Human resource management
Session 5 motivation and managing rewards
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Motivation
The amount of effort that an individual puts into something
(Francesco and Gold 1998)
The willingness to exert high levels of effort towards organisational goals, conditioned by the effort’s ability to satisfy some individual need.’ (Robbins 1996)
The degree to which an individual wants and chooses to engage in certain specified behaviors
(Mitchell, 1982)
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Characteristics of Motivation
An individual phenomenon. Every person is unique.
Intentional, assumed to be under one’s control and behaviour influenced by motivation are seen as choices of action.
Multifaceted. Two factors of greatest importance
what gets people activated (arousal);
the force of an individual to engage in desired behaviour (direction or choice of behaviour).
Characteristics of Motivation
Driving force within individuals by which they attempt to achieve some goal in order to fulfil some need or expectation.
People’s behaviour determined by what motivates them.
Performance is a product of ability, motivation, skills, knowledge, feelings and emotions, conditions beyond one’s control
What is this driving force?
What are people’s needs and expectations?
How do they influence behaviour and performance at work?
Purpose of Motivational Theories:
to predict behaviour
Motivation is not the behaviour itself, nor performance.
Motivation concerns action, and the internal and external forces which influence a person’s choice of action.
Basic Motivational Model
The Two Aspects of Motivation
Extrinsic motivation
Related to ‘tangible’ rewards
salary and fringe benefits,
security,
promotion,
conditions of work, etc.…
Such rewards are often determined at the organisational level
Intrinsic motivation
Related to ‘psychological’ reward
opportunity to use one’s ability,
sense of challenge and achievement,
receiving appreciation, positive recognition, and
being treated in a caring and considerate manner.
Psychological rewards can usually be determined by the actions and behavior of individuals.
Motivation and Organisational Performance
Organisational success – when members are motivated to use their full talents and abilities, and directed to perform well in the right areas.
Organisational loss /productivity loss: poor working morale
people feeling undervalued and poorly rewarded;
absence of positive team spirit;
low motivation;
lack of attention to quality;
unwillingness to see a job well done;
poor sense of belonging
Content Theories
The ‘what’ that causes people to put effort into work
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Herzberg’s 2 factors
Process Theories
Attempt to find universal mechanisms to explain ‘how’ motivation works
Goal-setting theory (Locke, 1960, 1980)
Expectancy theory (Vroom, 1964)
Equity theory (Adams, 1965)
Abraham Maslow's Theory Of Human Motivation (1954)
Self-actualisation
Self/Ego/Social Esteem
Social/belonging
Safety/security
Basic/physiological
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
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Levels 1-3 are basic satisfied by extrinsic outcomes external to person – food, money, praise
4-5 are intrinsic and internal – spring from personal feelings of worth.
Model does not make clear values associated with each level e.g. what promises security in one culture may differ from another
Onedo 1991 – less developed countries (Australia, Papua New guinea in his case) managers regarded SA as most important, but Papuan’s were most dissatisfied with level of security and placed them higher than autonomy needs as in other studies in Chile, India, Malawi, Kenya
Self-actualisation
Esteem/ego needs
Social/belonging needs
Safety/security needs
Basic/physiological needs
Hierarchy of Needs Compared
Maslow’s Hierarchy
Hierarchy of Needs in China
See Buchanan & Huczynski, 2010:270
Self Actualisation
Esteem
Love & affiliation
Safety
Biological
Safety (Personal & National)
Belongingness
Esteem, family, tradition
Self-actualisation thru’ fitting in
Biological
Criticism and Relevance of Maslow’s Theory
Two main criticisms:
Vague and cannot readily predict behaviour
Social philosophy reflecting American middle-class values, hence ‘culture bound’
Relevance
Still influential: behaviour depends on different motives
Used in reward policy, management style, and job design
FREDERICK HERZBERG’S TWO-FACTOR THEORY
| MOTIVATORS (satisfaction) | HYGIENE (dissatisfaction) |
| Achievement | Admin Policies |
| Recognition | Supervision |
| Work itself | Work conditions |
| Responsibility | Interpersonal relations |
| Advancement | Salary/wages |
| Growth | Job security |
| Safety |
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A chance for `self-actualisation’ at work may be needed to motivate people
Absence of dissatisfaction ≠ motivation
Good `hygiene’ factors were not enough to cause positive satisfaction/motivation
Absence of dissatisfaction ≠ motivation
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People can not have any specific grumbles without having a particular impetus to give more to their work.
Dissatisfiers can lead to low motivation and grumbles but more is needed to motivate staff than removing them – they are often called `maintenance’ factors
So `hygiene factors’ equate more to Maslow’s bottom two levels – physiological and safety needs, yet to achieve and grow you need top satisfy higher level needs i.e. by factors intrinsic to job itself.
The process of providing incentives or a threat of punishment to cause someone to do something.
Herzberg argued that this leads to only short-term success because it doesn’t offer anything instrinsic to job.
Job enrichment
The job should have sufficient challenge to fully use the employee’s ability
Employees who show increasing ability should be given more responsibility
If the job can’t be designed to use the employee’s full abilities, automate the task or replace employee with one less skilled.
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Critics of Herzberg – it’s natural to take credit for satisfaction and to blame dissatisfaction on external factors.
Job satisfaction does not necessarily imply a high motivation or productivity.
Process Theories
Attempt to find universal mechanisms to explain ‘how’ motivation works
Goal-setting theory (Locke, 1960, 1980)
Expectancy theory (Vroom, 1964)
Equity theory (Adams, 1965)
Locke’s Goal-Setting Theory
(Source: Mullins, 2013:268)
Locke’s Goal-Setting Theory
Watch the video (9 mins):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtX_Ueh0j-E
Goals must have:
Clarity
Challenge
Commitment
Feedback
Task Complexity
Expectancy Theory (Vroom 1964)
The strength of a tendency to act in a certain way depends on the strength of an expectation that an act will be followed by a given outcome
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and others – Nadler, Porter and Lawler
This is a process theory – i.e. is about HOW people are motivated and not specifying particular factors
Expectancy Theory (Vroom 1964)
Attractiveness - the importance that the individual places on the potential outcome or reward that can be achieved on the job
Performance-reward linkage - the degree to which the individual believes that performing at a particular level will lead to the attainment of a desired outcome
Effort-performance linkage - the probability perceived by the individual that exerting a given amount of effort will lead to performance
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and others – Nadler, Porter and Lawler
This is a process theory – i.e. is about HOW people are motivated and not specifying particular factors
Change Opportunities
What personal lifestyle changes have you made due to Covid-19?
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and others – Nadler, Porter and Lawler
This is a process theory – i.e. is about HOW people are motivated and not specifying particular factors
Change Opportunities
Principles for changing behaviour:
Unexpected events
Friendly jealousy
Power of community
Willpower - the hardest to activate
Happy accidents
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and others – Nadler, Porter and Lawler
This is a process theory – i.e. is about HOW people are motivated and not specifying particular factors
Expectancy Theory in Action (1)
You have successfully run a public health programme in Sweden.
You have now been asked to join the executive board of an international programme to help manage the public's response to the coronavirus pandemic.
As the northern hemisphere enters into the winter flu season, there is concern that the virus is spreading in a series of spikes just at the time when the population is tired of the numerous restrictions on everyday activity.
On your first day, you are presented with the following problems:
In some countries under your remit, there is a strong following of social media posts which cast doubt on the efficacy of vaccines. In these countries, there is considerable resistance to the possibility of a Covid-19 vaccine…
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and others – Nadler, Porter and Lawler
This is a process theory – i.e. is about HOW people are motivated and not specifying particular factors
Expectancy Theory in Action (2)
In addition, there is a smaller minority of the population who are persuaded that the coronavirus pandemic is an artificial creation by governments to control their citizens.
These views tend to coincide with resistance to wearing face masks, however the overlap is not exact.
Some of this resistance is on civil liberties grounds ('I have the right to live my life as I see fit').
In other cases the resistance to face masks seems to be more tied up with the prevalence of 'conspiracy theories'.
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and others – Nadler, Porter and Lawler
This is a process theory – i.e. is about HOW people are motivated and not specifying particular factors
Expectancy Theory in Action (3)
The next problem is concerned with practical rather than ideological resistance. In some ways this is more worrying, as it affects a large proportion of the population. In many countries, populations pulled together during the first wave of the pandemic.
Now however, as local lockdowns and curfews are in force, citizens are asking why their particular town or city or region is subject to restrictions, while others are not.
Furthermore, compliance varies from country to country, and in those countries where compliance has been ‘loose’, there is evidence of resentment on the part of those who have, so far, stuck to the rules.
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and others – Nadler, Porter and Lawler
This is a process theory – i.e. is about HOW people are motivated and not specifying particular factors
Expectancy Theory in Action (4)
Finally, as governments attempt to tailor the restrictions they are imposing on the population so as to avoid the full economic impact of a national lockdown, local and regional representatives complain of lack of clarity.
How can citizens comply with the regulations if they don’t fully understand what is expected of them, or why such measures are necessary in the first place?
In a brainstorming session with your colleagues, suggest how you might tackle each of these three problems. To strengthen your argument, make reference to Vroom’s expectancy theory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIXUg6N-eOs
How might you need to adapt your proposed strategy to account for cultural differences?
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and others – Nadler, Porter and Lawler
This is a process theory – i.e. is about HOW people are motivated and not specifying particular factors
Adam’s Equity Theory
Restoration of equity
Restoration of equity
Person’s Other’s
outcomes outcomes
inputs inputs
Person’s Other’s
outcomes outcomes
inputs inputs
Perceived inequity
Tension
Motivation
Changes to
input
outcomes
cognitive distortion
leaving the field
acting on others
changing the object of comparison
Comparing one’s own inputs to the job and the output that result with the inputs and outputs of as chosen other person (start at the left)
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Algorithmic vs Heuristic Tasks
An algorithmic task is one in which you follow a set of established instructions down a single pathway to one conclusion.
A heuristic task is one in which you have to experiment with possibilities and devise a novel solution.
See Dan Pink’s ‘Motivation 3.0’ (18 mins):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrkrvAUbU9Y&list=PLOs0lcCMEHfJpH0Zyz8lgD7aa7tPuUJqI&index=1
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An Integrated Motivation Programme (Whetton et al, 2002)
Establish moderately difficult goals
Remove personal and organisational obstacles
Feedback
Use rewards and discipline appropriately
Provide relevant internal and external incentives
Distribute rewards equitably
Provide timely rewards and honest feedback
Motivating by Teamwork
Naumann ’93 found organisational features eg work relationships can be motivating
Influence of collectivist cultures eg Quality Circles – volunteers meet regularly to identify, analyse and resolve production problems
Toyota, Motorola, Xerox – groups encourage involvement, use skills of whole workforce
Factors affecting motivation for the MNE
Compensation for other family members
Currency fluctuation
Taxes – local and head office
Return package
Comparison with ex-pats and locals; comparison with other departments
Education, home leave travel
Cultural Factors
Most studies based on USA research where there is
High individualism
Low power distance
Relatively high masculinity (hence material values)
Based on assumption that workforce has same values as US society
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High Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI) cultures value job security
Low UAI cultures value job variety
High Power Distance (PDI) cultures value opportunities to work for manager who shows loyalty to staff and gives clear instructions
Lower PDI cultures – value opportunities to work with a manager who is consultative
Cultural Factors
International Strategies
Parent-country equivalency – all expatriates based on market rates at home – works well if home firm has high pay and conditions
Regional or composite markets – calculation of an average pay for a region eg Central America, Scandinavia; could be problematic
Local markets – works if firm takes multi-domestic strategy
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