Human resource managementLesson 3 of 3 in the course Work Motivation for Performance

Research on Work Motivation: Needs, Goals, Fairness, Expectancy, and Persistence

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 4 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

This lesson examines recent research on three influential approaches to motivation: content theories, operant conditioning, and equity theory. Understanding the evidence and limitations of these approaches helps organizations design better work environments, reinforcement practices, and fair reward systems.

Content theories focus on the needs or factors that people find motivating. Research, including international studies, continues to show support for need-based explanations. Employees commonly identify recognition, advancement, and opportunities to learn as important workplace motivators. These findings are consistent with the idea that satisfying important needs can encourage motivation.

All flashcards

Content theories
Approaches to motivation that focus on the needs or factors people find motivating.
Goal commitment
The degree to which a person accepts and intends to pursue a goal.
Expectancy theory
A motivation theory linking perceived effort-performance and performance-outcome relationships with the value of outcomes.
Distributive justice
A judgment about whether an outcome or reward itself is fair.
Procedural justice
A judgment about whether the process used to determine an outcome is fair.

Quiz questions

  1. When are difficult, specific goals most likely to support stronger performance?Answer: When employees accept and intend to pursue them.
  2. What finding about expectancy theory is reported in recent research?Answer: Its components can predict performance without necessarily being multiplied together.
  3. What does meta-analysis do in motivation research?Answer: Combines evidence from multiple studies to estimate broader patterns.
  4. What guidance do the notes give about using punishment at work?Answer: Use it carefully and sparingly, generally after extinction has failed.
  5. What conclusion is supported by the varied motivational accounts from entrepreneurs?Answer: People describe different sources of motivation; the accounts do not establish one universal pattern.

Based on Organizational Behavior by J. Stewart Black, David S. Bright, Donald G. Gardner, Eva Hartmann, Jason Lambert, Laura M. Leduc, Joy Leopold, James S. O’Rourke, Jon L. Pierce, Richard M. Steers, Siri Terjesen, Joseph Weiss (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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