978-0134728391 Chapter 8 Part 1

Chapter 8: Employee Behavior and Motivation

Chapter Overview

What motivates you to do well at your job? Is it money? Respect? Recognition? Every employee

in an organization has his or her own set of motivating factors.

This chapter discusses the basic forms of behaviors that employees exhibit in organizations, as

well as the nature and importance of individual differences among employees. It also explains

the meaning and importance of psychological contracts and the person–job fit in the workplace.

Finally, the chapter presents some time-tested models and concepts of employee motivation, and

some strategies and techniques used by organizations to improve employee motivation.

Learning Objectives

8-1. Identify and discuss the basic forms of behaviors that employees exhibit in organizations.

8-2. Describe the nature and importance of individual differences among employees.

8-4. Identify and summarize the most important models and concepts of employee motivation.

LIST OF IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES: INSTRUCTOR’S CHOICE

Activity

Description

Time Limit

1. Ice–Breaker: Balancing

Inducements and Contributions

Students discuss the psychological

contract between themselves and their

jobs.

20 min.

2. Up for Debate: What Are You

Looking for in a Job?

Students are divided into teams to

express their opinions about important

job criteria.

40 min.

3. Small-Group Discussion:

Motivation in Global Firms

Students examine the challenges

stemming from trying to motivate

employees in a global company.

25 min.

CHAPTER OUTLINE

Learning Objective 8-1:

Identify and discuss the basic forms of behaviors that employees exhibit in organizations.

Forms of Employee Behavior

Employee behavior is the pattern of actions by the members of an organization that directly or

indirectly influences the organization’s effectiveness.

A. Performance Behaviors

Performance behaviors are the total set of work-related behaviors that the organization

expects employees to display. They directly contribute to productivity and performance.

B. Organizational Citizenship

Organizational citizenship includes the positive employee behaviors that do not directly

contribute to the bottom line. They provide positive benefits to the organization but in more

indirect ways.

C. Counterproductive Behaviors

Counterproductive behaviors detract from, rather than contribute to, organizational

performance. Such behaviors include absenteeism, which occurs when an employee does not

show up for work, and turnover, which occurs when people quit their jobs. These behaviors

actually cost the organization.

KEY TEACHING TIPS

 Students should be able to identify employee behavior as the pattern of actions by

members of an organization that directly or indirectly influences the organization’s

effectiveness.

 Reinforce that counterproductive behaviors include absenteeism, turnover, theft and

sabotage, workplace aggression and violence, and sexual and racial harassment. You

might ask students what counterproductive behaviors they have observed at their jobs.

QUICK QUESTIONS

 What are some typical performance behaviors expected of you in the workplace?

 What are some examples of employee behaviors that exemplify organizational citizen–

ship?

Learning Objective 8-2:

Describe the nature and importance of individual differences among employees.

Individual Differences between Employees

Individual differences are personal attributes that vary from one person to another; they may be

physical, psychological, and emotional. Two basic categories include personality and attitudes.

A. Personality at Work

Personality is the relatively stable set of psychological attributes that distinguish one person

from another.

1. The “Big Five” Personality Traits. The “big five” personality traits include agree-

ableness, conscientiousness, emotionality, extraversion, and openness. Agreeableness is

a person’s ability to get along with others. Highly conscientious people tend to focus on

2. The Myers-Briggs Framework. Another interesting approach to understanding

personalities in organizations is the Myers-Briggs framework. This framework, based on

the classical work of Carl Jung, differentiates people in terms of four general dimensions.

3. Emotional Intelligence. Emotional intelligence or emotional quotient (EQ) refers to

the extent to which people are self–aware, can manage their emotions, can motivate

themselves, express empathy for others, and possess social skills.

4. Other Personality Traits at Work. Locus of control is the extent to which people

believe that their behavior has a real effect on what happens to them. A person’s self-

efficacy is that person’s belief about his or her capabilities to perform a task.

Authoritarianism is the extent to which a person believes that power and status

differences are appropriate within hierarchical social systems such as organizations. Self–

esteem is the extent to which a person believes that he or she is a worthwhile and

deserving individual. Risk propensity is the degree to which a person is willing to take

chances and make risky decisions.

B. Attitudes at Work

Attitudes reflect our beliefs and feelings about specific ideas, situations, or other people.

They are important because they are the mechanism through which we express our feelings.

1. How Attitudes Are Formed. Attitudes are formed by a variety of forces, including our

2. Attitude Structure. Attitudes are usually viewed as stable dispositions to behave toward

objects in a certain way. Attitudes contain three components: cognition, affect, and

3. Cognitive Dissonance. When two sets of cognitions or perceptions are contradictory or

4. Key Work-Related Attitudes. People in an organization form attitudes about many

different things. Employees are likely to have attitudes about their salary, their promotion

possibilities, their boss, employee benefits, and so on. Especially important attitudes are

job satisfaction, which reflects the extent to which people have positive attitudes toward

their jobs, and organizational commitment, which reflects an individual’s identification

with the organization and its mission. Managers can take actions to promote satisfaction

and commitment. Treating employees fairly, and providing reasonable rewards and job

security leads to employees that are more likely to be satisfied and committed. Allowing

employees to have a say in how things are done can also promote these attitudes, as can

designing jobs so that they are stimulating.

KEY TEACHING TIPS

 Remind students that individual differences may be physical, psychological, or

emotional.

 Make sure students understand that people with high EQs may perform better than others,

especially in jobs that require high interpersonal interaction and involve influencing the

work of others.

QUICK QUESTION

What can you say about each of the “big five” personality traits?

Learning Objective 8-3:

Explain the meaning and importance of psychological contracts and the person-job fit in

the workplace.

Matching People and Jobs

Managers like to have a good match between people and the jobs they are performing.

A. Psychological Contracts

A psychological contract is the overall set of expectations held by employees and the

organization regarding what employees will contribute to the organization (contributions)

and what the organization will provide in return (inducements). Recent trends in downsizing

have led to changes in the psychological contract. Whereas firms used to offer some degree

of job security as part of the psychological contract, now other forms of inducements like

training and flexible work schedules are often needed to attract and retain people.

B. The Person-Job Fit

The person-job fit refers to the extent to which a person’s contributions and the

organization’s inducements match one another. Good person-job fit can result in higher

performance and more positive attitudes. A poor person-job fit can have the opposite effect.

KEY TEACHING TIPS

 Students often have trouble understanding the concept of the psychological contract.

Make sure they understand that it is the set of employee expectations about the

contributions that they will make to the organization, and the inducements the

organization will provide in return.

QUICK QUESTION

How might a company benefit from high degrees of job satisfaction and organizational commit–

ment among its employees?

Use In-Class Activity 2: Up for Debate: What Are You Looking for in a Job?

Time Limit: 40 minutes

HOMEWORK

Interview a Manager

Now is a good time to assign Application Exercise 10 from the end–of-chapter materials as

homework. This assignment asks students to interview a manager and identify sources of job

satisfaction at that company.

At-Home Completion Time: 1-2 hours

Learning Objective 8-4:

Identify and summarize the most important models and concepts of employee motivation.

Basic Motivation Concepts and Theories

Motivation is the set of forces that cause people to behave in certain ways. There are a number

of major studies and theories of employee motivation.

A. Classical Theory

According to the classical theory of motivation, employees are motivated solely by money.

Frederick Taylor, the father of scientific management, proposed that paying workers more

money would prompt them to produce more.

B. Early Behavioral Theory

The Hawthorne effect is the tendency for productivity to increase when workers believe

they are receiving special attention from management.

1. Human Resources Model: Theories X and Y. McGregor’s Theory X is the managerial

assumption that workers are lazy and need direction; Theory Y is the managerial

2. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Model. Maslow proposed that workers each have a set of

needs that they seek to fulfill in their jobs, and these needs are arranged in a hierarchy of

3. Two-Factor Theory. Herzberg proposed that job satisfaction depends on motivating

factors, such as recognition in the workplace, as well as the presence of hygiene factors,

4. Other Important Needs. McClelland’s acquired needs theory hypothesized three other

needs, the needs for achievement, affiliation, and power. The need for achievement

comes from an individual’s desire to accomplish a goal or task as effectively as possible.

Need for affiliation is the need for human companionship, and the need for power is the

desire to control one’s environment.

C. Contemporary Motivation Theory

Recently, more complex models of employee behavior and motivation have been developed.

work toward rewards when they have a greater probability of achieving them. This theory

2. Equity Theory. This theory focuses on employees’ perceptions of fairness and

unfairness in the workplace. Many people evaluate their treatment by the organization

relative to the treatment of others.

KEY TEACHING TIPS

 To begin a discussion on motivation, you might want to ask students what motivates

them on the job.

 Remind students that according to the classical theory of motivation, workers are

motivated by money; paying them more money should prompt them to produce more

goods.

 Students often forget that equity theory focuses on social comparisons—people

evaluating their treatment by the organization relative to the treatment of others.

QUICK QUESTIONS

 What is the theory behind scientific management?

 Does the Hawthorne effect still apply to people in the workplace?

 Why are Theory Y managers more likely to have satisfied and motivated employees?

 Based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, what is an example of how physiological needs

take precedence over security and social needs?

 How does expectancy theory apply when a student feels that the harder she or he studies

for an exam the greater the likelihood of a good grade?

 How is the comparison of employee inputs relative to outputs similar to the

“psychological contract?”

Use In-Class Activity 3: Small-Group Discussion: Motivation in Global Firms

Time Limit: 25 minutes

HOMEWORK

Satisfaction and Motivation

Now might be a good time to assign Application Exercise 9 from the end-of-chapter materials as

homework. This exercise asks students to think about what makes employees satisfied and

motivated.

At-Home Completion Time: 30-45 minutes

Learning Objective 8-5:

Describe some of the strategies and techniques used by organizations to improve employee

motivation.

Strategies and Techniques for Enhancing Motivation

Understanding what motivates workers is only one part of the manager’s job. The other part is

applying that knowledge.

A. Reinforcement/Behavior Modification

Positive reinforcement is used when a company or manager provides a reward when

B. Using Goals to Motivate Behavior

Management by objectives (MBO) is a system of collaborative goal setting, extending

through all levels of an organization. MBO is primarily concerned with the implementation

of plans in organizations. Because employees contribute to setting the goals, they should

accept and be committed to achieving them.

C. Participative Management and Empowerment

In participative management and empowerment, employee suggestions and opinions are

welcomed. Employees may feel more committed to the firm’s goals if they have helped to

shape them. A key to success in this case is to invite participation only to the extent that

employees want to have input and only if participation will have real value for an

organization.

D. Team Structures

Some companies benefit from using team management. Although teams are often less

E. Job Enrichment and Job Redesign

Both of these programs typically increase worker satisfaction in jobs that lack motivating

factors.

1. Job Enrichment Programs. These programs attempt to add motivating factors to job

2. Job Redesign Programs. These programs attempt to create a better fit between

employees and their jobs by restructuring work. Job redesign can usually be carried out

through combining tasks, forming natural work groups, and/or establishing client

relationships.

a. Combining Tasks. Enlarging jobs and increasing their variety can make employees

feel that their work is more meaningful.

b. Forming Natural Work Groups. People who perform different jobs on the same

projects are candidates for natural work groups that help employees see the place and

importance of their jobs in the total structure of the firm.

c. Establishing Client Relationships. Allowing employees to interact with customers

can increase job variety and give workers both a greater sense of control and more

feedback about performance.

F. Modified Work Schedules

1. Work-Share Programs. These programs allow employees to share a single, full-time

3. Alternative Workplaces. A rapidly growing number of U.S. workers do a significant

4. Advantages and Disadvantages of Modified Schedules and Alternative Workplaces.

Some advantages include: (a) more freedom in employees’ personal lives; (b) ability of

employees to coordinate work around family members’ schedules; (c) an increased sense

of freedom for employees; and (d) higher commitment and satisfaction for employees.

KEY TEACHING TIP

Students often confuse the following topics. Job enrichment is designed to add one or more

motivating factors to job activities; job redesign acknowledges that different people want

different things from their jobs.