Title BME 12 CH5 Narrative of Discussion.pdf ✅

BME 12 Lecture Notes Kingfisher School of Business and Finance, Inc. Version 1 Series of 2025 BME 12: Human Behavior in Organization “This handout is for academic purposes ONLY” Prepared by: Mark Jeffrey B. Aquino (BME 12 Instructor) BME 12: HUMAN BEHAVIOR IN ORGANIZATION II. Individual Behaviors and Organization Processes in Organization Chapter 5: Motivating Behavior (Narrative of Discussion) Book Reference: Organizational Behavior: Managing People and Organization Author: Ricky Griffin, Jean Phillips, Stanley Gully I. THE NATURE OF MOTIVATION Motivation is the set of forces that causes people to engage in one behavior rather than some alternative behavior. From the manager’s viewpoint, the objective is to motivate people to behave in ways that are in the organization’s best interest. A. The Importance of Motivation Job performance depends on ability and environment as well as motivation. This relationship can be stated as follows: P = M × A × E where P = performance, M = motivation, A = ability, and E = environment A deficiency in any one of these areas hurts performance. A manager should thus strive to ensure that all three conditions are met. In most settings, motivation is the most difficult of these factors to manage. For example, if a worker cannot complete a project without sales forecast data from marketing, the manager can contact marketing and request that information. But if motivation is deficient, the manager faces the more complex situation of determining what will motivate the employee to work harder. B. The Motivational Framework We can start to understand motivation by looking at need deficiencies and goal-directed behaviors. A need—something an individual requires or wants—is the starting point. A need deficiency usually triggers a search for ways to satisfy it. Next comes a choice of goal-directed behaviors, most effort is likely to be directed at one option. Next the person experiences either rewards or punishment as a result of this choice. Finally, the person assesses the extent to which the outcome achieved fully addresses the original need deficiency. C. Early Perspectives on Motivation Historical views on motivation, although not always accurate, are of interest because they provide a foundation for contemporary thinking about motivation. These views were generally based on common sense and intuition, an appreciation of their strengths and weaknesses can help managers gain useful insights into employee motivation in the workplace. 1. The Traditional Approach. One of the first writers to address work motivation was Frederick Taylor. Taylor developed a method for structuring jobs that he called scientific management. Taylor assumed that economic gain was the primary thing that motivated everyone. Other assumptions of the traditional approach were that work is inherently unpleasant for most people and that the money they earn is more important to employees than the nature of the job they are performing. 2. The Human Relations Approach. The human relations approach supplanted scientific management in the 1930s. The human relations approach suggests that fostering a sense of employees’ inclusion in decision making will result in positive employee attitudes and motivation to work hard. The approach assumed that employees want to feel useful and important, that employees have strong social needs, and that these needs are more important than money in motivating employees. 3. The Human Resource Approach The human resource approach to motivation carries the concepts of needs and motivation one step farther, making the assumption that people want to contribute and are able to make genuine contributions. Management’s task, then, is to encourage participation and to create a work environment that makes full use of the human resources available. This philosophy guides most contemporary thinking about employee motivation. D. Individual Differences and Motivation. Simply put, different things motivate different people. Because of these myriad differences, there is no one best way to motivate everyone. An easy mistake to make when trying to motivate others is assuming that the same things that motivate you also motivate them.
BME 12 Lecture Notes Kingfisher School of Business and Finance, Inc. Version 1 Series of 2025 BME 12: Human Behavior in Organization “This handout is for academic purposes ONLY” Prepared by: Mark Jeffrey B. Aquino (BME 12 Instructor) The starting point for motivated employees is hiring people whose individual characteristics lead to high motivation on the job. A job requiring high-quality work will not be as motivating to someone who lacks attention to detail as it will to a conscientious, detail-oriented person. In addition to the various individual differences we have already discussed, one additional element is often very specifically related to the motivation to perform a specific task. A specific form of self-efficacy is especially related to employee motivation. Task-specific self-efficacy is a person’s beliefs in his or her capabilities to do what is required to accomplish a specific task. Task-specific self-efficacy beliefs have three dimensions: 1. Magnitude: beliefs about how difficult a specific task can be accomplished. 2. Strength: beliefs about how confident the person is that the specific task can be accomplished. 3. Generality: beliefs about the degree to which similar tasks can be accomplished. Because task-specific self-efficacy perceptions are changeable, good managers proactively enhance subordinates’ perceptions of their abilities. Managers can raise task-specific self-efficacy through coaching and encouragement, assuming the employee really does have the potential to perform better. II. NEED-BASED PERSPECTIVES ON MOTIVATION The basic premise of need-based theories and models is the assumption that need deficiencies cause behavior. Need theorists have attempted to identify and categorize the needs that are most important to people. The best-known need theories are the hierarchy of needs and the ERG theory. A. The Hierarchy of Needs The hierarchy of needs, developed by psychologist Abraham Maslow in the 1940s, is the best-known need theory. Maslow argued that human beings are “wanting” animals: They have innate desires to satisfy a given set of needs. Furthermore, Maslow believed that these needs are arranged in a hierarchy of importance, with the most basic needs at the foundation of the hierarchy. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs which assumes that human needs are arranged in a hierarchy of importance. The three sets of needs at the bottom of the hierarchy are called deficiency needs because they must be satisfied for the individual to be fundamentally comfortable. The top two sets of needs are termed growth needs because they focus on personal growth and development. The most basic needs in the hierarchy are physiological needs. These include the needs for food, sex, and air. Next in the hierarchy are security needs: things that offer safety and security, such as adequate housing and clothing and freedom from worry and anxiety. Belongingness needs, the third level in the hierarchy, are primarily social. Examples include the need for love and affection and the need to be accepted by peers. The fourth level, esteem needs, actually encompasses two slightly different kinds of needs: the need for a positive self-image and self-respect and the need to be respected by others. At the top of the hierarchy are self-actualization needs. These involve a person’s realizing his or her full potential and becoming all that he or she can be. Maslow believed that each need level must be satisfied before the level above it can become important. This escalation up the hierarchy continues until the self-actualization needs become the primary motivators. However, if a previously satisfied lower-level set of needs becomes deficient again, the individual returns to that level. In most businesses, physiological needs are probably the easiest to evaluate and to meet. Adequate wages, and comfortable working conditions are measures taken to satisfy this most basic level of needs. Security needs in organizations can be satisfied by such things as job continuity (no layoffs), a grievance system (to protect against arbitrary supervisory actions), and an adequate insurance and retirement system (to guard against financial loss from illness and to ensure retirement income). Most employees’ belongingness needs are satisfied by family ties and group relationships both inside and outside the organization. Managers can help satisfy these needs by fostering interaction and a sense of group identity among employees. Self-actualization needs are perhaps the hardest to understand and the most difficult to satisfy. Working toward self-actualization, rather than actually achieving it, may be the ultimate motivation for most people. B. The ERG Theory The ERG theory, developed by Yale psychologist Clayton Alderfer, is another historically important need theory of motivation. The E, R, and G stand for three basic need categories: existence, relatedness, and growth.
BME 12 Lecture Notes Kingfisher School of Business and Finance, Inc. Version 1 Series of 2025 BME 12: Human Behavior in Organization “This handout is for academic purposes ONLY” Prepared by: Mark Jeffrey B. Aquino (BME 12 Instructor) Existence needs roughly correspond to the physiological and security needs of Maslow’s hierarchy. Relatedness needs are similar to Maslow’s belongingness and esteem needs. Finally, growth needs are analogous to Maslow’s needs for self-esteem and self-actualization. In contrast to Maslow’s approach, ERG theory suggests that more than one kind of need may motivate a person at the same time. A more important difference from Maslow’s hierarchy is that ERG theory includes a satisfaction- progression component and a frustration- regression component. The satisfaction-progression concept suggests that after satisfying one category of needs, a person progresses to the next level. The need hierarchy assumes that the individual remains at the next level until the needs at that level are satisfied. In contrast, the frustration-regression component of ERG theory suggests that a person who is frustrated by trying to satisfy a higher level of needs eventually will regress to the preceding level. C. The Two-Factor Theory Another important need-based theory of motivation is the two-factor theory, also called the dual-structure theory. This theory identifies motivation factors, which affect satisfaction, and hygiene factors, which determine dissatisfaction. The two-factor theory once played a major role in managerial thinking about motivation, and is still widely known and accepted among practicing managers. 1. Development of the Theory Frederick Herzberg and his associates developed the two-factor theory in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Herzberg began by interviewing approximately 200 accountants and engineers in Pittsburgh and asked them questions about motivation. Herzberg found that entirely different sets of factors were associated with the two kinds of feelings about work. The findings led Herzberg to conclude that the prevailing thinking about satisfaction and motivation was incorrect. This theory proposed, employees might be either satisfied or not satisfied and, at the same time, dissatisfied or not dissatisfied. The primary factors identified in Herzberg’s interviews. Motivation factors are intrinsic to the work itself and include factors such as achievement, recognition, and the opportunity to plan and control their own work were often cited by people as primary causes of satisfaction and motivation. The other set of factors, hygiene factors, are extrinsic to the work itself and include factors such as pay and job security. These factors came out in response to the questions about dissatisfaction and lack of motivation. To use the two-factor theory in the workplace, Herzberg recommended a two-stage process. First, the manager should try to eliminate situations that cause dissatisfaction. According to the theory, once a state of no dissatisfaction exists, trying to improve motivation further through hygiene factors is a waste of time. At that point, the motivation factors enter the picture. As a result, managers would be helping subordinates feel satisfied and motivated. 2. Evaluation of the Theory The two-factor theory has been scientifically scrutinized more than almost any other organizational behavior theory, with contradictory results. In general, studies that use the same methodology as Herzberg did (content analysis of recalled incidents) tend to support the theory. However, this methodology has itself been criticized, and studies that use other methods to measure satisfaction and dissatisfaction frequently obtain results quite different from Herzberg’s. The theory may be “method bound.” Critics say the original sample of accountants and engineers may not represent the general working population. Furthermore, they maintain that the theory fails to account for individual differences. In addition, the theory does not define the relationship between satisfaction and motivation. Research has also suggested that the two-factor framework varies across cultures. It is not surprising, then, that the two-factor theory is no longer held in high esteem by organizational behavior researchers. D. The Acquired Needs Framework The acquired needs framework was advanced by David McClelland and centers on the needs for achievement, affiliation, and power (these needs are also sometimes referred to as manifest needs). A key differentiating element of this framework is the argument that these needs are acquired, or learned, from cultural, societal, and family influences. 1. The Need for Achievement
BME 12 Lecture Notes Kingfisher School of Business and Finance, Inc. Version 1 Series of 2025 BME 12: Human Behavior in Organization “This handout is for academic purposes ONLY” Prepared by: Mark Jeffrey B. Aquino (BME 12 Instructor) The need for achievement arises from an individual’s desire to accomplish a goal or task more effectively than in the past. Individuals who have a high need for achievement tend to set moderately difficult goals and to make moderately risky decisions. High need-achievers also want immediate, specific feedback on their performance. Preoccupation with work is another characteristic of high need-achievers. Finally, high need- achievers tend to assume personal responsibility for getting things done. The Need for Affiliation Individuals also experience the need for affiliation – the need for human companionship. Individuals with a high need tend to want reassurance and approval from others and usually are genuinely concerned about others’ feelings. People with a strong need for affiliation most often work in jobs with a lot of interpersonal contact, such as sales and teaching positions. 3. The Need for Power The third so-called acquired need is the need for power – the desire to control one’s environment, including financial, material, informational, and human resources. People with a high need for power can be successful managers if three conditions are met. First, they must seek power for the betterment of the organization rather than for their own interests. Second, they must have a fairly low need for affiliation because fulfilling a personal need for power may well alienate others in the workplace. Third, they need plenty of self-control to curb their desire for power when it threatens to interfere with effective organizational or interpersonal relationships. III. PROCESS-BASED PERSPECTIVES ON MOTIVATION Process-based perspectives focuses on why people choose certain behavioral options to satisfy their needs and how they evaluate their satisfaction after they have attained these goals. Two useful process perspectives on motivation are the equity and expectancy theories. A. The Equity Theory of Motivation The equity theory of motivation focuses on people’s desire to be treated with what they perceive as equity and to avoid perceived inequity. The theory defines equity as the belief that we are being treated fairly in relation to others and inequity as the belief that we are being treated unfairly compared with others. Social comparisons involve evaluating our own situation in terms of others’ situations. In this chapter, we focus mainly on equity theory because it is the most highly developed of the social comparison approaches and the one that applies most directly to the work motivation of people in organizations. 1. Forming Equity Perceptions People in organizations form perceptions of the equity of their treatment through a four-step process. First, they evaluate how they are being treated by the firm. Second, they form a perception of how a “comparison-other” is being treated. Third, they compare their own circumstances with those of the comparison- other and then use this comparison as the basis for forming an impression of either equity or inequity. Fourth, depending on the strength of this feeling, the person may choose to pursue one or more of the alternatives discussed in the next section. Equity theory describes the equity comparison process in terms of an input-to-outcome ratio. Inputs are an individual’s contributions to the organization, outcomes are what the person receives in return. The equity comparison thus takes the following form: Outcomes (self) compared with Outcomes (other) Inputs (self) Inputs (other) If the two sides of this psychological equation are comparable, the person experiences a feeling of equity; if the two sides do not balance, a feeling of inequity results. A perception of equity does not require that the perceived outcomes and inputs be equal, but only that their ratios be the same. 2. Responses to Equity and Inequity People may use one of six common methods to reduce inequity. First, we may change our own inputs. Second, we may change our own outcomes. A third, more complex response is to alter our perceptions of ourselves and our behavior. Fourth, we may alter our perception of the comparison-other’s inputs or outcomes. Fifth, we may change the object of comparison. Finally, as a last resort, we may simply leave the situation. 3. Evaluation and Implications