MOTIVATION

SCIENCE, PRACTICE AND

PHILOSOPHY
Padmakumar Nair
MOTIVATING
SELF AND
OTHERS…

4
The Most Frustrating Aspect of Teamwork
100 Developing /
sustaining high
motivation

Minimizing
confusion /
coordination
50 problems

Fostering
51% 41% creativity /
37% 31% innovation

0 Training

Thompson 2004
 MacLean’s Triune Brain
HINDSIGHT

HUMAN BRAIN
FORESIGHT

APPETITE
MAMMALIAN BRAIN

INSTINCT
REPTILLIAN BRAIN

Zuckerman 1991 and 2005

 Fun at work /
Nature of work
school

Future
Money
opportunities
What Motivates
You? The challenge
of solving
Lifestyle
difficult
problems

??? ???

7
Group Activity: What Motivates
You? / How Do You Motivate Others?

8
Can Pay be an Absolute
Motivator?
◦ What else do you think which can motivate you
and others?

9
 GE’S
20 PERFORMANCE
MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM
70

10

10
 Discuss in your table groups

Group Activity:
How Good is
GE’s What are the potential
problems with this pay-for-
Performance performance system?
Management
System?
What changes would you
suggest to improve this
system?

11
GE’s Performance Evaluation and
Reward System
20
25

25

70
25

25

10
12
WORK MOTIVATION

Why are you

here today ?
 What Motivates You?
What drives you to want to learn OML or Business Administration ? 

The reason why you chose a particular career ? 

Your partner? 

What needs drive you to live in a particular area ?

Are your drives different from other people or do we all share the same goals
in life?  
 The basic motivation process

NEEDS DRIVES INCENTIVES

NEEDS are created whenever there is a physiological

or psychological imbalance
DRIVES, physiological or psychological, are action
oriented and provides an energizing thrust toward
reaching an incentive
INCENTIVE is anything that will alleviate a need
and reduce a drive
Luthans 2002
What is Motivation?
◦ Motivation
◦ The processes that account for an
individual’s direction, intensity, and
persistence of effort toward attaining
a goal

◦ Direction: where effort is channeled

◦ Intensity: how hard a person tries
◦ Persistence: how long effort is
maintained
 ◦ Extrinsic motivation
◦ Occurs when the person does
something to earn external reward
Sources of
◦ Intrinsic motivation
Motivation ◦ Occurs when the person does
something to experience
inherently satisfying results
Theories of motivation…
Predict
Content Theories What will ?

Process Theories
Describe Explain Control
What ? Why ? How to ?

Improve
How to ?
 Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Alderfer’s ERG theory

Herzberg’s two factor theory

Needs Theories of (motivator-hygiene theory)

Motivation McClelland’s theory of needs

Basic idea:

• Individuals have needs that, when unsatisfied,

will result in motivation
Behavioral and
Cognitive Theories of
Motivation
◦ Cognitive and behavioral theories
◦ Expectancy theory
◦ Equity theory
◦ Goal Setting theory
◦ Basic idea:
◦ Theories are based on observable
behaviors
All of Us Work for…
Make a Positive Difference in the World
Feel
Proud
Family /
Friends

Home

Food

21
All of Us Work for…
Make a Positive Difference in the World
Feel Personal Growth
Proud
Family /
Power / Respect
Friends

Home Good People Around

Food Stable Job

Pay
22
Clayton Alderfer’s ERG Theory

concerned with providing

Existence basic material existence
requirements

desire for maintaining

Relatedness important interpersonal
relationships

intrinsic desire for

Growth personal development
Alderfer’s ERG Theory

SA Growth
Esteem

Social
Relatedness
Safety & Security
Existence
Physiological
 ◦Need for Achievement
◦ Individual’s need to achieve excellence, be
competitive, set challenging goals, be persistent in
overcoming difficulties and achieving difficult goals.

David ◦Need for Power

McClelland’s ◦ Individual’s need to influence others, change

people or events, and make a difference in the life of
need theory: others.

Need for
Achievement ◦Need for Affiliation
◦ Individual’s need to establish and maintain
warm, close, intimate relationships with other people

Nelson & Quick 2002

 Physical working conditions

Pay

Job security

Will More of Relationship with your boss/peers

Everything Interesting work

Motivate Us? Freedom / autonomy

Responsibility

Pay

Opportunity to grow
 Will More of Everything Motivate Us?

◦ Physical working conditions More of these may

not motivate us
◦ Pay
◦ Job security Very little of these
◦ Relationship with your boss/peers can de-motivate us
◦ Interesting work
◦ Freedom / autonomy
◦ Responsibility More of this can
◦ Pay motivate us
◦ Opportunity to grow
Frederick Herzberg’s
Motivator-Hygiene Theory
◦ Every worker has two sets of needs or requirements:
motivator needs and hygiene needs.
◦ Hygiene needs are associated with the physical and
psychological context in which the work is performed.
◦ Facets: physical working conditions, pay, security
◦ Motivator needs are associated with the actual work itself
and how challenging it is.
◦ Facets: interesting work, autonomy, responsibility, pay
 ◦ Hypothesized relationships between
motivator needs, hygiene needs, and job
satisfaction:
Herzberg’s ◦ When hygiene needs are met, workers
will not be dissatisfied; when these
Motivator- needs are not met, workers will be
Hygiene dissatisfied
Theory ◦ When motivator needs are met,
workers will be satisfied and
motivated; when these needs are not
met, workers will not be satisfied
 Herzberg’s Motivator-Hygiene Theory

Traditional Thinking
Dissatisfaction-Satisfaction

Hygiene consideration Motivator consideration

Dissatisfaction-No dissatisfaction No satisfaction-Satisfaction
 Herzberg’s Motivator-Hygiene Theory

Traditional Thinking
Dissatisfaction-Satisfaction

Hygiene- Motivator View

Dissatisfaction-No dissatisfaction-Satisfaction
Comparison between Maslow’s and Herzberg’s
Theories
Maslow’s Herzberg’s
Hierarchy of Needs Two Factors

SA
Esteem
MOTIVATORS

Social

Safety & Security HYGIENE

FACTORS

Physiological
 ◦ Cognitive and behavioral
theories
Behavioral ◦ Expectancy theory
and Cognitive ◦ Equity theory
Theories of ◦ Goal Setting theory
◦ Basic idea:
Motivation
◦ Theories are based on
observable behaviors
Expectancy Theory of
Motivation: Key Constructs
Valence - value or importance placed on a reward

Expectancy - belief that effort leads to

performance

Instrumentality - belief that performance is

related to rewards

Victor Vroom
 What is in it for me? value or importance placed
on a particular reward

Managing Will I be able to do it? belief that effort leads to

Motivation: A performance
Practical Tool Can I trust “them”? belief that performance is
related to rewards

35
Managing Motivation: A Practical Approach
Will I be able to Can I trust “them”?
do it?
WiiiFM?

EFFORT Performance Reward

What is in it for me? value or importance placed on a particular reward

Will I be able to do it? belief that effort leads to performance

Can I trust “them”? belief that performance is related to rewards 36

 Expectancy Theory of Work Motivation

EXPECTANCY INSTRUMENTALITY

Valence

EFFORT Performance Reward

Valence - value or importance placed on a particular reward

Instrumentality - belief that performance is related to rewards

Expectancy - belief that effort leads to performance

 What Do We Expect From the
Company We Work for?
John Stacey Adams
Organization Individual
Expectation
Good working conditions / Pay / Job
security
Good Relationship with your boss/peers
Interesting work / Freedom / autonomy
Opportunity to grow
Contribution

38
 What Do We Give the Company We
Work for?
Organization Individual
Expectation Good working conditions / Pay / Job
security
Good Relationship with your boss/peers
Interesting work / Freedom / autonomy
Opportunity to grow
Contribution

• Knowledge
•Skills and abilities
•Our Time

39
What Does Company Expect From Us?
Organization Individual
Expectation Good working conditions / Pay / Job
security
Meeting goals and departmental Good Relationship with your boss/peers
objectives
Interesting work / Freedom / autonomy
Opportunity to grow
Contribution

• Knowledge
•Skills and abilities
•Our Time

40
What Does Company Give Us?
Organization Individual
Expectation Good working conditions / Pay / Job
security
Meeting goals and departmental Good Relationship with your boss/peers
objectives
Interesting work / Freedom / autonomy
Opportunity to grow
Contribution

• Income
• Knowledge
• Social status
• Skills and abilities
• Other Benefits
• Our Time

41
Adam’s Theory of Inequity

Inequity – the situation in which

a person perceives he or she is
receiving less than she is giving,
or is giving less than he or she is
receiving
John Stacey Adams
Motivational Theory Based on Social Exchange

Person Comparison
other
Reward = Reward
Equity
Effort Effort
Negative Reward < Reward
Equity Effort Effort
Positive Reward > Reward
Equity Effort Effort
When Thinking ◦ What skills do I need to achieve this?
about How to ◦ What information do I need?
◦ What help, assistance, or
Achieve Goals collaboration do I need?
ask yourself the ◦ What resources do I need?
following ◦ What can block progress?
Questions?…… ◦ Am I making any assumptions?
◦ Is there a better way of doing things?

Learning Enrichment
Center
 Integrating All: Theory of Life, Personality and
Motivation
•Personality
Is it the right
•Situation [micro and macro]
thing to do?
(Theory of Life)

Intention Motivation Action

•Autonomy / feedback
•Value attached to Internal / external reward
•Ability to do the job (self efficacy)
•Trust / Belief in the system /
•Culture / conformity
45
Self-Determination Theory

46
 (RE-)
DESIGNING
JOBS

Job Characteristic Model (JCM)

Greg R. Oldham 47
(RE-) DESIGNING JOB

What is a
good job ?
48
 Think about the best
job you have ever had

Then ask yourself the

Individual following questions:
Activity: My Best • Why was this job the best?
Job • What characteristics of this
job I liked the most?
• What characteristics of this
job I did NOT like?
49
 Important Aspects of Our Jobs

Values Does this job contradict with my values and beliefs?

Autonomy Can I decide what is to be done?

Feedback How am I doing?

Skills Variety Can I make full use of a wide variety of skills?

The Big Picture Can I see the result of my effort in full?

(Task Identity)

Making a
Difference Is my work making a positive difference?
(Task Significance)

50
Core Job Dimensions
Autonomy: The degree to which a job allows a worker the freedom
and independence to schedule work and decide how to carry it out.

Feedback: The extent to which performing a job provides a

worker with clear information about his or her effectiveness.

Skill Variety: The extent to which a job requires a worker to use

different skills, abilities, or talents.

Task Identity: The extent to which a job involves performing a

whole piece of work from its beginning to its end.

Task Significance: The extent to which a job has an impact on the

lives or work of other people in or out of the organization.

51
 Motivating Potential Score (MPS)
◦ A measure of the overall potential of a job to foster intrinsic
motivation.
◦ The score is a computational combination of the measures of skill
variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback.
◦ Formula
MPS = (SV + TI + TS) x A x F
3
◦ MPS scores can range from 1 to 343. The average MPS for jobs in the
US is around 128.
52
Motivating Potential Score (MPS)

Insert Figure 7.3 here

53
 Job High / Description
Dimension Medium /
List the Low
Attributes of Skill variety
Your Current Task identity
Job Under the Task
Five significance
Dimensions Autonomy
Feedback
54
 Ways to Redesign Jobs to Increase MPS
Change Made
Combine tasks so that a
worker is responsible for
doing a piece of work from
start to finish.
Group tasks into natural work
units so that workers are
responsible for an entire set
of important activities rather
than just a part of them.
Allow workers to interact with
customers or clients, and make
workers responsible for
managing these relationships
and satisfying customers.
Vertically load jobs so that
workers have more control
over their work activities and
higher levels of responsibility.
Open feedback channels
so that workers know how
they are performing their
jobs.
Job Dimension Example
Skill variety A production worker is responsible for
Task identity assembling a whole bicycle, not just attaching
Task significance the handlebars.
Task identity A computer programmer handles all
Task significance programming requests from one division
instead of one type of request from several
different divisions.
Skill variety A truck driver who delivers photocopiers not
only sets them up but also trains customers in
Autonomy
how to use them, handles customer billing, and
Feedback responds to customer complaints.
Autonomy A corporate marketing analyst not only prepares
marketing plans and reports but also decides when
to update and revise them, checks them for
errors, and presents them to upper management.
Feedback In addition to knowing how many claims he handles
per month, an insurance adjuster receives his clients’
responses to follow-up questionnaires that his 55
company uses to measure client satisfaction.
GROUP ACTIVITY: JOB
RE-DESIGN

56
Job (Re-)Design: Group Exercise
◦Revisit your jobs
◦Discuss, by applying the concepts
discussed in the class, how you or your
manager can redesign the job to increase
its motivation potential
Padmakumar.nair@thapar.edu 57
List Your Ideas for Redesigning the Job
Which You Have Considered Previously
Job Dimension Approach / Proposed Changes
Skills Variety can be increased by…
Can he/she make full use of a wide variety of skills?

Ability to see the Big Picture (Task Identity) can be

enhanced by…
Can he/she see the result of his/her effort in full?

They will feel they are Making a Difference if…

Is his/her work making a positive difference?

Autonomy can be increased by…

Can he/she decide what is to be done?
Feedback can be improved by…
Are they getting continuous feedback?

58
 GOAL
SETTING

59
 Goal Setting at
Work
◦The process of establishing
desired results that guide and
direct behavior

◦Goals help crystallize the sense

Edwin Locke and Gary of purpose and mission essential
Latham to success at work
 ◦ Set SMART goals…
◦ Specific
Characteristics
◦ Measurable
of Effective
Goals ◦ Achievable and
Realistic
◦ Time-phased

61
 ◦ Set Performance Goals, Not
Outcome Goals
◦ Express Goals Positively.
Effective ◦ Be Precise
GOALS ◦ Set measurable dates, times, and
setting amounts.
◦ Set Priorities.
◦ Write Goals Down.

62
 ◦ What skills do I need to achieve this?
When Thinking ◦ What information do I need?
about How to ◦ What help, assistance, or collaboration
Achieve Goals do I need?
ask yourself the ◦ What resources do I need?
following ◦ What can block progress?
Questions?…… ◦ Am I making any assumptions?
◦ Is there a better way of doing things?

Learning Enrichment 63
Center
 Human Mind

Mind versus Body Right versus Left Controlled versus Automatic New versus Old

Autonomic nervous system / “acting Corpus callosum connects the left and A hindbrain (connected to the spinal
organs” right cerebral hemispheres column), a midbrain, and a forebrain
Gut feelings Left hemisphere is specialized for (connected to the sensory organs at the
language processing and analytical front of the animal)
tasks A new outer shell of the forebrain:
Right hemisphere is better at hypothalamus (specialized to
processing patterns in space, including coordinate basic drives and
that all-important pattern, the face motivations), the hippocampus
(specialized for memory), and the
Confabulation amygdala (specialized for emotional
learning and responding).
Neocortex or the gray matter

64

Haidt, Jonathan (2006-12-26). The Happiness Hypothesis