When we speak of goal setting and its motivational potential, the entire manage- ment process comes into play. Goals launch the process during planning, provide critical focal points for organizing and leading, and then facilitate controlling to make sure the desired outcomes are achieved. One approach that tries to integrate goals across these management functions is known as management by objec- tives. Called MBO, for short, it is essentially a process of joint goal setting between managers and those who report to them.32 In a team setting, for example, the leader works with team members to set performance goals consistent with higher- level organizational objectives. When done throughout an organization, MBO also helps clarify the hierarchy of objectives as a series of well-defi ned means–ends chains.
Figure 5.4 shows how an MBO process might utilize goal- setting principles.
The joint team leader and team member discussions are designed to extend par- ticipation from the point of setting initial goals all the way to evaluating results in terms of goal attainment. As team members work to achieve their goals, the team leader’s role is to actively coach them.
A fair amount of research reports some common diffi culties with MBO in practice.33 These include too much paperwork required to document goals and accomplishments, too much emphasis on goal-oriented rewards and punish- ments, as well as too much focus on top-down goals, goals that are easily stated and achieved, and individual instead of team goals. When these issues are resolved, managers should fi nd that some version of this MBO approach has much to offer as an application of goal-setting theory.
• Management by objectives is a process of joint goal setting between a supervisor and a
subordinate.
Jointly evaluate results and recycle process
Jointly establish performance goals
Individually act Team member performs tasks while team leader coaches and supports Team leader
Team member
Team member actively participates in developing performance goals
Team member actively participates in performance review
Figure 5.4 How a management by objectives process works.
c05MotivationTheories.indd Page 115 7/13/11 7:39 PM ff-446
c05MotivationTheories.indd Page 115 7/13/11 7:39 PM ff-446 Schermerhorn_OBSchermerhorn_OB
116 5 Motivation Theories
5 study guide
Key Questions
and Answers
What is motivation?• Motivation is an internal force that accounts for the level, direction, and persistence of effort expended at work.
• Content theories—including the work of Maslow, Alderfer, McClelland, and Herzberg—focus on identifying human needs that infl uence behavior in the work- place.
• Process theories, such as equity theory and expectancy theory, examine the thought processes that affect decisions people make about their work efforts.
What can we learn from the needs theories of motivation?
• Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory views human needs as activated in a fi ve-step hierarchy ranging from physiological (lowest) to safety, to social, to esteem, to self-actualization (highest).
• Alderfer’s ERG theory collapses the fi ve needs into three: existence, relatedness, and growth; it maintains that more than one need can be activated at a time.
• McClelland’s acquired needs theory focuses on the needs for achievement, affi liation, and power, and it views needs as developed over time through experience and training.
• Herzberg’s two-factor theory links job satisfaction to motivator factors, such as responsibility and challenge, associated with job content; it links job dissatisfaction to hygiene factors, such as pay and working conditions, associated with job context.
Why is the equity theory of motivation important?
• Equity theory points out that social comparison takes place when people receive rewards.
• Any felt inequity in social comparison will motivate people to behave in ways that restore a sense of perceived equity to the situation.
• When felt inequity is negative—that is, when the individual feels unfairly treated—he or she may decide to work less hard in the future or to quit a job for other, more attractive opportunities.
• Organizational justice is an issue of how fair and equitable people view workplace practices; it is described in respect to distributive, procedural, interactive, and commutative justice.
What are the insights of the expectancy theory of motivation?
• Vroom’s expectancy theory describes motivation as a function of an individual’s beliefs concerning effort–performance relationships (expectancy), work-outcome relationships (instrumentality), and the desirability of various work outcomes (valence).
c05MotivationTheories.indd Page 116 7/13/11 7:39 PM ff-446
c05MotivationTheories.indd Page 116 7/13/11 7:39 PM ff-446 Schermerhorn_OBSchermerhorn_OB
Self-Test 5 117
• Expectancy theory states that Motivation ⫽ Expectancy ⫻ Instrumentality ⫻ Valence, and argues that managers should make each factor strong and positive in order to ensure high levels of motivation.
How does goal-setting infl uence motivation?
• Goal setting is the process of developing, negotiating, and formalizing performance targets or objectives.
• Goals are the most motivational when they are challenging and specifi c, allow for feedback on results, and create commitment and acceptance.
• Management by objectives, a process of joint goal setting between a team leader and team member, is a way of applying goal-setting theory in day-to-day management practice.
Terms to Know
Commutative justice (p. 110) Content theories (p. 102) Distributive justice (p. 109) Equity theory (p. 107) ERG theory (p. 104) Existence needs (p. 104) Expectancy (p. 111) Expectancy theory (p. 111) Goal setting (p. 113) Growth needs (p. 104)
Hierarchy of needs theory (p. 103)
Higher-order needs (p. 104) Hygiene factors (p. 106) Instrumentality (p. 111) Interactional justice (p. 110) Job enrichment (p. 107) Lower-order needs (p. 104) Management by objectives, or
MBO (p. 115) Motivation (p. 102) Motivator factors (p. 106)
Need for achievement (nAch) (p. 104) Need for affi liation (nAff) (p. 105) Need for power (nPower) (p. 105) Organizational justice (p. 109) Perceived inequity (p. 108) Procedural justice (p. 109) Process theories (p. 102) Relatedness needs (p. 104) Two-factor theory (p. 106) Valence (p. 111)
Self-Test 5
Multiple Choice
1. Motivation is defi ned as the level and persistence of ____________.
(a) effort (b) performance (c) need satisfaction (d) instrumentalities 2. A content theory of motivation is most likely to focus on ____________.
(a) organizational justice (b) expectancy (c) equity (d) individual needs
3. A process theory of motivation is most likely to focus attention on ____________.
(a) frustration–regression (b) expectancies regarding work outcomes (c) lower-order needs (d) hygiene factors
4. When a team member shows strong ego needs in Maslow’s hierarchy, the team leader should fi nd ways to link this person’s work on the team task with ____________.
(a) compensation tied to group performance (b) individual praise and recognition for work well done (c) lots of social interaction with other team members (d) challenging individual performance goals
5. According to McClelland, a person high in need achievement will be motivated by ____________.
(a) status of being an executive (b) control and infl uence over other people (c) teamwork and collective responsibility (d) challenging but achievable goals c05MotivationTheories.indd Page 117 7/13/11 7:39 PM ff-446
c05MotivationTheories.indd Page 117 7/13/11 7:39 PM ff-446 Schermerhorn_OBSchermerhorn_OB
118 5 Motivation Theories
6. In Alderfer’s ERG theory, the ____________ needs best correspond with Maslow’s higher-order needs of esteem and self-actualization.
(a) existence (b) relatedness (c) recognition (d) growth
7. Improvements in job satisfaction are most likely under Herzberg’s two-factor theory when ____________ are improved.
(a) working conditions (b) base salaries (c) co-worker relationships (d) opportunities for responsibility
8. In Herzberg’s two-factor theory ____________ factors are found in job context.
(a) motivator (b) satisfi er (c) hygiene (d) enrichment
9. Both Barry and Marissa are highly motivated college students. Knowing this I can expect them to be ____________ in my class.
(a) hard working (b) high performing (c) highly satisfi ed (d) highly dissatisfi ed 10. In equity theory, the ____________ is a key issue.
(a) social comparison of rewards (b) equality of rewards (c) equality of efforts (d) absolute value of rewards
11. A manager’s failure to enforce a late-to-work policy the same way for all employees is a violation of ____________ justice.
(a) interactional (b) moral (c) distributive (d) procedural
12. When someone has a high and positive “expectancy” in expectancy theory of motivation, this means that the person ____________.
(a) believes he or she can meet performance expectations (b) highly values the rewards being offered (c) sees a relationship between high performance and the available rewards (d) believes that rewards are equitable
13. In expectancy theory, ____________ is the perceived value of a reward.
(a) expectancy (b) instrumentality (c) motivation (d) valence 14. Which goals tend to be more motivating?
(a) challenging goals (b) easy goals (c) general goals (d) no goals
15. The MBO process emphasizes ____________ as a way of building worker commit- ment to goal accomplishment.
(a) authority (b) joint goal setting (c) infrequent feedback (d) rewards
Short Response
16. What is the frustration-regression component in Alderfer’s ERG theory?
17. What does job enrichment mean in Herzberg’s two-factor theory?
18. What is the difference between distributive and procedural justice?
19. What is the multiplier effect in expectancy theory?
Applications Essay
20. While attending a business luncheon, you overhear the following conversation at a nearby table. Person A: “I’ll tell you this: if you satisfy your workers’ needs, they’ll be productive.” Person B: “I’m not so sure; if I satisfy their needs, maybe they’ll be real good about coming to work but not very good about working really hard while they are there.” Which person do you agree with and why?
c05MotivationTheories.indd Page 118 7/13/11 7:39 PM ff-446
c05MotivationTheories.indd Page 118 7/13/11 7:39 PM ff-446 Schermerhorn_OBSchermerhorn_OB
Next Steps 119
Next Steps
Top Choices from The OB Skills Workbook
Case for Critical Thinking
Team and Experiential Exercises
Self-Assessment Portfolio
• It Isn’t Fair • What Do You Value in Work?
• Teamwork and Motivation
• Downsides of Punishment
• Annual Pay Raises
• Managerial Assumptions
• Two-Factor Profi le c05MotivationTheories.indd Page 119 7/13/11 7:39 PM ff-446
c05MotivationTheories.indd Page 119 7/13/11 7:39 PM ff-446 Schermerhorn_OBSchermerhorn_OB
120
Los 33 Surviving on Faith Alone
Most of us know the pangs of hunger that come from missing a meal. But imagine missing breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day for two weeks. And despite having enough food to fi ll your belly, you intentionally limit yourself to one teaspoon of tuna each day. Could you do it?
The 33 men trapped for more than two months in a mine near Copiapó, Chile, maintained this self-discipline despite being stuck more than 3 miles underground. “As a group we had to keep faith, we had to keep hope, we had to all believe that we would survive,” says Franklin Lobos, one of the
miners and a former professional footballer. “We pulled together when things got rough, when there was nothing. That really bonded us.”a After the dust settled from the mine’s collapse, the men coalesced around hard-nosed shift supervisor Luis Urzúa, a mining veteran. To keep them focused on and participating in their own survival, Urzúa divided Los 33, as they became known above ground, into three groups who split shifts maintaining the mine’s nooks he designated as their sleeping, working, and washing areas.
Drawing on discipline learned in the Chilean military, Urzúa assigned more complex responsibilities as it became clear they would not be rescued immediately. Appro- priating a pickup truck as his offi ce, he led the men through topographically mapping their new home, regular repair of crumbling rock walls, and digging for water. To simulate night and day, he toggled the headlights of other trucks. Balancing strong leadership and democracy, Urzúa instituted a one man, one vote policy.
Many of the men cited a deep religious faith that divine providence would see them through. Others cited the desire to see their family and fi rm confi dence in the rescue crew as motivating them to overcome their loneliness and worry.
Though Urzúa was the leader underground, Edison Pena has become
for many the public face of the miners’ personal efforts at recovery. Pena, who jogged 3 to 6 miles daily in cutoff work boots through the 1.2-mile-long halls of the mines, was invited to run the New York Marathon shortly after emerging from the depths. “I thought as I ran in the mine that I was going to beat destiny,” Pena says. “I was saying to that mine, I can outrun you. I’m going to run until you’re just tired and bored of me.”b
“Life has given us a new challenge—to care more deeply, to be more present with the people we love.”
—Edison Pena, one of “Los 33”.c
FYI: 4,052,459—Number of Web page views per minute when news broke of the early start to the miners’ rescue.d Quick Summary
• On August 26, 2010, thirty-three miners and subcontractors were trapped 3 miles underground in a collapsed mine near Copiapó, Chile.
• Shift leader Luis Urzúa quickly organized the men into three groups working 12-hour shifts to set up camp, look for escape routes, and make the best of their unforeseen accommodations.
• Psychologists credit the men’s active participation in their own survival, as well as Urzúa’s leadership, for keeping relative peace and solidarity during their 69 days in the mine.
c06MotivationandPerformance.indd Page 120 7/21/11 7:45 PM ff-446
c06MotivationandPerformance.indd Page 120 7/21/11 7:45 PM ff-446 Schermerhorn_OBSchermerhorn_OB
➠
1216 Motivation and Performance
the key point
There was a lot going on with motivation and performance as Los 33 struggled together for survival in the Chilean mine. It’s really the same in our busy multitasking world where work, family, and leisure are often intertwined. There’s much to consider when trying to build high-performance work settings that also fi t well with individual needs and goals.
chapter at a glance
What Is the Link Between Motivation, Rewards, and Performance?
What Are the Essentials of Performance Management?
How Do Job Designs Influence Motivation and Performance?
What Are the Motivational Opportunities of Alternative Work Arrangements?
what’s inside?
ETHICS IN OB
MOTIVATION AND PERFORMANCE
FINDING THE LEADER IN YOU
SARA BLAKELY LEADS SPANX FROM IDEA TO THE BOTTOM LINE
OB IN POPULAR CULTURE
INTRINSIC/EXTRINSIC REWARDS AND NEW BALANCE
RESEARCH INSIGHT
RACIAL BIAS MAY EXIST IN SUPERVISOR RATINGS OF WORKERS
it’s about the person-job fit
c06MotivationandPerformance.indd Page 121 8/24/11 4:37 PM f-535
c06MotivationandPerformance.indd Page 121 8/24/11 4:37 PM f-535 Schermerhorn_OBSchermerhorn_OB
122 6 Motivation and Performance
Motivation was defi ned in Chapter 5 as forces within the individual that account for the level and persistence of an effort expended at work. In other words and as shown in the fi gure, motivation predicts effort. But because motivation is a property of the individual, all that managers can do is try to create work environ- ments within which someone fi nds sources of motivation. As the theories in the last chapter suggest, a major key to achieving this is to build into the job and work setting a set of rewards that match well with individual needs and goals.