Motivation in Management: Needs-Based, Behavior-Based and Different Forms

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Motivation in Management: Needs-Based, Behavior-Based and Different Forms

Business Essentials · Chapter 9: Workplace MotivationSection 9.2 · lesson 48 of 10515 min · free with a free account

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In this lesson

Comparison, belief, consequence, and the work itself.

  • Explain equity, justice, and expectancy
  • Name reinforcement by its effect
  • Use goals and job design well
  • Design an approach for a real case

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Everything said in the video, section by section (2,033 words). Read along, or search it.

Workplace Motivation

Motivation in Management: Process and Behavior-Based Theories

Knowing what someone wants isn't enough to motivate them. They also have to believe effort pays, and that they're treated fairly. This section covers the process theories, which explain how motivation actually operates. Equity and organizational justice, about comparison and fairness. Expectancy theory, about the beliefs that link effort to reward. Reinforcement and goal-setting, about consequences and targets. Then job design and empowerment, which act on the work itself. And finally, a method for diagnosing which theory a real problem fits.

Equity Theory

It's the Comparison That Counts

The content theories asked what people want. Process theories ask how motivation operates. How people compare themselves with others, judge whether effort will pay, and respond to consequences. Knowing an employee wants recognition is a start. But they may believe recognition here goes to others. These theories deal with such beliefs. And beliefs and consequences are things a manager can influence. Equity theory, from J. Stacy Adams, says people compare their ratio of outcomes to inputs with someone else's. Outcomes are what they receive, like pay and recognition. Inputs are what they give, like effort and skill. The comparison person is the referent. The comparison, not the absolute level, drives the response. A well-paid employee can feel cheated, learning a colleague doing the same work earns more. Take Ana and Ben, fictional coordinators. Ana has two more years of experience, and harder accounts. They're paid the same. So her ratio is lower than Ben's, with her pay unchanged by a dollar.

Responding to Inequity

6 Responses, and the Invisible One

The referent is something a manager can't control. Employees may compare with coworkers, people elsewhere, their own past, or the market, often on incomplete information. A manager can shape what information is available, and explain clearly how pay is set. When people perceive inequity, usually underpayment, there are six possible responses. They can reduce inputs, putting in less effort or care. They can change outcomes. Ask for a raise, or at worst, take time or resources not granted. They can reinterpret. The extra work wasn't so demanding, or the colleague works harder than it seemed. They can change the referent. Or they can leave, by transferring or resigning. Reduced effort and leaving cost the most. And the most common response is invisible. Someone who feels underpaid rarely says so. They quietly hold back effort, doing what's required, no more. Turnover is the response that finally shows, usually long after the invisible one. Some people respond to overpayment by working harder, or by rationalizing. But that evidence is weaker.

Organizational Justice

Fair Process Softens Bad News

Equity theory grew into a broader framework, organizational justice. It's about how fairly people feel treated. Distributive justice is the fairness of the outcomes received. That's where equity theory began. Procedural justice is a fair process. Consistent rules, no bias, and accurate information. And a chance for the affected person to be heard, with a way to appeal. Interpersonal justice is being treated with dignity and respect when the decision is communicated. Informational justice is the adequacy and honesty of the explanation. The consistent finding: process and respect shape acceptance of a bad outcome more than the outcome does. People denied a raise are far less resentful when the process was fair, and the explanation honest. That's the most actionable finding in the chapter. Budgets limit outcomes. But a manager can almost always change how decisions are made and communicated. Explain the criteria, listen, and speak with courtesy. The damage shrinks, at no financial cost.

Figure 9.2.1

Expectancy: Every Link Must Hold

Expectancy theory, associated with Victor Vroom, says the motivation to make an effort depends on three beliefs. Expectancy is the belief that effort will lead to a given level of performance. Instrumentality is the belief that the performance will lead to a particular outcome. Valence is the value placed on that outcome. It can be positive, zero, or negative. The relationship is multiplicative. Any link near zero gives near-zero motivation, and strengthening another can't compensate. Someone who wants promotion, and knows hard work brings results, won't try if results never earn promotion. Each link has a question. Can effort reach the target, given the skills, tools, time, and clarity? Will the target bring the outcome, as before? And does the employee want what's offered? Instrumentality is the link most often broken, and the hardest to repair. Training, clearer targets, or better equipment raise expectancy. Asking employees what they want reveals valence. But that belief is built from evidence, from what happened to people who performed well. A promise takes a moment. Belief in it is earned by keeping it, again and again.

Table 9.2.1

Reinforcement: 4 Consequences

Reinforcement theory ignores needs and beliefs. It looks at behavior, and its consequences. It rests on the law of effect, associated with Edward Thorndike. Behavior followed by something pleasant tends to repeat. Behavior followed by something unpleasant tends not to. B. F. Skinner developed this into operant conditioning. It's practical, because managers control consequences. There are four consequences, and they're routinely confused. Positive reinforcement adds something pleasant, like a small bonus for each error-free order. The behavior increases. Negative reinforcement removes something unpleasant. Reports go in on time, so the daily reminder stops. Punishment adds something unpleasant, or removes something pleasant, like docking pay for a safety violation. Behavior decreases. Extinction withdraws a reinforcer. A manager stops replying to suggestions, and they gradually stop coming. The common confusion is negative reinforcement with punishment. But negative reinforcement increases behavior. So test by the effect. If the behavior increases, reinforcement was at work, whatever the manager intended.

Schedules and Conditions

When and How Reinforcement Works

A reinforcement schedule is the pattern of delivery. Continuous reinforcement, every time, teaches a new behavior. Partial reinforcement rewards only some occurrences. That's what most workplaces do, and it produces behavior that lasts. A fixed-ratio schedule reinforces after a set number of responses, like pay per unit produced. A variable-ratio schedule reinforces after an unpredictable number, like a salesperson unsure which call will close. A fixed-interval schedule reinforces after a set period, like a weekly paycheck. A variable-interval schedule reinforces after unpredictable periods, like recognition at unannounced moments. Variable schedules produce the most persistent behavior, because nobody can tell when reinforcement has stopped. Fixed intervals tend to produce bursts of activity just before the reward is due. Three conditions govern how well reinforcement works. Timing means the consequence follows the behavior closely. Contingency means it occurs when the behavior does, and not otherwise. And magnitude means big enough to matter, but not so big it overwhelms the behavior.

Punishment and Its Traps

Rewarding What You Complain About

Punishment is the most commonly used of the four consequences, and the least reliable. It can stop a behavior quickly. Sometimes that's exactly what's needed, as with a safety violation. But its limits are well documented. It says what not to do, but not what to do instead. Its effect may last only while the punisher is present. When the manager leaves, the behavior returns. It breeds resentment, fear, and avoidance, and can drive errors out of sight. It's most defensible when immediate, consistent, proportionate, explained, and paired with guidance on what to do. Even then, reinforcing the wanted behavior usually changes conduct more durably. The other trap is unintended reinforcement, rewarding the very behavior the organization complains about. A manager complains about problems left until they're emergencies. Then she rushes in to help, thanks those who stayed late, and gives a day off. Emergencies get rewarded. The quiet days that come from solving problems early go unnoticed. A department that values accuracy but praises only speed reinforces speed. A team asked for initiative, then reprimanded when an initiative fails, will stop taking initiative. For any behavior you dislike, ask what follows it, and whether its owner would want that.

Goal-Setting Theory

Specific, Difficult, Accepted, Tracked

Goal-setting theory, from Edwin Locke and Gary Latham, is among the best supported theories of work motivation. Conscious goals direct and sustain effort. Specific, difficult goals beat vague or easy ones. Specific means measurable, like a task count by a stated date. Difficult means demanding, but attainable. Both beat do your best, which lets people decide how much is enough, and produces less. Goals work four ways. They direct attention, energize effort, encourage persistence, and prompt people to find strategies. The effect depends on moderators. Commitment is likelier when people see the goal as important and attainable. It also helps when they took part in setting it, or understand why it matters. Feedback is needed too, since a goal without feedback is a wish. On very complex tasks, hard output goals push narrow strategies. A learning goal may serve better. And a goal far beyond someone's ability produces discouragement, not effort. Goals also fail. Goal displacement, from section seven point one, makes the goal the purpose itself. Distortion means meeting it by damaging means. Neglecting the unmeasured, shifting work between periods, or falsifying results. That's the measurement trap from section eight point two. Check what a goal would encourage.

Job Design and Empowerment

Changing the Work Itself

Where the other theories act on beliefs and consequences, job design acts on the work itself. Hackman and Oldham name five core dimensions. Skill variety, task identity, and task significance make work meaningful. Autonomy, the freedom to schedule work and choose methods, creates responsibility for the outcome. Feedback from the work gives knowledge of results. The effect is stronger in people seeking growth. Three redesigns are often confused. Job enlargement adds more tasks at a similar level, widening the job. Job rotation moves people among different jobs, without changing any one of them. Job enrichment adds responsibility for planning, deciding, and controlling the work. It deepens the job. Only enrichment changes autonomy and feedback. Enlargement with more routine can raise workload, but not meaning. It repairs chapter seven's problems: diminishing returns to specialization, and deskilling under scientific management. Empowerment delegates real decision-making authority, with the information, resources, and accountability to use it. It needs conditions. Information on goals and results, skills to decide, and authority matched to responsibility. Trust that a good-faith mistake means learning, not punishment. And rewards consistent with the behavior asked for. Without them, it's abdication. People told to decide, without the means, conclude the word is decoration.

Designing an Approach

Harbor Point Billing: Late Month-End Posting

Start with the performance equation from section nine point one, to rule out ability and opportunity. Then ask the process questions. Are goals clear and tracked? Is the effort-reward chain believed? Is treatment fair? What follows the wanted behavior, and the unwanted one? And does the work offer meaning, autonomy, and feedback? At Harbor Point Billing, a fictional insurance billing office, month-end invoices are posted late. Staff are trained, and systems work. Interviews reveal four things. The instruction, get entries in early, has no measurable content. A vague goal. Finishing early earns no comment, while mistakes bring an immediate summons. That's punishment, with no reinforcement. Two people who worked long hours last quarter say no one noticed. That's an instrumentality problem. And each person handles one fragment of the process, seeing neither beginning nor end. A fragmented job. The manager sets a goal with the team: a stated share of entries posted by business day three. She adds weekly feedback, reinforces on-time posting promptly, names recognition criteria in advance, and pairs correction with guidance. She tries small teams owning accounts end to end. Since goals can push rushing, she watches accuracy too.

Case Vignette (Composite)

The Year Nobody Noticed

Here's a composite case. The organization and the person are fictional. Sunita, a claims analyst at Brightwater Mutual, spent a year closing more complex claims than any colleague. Her reviews were rescheduled twice. At year-end recognition, her name was missing, and no one explained why. Since then, she works to the minimum, and declines difficult files. Her manager, Elias, notices. He considers announcing that she's valued, a one-time bonus, or a private conversation about what's changed. Recognition and promotion are decided by a committee outside his control. A quick gesture may look like buying back her effort. A slower approach takes months. She still wants recognition, and still believes she can do the work. Expectancy and valence are intact. Her belief that performance brings recognition was damaged by evidence. Instrumentality rebuilds slowly. A speech or a bonus won't repair it. Out of nowhere, it may even deepen her suspicion. Elias should acknowledge honestly what happened, and explain the criteria and process from now on. Then recognize specific accomplishments promptly and visibly, and keep doing it. Her expectations will change only slowly.

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FAQ

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About Motivation in Management: Needs-Based, Behavior-Based and Different Forms

What is equity theory in workplace motivation?
Equity theory, from J. Stacy Adams, says people compare their ratio of outcomes, such as pay and recognition, to inputs, such as effort and skill, with the ratio of a comparison person called the referent. A well-paid employee can still feel cheated on learning that a colleague doing similar work earns more. Perceived underpayment can lead people to reduce effort, seek higher outcomes, reinterpret the comparison, change referents, or leave.
What are expectancy, instrumentality, and valence in Vroom's expectancy theory?
Expectancy is the belief that effort will lead to a given level of performance, instrumentality is the belief that performance will lead to a particular outcome, and valence is the value placed on that outcome. Victor Vroom's theory treats them as multiplicative, so if any one is near zero, motivation is near zero. Instrumentality is often the hardest to repair, because it rests on evidence of what happened to people who performed well.
What is the difference between negative reinforcement and punishment?
Negative reinforcement removes something unpleasant and increases a behavior, while punishment adds something unpleasant or removes something pleasant and decreases a behavior. If on-time reports make a manager's daily reminder stop, that is negative reinforcement. Docking pay for a safety violation is punishment. The two are often confused, so judge by the effect: if the behavior increases, reinforcement is at work, whatever the manager intended.
How can goal setting backfire?
Goal setting, which Edwin Locke and Gary Latham found works best with specific, difficult but attainable goals, can backfire in several ways. A goal far beyond someone's ability produces discouragement rather than effort. On very complex tasks, hard output goals can push narrow strategies, so a learning goal may serve better. And people may meet a goal by damaging means, such as neglecting unmeasured work, shifting work between periods, or falsifying results.

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