EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION
Theory, there is a positive
Learning Objectives
 Know the types of people who tend
to be more motivated than others.
 Learn how to motivate people
through goal setting.
 Understand the importance of
providing feedback.
 Be able to use operant conditioning
principles to motivate employees.
 Understand the importance of
treating employees fairly.
 Know the types of individual and
organizational incentives that best
motivate employees.
Motivation
 Industrial psychologists generally
define work motivation as the
internal force that drives a worker to
action as well as the external factors
that encourage that action (Locke &
Latham, 2002).
Is an Employee Predisposed to Being
Motivated?
 Three Individual different traits that
are most related to work motivation:
self-esteem, an intrinsic motivation
tendency, and need for achievement.
Self-esteem
o The extent to which a person
views himself as valuable and
worthy.
o In Korman’s Consistency
correlation between self-
esteem and performance.
That is employees high in
self-esteem are motivated and
will perform better than
employees low in self-
esteem.
o Three types of self-esteem:
1. Chronic self-esteem-
person’s overall feeling about
himself.
2. Situational self-esteem
(a.k.a self-efficacy)- person’s
feeling about himself in a
particular situation.
3. Socially influenced self-
esteem-how a person feels
about himself based on the
expectations of others.
o Based on the consistency
theory, we should be able to
improve performance by
increasing an employee’s
self-esteem. Organizations
can theoretically do this in
three ways: self-esteem
workshops, experience with
success, and supervisor
behavior.
Intrinsic Motivation
o Intrinsic motivation is
defined as the doing of an
activity for its inherent
satisfaction rather than for
some separable consequence
(Ryan and Deci, 2000).
 o When people are intrinsically
motivated, they don’t need
external rewards such as pay
or praise (extrinsic).
Needs for Achievement and Power
o A theory developed by
McClelland (1961) suggests
that employees differ in the
extent to which they are
motivated by the need for
achievement, affiliation, and
power.
 Need for
achievement-
motivated by jobs that
are challenging.
 Need for affiliation-
motivated by jobs in
which they can work
with and help other
people.
 Need for power-
motivated by a desire
to influence others
rather than simple be
successful.
Have the Employee’s Values and
Expectations Been Met?
 People’s work motivation and job
satisfaction are determined by the
discrepancy between the wants,
values, and expectations and what
the job provides.
Job Expectations
o A discrepancy between what
an employee expected a job
to be like and the reality of
the job can affect motivation
and satisfaction.
o Conducting RJP (realistic job
preview) is important to
lessen the discrepancy
between the expectations of
the applicant and the reality
of the job.
Job Characteristics
o According to job
characteristics theory,
employees desire jobs that
are meaningful, provide them
with the opportunity to be
personally responsible for the
outcome of their work
(autonomy), and provide
them with feedback of the
results of their efforts
(Hackman & Oldham, 1976).
o Jobs will have motivation
potential if they allow
employees to use a variety of
skills (skill variety) and to
connect their efforts to an
outcome (task identification)
which has meaning, is useful,
or is appreciated by
coworkers as well as by
others in society (task
significance).
Needs, Values, and Wants
o A discrepancy between an
employee’s needs, values,
and wants, and what a job
offers can also lead to low
levels of motivation and
satisfaction (Morris &
Campion, 2003).
o Maslow’s hierarchy of needs,
ERG theory, and two-factor
theory are the three theories
that gives focus on the needs
 and values of an
individual/employees.
Do Employees Have Achievable Goals?
 Goal Setting- each employee is given
a goal such as increasing attendance,
selling more products, or reducing
the number of grammar errors in
reports.
 For goal setting to be most
successful, the goals themselves
should possess certain qualities
represented by the acronym SMART:
specific, measurable, attainable,
relevant, and time-bound (Rubin,
2002)
SPECIFIC-the more specific the
goal, the greater the productivity.
Are Employees Rewarded for Achieving
Goals?
MEASURABLE-properly set goals
are measurable.
ATTAINABLE-Properly set goals
are high but attainable (Locke &
Latham, 1990).
RELEVANT-properly set goals are
also relevant.
TIME-BOUND-goals work best
when there is a time frame for their
completion.
 Employee participation- if the
employee has a participation in goal
setting there may be a high increase
in commitment to reaching the goal.
Are Employees Receiving Feedback on
Their Goal Progress?
 To increase the effectiveness of goal
setting, feedback should be provided
to employees on their progress in
reaching their goals (Locke &
Latham, 2002; Stajkovic & Luthans,
2003).
 Providing feedback to the employees
can include telling them how they
are doing, placing a chart on the wall
or using nonverbal gestures such as
smiles, glares, and pats on the back.
 Feedback are more effective when it
is positive and informational rather
than controlling (Zhou, 1998)
 Self-regulation Theory- employees
monitor their own progress toward
attaining goals and then make the
necessary adjustments.
 It is important that the employees are
fairly rewarded in achieving their
goal. Some organizations offer
incentives and attendance bonuses to
reward their employees.
 Operant Conditioning is the basis for
these incentives, which state that
employees will engage in behaviors
for which they are rewarded and
avoid behaviors for which they are
punished.
 Type of incentives:
1. Individual incentives
o Pay for performance.
o Merit
2. Organizational incentives
o Profit sharing
o Gainsharing
o Stock options
References
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