Chapter 7 Motivation Concepts Page 215
Questions for Review
7-1. What are the three key elements of motivation?
Answer: Motivation is the processes that account for an individual’s intensity,
Learning Objective: Describe the three key elements of motivation
Learning Outcome: Describe the major theories of motivation and relate them to organizational
performance
AACSB: Reflective thinking
7-2. What are some early theories of motivation? How applicable are they today?
for the contemporary theories that are used by managers today.
performance
AACSB: Reflective thinking
7-3. What are the similarities and differences between self-determination theory and
goal-setting theory?
evaluation theory, which hypothesizes that extrinsic rewards will reduce intrinsic
interest in a task. When people are paid for work, it feels less like something they
performance, but some goals may be too effective and can actually undermine
adaptation and creativity.
expectancy theory
Learning Outcome: Describe the major theories of motivation and relate them to organizational
performance
AACSB: Reflective thinking
7-4. What are the key principles of self-efficacy theory, reinforcement theory, equity
theory, and expectancy theory?
Chapter 7 Motivation Concepts Page 216
increased through enactive mastery, vicarious modeling, verbal persuasion, and
arousal. Self-efficacy theory and goal-setting theory don’t compete, but rather
it does not address what initiates behavior, it does provide an analysis of what
controls behavior. According to research, reinforcement is an influence on
theory, equity theory, and expectancy theory
Learning Outcome: Describe the major theories of motivation and relate them to organizational
performance
AACSB: Reflective thinking
7-5. What are some of the different types of organizational justice and what are their
outcomes?
example, we could distribute raises equally among employees, or we could base them on
which employees need money the most not favoring one group or person over another),
with employees, the more fairly treated those employees feel. Interpersonal justice
reflects whether employees are treated with dignity and respect. Compared to the other
everyday interactions between managers and employees.
Learning Objective: Describe the different forms of organizational justice, including distributive
justice, procedural justice, informational justice, and interactional justice
AACSB: Reflective thinking
7-6. Why is employee job engagement important to managers?
Chapter 7 Motivation Concepts Page 217
employee engagement. One of the critiques of engagement is that the construct is
partially redundant with job attitudes like satisfaction or stress. Engagement may
whether some highly engaged employees might be getting “too much of a good
thing.”
performance
AACSB: Reflective thinking
7-7. How do the contemporary theories of motivation compare to one another?
have lately become interested in facilitating job engagement, believing something
deeper than liking a job or finding it interesting drives performance. In the late
1960s, Edwin Locke proposed that intentions to work toward a goal are a major
source of work motivation. Evidence strongly suggests, that specific goals
their tasks and then, in turn, increase performance, which increases efficacy
further.
Learning Objectives: Demonstrate the differences among self-efficacy theory, reinforcement
theory, equity theory, and expectancy theory
performance
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Chapter 7 Motivation Concepts Page 218
Experiential Exercise
Organizational Justice Task
This exercise contributes to:
performance
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Break the class into groups of three or four.
7-7. Each person should recall an instance in which he or she was (a) treated especially
fairly and (b) treated especially unfairly. Work-related instances are preferable, but
7-8. Spend several minutes discussing whether the instance was more distributive,
procedural, informational, or interpersonal in nature. What was the source of the
fair/unfair treatment? How did you feel, and how did you respond?
7-9. Each group should develop a set of recommendations for handling the unfair
situations in a fairer manner. Select a leader for your group who will briefly
summarize the unfair instances, along with the group’s recommendations for
handling them better. The discussion should reflect the four types of justice
interpersonal).
Ethical Dilemma
Follies of Reward
This exercise contributes to:
Learning Objective: Contrast the elements of self-determination theory and goal-setting theory
performance
AACSB: Ethical understanding and reasoning; Reflective thinking
Most of the time, we have good intentions when we try to reward others. We might give
a bonus to an employee who has done an exceptionally good job all year. Or, our reward
systems might be a little more institutionalized. For example, a movie theater might
Chapter 7 Motivation Concepts Page 219
types of errors: 1.) pronouncing you well, when you are actually sick and 2.)
pronouncing you sick, when you are actually well. If the doctor commits the first error,
the consequences are grave—there could be a threat of a lawsuit, malpractice, or
diagnostic accuracy as a goal?
In a more recent example, one study found that a monthly perfect attendance award
program across five industrial laundry plants did not work the way it was intended to:
when participants became ineligible for the award, they showed up less frequently. The
for good performance.
Questions
not?
7-12. Do you think it is possible for a reward program to start out rewarding the
appropriate behavior (at its inception), but then begin to reward the “wrong thing”
over time? Why or why not?
Sources: T. Gubler, I. Larkin, and L. Pierce, “Motivational Spillovers From Awards: Crowding out in a Multitasking
Environment”, Organization Science 27, no. 2 (2016): 286–303; and S. Kerr, “On the Folly of Rewarding A, While Hoping for
B”, Academy of Management Journal 18, no. 4 (1975): 769–783.
Teaching Notes
Students’ responses will vary significantly. This exercise will produce stimulating discussion
in class. No preparation is necessary other than having completed the reading of the chapter.
This exercise is applicable to face-to-face classes or synchronous online classes such as
BlackBoard 9.1, Breeze, WIMBA, and Second Life Virtual Classrooms. See
(http://www.wimba.com/solutions/higher-education/wimba_classroom_for_higher_education),
(http://go.secondlife.com/landing/education/) and
(http://docplayer.net/19442732-Effective-use-of-collaboration-tools-for-online-learning-jennifer-pontano-k
e-anna-skipwith-drexel-university-e-learning-2-0-conference-march-2011.html) for more information.
Case Incident 1
The Demotivation of CEO Pay
Chapter 7 Motivation Concepts Page 220
This exercise contributes to:
theory, and expectancy theory
Learning Outcome: Describe the major theories of motivation and relate them to organizational
performance
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Quick: How much did your CEO get paid this year? What did any CEO get paid? You
Beyond that, we are clueless.
Where we err can be calculated by an organization’s pay ratio, or the ratio between CEO
pay and average worker pay. In the United States, for example, the average S&P 500
CEO is paid 354 times what the lowest-ranking employee makes, for a ratio of 354:1
(eight times greater than in the 1950s). U.S. participants in the study estimated that the
study participants was around 7:1. To put it all together, then, people think the ratio
should be 7:1, believe it is 18:1, and don’t realize it is actually 151:1. For all the countries
worldwide in the study, the estimated ratios were above the ideal ratios, meaning
participants universally thought CEOs are overpaid.
be smaller.
No one in the United States would likely think the 354:1 ratio is going to dip to the ideal
of 7:1 soon, although some changes in that direction have been suggested. Other
countries have tried to be more progressive. The Social Democratic Party in Switzerland
proposed a ceiling for the ratio of 12:1, but putting a cap into law was considered too
ratio.
Therefore, the job of restoring justice perceptions has fallen to CEOs themselves. Many
CEOs, such as Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Larry Page of Google, have taken $1
annual salaries, though they still earn substantial compensation by exercising their stock
options. In one extreme recent example, Gravity CEO Dan Price cut his salary by $1
Chapter 7 Motivation Concepts Page 221
Payments CEO Takes 90% Pay Cut to Give Workers Huge Raise,” CNN Money, April 15, 2015,
http://money.cnn.com/2015/04/14/news/companies/ceo-pay-cuts-pay-increases/; S. Kiatpongsan and M. I. Norton, “How Much
(More) Should CEOs Make? A Universal Desire for More Equal Pay,” Perspectives on Psychological Science 9, no. 6 (2014):
587–593; A. Kleinman, “Mark Zuckerberg $1 Salary Puts Him in Elite Group of $1 CEOs,” The Huffington Post, April 29, 2013,
April 6, 2013, www.newyorktimes.com.
Questions
7-13. What do you think is the ideal ratio? Why might the ideal vary from country to
country?
Management. Student responses will vary.
7-14. How does the executive compensation issue relate to equity theory? How should
Management. Student responses will vary.
7-15. The study found that participants thought performance should be essential or very
important in deciding pay. What might be the positive motivational consequences
for average employees if CEO pay is tied to performance?
Answer: This item can be assigned as a Discussion Question in MyLab
Management. Student responses will vary.
Case Incident 2
Laziness is Contagious
This exercise contributes to:
Learning Objective: Describe the three key elements of motivation; Demonstrate the differences among
self-efficacy theory, reinforcement theory, equity theory, and expectancy theory
Learning Outcome: Describe the major theories of motivation and relate them to organizational
performance
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Being lazy is often a quality that is shunned or looked down upon in the workplace.
When someone is unwilling to put energy forth into their work, they are, essentially, not
engaged with their job. It is still unclear whether someone can have a “lazy” personality,
Chapter 7 Motivation Concepts Page 222
excessive delegation, resulting in a failure to meet tight deadlines. One laziness behavior
includes fleeing the scene when one does not want to work; another is one will play the
victim and make excuses to make-up for a lack of putting forth effort.
lazy…”). Similar peculiar effects emerge when considering others’ attributions as well.
Even though halo biases (see Chapter 6) can emerge for positive attributions of others
(e.g., “She could have easily lied to me about accidentally giving an extra twenty dollars
in change back to the customer when she first started working here. She is a fantastic,
not see this person as lazy).
Even more worrisome, laziness can subtly escalate or catch on with others. For instance,
one lazy behavior can lead to another, and sunk costs can add up to the point where you
reason you will “start over again tomorrow”. Furthermore, recent research suggests that
laziness can be contagious—participants, unaware of their shifts toward laziness, started
become more or less lazy?”
Regardless of the negative air surrounding laziness, some have found merit in its practice.
For example, Michael Lewis, author of Moneyball, asserts that laziness is not necessarily
a bad thing and has even helped him succeed: “My laziness serves as a filter…
Something has to be really good before I’ll decide to work on it.”
http://time.com/4718737/laziness-impatience-contagious-personality/; J. Selk, “Laziness Isn’t a Personality Flaw—It’s Just a Habit”,
Forbes, July 10, 2014,
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonselk/2014/07/10/laziness-isnt-a-personality-flaw-its-just-a-habit/#810a5c301627; M. Zetlin, “Being
Lazy is the key to Success, According to the Best-Selling Author of ‘Moneyball’”, Inc., March 20, 2017,
http://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/why-being-lazy-makes-you-successful-according-to-the-bestselling-author-of-money.html.
Questions
7-16. Do you consider laziness to be more of a personality trait, or more of a
Chapter 7 Motivation Concepts Page 223
Management. Student responses will vary.
7-17. Do you agree or disagree with Michael Lewis that there is an upside to laziness?
Why or why not?
Management. Student responses will vary.
7-18. How do you think managers and organizations can “manage laziness” so that the
negative effects would be minimized and the positive effects maximized? What
do so?
Answer: This item can be assigned as a Discussion Question in MyLab
Management. Student responses will vary.
MyLab Management
as the following Assisted-graded writing questions:
7-19. Regarding the Ethical Dilemma, can you think of a situation in which students are
Why or why not?
7-20. In considering Case Incident 1, do you think the government has a legitimate role in
procedural, and informational) inform this debate?
7-21. MyLab Management Only—comprehensive writing assignment for this chapter.
Instructor’s Choice
Making the Connection
This exercise contributes to:
Learning Objectives: Compare the early theories of motivation; Contrast the elements of
self-determination theory and goal-setting theory
Learning Outcome: Describe the major theories of motivation and relate them to organizational
performance
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Chapter 7 Motivation Concepts Page 224
Many companies have pay-for-performance programs (e.g., sales incentive programs). In
fact, some members of the class may have held similar jobs. If so, ask them to briefly
characterize the pros and cons of such positions. What behavior is an organization trying
to encourage with such plans? What are the ethical implications for the three main
parties: the employee, the customer, and the organization? How does the organization use
outcomes such as pay and bonuses to promote high motivation and performance?
Student teams could discuss the issues and then get back together for a class discussion.
Exploring OB Topics on the Web
This exercise contributes to:
Learning Objective: Demonstrate the differences among self-efficacy theory, reinforcement theory, equity
theory, and expectancy theory
Learning Outcome: Describe the major theories of motivation and relate them to organizational
performance
AACSB: Reflective thinking
1. Motivation the old fashioned way? Read how Bill Mork reenergized his
theory to explain why his program works. Bring your analysis to class.
2. What motivated you to go to college? What is motivating you to stay and
during your academic career.
Go to Academic Tips and search for College Motivation:
http://www.academictips.org/acad/collegemotivation.html
3. Stock options are used as management and employee motivators. Are they
plummet but they still need to motivate employees.
ystem.html
4. For brief outlines of classic motivation theories go to Net MBA and search for
MGMT:
Chapter 7 Motivation Concepts Page 225
5. Read the article found on Berkeley University of California and search for ‘Crew
Workers Split Between Hourly and Price-Rate Pay’:
workers.