MOTIVATION & ASSIGNMENTS Dynamics of Organizational Behavior Virginia Tech MBA Program Andrew Watson

Agenda Work Motivation (Ch. 6) The Dan Pink video(s) you watched Break Motivating Work Setting (Ch. 7) Looking forward Further, and in more detail, than usual We have assignments coming up New material on Canvas

Work Motivation Definition: The psychological forces that determine an organization member’s: Choice of behavior Level of effort Persistence Distinct from performance Performance is an evaluation of the results of a person’s behavior Influenced by motivation Also by ability of person, difficulty of task,…

One Distinction, Four Theories Note a distinction between sources of motivation Intrinsic: the behavior itself Extrinsic: rewards (or lack of punishment) resulting from the behavior Four complementary theories Need Expectancy Equity Organizational justice

Need Theory Maslow’s hierarchy Five levels of need (listed here from highest-level to most basic): Self-actualization Esteem Belongingness Safety Physiological Alderfer’s ERG hierarchy Three levels of need Growth, Relatedness, Existence A’s theory more flexible in terms of inter-level movement Much empirical research, little support for Need Theory Strange statement on p. 163 of GJ text

Expectancy Theory Describes employee choice of behaviors and level of effort In terms of employee perceptions Effort → Performance → Outcomes When I see EPO, I think of Lance Armstrong Expectancy: perception of the effort-performance relationship Instrumentality: perception of the performance-outcomes relationship Valence: perceived value of the outcomes of high performance Good empirical support

Equity Theory Based on employee perceptions of fairness Perceptions in turn based on comparisons with “referents” What does the employee compare? Ratios between outcomes and input (O/I) So not a simple comparison of outcomes Equity: when the ratio for the employee and the ratio for the referent are equal Inequity may result from underpayment or overpayment Good empirical support

Organizational Justice Theory Group of theories based on employee perceptions of overall fairness in organization c.f. equity theory Identifies different forms of organizational justice Distributive Procedural Interpersonal Respect Informational Good empirical support e.g., procedural justice especially important when outcomes are low

Group Discussion Of Dan Pink Videos Our first group discussion of the semester! The groups are not the groups for Everest or for Presentation Pre-agenda: if you wish, split into smaller groups Read Agenda before deciding Agenda Discuss How and why you made your choice of video What is the primary point of the video? How is this point made? How well is it made? Is there a secondary point? How should I motivate you this semester? Document: paper with names, notes on your discussions Should include at least the first three discussion items

Presentations See syllabus Eight minutes, not including questions and answers (Q&A) Available presentation topics include Treadway Tire case, foremen’s perspective Treadway Tire case, management’s perspective Moods and emotions (in Ch. 3) Diversity (in Ch. 4) Your topic: group-proposed, Andrew-approved Aspects of presentation Visual aids How could this PowerPoint deck be improved? Other important aspects?

Motivating Work Setting: Intro Job design: linking specific tasks to specific jobs, and deciding how these tasks should be performed Later in chapter: Goal setting Early approach: scientific management Taylor (1911) Job simplification Job specialization Closely associated with: Pay for performance Extrinsic motivation

Intrinsically Motivating Work More recent approaches to job design pay attention to intrinsic motivation Consider this study Participants do puzzles One group gets $, the other gets 0 Experimenter announces pause in study, leaves room Participants are still observed Which group is more motivated to do? Study by Edward Deci Described by Dan Pink in his book Drive (and in videos?)

Job Design: Job Characteristics Model Make jobs bigger and “better” Job enlargement: more tasks Job enrichment: more control Five “good” characteristics: Skill variety Task identity Task significance Autonomy Feedback Theorized outcomes: Intrinsic motivation, job performance, job satisfaction, attendance Empirical support: modest

Social Information Processing Model How do employees perceive and respond to job design? Influenced by social environment Other people provide employee with cues as to how to view job and outcomes Empirical evidence for this influence But influence may diminish over time Also influenced by past behaviors of employee e.g., employee values job because it required advanced study

Goal Setting Theory Goal: what an individual is trying to accomplish c.f. objective of the organization Goal-setting theory Two characteristics of “good” goals Specificity Difficulty Good empirical support… But every theory has limits Management by Objectives MBO is a specific implementation of goal-setting theory Contrast in use of the term objective Yes, management jargon can be confusing

Looking Forward to Next Week Paper 1 Assignment on Canvas Everest Simulation Part of Harvard Coursepack Web-based So bring wireless laptop if possible

Looking Further Forward Syllabus V1.1: changes to Schedule* Feb 17: Chapter-heavy* Feb 24: Groups present on Treadway case Chapter material: moods and emotions; diversity* Other topics Mar 2: Exam 1 (bring laptop) Will post past exam(s) Mar 9: Spring Break!

Standard Closing Anything else I should say to the whole class? Rest of evening Safe home Enjoy Anything you’d like to discuss with me? As individual or group