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behavior.
o The reinforcement always should be contingent on the employee’s correct behavior—
not randomly administered.
o Favorable consequences should be personalized, timely, specific, high-impact, and as
spontaneous as possible.
o Managers should provide useful feedback about performance, celebrate publicly the
value of a contribution, and build a sense of ownership and commitment within
employees.
o Shaping is a systematic and progressive application of positive reinforcement.
▪ It occurs when more frequent, or more powerful, reinforcements are successively
given as the employee comes closer to the desired behavior.
▪ It is especially useful for teaching complex tasks.
• Negative reinforcement occurs when behavior is accompanied by removal of an
unfavorable consequence; therefore it is not the same as punishment, which normally adds
something unfavorable.
o Consistent with the law of effect, behavior responsible for the removal of something
unfavorable is repeated when that unfavorable state is again encountered.
• Punishment is the administration of an unfavorable consequence that discourages a certain
behavior.
o Although punishment may be necessary occasionally to discourage an undesirable
behavior, it needs to be used with caution because it has certain limitations.
▪ It does not directly encourage any kind of desirable behavior unless the person
receiving it is clearly aware of the alternative path to follow.
▪ It may cause managers acting like punishers to become disliked for their
disciplinary actions.
▪ It could happen that people who are punished may be unclear about what specific
part of their behavior is being punished.
• Extinction is the withholding of significant positive consequences that were previously
provided for a desirable behavior.
o If no reinforcement by the manager, the employee, or anyone else occurs, the behavior
tends to diminish through lack of reinforcement.
Schedules of Reinforcement
• The frequency of a behavior creates a baseline, or standard, against which improvements can
be compared.
o Then, the manager can select a reinforcement schedule, which is the frequency with
which the selected consequence accompanies a desired behavior.
• Reinforcement may be either continuous or partial.
o Continuous reinforcement occurs when reinforcement accompanies each correct
behavior by an employee.
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▪ An example of continuous reinforcement is payment of employees for each
acceptable item they produce.
o Partial reinforcement occurs when only some of the correct behaviors are
reinforced—either after a certain time or after a number of correct responses.
• Learning is slower with partial reinforcement than with continuous reinforcement.
o However, learning tends to be retained longer when it is secured under conditions of
partial reinforcement.
Interpreting Behavior Modification
• The major benefit of behavior modification is that it makes managers become more
conscious motivators.
o It often encourages effective supervisors to devote more time to monitoring employee
behaviors.
o When specific behaviors can be identified and desired reinforcements are properly
applied, behavior modification can lead to substantial improvements in specific areas,
such as absences, tardiness, and error rates.
• Behavior modification has been criticized on several grounds, including its philosophy,
methods, and practicality.
o It could manipulate people, and be inconsistent with humanistic assumptions that
people want to be autonomous and self-actualizing.
o Some critics also fear that behavior modification gives too much power to the
managers, without appropriate controls.
Goal Setting
• Goals are targets and objective for future performance.
o Goals appear in the model of motivation before employee performance, which accents
their role as a cue to acceptable behavior.
• Goals are also useful after the desired behavior, as managers compare employee results with
their aims and explore reasons for any differences.
• Goal setting works as a motivational process because it creates a discrepancy between current
and expected performance.
o This results in a feeling of tension, which the employee can diminish through future goal
attainment.
• A major factor in the success of goal setting is self-efficacy.
o This is an internal belief regarding one’s job-related capabilities and competencies.
• Self-efficacy can be judged either on a specific task or across a variety of performance duties.
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o If employees have high self-efficacies, they will tend to set higher personal goals under
the belief that they are attainable.
• The first key to successful goal setting is to build and reinforce employee self-efficacy (Figure
5.7).
Elements of Goal Setting
• Goal setting, as a motivational tool, is most effective when all its major elements—goal
acceptance, specificity, challenge, and performance monitoring and feedback—are present.
• Goal Acceptance
o Effective goals need to be not only understood but also actively accepted.
o Supervisors need to explain the purpose behind goals and the necessity for them.
• Specificity
o Goals need to be as specific, clear, and measurable as possible so employees will know
when a goal is reached.
o Specific goals (often quantified) let employees know what to reach for and allow them
to measure their own progress.
• Challenge
o Most employees work harder and achieve more when they have difficult goals to
accomplish rather than easy ones.
o Hard goals present a challenge that appeals to the achievement drive within many
employees.
• Performance Monitoring and Feedback
o Even after employees have participated in setting well-defined and challenging goals,
two other closely related steps are important to complete the process.
▪ Performance monitoring—observing behavior, inspecting output, or studying
performance indicators—provides at least subtle cues to employees that their
tasks are important, their effort is needed, and their contributions are valued.
▪ Without performance feedback—the timely provision of data or judgment
regarding task-related results—employees will be working in the dark and have
no true idea how successful they are.
The Expectancy Model
• A widely accepted approach to motivation is the expectancy model, also known as expectancy
theory, developed by Victor H. Vroom and expanded and refined by Porter, Lawler, and
others.
• Vroom explains that motivation is a product of three factors:
o How much one wants a reward (valence)
o One’s estimate of the probability that effort will result in successful performance
(expectancy)
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o One’s estimate that performance will result in receiving the reward (instrumentality).
o The relationship is stated as Valence × Expectancy × Instrumentality = Motivation.
The Three Factors
• Valence
o Valence refers to the strength of a person’s preference for receiving a reward.
o Valence for a reward is unique to each employee and thus is a reflection of the concept
of individual differences.
o Valence for reward is conditioned by experience, and it may vary substantially over a
period of time as old needs become satisfied and new ones emerge.
o It is important to understand the difference between the implications of need-based
models of motivation and the idea of valence in the expectancy model.
▪ In the need-based models, broad generalizations are used to predict where a
group of employees may have the strongest drives or the greatest unsatisfied
needs.
▪ In the expectancy model, managers need to gather specific information about an
individual employee’s preferences among a set of rewards and then continue to
monitor changes in those preferences.
o Since people may have positive or negative preferences for an outcome valence may be
positive or negative.
▪ When a person prefers not attaining an outcome, as compared with attaining it,
valence is a negative figure.
▪ If a person is indifferent to an outcome, the valence is 0.
▪ The total range is from -1 to +1.
• Expectancy
o Expectancy is the strength of belief that one’s work-related effort will result in
completion of a task.
o Since expectancy is the probability of a connection between effort and performance, its
value may range from 0 to 1.
o One of the forces contributing to effort-performance expectancies is the individual’s
self-efficacy.
• Instrumentality
o Instrumentality represents the employee’s belief that a reward will be received once
the task is accomplished.
o The employee makes another subjective judgment about the probability that the
organization values the employee’s performance and will administer rewards on a
contingent basis.
o The value of instrumentality effectively ranges from 0 to 1.
How the Model Works
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• The multiplicative product of valence (V), expectancy (E), and instrumentality (I) is
motivation (V × E × I = Motivation).
o It is defined as the strength of the drive toward an action.
• The three factors in the expectancy model may exist in numerous combinations.
• When valence is negative, employees will prefer to avoid the disliked outcome.
o For example, some employees would prefer not to be promoted into management
because of the stress, loss of overtime pay, or additional responsibilities they would
bear.
• Employees perform a type of cost-benefit analysis, often implicit, for their own behavior at
work.
• The Impact of Uncertainty
o The expectancy model depends on the employee’s perception of the relationship
between effort, performance, and rewards.
▪ The connection between effort and ultimate reward is often uncertain.
▪ Each situation entails so many causes and effects that rarely can an employee be
sure that a desired reward will follow a given action.
o Managers can address this uncertainty in two ways as they apply the expectancy model.
▪ They can work to strengthen both the actual value of the rewards offered and the
formal connections between effort and performance and between performance
and rewards.
▪ They can recognize and accept the legitimacy of an employee’s perception of the
rewards.
o In order to make the expectancy model work, the manager must clarify employee
perceptions.
Interpreting the Expectancy Model
• Advantages
o The expectancy model is a valuable tool for helping managers think about the mental
processes through which motivation occurs.
▪ In this model, employees do not act simply because of strong internal drives.
▪ Instead, they are thinking individuals whose beliefs, perceptions, and probability
estimates influence their behavior.
o The model reflects Theory Y assumptions about people as capable individuals and in
this way values human dignity.
o The model also encourages managers to design a motivational climate that will
stimulate appropriate employee behavior.
o Managers need to communicate with employees.
• Limitations
o The model’s multiplicative combination of the three elements needs further
substantiation.
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o Both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards need to be considered.
o Reliable measures of valence, expectancy, and instrumentality need to be developed.
o There is a special need to develop measures that managers can use in actual work
settings.
The Equity Model
• Employees interact with one another on tasks and on social occasions.
o They observe one another, judge one another, and make comparisons.
• Most employees are concerned about more than just having their needs satisfied; they also
want their reward system to be fair.
o This issue of fairness applies to all types of rewards—psychological, social, and
economic—and it makes the managerial job of motivation much more complex.
• J. Stacy Adam’s equity theory states that employees tend to judge fairness by comparing the
outcomes (rewards) they receive with their relevant inputs (contributions) and also by
comparing this ratio with the ratios of other people (Figure 5.9).
One’s own outcomes Others’ outcomes
=
One’s own inputs Others’ inputs
• Inputs include all the rich and diverse elements employees believe they bring, or contribute, to
the job—their education, seniority, prior work experiences, loyalty and commitment, time and
effort, creativity, and job performance.
• Outcomes are the rewards employee perceive they get from their jobs and employers; these
outcomes include direct pay and bonuses, fringe benefits, job security, social rewards, and
psychological rewards.
• Three combinations can occur from social comparisons:
o Equity—employees will be motivated to continue to contribute at about the same level.
o Over-rewarded—employees will feel an imbalance in their relationship with their
employer and seek to restore that balance.
▪ They might work harder, they might discount the value of the rewards received,
they could try to convince other employees to ask for more rewards, or they might
simply choose someone else for comparison purposes.
o Under-rewarded—employees seek to reduce their feelings of inequity through the same
types of strategies, but some of their specific actions are now reversed.
▪ They might lower the quantity or quality of their productivity, they could inflate
the perceived value of the rewards received, or they could bargain for more actual
rewards.
▪ They could find someone else to compare themselves (more favorably) with, or
they might simply quit.
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Interpreting the Equity Model
• An understanding of equity should remind managers that employees work within several
social systems.
o Employees may actually select a number of reference groups both inside and outside
the organization.
o Employees are also inclined to shift the basis for their comparisons to the standard that
is most favorable to them.
o Many employees have strong egos and even inflated opinions of themselves.
• The idea of equity sensitivity suggests that individuals have different preferences for equity.
o Some people seem to prefer overreward, some conform to the traditional equity model,
and others prefer to be underrewarded.
• The elements of effort (inputs) and rewards (outcomes) can be seen when comparing the
equity and expectancy models.
o In both approaches, perception plays a key role, again suggesting how valuable it is for
a manager to gather information from employees instead of trying to impose one’s own
perceptions onto them.
• The major challenges for a manager using the equity model lie in measuring employee
assessments of their inputs and outcomes, identifying their choice of references, and
evaluating employee perceptions of inputs and outcomes.
• Fairness, from an employee’s equity perspective, applies not only to the actual size of
rewards and their relation to inputs provided, but also to the process by which they are
administered.
o This is the essence of the procedural justice approach to motivation, which focuses on
two elements:
▪ Interpersonal treatment—encompasses both managerial respect for employee
inputs and managerial behavior that exhibits clear levels of respect, esteem,
consideration, and courtesy.
▪ Clarity of explanations—is enhanced by managers making the reward process
more transparent, so that employees can discover and understand how their inputs
were assessed and how the reward system is administered.
• Procedural justice is especially important when organizational resources are tight and lesser
levels of valued outcomes are provided to employees.
Interpreting Motivational Models
• All the motivational models have strengths and weaknesses, advocates and critics.
o No model is perfect, but all of them add something to our understanding of the
motivational process.
o Other models are being developed, and attempts are being made to integrate existing
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approaches.
• The cognitive (process) models are likely to continue dominating organizational practices for
some time.
o They are most consistent with a supportive and comprehensive view of people as
thinking individuals who make somewhat conscious decisions about their behavior.
o Behavior modification also has some usefulness, especially in stable situations with
minimum complexity, where there appears to be a direct connection between behavior
and consequences.
o In more complex, dynamic situations, cognitive models will be used more often.
o The motivational model used must be carefully chosen, adapted as needed, and blended
with other models.
• As the world of business becomes increasingly global, it becomes important to consider the
relevance of motivational models to countries outside the United States, whose culture reflects
individualism.
o By contrast, in collective cultures such as Japan, feelings of belonging may be more
important to employees than esteem needs.
Suggested Answers to Discussion Questions
1. 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 that person use (either explicitly or
implicitly)?
a. Lower-order or higher-order needs?
b. Maintenance or motivational factors? If so, which one(s)?
c. Existence, relatedness, or growth needs?
d. Behavior modification?
e. Goal setting?
Students’ answers may vary. In the first three parts of the question, students will probably
2. In your role as a student, do you feel you are motivated more by Maslow’s lower-order or
higher-order needs? Explain. Describe how you expect motivation to change once you
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graduate.
Students’ answers may vary. Some students are likely to report that they are more concerned
3. 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?
Students’ answers will vary. Some students will pick maintenance factors, while others will
4. 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.
Students’ answers may vary. It will be helpful to distinguish between extrinsic and intrinsic
5. Discuss how behavior modification operates to motivate people. Why is it still important
to understand people’s needs when using this approach?
Students’ answers may vary. Behavior modification centers around the principle of the law of
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consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
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.
6. Explain the differences between negative reinforcement and punishment.
Students’ answers may vary. These two concepts are sometimes confused by those not too
familiar with operant conditioning or behavior modification terminology. A reinforcer is
7. Divide the class into two groups (one in favor and one opposed) and debate this
proposition: “Rewards motivate people.”
Students’ answers may vary. 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
8. How would you use the expectancy model in the following situations?
a. 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.
b. You believe that one of your employees has excellent potential for promotion and
want to encourage her to prepare for it.
c. You have a sprained ankle and want a friend to walk to a fast-food restaurant and
get you a hamburger.
Students’ 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:
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a. Offering the employees an extra day or two of vacation to make the switch
9. 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?
10. 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?
Students’ answers may vary. About the only way to correct or adjust perceptions is to address
Assess Your Own Skills
Students should honestly circle the number on the response scale that most closely reflects the
degree to which each statement accurately describes them when they have tried to motivate someone
else. This section will help them understand how well they exhibit good motivational skills.
Role-Play
The Downsized Firm
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
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students may be asked to analyze the case in terms of the models of Maslow, Herzberg, Vroom, and
Skinner.
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
The Piano Builder
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 is
reflected in Bird’s work.) Bird’s work is also 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.
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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.
Experiential Exercise
Are Grades Motivators?
This is an application of the expectancy model of motivation. Students have been asked first to
Generating OB Insights
Students’ responses will vary for this exercise. They should however, highlight several of the major
topics discussed in the chapter such as the motivational process, motivational drives, need category
systems, behavior modification and reinforcement, goal setting and its effects, etc.