Theories of Motivation: Organizational Behaviour

Chapter 4:
Theories of
Motivation
Organizational
Behaviour
5th Canadian Edition
Langton / Robbins / Judge
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education

Canada
4-1
Chapter Outline
• What Is Motivation?
• Needs Theories of Motivation
• Process Theories of Motivation
• Responses to the Reward System
• Motivating Employees Through
Reinforcement
• Motivation for Whom?
Langton, Robbins and Judge, Organizational Behaviour, Fifth Cdn. Ed. 4-2
Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education Canada
Theories of Motivation
1. What is motivation?
2. How do needs motivate people?
3. Are there other ways to motivate people?
4. Do equity and fairness matter?
5. What role does reinforcement play in
motivation?
6. What are the ethics behind motivation
theories?
What Is Motivation?
• Motivation
– The intensity, direction, and persistence of
effort a person shows in reaching a goal:
• Intensity: How hard a person tries
• Direction: Where effort is channelled
• Persistence: How long effort is maintained
Theory X and Theory Y
• Theory X Assumptions • Theory Y Assumptions
– Employees dislike work – Employees like to work
– Employees attempt to avoid – Employees are creative, and

work seek responsibility
– Employees must be – Employees can exercise

coerced, controlled, or self-direction and self-
threatened with punishment control.
if they are to perform.
Motivators
• Intrinsic Motivators
– A person’s internal desire to do something
• interest, challenge, and personal satisfaction
• Extrinsic Motivators
– Motivation that comes from outside the person
• pay, bonuses, and other tangible rewards
Needs Theories of Motivation
• Basic idea
– Individuals have needs that, when unsatisfied, will
result in motivation
• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory.
• Motivation-Hygiene Theory
• ERG Theory
• McClelland’s Theory of Needs
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
• Physiological
– Includes hunger, thirst, shelter, sex, and other bodily needs
• Safety
– Includes security and protection from physical & emotional harm
• Social
– Includes affection, belongingness, acceptance, and friendship
• Esteem
– Includes internal esteem factors: self-respect, autonomy, and
achievement
– Includes external esteem factors: status, recognition, and attention
• Self-actualization
– The drive to become what one is capable of becoming
– Includes growth, achieving one’s potential, and self-fulfillment
Exhibit 4-1 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Self-
actualization
Esteem
Social
Safety
Physiological
Alderfer’s ERG Theory
• Existence
– Concerned with providing basic material existence
requirements.
• Relatedness
– Desire for maintaining important interpersonal
relationships.
• Growth
– Intrinsic desire for personal development.
Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene
Theory
• Motivators • Hygiene factors
– Sources of satisfaction – Sources of dissatisfaction
– Intrinsic factors – Extrinsic factors (context
(content of work) of work)
• Achievement • Company policy and

• Recognition administration
• Challenging, varied, or • Unhappy relationship with
interesting work employee’s supervisor
• Responsibility • Poor interpersonal
relations with one’s peers
• Advancement
• Poor working conditions
Exhibit 4-2 Comparison of Satisfiers
and Dissatisfiers
Source: Reprinted by permission of Harvard Business Review. An exhibit from Frederick Herzberg, “One More Time:
How Do You Motivate Employees?” Harvard Business Review 81, no. 1 (January 2003), p. 90. Copyright © 1987 by the
President and Fellows of Harvard College; all rights reserved.
Exhibit 4-3 Contrasting Views of
Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction
Traditional view
Dissatisfaction Satisfaction
Herzberg's view
Hygiene Factors
Dissatisfaction No Dissatisfaction
Motivators
No Satisfaction Satisfaction
Criticisms of Motivation-Hygiene Theory
• Procedure Herzberg used is limited by its methodology.
• Reliability of Herzberg’s methodology is questioned.
• Herzberg did not really produce a theory of motivation.
• No overall measure of satisfaction was used.
• The theory is inconsistent with previous research.
McClelland’s Theory of Needs
• Need for achievement

– The drive to excel, to achieve in relation to a set of
standards, to strive to succeed
• Need for power

– The need to make others behave in a way that they would
not have behaved otherwise
• Need for affiliation

– The desire for friendly and close interpersonal relationships
Exhibit 4-4 Relationship of Various
Needs Theories
Maslow Alderfer Herzberg McClelland
Self-Actualization
Growth Need for Achievement

Motivators
Esteem
Need for Power

Affiliation Relatedness
Hygiene
Need for Affiliation
Security Factors
Existence
Physiological
Summary: Hierarchy of Needs
• Maslow: Argues that lower-order needs must be satisfied before
one progresses to higher-order needs.
• Herzberg: Motivators lead to satisfaction. Hygiene factors must be

met if person is not to be dissatisfied. However, they will not lead
to satisfaction.
• Alderfer: More than one need can be important at the same time.
If a higher-order need is not being met, the desire to satisfy a
lower-level need increases.
• McClelland: People vary in the types of needs they have. Their

motivation and how well they perform in a work situation are
related to whether they have a need for achievement, affiliation, or
power.
Summary: Impact of Theory
• Maslow: Enjoys wide recognition among practising managers.

Most managers are familiar with it.
• Herzberg: The popularity of giving workers greater responsibility

for planning and controlling their work can be attributed to his
findings. Shows that more than one need may operate at the same
time.
• Alderfer: Seen as a more valid version of the need hierarchy. Tells

us that achievers will be motivated by jobs that offer personal
responsibility, feedback, and moderate risks.
• McClelland: Tells us that high need achievers do not necessarily

make good managers, since high achievers are more interested in
how they do personally.
Summary: Support and Criticism of
Theory
• Maslow: Research does not generally validate the theory. In
particular, there is little support for the hierarchical nature of needs.
Criticized for how data were collected and interpreted.
• Herzberg: Not really a theory of motivation: Assumes a link

between satisfaction and productivity that was not measured or
demonstrated.
• Alderfer: Ignores situational variables.
• McClelland: Mixed empirical support, but theory is consistent

with our knowledge of individual differences among people. Good
empirical support, particularly on needs achievement.
Process Theories of Motivation
• Look at the actual process of motivation
– Expectancy theory
– Goal-setting theory
Expectancy Theory
• The theory that individuals act depending on:
– whether their effort will lead to good performance
– whether good performance will be followed by a given

outcome
– whether that outcome is attractive to them
Expectancy Relationships
• The theory focuses on three relationships:

– Effort-Performance Relationship
• The perceived probability that exerting a given amount of
effort will lead to performance
– Performance-Reward Relationship
• The degree to which the individual believes that performing at
a particular level will lead to a desired outcome
– Rewards-Personal Goals Relationship

• The degree to which organizational rewards satisfy an
individual’s personal goals or needs and and are attractive to
the individual
Exhibit 4-6 How Does Expectancy
Theory Work?
My professor offers me $1 million if I memorize the textbook by tomorrow morning.
Expectancy Instrumentality Valence
Effort Performance Link Performance Rewards Link Rewards Personal Goals Link
No matter how much effort My professor does not look There are a lot of wonderful things
I put in, probably not possible like someone who has $1 million I could do with $1 million
to memorize the text in 24 hours
E=0 I=0 V=1
Conclusion: Though I value the reward, I will not be motivated to do this task.
Exhibit 4-7 Steps to Increasing
Motivation, Using Expectancy Theory
Improving Improving Improving

Expectancy Instrumentality Valence
Improve the ability of the ’s belief that

Increase the individual Make sure that the reward is
individual to perform performance will lead to reward meaningful to the individual
• Make sure employees have skills • Observe and recognize • Ask employees what rewards
performance they value
for the task • Deliver rewards as promised
• Provide training • Indicate to employees how previous • Give rewards that are valued
• Assign reasonable tasks good performance led to greater

and goals
rewards
Goal-Setting Theory
• The theory that specific and difficult goals

lead to higher performance.
– Goals tell an employee what needs to be done and how
much effort will need to be expended.
• Specific goals increase performance.
• Difficult goals, when accepted, result in higher performance
than do easy goals.
• Feedback leads to higher performance than does non-feedback.
– Specific hard goals produce a higher level of output
than does the generalized goal of “do your best.”
• The specificity of the goal itself acts as an internal stimulus.
Management by Objectives
• A program that encompasses:
– Specific goals
– Participative decision-making
– Explicit time period
– Performance feedback
How Does Goal Setting Motivate?
• Goals:
– Direct attention
– Regulate effort
– Increase persistence
– Encourage the development of strategies and action

plans
Goals Should Be SMART
• For goals to be effective, they should be SMART:
– Specific
– Measurable
– Attainable
– Results Oriented
– Time bound
Exhibit 4-8 Locke’s Model of
Goal Setting
Directing attention
Goals Regulating effort

Task
motivate
performance
by . ..
Increasing persistence
Encouraging the development

of strategies and action plans
Source: Adapted from E. A. Locke and G. P. Latham, A Theory of Goal Setting and Task
Performance (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1980). Reprinted by permission of Edwin A.
Locke.
Self-Efficacy Theory
• Self Efficacy also known as social cognitive

theory and social learning theory
• An individual’s belief that he or she is capable of

performing a task.
– The higher your self efficacy the more confident you
are in your ability to succeed in a task
Four Ways to Improve Self Efficacy
• Enactive Mastery
– Gaining relevant experience
• Vicarious Modelling
– Confidence gained by seeing someone else perform the task.
• Verbal Persuasion
– Confidence gained because someone convinces you that you have
the necessary skills to succeed.
• Arousal
– An energized state can drive a person to complete the task.
Exhibit 4-9 Joint Efforts of Goals and
Self Efficacy on Performance
Responses to the
Reward System
• Equity Theory
• Fair Process and Treatment
• Cognitive Evaluation Theory
• Increasing Intrinsic Motivation
Exhibit 4-10
Equity Theory
Ratio of Output to Input Person 1s Perception
Person 1
Inequity, under-rewarded
Person 2
Person 1
Equity
Person 2
Person 1
Inequity, over-rewarded
Person 2
Equity Theory
• Equity theory recognizes that individuals are

concerned not only with the absolute amount of
rewards for their efforts, but also with the
relationship of this amount to what others receive.
• Individuals compare their job inputs and outcomes

with those of others and then respond so as to
eliminate any inequities.
Equity Comparisons
• Self-inside
• Self-outside
• Other-inside
• Other-outside
Responses to Inequity
• Change their • Adjust perceptions

inputs. of others.
• Change their • Choose a different

outcomes. referent.
• Adjust perceptions • Leave the field.

of self.
Equity Theory Propositions
• When paid by time worked, • When paid by time worked,

over-rewarded employees will under-rewarded employees will
produce more than will produce less or poorer-quality
equitably paid employees. output.
• When paid by number of units • When paid by number of units

produced, over-rewarded produced, under-rewarded
employees will produce fewer, employees will produce a large
but higher-quality, units than number of low-quality units in
will equitably paid employees. comparison with equitably paid
employees.
Fair Process and Treatment
• Historically, equity theory focused on:

– Distributive Justice: perceived fairness of the amount
and allocation of resources among individuals.
• Equity is thought of from various standpoints
– Organizational Justice: an overall perception of what
is fair in the workplace.
– Procedural Justice: perceived fairness of the process
used to determine the distribution of rewards.
– Interactional Justice: the quality of interpersonal
treatment from the manager.
Exhibit 4-11 Model of Organizational
Justice
Cognitive Evaluation Theory
• The introduction of extrinsic rewards for work

effort that was previously rewarded intrinsically
will tend to decrease the overall level of a person’s
motivation.
• Intrinsic Motivators
– A person’s internal desire to do something, due to such things as
interest, challenge, and personal satisfaction.
• Extrinsic Motivators
– Motivation that comes from outside the person, such as pay,
bonuses, and other tangible rewards.
Research Findings: Cognitive
Evaluation Theory
• A recent outgrowth of Cognitive Evaluation Theory is
self concordance, which considers the degree to
which people’s reasons for pursuing goals is
consistent with their interests and core values.
• OB research suggest that people who pursue work

goals for intrinsic reasons are more satisfied with
their jobs, feel like they fit into their organization
better, and may perform better.
Four Key Rewards to Increase
Intrinsic Motivation
1.Sense of choice
2.Sense of competence
3.Sense of meaningfulness
4.Sense of progress
Managers can act in ways that will build these
intrinsic rewards for their employees.
Motivating Employees Through
Reinforcement
• Skinner suggested that people learn how to behave
to get something they want or to avoid something
they don’t want.
• This idea is known as operant conditioning.
– Behaviour is influenced by the reinforcement or lack of

reinforcement brought about by the consequences of the
behaviour.
Methods of Shaping Behaviour
• Positive reinforcement
– Following a response with something pleasant.
• Negative reinforcement
– Following a response by the termination or withdrawal of
something unpleasant.
• Punishment
– Causing an unpleasant condition in an attempt to eliminate an
undesirable behaviour.
• Extinction
– Eliminating any reinforcement that is maintaining a behaviour.
Schedules of Reinforcement
• The two major types of reinforcement schedules are

continuous and intermittent.
– Continuous reinforcement: reinforces desired

behaviour each and every time it is demonstrated.
– Intermittent reinforcement: ratio or interval

• The individual is reinforced after giving a certain number of
specific types of behaviour.
• The individual is reinforced on the first appropriate behaviour
after a particular time has elapsed.
Fixed and Variable Reinforcements
• A reinforcement can also be classified as fixed

or variable.
– Fixed-interval schedule
– Variable-interval schedule
– Fixed-ratio schedule
– Variable-ratio schedule
Exhibit 4-12 Building Blocks for
Intrinsic Rewards
Leading for Choice Leading for Competence
• Delegated authority • Knowledge

• Trust in workers • Positive feedback
• Security (no punishment) for honest mistakes • Skill recognition
• A clear purpose • Challenge
• Information • High, non-comparative standards
Leading for Meaningfulness Leading for Progress

• A non-cynical climate • A collaborative climate
• Clearly identified passions • Milestones
• An exciting vision • Celebrations
• Relevant task purposes • Access to customers
• Whole tasks • Measurement of improvement
Source: Reprinted with permission of the publisher. From Intrinsic Motivation at Work: Building Energy and
Commitment. Copyright © K. Thomas. Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc., San Francisco, CA. All rights reserved.
www.bkconnection.com.
Exhibit 4-13
Types of Reinforcement
Exhibit 4-14 Schedules of
Reinforcement
Putting It All Together
• What we know about motivating employees in

organizations:
– Recognize individual differences.
– Employees have different needs.
– Don’t treat them all alike.
– Spend the time necessary to understand what’s
important to each employee.
– Use goals and feedback.
– Allow employees to participate in decisions that affect
them.
– Link rewards to performance.
– Check the system for equity.
Summary and Implications
1. What is Motivation?
– Motivation is the process that accounts for an individual’s
intensity, direction, and persistence of effort toward reaching
the goal.
2. How do needs motivate people?
– All needs theories of motivation propose a similar idea:
individuals have needs that, when unsatisfied, will result in
motivation.
3. Are there other ways to motivate people?
– Process theories focus on the broader picture of how
someone can set about motivating another individual. Process
theories include expectancy theory and goal setting theory
(and its application, management by objectives).
Summary and Implications
4. Do equity and fairness matter?

– Individuals look for fairness in the reward system. Rewards
should be perceived by employees as related to the inputs
they bring to the job.
5. What role does reinforcement play in motivation?
– B. F. Skinner suggested that behaviour is influenced by
whether or not it is reinforced. Managers might consider,
then, how their actions towards employees reinforce (or do
not reinforce) employee behaviour.
6. What are the ethics behind motivation theories?
– There is a debate among theorists about whether motivation
theories are used for the employees’ benefit or to just
improve productivity.

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What are the main theories of motivation discussed in the chapter?

What are the main theories of motivation discussed in the chapter?

What are the differences between intrinsic and extrinsic motivators?

What are the differences between intrinsic and extrinsic motivators?

Chapter 4:

Langton / Robbins / Judge

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education

• Intensity: How hard a person tries

• Direction: Where effort is channelled

• Persistence: How long effort is maintained

• Theory X Assumptions • Theory Y Assumptions

– Employees dislike work – Employees like to work

– Employees attempt to avoid – Employees are creative, and

– Employees must be – Employees can exercise

• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory.

• McClelland’s Theory of Needs

• Achievement • Company policy and

• Procedure Herzberg used is limited by its methodology.

• Reliability of Herzberg’s methodology is questioned.

• Herzberg did not really produce a theory of motivation.

• No overall measure of satisfaction was used.

• The theory is inconsistent with previous research.

• Need for achievement

• Need for power

• Need for affiliation

Maslow Alderfer Herzberg McClelland

Growth Need for Achievement

Need for Power

• Herzberg: Motivators lead to satisfaction. Hygiene factors must be

• McClelland: People vary in the types of needs they have. Their

• Maslow: Enjoys wide recognition among practising managers.

• Herzberg: The popularity of giving workers greater responsibility

• Alderfer: Seen as a more valid version of the need hierarchy. Tells

• McClelland: Tells us that high need achievers do not necessarily

• Herzberg: Not really a theory of motivation: Assumes a link

• Alderfer: Ignores situational variables.

• McClelland: Mixed empirical support, but theory is consistent

• Look at the actual process of motivation

• The theory that individuals act depending on:

– whether their effort will lead to good performance

– whether good performance will be followed by a given

– whether that outcome is attractive to them

• The theory focuses on three relationships:

– Rewards-Personal Goals Relationship

My professor offers me $1 million if I memorize the textbook by tomorrow morning.

Expectancy Instrumentality Valence

E=0 I=0 V=1

Improving Improving Improving

Improve the ability of the ’s belief that

individual to perform performance will lead to reward meaningful to the individual

• Assign reasonable tasks good performance led to greater

• The theory that specific and difficult goals

• A program that encompasses:

– Explicit time period

– Encourage the development of strategies and action

• For goals to be effective, they should be SMART:

Goals Regulating effort

Encouraging the development

• Self Efficacy also known as social cognitive