MGMT 363 - Chapter 6 - Motivation

motivation a set of energetic forces that originates both within and outside an employee, initiates work related effort, and determines its direction, intensity, and persistence engagement high levels of intensity and persistence in work effort employees who are engaged completely invest themselves and their energies into their job expectancy theory the cognitive process that employees go through to make choices among different voluntary responses. Argues that employee behavior is directed towards pleasure and away from pain, or generally toward certain outcomes and away from others. 3 things that the expectancy theory says choices depend on 1) expectancy 2) instrumentality 3) valence expectancy -represents the belief that exerting a high level of effort will result in the successful performance of a task. -the probability, ranging from 0 (no chance) to 1 (a mortal lock) that a specific amount of effort will result in a specific level of performance (E ----> P) -shaped by self efficacy (including past accomplishments, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and emotional cues) self efficacy the belief that a person has the capabilities needed to execute the behaviors required for task success. (self efficacy is a lot like self confidence or self esteem) (when considering self efficacy, employees consider past accomplishments, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and emotional cues) *employees who feel more "efficacious" will have higher levels of expectancy and therefore higher levels of effort past accomplishments the degree to which they have succeeded or failed in similar sorts of tasks in the past vicarious experiences their observations and discussions with others who have performed such tasks verbal persuasion friends, coworkers, and leaders can persuade employees that they can "get the job done" emotional cues feelings of fear or anxiety can create doubts about task accomplishment, whereas pride and enthusiasm can bolster confidence levels instrumentality -the belief that successful performance will result in some outcomes -set of subjective probabilities ranging from 0 (no chance) to 1 (a mortal lock) that successful performance will bring a set of outcomes (P ---> O) -ex: an employee feeling that good performance will lead to an increase in pay Valence -the anticipated value of the outcomes associated with performance -can be positive (in that they would prefer having the outcome), negative (in that they would not prefer to have the outcome), or zero (they are indifferent) -ex of positive valenced outcomes = salary increases, bonuses, and informal rewards -ex of negatively valenced outcomes = disciplinary actions, demotions, and terminations (employees are more motivated when successful performance helps them attain positively valenced outcomes) needs -cognitive groupings or clusters of outcomes that are viewed as having critical psychological or physiological consequences -outcomes are deemed more attractive when they satisfy needs -many people have different need heirarchies, but the 5 main OB needs are: existence, relatedness, control, esteem, and meaning extrinsic motivation motivation that is controlled by some contingency that depends on task performance -result from extrinsic outcomes such as pay increase, bonuses, benefits and perks, etc. intrinsic motivation motivation that is felt when task performance serves as its own reward -result from intrinsic outcomes such as enjoyment, interestingness, accomplisment, knowledge gain, skill development, etc. meaning of money the degree to which they view money as having a symbolic, not just economic value -3 dimensions: 1) acheivement (money symbolizes success) 2) respect (money brings respect in one's community) 3) freedom (money provides opportunity) Motivational force equation Motivational Force = [E -->P] x [sum of [P-->O x V]] *motivational force = zero if any of the three beliefs is zero goal setting theory -views goals as the primary drivers of the intensity and persistence of effort -goals are defined as the objective of an action and usually refer to attaining a specific standard of proficiency in a specific time limit specific and difficult goals will result in higher levels of performance than assigning no goals, easy goals, or "do-your-best" goals -must find a balance b/w difficult goals but not impossible goals self set goals -the internalized goals that people use to monitor their own task progress -the assignment of specific and difficult goals shape peoples self set goals task strategies -developed after setting goals, these are learning plans and problem-solving approaches used to achieve successful performance feedback updates on employee progress toward goal attainment task complexity -reflects how complicated the information and actions involvd in a task are, as well as how much the task changes -the effects of specific and difficult goals are almost twice as strong on simple tasks as on complex tasks goal commitment -the degree to which a person accepts a goal and is determined to try to reach it -when goal commitment is high, assigning specific and difficult goals will have significant benefits for task performance. When goal commitment isn't high, though, the effects are much weaker S.M.A.R.T. developed by Microsoft, an acronym that summarizes many beneficial goal characteristics: -Specific -Measurable -Achievable -Results-based -Time-sensitive equity theory -acknowledges that motivation doesn't just depend on your own beliefs and circumstances but also on what happens to other people -suggests that employees keep a mental ledger of the inputs and outcomes of their job duties, and use the ratio of your outcomes to inputs to a comparison other's ratio. comparison other -some person who seems to provide an intuitive frame of reference for judging equity Three possibilities of equity theory comparisons: 1) your ratio equals other's and a sense of equity is felt 2) your ratio of outcomes is less than the comparison others and equity distress is felt in the form of anger or envy 2) your ratio of outcomes is greater than the comparison others and equity distress is felt in the form of guilt or anxiety cognitive distortion simply rethinking your inputs in order to restore balance mentally, without having to alter your behavior in any way -ex: maybe you have "undersold" your true contributions, and your education or experience is worth more than you originally thought internal comparisons you are comparing yourself to someone in the same company external comparison you are comparing yourself to someone from a different company psychological empowerment -reflects an energy rooted in the belief that work tasks contribute to some larger purpose -represents a form of intrinsic motivation in that merely performing the work task serves as its own reward four concepts of psychological empowerment -meaningfulness -self determination -competence -impact meaningfulness -captures the value of a work goal or purpose, relative to a person's own ideals and passions -when a task is relevant to a meaningful purpose, it becomes easier to concentrate on the task and get excited about it -managers can instill a sense of meaningfullness by articulating an exciting vision or purpose and foster a climate where employees are free to express idealism and passion without criticism self determination -reflects a sense of choice in the initiation and continuation of work tasks -sense of self determination is a strong driver of intrinsic motivation -managers can instill a sense of self-determination in their employees by delegating work tasks and by trusting employees to come up with their own approach to certain tasks competence -a person's belief in his/her capability to perform work tasks successfully -identical to self-efficacy -employees with a strong sense of competence believe they can execute the behaviors needed to achieve success. -managers can instill a sense of competence in their employees by providing opportunities for training and knowledge gain, expressing positive feedback, and providing challenges that match employee's skill levels impact -the sense that a person's actions make a difference- that the progress being made toward some important purpose -phrases such as "being on track" or "getting there" convey a sense of impact -managers can instill a sense of impact by celebrating milestones, especially for a particularly long task. motivation's effect on job performance -motivation has a strong, positive effect on job performance -people who experience higher levels of motivation tend to have higher levels of task performance -motivation has a moderate positive effect on citizenship behavior and a moderate negative effect on counterproductive behavior motivation's effect on organizational commitment -equity has a moderate positive effect on organizational commitment -people who experience higher levels of equity tend to feel higher levels of affective commitment and higher levels of normative commitment. effects on continuance commitment are weaker.