Values, motivation basics

Sept 17, 2008

 REMEMBER: OB is concerned
with Employee Performance
► Productivity
► Absenteeism
► Turnover
► OCBs

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 Organizational citizenship
► Discretionary behavior
► Not part of an employee's formal job
requirements
► Promotes effective functioning of the
organization

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 Examples of OCBs
► Helping others on work
team
► Volunteering for extra
job activities
► Avoiding unnecessary
conflicts
► Making constructive
statements

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 What matters most?

► Value clarification and congruency

check

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 Milton Rokeach value survey

► Terminal values= ► Instrumental

desirable end-states values= preferable
of existence modes of behavior, or
means of achieving
► Goals that a person the terminal values
would like to achieve
during lifetime

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 Terminal Values
• A comfortable life
• Happiness
• A sense of • Inner harmony
accomplishment • Pleasure
• A world of peace • Salvation
• A world of beauty
• Equality
• Social recognition
• Family security • True friendship
• Freedom

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 Instrumental Values

• Ambitious • Imaginative
• Capable • Logical
• Cheerful • Loving
• Clean • Obedient
• Courageous • Polite
• Helpful • Responsible
• Honest

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 Rokeach values
► Class profile?
► How could this info
help you manage
and work in this
organization?

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 Why is value clarification
important?
Actions
Actions

Goals,
Goals,
intentions
intentions

Core
Corevalues
values

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 Jim Collins: Good to Great

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 Covey:
Need
What is needed?
Conscience Passion
What What do I
should I VOICE
love?
do?
Talent
What do I
do best?
“Voice” = your unique contribution
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 What motivates YOU?
► ”Think of a time at work when something lead you
to feel extreme satisfaction. Describe it.
► Think of a time at work when something lead you
to feel extreme dissatisfaction. Describe that.

► A simplified description of Herzberg’s methodology

► Motivation-hygiene theory
 Determines satisfaction?
► Mentally
challenging work
► Equitable rewards
► Supportive working
conditions
► Supportive
colleagues (friends
at work)

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 Job satisfaction
► A link between
satisfaction and
productivity.
► Satisfaction
negatively related to
absenteeism and
turnover.
► Managers’ humanistic
responsibility

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 Basic motivation concepts

What do we know?

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 Needs motivate (when
unfulfilled)
► Early psych research (esp. W.
McDougall, 1926 and H.
Murray, 1938) sought to
create lists of “universal
human needs”
► Problem: the lists got too long

► This is Henry Murray

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 Abraham Maslow

► Two important contributions:

 Shorter list
 The notion of a hierarchy

►Here is a picture of Abe 

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 Hierarchy of needs

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 McGregor’s Theory X, Theory Y

► Here’s Doug
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 Two-factor theory

Frederick Herzberg
► Motivation-hygiene theory
► Job enrichment

► Yup, this is Fred

1968

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 Herzberg’s methodology
► ”Think of a time at work when something lead you
to feel extreme satisfaction. Describe it.
► Think of a time at work when something lead you
to feel extreme dissatisfaction. Describe that.

► A simplified description of Herzberg’s methodology

► Motivation-hygiene theory
 Hygiene vs. Motivators
Job satisfaction and motivation are is NOT
on the same continuum
Job Motivation
satisfaction

No job No motivation
satisfaction

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 McClelland’s theory of needs

► n-Achievement
► n-Power
► n-Affiliation

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 Goal-setting theory

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 What works?
► Easy versus difficult
goals?
► Set by individuals or
assigned?

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 Goal setting theory
► Presupposes commitment to the goal
 Can do it
 Wants to do it
► Not equally effective on all tasks
 Simple, not complex
 Well-learned, not novel
 Independent, not interdependent
► Culture bound
 Independence assumed
 Equity theory

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 Responses to inequity?
► Distortinput, outcomes
► Get others to change their inputs,
outcomes
► Change own inputs, outcomes
► Choose different comparison referent
► Quit their job

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 Responses to inequity
(simplified)
► In everyday life, we
 Ignore or rationalize
 Demand restitution
 Retaliate
 Withdraw

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 Expectancy theory

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 Rewards motivate when:
► Effort-performance
linkage
Performance-reward
linkage
► Reward-personal
goals linkage

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 Two critical elements
► Motivation
 Do I really want this?
► Ability
 Can I do it?

► Behavior changes result from adjusting

these

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 Timm’s take on motivation:
► You can’t motivate others.
► You can work to create conditions for
self-motivation
 Take-aways?

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