Chapter 8: Employee Behavior and Motivation

Forms of Employee Behavior

Employee behavior is the pattern of actions by the members of an organization that

directly or indirectly influences the organization’s effectiveness. Some employee
behaviors, called performance behaviors, directly contribute to productivity and
performance. Other behaviors, referred to as organizational citizenship, provide
positive benefits to the organization but in more indirect ways. Counterproductive
behaviors detract from performance and actually cost the organization. Let’s look at
each of these types of behavior in a bit more detail.

A. Performance Behaviors

Performance behaviors are the total set of work-related behaviors that the
organization expects employees to display. They directly contribute to
productivity and performance.

B. Organizational Citizenship

Organizational citizenship includes the positive employee behaviors that do not

directly contribute to the bottom line. They provide positive benefits to the
organization but in more indirect ways.

C. Counterproductive Behaviors

Counterproductive behaviors detract from, rather than contribute to,

organizational performance. Such behaviors include absenteeism, which occurs
when an employee does not show up for work, and turnover, which occurs when
 people quit their jobs. These behaviors actually cost the organization. Other
forms of counterproductive behavior may be even more costly for an
organization. Theft and sabotage, for example, result in direct financial costs for
an organization. Sexual and racial harassment also cost an organization, both
indirectly (by lowering morale, producing fear, and driving off valuable
employees) and directly (through financial liability if the organization responds
inappropriately). Workplace aggression and violence are also a growing concern
in some organizations, as is bullying.

Individual Differences between Employees

Individual differences are personal attributes that vary from one person to another;
they may be physical, psychological, and emotional. Two basic categories include
personality and attitudes.

A. Personality at Work

Personality is the relatively stable set of psychological attributes that distinguish

one person from another.

1. The “Big Five” Personality Traits. The “big five” personality traits include
agree-ableness, conscientiousness, emotionality, extraversion, and openness.
Agreeableness is a person’s ability to get along with others. Highly
conscientious people tend to focus on only a few things at one time in contrast
to less conscientious people who often pursue a wider array of tasks, but are
also often disorganized with less self-discipline. People with positive
emotionality are relatively more poised, calm, and secure. People with
negative emotionality are more excitable, insecure, and reactive.
Extraversion refers to a person’s comfort level with relationships and
 openness reflects how open or rigid a person’s beliefs are. The value of this
framework is that it encompasses an integrated set of traits that appear to be
valid predictors of certain behaviors in certain situations.

2. The Myers-Briggs Framework. Another interesting approach to

understanding personalities in organizations is the Myers-Briggs framework.
This framework, based on the classical work of Carl Jung, differentiates
people in terms of four general dimensions. These are: Extraversion (E)
Versus Introversion (I), Sensing (S) Versus Intuition (N), Thinking (T)
Versus Feeling (F), and Judging (J) Versus Perceiving (P). The Myers-
Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a popular questionnaire that some
organizations use to assess personality types. It is among the most popular
selection instruments used today, with as many as 2 million people taking it
 each year. Research suggests that the MBTI is a useful method for
determining communication styles and interaction preferences.

3. Emotional Intelligence. Emotional intelligence or emotional quotient

(EQ) refers to the extent to which people are self-aware, can manage their
emotions, can motivate themselves, express empathy for others, and possess
social skills.

4. Other Personality Traits at Work. Locus of control is the extent to which

people believe that their behavior has a real effect on what happens to them.
A person’s self-efficacy is that person’s belief about his or her capabilities to
perform a task. Authoritarianism is the extent to which a person believes that
power and status differences are appropriate within hierarchical social
systems such as organizations. Self-esteem is the extent to which a person
believes that he or she is a worthwhile and deserving individual. Risk
propensity is the degree to which a person is willing to take chances and make
risky decisions.

Matching People and Jobs

Managers like to have a good match between people and the jobs they are
performing.

A. Psychological Contracts

A psychological contract is the overall set of expectations held by employees and

the organization regarding what employees will contribute to the organization
(contributions) and what the organization will provide in return (inducements).
Recent trends in downsizing have led to changes in the psychological contract.
Whereas firms used to offer some degree of job security as part of the
 psychological contract, now other forms of inducements like training and flexible
work schedules are often needed to attract and retain people.

B. The Person-Job Fit

The person-job fit refers to the extent to which a person’s contributions and the
organization’s inducements match one another. Good person-job fit can result in
higher performance and more positive attitudes. A poor person-job fit can have
the opposite effect.

Basic Motivation Concepts and Theories

Motivation is the set of forces that cause people to behave in certain ways. There
are a number of major studies and theories of employee motivation.

A. Classical Theory

According to the classical theory of motivation, employees are motivated solely

by money. Frederick Taylor, the father of scientific management, proposed that
paying workers more money would prompt them to produce more.
B. Early Behavioral Theory

The Hawthorne effect is the tendency for productivity to increase when workers
believe they are receiving special attention from management.

1. Human Resources Model: Theories X and Y. McGregor’s Theory X

is the managerial assumption that workers are lazy and need direction;
Theory Y is the managerial assumption that workers are energetic,
cooperative, and self-motivated. The value of these two theories lies in
their ability to highlight and classify the behavior of managers in light
of their attitudes toward employees.

2. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Model. Maslow proposed that workers

each have a set of needs that they seek to fulfill in their jobs, and these
needs are arranged in a hierarchy of importance. These needs are
physiological, security, social, self-esteem, and self-actualization.
Maslow further proposed that lower-level needs must be met before
higher-level needs; once one set of needs is met, it ceases to motivate
behavior.
3. Two-Factor Theory. Herzberg proposed that job satisfaction depends
on motivating factors, such as recognition in the workplace, as well as
the presence of hygiene factors, such as work conditions. Hygiene
factors do not enhance satisfaction, but they do prevent dissatisfaction.
Research suggests that the theory works only in some situations. The
practice also suggests that managers must first ensure that hygiene
factors such as working conditions are acceptable, resulting in an
absence of dissatisfaction. Then the managers must offer motivation
factors as a way to improve satisfaction and motivation.
 4. Other Important Needs. McClelland’s acquired needs theory
hypothesized three other needs, the needs for achievement, affiliation,
and power. The need for achievement comes from an individual’s
desire to accomplish a goal or task as effectively as possible. Need for
affiliation is the need for human companionship, and the need for
power is the desire to control one’s environment.

C. Contemporary Motivation Theory

Recently, more complex models of employee behavior and motivation have been
developed.

1. Expectancy Theory. This theory suggests that employees are

especially motivated to work toward rewards when they have a greater
probability of achieving them. This theory explains why people may
 not work as hard when their salaries are based solely on seniority, for
example.

Equity Theory. This theory focuses on employees’ perceptions of fairness and

unfairness in the workplace. Many people evaluate their treatment by the
organization relative to the treatment of others. For example, suppose a new college
graduate gets a starting job at a large manufacturing firm. His starting salary is
$65,000 a year, he gets an inexpensive company car, and he shares an assistant with
another new employee. If he later learns that another new employee has received the
same salary, car, and staff arrangement, he will feel equitably treated (result 1 in
Figure 8.6). If the other newcomer, however, has received $75,000, a more
expensive company car, and her own personal assistant, he may feel inequitably
treated (result 2 in Figure 8.6).
Note, however, that for an individual to feel equitably treated, the two ratios do not
have to be identical, only equitable. Assume, for instance, that our new employee
has a bachelor’s degree and two years of work experience. Perhaps he learns
subsequently that the other new employee has an advanced degree and 10 years of
experience. After first feeling inequity, the new employee may conclude that the
person with whom he compared himself is actually contributing more to the
organization. That employee is equitably entitled, therefore, to receive more in return
(result 3 in Figure 8.6).
Strategies and Techniques for Enhancing Motivation

Understanding what motivates workers is only one part of the manager’s job. The
other part is applying that knowledge.

A. Reinforcement/Behavior Modification

Positive reinforcement is used when a company or manager provides a reward

when employees exhibit desired behaviors; punishment is used to change
behavior by presenting people with unpleasant consequences if they exhibit
undesired behaviors. Social learning occurs when people observe the behaviors
of others, recognize their consequences, and alter their own behavior as a result.
 B. Using Goals to Motivate Behavior

Management by objectives (MBO) is a system of collaborative goal setting,

extending through all levels of an organization. MBO is primarily concerned with
the implementation of plans in organizations. Because employees contribute to
setting the goals, they should accept and be committed to achieving them.

C. Participative Management and Empowerment

In participative management and empowerment, employee suggestions and

opinions are welcomed. Employees may feel more committed to the firm’s goals
if they have helped to shape them. A key to success in this case is to invite
participation only to the extent that employees want to have input and only if
participation will have real value for an organization.

D. Team Structures

Some companies benefit from using team management. Although teams are often
less effective in traditional and rigidly structured bureaucratic organizations, they
can help smaller, more flexible organizations make decisions quickly and
effectively, enhance communication, and encourage organizational members to
feel more like a part of an organization.

E. Job Enrichment and Job Redesign

Both of these programs typically increase worker satisfaction in jobs that lack
motivating factors.

1. Job Enrichment Programs. These programs attempt to add

motivating factors to job activities. They can involve job rotation
programs, or increasing responsibility or recognition.
 2. Job Redesign Programs. These programs attempt to create a better fit
between employees and their jobs by restructuring work. Job redesign
can usually be carried out through combining tasks, forming natural
work groups, and/or establishing client relationships.

a. Combining Tasks. Enlarging jobs and increasing their

variety can make employees feel that their work is more
meaningful.

b. Forming Natural Work Groups. People who perform

different jobs on the same projects are candidates for natural
work groups that help employees see the place and
importance of their jobs in the total structure of the firm.

c. Establishing Client Relationships. Allowing employees to

interact with customers can increase job variety and give
workers both a greater sense of control and more feedback
about performance.

Job enlargement and job enrichment are both used as techniques for employee
motivation and satisfaction. However, they differ a lot from each other. The
critical difference is job enlargement is a horizontal expansion of duties and
tasks across the same organizational level, whereas job enrichment is the
vertical expansion of the roles, responsibilities, authority and activities along
with the different hierarchical levels.

Job enlargement is a technique used for motivating the semi-skilled or unskilled

workers and may be misinterpreted as work overload without a good hike in
salary. Job enrichment is used for development and satisfaction of the skilled
employees which is usually taken as a reward of good work.

E. Modified Work Schedules

1. Work-Share Programs. These programs allow employees to share a single,

full-time job. Employees appreciate the schedule flexibility to accommodate
their personal needs, and firms can reduce turnover and save on the cost of
benefits.

2. Flextime Programs and Alternative Workplace Strategies. Flextime

programs allow workers to choose their working hours by adjusting a standard
work schedule.

3. Alternative Workplaces. A rapidly growing number of U.S. workers do a

significant portion of their work via telecommuting. Telecommuting allows
employees to perform some or all of their jobs away from standard office
settings.

4. Advantages and Disadvantages of Modified Schedules and Alternative

Workplaces. Some advantages include: (a) more freedom in employees’
personal lives; (b) ability of employees to coordinate work around family
members’ schedules; (c) an increased sense of freedom for employees; and
(d) higher commitment and satisfaction for employees. Some disadvantages
include: (a) the difficulty of accurately tracking working hours; (b) the lack of
self-discipline to work without supervision as well as the lack of social
interaction available in the workplace; and (c) employer perceptions that
unobserved workers are not actually working.