Topic 3

Topic 3

1. LG1. Define Motivation and it's importance for managers and organisations

   • Motivation: whether or not a person puts effort into something
     • Motivation can be broken down into (1) Level (intensity of effort), (2) Direction (making a choice) and (3) Persistence (how much time the person spends trying)
     • Motivation can be (1) intrinsic (e.g. comes from within, such as you value health so go to gym) or (2) Extrinsic (comes from your environment, such as your Mum want you to lose weight, they are consequences of the behaviour)

2. LG2. Explain and critically evaluate content/needs theories AND process/cognitive theories of motivation

   • Content/needs theories of motivation look at 'What' and help us analyse motivation
     • Maslow's Hierarchy of needs: This pyramid shows us what human needs are (but is no longer seen as a hierarchy)
       • (1) Self actualistion needs (2) Esteem Needs (3) Love (social) needs (4) Safety needs (5) Physical needs
       • Maslow's was extended on by Alderfer's ERG theory which has 3 categories (1) Growth; self actualisation& esteem (2) Relatedness; love (3) Existence; safety and physical
     • McClelland's acquired needs theory: People are motivated/driven by different things
       • (1) High need for achievement: e.g. getting HD for exam (2) High need for power: e.g. become the leader (3) High need for affiliation e.g. having beautiful and rich friends
     • Herzberg's two factor theory: looks at difference between motivation and hygiene factors
       • (1) Motivators: lead to job satisfaction (can be satisfied or no satisfaction) and relate job content. These are linked to intrinsic motivators
       • (2) Hygiene factors lead to job dissatisfaction (can be dissatisfied or no dissatisfied) and relate to job context. These are linked to extrinsic motivaotrs
   • Process/cognitive theories look at 'Why' and 'How' and help us understand what people are thinking
     • Adam's Equity theory: individual input and reward should be the same (comparable) to other people's input and rewards (social comparison) e.g. if you put in the same amount of effort as someone, you should get the same result as them
     • Vroom's Expectancy theory: People are motivated by what they expect will happen
       • (1) Expectancy (do you think you can do that task) (2) Instrumentally (what will be the outcome of doing task) (3) Valence (how highly do you value this outcome)
   • Empowerment: managers can delegate power to employees a a way to increase motivation
   • Self efficacy (Topic 2) and other factors can also influence motivation

3. LG3. Cultural issues in motivation

   • Most theories about motivation come from Western cultures

4. LG4. Evaluate traditional approaches to job design

   • Job: a set of specified work and task activities that an individual does in the business
   • Job design: planning the specific tasks and work setting for the job
   • Traditional approaches: (1) Scientific management (2) Job characteristics theory (3) Job enrichment (4) Job enlargement/Job rotation
     • Job characteristics theory: a framework for designing jobs that are motivating and satisfying (5 steps)
   • enriched vs unenriched jobs

5. LG5. Alternative approaches to job design

   • Creating enriched jobs (see LG6) such as social information processing and ergonomics
   • International approaches (cultural differences) e.g. lean production, the 'Japanese way'

6. LG6. Contemporary issues facing organisations in design or work

   • individual differences impact the job (links to topic 2 and motivation theories)
   • Job empowerment increases intrinsic motivation
   • Contemporary issues: telecommunications, job sharing, flexible jobs (e.g. working online or from home), technology, stress or skill development