MANAGER’S HOT SEAT: MOTIVATION—CLEARING MOTIVATION FOR TAKEOFF

In order to influence employee behavior in the workplace, organizations often set goals to incentive certain actions.
The intention of these goals is to motivate employees to behave in a way that promotes the organization’s strategy.
However, goals sometimes fail to motivate – and can even demotivate—individuals in the workplace if they are not
properly set. This activity is important because managers must know how to not only develop well thought-out goals,
but also to properly execute on the plan in order to successfully motivate their workforce. The goal of this activity is to
provide you with problem-solving skills when it comes to issues related to motivation.
SkyBlue, a popular airline, is introducing a new incentive plan that rewards employees for hitting certain marks on
mishandled baggage and on-time departures. An airline supervisor is introducing this incentive plan to his team, and is
being met with resistance and skepticism. How does the manager in the video handle the rollout of the incentive plan?
How would you?

(1) Sophia mentions that $250 is not even 1 percent of her salary and she does not seem motivated by the amount of
the bonus. Based on expectancy theory, Sophia’s lack of motivation can be attributed to which of the following?
Valence
Explanation: Sophia points out that the $250 incentive represents less than 1% of her annual compensation, and she
doesn't seem to be inspired by it. Sophia's lack of motivation can be linked to valence in accordance with expectation
theory.
Valence is the weight that a person gives to the anticipated result. The person must favor achieving the outcome to not
achieving it for the valence to be favorable. People who are primarily motivated by money, for instance, might not
value proposals of more time off.

(2) The goal seems to be a non-starter for the team as they have never mishandled fewer than 200 bags, let alone
hitting the goal of 100 bags. Based on expectancy theory, this is a(n) ______ problem.
- expectancy
- valence
- outcome
- instrumentality
- equity

Expectation theory consists of three major divisions. they are

- expectancy
- instrumentality
- valence
The answer of the question is instrumentality . instrumentality in expectancy theory is based on the belief that he/she
can achieve a particular goal if he work hand to accomplish it. if the person had done enough to get success, he will
get it according to the instrumentality in expectation theory.

(3) The team raises concerns about the volume of bags they have compared to smaller regional airports. Specifically,
Sophia mentions that they have to work just as hard, if not harder, than crews at smaller airports, but are held to the
same margin of error. Which of the following best portrays what Sophia is feeling?
- underreward inequity
- overreward inequity
- equity
- distribute justice
- instrumentality
She feels that her output to input ratio is worse than the same ratio of others. It's a feeling of negativity.

(4) The employees are motivated by the idea of making more money, though they do not feel that it is equitable that
their performance will be judged and rewarded in the same manner as smaller airports. In terms of money as a
motivator, which of the following would apply?
- The goals are specific.
- Employees participated in the development of the plan.
- Appropriate resources have been provided for goal achievement.
- Performance feedback will be provided.
- The goals are appropriately tied to employee ability.
The incentive plan focuses on communicating effectively with the employees so that they can contribute towards
achieving goals.
(5) Lucas is concerned that even if he puts forth effort and performs as expected, there are other individuals (i.e. flight
crew, gate agents, etc.) who can still cause the on-time performance goal not to be met. Based on expectancy theory,
which of the following is most closely related to Lucas’s concern?
- instrumentality
- valence
- positive inequity
- expectancy
- negative inequity
Instrumentality in expectancy theory is based on the belief that he/she can achieve a particular goal if he work hand
to accomplish it. if the person had done enough to get success, he will get it according to the instrumentality in
expectation theory.

(6) In equity theory, inputs usually refer to

- perks.
- status symbols.
- fringe benefits.
- pay.
- experience.
Experience comes under perceived input in equity theory. Other perceived inputs also includes education, loyalty,
commitment etc.

(7) Joe has the same qualifications (education and experience) as Chelsea, and they work for the same company. Joe
finds out that Chelsea is earning a higher salary than him, even though they both do the same job. Based on equity
theory, what is Joe most likely to experience?
- negative inequity (underreward)
- positive justice
- equity
- negative justice

Under this situation the employee himself compares with other people in terms of rewards, recognition or
remuneration they receive.

(8) If an employee is feeling negative inequity (underrewarded) due to less pay than a comparable other, they are most
likely to do all of the following except:
- increase their efforts.
- ask their boss for a raise.
- compare themselves with someone else.
- leave the company.
- reduce their efforts.
These employees may also tend to ask for more pay or authority, become more competitive, leaving the firm etc.

(9) In equity theory, outcomes usually refer to

- training.
- abilities.
- performance.
- skills.
- intrinsic rewards.
Pay comes under perceived outputs of equity theory. Other perceived outputs includes salary, remuneration,
recognition, bonus, rewards, job security etc.

(10) Which of the following could be a consequence of an employee feeling negative inequity?
- quitting
- being fired
- higher performance
- role conflict
- promotion