Motivation Theories

Organizational
Behavior, 9/E
Schermerhorn, Hunt, and
Osborn
Prepared by
Michael K. McCuddy
Valparaiso University
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Chapter 6 Study Questions
 What is motivation?
 What do the content theories suggest about
individual needs and motivation?
 What do the process theories suggest about
individual motivation?
 What are reinforcement theories and how
are they linked to motivation?
Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 2
Study Question 1:What is motivation?
 Motivation refers to forces within an individual
that account for the level, direction, and
persistence of effort expended at work.
– Direction — an individual’s choice when presented
with a number of possible alternatives.
– Level — the amount of effort a person puts forth.
– Persistence — the length of time a person stays with a

given action.

Study Question 1:What is motivation?
 Categories of motivation theories.
– Content theories.
• Focus on profiling the needs that people seek to
fulfill.
– Process theories.
• Focus on people’s thought or cognitive processes.
– Reinforcement theories.
• Emphasize controlling behavior by manipulating
its consequences.
Study Question 2: What do the content theories
suggest about individual needs and motivation?
 Content theories.
– Motivation results from the individual’s attempts to
satisfy needs.
 Major content theories.
– Hierarchy of needs theory.
– ERG theory.
– Acquired needs theory.
– Two-factor theory.
 Each theory offers a slightly different view.

 ERG theory.
– Existence needs.
• Desire for physiological and material well-being.
– Relatedness needs.
• Desire for satisfying interpersonal relationships.
– Growth needs.
• Desire for continued personal growth and
development.

 Acquired needs theory.
– Need for achievement (nAch).
• The desire to do something better or more efficiently, to
solve problems, or to master complex tasks.
– Need for affiliation (nAff).
• The desire to establish and maintain friendly and warm
relations with others.
– Need for power (nPower).
• The desire to control others, to influence their behavior, or to
be responsible for others.


Study Question 3: What do the process theories
suggest about individual motivation?
 Process theories.
– Focus on the thought processes through which
people choose among alternative courses of
action.
 The chapter focuses on two process
theories:
– Equity theory.
– Expectancy theory.

 Equity theory.
– People gauge the fairness of their work outcomes in
relation to others.
– Felt negative inequity.
• Individual feels he/she has received relatively less
than others in proportion to work inputs.
– Felt positive inequity.
• Individual feels he/she has received relatively
more than others in proportion to work inputs.
 Equity restoration behaviors.
– Change work inputs.
– Change the outcomes received.
– Leave the situation.
– Change the comparison person.
– Psychologically distort the comparisons.
– Take actions to change the inputs or outputs of
the comparison person.

 Coping methods for dealing with equity
comparisons.
– Recognize that equity comparisons are inevitable in the
workplace.
– Anticipate felt negative inequities when rewards are given.
– Communicate clear evaluations for any rewards given.
– Communicate an appraisal of performance on which the reward
is based.
– Communicate comparison points that are appropriate in the
situation


 A person’s motivation is a multiplicative function

of expectancy, instrumentality, and valence (M =
E x I x V).
 Motivational implications of expectancy theory.
– Motivation is sharply reduced when, expectancy,
instrumentality, or valence approach zero.
– Motivation is high when expectancy and
instrumentality are high and valence is strongly
positive.

 Extrinsic rewards.
– Positively valued work outcomes given to the
individual by some other person.
 Intrinsic rewards.
– Positively valued work outcomes that the
individual receives directly as a result of task
performance.

 Guidelines for the distribution of extrinsic

rewards.
– Clearly identify the desired behaviors.
– Maintain an inventory of rewards that have the
potential to serve as positive reinforcers.
– Recognize individual differences in the
rewards that will have a positive value for
each person.

 Guidelines for the distribution of extrinsic
rewards (cont.).
– Let each person know exactly what must be done to
receive a desirable reward; set clear target antecedents
and give performance feedback.
– Allocate rewards contingently and immediately upon
the appearance of the desired behaviors.
– Allocate rewards wisely in terms of scheduling the
delivery of positive reinforcement.

Study Question 4: What are reinforcement
theories and how are they linked to motivation?
 Reinforcement.
– The administration of a consequence as a
result of a behavior.
– Proper management of reinforcement can
change the direction, level, and persistence of
an individual’s behavior.


 Law of effect.
– Theoretical basis for manipulating
consequences of behavior.
– Behavior that results in a pleasant outcome is
likely to be repeated while behavior that
results in an unpleasant outcome is not likely
to be repeated.


 Organizational behavior modification (OB
Mod).
– The systematic reinforcement of desirable
work behavior and the nonreinforcement or
punishment of unwanted work behavior.
– Uses four basic strategies:
• Positive reinforcement.
• Negative reinforcement.
• Punishment.
• Extinction.
 Positive reinforcement.
– The administration of positive consequences
to increase the likelihood of repeating the
desired behavior in similar settings.
– Rewards are not necessarily positive
reinforcers.
– A reward is a positive reinforcer only if the
behavior improves.

 Principles governing reinforcement.

– Law of contingent reinforcement.
• The reward must be delivered only if the desired
behavior is exhibited.
– Law of immediate reinforcement.
• The reward must be given as soon as possible after
the desired behavior is exhibited.

 Scheduling reinforcement.
– Continuous reinforcement.
• Administers a reward each time the desired
behavior occurs.
– Intermittent reinforcement.
• Rewards behavior periodically — either on
the basis of time elapsed or the number of
desired behaviors exhibited.

 Negative reinforcement.
– Also known as avoidance.
– The withdrawal of negative consequences to

increase the likelihood of repeating the desired
behavior in a similar setting.

 Punishment.
– The administration of negative consequences
or the withdrawal of positive consequences to
reduce the likelihood of repeating the behavior
in similar settings.

 Implications of using punishment.

– Punishing poor performance enhances
performance without affecting satisfaction.
– Arbitrary and capricious punishment leads to
poor performance and low satisfaction.
– Punishment may be offset by positive
reinforcement from another source.

 Extinction.
– The withdrawal of the reinforcing
consequences for a given behavior.
– The behavior is not unlearned; it simply is not
exhibited.
– The behavior will reappear if it is reinforced
again.


 Ethical issues with reinforcement usage.

– Is improved performance really due to reinforcement?
– Is the use of reinforcement demeaning and
dehumanizing?
– Will managers abuse their power by exerting external
control over behavior?
– How can we ensure that the manipulation of
consequences is done in a positive and constructive
fashion?

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Organizational

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

– Persistence — the length of time a person stays with a

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 3

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 6

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 7

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 8

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 9

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 10

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 12

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 13

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 14

 A person’s motivation is a multiplicative function

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 15

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 16

 Guidelines for the distribution of extrinsic

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 17

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 18

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 19

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 20

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 21

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 22

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 24

 Principles governing reinforcement.

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 25

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 27

– The withdrawal of negative consequences to

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 28

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 29

 Implications of using punishment.

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 30

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 31

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 32

 Ethical issues with reinforcement usage.

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 33

Organizational Behavior: Chapter 6 34

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