Understanding Motivation and Performance

What is Motivation

• Motivation is the degree of persistent effort directed toward a goal
• Motivation differs from performance

Basic Characteristics of Motivation

• Effort is the strength of work-related behavior that varies by job
  • Motivation affects the amount of effort exerted
• Persistence is the consistency of effort over time
  • Motivation relates to how long effort is sustained
• Direction involves channeling effort toward productive organizational goals
  • The quality and purpose of effort are important
• Goals: Motivation is always directed toward a goal
  • Goals can be positive or negative

Motivation and Performance

• Performance is the extent to which a member contributes to achieving organizational goals
• Motivation does not guarantee high performance
• Factors affecting job performance include:
  • General Cognitive Ability (GCA): Processing and understanding information
  • Emotional Intelligence (EI): Understanding and regulating emotions
  • Personality Traits: Big Five traits influencing job success
  • Task Understanding: Knowing how to complete a job
  • Chance/Luck: External factors impacting outcomes

General Cognitive Ability (GCA)

• General Cognitive Ability is also known as intelligence or mental ability
• Includes verbal, numerical, spatial, and reasoning abilities
• It predicts job performance and career success
• GCA is more crucial for complex jobs requiring high level-decision making

Emotional Intelligence (EI)

• Emotional Intelligence involves understanding and managing emotions in oneself and others
• It aids in problem-solving, reasoning, and communication
• Emotional Intelligence is essential for leadership and teamwork

Motivation-Performance Relationship

• Motivation does not always lead to high performance
• Poor performance may stem from:
  • Lack of cognitive ability or emotional intelligence
  • Poor task understanding
  • Luck or chance factors
• Employees with low motivation may perform well due to intelligence or task efficiency
• Motivation alone cannot improve performance without skills or knowledge

Need Theories of Work Motivation

• Need theories outline the needs people have and the conditions motivating them to contribute to performance

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

• Maslow's Hierarchy of needs includes five levels:
  • Stage 1: Physiological Needs (food, water, shelter)
  • Stage 2: Safety Needs (job security, health)
  • Stage 3: Belongingness Needs (social interaction, teamwork)
  • Stage 4: Esteem Needs (recognition, achievement)
  • Stage 5: Self-Actualization Needs (personal growth)
• Lower-level needs must be met before higher-level needs become motivating
• A point of criticism is that this hierarchical structure oversimplifies motivation

Alderfer's ERG Theory

• Alderfer's ERG Theory condenses Maslow’s five levels into three:
  • Existence Needs: Basic survival, similar to physiological and safety needs
  • Relatedness Needs: Social connections and esteem
  • Growth Needs: Personal development and achievement

Key Differences of ERG Theory from Maslow

• Needs do not follow Maslow's strict hierarchy
  • Maslow suggests lower-level needs must be met before progressing to higher ones
  • Alderfer argues multiple needs can motivate simultaneously
• Unmet higher-level needs may cause regression to lower-level needs
  • Maslow suggests once a need is satisfied, it no longer motivates
  • Alderfer says unmet needs can cause regression to a lower need
• Multiple needs can be active at once
  • Maslow assumes a fixed sequence for all individuals
  • Alderfer recognizes differing priorities depending on personality and context

McClelland's Theory of Needs

• McClelland's Theory focuses on three needs developed through life experiences:
  • Need for Achievement (nAch): Preference for challenging tasks
  • Need for Affiliation (nAff): Desire for social approval and relationships
  • Need for Power (nPow): Desire to influence others
• Needs vary per individual, differing from Maslow's hierarchical approach

Research Support for Need Theories

• Maslow's strict hierarchy has limited real-world support
• ERG theory aligns better with practical motivation due to its flexibility
• McClelland's need theory is widely supported in organizational settings

Managerial Implications of Needs Theories

• Recognize individual differences in employee motivational drivers
• Acknowledge the importance of intrinsic motivation for innovation and engagement
• Provide job enrichment and career paths to sustain motivation through growth opportunities

Self-Determination Theory (SDT)

• SDT (unlike Maslow, ERG, & McClelland) focuses on motivation types, not a needs hierarchy
• It identifies three basic psychological needs influencing motivation:
  • Competence: Feeling effective and capable
  • Relatedness: Feeling connected with meaningful relationships
  • Autonomy: Having control over actions
• Satisfaction of these needs enhances engagement, performance, and well-being

Types of Motivation in Self-Determination Theory

• SDT distinguishes between:
  • Autonomous (intrinsic) motivation when actions are self-controlled and meaningful, leading to higher engagement
  • Controlled (extrinsic) motivation when pressured by external factors, potentially causing burnout

Research and Managerial Implications of Self-Determination Theory

• Autonomy support boosts motivation
• Meeting competence, relatedness, and autonomy needs increases:
  • Job satisfaction and engagement
  • Mental well-being and performance
  • Reduces turnover and distress
• Managers should offer interesting and challenging job roles, and provide choices to increase trust, commitment, and motivation

Process Theories of Work Motivation

• Process theories emphasize extrinsic motivators

Extrinsic Motivation

• Extrinsic motivation stems from the work environment and are usually applied by others
• This includes pay, benefits, and company policies

Goal-Setting Theory

• Goals affect behavior in four ways:
  • Direction: Attention towards specific tasks
  • On-task effort mobilization: Focus efforts to move towards goals
  • Persistence enablement: Strive to reach goals
  • Strategy facilitation: Higher-level cognitive strategies used to attain goals
• Goal theory relies on:
  • Goal difficulty: More challenging means more motivational
  • Goal specificity: More specific means more motivating
  • Goal acceptance/commitment: More commitment increases likelihood of achievement
  • Feedback: Helps assess progress and adjust strategies

Practical Implications of Goal Setting Theory

• Assign specific and measurable goals
• Assign difficult but acceptable goals
• Involve employees in setting goals
• Provide timely feedback on goal attainment

Equity Theory (Distributive Justice)

• People are motivated to perform well when they believe the outcomes are equitable
• Equity is determined by comparing one's input/output ratio to others
  • Equity means maintain status quo
  • Inequity leads to negative affect
  • There are two forms of inequity: underpayment and overpayment

Restoring Equity

• Restore equity by:
  • Changing inputs or outcomes
  • Altering perceptions of self or others
  • Changing comparison to others
  • Leaving the organization
• The practical implications of Equity Theory:
  • Avoid under/overpayment and make inputs/outcomes clear
  • Ensure fair procedures and explanations for decisions, with respect

Expectancy Theory

• People are motivated by expected outcomes

Expectancy Theory Breakdown

• Motivation stems from:
  • Expectancy: Belief that effort leads to good performance
  • Instrumentality: Belief that good performance leads to reward
  • Valence: The extent to which rewards are attractive/unattractive
• Motivation requires high expectancy, instrumentality, and valence

Practical Implications of Expectancy Theory

• Increase expectancies by strengthening the effort-performance link
• Increase instrumentality by linking performance and rewards
• Increase positive valence by offering valued rewards

Job Characteristics Model

• the Job Characteristic Model promotes Intrinsic motivation.
• Intrinsic motivation comes from the worker's relationship with the task
  • Includes feelings of achievement and competence from performing a job
• Five Characteristics that encourage Intrinsic motivation
  • Skill variety
  • Task identity
  • Task significance
  • Autonomy
  • Feedback
• When all components are high, there is lower turnover and absenteeism
• Intrinsic motivation occurs when individuals learn they perform well on tasks and experience meaningfulness
• Job diagnostic surveys will tell how intrinsically motivating job is
  • High means Intrinsic
  • Low means the job needs redesigning

Core Job Characteristics

• Skill variety is opportunity to use skills
• Task identity is the extent of doing work from beginning to end
• Task significance is the impact of work
• Autonomy is freedom to set work
• Feedback is information on the effectiveness of performance

Cultural Implications for Motivation

• Motivation theories are not universal; they must be adapted to cultural contexts

Goal-Setting Theory across Cultures

• Theory broadly applies across cultures with minor variations
• Participation in and preference for certain goals varies by culture
  • Individualistic cultures (e.g., U.S.) value personal goals
  • Collectivist cultures (e.g., Japan) value group goals

Equity Theory across Cultures

• Reward allocation varies by culture Power Distance reflects cultural views
  • High power distance cultures (e.g., Mexico, China) accept hierarchical rewards

Expectancy Theory across Cultures

• Though Generalizable inconsistencies occur because of perspective
• Assumptions across cultures:
  • Employees must feel in control
  • Low power distance cultures link effort to performance
  • High power distance cultures believe external factors play a role
• In Western cultures, reward bonuses; in Eastern cultures, reward job security