MOTIVATION

for Workshop Facilitation

What is motivation?

Motivation energises goal-directed behaviour.

Why should I be bothered to do this?

How can I get my colleague to help me?

How can a manager improve employees’ productivity?

How can a facilitator focus a group on project goals?

Work Motivation

• Lots of credible theories

• A tangle of issues

• Vested interests

• Circular arguments

+

long what-if chains

LOTS OF THEORIES

Hierarchy of Needs (Maslow 1954)

Equity Theory (Adams 1965)

Expectancy Theory (Vroom 1968)

Two-factor Theory (Herzberg 1968)

We usually satisfy lower level needs first.

Once lower levels are satisfied, we work for next level up

Sometimes we forget about lower needs, or aspire to higher needs

HIEARACHY OF NEEDS

EQUITY THEORY

People experience distress:

if they are under-rewarded > anger

AND

if they are over-rewarded > guilt

If overpaid on hourly-rate, they produce more widgets

If overpaid on piece-rate, they produce better widgets

LOTS OF THEORIES

Expectancy Theory (Vroom)Motivation = expectancy (effort performance outcome)

times valence (strength of preference for outcome)

times instrumentality (1st level outcome 2nd level outcome)

Advises:• Tie rewards to performance• Ensure rewards are deserved and wanted• Provide training to ensure that effort productivity

TWO FACTOR THEORY

Two very different types of effect

1. Hygiene factors – if missing will de-motivatestatus, job security, salary

2. Motivating factors – give positive satisfactionchallenging work, recognition, responsibility

Job Diagnostic Survey

Hackman + Oldham (1976) did first significant empirical workJob Characteristics Model:• contains 21 variables• including most ideas from previous theoriesJob Diagnostic Survey measures these 21 variables• Depends on people answering (mederately) truthfully• All the measures are different, but not independent• The results are replicable• They were calibrated over 6,000 people, in a wide range

of jobs• They demonstrated moderate predictive validity

Motivating IT Staff

1985 Couger + Zawaki surveyed software developers• Most motivation problems were in software maintenance

1996 Warden + Nicholson’s surveyed UK IT staff• Problems were more widespread• Perhaps due to a less buoyant job market

Motivation ImprovementMOTIVATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMDiagnosis• Explain improvement process and agree confidentiality• Administer JDS and analyse results• Feed back data and listen to reactions• Report on interpretations and recommend actions

Implementation:• Some things will have changed as a result of the diagnostic process• To sustain personal / cultural change, monitor progress occasionally• Visionary / sponsor promotes things that need management support• Cost-benefit analysis for things that cost money - include intangiblesVerification• Longitudinal review includes re-measuring with a repeat JDS• Problem: a second JDS isn’t an identical process

JOB CHARACTERISTICS MODEL

• Demographic Variables• Source of information > reasons for completing survey• Job title > function / seniority• Job function: software/operations/customers/hardware/network/database• Discipline: development/service/maintenance/qa/testing• Seniority: trainee/qualified/supervisor/manager/senior manager• Location: country, postcode/zip code• Industry sector: manufacturing/service/retail/public/energy/transport/it• Gender: m/f• Age: in years• Education: school, college, first degree, higher degree• Company: organisation culture

Core Job Dimensions• Skill variety - different activities• requiring different skills• Task identity - a whole identifiable piece of work• with visible outcomes• Task significance - impact on the lives and work of others• Autonomy - freedom, independence and discretion • in scheduling own work and designing own procedures• Feedback - two measures:• job feedback – in the process if carrying out work, person gets• information about performance• people feedback - supervisors, co-workers and others• give information about performance • • Aggregate Measures• Person’s GNS (Growth Needs Strength)• Person’s SNS (Social Needs Strength)• Job’s MPS (Motivating Potential Score) = S(core job dimensions)•

Employee Needs• Strength of desire to obtain growth satisfaction from work• would-like needs - absolute• job - choice needs - relative• social needs - not in published JDS•

Psychological States• Experienced meaningfulness:• How worthwhile/important is the product/service in workers’ view?• Experienced responsibility:• Do workers believe they are personally responsible for outcomes?• Knowledge of results:• Can workers regularly discover whether outcomes are satisfactory?

Work Outcomes• Productivity• e.g. Lines of code, per person, per day• Quality• e.g. Number of revisions after delivery, per 10,000 lines of code• Absenteeism• e.g. Average number of days off, per person, per year• Accidents• e.g. Number of accident reports / claims for industrial injury, per ?• Staff turnover• Percentage of staff leaving this employer / section, per year• Personal Outcomes• General satisfaction• Growth satisfaction > ? Training• Internal motivation• Pay satisfaction• Job security• Social satisfaction• Dealings with others > ? Significant others, ? Quantity / quality• Supervisory satisfaction > no anonymity for team leader•

PERCENTAGE WITH SEVERE PROBLEMS•  

DevelopersTestersMaintainersGeneral satisfaction44%46%37%Growth satisfaction36%30%31%Internal motivation10%20%11%Pay satisfaction51%63%54%Job security22%63%62%Social satisfaction24%40%21%Dealing with others14%10%7%Supervisory satisfact’n45%43%38%PERCENTAGE WITH SEVERE PROBLEMS

• DevelopersTestersInfrastructureSkill variety21%46%23%Task identity54%36%39%Task significance45%16%26%Autonomy43%40%26%Job feedback40%50%53%People feedback66%66%64%MPS62%63%58%Would-like needs13%23%13%Job-choice needs67%63%61%GNS28%33%29%Meaningfulness27%23%21%Exp. Responsibility16%26%12%Knowledge of results31%30%34%Job - Person Match

• MPS •

GNS •

Statistical Significance• With only a few data points we can ask:• Are these two different clusters?• Is this an outlier?• If we have enough data points we can ask:• Does high GNS indicate low MPS• Which aspect of GNS determines MPS?• Does GNS remain constant over time?•

Example 1: What does this show?• MPS•

GNS•

Example 1: This shows that:• All staff are badly matched.• MPS Reallocating tasks will not help. •

GNS•

• MPS•

GNS• mps• Two people are not well matched. • Change task allocation.•

gns•

• mps•

gns• mps tasks vary widely, • but staff are all similar•

gns•

mps•

gns•

• mps Two people are not well matched. • Change task allocation.•

gns•

mps•

gns•

mps•

gns•

mps Ignoring this outlier• changes everything.•

gns•

mps•

gns•

mps Is this an outlier?•

gns•

mps•

gns•

mps All staff are badly matched. • They are looking• for more demanding tasks.•

gns•

mps•

gns•

mps All staff are near the ideal line.• No problems.•

gns•

mps•

needs low,• tasks high needs• = match needs high,• PROBLEMS tasks task low=• = OK PROBLEMS • gns•

JDS ASSUMES• Ones person’s GNS remains fairly constant.• • (Irrespective of where they are on the learning curve.)• Perceived MPS is not affected by GNS.• (No matter how bored or over-stretched they feel.)• It is OK if problems cancel each other.• (Matches a high social-needs person to a technically demanding job.)•

ADVANTAGES OF JDS• Hawthorn effect:• People perform better if someone pays attention to their QoWL.• Co-operative vocabulary:• For example: • People who were complaining about supervision completed JDS.• After JDS they switched to asking for feedback.• Simplifies complex emotive real-world interactions.• Consultancy tool:• A framework for consultant’s thinking• A vocabulary for constructive criticism• Enhances consultant’s credibility.•

Surveys• • Quality managers 58• Software maintainers 74+33• Software developers 69+42• Software testers 30• Infrastructure staff 208• Women in management 24