Theories of Motivation
Theories of Motivation
Theories of Motivation
WORK MOTIVATION
THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
I. Need-based Theories
Expectancy theory explains this increased output of effort by means of the equation:
F (Effort or Motivational Force) = Effort the employee will expend to achieve the
desired performance;
E (Expectancy) = Belief that effort will result in desired level of performance;
I (Instrumentality) = Belief that desired level of performance will result in desired
outcome;
V (Valence) = Value of the outcome to the employee
Expectancy theory has been shown to have useful applications
in designing a reward system.
If policies are consistently, clearly and fairly implemented, then
the instrumentality would be high.
If the rewards are substantial enough to be meaningful to an
employee, then the valence would be also considered high.
This theory posits employee satisfaction to be an outcome of
performance rather than the cause of performance.
This theory has been shown to have greater validity in research
in within-subject designs rather than between-subjects designs.
o That is, it is more useful in predicting how an employee might
choose among competing choices for their time and energy, rather
than predicting the choices two different employees might make.
This approach applies the tenets of behaviorism to promote employee behaviors that an
employer deems beneficial and discourage those that are not.
An effective use of positive reinforcement would be frequent praise while an employee is learning
a new task.
Providing praise on a variable-ratio schedule would be appropriate, whereas
paying an employee on an unpredictable variable-ratio schedule would not be.
For an organization to take full advantage of Herzberg’s theory, they must design jobs in such a
way that motivators are built in, and thus are intrinsically rewarding.
JOB ENRICHMENT
» Expands jobs to give employees a greater role in planning, performing, and evaluating
their work, thus providing the chance to satisfy their motivator’s needs.
o Proper job enrichment, therefore, involves more than simply giving the workers
extra tasks to perform. It means expanding the level of knowledge and skills
needed to perform the job.
b. Hackman and Oldham’s JOB CHARACTERISTICS THEORY
Attempts to use job design to improve employee intrinsic motivation.
» GROWTH-NEED STRENGTH
Ultimately determines the effectiveness of the core job dimensions on the
psychological states, and likewise the effectiveness of the critical psychological
states on the affective outcomes.
They show that any job can be described in terms of FIVE KEY JOB CHARACTERISTICS:
V. Self-Regulation Theory
Based on the setting of goals, self-efficacy and the receipt of accurate feedback that is monitored
to enhance the likelihood of goal attainment.
It is presumed that people consciously set goals for themselves that guide and direct their
behavior toward the attainment of these goals.
o These people also engage in self-monitoring or self-evaluation.
o Self-evaluation can be helped along if feedback is given when a person is working on their
goals because it can align how a person feels about how they are doing to achieve a goal
and what they are actually doing to achieve their goals.
This theory has been linked to goal-setting and Goal-Setting Theory.