Chapter 09 – Motivation
9-1
Chapter 09
Motivation
Learning Objectives 9-2
Key Definitions/Terms 9-2
Chapter Overview 9-4
Lecture Outline 9-4
Lecture Enhancers 9-21
Management in Action 9-24
Building Management Skills 9-27
Managing Ethically 9-30
Small Group Breakout Exercise 9-31
Be the Manager 9-32
Case in the News 9-32
Supplemental Features 9-34
Manager’s Hot Seat 9-34
Instructor’s PowerPoint Slides 9-35
CHAPTER CONTENTS
Chapter 09 – Motivation
9-2
LO 9-1. Explain what motivation is and why managers need to be concerned
about it.
LO 9-2. Describe from the perspectives of expectancy theory and equity
LO 9-4. Identify the motivation lessons that managers can learn from
operant conditioning theory and social learning theory.
LO 9-5. Explain why and how managers can use pay as a major motivation
tool.
distributive justice: A person’s perception of the
fairness of the distribution of outcomes in an
organization.
employee stock option: A financial instrument that
entitles the bearer to buy shares of an
organization’s stock at a certain price during a
certain period or under certain conditions.
equity: The justice, impartiality, and fairness to
which all organizational members are entitled.
equity theory: A theory of motivation that focuses
on people’s perceptions of the fairness of their
work outcomes relative to their work inputs.
expectancy: In expectancy theory, a perception
about the extent to which effort results in a certain
level of performance.
expectancy theory: The theory that motivation will
be high when workers believe that high levels of
effort lead to high performance and high
performance leads to the attainment of desired
outcomes.
extinction: Curtailing the performance of
dysfunctional behaviors by eliminating whatever is
reinforcing them.
extrinsically motivated behavior:
Behavior that is performed to acquire material or
social rewards or to avoid punishment.
goal-setting theory: A theory that focuses on
identifying the types of goals that are most effective
in producing high levels of motivation and
performance and explaining why goals have these
effects.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
KEY DEFINITIONS/TERMS
Chapter 09 – Motivation
9-3
Herzberg’s motivator-hygiene theory: A need
theory that distinguishes between motivator needs
(related to the nature of the work itself) and hygiene
input: Anything a person contributes to his or her
job or organization.
instrumentality: In expectancy theory, a
perception about the extent to which performance
knowledge or behavior that results from practice or
experience.
learning theories: Theories that focus on
increasing employee motivation and performance
merit pay plan: A compensation plan that bases
pay on performance.
motivation: Psychological forces that determine
the direction of a person’s behavior in an
organization, a person’s level of effort, and a
need: A requirement or necessity for survival and
well-being.
maintaining good interpersonal relations, being
liked, and having the people around him or her get
along with each other.
need for power: The extent to which an individual
desires to control or influence others.
organization.
overpayment inequity: The inequity that exists
when a person perceives that his or her own
outcome-input ratio is greater than the ratio of a
prosocially motivated behavior: Behavior that is
performed to benefit or help others.
punishment: Administering an undesired or
negative consequence when dysfunctional behavior
occurs.
Chapter 09 – Motivation
9-4
self-reinforcer: Any desired or attractive outcome
or reward that a person gives to himself or herself
for good performance.
social learning theory: A theory that takes into
account how learning and motivation are influenced
by people’s thoughts and beliefs and their
observations of other people’s behavior.
underpayment inequity: The inequity that exists
when a person perceives that his or her own
outcome-input ratio is less than the ratio of a
referent.
valence: In expectancy theory, how desirable each
of the outcomes available from a job or
organization is to a person.
vicarious learning: Learning that occurs when the
learner becomes motivated to perform a behavior
by watching another person performing it and being
reinforced for doing so; also called
observational
learning
.
This chapter describes what motivation is, the psychological forces that encourage it, and why
managers need to promote high levels of it for an organization to be effective and achieve its goals. It
examines important theories of motivation: expectancy theory, needs theories, equity theory, goal-
setting theory, and learning theories. The theories are complementary, since each approaches the topic
from a different perspective. Only by considering all of the theories together can managers gain a
thorough understanding of the many issues involved in encouraging high levels of motivation
throughout an organization. Finally, the chapter considers the use of pay as a motivation tool.
NOTE ABOUT INSTRUCTOR’S POWERPOINT
SLIDES
The Instructor PowerPoint Slides include most
Student PowerPoint slides, along with additional
material that can be used to expand the lecture.
Images of the Instructor PowerPoint slides can be
found at the end of this chapter on page 9-34.
BASIC POWERPOINT SLIDE 1
(INSTRUCTOR’S POWERPOINT SLIDE 1)
Chapter Title
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
LECTURE OUTLINE
Chapter 09 – Motivation
Management Snapshot (pp. 301 – 302)
High Motivation at the SAS Institute
How Can Managers Encourage and Maintain High Levels of Employee Motivation?
The SAS Institute has been listed on Fortune magazine’s annual ranking of the “100 Best
Companies to Work For” for 18 years in a row. Revenues have increased at SAS every year
since the company was founded in 1976. It is headquartered in North Carolina, but has
offices throughout the world.
SAS employees are highly motivated and perform well while also working 35-hour weeks.
Managers approach motivation from the perspective that all employees should be interested
and involved in the work that they are performing and have the sense that they are making
meaningful contributions. SAS develops its new products internally, and employees can
perform interesting work at the forefront of technology. Creativity is encouraged at SAS.
Recognizing that sometimes employees might lose interest in the type of work they are doing
or just need a change of pace, SAS allows employees to change jobs to prevent becoming
bored with their work. SAS gives employees any additional training they might need when
they change jobs.
Managers at SAS fairly and equitably reward employees for a job well done. Moreover,
managers recognize that SAS’s employees are its biggest asset and go to great lengths to
satisfy their needs and create a work environment that will be conducive to creativity, high
motivation, and the well-being of employees and their families. SAS trusts its employees to
do what is right for the company. Thus many employees are able to determine their own
work schedules and there are unlimited sick days.
The people at SAS work hard because they are motivated to work for a company that takes
care of them.
2. The direction of a person’s behavior refers to
the many possible behaviors a person could
engage in.
3. Effort refers to how hard people work.
LO 9-1: Explain what
Chapter 09 – Motivation
9-6
4. Persistence refers to whether people keep
trying or give up when faced with roadblocks.
B. Motivation can come from intrinsic or extrinsic
sources.
1. Intrinsically motivated behavior is behavior
that is performed for its own sake. The source of
motivation is actually performing the desired
behavior, and motivation comes from doing the
work itself.
2. Extrinsically motivated behavior is behavior
that is performed to acquire material or social
rewards or to avoid punishment.
4. People join and are motivated to work in
organizations to obtain outcomes.
a. An outcome is anything a person gets
from a job or organization.
b. Some outcomes, such as autonomy or a
feeling of accomplishment, result in
intrinsically motivated behavior.
c. Other outcomes, such as pay and job
security, result in extrinsically motivated
contribute their inputs to the organization.
a. Giving people outcomes when they
7. Managers seek to ensure that people are
motivated to contribute important inputs to the
organization, that these inputs are put to good use
Chapter 09 – Motivation
or focused in the direction of high performance,
and that high performance results in workers
obtaining the outcomes they desire.
II. Expectancy Theory
A. Expectancy theory posits that motivation will be
high when workers believe that high levels of effort
lead to high performance and high performance leads
to the attainment of desired outcomes. Expectancy
theory identifies three major factors that determine a
person’s motivation level: expectancy,
instrumentality, and valence.
B. Expectancy: It is a person’s perception
concerning the extent to which effort will result in a
certain level of performance.
1. A person’s level of expectancy determines
whether he or she believes that a high level of
effort will result in a high level of performance.
2. Members of an organization will be motivated
to put forth a high level of effort only if they
think that doing so will lead to high performance.
Therefore, managers need to make sure their
subordinates believe that if they try hard, they
can actually succeed.
3. Managers can also boost subordinates’
perception concerning the extent to which
attainment of outcomes.
1. Employees will be motivated to perform at a
LO 9-2: Describe from the
perspectives of
expectancy theory
and equity theory
what managers
should do to have a
highly motivated
workforce.
POWERPOINT SLIDES 9-8 TO
9-12
TEXT REFERENCE
MANAGEMENT INSIGHT:
Motivating and Retaining
Employees at The Container
Store
The Container Store has
expanded from one store to 65
stores throughout the United
States. The phenomenal growth
at The Container Store, annual
managers’ ability to motivate.
The company has long
Chapter 09 – Motivation
to a person.
2. To motivate organizational members,
managers need to determine which outcomes
have high valence for them.
E. Bringing It All Together: High motivation results
from high levels of expectancy, instrumentality, and
valence.
1. If any one factor is low, motivation is likely to
be low.
2. Managers should strive to ensure that
employees’ levels of expectancy, instrumentality,
and valence are high so that they will be highly
motivated.
III. Need Theories
According to needs theories, people are motivated to
obtain outcomes at work that will satisfy their needs.
A. A need is a requirement or necessity for survival
and well-being.
1. Needs theories suggest that, in order to
motivate a person to contribute valuable inputs to
a job and perform at high level, a manager must
determine what needs the person is trying to
satisfy at work and ensure that the person
receives outcomes that help to satisfy those
needs.
2. There are several needs theories. Each
attempts to describe needs that people try to
insights about what outcomes motivate workers
to perform at high levels and contribute inputs to
help the organization achieve its goals.
Abraham Maslow proposed that all people seek to
satisfy five basic kinds of needs: physiological,
safety, belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization
needs.
increases for superior sales
performance. Employees receive
extensive professional
development, including 240
hours of training their first year,
and they have flexible work
options and flexible benefits.
(pp. 307-308)
LO 9-3: Explain how goals
and needs motivate
people and what
kinds of goals are
especially likely to
result in high
performance.
POWERPOINT SLIDES 9-13 TO
9-18
TEXT REFERENCE
MANAGEMENT INSIGHT:
success is the way it motivates
its employees to provide
excellent customer service.
Practically all entry-level hires
hires learn all aspects of the
company business and how to
provide excellent customer
9-9
1. These constitute a hierarchy of needs, with the
most basic needs at the bottom.
2. According to Maslow, the lowest level of
unmet needs is the prime motivator of behavior.
3. Once a need is satisfied, it ceases to operate as
a source of motivation. If and when one level is
satisfied, needs at the next highest level will
motivate behavior.
4. Research does not support Maslow’s
contention that there is a need hierarchy or that
only one level of needs can be motivational at a
time. However, a key conclusion still can be
drawn from it: People try to satisfy different
needs at work.
5. In an increasingly global economy, it is
important for managers to understand that
citizens of different countries often differ in the
needs they seek to satisfy though work.
C. Herzberg’s Motivator-Hygiene Theory:
Frederick Herzberg focused on two factors: outcomes
that can lead to high levels of motivation and job
satisfaction and outcomes that can prevent people
1. According to Herzberg’s motivator-hygiene
requirements: motivator needs and hygiene
needs.
Everyone who does well in the
program is promoted after about
a year to the position of
management assistant.
Employees who continue to do
well are typically promoted to
higher levels, including branch
manger and area manager.
Enterprise also uses financial
incentives to motivate
employees. Each branch is
considered a profit center. The
managers who oversee the
operations of a branch have
autonomy and responsibility for
the branch’s profitability almost
as if the branch was their own
small business or franchise. All
branch employees at the rank of
assistant manager and higher
earn incentive compensation
whereby their monthly pay
depends on the profitability of
their branch.
All in all Enterprise’s employees
are highly motivated because of
their high levels of expectancy,
Chapter 09 – Motivation
and job security.
b. When hygiene needs are not met, workers
are dissatisfied.
c. However, satisfying hygiene needs alone
does not result in high levels of motivation or
job satisfaction.
d. For motivation and job satisfaction to be
high, motivator needs must also be met.
4. Many research studies have failed to support
Herzberg’s propositions.
a. Nevertheless, Herzberg’s formulations
have contributed to the understanding of
motivation in at least two ways:
i. they helped focus the management’s
attention on the distinction between
intrinsic motivation and extrinsic
motivation, and
ii. they helped prompt managers to study
how jobs can be designed to be more
intrinsically motivating.
D. McClelland’s Needs for Achievement,
Affiliation, and Power: Psychologist David
McClelland has extensively researched the needs for
achievement, affiliation, and power.
1. The need for achievement is the extent to
individual desires to control or influence others.
4. Research suggests that having high needs for
9-11
managers.
5. A high need for affiliation may not always be
desirable in managers and other leaders because
it might cause them to focus too much on being
liked by others, rather than on high performance.
E. Other Needs: Clearly, other needs motivate workers
beyond those described by these three theories.
1. For example, more and more workers are feeling
the need for work-life balance.
2. Also, recent research indicates that being exposed
to nature may be another important need.
IV. Equity Theory
Equity theory is a theory of motivation that concentrates
on people’s perception of the fairness of their work
outcomes relative to their work inputs. It focuses upon
how people perceive the relationship between the
outcomes they receive and the inputs they contribute.
A. According to J. Stacy Adams, who formulated the
equity theory, what is important in determining
motivation is the relative rather than the absolute
level of outcomes a person receives and inputs a
person contributes.
1. Motivation is influenced by the comparison of
one’s own outcome-input ratio with the outcome-
input ratio of a referent.
2. The referent could be another person or a
group who are perceived to be similar to oneself.
3. One’s perceptions of outcomes and inputs, not
any objective indicator of them, are the key
determinants of motivation.
referent’s outcome-input ratio.
to the organization.
POWERPOINT SLIDE 9-19 TO
9-24
Chapter 09 – Motivation
9-12
2. When equity exists, people are motivated to
continue contributing their current levels of
inputs in order to receive their current levels of
outcomes.
3. Under conditions of equity, if people wish to
increase their outcomes, they are motivated to
increase their inputs.
C. Inequity: Inequity, or lack of fairness, exists when
a person’s outcome-input ratio is not perceived to be
equal to a referent’s.
1. Inequity creates pressure or tension inside
people and motivates them to restore equity by
bringing the two ratios back into balance.
2. Underpayment inequity exists when a
person’s own outcome-input ratio is perceived to
be less than that of a referent.
3. Overpayment inequity exists when a person
perceives that his or her own outcome-input ratio
is greater than that of a referent.
D. Ways to Restore Equity: Both underpayment
inequity and overpayment inequity create tension that
motivates most people to restore equity.
1. When people experience underpayment
inequity, they may be motivated to lower their
2. When people experience underpayment
inequity, they can change their perceptions of
their own or the referents’ inputs or outcomes.
3. When people experience overpayment
referents’ inputs or outcomes.
4. When experiencing inequities, choosing a
back into balance.
5. Motivation is highest when as many people as
possible in an organization perceive that they are
Chapter 09 – Motivation
being equitably treated.
E. Equity and Justice Organizations: Equity theory
is often labeled a theory of distributive justice.
1. Distributive justice is a person’s perception
of the fairness of the distribution of outcomes in
an organization.
2. Procedural justice refers to an employee’s
perception of the fairness of the procedures used
to determine how to distribute outcomes in an
organization.
3. Interpersonal justice refers to an employee’s
perception of the fairness of the interpersonal
treatment he or she receives from whoever
distributes outcomes to him or her.
4. Informational justice refers to an employee’s
perception of the extent to which his or her
manager provides explanations for decisions and
the procedures used to arrive at them.
V. Goal-Setting Theory
Goal-setting theory suggests that the goals that
organizational members strive to attain are prime
determinants of their motivation.
A. A goal is what a person is trying to accomplish
through his or her efforts and behaviors. In order to
result in high motivation and performance, goals
must be specific and difficult.
1. Specific goals are often quantitative.
2. Difficult goals are hard but not impossible to
3. Both easy and moderate goals have less
motivational power than difficult goals.
goals managers set for them and that they are
committed to them. Also, it is important for
POWERPOINT SLIDE 9-25
5. Specific, difficult goals motivate people to
contribute greater input to their jobs, to be more
persistent, and to focus their inputs in the right
direction.
6. The fact that their goals are specific and
difficult frequently causes people to develop
action plans for reaching them.
B. Research suggests that specific, difficult goals
may detract from performance under certain
conditions.
1. When people are performing complicated and
very challenging tasks, difficult goals may
actually impair performance.
2. All of a person’s attention must be focused on
learning the complicated and difficult tasks
3. Once a person has learned the tasks, the
assignment of specific, difficult goals is likely to
have its usual effects.
VI. Learning Theories
A. Learning theories focus on increasing employee
motivation and performance by linking the outcomes
that employees receive to the performance of desired
behaviors and the attainment of goals.
1. Learning can be defined as a relatively
behavior that results from practice or experience.
2. Learning takes place when people learn to
perform certain behaviors to receive certain
outcomes.
B. Operant Conditioning Theory: According to
operant conditioning theory, developed by
psychologist B. F. Skinner, people learn to perform
behaviors that lead to desired consequences and learn
organizational members to perform in ways that help
LO 9-4: Identify the
motivation lessons
that managers can
learn from operant
conditioning theory
and social learning
theory.
Chapter 09 – Motivation
performance of specific behaviors to the attainment
of specific outcomes.
Operant conditioning theory provides four tools that
managers can use to motivate high levels of
performance and prevent workers from engaging in
behaviors that detract from organizational
effectiveness.
a. Desired outcomes, called positive
reinforcers, include any outcomes that a
person desires, such as pay, a promotion, or
praise.
a. Undesired outcomes are called
negative reinforcers.
b. When negative reinforcement is used,
people are motivated to perform
behaviors because they want to avoid
undesired outcomes such as criticism,
unpleasant assignments, or the threat of
9-16
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McGraw-Hill Education.
and that contribute to organizational
effectiveness.
3. Extinction: Managers can curtail the
performance of dysfunctional behaviors of
organizational members by eliminating whatever
is reinforcing the behaviors. This is called
extinction.
4. Punishment: Managers cannot always use
extinction as a means of eliminating dysfunctional
a. Sometimes they do not have control over
whatever is reinforcing the undesired behavior
or they cannot afford the time needed for
extinction to work. In such cases, punishment
may be required.
b. Punishment is administering an undesired
or negative consequence when dysfunctional
side effects, such as resentment, loss of self-
respect, or a desire for retaliation. Therefore, it
should be used only when necessary.
e. To avoid unintended side effects of
punishment, managers should:
i. downplay the emotional element
involved in punishment.
ii. Try to punish dysfunctional behaviors
as soon after they occur as possible.
iii. Try to avoid punishing someone in
front of others.
f. Often negative reinforcement and
punishment are confused with each other.
Chapter 09 – Motivation
The major differences between the two are:
i. negative reinforcement is used to
promote the performance of functional
behaviors while punishment is used to
stop the performance of dysfunctional
behaviors
ii. negative reinforcement entails the
removal of a negative consequence while
punishment entails the administration of
negative consequences.
C. Social Learning Theory: Social learning theory
takes into account how learning and motivation are
influenced by people’s thoughts and beliefs and by
their observations of other people’s behavior.
1. Vicarious learning, also called observational
learning, occurs when the learner becomes
motivated to perform a behavior by watching
another person perform it and being positively
reinforced for doing so.
a. It is a powerful source of motivation on
many jobs in which people learn to perform
functional behaviors by watching others.
b. People are more likely to be motivated to
imitate the behavior of models that are highly
competent, receive attractive reinforcers, and
are friendly.
model is positively reinforced for the
behavior.
2. Self-Reinforcement: Sometimes
organizational members motivate themselves
through self-reinforcement.
a. Self-reinforcement occurs when people
control their own behavior by setting goals
for themselves and then reinforcing
themselves when the goal is achieved.
b. Self-reinforcers are any desired or
attractive outcomes or rewards that people
can give to themselves for good performance,
such going to a movie or taking time out for
a golf game.
c. When members of an organization manage
their own behavior, managers do not need to
spend as much time trying to motivate and
control behavior.
3. Self-Efficacy: Self-efficacy is a person’s
belief about his or her ability to perform a
behavior successfully.
a. People are not motivated if they do not
think they can actually perform at a high
and remain with the organization.
2. Each of the theories previously discussed in
this chapter alludes to the importance of pay. As
these theories suggest, pay should be distributed
POWERPOINT SLIDES 9-36 TO
9-41
McGraw-Hill Education.
performance.
3. Once managers have decided to use a merit
pay plan, they face two important choices:
a. whether to base pay on individual, group,
b. whether to use salary increases or bonuses.
A. Basing Merit Pay on Individual, Group, or
Organizational Performance: Managers can base
merit pay on individual, group, or organizational
performance.
1. When individual performance can be
accurately determined, individual motivation is
likely to be highest when pay is based on
individual performance.
2. When the attainment of organizational goals
hinges on members’ working closely together,
group- or organization-based plans may be more
appropriate than individual based plans.
3. It is possible to combine elements of an
individual-based plan with a group or
organization based plan so that each individual is
motivated, while also motivating all individuals
to work well together.
a bonus on top of regular salaries.
1. Bonuses, however, tend to have greater
motivational impact because:
a. the absolute level of salaries are typically
performance,
factors in addition to performance, and
c. salary levels tend to vary less than
Chapter 09 – Motivation
because unlike salary increases, bonus levels can
be reduced when organizational performance
lags. Bonus plans have a greater motivational
impact than salary increases because the amount
of a bonus can be directly linked to performance
and can vary from year to year and from
employee to employee.
3. In addition to pay raises and bonuses, high-
level managers and executives are sometimes
granted employee stock options.
a. Employee stock options are financial
instruments that entitle the bearer to buy
shares of an organization’s stock at a certain
price during a certain period or under certain
conditions.
C. Examples of Merit Pay Plans: Managers can
choose among several merit pay plans, depending on
the work that employees perform and other
considerations.
1. When using piece-rate pay, managers base
employees’ pay on the number of units each
employee produces.
2. When using commission pay, managers base
pay on a percentage of sales.
3. The Scanlon plan focuses on reducing
expenses. Organizational members are
encouraged to develop and implement cost-
cutting strategies because a percentage of the cost
savings achieved is distributed back to
employees.