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Essentials of
Organizational Behavior, 11/e

Stephen P. Robbins & Timothy A. Judge

Chapter 7

Motivation: From Concepts

to Application
Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
 After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
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1. Describe the job characteristics model and evaluate the way it

motivates by changing the 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. Demonstrate how the different types of variable-pay
programs can increase employee motivation.
5. Show how flexible benefits turn benefits into motivators.
6. Identify the motivational benefits of intrinsic rewards.

Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Motivating by Changing the Work Environment: JCM
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The Job Characteristics Model – jobs are

described in terms of five core dimensions:

 Skill variety
 Task identity
 Task significance
 Autonomy

 Feedback
Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
Motivating by Changing the Work Environment: JCM
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1. Skill Variety

 The degree to which a job requires different

activities using specialized skills and talents.

 The work of a mechanical shop owner-

operator who does electrical repairs, rebuilds
engines, does bodywork, and interacts with
customers scores high on skill variety.
Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
Motivating by Changing the Work Environment: JCM
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2. Task identity

 the degree to which a job requires completion

of a whole and identifiable piece of work.

 A cabinetmaker who designs furniture, selects

the wood, builds the objects, and finishes them
has a job that scores high on task identity.

Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Motivating by Changing the Work Environment: JCM
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3. Task significance
 The degree to which a job affects the
lives or work of other people.
 The job of a nurse helping patients in a hospital
intensive care unit scores high on task significance;
sweeping floors in a hospital scores low.
Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Motivating by Changing the Work Environment: JCM
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4. Autonomy
 The degree to which a job provides the
worker freedom, independence, and
discretion in scheduling work and
determining the procedures for carrying
it out.
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Motivating by Changing the Work Environment: JCM
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5. Feedback
 The degree to which carrying out work
activities generates direct and clear
information about your own
performance.

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 The Job Characteristics Model
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 JCM: Designing Motivational Jobs
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 JCM-designed jobs give internal rewards

 Individual’s growth needs are moderating factors
 Motivating jobs must be:
Autonomous

Provide feedback, and

Have at least one of the three meaningfulness
factors
Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
 How Can Jobs be Redesigned?
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Job Rotation
The periodic shifting of an employee
from one task to another
Job Enrichment
Increasing the degree to which the
worker controls the planning, execution
and evaluation of the work
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 Guidelines for Enriching a Job Using
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JCM

Enrichment reduces turnover and absenteeism

while increasing satisfaction.
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 Alternate Work Arrangements
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 Flextime
 Some discretion over when worker starts
and leaves
 Job Sharing

 Two or more individuals split a traditional

job
 Telecommuting

 Work remotely at least two days per

week
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 The Social and Physical Context
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 Social characteristics that improve job

performance:
Interdependence
Social support
Interactions with people outside the
workplace

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 The Social and Physical Context
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 Work context also affects

performance. Some things to
consider are:
Temperature
Noise level
Safety

Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

 Employee Involvement
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A participative process that

uses the input of employees
to increase their commitment
to the organization’s success
Two types:
Participative Management
Representative Participation
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 Participative Management
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 Subordinates share a significant degree of

decision-making power with superiors
 Required conditions:
 Issues must be relevant
 Employees must be competent and
knowledgeable
 All parties must act in good faith

 Only a modest influence on productivity,

motivation, and job satisfaction
Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
 Representative Participation
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 Workers are represented by a small group

of employees who participate in decisions
affecting personnel
Works Councils
Board membership
 Desires to redistribute power within an
organization
 Does not appear to be very motivational
Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
 Rewarding Employees
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Major strategic rewards

decisions:
1. What to pay employees
2. How to pay individual
employees
3. What benefits to offer
4. How to construct employee
recognition programs
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 1. What to Pay
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 Need to establish a pay structure

 Balance between:

Internal equity – the worth of the job to

the organization
External equity – the external
competitiveness of an organization’s pay
relative to pay elsewhere in its industry
 A strategic decision with trade-offs
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 2. How to Pay: Variable-Pay Programs
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Bases a portion of the pay on a given

measure of performance
Piece-Rate Pay – workers are paid a
fixed sum for each unit of production
completed
Merit-Based Pay – pay is based on
individual performance appraisal ratings
Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
 2. How to Pay: Variable-Pay Programs
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Bases a portion of the pay on a given

measure of performance
Bonuses – rewards employees for
recent performance
Skill-Based Pay – pay is based on
skills acquired instead of job title or
rank – doesn’t address the level of
performance
Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
 More Variable Pay Programs
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 Profit-Sharing Plans – organization-

wide programs that distribute
compensation based on an established
formula designed around profitability
 Gainsharing – compensation based on

sharing of gains from improved

productivity
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 More Variable Pay Programs
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 Employee Stock Ownership Plans

(ESOPs) – plans in which employees
acquire stock, often at below-market
prices
While it appears that pay does increase
productivity, it seems that not everyone
responds positively to variable-pay plans.
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 3. What Benefit to Offer: Flexible Benefits
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Each employee creates a benefit

package tailored to their own
needs and situation
 Modular plans – predesigned
packages to meet the needs
of a specific group
 Core-plus plans – core of
essential benefits and menu of
options to choose from
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 3. What Benefit to Offer: Flexible Benefits
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Each employee creates a benefit

package tailored to their own needs
and situation
Flexible spending plans
– full choice from menu
of options

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4. How to Recognize Them: Employee Recognition Programs
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 In addition to pay there are intrinsic rewards

Can be as simple as a spontaneous
comment
Can be formalized in a program
 Recognition is the most powerful workplace
motivator – and the least expensive!

Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

 Global Implications
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Do motivational approaches vary by culture?

 Job Characteristics/Enrichment: may not
be the same in collectivist cultures
 Telecommuting, variable pay, flexible
benefits: while all of these seem to be on
the increase, not enough research has been
done to make any conclusions
 Employee Involvement: important to
modify practices to reflect national culture
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 Implications for Managers
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 Recognize and allow for individual

differences
 Use specific goals and feedback
 Allow employees to participate in decisions
that affect them
 Link rewards to performance
 Check the reward system for equity
Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
 Keep in Mind…
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 Most people respond to the intrinsic job

characteristics of the JCM
 It is not clear that employee involvement
programs work – use caution!
 Variable-pay plans can enhance
motivation
Copyright ©2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall