Chapter 6: Motivation II: Applied Concepts

课 题 Chapter 6: Motivation II: Applied Concepts

通过本章学习，能够深刻领会当代激励理论的内涵，如 ERG 理
教学目标
论、麦克利兰成就需要理论等。
1.张德，《组织行为学》，清华大学出版社，2000 年。
2.[美]罗宾斯，《组织行为学》（第 14 版），中国人民大学出
版社，2012 年。
3.周文霞等，《组织行为学教学案例精选》，复旦大学出版
社，1998 年。
参考教材
4.俞文钊，《管理心理学》（上、下册），东方出版中心，2002
参考书目、文
年。
献
5.苏东水，《管理心理学》，复旦大学出版社，2002 年。
6. [美]安杰洛 基尼奇， 《组织行为学：关键概念、技能与最
佳实践》（第四版，注释版），中国人民大学出版社，2011.
7.张岩松，王艳洁. 《组织行为学——理论、案例、实训》，清
华大学出版社，2016 年。

教学重难点 当代不同时期激励理论的内容。

教学方法
讲授课、讨论课
教学手段
课程类别 √理论课 □实验课 □技能课
课 时 □1 课时 □2 课时 □3 课时 √4 课时
教学设计 详见后页

Chapter 6:
Motivation II: Applied Concepts

Chapter Overview

This chapter builds on the last chapter and focuses on applying motivational concepts in
the workplace.

Chapter Objectives

75
After studying this chapter, the student should be able to:
1. Describe the ways in which employees can be motivated by changing their work
environment.
2. Compare and contrast the three main ways jobs can be redesigned.
3. Give examples of employee involvement measures and show how they can
motivate employees.
4. Describe the four major strategic rewards decisions.
5. Demonstrate how the different types of variable-pay programs can increase
employee motivation.
6. Describe how the application of motivation theories varies across cultures.

Suggested Lecture Outline Slide

# 6-1
I. INTRODUCTION

Simply knowing about motivational theories is not enough to make

managers effective. Managers must be able to apply these theories
in the workplace to increase worker motivation. This chapter will Slide
review the job characteristics model, discuss some ways jobs can # 6-2
redesigned, and then explore some alternative work arrangements.

II. MOTIVATING BY CHANGING THE NATURE OF THE

WORK ENVIRONMENT
Slide
One of the most effective ways to increase motivation in the # 6-3
workplace is to design jobs with motivational theories in mind.

Job Design: the way the elements in the job are organized.

A. The Job Characteristics Model (JCM).

1. Designed by Hackman and Oldham, the JCM proposes that

any job can be described in terms of five core job Exhibit
Exhibit
dimensions: # 6-1
# 6-1
a. Skill Variety: described as the degree to which the job
requires a variety of different activities so the worker Slide
can use a number of different skills and talents. # 6-4

b. Task Identity: this is the degree to which the job

requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of
work.

c. Task Significance: the degree to which the job has a

substantial impact on the lives or work of other people.

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 Chapter 6: Motivation II: Applied Concepts

These first three characteristics make up the factor

called “experienced meaningfulness.” If experienced
meaningfulness exists in a job, the model predicts that
the incumbent will view the job as being important,
valuable, and worthwhile.

d. Autonomy: the degree to which the job provides

substantial freedom, independence, and discretion to the
individual in scheduling the work and determining the
procedures to be used in carrying it out. Jobs that
possess autonomy give employees a feeling of personal
responsibility for the results.

e. Feedback: the degree to which carrying out the work

activities required by the job results in the individual
obtaining direct and clear information about the
effectiveness of his or her performance. Jobs that
provide feedback lets employees know how effectively
they are performing.

2. Organizational Outcomes: According to the JCM model,

designing jobs properly with these five dimensions Slide
provides individuals with internal rewards. This occurs # 6-5
because feedback allows individuals to learn (knowledge of
the results) that they personally (experienced responsibility)
have performed well on a task that they care about
(experienced meaningfulness). The more these three
psychological states are present, the greater will be the
employee's motivation, performance, and satisfaction.
Well-designed jobs also tend to lead to lower absenteeism
and turnover.

3. Growth as a Moderating Factor. The individual

employee’s growth need (the employee's desire for self-
esteem and self-actualization) modifies the effects of these
five dimensions. Typically, workers with a high growth
need respond better to JCM job enhancements than those
with low growth needs.

4. Motivating Jobs. Jobs with high motivating potential must

be high on both autonomy and feedback and on at least one
of the three factors of experienced meaningfulness. The
model predicts that motivating jobs will positively affect
motivation, performance, and satisfaction and reduce the
likelihood of absence and turnover.

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 5. Research Results. Most evidence supports the general
framework of the JCM model and the theory that supports
it: that the characteristics of the model affect behavioral
outcomes. In general, jobs that contain the five JCM
dimensions tend to be more satisfying and generate higher
performance and job satisfaction, than jobs that lack those
characteristics. However, the use of one of the complex
tools of the model (the Motivating Potential Score - MPS)
is not supported.

B. How Can Jobs Be Redesigned? Jobs can be redesigned using

Slide
a number of different techniques.
# 6-6
1. Job Rotation (or Cross-Training). Helpful when
employees suffer from excessively routine work. This
technique is the periodic shifting of an employee from one
task to another.

a. Strengths. The strengths of job rotation are (1) it

reduces boredom, (2) it increases motivation through
diversifying the employee's activities, and (3) it helps
employees understand how their work contributes to the
organization.

b. Costs. Job rotation increases training costs and reduces

productivity by moving a worker into a new position
just as that worker is becoming efficient in the old
position. There may be social disruptions: members of
the workgroup have to adjust to the new employee and
supervisors have to spend more time monitoring the
newly-rotated employees.

2. Job Enlargement. This is increasing the number and

variety of tasks that an individual performs in his or her
job. Note: the primary difference between job rotation and
job enlargement is that in job enlargement the job itself is
actually changed, while in job rotation the jobs are not
changed. Job enlargement efforts have met with very
mixed results in terms of increasing employee motivation.

3. Job Enrichment. This refers to the vertical expansion of

jobs. It increases the degree to which the worker controls
the planning, execution, and evaluation of the work.

a. Purpose. The purpose is to allow the worker to

complete an entire activity, which increases the
employee's freedom, independence, and responsibility. Slide
# 6-7

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Exhibit
Exhibit
##6-2
6-2
 Chapter 6: Motivation II: Applied Concepts

In order for job enrichment to work there must be

sufficient feedback so employees will be able to assess
and correct their own performance.

b. JCM Guidelines for Job Enrichment:

1) Combining tasks: takes existing and fractionalized

tasks and reforms them into a new larger module of
work.

2) Forming natural work units: the tasks are combined

to create an identifiable and meaningful whole work
unit for the employee.

3) Establishing client relationships: creating a direct

linkage between workers and their clients. Note:
this includes internal as well as external clients.

4) Expanding jobs vertically: allow employees some of

the responsibilities and control formally reserved
for management.

5) Opening feedback channels: allows employees to

know how well they are performing their jobs.

c. Research Results. Generally, job enrichment has

shown that it reduces absenteeism and turnover while
increasing satisfaction. However, the results on
productivity are inconclusive. Recent evidence
suggests that job enrichment works best when it
compensates for poor feedback and reward systems.

C. Alternative Work Arrangements. Another means of

increasing motivation in the workplace is to alter the typical Slide
work arrangements. There are three major ways to accomplish # 6-8
this.

1. Flextime. Flextime refers to the use of "flexible work

hours." Flextime allows employees some discretion over Exhibit
Exhibit
when they arrive at work and when they can leave. ##6-3
6-3
Employees have to work a specific number of hours per
week, but they are free to vary the hours of work within
certain limits.

a. Core Period. Typically, all workers must be in the

office during a core period. This core period may be as
long as six hours, with the remaining two work hours
scheduled at the employee's convenience.

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 b. Benefits. Flextime has been credited for reducing
absenteeism, overtime expenses, hostility toward
management, traffic congestion, and tardiness while
increasing productivity and job satisfaction.

c. Research Results. Most evidence seems to back up the

listed benefits of flextime. The use of this technique is
not applicable to every job. It does work well for
clerical tasks, where interaction with outside
individuals is limited, but is inappropriate for jobs with
comprehensive service demands during predetermined
hours.

2. Job Sharing. This scheduling innovation allows two or

more individuals to split a single traditional 40-hour-a-
week job among them. While this technique is readily
available, it seems to be rarely used by employees. The
greatest difficulty is finding compatible pairs of employees
who are willing to work part time. The potential benefit for
the organization is a wider talent base, and for the
individuals involved, greater scheduling freedom.

3. Telecommuting (or Working from the Virtual Office). This

refers to employees who do their work remotely for at least
two days a week using a computer linked to their office.

a. Appropriate Jobs. The three most appropriate

categories for telecommuting are jobs that deal with (1)
routine information-handling tasks, (2) mobile
activities, and (3) professional and other knowledge-
related tasks.

b. Benefits.

1) For organizations telecommuting results in a larger

labor pool, higher productivity, less turnover,
improve morale, and reduced office-space costs.

2) For employees telecommuting can result in a great

cost savings. The hours and gas used commuting
and dry cleaning bills for office clothes may see
significant reduction.

c. Drawbacks.

1) For organizations: managers with telecommuting

workforces have far less direct supervision of their

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 Chapter 6: Motivation II: Applied Concepts

employees. Telecommuting may make teamwork

more difficult.

2) For employees: employees with high social needs

may feel isolated and have reduced job satisfaction
as result of telecommuting. There is also a danger
that because they are not in the office environment
on a daily basis, they will be overlooked for
promotions and perhaps receive lower performance
assessments.

III. EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT

Employee Involvement: a participative process that uses the Slide

input of employees to increase their commitment to the # 6-9
organization's success.

The logic behind employee involvement is that by involving

workers in decisions that affect them and by increasing their
autonomy and control over their work lives, employees will
become more motivated, more committed to the organization,
more productive, and more satisfied with their jobs.

There are two major types of employee involvement programs.

A. Participative Management. Participative management is the

use of joint decision-making in an organization.
Slide
1. Requirements. In order for this type of decision making to # 6-10
work it requires the following conditions to be met:

a. Relevance. The issues with which the employees get

involved must be relevant to their interests,

b. Competence. Employees must have the competence

and knowledge necessary to make a useful contribution,
and

c. Good Faith. All parties, management and employees,

must have trust and confidence in each other.

2. Research Results. The findings on the use of this technique

have been mixed. It appears that participation in decision-
making only has a modest influence on employee
productivity, motivation, and job satisfaction.

B. Representative Participation. This technique from Western

Slide
Europe is a legislated form of participation. Representatives of
# 6-11

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 employees are legally mandated to be placed on an
organization's board (or on works councils who must be
consulted regarding management’s personnel decisions) to
represent the interests of the workers.

1. Purpose. The desire to redistribute power within an

organization by giving the interests of labor a more of an
equal footing with those of management and stockholders.

2. Research Results. Thus far, it appears that this mandatory

form of employee involvement has minimal impact on the
employees. It may be motivational for those employees
selected to represent the other workers, but it does not
appear to motivate workers in general.

IV. USING REWARDS TO MOTIVATE EMPLOYEES

While pay is not a primary factor driving job satisfaction, it does Slide
motivate people – and contribute to turnover, especially of top # 6-12
performers.

There are four strategic reward decisions that need to be made in

order to establish an effective pay and rewards system: (1) what to
pay employees, (2) how to pay them, (3) what benefits to offer and
(4) how to recognize them.
Slide
A. What to Pay: Establishing a Pay Structure. Setting pay # 6-13
levels can be a complex activity and entails balancing the
following two values.

1. Internal Equity: the worth of the job to the organization,

usually established through a technical process called job
evaluation.

2. External Equity: the external competitiveness of an

organization's pay relative to pay elsewhere in the industry,
normally established through pay surveys.

3. Establishing internal and external equity is strategically

important, because relative pay can make a great difference
in the skill level of employees that are attracted to the
organization and turnover rate, therefore affecting both
training and replacement costs.

B. How to Pay: Rewarding. Individual Employees Through

Variable-Pay Programs. Rather than paying a person only Slide
for time on the job or seniority, a variable-pay program bases a # 6-14
portion of an employee’s pay some individual and/or

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 Chapter 6: Motivation II: Applied Concepts

organizational measure of performance. These programs

attempt to tie pay directly to productivity and performance, but
often employees do not see the connection.

There are seven major types of variable-pay programs:

1. Piece-Rate Pay. In these programs, workers are paid a

fixed sum for each unit of production completed. These
plans may or may not have a base salary attached to them.
Those plans without a base salary are termed pure piece-
rate plans. There are also modified plans that pay a lower
base hourly wage plus a piece-rate differential.

2. Merit-Based Pay. These individual plans modify pay based

on performance appraisal ratings.

a. Advantage. The advantage of these plans is that

employers can differentiate pay based on performance,
so that high performers are given bigger raises.

b. Disadvantages. However, it should be noted that these

plans are only as valid as the appraisals are based on.
Additionally, the pay raise pool from which the merit
pay monies are taken may be too low to provide a
sufficient level of incentive pay.

3. Bonuses. Bonuses, extra money paid for a specific event or

organizational achievement, are becoming more common
even in the lower levels of organizations. One advantage
of using bonuses is that they reward employees for recent
performance rather than historical performance. However,
employees may prefer base pay increases to the variable
bonuses.

4. Skill-Based Pay (competency-based or knowledge-based

pay). These plans are an alternative to job-based pay.
They pay workers for increasing their skill set at the job,
rather than for advancements in position or job titles.

a. Advantages. This pay scheme increases workforce Slide

flexibility and makes management's job far easier when # 6-15
it comes to replacing or changing employees for a
specific task. Communication throughout the
organization also benefits.

b. Disadvantages. Employees can "top out" when they

learn all the relevant skills in the program. There may

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 not see any immediate need for the skills and
management will be forced to pay for them anyway.

5. Profit-Sharing Plans. These are organization-wide

programs to distribute compensation based on some
established formula designed around a company's
profitability. Rewards can be given in the form of cash, or
for top management, allocations of stock options.

6. Gainsharing. This is a formula-based group incentive plan.

Group productivity improvements from one period to
another determine the total amount of money that is to be
allocated -- even when the organization is not profitable.
Gainsharing is different from profit sharing because
rewards are tied to productivity gains, not profitability.

7. Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs). These are

company-established benefit plans in which employees can
acquire stock, often at below-market prices, as part of their
benefits. Research has shown that these plans do increase
employee satisfaction, but their impact on performance is
less clear. In situations where the employees do feel like
owners, the impact on organizational performance can be
quite dramatic.

C. Evaluation of Variable Pay. Variable-pay plans may increase

motivation and productivity. Organizations with profit-sharing
plans tend to be more profitable and those with gainsharing
tend to have greater productivity and better employee attitudes.
It does appear that pay does increase productivity, but it does
not appear that everyone responds positively to variable-pay
plans.

D. What Benefit to Offer: Flexible Benefits. Flexible benefit Slide

plans (often known as cafeteria-style benefit packages) allow # 6-16
each employee to put together a benefit package individually
tailored to his or her own needs and situation to maximize the
motivational potential of these benefits.

There are three basic types of flexible benefit plans:

1. Modular Plans. These are predesigned packages of

benefits, where each module is put together to meet the
needs of a specific type of employee, such as single
parents, families with children, or single individuals.

2. Core-Plus Plans. These plans consist of a core of essential

benefits and a menu-like selection of other benefit options

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 Chapter 6: Motivation II: Applied Concepts

from which employees can select to add to the core.

Normally each employee is given a certain number of
credits from which to purchase additional benefits that
uniquely meet his or her needs.

3. Flexible Spending Plans. This allows employees to set

aside a certain dollar amount to pay for particular benefit
services. The employees end up paying for their own
premiums out of this fund and can realize a tax savings by
having the money taken out of their check before taxes.

E. Intrinsic Rewards: How to Construct Employee Slide

Recognition Programs. In addition to extrinsic reward # 6-17
methods (compensation), intrinsic rewards are increasingly
becoming more important in the workplace. Not only are most
recognition programs very effective in increasing long-run
motivation, they're also relatively inexpensive, if not in fact, Exhibit
Exhibit
free. ##6-4
6-4

It should be noted however, that these recognition programs are

prone to misuse in situations where employee performance is
not easily determined. Managers can be accused of favoritism,
if it becomes obvious that praise is being directed toward an
undeserving person. This perception can lower employee
morale and satisfaction.

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V. GLOBAL IMPLICATIONS

A. Do Motivational Approaches Vary by Culture?

Slide
1. Job Characteristics and Job Enrichment. Job enrichment # 6-18
strategies may not have the same effects in collectivistic
cultures that they do in individualistic cultures such as the
United States.

2. Telecommuting. Very common in the United States, less so

in Europe and other parts of the world, but the research is
currently lacking for a definitive answer.

3. Variable Pay. While intuitively, it would appear that

individual variable pay programs work better
individualistic countries and group incentives work better
in collectivistic cultures, there is not enough research to
make a clear statement.

4. Flexible Benefits. The use of this type of benefits is

increasing worldwide, but at this point, it is unknown
whether employee reactions will vary by culture.

5. Employee Involvement. It is important to modify practices

to reflect national culture when it comes to employee
involvement.

VI. IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGERS

Slide
A. Basic Motivational Guidelines: # 6-19

1. Recognize and Allow for Individual Differences.

2. Use Specific Goals and Feedback.

3. Allow Employees to Participate in Decisions That Affect

Them.

4. Link Rewards to Performance.

5. Ensure the Reward System Is Equitable.

B. Keep in Mind…

1. Despite individual differences, most people respond well to Slide

intrinsic job characteristics of the JCM. # 6-20
2. It is not clear that employee involvement programs have
fulfilled their promise – use caution.

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 Chapter 6: Motivation II: Applied Concepts

3. Variable pay plans can enhance employee motivation when Slide

done correctly. # 6-21

Discussion Questions
1. In what ways can employees be motivated through changing the work
environment?

Answer: Employees can be motivated by changing the nature of the work

environment in any of the following ways: (1) modifying the five dimensions of the
JCM (skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback), (2)
redesigning jobs through job rotation, enlargement, enrichment, and/or (3)
creating alternative work arrangements such as flextime, job sharing, or
telecommuting.

2. Compare and contrast the means in which jobs can be redesigned.

Answer: Jobs can be redesigned through job rotation, enlargement, enrichment.

Job rotation keeps the individual jobs constant and rotates workers through each
job. Job enlargement increases the scope of the job, making it “wider”—the job
itself is changed. With job enrichment, again the job is changed, but this time,
vertically: more managerial functions are added to the job, making it “taller.”
All three techniques attempt to increase motivation: rotation by changing the
employees through various jobs, and enlargement and enrichment by changing
the job.

3. Why would managers want to use employee involvement programs?

Answer: By involving workers in the decisions that affect them and by increasing
their autonomy and control over their work lives, employees will become more
motivated, more committed to the organization, more productive, and more
satisfied with their jobs.

4. What are the four major strategic rewards decisions?

Answer: There are four strategic reward decisions that need to be made in order
to establish an effective pay and rewards system: (1) what to pay employees – the
pay structure (2) how to pay them – variable pay programs (3) what benefits to
offer – flexible benefits programs and (4) how to recognize them – intrinsic
rewards through rewards programs.

5. Choose a variable-pay program and describe its motivational impact.

Answer: Answers will vary based on the choice. In general, these key points
should be made. Piece-rate pay motivates productivity by linking output directly
to pay. Merit-based pay motivates toward organizational outcomes by linking

87
 appraisals to pay. Bonuses motivate by incentivizing recent performance. Skill-
based pay motivates employees toward learning by rewarding them for it. Profit-
sharing plans attempt to motivate employees toward organizational goals,
specifically profits. Gainsharing plans motivate employees toward productivity
gains. ESOPs motivate toward organizational outcomes through ownership.

6. Can motivational theories be applied across cultures?

Answer: Most likely, motivational theories cannot be directly applied without

some modification based on culture. However, there is insufficient research in
most cases, to make definitive statements. Students may give intuitive statements,
such as individual rewards work best individualistic cultures, but they should be
cautioned against accepting intuition as fact.

Exercises
1. Self-analysis. Think back to the job or activity that you found to be the most
motivational in your life. Describe the aspects of the job that made it so exciting
for you. What type, or types, of motivational techniques were used in that job or
activity? If you are the manager in your current job, how could you apply those
techniques in that environment?

2. Web Crawling. Using your favorite search engine, find an additional

motivational technique, not mentioned in the chapter. Fully describe and cite this
technique. Using the motivational theories from Chapter 5, explain why you
believe it would work and under what conditions you think it would prove most
effective.

3. Teamwork. As a small group, assume you are a consultancy firm that specializes
in motivational techniques and job redesign. The college administration has come
to you and asked that you examine the college bookstore (or some other entity on
the campus) and can provide them with suggestions for increasing the motivation
of the employees there. Assess the current work environment and write up your
suggestions using the motivational theories and techniques given in Chapters 5
and 6.

4. Analyzing Your Organization (Cumulative Project). Assess the motivational

techniques, (both extrinsic and intrinsic), used at your workplace. Describe the
techniques you were able to identify and assess their effectiveness in your work
environment. If any of the techniques were ineffective, provide some suggestions
for increasing the effectiveness of those techniques.

5. Dueling Experts. For this activity, select two teams of four people each, one
moderator (Master of Ceremonies- MC), one scorekeeper, and one timekeeper.
The rest of the class will act as a studio audience (but they also have tasks to
perform).

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 Chapter 6: Motivation II: Applied Concepts

Setup: (ensure the class is very familiar with the concepts in both Chapters 5 and
6 before attempting this activity).

a. One of the two groups of four will act as Abraham Maslow. The other
group will act as Fredrick Herzberg. Allow the teams five to 10 minutes
to review their materials on these two motivational theorists.

b. The moderator will act as the MC for the debate and read questions to the
two panels. (The instructor may decide to act as MC.)

c. While the groups are preparing, the audience should write down questions
regarding their concerns over the motivational effectiveness of job
rotation, job enrichment, and job enlargement on 3 x 5 cards.

d. The debate works this way:

i. A question from the audience is selected and read aloud to both

teams by the MC.

ii. The MC selects one panel and gives them two minutes to respond
to the question based on the views of the theorist they represent.
Timekeeper will give five second warning and stop the panel when
two minutes are up.

iii. The MC will then give the second panel their two minutes to
express their theorist's viewpoint. Again, the timekeeper will give
warning and stop the panel when time is up.

iv. The MC will give the first group a one-minute rebuttal of the
second panel's argument. Then the second group has one minute
to rebut the first. Timekeeper will ensure deadlines are met.

v. After the second rebuttal, the audience should be asked to vote as

to which motivational theorist won the current point.

vi. The debate cycle then begins anew with another card from the
audience. This continues as time allows or until there are no more
questions from the audience.

vii. The panel with the most points at the end of the activity wins.

89