Intrinsic Motivation In Amazon, Delta & Hawaiian Airlines attached is the discussion instructions and the reading material. please respond substantively to

Intrinsic Motivation In Amazon, Delta & Hawaiian Airlines attached is the discussion instructions and the reading material. please respond substantively to the questions using the reading material and 1 outside scholarly source to support claims. Employee Motivation:
Search the Internet for at least 3 companies in an industry in which you aspire to work. In a
table, list the benefits these firms provide that are “intrinsic” in nature. Explain your rationale
based on the theories delineated in the course text. Evaluate why you think these benefits would
attract the right talent to the organization.
Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length. Support your claims with examples from
required material in addition to 1 outside scholarly source and properly cite any references.
3
Employee Motivation
Monkey Business/Thinkstock
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you will be able to:
1. Define motivation in the workplace.
2. Understand the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
3. Describe how needs influence motivation.
4. Understand how reinforcement and punishment influence behavior.
5. Understand the exchange relationship.
6. Discuss the impact of risk, agency, and goals on motivation.
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Section 3.1
Understanding Motivation
Introduction
The 2013 Bureau of Labor Statistics’ American Time Use Survey found that the typical working person in the United States spends more time on work-related activities than on any other
activity, including sleeping (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2013). While this specific finding
is not surprising to anyone who has or has had a job, it does bring up several questions. Why
do people spend so much time working? What motivates them to work as much as they do?
Do they work because they love their job? Is money the only reason people work?
In order to understand workplace behavior and how compensation and benefits fit into the
worker-employer relationship, we must consider not just what people do but also why they
do what they do. Therefore, both cognition (the “why”) and behavior (the “what”) play a role
in how a worker acts in the workplace. To put together an effective compensation and benefits plan, you must understand what motivates an employee to perform his or her job so you
know how best to reward an employee to get the behavior desired. Striking this motivational
balance is the focus of this chapter.
3.1 Understanding Motivation
Motivation can be defined as that which energizes, directs, and sustains behavior (see Campbell & Pritchard, 1976; Mayes, 1978; Vroom, 1964). Motivation helps guide behavior and
enables that behavior to continue. A key aspect of motivation is that a person’s perceptions
and emotions influence behavior. Thus, both conscious and unconscious thoughts determine
what behaviors will emerge, what direction they will take, and how long they will last.
In the workplace, an understanding of motivation is critically important because not only
do we want to initiate behavior, we want to instigate and sustain the right behavior (Kerr,
1975). The behavior that is being incentivized and rewarded is the one that will most often
occur. Behavior can be detrimental and even destructive just as often as it is productive. While
Americans spend more time at work than in other activities, most Americans are not engaged
in their work (Gallup, 2014). Thus, organizations need to look at how employees are motivated in the workplace and implement methods to increase that motivation. To be successful,
employers need to reward behavior that fulfills organizational objectives and meets legal and
ethical requirements and not reward behavior that leads to lawsuits, mismanagement, and
inefficiency.
Consider the father of scientific management, Frederick W. Taylor (introduced in Chapter 1),
and his emphasis on time-motion studies to improve the efficiency of workers. Taylor formulated his ideas and practices shortly after the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in
the United States, at a time when the economy was undergoing a shift from agriculture to
manufacturing.
Historically, workers on farms and skilled independent craftspeople made their own decisions about how work was to be performed. With the shift to manufacturing, however, this
was no longer the case. Instead of workers making their own decisions, the company’s management made the decisions and then dictated them to the worker.
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Understanding Motivation
Section 3.1
This is where Frederick Taylor comes
in. Taylor believed there was one
best way to perform each job. That
way would involve breaking the job
into simple tasks that could easily be
taught to unskilled and semiskilled
laborers. The premise was to dictate
to the worker the most efficient way to
perform the job. This would result in
a win-win situation for all. The worker
would perform in the best way possible and would be paid for such work
in a fair manner—or, as Taylor phrased
it, “a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s
work”—and management would have
DigitalVision/Thinkstock
hardworking, efficient workers, which According to Taylor’s belief, each worker would
would lead to good profits for the com- be responsible for a simple task that could be perpany. Taylor saw himself as a champion formed quickly, but the efficiency-focused model
of the working class and was caught by was poorly received.
surprise when he was accused of cruelty and even called before Congress to
justify his methods and actions. What Taylor forgot was that people are not machines and are
not always interested in maximizing efficiency and profit. A fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work
wasn’t all that they wanted.
A few years after Taylor’s work and the advent of scientific management, a group of Harvard
researchers started studying worker productivity at Hawthorne Works, a large factory complex outside Chicago, that was part of Western Electric Corporation. The purpose of the study
was to find out what it would take to improve productivity. The study began in 1927, yet did
not conclude until 1932. The reason it took so long to conclude the study was because the
researchers were perplexed. Here’s why.
If the researchers improved ventilation by, for example, opening windows or adding fans,
they noted that productivity improved. This was an anticipated result. If they increased lighting, productivity improved. Again, a good result and what they expected. In attempting to
understand the underlying causes, they decreased ventilation and discovered that productivity remained higher than before they began their research. Not what they expected. They
removed the extra lighting, and productivity again continued to remain higher than where it
started. The researchers didn’t understand why they were getting the opposite results from
what they expected. They were making the working conditions worse, so it should have made
productivity worse. Instead, it seemed that whatever the researchers did, the productivity of
the workers would increase, and once it increased, it would remain at the higher level upon
the removal of the stimulus that appeared to cause the original positive increase.
What finally helped the researchers interpret their results correctly was their somewhat
casual observation that employees in the room immediately adjacent to the workers being
studied also improved their own productivity despite not directly experiencing any of the
changes to working conditions. It appeared that the researchers moving through the adjacent
work area and occasionally interacting with the workers helped motivate better performance
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The Employment Relationship and Work Motivation
Section 3.2
results. Simply being a part of the research study, or even just interacting with those who
were, changed performance.
As a result of this influential study, it became
evident that both social interactions and the
Critical Thinking
mental interpretations of actions by people
while at work were at least as important in
Why is the understanding of motivation
determining overall performance as were
a critical component to effective
the tools and equipment used (Roethliscompensation and benefits practices?
berger & Dickson, 1939/2003). Similar
results have been found in further research
in social sciences (Muse & Stamper, 2007),
medical science (Mangione-Smith, Elliott,
McDonald, & McGlynn, 2002), and other fields. Due to studies such as these, it became clear
that there is more to workers’ behavior than just the work they do and what they get paid.
3.2 The Employment Relationship and Work Motivation
Any employment relationship is based in part on an unwritten, psychological contract between
the employee and employer (Rousseau, 1989). Employees bring to the table their knowledge,
education, skills, effort, and time. The employer then provides tangible and intangible incentives (such as salary, benefits, prestige, and affiliation) to the employee. This exchange influences the mutual beliefs, perceptions, and informal obligations shared between the employer
and employee.
As part of this relationship, it is necessary to consider similarities and differences between
the employees and the organization for which they work. In the academic literature this is
called person–organization (P-O) fit and is defined by Kristof (1996) as “the compatibility
between people and organizations that occurs when (a) at least one entity provides what the
other needs, (b) they share similar fundamental characteristics, or (c) both.” Inherent in this
definition, and often forgotten in organizations, is that two entities are involved in determining fit—the individual and the organization.
There are two perspectives to everything work related—the organization’s view and the
individual’s view. The organization is wanting to attract people with the right abilities and
competencies so that they will be productive in their jobs, which will lead to success for the
company. The individual is concerned about whether the organization offers what he or she
needs in terms of money, benefits, opportunities, and so on, and whether the values of the
organization align with his or her own values.
We all begin the employment relationship with an individual perspective. We are concerned
with how much money we will make, the duties of the job, what the commute to work will be
like, and many other factors. The longer we have been in a job, however, the more we take on
the organization’s perspective. While this represents an alignment between individual and
organizational needs over time, it can lead to errors and misjudgments on the part of the
organization and those who work within it. For example, one of the most common mistakes
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The Employment Relationship and Work Motivation
Section 3.2
interviewers make is to forget that applicants are not only being evaluated but also evaluating
the company. Both authors of this text have turned down job offers from potential employers
based on negative impressions gained from the interview process, and our experience is by
no means unique.
Both views are important and must be taken into account. However, since policies and procedures are put in place by the company, the organization’s perspective often gets top priority.
This can lead to detrimental effects on motivation due to the individual’s perspectives not
being incorporated as policies and procedures are set and can result in high turnover, bad
morale, and other negative effects for the company. In order to incorporate the individual’s
perspective in company decisions, an understanding of what motivates employees is a critical
element.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines work as “an activity in which one exerts strength or
faculties to do or perform something” (“Work,” n.d.). Adding to this, as we’ve mentioned in the
previous section, motivation can be viewed as energizing, directing, and sustaining behaviors
necessary to accomplish goals. Therefore, for successful execution of work duties, the proper
motivation needs to be put into place to initiate and direct the behaviors that cause one to
exert “strength or faculties” to accomplish work objectives.
iStock/Thinkstock
Working from home can blur the distinction
between work hours and nonwork hours, but
employees with this less traditional option are often
more motivated.
To understand motivation in a work
context, however, it is first necessary to
understand the setting in which work
is done. Historically, when society was
agricultural in nature, the distinctions
between work and home were blurred.
Individuals lived on the farm where
they worked, and they spent “from
sunup to sundown” working on chores
around the farm. With the Industrial
Revolution, work done for a livelihood
became segregated from other aspects
of our lives based on location and time.
Workers left the farms and went to factories to work. There was now a distinction between when they were at
work versus at home. This also led to
splitting time into work hours versus
nonwork hours.
In today’s technology-centered work, the lines have become blurred again. We still think of
“being at work” or “during work hours,” but those periods are not as concrete. Work hours
have extended as companies offer early- and late-hour customer service. Technological
changes increasingly make it easier for work to be done at home as we check work emails and
take business calls. Additionally, home has blurred into work as we check personal emails,
surf the Internet, and take personal calls on our cell phone while at work.
Today, many employees telecommute or work at home for part of their workweek, and it
has been found that remote employees were often more motivated than those who work
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Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation
Section 3.3
traditional jobs in the workplace (Gallup, 2014). So, rather than time or location distinguishing between motivation in general and work motivation the goal to be accomplished
is the key element. The question then becomes, Is this goal set from an individual or an
organizational perspective? The best scenario from a motivational standpoint aligns both
perspectives.
Many theories have been proposed to explain the motivation behind people’s actions. In the
remainder of this chapter, we will discuss the major theories that have been used to explain
motivation, with an emphasis on those theories that have the most important influence on
understanding the relationship between compensation and benefits with worker behavior.
Keep in mind that there is no one best theory that describes motivation in all situations.
Instead, theories have limitations and work better in some situations than in others (Mayes,
1978). Each theory has something to add in explaining behavior, and by considering both the
individual and the specific work context, motivation can be understood and compensation
systems can be designed to maximize the attainment of organizational goals.
3.3 Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation
Motivation can either originate from within the person or be imposed on the person from outside. Intrinsic motivation is behavior done due to reasons that originate within the person,
while extrinsic motivation is behavior done based on factors external to the person. With
intrinsic motivation, the behavior is done because the behavior itself provides the reward,
while with extrinsic motivation, the behavior is done to earn an external reward. To understand the difference between the two, let’s take studying as an example. For someone who is
intrinsically motivated, studying to learn and understand the material is a reward itself. That
is why that particular student studies—to gain knowledge. For someone who is extrinsically
motivated, the reward is something external to the person, such as a good grade or praise
from the teacher. That is why the student studies—to gain that external reward of a good
grade or praise. Both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation can exist for the same behavior.
In the workplace, intrinsic motivation reflects employees’ psychological mind-sets that result
from performing their jobs and includes feelings of satisfaction and accomplishment. Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, reflects mechanisms and policies put in place by the company to reward its employees and includes both monetary and nonmonetary incentives for
obtaining certain job-performance levels and for acquiring new skills and knowledge. Monetary rewards are composed of core compensation in the form of salary and bonuses, and nonmonetary rewards consist of benefits such as insurance and paid time off. As a general rule
of thumb, organizational development professionals promote intrinsic motivation through
job design, and compensation professionals are responsible for extrinsic motivation. This
demarcation is not absolute, however, and both may use either type of motivation to support
organizational goals. For example, a compensation professional may use an employee recognition plan, which supports intrinsic motivation, along with a bonus plan, which encourages
extrinsic motivation, as part of an effective compensation and benefits design.
One aspect to watch out for with intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is that sometimes extrinsic rewards that are contingent on performance decrease the perceived value of intrinsic
rewards (Campbell & Pritchard, 1976). In other words, providing an external incentive for
desired behavior may decrease internal motivation for the same behavior (for more on this,
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Section 3.4
Needs-Based Motivation
see Daniel Pink’s book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us [2011]). Many
parents encounter this issue when deciding whether or not to provide monetary incentives
to their children for receiving good grades at school since paying for good grades provides an
extrinsic reward, but that extrinsic reward may take away from the intrinsic reward of learning for the sake of knowledge. Of course, the actuality is not this simple and workers are not
the same as students.
Let’s consider incentives in the work context, using a car salesperson as an example. Upon
beginning a new job, a car salesperson may be rewarded upon the sale of the first car and then
receive bonuses when certain milestones are met—such as after 10 cars, 50 cars, and so on.
What happens when the next milestone seems far out of reach (e.g., 10 cars have been sold
and a new bonus won’t be given until 50 cars have been sold)? The salesperson will just
receive normal pay for making a lot—40—more sales. Will the salesperson work harder to
reach the distant goal of selling 50 cars? Probably not. In all likelihood, the extrinsic incentive
of a bonus for selling a certain number of cars will only have an impact when the next goal
seems to be within reach. The intrinsic reward of doing a good job may not be enough to
maintain performance in between goals if extrinsic motivation is the primary influence on
that particular employee’s performance. In that case, the extrinsic reward of a bonus overshadows the intrinsic motivation gained from being a good salesperson, thereby decreasing
performance when the goal is not within reach or obtainable.
As we will discuss later in this chapter when
covering reinforcement, external rewards can
lead to long-term changes in behavior. A classic paper in the management literature (see
Kerr, 1975) deals with the all-too-common
error of rewarding the wrong behavior. As we
mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, it
is the behavior that is rewarded, not necessarily the behavior we desire, that will occur.
Critical Thinking
Which type of motivation are you most
driven by: intrinsic or extrinsic?
3.4 Needs-Based Motivation
Needs-based theories of motivation are centered on the assumption that everyone po…
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