Work Motivation & Job

Design
LECTURE 6 (CHAP. 7)

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 Overview
Introduction & history
Need theories
Maslow, need for achievement, other need theories
Problems with these theories
Herzbergs theory & criticism
Job Design
Problem of repetitive jobs & possible solutions
Criticism of Hackman & Oldham theory
Wrap up

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 Introduction
Popular concept in management
History
Instincts
Hedonism
Needs as modern explanation
Physiological (e.g. thirst, hunger, sex)
Psychological (e.g. recognition, social)
Problem of what & how many
Note: physiological needs are integrated into the
social milieu of the culture (e.g. drinking tea as a guest)

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 Attribute motive to a
Content Theories of Motivation persons actions
Content theories are categorical Ex. Person A exercises, we
Process theories emphasize the actions & will be covered later say they want to lose
weight
Motivation as an inference (conclusion based on evidence/reasoning)
Person does something & we attribute a motive
- e.g. person does well in exam we say she was motivated
Motivation as need satisfaction
Need = removal of deficiencies between self & a desired self
- e.g. I want a university degree
Note that the attributions are to the individual as opposed to
the social setting of the person What about
external
- e.g. most of my friends go to university, so I am doing it too attributions?

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Rewards
Extrinsic
outside the person, e.g. pay
Intrinsic
From within the person, e.g. achievement of goal
Social
From other people, e.g. confirmation of identity
Note that categories overlap
e.g. being a good team member, using pay as self worth, how about
buying a fancy car?

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 Maslows need hierarchy
Lower needs must be satisfied before higher needs
Order of needs
Physiological (breathing, sleep etc)
Safety (e.g. shelter)
Social (relationships, family)
Ego & esteem (e.g. recognition,)(respect)
Self actualization (e.g. reaching your potential)

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 Maslow cont.
Problems with Maslows theory Has family and friends but
still feels lonely. Or the
How do you know a need is satisfied? quality of the relationships
vs number of relationships
e.g. is social need satisfied, if person has family & friends?
Person without shelter but
Movement between categories has a strong network of
family and friends. So social
e.g. is it possible to satisfy ego needs before social? need satisfied over shelter?
Needs vs. actual behaviour
e.g. someone buys an expensive house, which need is being Does this mean that we dont act to
maximize our needs? Say someone buys
satisfied? an expensive house even if no friends.
Therefore prioritizing ego over social?
ERG Theory
Existence needs, Relatedness needs, Growth needs
Physiological and Interpersonal Personal
Safety relationships Development
(social) /Ego (Self
Actualization)
When needs in a higher category are not met then individuals redouble the efforts invested
in a lower category.
Ex. If self-actualization not met, individuals invest more effort in the relatedness
(relationships) category in hopes of compensating for the higher need

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 Thematic Appreciation Test

Given several pictures, subject told to

Need for achievement theory interpret what is going on, what the
person in the pic is feeling etc.

Method of measurement Believe the results give a view of the

subjects subconscious, how they see the
Projective technique (Thematic Apperception world etc
Test)
e.g. unclear picture of someone with a briefcase

Characteristics of person with a high

need for achievement.
Responsibility
Moderate risk taker
Feedback

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 Other needs
Need for affiliation
e.g. socialize with others & get along
Need for power
e.g. seek higher positions

Problems with the need theories

Broad categories, crude attribution
e.g. socializing in a company party, is the person satisfying the need for
affiliation? Or need for power?
Can be broken down no?
Number of needs Need for jogging Need for self
actualization by clearing mind,
e.g. if someone is a jogger, need for jogging? focusing on goals etc.

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 Introduction Motivators, if present they
motivate employees
Two independent factors Responsibility at work
Meaningful, fulfilling work
Satisfiers (motivators) Achievement & recognition

Related to the content of the job Hygiene factors, if unpresent

e.g. the feeling of contributing to a project demotivate employees. Baseline
that employers must have
Dissatisfiers (hygiene) Pay
Working conditions
Related to the context of the job Appropriate supervision
e.g. salary level and policies

Methodology for data collection So Herzberg saying an

increase in the hygiene factor
Critical incident (e.g. last time that something good/bad beyond the minimum will not
happened at work) increase employee
motivation significantly?
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 Not sure I
Problems with Herzbergs theory understand

Independence of the two factors is questionable

e.g. working with a person you like
Attribution bias as an explanation of the results
The results are artifact of methodology
e.g. good results are attributed to self, bad to the environment
Methodology only samples the peaks
e.g. events that were really positive or negative were relatively
infrequent
May not be very representative of normal work days

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 Job design
How jobs became repetitive.
Requirements of industrialization
Minimum dependence on workers
Classic problem of fragmented jobs & solutions
Yes, potential recognition from two diff
Job rotation (change in scope) teams/supervisors
e.g. switch from task A to task B, does it make a difference?
Job enlargement (change in scope) Yes, responsibility increased
e.g. instead of just task A, do A & B, does it make a difference?
Job enrichment (change in scope & depth)
e.g. do tasks A & B, and decide when to order parts. Does this
make a difference? Yes, responsibility
increased

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 Task as more whole
and therefore has Task
Hackman & Oldham theory of Job Design bigger impact contributes
Core job characteristics & psychological states to something
larger
Meaningfulness = job characteristic (skill variety + task identity + task significance)
Perceived responsibility = job characteristic of autonomy
Knowledge of results = feedback (like production figures, how well they are performing)
Studies in Sweden
Reorganization of auto manufacturing
Formation of groups responsible to assemble larger portions
Results: more satisfied workers, better quality, no change in quantity
Criticism of Hackman & Oldham theory
Concepts are too broad
e.g. meaningfulness, how much skill variety or task significance?
Ignoring the social forces
Work group (e.g. Nortel semi finished goods group)

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 Wrap Up
Need theories are inadequate explanation of human behaviour in
terms of broad static categories.
Maslows need hierarchy
Need for achievement, etc.
Herzbergs Two Factor Theory & its criticisms.
Job Design, problem of repetitive tasks
Hackman & Oldham theory & criticism

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