Lecture 8 APPLYING MOTIVATION THEORIES: REWARDS AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Class Overview Two ways to apply knowledge of the motivational process to enhance employee performance –Reward systems –Goal Setting Group exercise (30 minutes)
Reward Systems Are used to motivate employees Extrinsic rewards come from sources that are outside of the individual, e.g. pay and benefits Intrinsic rewards are self-administered, i.e., arising from within the person, e.g. accomplishment, responsibility
Compensation (Pay) The most obvious form of reward that employees receive in the work environment Edward E. Lawler III studied the role of compensation as a reward and strongly advocates tying rewards to performance
Compensation (cont.) Pay is an optimal reward for several reasons: –Virtually all recipients value it –Its size is flexible, i.e., it can be divided into various-sized portions –Its value is relatively constant –The relationship of pay to performance upon which it is paid must be obvious, must be visible
Relating Pay and Performance Pay systems vary widely, but generally differ on three dimensions: Organizational Unit –e.g. whole organization, business unit, work team, individual Method of measuring performance –objective versus subjective indicators Form of monetary reward –salary, piece-rate, cash bonus, commission
Incentive Pay and Performance Findings: –Perception that pay is tied to performance is enhanced when rewards are administered on basis of individual performance, rather than group –Objective measures of performance also elicit higher ratings –Bonus schemes link pay with performance better than salaries
Incentive Pay and Performance No one best incentive pay plan exists Increasing in popularity are some combination of profit sharing, stock ownership, gain sharing Profit sharing and stock ownership: employees share directly in profits of total organization Gain sharing ties an individual’s bonuses to productivity improvements and cost reductions within a business unit
Individual Pay for Performance Typically starts with reduced wages or salary - i.e. places some pay ‘at-risk’ Offers bonuses to employees for attaining specific performance targets or goals 35% of Fortune 500 companies are experimenting with some form of pay- for-performance plan Works better in service industries
Goal Setting Goals have a positive influence upon effort (i.e. they motivate) –give feedback Three goal attributes greatly enhance effectiveness of goal setting: –Specificity –Difficulty –Acceptance
Management by Objective MBO puts goal theory into practice Employees engage in one-on-one goal setting sessions with supervisors; both providing inputs Deadlines are established Intermediate review dates are established Indicators of success are agreed upon Paths to the desired goals and removal of possible obstacles are discussed
Track Record of MBO Fairly good One recent literature review examined findings from 70% of MBO programs –Productivity gains averaged 47% –Employee attendance improved by 24% –When top level managers were committed to programs, productivity increased by 57%
When MBO Doesn’t Work... Lack of support from top-level management Inability of managers to assume coaching posture due to their own insecurities System relies heavily on trust between subordinates and superiors Overemphasis upon goals versus behaviors –Domino’s 30 minute delivery window
Group exercise Experiential exercise “Goal setting and performance” (pp ) Individually read the instructions and complete the questionnaire (1) Individually total your scores and plot them (2 and 3) Individually respond to (4) the satisfaction question
Group exercise Who in your group has the highest/lowest satisfaction rating For the persons with the highest/lowest satisfaction rating, identify the subscale whose scores correlate most strongly and least strongly –i.e. for the person with the highest satisfaction rating, what is the subscale with the highest scores, and what is the subscale with the lowest scores –Repeat for the person with the lowest satisfaction rating