What is motivation?

Contemporary theories of motivation

-Cognitive Evaluation Theory

-Goal Setting Theory

-Self Efficacy Theory

-Reinforcement Theory

-Equity Theory

-Expectancy Theory

What is motivation?

Motivation is the process that account for an individual’sintensity, direction and persistence of effort towardattaining a goal.

Motivation is the result of the interaction between anindividual and a situation.

Motivation process is universal, all people are motivatedto pursue goals they value.

The level of motivation varies both between individualsand within individuals at different times.

Contemporary theories

of motivation

Each contemporary theory has a reasonable degree of valid supportingdocumentation. We call them “contemporary theories” not becausethey were all developed recently but because they represent currentstate of thinking in explaining employee motivation.

Cognitive Evaluation Theory

Goal Setting Theory

Self Efficacy Theory

Reinforcement Theory

Equity Theory

Expectancy Theory

Cognitive Evaluation Theory

A theory that states that allocating extrinsic rewards for behavior that had been

previously intrinsically rewarding tends to decrease the overall level of motivation.

When looking at task, we evaluate it in terms of how well it meets our needs to feel

competent and in control. If we think we will be able to complete the task, we will be

intrinsically motivated to complete the task, requiring no further external motivation.

People may see external rewards as achieving some degree of control over them or

may see the reward as informational, such as where they reinforce feelings of

competence and self-determination. When people see the reward as mostly for control

they will be motivated by gaining the reward but not by enacting the requested

behavior.

A recent outgrowth of cognitive evaluation theory is self concordance, which considers the degree to which people’s reasons for pursuing goals are consistent with their interests and core values.

For example: If individuals pursue goals because of an intrinsic interest, they are more likely to attain goals and are happy even if they don’t attain them.

In contrast, people who pursue goals for extrinsic reasons are less likely to attain their goals and are less happy even when they do achieve them.

Goal Setting Theory

A theory that says that specific and difficult goals with feedback, lead to

higher performance.

According to Edwin Locke, intentions to work toward a goal are a major

source of work motivation.

Goals tell an employee what needs to be done and how much effort will need

to be extended.

“More difficult the goal, higher the level of performance” because:

Challenging goals help to get our attention and tend to help us focus.

Difficult goals energize us because we have to work harder to attain them.

When goals are difficult, people persist in trying to attain them.

Difficult goals lead us to discover strategies that help us to perform the job or task

more efficiently.

People do better when they get feedback on how well they are progressing toward

their goals because feedback helps to identify discrepancies between what they have

done and what they want to do; that is , feedback acts to guide behavior.

Factors that have been found to influence the goals-performance relationship are:

o Goal commitment-Goal setting theory presupposes that an individual is committed

to the goal. Individual believes that he/she can achieve the goal or wants to achieve it.

o Task characteristics-Goals seem to have a more substantial effect on performance rather than complex and independent rather than interdependent.

o National culture-Goal setting theory is culture bound. It assumes that employees will be reasonably independent, that managers and employee will seek challenging goals and that performance is considered important by both.

Self Efficacy Theory

Self efficacy(also known as social cognitive theory or social learning theory)refers to an individual’s belief that he/she is capable of performing a task.

Higher your self efficacy, the more confidence you have in your ability tosucceed in a task and respond to negative feedback with increased effort andmotivation.

Self efficacy can be increased by four ways:

o Enactive mastery-gaining relevant experience with the task or job.

o Vicarious modeling-becoming more confident because you see someoneelse doing the task.

o Verbal persuasion-becoming more confident because convinces

you that you have the skills necessary to be successful.

o Arousal-leads to an energized state, which drives a person to

complete a task. But, when arousal is not relevant, then arousal hurts

performance.

Goal setting theory and self efficacy theory don’t compete with one

another; rather they complement each other.

Reinforcement Theory

A theory that says that behavior is a function of its consequences.

Ignores internal state of a person.

Focuses only on what happens to a person as a result of an actiontaken.

Ignores elements like: feelings, attitudes, expectations etc.

“Understand relationship between behaviors andconsequences….arrange contingences that reinforce desirablebehaviors and discourage undesirable behaviors”.

STIMULUS ====== RESPONSE =====CONSEQUENCE

Types of Reinforcement

EMPLOYEE

BEHAVIOR

TYPE OF

REINFORCEMENT CONSEQUENCE

EMPLOYEE

BEHAVIOR (Future)

Improved Performance Positive Praise improvement Repeat quality work

Improved Performance Negative Do not give any reprimand Repeat quality work

Performance not

improvedExtinction Withhold praise/raise Do not repeat poor work

Performance not

improvedPunishment

Discipline action, such as

written warningDo not repeat poor work

Equity Theory

A theory that says that behavior is a function of its consequences.

Motivation is influenced significantly by others’ rewards as well as by one’s own

rewards.

Most research has focused on pay, but employees seem to look for equity in the

distribution of other rewards.

Historically, equity theory focused on distributive justice. But increasingly equity is

thought of from the standpoint of organizational justice.

Managers should consider openly sharing information on how allocation decisions

are made, following consistent and unbiased procedures.

Ratio Comparisons Perception

O/IA < O/IB Inequity – under rewarded

O/IA = O/IB Equity

O/IA > O/IB Inequity – over rewarded

Model of organizational justice

DISTRIBUTIVEJUSTICE

PROCEDURALJUSTICE

INTERACTIONAL JUSTICE

Perceived fairness of

amount the amount and

allocation of rewards

Perceived fairness of

process used to determine

the distribution

Perceived degree to which

an individual is treated

with dignity, concern and

respect

Organizational JusticeOverall perception of what is fair in the workplace

Expectancy Theory

The strength of a tendency to act in a certain way depends onthe strength of an expectation that the act will be followed by agiven outcome and on the attractiveness of that the outcome tothe individual.

The theory focuses on three relationships:

1. Effort-performance.

2. Performance-reward.

3. Rewards-personal goals.

IndivudualEffort

PersonalGoals

OrganizationalRewards

IndividualPerformance

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Assumptions:

Both internal (needs) and external (environment) affect

behavior;

Behavior is individual’s decision;

People have different needs, desires & goals;

People make behavior decisions based on their

perception of outcome

Motivation = Expectancy * Instrumentality * Valance

I can achieve

this target

I will get a

reward

Winning this

reward is

important for

me