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Human Behavior in
Organization
Motivation Concepts

Chapter Learning Objectives

• After studying this lesson, you should be able to:
• Discuss the three elements of motivation.
• Assess the four early theories of motivation and evaluate their applicability
today.
• Apply the predictions of the self-determination theory to intrinsic and
extrinsic rewards.
• Compare and contrast goal-setting theory and management by objectives.
• Explain to what degree motivation theories are culture-bound.

Defining Motivation
The result of the interaction between the individual and the situation.

•The processes that account for an individual’s intensity, direction, and

persistence of effort toward attaining a goal – specifically, an organizational goal.

•Three key elements:

• Intensity – how hard a person tries
• Direction – effort that is channeled toward, and
consistent with, organizational goals
• Persistence – how long a person can maintain effort

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Early Theories of Motivation

These early theories may not be valid, but they do form the basis for
contemporary theories and are still used by practicing managers.

•Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory

•McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y
•Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory
•McClelland’s Theory of Needs

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

There is a hierarchy of five needs. As each need is substantially satisfied, the next
need becomes dominant.

Self-Actualization Assumptions

Higher Order Esteem • Individuals cannot move to the next

Internal higher level until all needs at the
Social current (lower) level are satisfied
• Must move in hierarchical order
Lower Order Safety

External Physiological

McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y

• Two distinct views of human beings: Theory X (basically negative) and
Theory Y (positive).
• Managers used a set of assumptions based on their view
• The assumptions molded their behavior toward employees
Theory X Theory Y

• Workers have little • Workers are self-

ambition directed
• Dislike work • Enjoy work
• Avoid responsibility • Accept responsibility

• No empirical evidence to support this theory.

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Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory

Key Point: Satisfaction and dissatisfaction are not opposites
but separate constructs
Hygiene
Motivators
Factors

Extrinsic and Company Intrinsic and

Growth
Related to Policies
Related to
Dissatisfaction Salary Responsibility Satisfaction

Work
Achievement
Conditions

Herzberg says that hygiene factors must be

met to remove dissatisfaction. If motivators
are given, then satisfaction can occur.

•Herzberg is limited by his methodology

Criticisms of • Participants had self-serving bias
Two-Factor •Reliability of raters questioned
Theory • Bias or errors of observation
•No overall measure of satisfaction was used
•Herzberg assumed, but didn’t research, a
strong relationship between satisfaction and
productivity

• Need for Achievement (nAch)

• The drive to excel, to achieve in relation
to a set of standards, to strive to
succeed
• Need for Power (nPow)
McClelland’s • The need to make others behave in a
way that they would not have behaved
Three Needs otherwise

Theory • Need for Affiliation (nAff)

• The desire for friendly and close
interpersonal relationships
• People have varying levels of each of the
three needs.
• Hard to measure

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Performance
Predictions for High
Ach
• People with a high need for achievement are likely to:
• Prefer to undertake activities with a 50/50 chance
of success, avoiding very low- or high-risk
situations
• Be motivated in jobs that offer high degree of
personal responsibility, feedback, and moderate
risk
• Not necessarily make good managers – too
personal a focus. Most good general managers do
NOT have a high Ach
• Need high level of Pow and low Aff for managerial
success
• Good research support, but it is not a very practical
theory

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Contemporary
Theories of
Motivation
• Self-Determination Theory
• Goal-Setting Theory
• Management by Objectives (MBO)
• Self-Efficacy Theory
• Also known as Social Cognitive
Theory or Social Learning Theory
• Reinforcement Theory
• Equity Theory
• Expectancy Theory

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Self-Determination Theory
People prefer to feel they have control over their
actions, so anything that makes a previously enjoyed
task feel more like an obligation than a freely chosen
activity will undermine motivation.
•Major Implications for Work Rewards
• Intrinsic and extrinsic rewards are not
independent
• Extrinsic rewards may decrease intrinsic rewards
• Goal setting is more effective in improving
motivation
• Verbal rewards increase intrinsic motivation;
tangible rewards reduce it

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Locke’s Goal-
Setting Theory
• Basic Premise:
• That specific and difficult goals, with self-
generated feedback, lead to higher
performance
• Difficult Goals:
• Focus and direct attention
• Energize the person to work harder
• Difficulty increases persistence
• Force people to be more effective and
efficient
• Relationship between goals and performance
depends on:
• Goal commitment (the more public the
better!)
• Task characteristics (simple, well-learned)
• Culture (best match is in North America)

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• MBO is a systematic way to utilize goal-setting.

• Goals must be:
• Tangible
• Verifiable
• Measurable
Implementation:
• Corporate goals are broken down into smaller,
Management by more specific goals at each level of organization.
Objectives • Four common ingredients to MBO programs:
• Goal specificity
• Participative decision making
• Explicit time period
• Performance feedback

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Bandura’s Self-Efficacy
Theory • An individual’s belief that he or
she is capable of performing a
task.
• Higher efficacy is related to:
Increased Confidence • Greater confidence
• Greater persistence in the
Given Hard Goal Higher Performance
face of difficulties
Higher Self-Set Goal • Better response to negative
feedback (work harder)
• Self-efficacy complements
Goal-Setting Theory

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Increasing Self-Efficacy
• Enactive mastery
• Most important source of efficacy
• Gaining relevant experience with task or job
• “Practice makes perfect”
• Vicarious modeling
• Increasing confidence by watching others perform
the task
• Most effective when observer sees the model to be
similar to him- or herself
• Verbal persuasion
• Motivation through verbal conviction
• Pygmalion and Galatea effects - self-fulfilling
prophecies
• Arousal
• Getting “psyched up” – emotionally aroused – to
complete task
• Can hurt performance if emotion is not a component
of the task

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Reinforcement Theory
• Similar to Goal-Setting Theory, but focused on a
behavioral approach rather than a cognitive one

• Behavior is environmentally caused

• Thought (internal cognitive event) is not
important
• Feelings, attitudes, and expectations are
ignored
• Behavior is controlled by its consequences –
reinforcers
• Is not a motivational theory but a means of
analysis of behavior
• Reinforcement strongly influences behavior
but is not likely to be the sole cause

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Adams’ Equity Theory

• Employees compare their ratios of outcomes-to-inputs of relevant
others.
• When ratios are equal: state of equity exists – there is no tension
as the situation is considered fair
• When ratios are unequal: tension exists due to unfairness
• Underrewarded states cause anger
• Overrewarded states cause guilt
• Tension motivates people to act to bring their situation into equity

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Equity Theory’s “Relevant Others”

• Can be four different situations:

• Self-Inside
• The person’s experience in a different job in the same organization
• Self-Outside
• The person’s experience in a different job in a different organization
• Other-Inside
• Another individual or group within the organization
• Other-Outside
• Another individual or group outside of the organization

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Reactions to Inequity

Employee behaviors to create equity:

• Change inputs (slack off)
• Change outcomes (increase output)
• Distort/change perceptions of self
• Distort/change perceptions of others
• Choose a different referent person
• Leave the field (quit the job)
Propositions relating to inequitable pay:
• Paid by time:
• Overrewarded employees produce more
• Underrewarded employees produce less with low quality
• Paid by quality:
• Overrewarded employees give higher quality
• Underrewarded employees make more of low quality

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Distributive
Justice

Justice and • Fairness of

outcome

Equity Theory Overall perception of

what is fair in the
workplace.
Organizational
Justice
Interactional Procedural
Justice Justice
• Being treated
• Fairness of
with dignity and
outcome process
respect

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Vroom’s Expectancy Theory

Expectancy of Instrumentality of Valuation of the
performance success in getting reward in
The strength of a tendency to success reward employee’s eyes
act in a certain way depends on
the strength of an expectation
that the act will be followed by
a given outcome and on the
attractiveness of the outcome to
the individual.

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Integrating Contemporary Motivation

Theories
• Based on Expectancy Theory

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Global Implications
• Motivation theories are often culture-bound.
• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory
• Order of needs is not universal
• McClelland’s Three Needs Theory
• nAch presupposes a willingness to accept risk and performance
concerns – not universal traits
• Adams’ Equity Theory
• A desire for equity is not universal
• “Each according to his need” – socialist/former communists
• Desire for interesting work seems to be universal.
• There is some evidence that the intrinsic factors of Herzberg’s Two-
Factor Theory may be universal

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Need Theories (Maslow, Well known, but not very

Alderfer, McClelland, good predictors of
Herzberg) behavior

While limited in scope,

Goal-Setting Theory
good predictor
Summary
and Reinforcement Theory
Powerful predictor in
many work areas

Managerial
Implications Equity Theory
Best known for research in
organizational justice

Good predictor of performance

Expectancy Theory variables but shares many of the
assumptions as rational decision
making

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References
Nelson, D. L. and Quick, J. C. (2015) ORGB : organizational behavior.
Student ed 4. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

Judge, T. A., & Robbins, S. P. (2017). Essentials of organizational

behavior. Pearson Education (us).

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