CHAPTER 13

MOTIVATION
IN
MULTINATIONAL
COMPANIES
 INTRODUCTION
• Multinational managers need to
motivate employees with diverse
backgrounds
• Need to understand
• why do people work?
• what do people value in work?
• functions and work centrality
 WHY DO PEOPLE WORK?

• The major functions of work

• providing needed income
• secure job
• contact with other people
• feeling of accomplishment
• Emphasis differs by country
 Excerpts from Exhibit 13.1
(next) shows the major
functions of work for selected
countries
 Lithuania

Russia

S Africa
Needed Income
Nigeria
Secure Job
Mexico

USA Contact with People

Brazil Feeling of
Accomplishment
Philippines

Japan

Norway

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Distribution of Top Choice
 WORK CENTRALITY
• Work versus other activities
• Higher levels of work centrality
also match average number of
hours worked per week
• High levels of work centrality
may lead to dedicated workers
 EXHIBIT 13.2 DIFFERENCES
IN WORK CENTRALITY

Japan

U.S.A.

Netherlands

Britian
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Work Centrality
 IMPORTANCE OF WORK
• What people value in their current
job
• generous holidays (#1)
• use initiative
• good work hours
• respected job
• responsible job
• See Exhibit 13.3 next
 R USSIA
1. R ESPONSIBILITY
2. U SE I NITIATIVE
3. G ENEROUS
H OLIDAYS
G ERMANY 4. G OOD H OURS
1. G ENEROUS
U.S.A. T URKEY
H OLIDAYS
1. G ENEROUS 1. G ENEROUS
2. J OB R ESPECTED
H OLIDAYS H OLIDAYS
3. G OOD H OURS
2. J OB R ESPECTED 2. I NTERESTING
4. R ESPONSIBILITY
3. G OOD H OURS J OB
4. U SE I NITIATIVE 3. R ESPONSIBILITY
4. U SE I NITIATIVE

P ERU
1. G ENEROUS
H OLIDAYS I NDIA
2. I NTERESTING 1. G ENEROUS C HINA
J OB H OLIDAYS 1. G ENEROUS
3. G OOD H OURS N IGERIA 2. U SE I NITIATIVE H OLIDAYS
4. A CHIEVE 1. G ENEROUS 3. I NTERESTING 2. R ESPONSIBILITY
S OMETHING H OLIDAYS J OB 3. U SE I NITIATIVE
2. G OOD H OURS 4. G OOD H OURS 4. I NTERESTING
3. U SE I NITIATIVE J OB
4. J OB R ESPECTED
 WORK MOTIVATION AND
THE NATIONAL CONTEXT
 THE BASIC WORK
MOTIVATION PROCESS
• Motivation: psychological
process that results in goal-
directed behavior that satisfy
human needs
• Needs: a feeling of deficit
• work satisfies many needs -
e.g., food and shelter
• Motivation includes more than
satisfying needs
• Reactions to behaviors
• reinforcement
• punishment
See Exhibit 13.4 (next) for
the basic work motivation
process and the national
context
I NDIVIDUAL W ORK
N ATIONAL C ONTEXT
M OTIVATION

D EFINES THE
U NSATISFIED N EEDS I MPORTANCE OF
D IFFERENT N EEDS

G OAL -D IRECTED
D EFINES L EGITIMATE
B EHAVIOR TO
B EHAVIORS OF W ORK
S ATISFY N EEDS

D EFINES W HAT IS
R EINFORCEMENT OR
R EWARDED OR
P UNISHMENT
P UNISHED AND H OW

C ONTINUE OR S TOP
B EHAVIORS ; S TAY D EFINES R ELATIONSHIP
OR L EAVE THE WITH O RGANIZATION
O RGANIZATION
 NATIONAL CONTEXT AND
WORK MOTIVATION
• Culture and supporting institutions
influence
• the priority people attach to work
• types of needs people satisfy at
work
• reactions to goal-directed
behaviors at work
 THEORIES OF WORK
MOTIVATION IN THE
MULTINATIONAL CONTEXT
• Two basic types of motivation
theories:
• need theories
• process theories
• Applications to multinational
context follow
 NEED THEORIES
• Assume that working can
satisfy basic human needs
• Four popular need theories:
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs,
ERG theory, Motivator-Hygiene
theory, and Achievement
Motivation theory
 MASLOW'S HIERARCHY OF
NEEDS
• Basic needs: physiological,
security, affiliation, esteem,
and self-actualization
• a hierarchy
• once one need is satisfied, it
no longer motivates
 ALDERFER'S ERG THEORY
• Simplified hierarchy: growth
needs, relatedness needs, and
existence needs
• Frustration motivates behavior
to satisfy the need
• People seek to satisfy higher
and lower level needs
 MOTIVATOR-HYGIENE
THEORY
• Job content = motivating
factors
• Job context = hygiene factors
• Only job content factors truly
motivating
ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION
THEORY
• Three key needs: achievement,
affiliation, and power
• High achievement people have:
needs to win and to set own
goals and seek challenging
situations
 NEEDS AND THE NATIONAL
CONTEXT
• Need priorities differ by
country
• Even with similar ranks, level of
importance differs by country
APPLYING NEED THEORIES IN
MULTINATIONAL SETTINGS
• Identify:
• basic functions of work
• needs considered most important
• Sources of need fulfillment
• Know available jobs to satisfy needs
 PROCESS THEORIES OF
MOTIVATION
• Three major theories: expectancy
theory, equity theory, and goal
setting theory
• More complex than need theories
• relate individual beliefs regarding
effort, outcomes, and
performance
 EXPECTANCY THEORY

• Motivation = Expectancy X
Valence X Instrumentality
 APPLYING EXPECTANCY
THEORY IN
MULTINATIONAL SETTINGS
• Identify valued outcomes of
work
• Use culturally appropriate ways
to convince employees that
their efforts will lead to
desirable ends
 EQUITY THEORY

• Fairness in the input/output

equation
• Relative rewards vis-a-vis
inputs leads to:
• reduced or increased
contribution to organization
APPLYING EQUITY THEORY IN
MULTINATIONAL SETTINGS
• Equity norms vary
• Principles of allocating rewards:
• contributions - prevail in individualistic
cultures
• equality - more likely in collectivist
cultures
• need - more likely in collectivist cultures
 GOAL SETTING THEORY

• Premise: People want to achieve

goals
• Effective Goals:
• clear, specific, and difficult but
achievable
 Goal setting theory, continued
• For Goals setting to work, managers
must:
• increase employee acceptance of
goals
• provide incentives to achieve goals
• give feedback on goal attainment
 APPLYING GOAL SETTING
THEORY IN MULTINATIONAL
SETTINGS
• Goal setting works to some
degree regardless of location
• Cultural expectations vary -
managers must know:
• is it better to set goals for
groups or for individuals?
 EXHIBIT 13.9 CULTURAL
EFFECTS ON GOAL SETTING

Participative
Degree of Participation

Representative

Assigned

U.S. 0 5 10 15 20
Kibbutz Isareli
Performance
Urban Israeli
 REINFORCEMENT THEORY

• Behavior is a function of its

consequences
• Pleasurable consequence = behavior
continues
• Unpleasant consequence = behavior
stops
• Reinforcement, extinction, and
punishment
 APPLYING REINFORCEMENT
THEORY IN
MULTINATIONAL SETTINGS
• Positive reinforcement
• Identify appropriate rewards as
reinforcers
• National context defines
acceptable/legitimate rewards
 MOTIVATION AND JOB
DESIGN: U.S. AND
EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVES
• Focus on nature of jobs
• Psychological effects of tasks
on workers
 A U.S. APPROACH: THE JOB
CHARACTERISTICS MODEL

• See Exhibit 13.12 next

 Critical Work and
Characteristics
Psychological Personal
of a Job
States Outcomes

Skills and
abilities;
Opportunity to
Job is
see a whole
Meaningful
piece of work;
Job Satisfies
Job effects
Growth Needs
others
Job is Highly
Motivating
Freedom to Worker Feels
choose goals Responsible Job is Highly
and schedules for Outcomes Satisfying

High Work
Quantity and
Feedback on
Worker Knows Quality
task
Results from
completion
Efforts
and quality
 A EUROPEAN APPROACH:
SOCIOTECHNICAL SYSTEMS
• Technology and the social needs
of workers
• The autonomous work group
• Team tasks the focus job
enrichment
CHOOSING JOB ENRICHMENT
TECHNIQUES IN
MULTINATIONAL SETTINGS
• Distinction between
individualistic and collectivist
cultures should determine the
choice of job-enrichment
• U.S. individual approach
• European group approach
PROBLMES OF TEAM WORK IN
INDIVIDUALISTIC CULTURES
• Social loafing
• No responsibility for group
outcomes
• Individual work/interests have
priority over group's
 CONCLUSIONS
• Motivating the multinational
workforce: a constant challenge
• Motivation theories not culture
free
• Application requires knowledge
of national context