Worker Motivation Scott Perkins Outline Motivation Theories of

Worker Motivation Scott Perkins

Outline • Motivation • Theories of Motivation • Measurements – MTQ – MMI – WMI • Interventions

Motivation • The desire or reason responsible for behavior. – Determines intensity, direction, and quality of behavior. • Based on desire/need, incentive/reward, and self-expectations and expectations from others. • Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation

Work and Motivation • Performance – Performance = (Motivation x Ability) – Situational Constraints • Work/Home Interaction – Both satisfaction at work and home influence motivation.

Work and Motivation • Attitudes – Feelings/beliefs directed toward tasks, ideas, individuals, etc. • Personality – Judge & Ilies (2002) – Strong relationship between Big 5 personality measures and motivation.

Theories of Motivation • Field Theory/Group Dynamics – Various forces interacting to result in the outcome behavior. • Reinforcement Theory – Stimulus, Response, & Reward (contingent, intermittent, or continuous).

Theories of Motivation • Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – Basic set of needs driving behavior.

Theories of Motivation • Dissonance Theory – Dissonant cognitions = tension. – Motivated to avoid dissonance. • Path-Goal Theory – Having a goal in mind and believing in the path to the goal will result in the necessary “path” behavior to achieve that goal.

Theories of Motivation • V. I. E. – Valence: weighing importance of rewards/outcomes. – Instrumentality: performance that leads to the outcomes. – Expectancy: effort leads to performance.

Theories of Motivation • Equity Theory – Individuals compare themselves with peers in terms of an input/outcome ratio. • Individuals aim to correct discrepancies between self and peers.

Theories of Motivation • Goal-Setting – Setting specific, difficult, attainable goals. – Objective vs. Subjective

Measurements • Motivational Trait Questionnaire (MTQ) – 48 items measuring six dimensions of general motivation. • Psychometrics – Test-retest. 80 – Strong construct validity – Chronbach’s alpha >. 85 for subscales • . 83 Overall

Measures • Meta-Motivation Inventory (MMI) – Used to assess personal and managerial development by comparing how individuals stand in relation to the normal population. Feedback on personal/managerial styles. – Major Scales: Determinism, Motivation to Achieve, Need to Control Others, & Concern for People.

Measures • MMI - Psychometrics – Test-retest: Major Scales range. 84 -. 87. – Strong concurrent validity. – Convergent validity correlated with 12 other established scales. – Distinguishes between levels of management, female managers vs. female non-managers, and top vs. bottom sales people.

Measurements • Work Motivation Inventory (WMI) – Evaluates importance placed on: • Accomplishment, Recognition, Power, & Affiliation – Additional bias scale measuring - tendency to present oneself in a positive light. – 65 likert-type items. – Psychometrics • Internal consistencies (main four): . 81 -. 84 • Test-retest: . 59 -. 80. • Construct validity acceptable when cross-validated with MBTI scores.

Interventions to Increase Motivation • Contingent Rewards – Identifying target behaviors/goals and outlining rewards contingent upon target behaviors. • Job Enrichment – Jobs that satisfy a higher need (Maslow) will motivate individuals. – Skill variety, task identity, significance, autonomy, feedback.

Interventions to Increase Motivation • Pro. MES – Productivity Measurement and Enhancement System – Maximize motivation to increase productivity. – Productivity – properly allocating resources to obtain goals. – System steps – Form a design team, identify objectives, identify indicators, define contingencies, design feedback system, give/respond to feedback, monitor.