1. 11
Motivating Employees
In business, willingness is just as important as ability.
—Paul G. Hoffman

2. How Does Motivation Work?
Motivation + Ability = Performance
Familiarity with the best-known theories can help supervisors think of ways to motivate employees.
None of the theories are perfect, but all give supervisors some guidance.
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3. Content Theories
Content theories focus on the content of the motivators.
Three researchers whose content theories of motivation are widely used:
Abraham Maslow
David McClelland
Frederick Herzberg
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4. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
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5. Share of 945 U.S. Companies Offering Flexible Work Options
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6. McClelland’s Achievement-Power-Affiliation Theory
The need for achievement – the desire to do something better than it has been done before.
The need for power – the desire to control, influence, or be responsible for other people.
The need for affiliation – the desire to maintain close and friendly personal relationships.
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7. Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory
Hygiene Factors
Company policy and administration
Supervision
Relationship with supervisor
Relationship with peers
Working conditions
Salary and benefits
Relationship with subordinates
Motivating Factors
Opportunity for achievement
Opportunity for recognition
Work itself
Responsibility
Advancement
Personal growth
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8. Process Theories
Process theories look at the process of motivation instead of specific motivators.
Two major process theories:
Vroom’s expectancy-valency theory
Skinner’s reinforcement theory
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9. Vroom’s Expectancy-Valence Theory
Victor Vroom decided that the degree to which people are motivated to act in a certain way depends on two things:
Valence – the value a person places on the outcome of a particular behavior.
Expectancy – the perceived probability that the behavior will lead to the outcome.
Strength of Motivation = Perceived Value of Outcome x Perceived Probability of Outcome Resulting
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10. Skinner’s Reinforcement Theory
The reinforcement theory maintains that people’s behavior is influenced largely by the consequences of their past behavior.
Reinforcement theory implies that supervisors can encourage or discourage a particular kind of behavior by the way they respond to the behavior.
Reinforcement
Punishment
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11. Motivation Theories and the Law
Federal laws set requirements for overtime pay, rest breaks, health insurance for retirees, and many other areas.
The Family and Medical Leave Act can pose a significant challenge to planning and scheduling because of an employee’s leave.
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12. Money as a Motivator When money motivates
Money motivates people when it meets their needs.
Pay plans using financial incentives
Piecework system
Production bonus system
Commissions
Payments for suggestions
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13. Group Incentive Plans Profit-sharing plan
Under this kind of plan, the company sets aside a share of its profits earned during a given period and divides these profits among the employees.
Gainsharing
The company encourages employees to participate in making suggestions and decisions about improving the way the company or work group operates. As performance improves, employees receive a share of the greater earnings.
Group incentive plan
A financial incentive plan that rewards a team of workers for meeting or exceeding an objective.
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14. Secrecy of Wage and Salary Information
In private (nongovernment) organizations, employees generally do not know one another’s earnings.
Government employees’ earnings are public information.
In private organizations, a typical compromise between maintaining privacy and sharing information is for the organization to publish pay ranges so employees know what they can potentially expect to earn.
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15. How Supervisors Can Motivate
Making work interesting
Job rotation
Job enlargement
Job enrichment
Having high expectations
Pygmalion effect
Providing rewards that are valued
The content theories of motivation indicate that a variety of rewards may motivate, but that not all employees will value the same rewards at the same time
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16. How Supervisors Can Motivate (continued)
Relating rewards to performance
The rewards a supervisor uses should be linked to employee performance.
Rewards are most likely to motivate employees when the employees view them as achievable.
Treating employees as individuals
A supervisor who wishes to succeed at motivating has to remember that employees will respond in varying ways.
When a particular type of motivation does not seem to work with an employee, a supervisor should try some other motivator to see if it better matches the employee’s needs.
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17. Job Characteristics Rated Important by U.S. Workers
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18. How Supervisors Can Motivate (continued)
Encouraging employee participation
Employees tend to feel more committed when they can contribute to decisions and solutions.
Asking subordinates for their advice about how tasks should be accomplished is another way to increase their involvement.
Providing feedback
Part of a supervisor’s job is to give employees feedback about their performance.
Praise is an important kind of feedback.
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19. Summary To perform well, employees must be motivated.
Content theories of motivation attempt to identify what motivates people.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
McClelland’s achievement-power-affiliation theory
Herzberg’s two-factor theory
Process theories explain how motivation works through its process.
Money motivates people when it meets their needs.
11-19
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20. Summary (continued)
The way a pay plan is structured can influence the degree to which employees are motivated to perform well. Some pay plans offer bonuses, commissions, or other kinds of pay for meeting or exceeding objectives.
Supervisors can motivate employees by making work interesting, having high expectations of employees, providing rewards that are valued, relating rewards to performance, treating employees as individuals, encouraging employee participation, and providing feedback, including praise.
By publishing pay ranges, employees do not know how much specific individuals earn, but the ranges show what they can expect to earn if they get a raise, promotion, or transfer to another position.
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