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CHAPTER 12
MOTIVATING OTHERS AND DEVELOPING TEAMWORK

CHAPTER OUTLINE AND LECTURE NOTES

I. DIAGNOSING WHAT MOTIVATES OTHERS TOWARD GOOD


PERFORMANCE
Motivation has two widely used meanings: (1) an internal state that leads to. effort
expended toward objectives and (2) an activity performed by one person to get
another to accomplish work. Knowledge of motivation is particularly important in
the current era because so many workers do not feel identified with their work or
their employers.

A starting point in being able to motivate people and groups is to understand what
....
outcomes or payoffs they want from their work. Questions that can be asked might
include:

1. What could this job offer you that would make you work at your best?
2. What factors about this job would bring out your best?
3. What might the company do to make you excited about your job?
4. How can I (or we) make your job a wonderful experience for you?
5. What would make you feel really good about your job?

A person's behavior is often more revealing than what he or she says, so you may
gain insights by observing what elements of the job strongly interests workers.

II. TWO CLASSSIC APPROACHES TO UNDERSTANDING WORK


MOTIVATION
The two classic approaches to understanding work motivation are Maslow's need
hierarchy and Herzberg's two-factor theory of work motivation.

A. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs


. Maslow arranged human needs i~to a pyramid shaped model with basic
physiological needs at the bottom and self-actualization needs at the top. The
five levels are:
1. Physiological
2. Safety
3. Social
4. Esteem
5. Self-Actualization

Physiological needs must be satisfied before higher-level needs are activated.


Maslow's need hierarchy provided a beginning to recognizing the importance of
understanding human needs to better motivate others.

B. Two-Factor Theory of Work Motivation


Herzberg identified two sets of job factors that influence workers.

1. Motivators or satisfiers can motivate and satisfy workers.


2. Dissatisfiers or hygiene factors can only prevent dissatisfaction.

Motivators relate to higher-order needs, whereas hygiene factors relate to


lower-order needs. Motivator factors include achievement, recognition,
advancement, responsibility, the work itself, and personal growth possibilities.
Examples of hygiene factors are pay, status, job security, working conditions,
and quality of leadership.

The two-factor theory helped managers realize that money is not always the
primary motivator, and it spurred interest in designing jobs to make them
more intrinsically satisfying.

III. MOTIVATING THROUGH EMPOWERMENT, JOB DESIGN, AND


INTERESTING WORK
Three standard approaches to employee motivation are granting them more
power, providing them interesting work, and recognizing them for their effort.

A. Empowerment
Empowerment is the process by which a manager shares power with team
members, thereby enhancing their feelings of self-efficacy. Because the worker
feels more effective, empowerment contributes to intrinsic motivation.
Although employees are empowered, they are still given overall direction and
limits to the extent of their authority.
B. Motivation Through Job Design and Interesting Work

Motivating people through interesting work is based on the principle of


intrinsic motivation, which refers to a person's beliefs about the extent to
which an activity can satisfy his or her needs for competence and self-
determination.

Job enrichment refers to making a job more motivating and satisfying by


adding variety and responsibility. A job is considered enriched to the extent
that it demands more of an individual's talents and capabilities. Going beyond
the formal theory of job enrichment, interesting work also includes having a
sense of purpose. The interesting work is often at team level.

IV. MOTIVATING OTHERS THROUGH POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT,


FINANCIAL INCENTIVES, RECOGNTION, AND PRAISE

A. Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement means increasing the probability that behavior will be
repeated by rewarding people for making the desired response. The phrase
increasing the probability means that positive reinforcement improves
learning and motivation but is not 100 percent effective. The phrase making
the desired response is noteworthy because rewards must be contingent on
doing something right for positive reinforcement to be effective. The rules for
effective use of positive reinforcement include:
1. State clearly what behavior will lead to a reward
2. Choose an appropriate reward
3. Supply ample feedback
4. Schedule rewards intermittently
5. Make the rewards follow the observed behavior closely in time
6. Make the reward fit the behavior
7. Make the reward visible
8. Change the reward periodically
B Financial Incentives as Positive Reinforcement
Money is a natural motivator, and no program of motivation can exclude the
role of Financial compensation. Even the most ardent critics of the
motivational power of money recognize that nonfinancial motivators are
effective only when compensation is considered to be fair and adequate.
A challenge in understanding the role of money and other forms of
compensation is that they are not pure concepts. The following are factors that .
influence the effectiveness of financial incentives, and problems with financial
incentives.
1. Linking compensation to performance
· To relate pay to performance, many companies use variable pay as
a method of motivating people with money. Variable pay is an
incentive plan that intentionally pays good performers more money than poor
performers.
· Another approach is to link bonuses to results obtained by the
work group or the entire company.
· Employee stock ownership plans encourage employees to purchase
company stock, so employees are part owners of the company.
This should motivate them to work hard and eliminate waste.

2. Personal factors influencing the power of financial incentives


· Individual differences influence profoundly the motivational
power of financial incentives.

3. Problems created by financial incentives


· Financial rewards can lead a person to focus on rewards rather
than the joy built into exciting work.
· After people receive several increases based on performance, merit
pay comes to be perceived as a right or entitlement.
· Cash rewards can interfere with teamwork as employees focus on
individual financial rewards.

C. Motivation Through Recognition and Praise


The workplace provides a natural opportunity to satisfy the recognition need,
the desire to be acknowledged for one's contributions and efforts to feel
important.

Managers can motivate many employees by making them feel important, both
through formal recognition and informal recognition. One form of informal
recognition is praise.

V. STRATEGIES AND TACTICS FOR BUILDING TEAMWORK


Teamwork is work done with an understanding and commitment to group goals
on the part of all team members. Good teamwork enhances, but does not
guarantee, a successful team.
VI. UNDERSTANDING GROUP DYNAMICS CONTRIBUTES TO TEAMWORK
DEVELOPMENT
Being knowledgeable about how groups operate is an indirect way for leaders to
be effective at developing teamwork. Group dynamics refers to the forces
operating in groups that affect how members work together. Three elements of
group dynamics are stages of group development, team member roles, and the
characteristics of an effective work group.

A. Stages of Group Development


A key group process is the group's development over time. The five stages of
group development are:

Stage 1 - Forming: Members learn what tasks they will be performing,


how they will benefit from group membership, and what constitutes
acceptable behavior.
Stage 2 - Storming: This is a "shakedown" period, can be a time of
conflict, hostility, infighting, tension, and confrontation.
Stage 3 - Norming: A quieter stage of overcoming resistance and
establishing group standards of conduct (norms). Cohesiveness and
commitment begin to develop.
Stage 4 - Performing: The group is ready to focus on accomplishing its
key tasks. The group becomes a well-functioning unit.
Stage 5 - Adjourning: Temporary work groups are abandoned after their
task has been accomplished.

B. Team Member Roles


A major challenge in learning to become an effective team member is to
choose the right roles to occupy. A role is the tendency to behave, contribute,
and relate to others in a particular way. It is helpful for leaders to understand
the roles as they attempt to get the group working together smoothly.
Frequent roles occupied by Team Members

1. Plant-Creative, imaginative, and unorthodox. Their strength is solving


difficult problems. Their potential weakness is ignoring fine details and
becoming too immersed in the problem to communicate effectively.

2. Resource Investigator-Extroverted, enthusiastic, and communicates freely


with other team members. Strength is exploring opportunities and
developing valuable contacts. Potential weakness is being overly
optimistic and losing interest after the initial enthusiasm wanes.

3. Coordinator-Mature, confident, and a natural team leader. Strength is


clarifying goals, promoting decision making, and delegating effectively.
Potential weakness is being seen as manipulative and controlling.

4. Shaper-Challenging, dynamic, and thrives under pressure. Strength is use


of determination and courage to overcome obstacles. Potential weakness
is being easily provoked and ignoring the feelings of others.

5. Monitor-evaluator-Even tempered, engages in strategic thinking, and


makes accurate judgments. Strength is seeing all options and judging
accurately. Potential weakness is lacking drive and the ability to inspire
others.
...,
-. 6. Team Worker-Cooperative, focuses on relationships, and is sensitive and
diplomatic. Strength is being a good listener who builds relationships,
dislikes confrontation, and averts friction. Potential weakness is being
indecisive in a crunch situation or crisis.

7. Implementer-Disciplined, reliable, conservative, and efficient. Strength is


acting quickly on ideas and converting them into practical actions.
Potential weakness is being inflexible and slow to see new opportunities.

8. Completer-finisher-Conscientious and anxious to get the job done.


Strength is having a good eye for detail and being effective at searching
out errors. Completer-finishers can be counted on for finishing a project
and delivering on time. Potential weakness is being a worrier and being
reluctant to delegate.

9. Specialist-Single-minded self-starter. Strength is being dedicated and


providing knowledge and skill in rare supply. Potential weakness is
getting stuck in a niche with little interest in other knowledge and may
dwell on technicalities.
C. The Problem of Groupthink (Too Much Consensus)
Groupthink is a deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral
judgment in the interest of group solidarity. It occurs in a group atmosphere
where group members value getting along more than getting things done. As a
consequence, the group loses its powers of critical analysis.

The negative aspects of groupthink can often be prevented if the team leader,
or another team member, encourages all team members to express doubts and
criticisms of proposed or suggested courses of action.

VII. CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFECTIVE WORK GROUP


Groups, like individuals, have characteristics that contribute to their uniqueness
and effectiveness.
1. Clear Cut Goals
2. Group Members are assigned work they perceive to be challenging and
rewarding
3. Members depend on one another to accomplish tasks
4. Team members think outside the box
5. Group size is 6 to 8
6. Team members have good intelligence and personality factors
7. There is honest and open communication
8. Members believe in working as a team
9. The team has emotional intelligence in the sense that it builds relations.

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