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Category: Motivation

  • Motivation – Implications to a Manager

    In the last byte, we looked at the aspect of moral maturity and cultural differences. It would be apt to complete the discussion on motivation with implications for the manger.

    A manager would require to begin with the understanding that of the various theories that have been discussed thus far, not all is equally good or equal – they would require to understand that the later theories have a greater scientific backing compared to the earlier ones. The internal theories of motivation along with the theories dealing with the individual-environment interaction process contribute significantly to the manager’s understanding of human behavior and motivation at work.

    Individual employees needs would be different and the manager would need to keep a note of all these and be sensitive about the ethnic, national, gender and age differences. Involving the employees in understanding their needs would definitely go a long way.

    Training, Coaching and Task assignments are found to be effective ways to increase employee motivation. The Managers would require to ensure that the rewards are contingent on good performance and that valued rewards are offered to the employees. It is fundamental that the manager understand what the employee wants.

    In the overall scheme it is important to understand that the manager would be required to take note of the morally mature employees!

  • Expectancy Model of Motivation 5

    In the last byte, we looked at expectancy model and understood the sources of motivational problems that might come in the way. In today’s byte, we look at a few of the dimensions of expectancy theory of motivation in the light of morality and cultural differences.

    If we were to question – who can the altruistic behavior of individuals be analyzed using the expectancy theory, we realize that it is not sufficient to give a satisfying answer. It would really fall short in explaining the altruistic behavior – the general expectancy model is in many ways akin to Adam Smith’s idea that individuals work for their own self-interest. In order to explain these altruistic behaviors, one would need to consider the concept of – “Moral Maturity”. Moral maturity is simply a measure of a person’s cognitive moral development. This concept would help us explain the behavior of individuals that are seen to be altruistic, fair and equitable in nature. The morally mature people are seen to act and behave on what is seen as “universally ethical principles” while the immature ones are seen to behave in an egocentric behavior.

    If we analyze the impact of culture on Motivation; it would be interesting to note that as the theories have been developed by Americans, they would need to be altered to cultures other than American. Cultures like the Japanese put a lot of emphasis on reducing uncertainty, while the Americans would put self-actualization at the pinnacle. The Greeks put a lot of emphasis on security. The Expectancy theory may hold very well to cultures that have individualism as an important value, but would not be successful in explaining the collective cultures where regards are closely tied to group or team efforts.

    In any case a manager would need to understand the context of application of the motivational theories beyond just routinely following the theory into practice.

  • Expectancy Model of Motivation 4

    In the last byte we were discussing the Expectancy theory of motivation. In today’s byte, we look at some of the issues with motivation when we consider expectancy theory to be explaining the behavior of people.

    If one is to carefully think about the source of what could lead to a not so motivated performance and then map it over the expectancy model of motivation, we realize 3 possible causes for these motivational problems:

    1. A disbelief in a relationship between effort and performance
    2. A disbelief in a relationship between performance and reward
    3. Lack of desire for the rewards offered
    Let us take the scenario of a sales person and explore these in greater detail. If the sales person doesn’t believe that doing more calls will result in higher sales, then he/she could be shown how to distinguish departments with high probability sales opportunities from those with low probability sales opportunities. This could motivate the individual to perform better at the sales task.

    Let’s take an extension of the sales person’s scenario – where he/she believes that the relation doesn’t exist between the performance and rewards, i.e. the person doesn’t believe that an increased sale doesn’t result in over al higher commission – this could be simply solved in a session which highlights the relation using graphs or numbers!

    Research has indicated the theory is pretty accurate in predicting job satisfaction. But this theory is inherently a bit complex and hence makes it a bit difficult to test the model!

  • Expectancy Model of Motivation 3

    In the last byte, we looked at a model for the Expectancy Model of Motivation which was adapted from the standard reference book. In today’s byte, we look at exploring the relationship a bit further.

    Perspectives of individuals could be that regardless of the amount of additional effort put forth, there wouldn’t be any improvement in performance, and since the performance has no relationship with the reward, there could be no meaning in putting in the additional effort. It is essentially the person’s belief about the relation between the constructs that is important (it is not the actual nature of the relation that matter!). What the individual believes in is the relation is what would motivate the individual to work.

    It would however be interesting how this expectation about the relation would act in the business world when in a volatile environment like today.

    Companies and Managers could use the expectancy theory to design motivation programs. The performance plans and evaluation systems could be designed to enhance a person’s belief that effort would lead to better performance and that the better performance would lead to a pay increase and other reward. Valance and Expectancy play a major role in establishing priorities for employees when they pursue multiple goals.

    It is the idea of valance that people place on various rewards that varies – an individual could choose salary over other benefits while another could choose benefits over salary! Every individual doesn’t place the same value on each reward.

  • Expectancy Model of Motivation 2

    In the last byte, we looked at various definitions involved in the expectancy model. In today’s byte we delve deeper to understand the theory in greater detail.
    Valence, Expectancy, and Instrumentality are all important to an individual’s motivation.  Expectancy and Instrumentality concern a person’s beliefs about how efforts, performance, and rewards are related.  The following diagram summarizes the relation. 
    If we map this to the real life, we can think of a situation where an individually may firmly believe that an increase in effort has a direct, positive effect on performance and that a reduced amount of effort results in commensurate reduction in person. There could be another person who might believe that regardless of the effort one puts in, no improvement in performance is possible.

  • Expectancy Model of Motivation

    In the last byte, we looked at some of the extensions of equity theory. In today’s byte we begin the discussion on Expectancy Model of Motivation.

    While the equity theory focused on the social exchange process; the expectancy theory as the name suggests is based on the perception of individuals and how it acts as a motivation in the work environment.

    The theory of Expectancy was proposed by Vroom and the basic outline includes the understanding that individuals desire certain outcomes of behavior and performance (similar to rewards and consequences of behavior) and that they believe that there is a relationship between the effort they put in and the performance they achieve and the outcomes they receive.

    To understand this further it would be useful to understand the 3 important terms that are used in this theory:

    • Valance:  It is the value or importance that an individual places on a particular reward
    • Expectancy: It is the belief that effort leads to performance
    • Instrumentality: It is the belief that performance is related to rewards.
    We shall continue the discussion in the next byte.

  • Adam’s Theory of Inequity 4

    In the last byte, we looked at some classifications based on the equity expectations of the people. In today’s byte, we look at some extensions of the equity theory.

    The research on equity from the organizational justice has a pretty long history, and has some interesting insight about how an individual’s organizational position influences the self-imposed performance expectation. Following briefly summarizes it:
    It has been observed that when an individual moves two-levels up in the organizational hierarchy with no increase in pay, he/she creates a higher self-imposed performance expectation than a one-level move up with modest increase in pay! Similarly, a two-level demotion in the organization hierarchy with no reduction in pay creates a lower self-imposed performance expectation compared to a one level demotion with a modest decrease in pay!
    This clearly indicates that organizational position is considered more important than pay in determining the level of person’s performance expectations.

    In extreme cases unintended consequences of such inequity and organizational injustice could be manifested in a dysfunctional behavior. Examples of such behavior are aggressive reactions or other forms of violent and deviant behavior that harm both their colleagues and organization. The fortunate piece of the story is that there are very few such instances.

  • Adam’s Theory of Inequity 3

    In the last byte, we looked at the various strategies one could adopt to handle a situation of inequity in an organization. In today’s byte, we look at some extensions to the equity theory.     

    If we really look at the theory that we have been discussed, it was really inequity that we were setting as the subject matter and not equity itself. As research has progresses, certain revisions have been suggested to this basic equity theory. One such interesting approach has been suggested by classifying individuals based on their preference for equity. These are:

    1. Equity Sensitive
    2. Benevolent
    3. Entitled
    Equity Sensitive people are those individuals who prefer an equity ratio equal to that of his or her comparison other. This sensitivity has a great bearing on the way people spend their free time – it would define whether they would invest the time into the work or do something else.

    Benevolent refers to those individuals who are comfortable with an equity ratio lesser than that of their comparison other. The Entitled on the other hand are people who are comfortable with equity ratio greater than that of their comparison others. The Entitled behavior is generally observed in the younger generation of the affluent families. If we were to call Benevolent as givers, the Entitled could be called as takers.

    We could remember the above using the following diagram.

  • Adam’s Theory of Inequity 2

    In the last byte, we looked at Adam’s theory of Inequity and mentioned that we could continue the discussion in today’s byte.

    When in a situation of inequity, and individual could find one of the seven strategies listed below:

    1. Alter the person’s outcomes
    2. Alter the person’s inputs
    3. Alter the comparison other’s outcomes
    4. Alter the comparison other’s inputs
    5. Change who is used as a comparison other
    6. Rationalize the inequity
    7. Leave the organizational situation
    Within these strategies, a large number of tactics could be tried out. Each tactic comes with its own pros and cons. The selection of a strategy and a set of tactics is a sensitive issue with possible long-term implications. It is essential to consider the consequences when one chooses a strategy and a tactic to handle the inequity.

    Research has indicated that those people who feel that their compensations are equitable have displayed greater job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Thus a lot of the equity theory helps explain important organizational behavior. This theory could also be extended to manage important labor relationships.

  • Adam’s Theory of Inequity

    In the last byte, we looked at demand and contributions as part of social equity theory. In today’s byte, we look at Adam’s theory of inequity.

    Sometimes one finds oneself unmotivated and angry about the compensation/hike that was granted by the organization one worked for.

    If one were to reflect on what could have lead to this discomforting feeling and we map it on to the equity theory, we realize we could develop a output-input ratio based on the expectations and their fulfillment.

    Let us begin by defining an important concept that would follow this ratio that we have just mentioned – Inequity

    Inequity – is a situation in which a person perceives he or she is receiving less that he or she is giving, or is giving less than he or she is receiving.

    Looking back the situation described earlier, a person would examine the contribution portion of the exchange relationship – the individual considers their input (own contribution) in the relationship and their outcomes (the organization’s contribution) in the relationship. We could summarize this in the following diagram:

    In essence, inequity leads to the experience of tension, and the tension motivates people to act in a manner to resolve the inequity – this was proposed by Stacy Adams.