中国经济管理大学
MBA课堂
《组织行为学》

CHAPTER 4 - BASIC MOTIVATION CONCEPTS

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, students should be able to:
Outline the basic motivation process.
Describe Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory.
Contrast Theory X and Theory Y.
Differentiate motivators from hygiene factors.
List the characteristics that high achievers prefer in a job.
Summarize the types of goals that increase performance.
Contrast reinforcement and goal-setting theories.
Explain equity theory.
Clarify the key relationships in expectancy theory.

LECTURE OUTLINE
I. WHAT IS MOTIVATION?
A. Definition
1. May be defined in terms of some outward behavior.
a) People who are motivated exert a greater effort to perform than those who are not motivated.
2. A more descriptive but less substan­tive definition.
a) Motivation is the willingness to do something and is conditioned by this action’s ability to satisfy some need for the individual.
b) A need, in our terminology, means a physiological or psychological deficiency that makes cer­tain outcomes appear attractive.
c) The motivation process is shown in Exhibit 4-1.

B. Needs and Drives
1. An unsatisfied need creates tension, which stimulates drives within the individual.
2. These drives generate a search for particular goals that, if attained, will satisfy the need and lead to the reduction of tension.
3. Motivated employees are in a state of tension.
a) To relieve this tension, they engage in activity.
b) The greater the tension, the more activity will be needed to bring about relief.

II. EARLY THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
A. Hierarchy of Needs Theory
1. The best-known approach to motivation is Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory.
2. He hypothesized that every human being has an internal hierarchy of five needs.
a) Physiological needs—hunger, thirst, shelter, sex, and other bodily needs
b) Safety needs—security and protection from physical and emotional harm
c) Social needs—affection, a sense of belonging, acceptance, and friendship
d) Esteem need—internal factors such as self-respect, autonomy, and achieve­ment and external factors such as status, recognition, and attention
e) Self-actualization needs—the drive to become what one is capable of becoming; includes growth, achieving one’s potential, and self-fulfillment
3. As each is satisfied, the next need be­comes dominant.
a) See Exhibit 4-2 for the hierarchy.
b) A substan­tially satisfied need no longer motivates.
4. Maslow separated the five needs into higher and lower orders.
a) Physiological and safety needs were lower order and were predominately satisfied externally.
b) Social, esteem, and self-actualization were categorized as higher-order needs and are satisfied internally.
c) The natural conclusion is that, in times of economic plenty, almost all permanently employed workers will have their lower-order needs substantially met.
5. Maslow’s need theory has received wide recognition, particularly among practicing managers.
a) This acceptance is due to the logic and ease with which the theory is intuitively understood.
b) However, research does not generally validate the theory.
(1) There is little support for the pre­diction that need structures are organized along the dimensions proposed.
(2) Nor does the prediction that the substantial satisfaction of a given need leads to the activation of the next higher need seem true.

B. Theory X and Theory Y
1. Douglas McGregor proposed two distinct views of human beings.
a) One basically neg­ative, labeled Theory X.
b) The other basically positive, labeled Theory Y.
2. Theory X has four assumptions.
a) Employees inherently dislike work and, whenever possible, will attempt to avoid it.
b) Since employees dislike work, they must be coerced, controlled, or threatened with punishment to achieve desired goals.
c) Employees will avoid responsibilities and seek formal direction whenever possible.
d) Most workers place security above all other factors associated with work and will display little ambition.
3. Theory Y has four contrasting assumptions.
a) Employees can view work as being as natural as rest or play.
b) A person who is committed to the objectives will exercise self-direction and self-control.
c) The average person can learn to accept, and even seek responsibility.
d) The ability to make innovative decisions is widely dispersed throughout the population and is not necessarily the sole province of those in man­agement positions.
4. Implications if you accept McGregor’s analysis.
a) Theory X as­sumes that lower-order needs dominate individuals.
b) Theory Y assumes that higher-order needs dominate individuals.
5. Unfortunately, no evidence confirms that either set of assumptions is valid.

C. Two-Factor Theory
1. The two-factor theory, or the motivation-hygiene theory, was pro­posed by psychologist Frederick Herzberg.
2. Herzberg investigated the question, “What do people want from their jobs?”
3. Research showed people replied significantly differently based on whether they felt good or bad about their jobs.
4. He isolated certain characteristics.
a) Exhibit 4-3.
b) Some internal factors such as advancement, recognition, responsibility, and achievement are consistently related to job satisfaction
c) Extrinsic factors such as supervision, pay, company poli­cies, and working conditions  relate to job dissatisfaction.
5. The opposite of satisfaction is not dissat­isfaction, as removing dissatisfying characteristics from a job does not necessarily make the job satisfying.
a) Managers who seek to eliminate factors that can create job dissatisfaction may bring about peace but not necessarily motivation—they will be placating their work force rather than motivating them.
b) Conditions surrounding the job such as quality of su­pervision, pay, company policies, and so on, were characterized as hygiene factors.
c) When they are adequate, people will not be dissatisfied; neither will they be satisfied.
d) To motivate people, Herzberg suggested emphasizing factors as­sociated with the work itself or to outcomes directly derived from it, such as pro­motional opportunities, personal growth opportunities, and so on.
e) These are the characteristics that people find intrinsically rewarding.
6. Criticisms of the Theory.
a) The procedure that Herzberg used is limited by its methodology.
b) The reliability of Herzberg’s methodology is questionable.
c) No overall measure of satisfaction was utilized.
d) The theory is inconsistent with previous research; it ignores situational variables.
e) Herzberg assumed a relationship between satisfaction and productivity, but his research methodology looked only at satisfaction, not at productivity.
7. Regardless of criticisms, Herzberg’s theory has been widely popularized, and few managers are unfamiliar with his recommendations.

III. CONTEMPORARY THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
A. McClelland’s Theory of Needs
1. David McClelland and others have proposed three major relevant motives or needs in the workplace, McClelland’s Theory of Needs.
a) The need for achievement (nAch) is the drive to excel, to achieve in relation to a set of standards, to strive to succeed.
b) The need for power (nPow) is the need to make others behave in a way they would not have behaved otherwise.
c) The need for affiliation (nAff) is the desire for friendly and close interpersonal relationships.
2. Some people have a compelling drive to succeed, but they are striving for personal achievement rather than the rewards of success.
a) This drive is the need for achievement.
b) McClelland found that high achievers differentiate themselves from others by their desire to do things better.
c) They seek situations in which they can attain personal responsibil­ity for finding solutions to problems, receive rapid and unambiguous feedback on their performance, and set moderately challenging goals.
d) They prefer working at a challenging problem and accepting the personal responsibility for success or fail­ure rather than leaving the outcome to chance or the actions of others.
e) High achievers perform best when they perceive their probability of success as 50-50.
f) They like to set realistic but difficult goals that require stretching themselves a lit­tle.
3. The need for power is the desire to have an impact, to be influential, and to control others.
a) Individuals high in nPow enjoy being in charge, strive for influence over others, prefer competitive and status-oriented situations, and tend to be more concerned with gaining prestige and influence over others than with effective per­formance.
4. The third need is the need for affiliation.
a) This need has received the least attention of researchers.
b) Individuals with a high nAff strive for friendship, prefer cooperative situations rather than competi­tive ones, and desire relationships involving a high degree of mutual understand­ing.
5. All three motives are typically measured through a projective test in which subjects respond to a set of pictures.
6. Predictions can be made on the basis of the relationship between achieve­ment need and job performance.
a) Individ­uals with a high need to achieve prefer job situations with personal responsibility, feedback, and an intermediate degree of risk.
(1) High achievers are successful in entrepreneurial activities such as running their own business, managing a self-contained unit within a large organization, and many sales positions.
b) A high need to achieve does not necessarily lead to being a good manager.
c) The needs for affiliation and power tend to be closely related to managerial success.
(1) The best managers are high in the need for power and low in their need for affilia­tion.
d) Employees have been successfully trained to stimulate their achievement need.

B. Goal-Setting Theory
1. Considerable evidence supports goal-setting theory.
2. Intentions that are expressed as goals can be a major source of work motivation.
3. Specific, difficult-to-achieve goals produce a higher level of output than a generalized goal of  “do your best.”
4. The specificity of the goal itself acts as an inter­nal stimulus.
5. If factors such as ability and acceptance of the goals are held constant, we can also state that the more difficult the goals, the higher the level of performance.
6. If employees have the opportunity to participate in the setting of their own goals, will they try harder?
a) The evidence is mixed.
b) A major advantage of participation may be in increasing acceptance of the goal itself as a desirable one.
c) Participative goals may have no superiority over assigned goals when acceptance is taken as a given; participation does increase the probability that more difficult goals will be agreed to and acted upon.
7. Studies testing goal-setting theory have demonstrated the superiority of spe­cific and challenging goals as motivating forces.
8. There appears to be a contradiction be­tween the findings on achievement motivation and goal setting.
a) It is not actually a contradiction.
b) First, goal-setting theory deals with people in general.
c) The conclusions on achievement motivation are based only on people who have a high nAch, and probably fewer than 10 to 20 percent of any country’s workforce are natu­rally high achievers.
d) Second, goal setting’s conclusions apply to those who accept, and are committed to, the goals. Difficult goals will lead to higher performance only if they are accepted.

C. Reinforcement Theory
1. A counterpoint to goal-setting theory is reinforcement theory.
a) The former is a cog­nitive approach, proposing that an individual’s purposes direct his or her actions.
b) Reinforcement theory uses a behavioristic approach, which argues that reinforce­ment conditions behavior.
2. The two theories are clearly at odds philosophically.
a) Re­inforcement theorists see behavior as environmentally caused. What controls behavior are reinforcers—any consequences that, when immediately following a response, increase the probability that the behavior will be repeated.
3. Reinforcement theory ignores the inner state of the individual and concen­trates solely on what happens to a person when he or she takes some action.
a) Be­cause it does not concern itself with what initiates behavior, it is not, strictly speak­ing, a theory of motivation.
4. Chapter 2 introduced the law of effect (behavior is a function of its conse­quences) and showed that reinforcers (consequences) condition behavior and explains how people learn.
a) Research indicates that people will exert more effort on tasks that are reinforced than on tasks that are not.
b) But reinforcement is not the single explanation for differ­ences in employee motivation.
c) Goals, for instance, have an impact on motivation; so, too, do levels of achievement motivation, inequities in rewards, and expectations.

D. Equity Theory
1. Employees make comparisons.
a) The issue centers around rel­ative rewards and what you believe is fair.
b) Employees compare their own job inputs and outcomes with those of others and those inequities can influence the degree of effort that employees exert.
2. Equity theory says that employees weigh what they put into a job situation (input) against what they get from it (outcome) and then compare their input-outcome ratio with the input-outcome ratio of relevant others.
a) If they perceive equity, they feel that their situation is fair, that jus­tice prevails.
b) If the ratios are unequal, inequity exists; that is, the employees tend to view themselves as underrewarded or overrewarded.
3. When inequities occur, em­ployees will attempt to correct them.
a) The referent that employees choose to compare themselves against is an im­portant variable in equity theory.
4. The three referent categories have been classi­fied as “other,” “system,” and  “self.”
a) The other category includes other individu­als with similar jobs in the same organization and also includes friends, neighbors, or professional associates.
b) The system category considers organizational pay policies and procedures as well as the administration of this system.
c) The self category refers to input-outcome ratios that are unique to the indi­vidual. This category is influenced by such criteria as past jobs or family commit­ments.
5. The choice of a particular set of referents is related to the information avail­able about referents as well as to their perceived relevance.
6. When employees envision an inequity, they may make one or more of five choices:
a) Distort either their own or others’ inputs or outcomes.
b) Behave so as to induce others to change their inputs or outcomes.
c) Behave so as to change their own inputs or outcomes.
d) Choose a different comparison referent.
e) Quit their job.
7. Equity theory recognizes that individuals are concerned with both the ab­solute amount of rewards and the relation­ship of that amount to what others receive.
8. Inputs, such as effort, experience, edu­cation, and competence, are compared with outcomes such as salary levels, raises, recognition, and other factors.
9. Specifically, the theory establishes four propositions relating to inequitable pay:
a) Given payment by time, overrewarded employees will produce more than equitably paid employees.
b) Given payment by quantity of production, overrewarded employees will produce fewer but higher-quality units than equitably paid employees.
c) Given payment by time, underrewarded employees will produce less or a poorer quality of out­put.
d) Given payment by quantity of production, underrewarded employees will produce a large num­ber of low-quality units in comparison with equitably paid employees.
10. A review of the recent research tends to consistently confirm the equity the­sis:
a) Employee motivation is influenced significantly by relative rewards as well as by absolute rewards.
b) When employees perceive inequity, they will act to correct the sit­uation.
11. Problems with the theory.
a) Some key issues unclear.
(1) How do employees decide who is included in the "other" referent category?
(2) How do they define inputs and out­comes?
(3) How do they combine and weigh their inputs and outcomes to arrive at to­tals?
(4) When and how do the factors change over time?
12. Regardless of these prob­lems, equity theory has an impressive amount of research support and offers us some important insights into employee motivation.

E. Expectancy Theory
1. The most comprehensive explanation of motivation is expectancy theory.
2. Expectancy theory argues that the strength of a tendency to 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 that outcome to the individual.
3. Three variables:
a) Attractiveness—the importance the individual places on the potential outcome or reward that can be achieved on the job.
b) Performance/reward linkage—the degree to which the individual believes that performing at a particular level will lead to the attainment of a desired outcome.
c) Effort/performance linkage—the probability perceived by the individual that exerting a given amount of effort will lead to performance.
d) Exhibit 4-4 simplifies expectancy theory into its major contentions.
4. The strength of a person’s motivation to perform (effort) depends on how strongly she believes she can achieve what she attempts.
5. Four steps are inherent in the theory.
a) What perceived outcomes does the job offer the employee, positive or negative?
b) How attractive do employees consider these outcomes? Are they val­ued positively, negatively, or neutrally?
c) What kind of behavior must the employee exhibit in order to achieve these outcomes? The outcomes are not likely to have any effect on the individual employee’s performance unless the employee knows, clearly and unambiguously, what she must do in order to achieve them.
d) How does the employee view her chances of doing what is asked of her?
6. Issues
a) It emphasizes payoffs or rewards. As a result, rewards need to align with what the employee wants.
(1) This requires an understanding and knowledge of what value the individual puts on organizational payoffs.
b) Second, expectancy theory emphasizes expected behaviors.
c) Fi­nally, the theory is concerned with the individual’s expectations.

IV. DON’T FORGET: MOTIVATION THEORIES ARE CULTURE BOUND
A. Most current motivation theories were developed in the United States by Ameri­cans and about Americans.
1. The pro-American characteristic in these theories is the strong emphasis on individualism and quantity-of-life factors.
2. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory argues that people start at the physiologi­cal level and then move progressively up the hierarchy in this order: physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization.
a) This hierarchy aligns with American culture.
3. Another motivation concept with a U.S. bias is the achievement need.
4. Goal-setting theory is also certainly culture bound.
a) It assumes that subordinates will be reasonably independent (not too high a score on power distance), managers and subordinates will seek challenging goals (low in uncertainty avoidance), and performance is considered important by both (high in quantity of life).
b) Goal-setting theory’s recommendations are not likely to increase motivation in countries in which the opposite conditions exist, such as France, Por­tugal, and Chile.

V. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS
1. Many of the theories presented in this chapter have demonstrated reasonably strong predictive value.
2. How does a manager concerned with motivating employ­ees apply these theories?
3. Certain general suggestions can be extracted for applica­tion, at least for managers in North America. For instance, the following recommendations are consistent with the findings in this chapter:
a) Recognize individ­ual differences.
b) Match people to jobs.
c) Use goals.
d) Ensure that goals are perceived as attainable.
e) Individualize rewards.
f) Link rewards to performance.
g) Check the system for equity.
4. These suggestions, of course, would need to be modified to reflect cultural differences outside of North America.
5. The importance of motivating employees today justifies more specifics than the concepts we have just offered.
6. The next chapter builds on the concepts we have pre­sented here, providing a review of the more popular motivation techniques and programs.

SUMMARY
Motivation may be defined in terms of some outward behavior. It is the willingness to do something and is conditioned by this action’s ability to satisfy some need for the individual.
An unsatisfied need creates tension, which stimulates drives within the individual. These drives generate a search for particular goals that, if attained, will satisfy the need and lead to the reduction of tension.
The best-known approach to motivation is Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory. He hypothesized that every human being has an internal hierarchy of five needs: physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs. Maslow separated the five needs into higher and lower orders. Maslow’s need theory has received wide recognition, particularly among practicing managers. Research does not generally validate the theory.
Douglas McGregor proposed two distinct views of human beings. One basically neg­ative, labeled Theory X and the other basically positive, labeled Theory Y. If you accept McGregor’s analysis, Theory X as­sumes that lower-order needs dominate individuals and Theory Y assumes that higher-order needs dominate individuals. Unfortunately, no evidence confirms that either set of assumptions is valid.
The two-factor theory, motivation-hygiene theory, was pro­posed by psychologist Frederick Herzberg. He isolated certain characteristics, some consistently related to job satisfaction—internal factors—such as advancement, recognition, responsibility, and achievement. Others related to job dissatisfaction—extrinsic factors—such as supervision, pay, company poli­cies, and working conditions. His theory has been criticized for its methodology and reliability. Regardless of criticisms, Herzberg’s theory has been widely popularized, and few managers are unfamiliar with his recommendations.
David McClelland and others have proposed three major relevant motives or needs in the workplace—McClelland’s Theory of Needs. The need for achievement (hAch)—the drive to excel, to achieve in relation to a set of standards, to strive to succeed. The need for power (nPow)—the need to make others behave in a way they would not have behaved otherwise. The need for affiliation (nAff)—the desire for friendly and close interpersonal relationships.
Goal-setting theory is well supported by research. Intentions—expressed as goals—can be a major source of work motivation. The specificity of the goal itself acts as an inter­nal stimulus. Studies testing goal-setting theory have demonstrated the superiority of spe­cific and challenging goals as motivating forces.
A counterpoint to goal-setting theory is reinforcement theory. Reinforcement theory uses a behavioristic approach, which argues that reinforce­ment conditions behavior. Reinforcement theory ignores the inner state of the individual and concen­trates solely on what happens to a person when he or she takes some action.
Equity theory proposes that employees make comparisons. Employees compare their own job inputs and outcomes with those of others and any inequities can influence the degree of effort that employees exert. Equity theory says that employees weigh what they put into a job situation (input) against what they get from it (outcome) and then compare their input-outcome ratio with the input-outcome ratio of relevant others. If they perceive equity, they feel that their situation is fair, and that jus­tice prevails. If the ratios are unequal, inequity exists; that is, the employees tend to view themselves as underrewarded or overrewarded. Equity theory recognizes that individuals are concerned with both the ab­solute amount of rewards and the relation­ship of that amount to what others receive. A review of the recent research tends to consistently confirm the equity the­sis.
The most comprehensive explanation of motivation is expectancy theory. Expectancy theory argues that the strength of a tendency to 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 that outcome to the individual. There are three variables: attractiveness, the importance the individual places on the potential outcome or reward that can be achieved on the job; performance-reward linkage, or the degree to which the individual believes that performing at a particular level will lead to the attainment of a desired outcome; and effort-performance linkage, or the probability perceived by the individual that exerting a given amount of effort will lead to performance.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Outline the basic motivation process.
Answer - See Exhibit 4-1, page 44.

Describe Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory.
Answer - Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory is the best-known approach to motivation. He hypothesized that every human being has an internal hierarchy of five needs. As each is satisfied, the next need be­comes dominant. A substan­tially satisfied need no longer motivates. Maslow separated the five needs into higher and lower orders. Physiological and safety needs were lower order and were predominately satisfied externally. Social, esteem, and self-actualization were categorized as higher-order needs and are satisfied internally. The natural conclusion is that, in times of economic plenty, almost all permanently employed workers will have their lower-order needs substantially met. Maslow’s need theory has received wide recognition, particularly among practicing managers. This acceptance is due to the logic and ease with which the theory is intuitively understood. However, research does not generally validate the theory. There is little support found for the pre­diction that need structures are organized along the dimensions proposed.

Contrast Theory X and Theory Y.
Answer - Douglas McGregor proposed two distinct views of human beings, one basically neg­ative, labeled Theory X, and the other basically positive, labeled Theory Y. Each has four assumptions which tend to be the opposite of each other. Theory X assumptions: 1) Employees inherently dislike work and, whenever possible, will attempt to avoid it. 2) Since employees dislike work, they must be coerced, controlled, or threatened with punishment to achieve desired goals. 3) Employees will avoid responsibilities and seek formal direction whenever possible. 4) Most workers place security above all other factors associated with work and will display little ambition. Theory Y contrasting assumptions: 1) Employees can view work as being as natural as rest or play. 2) A person who is committed to the objectives will exercise self-direction and self-control. 3) The average person can learn to accept, even seek, responsibility. 4) The ability to make innovative decisions is widely dispersed throughout the population and not necessarily the sole province of those in man­agement. Theory X as­sumes that lower-order needs dominate individuals. Theory Y assumes that higher-order needs dominate individuals.

Differentiate motivators from hygiene factors.
Answer - The two-factor theory, motivation-hygiene theory, was pro­posed by psychologist Frederick Herzberg. He investigated the question, “What do people want from their jobs?” Research showed people replied significantly differently based on whether they felt good or bad about their jobs Internal factors such as advancement, recognition, responsibility, and achievement seem to be related to job satisfaction. Extrinsic factors  such as supervision, pay, company poli­cies, and working conditions relate to job dissatisfaction. The opposite of satisfaction is not dissat­isfaction. Removing dissatisfying characteristics from a job does not necessarily make the job satisfying. Managers who seek to eliminate factors that can create job dissatisfaction will be placating their workforce rather than motivating them. Conditions surrounding the job such as quality of su­pervision, pay, company policies, and so on, were characterized as hygiene factors. When they are adequate, people will not be dissatisfied; neither will they be satisfied. To motivate people, Herzberg suggested emphasizing factors as­sociated with the work itself or to outcomes directly derived from it, such as pro­motional opportunities,  personal growth opportunities, and so on.

While the three early theories of motivation have been heavily attacked and their validity called into question, why should you know these early theories?
Answer – Because (1) these early theories represent a foundation from which contemporary theories have grown, and (2) practicing managers regularly use these theories and their terminologies in explaining employee motivation.

List and define the three major relevant motives or needs in the workplace as identified by David McClelland and others.
Answer – The need for achievement (nAch) is the drive to excel, to achieve in relation to a set of standards, to strive to succeed.  The need for power (nPow) is the need to make others behave in a way they would not have behaved otherwise.  The need for affiliation (nAff) is the desire for friendly and close interpersonal relationships. 

List the characteristics that high achievers prefer in a job.
Answer - Some people have a compelling drive to succeed, but they are striving for personal achievement rather than the rewards of success. This drive is the need for achievement. McClelland found that high achievers differentiate themselves from others by their desire to do things better. They seek situations in which they can attain personal responsibil­ity for finding solutions to problems, receive rapid and unambiguous feedback on their performance, and set moderately challenging goals. They prefer working at a challenging problem and accepting the personal responsibility for success or fail­ure rather than leaving the outcome to chance or the actions of others. High achievers perform best when they perceive their probability of success as being 50-50. They like to set realistic but difficult goals that require stretching themselves a lit­tle.

Summarize the types of goals that increase performance.
Answer – Intentions expressed as goals can be a major source of work motivation. Difficult-to-achieve goals produce a higher level of output than a generalized goal of “do your best.” The specificity of the goal itself acts as an inter­nal stimulus. If factors such as ability and acceptance of the goals are held constant, we can also state that the more difficult the goals, the higher the level of performance. Participative goals may have no superiority over assigned goals when acceptance is taken as a given. Participation does increase the probability that more difficult goals will be agreed to and acted upon. Studies testing goal-setting theory have demonstrated the superiority of spe­cific and challenging goals as motivating forces.

Contrast reinforcement and goal-setting theories.
Answer - A counterpoint to goal-setting theory is reinforcement theory. The former is a cog­nitive approach, proposing that an individual’s purposes direct his or her actions. Reinforcement theory uses a behavioristic approach, which argues that reinforce­ment conditions behavior. The two theories are clearly at odds philosophically. Re­inforcement theorists see behavior as environmentally caused. What controls behavior are reinforcers—any consequences that, when immediately following a response, increase the probability that the behavior will be repeated. Reinforcement theory ignores the inner state of the individual and concen­trates solely on what happens to a person when he or she takes some action. Be­cause it does not concern itself with what initiates behavior, it is not, strictly speak­ing, a theory of motivation. But reinforcement is not the single explanation for differ­ences in employee motivation. Goals, for instance, have an impact on motivation; so, too, do levels of achievement, inequities in rewards, and expectations.

Explain equity theory.
Answer - Equity theory says that employees weigh what they put into a job situation (input) against what they get from it (outcome) and then compare their input-outcome ratio with the input-outcome ratio of relevant others. If they perceive equity, they feel that their situation is fair, that jus­tice prevails. If the ratios are unequal, inequity exists; that is, the employees tend to view themselves as underrewarded or overrewarded. When inequities occur, em­ployees will attempt to correct them. The referent that employees choose to compare themselves against is an im­portant variable in equity theory. The three-referent categories have been classi­fied as “other,” “system,” and “self.”
Other includes other individu­als with similar jobs in the same organization and also includes friends, neighbors, or professional associates.
System considers organizational pay policies and procedures as well as the administration of this system.
Self  refers to input-outcome ratios that are unique to the indi­vidual. This category is influenced by such criteria as past jobs or family commit­ments.
Equity theory recognizes that individuals are concerned with both the ab­solute amount of rewards and the relation­ship of that amount to what others receive. Inputs, such as effort, experience, edu­cation, and competence, are compared with outcomes such as salary levels, raises, recognition, and other factors. Specifically, the theory establishes four propositions relating to inequitable pay:
Given payment by time, overrewarded employees will produce more than equitably paid employees.
Given payment by quantity of production, overrewarded employees will produce fewer but higher-quality units than equitably paid employees.
Given payment by time, underrewarded employees will produce less or a poorer quality of out­put.
Given payment by quantity of production, underrewarded employees will produce a large num­ber of low-quality units in comparison with equitably paid employees.

Clarify the key relationships in expectancy theory.
Answer - The most comprehensive explanation of motivation is expectancy theory. Expectancy theory argues that the strength of a tendency to 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 that outcome to the individual. Expectancy theory has three variables: attractiveness, which is the importance the individual places on the potential outcome or reward that can be achieved on the job; performance-reward linkage, which is the degree to which the individual believes that performing at a particular level will lead to the attainment of a desired outcome; and effort-performance linkage, which is the probability perceived by the individual that exerting a given amount of effort will lead to performance. Exhibit 4-4 simplifies expectancy theory into its major contentions. Four steps are inherent in the theory.
First, what perceived outcomes does the job offer the employee—positive or negative?
Second, how attractive do employees consider these outcomes? Are they val­ued positively, negatively, or neutrally?
Third, what kind of behavior must the employee exhibit in order to achieve these outcomes? The outcomes are not likely to have any effect on the individual employee’s performance unless the employee knows, clearly and unambiguously, what she must do in order to achieve them.
Fourth, how does the employee view her chances of doing what is asked of her?

EXERCISES
A. What Motivates Me?
The goal of this exercise is to have students realize the complexity of motivation and how as managers they will probably use several different approaches. It should also give students insight into the different styles of their professors.
Ask students to take five minutes and to individually write down how they would motivate students to study, turn in assignments on time, and treat each other with respect in class.
Begin a class discussion, noting on the board the suggestions.
Next have the students individually categorize the suggestions by theory.
Lead a class discussion, noting on the board the general consensus as to which ideas belong to which theoretical approaches.
Finally, as a class, discuss how motivating each suggestion would be to them individually. Help students note that what some students think is motivational would not be to others. [Also, you will probably discover that some students will want to "motivate" others in ways they themselves would not like to be motivated.]

B. Hygiene or Motivator? That Is the question.
This exercise will help students differentiate between what really motivates, and what simply creates dissatisfaction, i.e. motivator versus hygiene factors.  Have the students identify what they expect to find waiting for them at the site of their first “real” job after they graduate.  The instructor can write this list on the board, or just simply have students verbally make suggestions.  Be sure they name things as simple as pens, pencils, paper, a desk, a chair, a computer, a telephone (do they want a shared line or a private line?), a light, heating and cooling/ climate control, OSHA standards (or would they mind sharing the work space with a few small mice and gas fumes?), and so on.

Then guide the students to identify what they truly would like to receive if they were rewarded for doing an outstanding job on a particular project that resulted in organizational profits.  These should be the true motivators.

Finish the discussion by relating the motivators and hygiene factors back to Hofstede’s quantity of life versus quality of life in a discussion of global motivation methods.  The worker from Sweden might not be as motivated by a new computer on a desk in a corner office with a view.