Chapter 5
Motivation
CHAPTER Overview
The chapter explains and describes the underlying dynamics of the motivation process. First, a model of motivation is presented. The model depicts the role of needs in the motivational process. Next, a comprehensive description and discussion of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is presented, which is followed by a discussion of Herzberg’s two factor theory and Aderfer’s E-R-G model. The final part provides a description of the basic principles of behavior modification, types of reinforcement schedules, and goal setting.

CHAPTER LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, students should be able to understand…

• The motivational process
• Motivational drives
• Need category systems
• Behavior modification and reinforcement
• Goal setting and its effects
• The expectancy model of motivation
• Equity comparisons

Discussion and Project Ideas

• Describe a person sitting in a local restaurant eating a large steak. Ask the class what need this person is fulfilling. Most will say hunger. Needs for status, affiliation, and power, however, are also possible. Use this example to lead into a discussion of the difficulty of inferring needs from behavior and the complex interaction of needs which determine behavior.
• Have students bring to class one-half page descriptions of behaviors they would like to change in an individual or a group. Form groups of four or five. Have the students trade their descriptions and select one person’s problem to work on as a group. Ask the groups to go through the following four-step process:

a.   Pinpoint the behavior they wish to change.
b.   Identify environmental consequences presently reinforcing and/or punishing the behavior.
c.   Suggest additional reinforcers or punishment which might influence the frequency of the behavior.
d.   Design a strategy to change behavior by adding additional reinforcers to desirable behavior and eliminating anything which is punishing the desired behavior. Also suggest strategies for eliminating anything which may be reinforcing undesired behavior.
Have each group present its problems and strategies for behavior change to the class.

• Divide the class in two and conduct a debate with one side taking the position that proper management of behavioral contingencies would lead to an optimally positive and productive environment. The other side should take the position that behavior modification denies free will, infringes on people’s basic rights, and is untenable as a strategy for motivating complex organisms.
• Negotiate a trade with a professor from the social sciences who specializes in behavior modification applications. The arrangement would be that you would explain behavior modification applications in the business area of his or her class if he or she will go over some of the finer points of developing, structuring, and implementing a behavior modification intervention with your class.

 

Lecture OUTLINE

• Motivation
• Takes place within a culture
• Reflects an organizational behavior model
• Requires excellent communication skills
• Work Motivation
• The set of internal and external forces that cause an employee to choose a course of action and engage in certain behaviors
• It is a complex combination of psychological forces within each person
• Employers are vitally interest in three elements of work  motivation…
• Direction and focus of the behavior
• Level of the effort
• Persistence of the behavior
• Motivation requires discovering and understanding employee drives and needs
• Positive acts performed for the organization need to be reinforced
• Set clear goals to achieve
• The best motivators tend to be things that cost little or nothing

• Nearly all conscious behavior is motivated or caused
• Growing hair requires no motivation, but getting a haircut does
• The role of motivation in performance is summarized in Figure 5.1
• Internal needs and drives create tensions that are affected by one’s environment
• P = A × M
• Potential performance (P) is a product of ability (A) and motivation (M)
• Results occur when motivated employees have the opportunity to perform and the resources to do so
• The presence of goals and the awareness of incentives to satisfy one’s needs are also powerful motivational factors leading to effort

 

• People tend to develop certain motivational drives as a product of the cultural environment in which they live (family, school, church, and books)
• These drives affect how people view their jobs and approach their lives
• Much of the interest in these patterns of motivation was generated by David C. McClelland of Harvard University
• McClelland focused on the drives for…
• Achievement
• Affiliation
• Power
• In most nations, similar motivational patterns are seen among workers because they have grown up with similar backgrounds

Achievement Motivation

• Achievement motivation is a drive some people have to pursue and attain goals
• Accomplishment is seen as important primarily for its own sake, not just the rewards that accompany it
• Achievers work hard when…
• They will receive personal credit for effort
• The risk of failure is only moderate
• They receive feedback about past performance
• Achievers…
• Take responsibility for actions and results
• Control their destiny
• Seek regular feedback
• Enjoy winning
• Are achievement oriented
• Achievement-oriented people…
• Select assistants who are technically capable
• Have little regard for personal feelings

Affiliation Motivation

• Affiliation motivation is a drive to relate to people on a social basis
• People with affiliation motives…
• Work better when complimented for favorable attitudes and cooperation
• Surround themselves with likable people
• Have trouble assigning challenging tasks, directing activities, and monitoring effectiveness
• May have trouble getting things done

Power Motivation

• Power motivation is a drive to influence people, take control, and change situations
• Power-motivated people want to have an impact on their organizations and are willing to take risks to do so
• Once obtained, power can be constructive or destructive
• Power-motivated people make excellent managers if their drives are for institutional power
• Institutional power is the need to influence others’ behavior for the good of the whole organization
• A drive for personal power can cause a person to lose the trust and respect of employees and colleagues and fail as a leader

Managerial Application of the Drives

• Managers must think contingently and understand the work attitudes of each employee
• Observe employee behavior to determine how they respond
• Identify the strongest motivational drive
• Deal with employees differently, based on their identified drive

• Like a machine, the malfunction of a worker has a definite cause that may be related to needs
• If people were treated as well as expensive machines, they would be more productive and more satisfied workers

Types of Needs

• Need classifications
• Basic physical needs (primary needs)
• Social and psychological needs (secondary needs)
• Primary Needs
• Includes food, water, sex, sleep, air, and comfortable temperatures
• These needs are virtually universal and arise from the basic requirements of life
• They may vary in strength from person to person
• Needs are also conditioned by social practice
• Secondary Needs
• These needs develop as people mature
• They include self-esteem, sense of duty, competitiveness, affection, and self-assertion
• Nearly any management action will affect secondary needs
• Key conclusions about secondary needs:
• Strongly conditioned by experience
• Vary in type and intensity
• Subject to change across time
• Work in combination and influence each other
• Often hidden from conscious recognition
• Vague feelings, not specific physical needs
• Influence behavior in powerful ways
• The theories of Maslow, Herzberg, and Alderfer build on the distinction between primary and secondary needs

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

• According to Maslow, human needs are not of equal strength, and they emerge in a definite sequence

Lower-Order Needs

• First-level needs involve basic survival and include physiological needs
• The second need level involves bodily safety and economic security

Higher-Order Needs

• There are three levels of higher-order needs
• Level three concerns love, belonging, and social involvement at work
• Level four concerns the need for esteem and status, including one’s feelings of self-worth and competence
• Level five involves the need for self-actualization

Interpreting the Hierarchy of Needs

• According to Maslow, gratified needs are not as strongly motivating as unmet needs
• Employees are more motivated by what they are currently seeking than by receiving more of what they already have
• Today’s managers must…
• Identify and accept employee needs
• Recognize that needs differ among employees
• Offer satisfaction for currently unmet needs
• Realize that giving more of the same reward may have diminishing impact on motivation
• Limitations of the Maslow model
• It has been difficult to study and has not been fully verified
• It is not easy to provide opportunities for self-actualization to all employees
• Research has not supported the presence of all five need levels as unique
• The five-step progression from lowest to highest has not been established
• There is some evidence that unless the two lower-order needs (physiological and security) are satisfied, employees will not be greatly concerned with higher-order needs
• There is evidence that supports fewer need levels

Herzberg’s Two-Factor Model

• Frederick Herzberg developed a two-factor model of motivation in the 1950s
• It was based on employees describing the conditions that existed when they felt either good or bad about their jobs
• If a feeling of achievement led to a good feeling, the lack of achievement was rarely given as cause for bad feelings
• Rather, another factor, such as a company policy, was the more frequently given cause for bad feelings

Maintenance and Motivational Factors

• Prior to Herzberg, people assumed that motivation and lack of motivation were opposites of one factor on a continuum
• Herzberg stated that certain job factors dissatisfy employees primarily when the conditions are absent
• However, their presence generally brings employees only to a neutral state
• These dissatisfiers are called hygiene factors, or maintenance factors, because they must not be ignored
• They are the foundation upon which motivation is built
• Motivational Factors
• Motivators or satisfiers build motivation but their absence is rarely strongly dissatisfying
• They include such things as the work itself, achievement, possibility of growth, advancement, and recognition
• Maintenance Factors
• Status
• Relations with supervisors, peers, subordinates
• Quality of supervision
• Company policy and administration
• Fringe benefits and personnel policies
• Job security
• Working conditions, pay

Job Content and Context

• Motivational factors are related primarily to…
• The job itself
• The employee’s performance
• Personal recognition and growth

• Motivators are mostly job-centered; they relate to job content
• Maintenance factors are related primarily to job context; they are more related to the environment surrounding the job
• The difference between  job content and job context is significant
• It shows that employees are motivated primarily by what they do for themselves
• When employees take responsibility or gain recognition through their own behavior, they are strongly motivated

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivators

• Intrinsic motivators are internal rewards that a person feels when performing a job
• There is a direct and often immediate connection between work and rewards
• Extrinsic motivators are external rewards that occur apart from the nature of work
• They provide no direct satisfaction at the time the work is performed
• Examples include retirement plans, health insurance, and vacations

Interpreting the Two-Factor Model

• Herzberg’s model distinguishes between maintenance factors and motivational factors
• It showed the potentially powerful role of intrinsic rewards that come from the work itself
• This ties in with other behavioral developments, such as job enrichment, empowerment,
  self-leadership, and quality of work life
• Managers should now be aware that…
• They cannot neglect a wide range of factors that create at least a neutral work environment
• Unless hygiene factors are reasonably addressed, their absence will serve as significant distractions to workers
• Limitations of the Herzberg model
• It is not universally applicable
• It was based on managerial, professional, and white-collar employees
• It appears to reduce the motivational importance of pay, status, and relations with others
• This is counterintuitive to many managers and difficult for them to accept
• The model outlines only general tendencies
• Maintenance factors may be motivators to some people, and motivators may be maintenance factors to others
• The model seem to be method-bound
• Only Herzberg’s approach produces the two-factor model

 

Alderfer’s E-R-G Model

• This model builds upon earlier models and tries to overcome their weaknesses
• The E-R-G model has only three levels…
• Existence Needs: physiological and security factors
• Relatedness Needs: being understood and accepted
• Growth Needs: desire for self-esteem and self-actualization
• Other differences from previous models
• Does not assume a rigorous progression from level to level
• Accepts the likelihood that all three levels might be active at any time
• Suggests that a person frustrated at higher levels might return to a lower level, then progress again
• Growth needs are unlimited and are further awakened each time some satisfaction is attained

Comparison of the Maslow, Herzberg, and Alderfer Models

• Similarities between the models can be seen in Figure 5.3
• Important contrasts
• Maslow and Alderfer focus on the internal needs of the employee, whereas Herzberg also identifies and differentiates the job content or context
• Maslow and Herzberg suggest that modern workers have already satisfied their lower-order needs, so they are motivated mainly by higher-order needs and motivators
• Alderfer suggests that failure to satisfy relatedness or growth needs will cause renewed interest in existence needs
• All three models suggest that managers must discover which need dominates before administering a reward

• The motivation models discussed to this point are content theories of motivation
• They focus on the content (nature) of items that may motivate a person
• They relate to the person’s inner self and how that person’s internal needs determine behavior
• These needs are not subject to observation or monitoring
• There has been considerable interest in motivational models that rely on…
• Intended results
• Careful measurement
• Systematic application of incentives
• Organizational behavior modification (OB Mod)
• The application of behavior modification in organizations
• It evolved from the work of B. F. Skinner
• OB Mod and the next several models are process theories of motivation
• They are based on the idea that behavior depends on its consequences

Law of Effect

• A person repeats behavior that is accompanied by favorable consequences
• Behavior tends not to be repeated if consequences are unfavorable
• Conditions required for successful application of OB Mod:
• The manager must identify powerful consequences
• The manager must control/administer them
• The employee must see a connection between behavior and consequences
• The law of effect comes from learning theory, which suggests we learn best in pleasant surroundings
• Content theories argue that internal needs lead to behavior
• OB Mod states that external consequences determine behavior
• The advantage of OB Mod is that it places greater control and responsibility in the hands of the manager

Social Learning

• Social learning is also known as vicarious learning
• It suggests that employees do not always have to learn directly from their experiences
• They are more likely to learn by observing the actions of others and the consequences they receive
• Employees can often learn more in less time through social learning that they would if they had to experience everything directly

Alternative Consequences

• OB Mod emphasizes the use of rewards and alternative consequences to sustain behavior
• Before using OB Mod, managers must decide whether they want to increase the probability of a person’s continued behavior or decrease it
• Once managers have decided on an objective, they have two choices to make…
• Should a positive or a negative consequence be used?
• Should it be applied or withheld?
• Answers to these two questions result in four possible consequences (see Figure 5.5)
• Punishment
• Positive reinforcement
• Extinction
• Negative reinforcement

Positive Reinforcement

• Behavior is encouraged primarily through positive reinforcement
• The reinforcement should always be contingent on the employee’s correct behavior
• Favorable consequences should be…
• Personalized
• Timely
• Specific
• High-impact
• As spontaneous as possible
• Managers should…
• Provide useful feedback about performance
• Celebrate publicly the value of a contribution
• Build a sense of ownership and commitment within employees

Shaping

• Shaping is a systematic and progressive application of positive reinforcement
• More frequent and more powerful reinforcements are given as the employee comes closer to the desired behavior
• It is especially useful for teaching complex tasks

Negative Reinforcement

• Negative reinforcement occurs when behavior is accompanied by removal of an unfavorable consequence
• It is not the same as punishment, which adds something unfavorable
• Example: A cook finds that wearing oven mitts prevents burns when removing something from the oven. Removal of the possibility of burns, the unfavorable consequence, reinforces wearing proper safety equipment (oven mitts).

Punishment

• Punishment is the administration of an unfavorable consequence that discourages a certain behavior
• It should be used with caution because it has limitations
• It does not directly encourage desirable behavior unless the person receiving it is clearly aware of the alternative path to follow
• It may cause managers to become disliked for their disciplinary actions
• People who are punished may not understand which part of their behavior is being punished

Extinction

• Extinction is the withholding of significant positive consequences that were previously provided for a desirable behavior
• If no reinforcement is received, the behavior tends to diminish (become extinguished) through lack of reinforcement

Schedules of Reinforcement

• The frequency of a behavior creates a baseline, or standard, against which improvements can be compared
• The manager can then select a reinforcement schedule
• Continuous reinforcement occurs when reinforcement accompanies each correct behavior, such as payment for each acceptable item produced
• Partial reinforcement occurs when only some of the correct behaviors are reinforced
• Learning is slower with partial reinforcement than with continuous reinforcement
• However, learning tends to be retained longer when it is secured under conditions of partial reinforcement
• Partial reinforcement schedules
• Fixed-interval
• Variable-interval
• Fixed-ratio
• Variable-ratio schedules

Interpreting Behavior Modification

• Contributions of Behavior Modification
• Makes managers more conscious motivators
• Encourages managers to devote more time to monitoring employee behaviors
• Can lead to substantial improvement in specific areas, such as absences, tardiness, and error rates
• Limitations of Behavior Modification
• Could be used to manipulate people
• Is inconsistent with humanistic assumptions that people want to be autonomous and self-actualizing
• May give too much power to managers

• A goal is useful before employee performance because it is a cue to acceptable behavior
• Goals are also useful after the desired behavior, as managers compare results with aims and explore reasons for any differences
• Goal setting motivates because it creates a discrepancy between current and expected performance
• This results in tension, which employees can diminish through future goal attainment
• Meeting goals also…
• Helps satisfy a person’s achievement drive
• Contributes to feelings of competence and self-esteem
• Stimulates personal growth needs
• Encourages individuals to set even higher goals in the future
• A major factor in the success of goal setting is self-efficacy
• This is an internal belief regarding one’s job-related capabilities and competencies
• It is judged either on a specific task or across a variety of performance duties
• Employees with high self-efficacies tend to set higher personal goals under the belief that they are attainable
• The key to successful goal setting is to build and reinforce employee self-efficacy

Elements of Goal Setting

• Goal setting is most effective when all its major elements are present
• Goal Acceptance
• Specificity
• Challenge
• Performance Monitoring
• Feedback

• The expectancy model is also known as the expectancy theory
• It was developed by Victor H. Vroom, then expanded and refined by Porter, Lawler, and others
• Vroom explains that motivation is a product of three factors:

Valence × Expectancy × Instrumentality = Motivation

• Valence = reward preference
• Expectancy = belief that effort will complete task
• Instrumentality = reward probability

The Three Factors

• Valance
• Refers to the strength of a person’s preference for receiving a reward
• Valence it is unique to each employee
• It is conditioned by experience, and may vary over time
• Valence may be positive or negative
• Expectancy
• Expectancy is the strength of belief that one’s work-related effort will result in completion of a task
• Self-efficacy contributes to effort-performance expectancies
• Instrumentality
• Instrumentality represents the employee’s belief that a reward will be received once the task is accomplished
• The employee judges the probability that the organization values his/her performance and will administer rewards on a contingent basis

How the Model Works

• The product of valence, expectancy, and instrumentality is motivation
• Motivation is the strength of the drive toward an action
• The three factors in the expectancy model may exist in an infinite number of combinations
• If something has a negative valence, the employee will exhibit avoidance behavior
• Example: If a promotion will result in an unacceptable level of stress, loss of overtime pay, or unwanted responsibilities, an employee may try to avoid earning the promotion.
• Employee perform a type of cost-benefit analysis, often implicit, for their own behavior at work

The Impact of Uncertainty

• The expectancy model depends on the employee’s perception of the relationship between effort, performance, and rewards
• This relationship is often uncertain because each situation entails so many causes and effects
• There are also primary outcomes and secondary outcomes
• Primary outcomes result from an action
• Secondary outcomes follow from the primary ones
• Many outcomes are controlled by others
• Primary ways to address this uncertainty:
• Strengthen both the actual value of the rewards offered and the formal connections between effort and performance, and between performance and rewards
• Recognize and accept the legitimacy of an employee’s perception of the rewards
• A simple, straightforward incentive is often more motivating than a complex one
• Complex incentives can contain too much uncertainty
• Managers must work to clarify employee perceptions

Interpreting the Expectancy Model

• Advantages
• Helps managers think about the mental processes through which motivation occurs
• Employees are thinking individuals whose beliefs, perceptions, and probability estimates influence their behavior
• Reflects Theory Y assumptions about people
• Encourages a motivational climate that stimulates appropriate employee behavior
• Improves communication between employees and managers
• Limitations
• Needs further testing to build a broad base of research evidence
• The predicted effects of multiple outcomes from the same effort must be built into the model
• Reliable and practical measures of valence, expectancy, and instrumentality must be developed
• Needs further development
• Example: The valence of each reward available must be assessed and combined with the valences of other rewards to estimate the total motivational force for each employee.
• Example: Factoring in the opportunity employees have to perform.

• Employees…
• Work in a social system in which each person is dependent to some degree on the others
• Observe one another
• Judge one another
• Make comparisons
• Therefore, rewards must be fair, whether psychological, social, or economic
• J. Stacy Adam’s equity theory states that employees tend to judge fairness by comparing the outcomes they receive with their inputs
• They also compare this ratio with the ratios of other people (see Figure 5.9)
• Inputs include all the elements employees believe they bring or contribute to the job
• Education, seniority, work experience, loyalty, commitment, time and effort, creativity, and job performance
• Outcomes are the rewards they perceive they get from their jobs and employers
• Pay and bonuses, fringe benefits, job security, social rewards, and psychological rewards
• Fairness of rewards (equity) is also judged on arbitrary criteria, such as age
• Three combinations can occur from social comparisons…
• Equity
• Over-reward
• Under-reward
• Employees who feel over-rewarded may…
• Feel an imbalance in their employment relationship
• Work harder
• Discount the value of the rewards received
• Try to convince other employees to ask for rewards
• Choose someone else for comparison purposes
• Employees who feel under-rewarded may…
• Lower the quantity or quality of their productivity
• Inflate the perceived value of the rewards received
• Bargain for more actual rewards
• Find someone with which to compare themselves more favorably
• Quit

Interpreting the Equity Model

• Employees…
• Work within multiple social systems
• May have multiple reference groups, both inside and outside the organization
• Are inclined to shift the basis for their comparisons to the standard that is most favorable to them (upward orientation)
• Have strong egos and inflated opinions of themselves
• Equity sensitivity suggests that individuals have different preferences for equity
• Some prefer over-reward
• Others conform to the traditional equity model
• The remainder prefer to be under-rewarded
• The elements of effort (inputs) and rewards (outcomes) can be seen when comparing the equity and expectancy models
• In both models, perception plays a key role
• Major challenges for managers using the equity model
• Measuring employee assessments of their inputs and outcomes
• Identifying their choice of references
• Evaluating employee perceptions of inputs and outcomes
• Fairness applies to…
• The actual size of rewards
• The relation of inputs to rewards
• The process by which rewards are administered
• The essence of the procedural justice approach to motivation focuses on two elements:
• Interpersonal treatment
• Clarity of explanations
• Procedural justice is especially important when organizational resources are tight and lesser levels of valued outcomes are provided to employees

• All motivational models have strengths and weaknesses, but they all add to our understanding of the motivational process
• New models are being developed and attempts are being made to integrate existing approaches
• The cognitive (process) models will dominate for some time
• They are most consistent with a supportive and holistic view of people as thinking individuals who make conscious decisions about their behavior
• Behavior modification also has some usefulness, especially in stable situations with minimum complexity, where there is a direct connection between behavior and consequences
• In more complex, dynamic situations, cognitive models will used more often
• The motivational model used must be adapted to the situation and blended with other models

 

• Think of someone who, in the past, did an excellent job of motivating you. Describe how this was done. Which of the following approaches did this person use (either explicitly or implicitly)?

a.   Lower-order or higher-order needs?
b.   Maintenance or motivational factors, and which one(s)?
c.   Existence, relatedness, or growth needs?
d.   Behavior modification?
e.   Goal setting?
In the first three parts of the question, students will probably report that they were motivated well by the manager who used higher-order needs, motivational factors (especially praise and recognition) rather than maintenance factors, and relatedness or growth needs. However, students are often financially strapped, so they may also mention basic security needs, too, especially any bonuses they may have been given. This topic might also come up as they discuss behavior modification and goal setting. Those settings in which students felt they were best motivated probably involved clear, challenging goals, perhaps even set with their participation, and a rewards structure clearly tied to goal achievement.

• In your role as a student, do you feel that you are motivated more by Maslow’s lower-order or higher-order needs? Explain. Describe how you expect this to change once you graduate.

Some students are likely to report that they are more concerned with basic security needs at the present time and expect to achieve higher-order needs fulfillment after graduation. However, others may argue that they are reaching some levels of higher-order needs fulfillment now, as they study and add to their education. In any case, students will tend to agree that they can strive for increased satisfaction of the higher-order, growth needs after graduation, once they obtain a good job, which will better provide for the basic lower-order needs.

• Which one factor in Herzberg’s two-factor model is most motivating to you at the present time? Explain. Is this a maintenance or motivational factor?

Answers will vary greatly for this question. Some students will pick maintenance factors, while others will opt for motivational factors. The more popular factors will probably be the motivational factors, however—especially achievement and recognition. The more astute students will, hopefully, recognize that according to Herzberg’s model, they could only be motivated by the motivational factors, as the hygiene factors can only result in lessened dissatisfaction.

• It is relatively easy for a manager to manipulate extrinsic rewards. Describe some ways in which a manager could affect intrinsic satisfaction of an employee.

It will be helpful first to distinguish between extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. Extrinsic rewards (wages and benefits) are external and, thus, provide no direct satisfaction to the employee while performing his/her work. Intrinsic rewards are internal, occurring while the employee is working. Managers can affect intrinsic rewards in various ways, such as increasing responsibility, recognizing exceptional performances, offering an opportunity for advancement, and enhancing the position itself.

• Discuss how behavior modification operates to motivate people. Why is it still important to understand people’s needs when using this approach?

Behavior modification centers around the principle of the Law of Effect, which tells us that a certain behavior will be repeated or not repeated depending on the consequences that occur as a result of the behavior. Consequences in the form of positive reinforcement are used to encourage behavior, while negative reinforcements are used to discourage/eliminate a behavior. Students should point out that it is necessary to know what motivates individual employees in order for behavior modification to be successful. Applying an inappropriate reinforcement may backfire for a manager. For example, imposing a penalty of a one-day suspension for employees who abuse sick leave in an attempt to eliminate that behavior may be a positive reward for an employee rather than a negative one. This employee may value a day off without pay more than working and being paid. Another example would involve rewarding an employee for a previously unrewarded task with a resulting decrease in motivation to perform that task. In this case, the intrinsic reward offered more motivation than the external reward.

• Explain the differences between negative reinforcement and punishment.

These two concepts are sometimes confused by those not too familiar with operant conditioning or behavior modification terminology. A reinforcer is anything that serves to strengthen the probability of a behavior being repeated. Therefore, a negative reinforcer strengthens the likelihood of a certain behavior by removing an adverse stimulus when the correct behavior is given. Punishment, on the other hand, involves awarding an unpleasant consequence (such as, literally, a slap on the wrist) as the result of the wrong behavior. A negative reinforcer is the act of taking away an undesirable consequence to reward a positive behavior; punishment is the act of penalizing an unwanted behavior.

• Divide the class into two groups (one in favor and one opposed) and debate this proposition: “Rewards motivate people.”

There are many pros and cons of rewards. Due to the extreme allure of the rewards offered in the workplace, it can be argued that it does make people alter their behavior, just like rats in a lab experiment. Another issue involves the managers who evaluate performance and set up the reinforcement schedules—who is controlling them? Many employers would prefer to have self-controlled, thinking employees anyway. Finally, there may be severe limits to the applicability of behavior modification using rewards. Most modern jobs are just too complex to accurately isolate specific tasks and design reinforcement schedules for them. Furthermore, there is also the issue of individualism versus team or group rewards in today’s increasing use of the team approach in organizations.

• How would you use the expectancy model in the following situations?
• You want two employees to switch their vacations from the summer to the spring so that job needs will be filled suitably during the summer.
• You believe that one of your employees has excellent potential for promotion and want to encourage her to prepare for it.
• You have a sprained ankle and want a friend to walk to a fast-food restaurant and get you a hamburger.

Student answers will vary, but all should use Valence, Expectancy, and/or Instrumentality to build the motivation need for the desired action to occur. Here are some possible solutions.

• I would offer the employees an extra day or two of vacation to make the switch.
• I would meet with the employee, explain why I believe he/she has potential, present the benefits that come with the promotion, and suggest actions/training that can be undertaken to prepare for such a position.
• I would offer to pay for a hamburger for the friend if he/she would pick one up for me as well.
• Apply the equity model to yourself as a student. How do you measure your inputs and outcomes? Whom have you chosen as referent individuals? Do you perceive equity? If not, how will you attain it? Is procedural justice present?

Student answers will vary, depending on how equitable they feel their situation is. Most will choose fellow students as referent individuals, although friends and/or family members may also be mentioned. Whether or not they feel equity can be attained will depend on the nature of the inequity. For instance, if a professor has a closer relationship with a certain student because of ties outside the classroom, it may not be possible to attain equity.

• The text suggests that an individual’s equity perceptions can be distorted. If that is the case, how would you go about correcting or adjusting them?

About the only way to correct or adjust perceptions is to address them. For instance, you may notice that an employee seems unhappy after annual bonus checks are handed out. In that case, the best course of action would be to meet with the individual to discuss the situation. Was the amount received lower than expected? Did someone else receive a bigger bonus? If everyone seems unhappy with the bonus, a group meeting may be necessary, during which it could be pointed out on what the bonus was based, and/or why it is so low.

ROLE PLAY

This case can be analyzed in terms of a number of motivational models, so it is an appropriate vehicle to review the two chapters on motivation. For example, different students or groups of students may be asked to analyze the case in terms of the models of Maslow, Herzberg, Vroom, and Skinner.
In terms of Maslow’s need hierarchy, employees’ security needs appear to be very strong because of current layoffs. If this is so, Phil may be able to provide job experiences that give employees more security, self-confidence, and encouragement.
In terms of motivation-maintenance theory, Phil may be able to introduce into the job more motivators, such as recognition. Because employees are capable, perhaps Phil can show them how making one’s own decisions can provide intrinsic satisfaction from the feeling of a job well done.
In terms of expectancy theory, there are a number of ways that Phil may encourage greater expectancy that more desired behavior will lead to greater rewards.
In terms of behavior modification, the consequences of doing more work and better work can be made more favorable, while extinction is applied when employees are unwilling to do appropriate tasks. Negative reinforcement may also be applied by removing, at least on a temporary basis, some of the undesirable consequences that could occur if employees did jobs differently and failed. In addition, Phil must be particularly careful not to reinforce his insecurity through extensive attention and explanations, particularly when an employee brings petty problems to him. In this way, employees’ insecurity will be extinguished while they will be reinforced for doing the job formerly done by five people.

INCIDENT ANALYSIS

This case is obviously an example of a person’s behavior being governed by Maslow’s higher-order needs, and it affords an excellent opportunity for students to discuss why higher-order needs are of great importance to some people and why their satisfaction provides major fulfillment. In Bird’s case, he achieves self-actualization (Maslow’s fifth-level need) from being able to spend much of his time doing work that is important to him. He also probably feels high self-esteem and recognition from his accomplishments, all of which relate to Maslow’s fourth-level needs.
Similarly, Bird’s activities reflect Herzberg’s motivational factors, such as the work itself, achievement, growth, responsibility, and recognition. (Students can discuss how each of these are reflected in Bird’s work.) Bird’s work also is obviously an instance of intrinsic motivation in which many of his satisfactions flow directly from the work itself. He is building something significant that he can see develop right before his eyes and that gives him a sense of accomplishment.
It appears that Bird has an achievement motivational pattern. His approach toward work is one of seeking challenges and deriving satisfaction from overcoming them. As is typical of an achievement-motivated person, he is not money-motivated, because he sells his handmade pianos at regular commercial prices even though they could, as a handmade special item by a renowned expert, bring much more money on the market.
It is not impossible that an organization could build the same type of motivation in some of its employees. Some actors, ballet dancers, professional athletes, and executives are self-actualized. However, they do tend to be exceptions rather than the rule. In these cases, the needs and wants of the individual fit almost perfectly with those of the organization. However, such perfect fits are rare, and many times others in the organization must subdue their needs and wants for these situations to become possible.

COMMENTS ON THE EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISE
This is an application of the expectancy model of motivation. Students have been asked first to assess their own valence for grades, which is their perception of the value to them of grades. They also have been asked to assess their expectancy (perception of effort leading to performance) and their instrumentality (perception of performance leading to reward). Multiplying the three scores results in their overall measure of motivation. These scores are compared to others’ scores, which allows an opportunity to discuss individual differences and their effects on motivation. The exercise concludes with comparisons by students of their respective effort levels, which leads into a discussion of equity theory as it applies to obtaining good grades.