Process Theories of Motivation

1. Theories of Motivation
Presented by:
Roel G. Matulac

2. 1. Three Need Theory
2. Goal-Setting Theory
3. Reinforcement
Theory
4. Equity Theory
5. Expectancy Theory

3. Three Need Theory by David
McCleland
An individual specific needs are acquired
over time and are shaped by one’s life experiences.
Need For Achievement: Desire to excel and
accomplish something difficult.
Need For Affiliation: Desire to spend time in
social relationships and activities.
Need For Power: Desire to influence, coach,
teach, or encourage others to achieve.

7. Goal Setting Theory by Edwin
Locke
It states that goal setting is essentially linked
to task performance. It states that specific and
challenging goals along with appropriate feedback
contribute to higher and better task performance.
In simple words, goals indicate and give
direction to an employee about what needs to be
done and how much efforts are required to be put
in.

8. Goal setting theory has certain eventualities such as:
1. Self-efficiency- Self-efficiency is the individual’s
self-confidence and faith that he has potential of
performing the task. Higher the level of self-
efficiency, greater will be the efforts put in by the
individual when they face challenging tasks. While,
lower the level of self-efficiency, less will be the
efforts put in by the individual or he might even
quit while meeting challenges.

9. 2. Goal commitment- Goal setting theory
assumes that the individual is committed to the
goal and will not leave the goal. The goal
commitment is dependent on the following
factors:
 Goals are made open, known and broadcasted.
 Goals should be set-self by individual rather than
designated.
 Individual’s set goals should be consistent with the
organizational goals and vision.

10.  Advantages of Goal Setting Theory
1. Goal setting theory is a technique used to raise
incentives for employees to complete work
quickly and effectively.
2. Goal setting leads to better performance by
increasing motivation and efforts, but also
through increasing and improving the feedback
quality.

11.  Limitations of Goal Setting Theory
1. At times, the organizational goals are in conflict
with the managerial goals. Goal conflict has a
detrimental effect on the performance if it
motivates incompatible action drift.
2. Very difficult and complex goals stimulate riskier
behaviour.
3. If the employee lacks skills and competencies to
perform actions essential for goal, then the goal-
setting can fail and lead to undermining of
performance.
4. There is no evidence to prove that goal-setting
improves job satisfaction.

12. Reinforcement Theory by BF
Skinner
It states that individual’s behaviour is a
function of its consequences. It is based on “law
of effect”, i.e, individual’s behaviour with positive
consequences tends to be repeated, but
individual’s behaviour with negative consequences
tends not to be repeated.

13. Reinforcement theory of motivation
overlooks the internal state of individual, i.e., the
inner feelings and drives of individuals are ignored
by Skinner. This theory focuses totally on what
happens to an individual when he takes some
action. Thus, according to Skinner, the external
environment of the organization must be designed
effectively and positively so as to motivate the
employee. This theory is a strong tool for
analyzing controlling mechanism for individual’s
behaviour. However, it does not focus on the
causes of individual’s behaviour.

14. The managers use the following methods for
controlling the behaviour of the employees:
 Positive Reinforcement- This implies giving a
positive response when an individual shows
positive and required behaviour. For example -
Immediately praising an employee for coming early
for job. This will increase probability of
outstanding behaviour occurring again. Reward is a
positive reinforce, but not necessarily. If and only if
the employees’ behaviour improves, reward can
said to be a positive reinforcer. It must be noted
that more spontaneous is the giving of reward, the
greater reinforcement value it has.

15.  Negative Reinforcement- This implies rewarding
an employee by removing negative / undesirable
consequences. Both positive and negative
reinforcement can be used for increasing desirable /
required behaviour.
 Punishment- It implies removing positive
consequences so as to lower the probability of
repeating undesirable behaviour in future. In other
words, punishment means applying undesirable
consequence for showing undesirable behaviour. For
instance - Suspending an employee for breaking the
organizational rules. Punishment can be equalized by
positive reinforcement from alternative source.

16.  Extinction- It implies absence of
reinforcements. In other words, extinction
implies lowering the probability of undesired
behaviour by removing reward for that kind of
behaviour. For instance - if an employee no
longer receives praise and admiration for his
good work, he may feel that his behaviour is
generating no fruitful consequence. Extinction
may unintentionally lower desirable behaviour.

17. Implications of Reinforcement Theory
Reinforcement theory explains in detail how
an individual learns behaviour. Managers who are
making attempt to motivate the employees must
ensure that they do not reward all employees
simultaneously. They must tell the employees what
they are not doing correct. They must tell the
employees how they can achieve positive
reinforcement.

18. Equity Theory by John Stacey
Adam
Adams' Equity Theory calls for a fair balance
to be struck between an employee's inputs (hard
work, skill level, tolerance, enthusiasm, and so on)
and an employee's outputs (salary, benefits,
intangibles such as recognition,and so on).
According to the theory, finding this fair
balance serves to ensure a strong and productive
relationship is achieved with the employee, with the
overall result being contented, motivated
employees.

19. It acknowledges that subtle and variable factors
affect an employee's assessment and perception of
their relationship with their work and their employer.
The theory is built-on the belief that employees
become de-motivated, both in relation to their job
and their employer, if they feel as though their inputs
are greater than the outputs. Employees can be
expected to respond to this is different ways,
including de-motivation (generally to the extent the
employee perceives the disparity between the inputs
and the outputs exist), reduced effort, becoming
disgruntled, or, in more extreme cases, perhaps even
disruptive.

20. How to Apply the Adams' Equity Theory
 It is important to also consider the Adams' Equity
Theory factors when striving to improve an
employee's job satisfaction, motivation level, etc.,
and what can be done to promote higher levels of
each.
 To do this, consider the balance or imbalance that
currently exists between your employee's inputs
and outputs, as follows:

21. Inputs typically include:
1. Effort.
2. Loyalty.
3. Hard work.
4. Commitment.
5. Skill.
6. Ability.
7. Adaptability.
8. Flexibility.
9. Tolerance.
10. Determination.
11. Enthusiasm.
12. Trust in superiors.
13. Support of colleagues.
14. Personal sacrifice

22. Outputs typically include:
Financial rewards (such as salary, benefits, perks).
Intangibles that typically include:
1. Recognition.
2. Reputation.
3. Responsibility.
4. Sense of achievement.
5. Praise.
6. Stimulus.
7. Sense of advancement/growth.
8. Job security.

23. While obviously many of these points can't
be quantified and perfectly compared, the theory
argues that managers should seek to find a fair
balance between the inputs that an employee gives,
and the outputs received.
And according to the theory, employees
should be content where they perceive these to be
in balance.

24. Expectancy Theory by Viktor
Vroom
Vroom's expectancy theory assumes that
behavior results from conscious choices among
alternatives whose purpose it is to maximize pleasure
and to minimize pain. Vroom realized that an
employee's performance is based on individual
factors such as personality, skills, knowledge,
experience and abilities. He stated that effort,
performance and motivation are linked in a person's
motivation. He uses the variables Expectancy,
Instrumentality and Valence to account for this.

25. Expectancy is the belief that increased effort will
lead to increased performance i.e. if I work harder
then this will be better. This is affected by such
things as:
1. Having the right resources available (e.g. raw
materials, time)
2. Having the right skills to do the job
3. Having the necessary support to get the job done
(e.g. supervisor support, or correct information
on the job)

26. Instrumentality is the belief that if you perform well
that a valued outcome will be received. The degree to
which a first level outcome will lead to the second
level outcome. i.e. if I do a good job,there is
something in it for me. This is affected by such things
as:
1. Clear understanding of the relationship between
performance and outcomes – e.g. the rules of the
reward 'game'
2. Trust in the people who will take the decisions on
who gets what outcome
3. Transparency of the process that decides who gets
what outcome

27.  Valence is the importance that the individual
places upon the expected outcome. For the
valence to be positive, the person must prefer
attaining the outcome to not attaining it. For
example, if someone is mainly motivated by
money, he or she might not value offers of
additional time off.

28. Crucially, Vroom's expectancy theory works
on perceptions – so even if an employer thinks
they have provided everything appropriate for
motivation, and even if this works with most people
in that organisation, it doesn't mean that someone
won't perceive that it doesn't work for them.
At first glance expectancy theory would seem
most applicable to a traditional-attitude work
situation where how motivated the employee is
depends on whether they want the reward on offer
for doing a good job and whether they believe more
effort will lead to that reward.

29. However, it could equally apply to any situation where
someone does something because they expect a certain
outcome. For example, I recycle paper because I think it's
important to conserve resources and take a stand on
environmental issues (valence); I think that the more effort I
put into recycling the more paper I will recycle (expectancy);
and I think that the more paper I recycle then less resources
will be used (instrumentality)
Thus, Vroom's expectancy theory of motivation is not
about self-interest in rewards but about the associations
people make towards expected outcomes and the contribution
they feel they can make towards those outcomes.

30. Expectancy theory predicts that employees in an
organization will be motivated when they believe
that:
1. Putting in more effort will yield better job
performance
2. Better job performance will lead to
organizational rewards, such as an increase in
salary or benefits
3. These predicted organizational rewards are
valued by the employee in question

31. In order to enhance the performance-
outcome tie, managers should use systems that
tie rewards very closely to performance.
Managers also need to ensure that the rewards
provided are deserved and wanted by the
recipients. In order to improve the effort-
performance tie, managers should engage
in training to improve their capabilities
and improve their belief that added effort will in
fact lead to better performance.