Topic 9

Motivating Others

Motivation “Polls estimate that if companies could get 3.7 percent more work out of each employee, the equivalent of 18 more minutes of work for each eight-hour shift, the gross domestic product in the U.S. would swell by $355 billion, twice the total GDP of Greece.”

~The Gallup Organization

Motivation is all about getting people to do things, and motivating others is a fundamental leadership skill.

People believe they could give as much as 15 percent or 20 percent more effort at work than they now do with no one, including their own bosses, recognizing any difference.

The top 15 percent of workers in any particular job produced from 20 to 50 percent more output than the average worker.

Creating highly motivated and satisfied followers depends, most of all on understanding others.

Leader Motivation

Can leaders motivate or does motivation come from within? Leaders can do certain things “to move” followers

- - to facilitate work behavior. Word motivation comes from Latin term “movere”

which means to move.

Motivation

All definitions of motivation appear to have

3 commonalities

(1) what energizes human behavior

(2) what directs or channels such behavior

(3) how this behavior is sustained or maintained

Motivation

Motivation is the direction, intensity, and persistence of behavior.

Performance refers to the evaluation of the adequacy of behavior relative to some criteria such as goals.

Job satisfaction is one’s attitudes or feelings toward work.

Satisfaction

Results in increased commitment to the organization which may or may not result in increased performance.

Increased commitment normally results in lower absenteeism, turnover, etc.

Motivation and Job Satisfaction

Motivation and job satisfaction are closely linked, but neither necessarily predicts performance because of the influence of other factors such as ksa’s and values.

Motivation

Largely determined by the value of rewards and their contingency on performance

An increase in motivation results in increased effort which (hopefully) in turn increases performance.

Satisfaction & Performance

NO relationship between satisfaction and performance (for people).

A contented cow may give more milk, but a happier worker is not necessarily a more productive worker.

Review of Satisfaction Studies

Over many studies, the correlation between satisfaction and performance was found to be .04

On a scale of -1.0 to +1.0, .04 is essentially zero

McGregor’s Theory X and Y( regarding leader attitudes--- applicability to motivation ) McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y

Theory X – assumes that workers have little ambition, dislike work, want to avoid responsibility, and need to be closely controlled Assumed that lower-order need dominated

Theory Y – assumes that workers can exercise self-direction, accept and actually seek out responsibility, and consider work to be a natural activity Assumed that higher-order needs dominated

No evidence that either set of assumptions is valid No evidence that managing on the basis of Theory Y

makes employees more motivated

Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory

Components of the two-factor theory: Motivators – satisfaction at work Hygiene factors – dissatisfaction at work

The key to increasing followers’ effort levels according to the two-factor theory is to adequately satisfy the hygiene factors while maximizing the motivators for a particular job.

Herzberg

Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory Intrinsic characteristics consistently related to job

satisfaction Motivator factors energize employees

Extrinsic characteristics consistently related to job dissatisfaction Hygiene factors don’t motivate employees

Proposed dual continua for satisfaction and dissatisfaction

Herzberg

Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory

Theory enjoyed wide popularity Influenced job design

Theory was roundly criticized Subjects used in Herzberg’s research were not

representative of the workforce.

Motivation and Needs Three-Needs Theory

There are three major acquired needs that are major motives in work.

Need for achievement (nAch) The drive to excel and succeed

Need for power (nPow) The need to influence the behavior of others

Need of affiliation (nAff) The desire for interpersonal relationships

Motivation

Individual Differences in Motivation - - Focus not on a universal set of needs but rather on unique differences among people in the strength of certain motives.

Achievement Orientation - - Individuals with a strong motive to achieve success prefer tasks of moderate difficulty, like to get feedback, and are satisfied by accomplishment.

Contemporary Theories of Motivation (cont.)

Three-Needs Theory (cont.) Need for power (nPow)

Need to make others behave in a way that they would not have behaved otherwise

Need for affiliation (nAff) Desire for friendly and close interpersonal

relationships Best leaders tend to be high in the need for power

and low in the need for affiliation (agree or disagree???).

Vroom’s Expectancy Theory

Expectancy theory maintains that leadership practitioners will be able to motivate followers if they understand the process followers use to determine whether certain behaviors will lead to valued rewards.

Vroom’s Expectancy Theory

People will be motivated to do a task if three conditions are met: They perform the task adequately--- if they

put forth enough effort (effort-to-performance expectancy).

They will be rewarded if they do it (performance-to-outcome expectancy).

They value the reward (valence).

Motivation and Goal Setting(Locke and Latham)

Goals are the most powerful determinants of task behavior.

Consistent aspects of goal setting: Goals that were both specific and difficult

resulted in consistently higher effort and performance when contrasted to “do your best” goals.

Goal commitment is critical. Followers exerted the greatest effort when

goals were accompanied by feedback.

Goal Setting

A leader’s implicit and explicit expectations about goal accomplishment can affect the performance of followers and teams.

Adam’s Equity TheoryFollowers are said to be most motivated when they

believe that what they put into an activity or a job and what they get out of it are roughly equivalent to what others put into and get out of it.

Followers presumably reach decisions about equitable relationships by assigning values to the four elements shown below:

Personal outcomes Reference group outcomes =

Personal inputs Reference group inputs

Adams’ Equity Theory

Based on two premises:

We compare ourselves to others

If we don’t like the results of the comparison, we take action

Adam’s Equity Theory

Self’s Outcomes Other’s Outcomes

Self’s Inputs Other’s Inputs

Motivation and Perception Equity Theory

Proposes that employees perceive what they get from a job situation (outcomes) in relation to what they put in (inputs) and then compare their inputs-outcomes ratio with the inputs-outcomes ratios of relevant others. If the ratios are perceived as equal then a state of equity

(fairness) exists. If the ratios are perceived as unequal, inequity exists and

the person feels under- or over-rewarded. When inequities occur, employees will attempt to do

something to rebalance the ratios (seek justice).

Motivation and Perception (cont’d)

Equity Theory (cont’d) Employee responses to perceived inequities:

Distort own or others’ ratios. Induce others to change their own inputs or outcomes. Change own inputs (increase or decrease efforts) or

outcomes (seek greater rewards). Choose a different comparison (referent) other (person,

systems, or self). Quit their job.

Employees are concerned with both the absolute and relative nature of organizational rewards.

Job Satisfaction

Affectivity- Some people have a predisposition for negative affectivity (unhappy, pessimistic view of events) or positive affectivity (upbeat, optimistic perspective); leaders may have little influence on the satisfaction of people at either extreme.

Motivation—Summary Comments

Some motivational theories are particularly useful in certain situations but are not as applicable in others.

Leaders who are knowledgeable about different motivational theories are more likely to choose the right theory for a particular follower and situation, and often have higher-performance and more satisfied employees as a result.

Summary

Most performance problems can be attributed to unclear expectations, skill deficits, resource/ equipment shortages, or a

LACK OF MOTIVATION

Summary

Leaders can use various motivational theories (or pick and choose parts of theories) to understand and improve followers’ satisfaction or to recognize situations beyond their control.

Verbal Shorthand

“Motivate”

We don’t motivate anyone

We help create the conditions by which they motivate themselves