Motivation Basics
What are the three main elements of motivation?
Intensity, direction, and persistence
What type of motivation comes from things like meaningful work, achievement, autonomy, and growth?
Intrinsic motivation
Which theory emphasizes autonomy and internal motivation?
Self-determination theory.
How many main job characteristics did we discuss?
Five
Maya's job is repetitive and she has very little control over how she works. What could her manager give her more of?
Autonomy and more varied responsibilities.
This element of motivation refers to how hard someone tries.
Intensity
Pay, bonuses, promotions, and benefits are examples of what type of motivation?
Extrinsic motivation
Which theory focuses on whether employees believe they are capable of succeeding?
Self-efficacy theory.
This job characteristic means having control over how you perform your work.
Autonomy
Jordan discovers a coworker doing similar work received a much larger bonus. Jordan now does the minimum. What is Jordan's biggest concern?
Fairness / organizational justice
This element refers to where an employee's effort is going.
Direction
True or False: Employees can only be motivated by money
False
According to expectancy theory, employees ask whether their effort will lead to what?
Performance and ultimately a reward/outcome they value.
This characteristic refers to using different abilities and skills in your job.
Skill variety
Alex is offered a $2,000 bonus but believes the performance target is impossible. What is the problem?
Alex doesn't believe their effort can realistically lead to the required performance.
This element refers to how long an employee continues trying.
Persistence
Name two examples of intrinsic motivation.
Achievement, autonomy, meaningful work, growth, or recognition.
Complete the sequence:
Effort → ______ → Reward
Performance
What job characteristic involves knowing how well you are performing?
Feedback
Sam performs well but receives almost no recognition or feedback. What could the manager do?
Provide meaningful recognition and regular feedback.
True or False: An employee putting in a lot of effort automatically means they will perform well.
False. Effort also needs to be directed toward the right goals and sustained.
Why might giving every employee the exact same bonus NOT motivate everyone equally?
Employees value different things and may be unmotivated for different reasons.
Your boss offers you a $2,000 bonus for reaching a goal you believe is impossible. Which motivation theory best explains why you may not be motivated?
Expectancy theory
An employee says, “My job is boring, repetitive, and I don't feel like my work matters.” Which model could a manager use to improve the employee's motivation?
The Job Characteristics Model.
The five characteristics in your presentation are skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback.
You are a manager. You have four employees: one needs more autonomy, one feels unfairly treated, one doesn't believe their goal is achievable, and one wants recognition. You give all four employees a $1,000 bonus. Why might this fail to motivate them?
Because each employee has a different motivation problem. Managers need to understand why an employee is unmotivated before deciding how to motivate them.