areas of the

organization

• Allows people with various areas of expertise to pool resources, develop new ideas, solve problems, coordinate complex projects

3. Virtual team• Employees from different geographic or organizational locations that use a

combination of telecommunications and information technologies to come together

• Work together to accomplish a common goal but rarely meet face-to-face

C. Pros and Cons of TeamsCons:• take longer to reach

solution• group may be dominated by

a few individuals• lack of accountability • inequitable participation• a member taking credit for

someone else’s ideas• personality conflicts may

hinder productivity

Pros:• more information &

knowledge• can generate more

alternatives• often higher-quality

decisions• group participation

increases acceptance of solutions