Chapter 8 Motivation From Concepts to Applications Motivating by Job Design The Job Characteristics Model Job design the way the elements in a job are organized Job characteristics model JCM a model that proposes that any job can be described in terms of 5 core job dimensions skill variety task identity task significance autonomy and feedback o Skill variety the degree to which a job requires a variety of different activities o Task identity the degree to which a job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work o Task significance the degree to which a job has a substantial impact on the lives or work of other people o Autonomy the degree to which a job provides substantial freedom and discretion to the individual in scheduling the work and in determining the procedures to be used in carrying it out o Feedback the degree to which carrying out the work activities required by a job results in the individual obtaining direct and clear information about the effectiveness of his performance o Skill variety task identity task significance combine to create meaningful work the incumbent will view as important o Individuals obtain internal rewards when they learn knowledge of results that they personally experienced responsibility have performed well on a task they care about experienced meaningfulness The more these 3 states are present the greater the employee s motivation performance and satisfaction and the lower their absenteeism and likelihood of leaving Motivating potential score MPS a predictive index that suggests the motivating potential in a job feedback o MPS skill variety task identity task significance 3 autonomy Job rotation the periodic shifting of a n employee from one task to another o Job rotation reduces boredom increases motivation and helps employees better understand how their work contributes to the organization o Training costs increase moving a worker into a new position reduces productivity for a little can create disruptions supervisors may have to spend more time answering questions Job enrichment the vertical expansion of jobs which increases the degree to which the worker controls the planning execution and evaluation of the work o Combining tasks forming natural work units establishing client relationships expanding jobs vertically opening feedback channels o Improve meaningfulness of work by relating employee work to customer experiences with the product providing employees with mutual assistance programs Flextime flexible work hours o Reduced absnteeism increased productivity reduced overtime expenses reduced hostility toward management reduced traffic congestion around work sites elimination of tardiness increase autonomy and responsibility for employees Job sharing an arrangement that allows 2 or more individuals to split a traditional 40 hour a week job Telecommuting working from home at least two days a week on a computer that is linked to the employer s office o What kinds of jobs lend themselves to telecommuting routine information handling tasks mobile activities and professional and other knowledge related tasks o Larger labor pool from which to select higher productivity less turnover improved morale reduced office space costs o Out of sight out of mind effect Most employees are more motivated and satisfied when their intrinsic work tasks are engaging Social aspects and work context are important some social characteristics can improve job performance like interdependence social support and interactions with other people outside work Employee Involvement Employee involvement a participative process that uses the input of employees and is intended to increase employee commitment to an organization s success Participative management a process in which subordinates share a significant degree of decision making power with their immediate superiors Representative participation a system in which workers participate in organizational decision making through a small group of representative employees o Work councils groups of nominated or elected employees who must be consulted when management makes decisions about employees o Board representatives are employees who sit on a company s board of directors and represent employee interests Theory Y is consistent with participative management Theory X is consistent with traditional autocratic style of managing people Using Rewards to Motivate Employees What to pay employees Establishing a pay structure o Balance internal equity the worth of the job to the organization and eternal equity the external competitiveness of an organization s pay relative to pay elsewhere in the industry How to pay Rewarding individual employees through variable pay programs o Variable pay program a pay plan that bases a portion of an employee s pay on some individual and or organizational measure of performance o Piece rate pay plan a pay plan in which workers are paid a fixed sum for each unit of production completed do not get based a base salary only get paid for what he produces o Merit based pay plan a pay plan based on performance appraisal ratings Limitations typically based on annual performance ratings and therefore are only as valid as these ratings depends on economic conditions unions typically resist merit pay plans o Bonus a pay plan that rewards employees for recent performance rather than historical performance o Skill based pay a pay plan that sets pay levels on the basis of how many skills employees have or how many jobs they can do Increased flexibility for employers staffing is easier facilitates communication across the organization Downsides people can top out learn all of the skills the program calls for them to learn don t address level of performance but only whether someone can perform the skill o Profit sharing plan an organization wide program that distributes compensation based on some established formula designed around a company s profitability o Gainsharing a formula based group incentive plan that uses improvements in group productivity from one period to another to determine the total amount of money allocated improve productivity positive impact on employee attitudes o Employee stock ownership plan ESOP a company established benefits plan in which employees acquire stock often at below market prices as part of their benefits o Companies with profit sharing plans have higher levels of profitability and higher levels of employee affective commitment Flexible benefits developing a
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