Chapter Five
Motivating Behavior
Chapter Overview …………………………………………………….. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Learning Outcomes …………………………………………………………………………………………. 1
Real-World Challenge: Motivating Cast Members at Disney ………………………………. 2
Chapter Outline ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 2
I. THE NATURE OF MOTIVATION ……………………………………………………………….. 2
Chapter Overview
Given the complex array of individual differences discussed in Chapter 3 (and extended later in this
chapter), it should be obvious that people work for a wide variety of reasons. Some people want money,
some want a challenge, and some want power. What people in an organization want from work and how
they think they can achieve it plays an instrumental role in determining their motivation to work. As we
see in this chapter, motivation is vital to all organizations.
Learning Outcomes
After studying this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Characterize the nature of motivation, including its importance and basic historical perspectives.
Real-World Challenge: Motivating Cast Members at Disney
Summary: The Walt Disney Company owns or operates eleven theme parks, operates its own cruise line,
and owns several television networks. One of Disney’s hallmarks is legendary customer service,
especially at its theme parks and on its cruise ships.
Real-World Challenge: How can Disney motivate its cast members to provide the four service basics of
projecting a positive image and energy, being courteous and respectful to all guests, staying in character
and playing the part, and going above and beyond expectations?
Real-World Response: To motivate cast members at Disney theme parks to provide exemplary customer
Chapter Outline
I. THE NATURE OF MOTIVATION
Motivation is the set of forces that causes people to engage in one behavior rather than some
alternative behavior.
From the manager’s viewpoint, the objective is to motivate people to behave in ways that are in the
organization’s best interest.
A. The Importance of Motivation
Job performance depends on ability and environment as well as motivation. This relationship
can be stated as follows:
B. The Motivational Framework
We can start to understand motivation by looking at need deficiencies and goal-directed
behaviors. Figure 5.1 shows the basic motivational framework we use to organize our
discussion.
C. Early Perspectives on Motivation
Historical views on motivation, although not always accurate, are of interest because they
provide a foundation for contemporary thinking about motivation and because they generally
were based on common sense and intuition. Thus, an appreciation of their strengths and
weaknesses can help managers gain useful insights into employee motivation in the workplace.
1. The Traditional Approach
One of the first writers to address work motivation was Frederick Taylor. Taylor developed
a method for structuring jobs that he called scientific management.
2. The Human Relations Approach
The human relations approach supplanted scientific management in the 1930s.
3. The Human Resource Approach
The human resource approach to motivation carries the concepts of needs and motivation
one step further, making the assumption that people want to contribute and are able to make
genuine contributions.
D. Individual Differences and Motivation
Simply put, different things motivate different people. Because of these myriad differences,
there is no one best way to motivate everyone.
An easy mistake to make when trying to motivate others is assuming that the same things that
motivate you also motivate them.
Task-specific self-efficacy beliefs have three dimensions:
1. Magnitude: beliefs about how difficult a specific task can be accomplished
Because task-specific self-efficacy perceptions are changeable, good managers proactively
enhance subordinates’ perceptions of their abilities. Managers can raise task-specific self-
efficacy through coaching and encouragement, assuming the employee really does have the
potential to perform better.
Global Issues: Motivating a Global Workforce
Summary: Effectively motivating employees located across the globe is a significant challenge.
Managers must be sensitive to cultural differences in values and needs and understand that what is
acceptable in one culture may be taboo in another. The American culture is more individualistic and
egocentric than many other cultures. Because American culture values individual achievement,
Americans often have a desire to be singled out and praised. In some cultures, people are embarrassed or
ashamed if they receive attention. However, some motivation principles, like treating people with respect,
apply equally well around the world. Fairness and respect resonate globally.
II. NEED-BASED PERSPECTIVES ON MOTIVATION
The basic premise of need-based theories and models is the assumption that need deficiencies
cause behavior.
A. The Hierarchy of Needs
The hierarchy of needs, developed by psychologist Abraham Maslow in the 1940s, is the best-
known need theory. Maslow argued that human beings are “wanting” animals: They have
innate desires to satisfy a given set of needs. Furthermore, Maslow believed that these needs are
arranged in a hierarchy of importance, with the most basic needs at the foundation of the
hierarchy.
Next in the hierarchy are security needs: things that offer safety and security, such as adequate
housing and clothing and freedom from worry and anxiety.
Belongingness needs, the third level in the hierarchy, are primarily social. Examples include the
need for love and affection and the need to be accepted by peers.
However, if a previously satisfied lower-level set of needs becomes deficient again, the
individual returns to that level.
In most businesses, physiological needs are probably the easiest to evaluate and to meet.
Adequate wages and comfortable working conditions are measures taken to satisfy this most
basic level of needs.
Self-actualization needs are perhaps the hardest to understand and the most difficult to satisfy.
Working toward self-actualization, rather than actually achieving it, may be the ultimate
motivation for most people.
B. The ERG Theory
The ERG theory, developed by Yale psychologist Clayton Alderfer, is another historically
important need theory of motivation. The E, R, and G stand for three basic need categories:
existence, relatedness, and growth.
Existence needs roughly correspond to the physiological and security needs of Maslow’s
hierarchy. Relatedness needs are similar to Maslow’s belongingness and esteem needs. Finally,
growth needs are analogous to Maslow’s needs for self-esteem and self-actualization.
C. The Two-Factor Theory
Another important need-based theory of motivation is the two-factor theory, also called the
dual-structure theory. This theory identifies motivation factors, which affect satisfaction, and
hygiene factors, which determine dissatisfaction.
1. Development of the Theory
Frederick Herzberg and his associates developed the two-factor theory in the late 1950s and
early 1960s. Herzberg began by interviewing approximately 200 accountants and engineers
In addition, Figure 5.3 lists the primary factors identified in Herzberg’s interviews.
Motivation factors are intrinsic to the work itself. Factors such as achievement,
recognition, and the opportunity to plan and control their own work were often cited by
people as primary causes of satisfaction and motivation.
The other set of factors, hygiene factors, is extrinsic to the work itself and includes factors
such as pay and job security. These factors came out in response to the questions about
dissatisfaction and lack of motivation.
2. Evaluation of the Theory
The two-factor theory has been scientifically scrutinized more than almost any other
organizational behavior theory, with contradictory results.
In general, studies that use the same methodology as Herzberg did (content analysis of
recalled incidents) tend to support the theory. However, this methodology has itself been
D. The Acquired Needs Framework
Finally, we will discuss one final need-based motivation perspective.
The acquired needs framework was advanced by David McClelland and centers on the needs
for achievement, affiliation, and power. (These needs are also sometimes referred to as manifest
needs.)
A key differentiating element of this framework is the argument that these needs are acquired,
or learned, from cultural, societal, and family influences.
1. The Need for Achievement
The need for achievement arises from an individual’s desire to accomplish a goal or task
more effectively than in the past. Individuals who have a high need for achievement tend to
2. The Need for Affiliation
Individuals also experience the need for affiliation—the need for human companionship.
3. The Need for Power
The third so-called acquired need is the need for power—the desire to control one’s
environment, including financial, material, informational, and human resources.
People with a high need for power can be successful managers if three conditions are met:
III. PROCESS-BASED PERSPECTIVES ON MOTIVATION
Process-based perspectives focus on why people choose certain behavioral options to satisfy their
needs and how they evaluate their satisfaction after they have attained these goals.
Two useful process perspectives on motivation are the equity and expectancy theories.
A. The Equity Theory of Motivation
The equity theory of motivation focuses on people’s desire to be treated with what they
perceive as equity and to avoid perceived inequity.
1. Forming Equity Perceptions
People in organizations form perceptions of the equity of their treatment through a four-
step process:
First, they evaluate how they are being treated by the firm.
2. Responses to Equity and Inequity
Figure 5.4 summarizes the results of an equity comparison.
People may use one of six common methods to reduce inequity:
3. Evaluation and Implications
Findings support the predictions of equity theory quite consistently, especially when the
worker feels underpaid.
Most studies appear to uphold the basic premises of the theory. One interesting new twist
B. The Expectancy Theory of Motivation
Expectancy theory suggests that people are motivated by how much they want something and
the likelihood they perceive of getting it, also known as VIE theory (valence–instrumentality–
expectancy).
1. The Basic Expectancy Model
Victor Vroom is generally credited with first applying the theory to motivation in the
2. Effort-to-Performance Expectancy
Effort-to-performance expectancy is a person’s perception of the probability that effort
will lead to successful performance.
3. Performance-to-Outcome Expectancy
Performance-to-outcome expectancy (also known as instrumentality) is a person’s
4. Outcomes and Valences
An outcome is anything that results from performing a particular behavior. High-level
performance conceivably might produce such outcomes as a pay raise, a promotion,
recognition from the boss, fatigue, stress, or less time to rest, among others.
5. The Porter–Lawler Model
Lyman Porter and Edward Lawler were researchers who used expectancy theory to develop
a novel view of the relationship between employee satisfaction and performance.
Porter and Lawler argued that if rewards are adequate, high levels of performance may lead
6. Evaluation and Implications
Several studies have supported various parts of expectancy theory. Research has also
confirmed expectancy theory’s claims that people will not engage in motivated behavior