Chapter 06 - Motivational Needs, Processes, and Applications

CHAPTER 6 - MOTIVATIONAL NEEDS, PROCESSES, AND APPLICATIONS

I.

OBJECTIVES

To present an overview of the basic motivational process with special emphasis given to the three
generally recognized categories of needs, drives, and incentives. To have an understanding of
various human motives (primary, secondary, extrinsic, and intrinsic), work- motivation theories
(content, process, contemporary) , and the analysis of motivational application through job
design and goal setting.
II.

NOTES AND REVIEW OUTLINE

A. Motivation is a process that starts with a physiological or psychological need that
activates behavior or a drive that is aimed at goal or incentive. Motivation consists
of three interacting and interdependent elements:

. Need - a physiological or psychological imbalance or deficiency.

Drive or motive - an action-oriented thrust toward an incentive to alleviate a
need, a deficiency with direction.
. Incentive - anything that alleviates a need and reduces a drive, restores
physiological or psychological balance.

1. Primary motives are unlearned and physiologically based. These include hunger,
thirst, and sleep, avoidance of pain, sex, and maternal concern.
2. Secondary motives must be learned and are psychologically based.
Organizational behavior is particularly concerned with secondary motives such
as needs for power, achievement, affiliation, security and status.
Table 6.1 on page 160 lists examples of key secondary needs.
3. Extrinsic motives are tangible and visible to others while intrinsic motives are
internally generated. Many motivators have both extrinsic and intrinsic
components. Cognitive evaluation theory suggests that a task may be
intrinsically motivating, but that when an extrinsic motivator becomes associated
with that task, the actual level of motivation may decrease, but this theory has a
number of criticisms and some research does not support this position.
B. Figure 6.2 on page 162 graphically summarizes the various theoretical streams for
work motivation.
1. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is based on five levels (physiological, safety, love,
esteem, and self-actualization) which are hierarchically organized. Maslow
believed that once a given level of need is satisfied, it no longer serves to motivate
and the next level is activated to motivate the individual. This is important to
organizational behavior because it is recognized that humans in the workplace
have diverse motives.
Figure 6.4 on page 164 provides a diagrammatic representation of the hierarchy of
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work motivation.
2. Herzberg extended the work of Maslow and developed a specific content theory
of motivation. Using a critical incident research methodology technique,
Herzberg concluded that job satisfiers or motivators are related to job content and
that job dissatisfiers or hygiene factors are related to job context. While hygiene
factors are necessary to prevent dissatisfaction, only a challenging job will
motivate personnel. The hygiene factors are roughly equivalent to Maslows
lower-level needs.
a.

Herzbergs two-factor theory has been criticized because it oversimplifies the

complexities of work motivation. However, he made a contribution by
recognizing the importance of job content factors in motivation and the
subsequent technique of job enrichment.

3. Porter and Lawler start with the premise that motivation does not equal
satisfaction or performance. The Porter-Lawler model suggests and this is a
significant turn of events from conventional wisdom that performance leads to
satisfaction.
Figure 6.5 on page 168 depicts the Porter-Lawler Motivation model used to
explain the complex relationships that exist among motivation, performance, and
satisfaction.
a. The Porter-Lawler model is quite complex and has proved to be a difficult
way to bridge the gap to actual human resource management practice.
b. The contributions which Porter and Lawler make can be expressed through
guidelines that management can follow to remove barriers to the motivation performance relationship. The barriers to be overcome include:
1.)
2.)
3.)
4.)

Doubts about ability, skill or knowledge.

The practical or physical possibility of the job.
The interdependence of the job with other people or activities.
Ambiguity in job requirements.

c. To help overcome these barriers, it is helpful to understand the role of in the

effort-performance relationship.
d. In addition, Porter and Lawler suggest guidelines to improve the relationship
between performance and satisfaction as follows:
1.)
2.)
3.)
4.)

Determine what rewards employees value.

Define desired performance
Make performance attainable.
Link rewards to performance.

4. Equity Theory argues that a major input into job performance and satisfaction is
the degree of equity or inequity that people perceive in their work situation.
Inequity occurs when a person perceives that the ratios of his/her outcomes to
inputs are not the same compared to a significant other. Inputs and outcomes are
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based on persons perception. Motivation under this perspective can be defined by

the drive to restore equity. This may be done in several ways:

Alter the inputs or outcomes

Cognitively distorts the inputs or outcomes
Leave the field
Act on the other
Change the other

a. Feelings of inequity can occur not only when a person feels cheated or not
recognized as much as others, but also in the case of over reward (the person
feels overpaid). There has been research support for the theory.
b. Equity theory can be extended into what is commonly known as
organizational justice. Equity theory supports on the perception of
distributive justice (the belief that everyone should get what they deserve)
while organizational justice explores how the distributive decision is made.
5. Attribution refers simply to how people explain the cause of anothers or their
own behavior.
Figure 6.6 on page 176 illustrates Kelleys model of attribution.
Two general types of attributions that people make:

Dispositional attributions
Situational attributions

a. Attribution theories usually share the following assumptions:

1.) We seek to make sense of our world.
2.) We often attribute peoples actions either to internal or external causes.
3.) We do so in fairly logical ways.
b. Locus of control, work behavior may be explained by whether employees
perceive their outcomes as controlled internally or externally. Other
dimensions besides the internal and external locus of control also need to be
accounted for and studied. These could include stability dimension, bad-luck
and good-luck attributes.
c. Attribution errors: Social psychologists recognize two potent biases when
people make attributions fundamental attribution error and self-serving bias.
6. Other emerging theories of work motivation also are emerging from cognitive
psychology.
a. Control theory focuses on analyzing the degree to which individuals perceive
they are in control of their own lives, or are in control of their jobs.
b. Agency theory looks at the motivating potential of relationships between
principals (i.e., owners or top management) and agents (i.e., supervisors or
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employees).

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c. The assumption is that the interests of principals and agents diverge or may
be in conflict with one another. The implication for organizational behavior
involves how the principals can limit divergence by establishing appropriate
rewards or incentives for the agent that leads to the desired outcomes.
Agency theory has been criticized for its failure to account for intrinsic as
well as extrinsic motives.
C. Job design may be defined as the methods that management uses to develop the content
of a job, including all relevant tasks, as well as the processes by which jobs are
constructed and revised. A summary of the major job design applications follows.
1. Job rotation is the simplest form of job design involves moving employees from one
relatively simple job to another after short time periods.
2. Job enlargement involves increasing the number of tasks each employee performs.
3. Job enrichment represents an extension of the earlier, more simplified job rotation
and job enlargement techniques of job design.
4. The Hackman- Oldham job characteristics model of work motivation shown in figure
6.7 on page 180, recognizes that certain job characteristics contribute to certain
psychological states and that the strength of employees need for growth has an
important moderating effect.
The core job characteristics are:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

Skill variety
Task identity
Task significance
Autonomy
Feedback

The critical psychological states can be summarized as follows:

a.
b.
c.

Meaningfulness
Responsibility
Knowledge of results

5. Specific guidelines listed in figure 6.8 on page 182 are offered to redesign jobs.
D. Goal setting is the process of motivating employees by establishing effective and
meaningful performance targets.
1. Lockes theory of goal setting goes beyond expectancy theories of work motivation,
because people strive to attain goals in order to satisfy their emotions and desires.
Goals provide a directional nature to peoples behavior and guide their thoughts and
actions to one outcome rather than another. Consequences, feedback, or
reinforcement are the result of individual responses to the goals.
2. Locke relates goals to performance and satisfaction in the model shown in figure 6.9
on page 184.
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a.
b.
c.

d.

e.
f.

Specific goals result in higher levels of performance and have been found to
be more effective than vague or general goals.
Performance targets should be challenging rather than easy or routine. At the
same time, goals should be reachable and not so difficult that pursing them
becomes frustrating.
Specific goals are most likely to affect performance when employees accept
and are committed to them. This ownership and acceptance of goals are best
accomplished through a participative process. Self-commitment can be given
to assigned goals as well as to personal or self-set goals, especially when
goals are equivocal.
People exhibiting higher levels of self-efficacy tend to set more challenging
personal goals and are more likely to achieve them, and commitment to
selfset personal goals is normally also higher than commitment to goals set
by others.
Objective and timely feedback is preferable to no feedback and, can be
related to the process used to achieve a goal or the content of the goal.
Task complexity and leader style are the other moderators in goal setting.

3. Goal orientation, growth mindset, benchmarking, stretch target, and goal source are
other performance management application techniques associated with goal setting.
4. Goal setting can be used to create psychological contracts with employees. Instances
of contract violations may inhibit the success rates of goal setting. These violations
include restructuring, downsizing, increased reliance on temporary workers, and
globalization.
III.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND REVIEW

1. Briefly define the basic motivation process and the two types of needs. What are some
examples of each type of need?
Answer
Motivation is a process that starts with a physiological or psychological deficiency or
need that activates a behavior or a drive that is aimed at a goal or incentive. Motivation
consists of these three interacting and interdependent elements:
1. Needs: Needs are created whenever there is a physiological or psychological
imbalance.
2. Drives: Drives or motives are set up to alleviate needs. Physiological and
psychological drives are action oriented and provide an energizing thrust toward
reaching an incentive.
3. Incentives: At the end of the motivation cycle is the incentive, defined as anything
that will alleviate a need and reduce a drive. Thus, attaining an incentive will tend
to restore physiological or psychological balance and will reduce or cut off the
drive.
The two types of needs are primary and secondary needs.

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The needs that are unlearned and psychologically based are called primary needs.
The most commonly recognized primary needs are hunger, thirst, sleep, avoidance
of pain, sex, and maternal concern.
Secondary needs are learned motives. Examples of key secondary needs are doing
better than competitors, controlling people and activities, being liked by many
people, having a secure job, and having the right car and wearing the right clothes.
2. What is the difference between an intrinsic and an extrinsic motive? Can both operate
at the same time? If so, how?
Answer
Extrinsic motives are tangible and visible to others. They are distributed by other
people (or agents). In the workplace, extrinsic motivators include pay, benefits, and
promotions. Extrinsic motives also include the drive to avoid punishment, such as
termination or being transferred. Extrinsic motivators are necessary to attract people
into the organization and to keep them on the job. They are also often used to inspire
workers to achieve at higher levels or to reach new goals, as additional payoffs are
contingent on improved performance.
Intrinsic motives are internally generated. Intrinsic rewards include feelings of
responsibility, achievement, accomplishment, that something was learned from an
experience, feelings of being challenged or competitive, or that something was an
engaging task or goal. Performing meaningful work has long been associated with
intrinsic motivation.
It is important to remember that these two types of motivators are not completely
distinct from one another. Many motivators have both intrinsic and extrinsic
components and can therefore operate at the same time. For example, a person who
wins a sales contest receives the prize, which is the extrinsic motivator. At the same
time, however, winning in a competitive situation may be the more powerful, yet
internalized, motive.
3. In your own words, briefly explain Maslows theory of motivation. Relate it to work
motivation and Herzbergs model.
Answer
Maslow identified five levels in his need hierarchy. They are:
1. Physiological needs: The most basic level in the hierarchy, the physiological needs
generally corresponds to the unlearned primary needs. The needs of hunger, thirst,
sleep, and sex are some examples.
2. Safety needs: This second level of needs is roughly equivalent to the security need.
Maslow stressed emotional as well as physical safety.
3. Love needs: This third, or intermediate, level of needs loosely corresponds to the
affection and affiliation needs.
4. Esteem needs: The esteem level represents the higher needs of humans. The needs
for power, achievement, and status can be considered part of this level.
5. Needs for self-actualization: Maslow portrays this level as the culmination of all
the lower, intermediate, and higher needs of humans. People who have become selfactualized are self-fulfilled and have realized all their potential.
In terms of work motivation, by providing a basic amount of pay that allows
employees to satisfy their needs for food, clothing, and shelter, organizations can
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satisfy their employees physiological needs. Safety needs can be met by providing
seniority plans, health insurance, employee assistance plans, severance pay, pension,
and the like. Social needs are satisfied through formal and informal groups and teams,
while esteem needs can be met through promotions, titles, etc. Self actualization can
be achieved by providing employees with opportunities for personal growth and
realizing their complete potential.
The hygiene factors of Herzbergs theory are preventive and environmental in nature
and they are roughly equivalent to Maslows lower-level needs. These hygiene factors
prevent dissatisfaction, but they do not lead to satisfaction. In effect, they bring
motivation up to a theoretical zero level and are a necessary floor to prevent
dissatisfaction, and they serve as a platform or takeoff point for motivation. The
motivators motivate employees on the job. They are roughly equivalent to Maslows
higher-level needs.
4. What is the major criticism of Herzbergs two-factor theory of motivation? Do you
think it makes a contribution to the better understanding of motivation in the
workplace? Defend your answer.
Answer
Herzbergs theory oversimplifies the complexities of work motivation. When
researchers deviate from the critical incident methodology used by Herzberg, they do
not get the two factors. Sample and setting may affect preferences for motivators and
hygiene factors. Finally, there seem to be job factors such as pay that lead to both
satisfaction and dissatisfaction.
Herzbergs theory does contribute to the better understanding of motivation as it
explains why organizations that provide high salaries, excellent fringe-benefit
packages, and great working conditions still have unmotivated employees. According
to Herzbergs theory, only a challenging job that has the opportunities for achievement,
recognition, responsibility, advancement, and growth will motivate personnel.
5. In your own words, briefly explain the Porter-Lawler model of motivation. How do
performance and satisfaction relate to each other?
Answer
The Porter-Lawler model of motivation starts off with the premise that motivation
(effort or force) does not equal satisfaction or performance. Figure 6.5 on page 168 in
the text shows the multivariable model used to explain the complex relationships that
exist among motivation, performance, and satisfaction.
Porter and Lawler point out that effort (force or motivation) does not lead directly to
performance. It is moderated by abilities and traits and by role perception. PorterLawler model is what happens after the performance. The rewards that follow and
how these are perceived will determine satisfaction. In other words, the Porter-Lawler
model suggests that performance leads to satisfaction.
6. Briefly give an example of an inequity that a manager of a small business might
experience. How would the manager strive to attain equity in the situation you
describe?
Answer

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Joe, a dedicated and hardworking line manager feels that he is being underpaid for the
effort he puts into his work when he compares himself to his colleague, Samalso a
line managerwho regularly shirks off his duties but is paid the same salary.
Essentially, Joe perceives his outcome-input ratio to be lesser than that of his
colleagues.
In such as situation, Joe might strive to restore equity by either asking for greater
rewards (altering the outcomes), or by reducing the amount of work he does (altering
the inputs).
He could strive to restore equity by either changing his point of reference to another
colleague or by cognitively distorting the inputs or outcomes, possibly by
rationalizing the inequity as temporary. Joe could also attempt to influence Sam to
increase his efforts (altering others inputs). As a last resort, Joe might resign from his
job all together.
7. How does equity theory relate to procedural justice? Why is this so important to
todays employees?
Answer
Equity theory and procedural justice are both based on the perceived fairness of
things. While the equity theory focuses on the perceived fairness of the rewards
received in comparison to others in the organization, procedural justice is concerned
with the perceived fairness of the procedure used to make a decision. Procedural
justice can raise issues of equality as opposed to equity.
Employees perceptions of fairness not only positively affect their attitudes and
performance, but also influence their fair treatment behaviors toward customers,
which in turn cause the customers to react positively to both the employee and the
organization.
8. What is attribution theory? How can locus of control be applied to workers and
managers?
Answer
Attribution is the cognitive process by which people draw conclusions about the
factors that influence, or make sense of, one anothers behavior. Attribution theory is
concerned with the relationship between personal social perception and interpersonal
behavior. The assumptions of attribution theory are:
1. We seek to make sense of our world.
2. We often attribute peoples actions either to internal or external causes.
3. We do so in fairly logical ways.
The attribution theorist assumes that humans are rational and are motivated to identify
and understand the causal structure of their relevant environment. It is this search for
attributes that characterizes attribution theory and helps explain work motivation.
People will behave differently if they perceive internal attributes than they will if they
perceive external attributes. It is this concept of differential ascriptions that has very
important implications for motivation and organizational behavior in general.
Using locus of control, work behavior may be explained by whether employees
perceive their outcomes as controlled internally or externally Employees who
perceive internal control feel that they personally can influence their outcomes
through their own ability, skills, or effort. Employees who perceive external control
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feel that their outcomes are beyond their own control; they feel that external forces
such as luck or task difficulty control their outcomes. This perceived locus of control
may have a differential impact on their motivation to perform.
9. What two major attribution errors or biases have surfaced? Give an example of each?
Answer
The first attribution error is called the fundamental attribution error wherein people
tend to attribute others behavior to personal factors (for example, intelligence,
ability, motivation, attitudes, or personality), even when it is very clear that the
situation or circumstances caused the person to behave the way he or she did.
An example of this would be a manager who attributes an employees poor
performance to laziness when it is actually due to a lack of training.
Another attribution bias that has emerged from the research is the self-serving bias
wherein people readily accept credit when told they have succeeded (attributing the
success to their ability and effort), yet often attribute failure to such external,
situational factors as bad luck or the problems inherent impossibility.
An example of this would be a manager who attributes his teams
good performance to his hard work and dedication but blames his
team members when the group fails to reach its goals.
10. Briefly describe control theory and agency theory. What implications can these two
theories have for work motivation?
Answer
Control theory is essentially a cognitive phenomenon relating to the degree that
individuals perceive they are in control of their own lives, or are in control of their
jobs. Studies show that perceived control will affect job satisfaction and
absenteeism. Relevant to todays workplace environment is that a sense of control
seems very helpful when increasing job demands are placed on the employee. Thus,
persons who are given more work, but also the control to complete that work, may
not feel as negatively about their new assignments.
Agency theory assumes that the interests of principals and agents diverge or may be
in conflict with one another. The implications for organizational behavior involve
how the principals (owners, board members, or top management) can limit
divergence from their interests or objectives by establishing appropriate rewards or
incentives for the agents (subordinates, middle management, or operating
employees) for appropriate outcomes.
Agency theory helps us better understand the motivation of managers in todays
organizations.
11. What are the core job characteristics in the Hackman-Oldham model? How do you
calculate the motivating potential of a job? How would a professors job and a
janitors job measure up on these characteristics? Be specific in your answer.
Answer
The core job characteristics are:
1. Skill variety refers to the extent to which the job requires the employee to draw
from a number of different skills and abilities as well as on a range of knowledge.

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2. Task identity refers to whether the job has an identifiable beginning and end.
How complete a module of work does the employee perform?
3. Task significance involves the importance of the task. It involves both internal
significancehow important is the task to the organization?and external
significancehow proud are employees to others what they do and where they
work?
4. Autonomy refers to job independence. How much freedom and control do
employees have, for example, to schedule their own work, make decisions, or
determine the means to accomplish objectives?
5. Feedback refers to objective information about progress and performance and can
come from the job itself or from supervisors or an information system.
The five job characteristics are measured by the perceptions of the jobholder and are
combined into a single index called a motivating potential score (MPS). This MPS
reflects the overall potential the job has to influence the employees motivation and
satisfaction.
A professors job is high on skill variety as it involves research, interaction, dealing
with diverse learning styles, reasoning, evaluation, and the like. He is responsible for
an entire subject and therefore his work has an identifiable beginning and end. The
professors work is important to his institution and students and thus is significant.
He has the freedom to exercise his teaching style in the classroom and also receives
immediate feedback from his students during classes and also undergoes a formal
appraisal.
A janitors work does not require a variety of skill as his work mainly involves
routine cleaning. He could be responsible for cleaning either a section of or the entire
premises and therefore can be high on task identity. His work has internal
significance as a clean environment is important to the organization but its external
significance is debatable. The janitor lacks autonomy as basic cleaning tasks are
standardized. He may receive feedback from his supervisor.
Overall, it can be said that the professors job has greater motivating potential than
that of the janitors.
12. In your own words, describe the theory behind goal setting. What has the research
generally found in testing goal setting?
Answer
Lockes theory of goal setting says that people strive to attain goals in order to satisfy
their emotions and desires. Goals provide a directional nature to peoples behavior
and guide their thoughts and actions to one outcome rather than another. The
individual then responds and performs according to these intentions or goals, even if
the goals are not attained. Consequences, feedback, or reinforcement are the result of
these responses. Over the past 15 years, numerous studies have been conducted to
refine and extend goal-setting theory and practice.
The importance of specific goals
Specific goals have been found to be more effective than vague or general goals, such
as do your best, as well as no goals at all. Specific goals result in higher levels of
performance.
The importance of difficult and challenging goals

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Performance targets should be challenging rather than easy or routine. Goals should
be reachable and not so difficult that pursing them becomes frustrating.
Goal acceptance, participation, and commitment
Specific goals are most likely to affect performance when employees accept and are
committed to them. This ownership and acceptance of goals are best accomplished
through a participative process. Commitment tends to run higher when goals are
specific as opposed to general or broad.
Self-efficacy and goals
Self-efficacy is the perception or belief of the individual that he or she can
successfully accomplish a specific task and it is associated with goal commitment.
People exhibiting higher levels of self-efficacy tend to set more challenging personal
goals and are more likely to achieve them, and commitment to self-set personal goals
is normally also higher than commitment to goals set by others.
Objective and timely feedback
Studies have also found objective and timely feedback is preferable to no feedback
and can be related to the process used to achieve a goal or the content (degree of
achievement) of the goal.
13. How does goal setting relate to goal orientation, benchmarking, stretch targets, and
psychological contracts?
Answer
All of these concepts are based on motivating employees by establishing effective
and meaningful performance targets which is the focus of goal setting.
In goal orientation, the concepts of learning goal orientation and the growth mindset
can be directly related to goal setting as they both focus on improving performance
by developing competence and qualities (targets).
Benchmarking incorporates the use of goal setting to set targets that are pursued,
identified, and then used as the basis for future action. The benchmarking process
involves looking both inside and outside the organization for ways of improving
performance.
Stretch targets may be defined as objectives or goals that force organizations to
significantly alter their processes in ways that involve a whole new paradigm of
operations. Stretch targets seek to integrate and align the internal operation and
culture with external best practices.
Goal setting can be used to create psychological contracts with employees. In any
exchange situation at work, there are both formal and informal expectations
regarding what is given and what should be received in return. Imposing new goals
may violate existing views of what is present in the psychological contract, creating
either resistance to the program or a renegotiation of the rewards to be received.
Goal setting in part constructs a social role at work that is intertwined with other
elements of a psychological contract.
IV.

HINTS FOR INTERNET EXERCISE: What Types of Jobs Motivate You?

1.

Select one of the jobs listed. What motivational theories explain why or why not you
would be a good, motivated employee in this job?

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Students choice of theory would vary depending upon the nature of the job and the
position selected. Considering the example of the job position of a financial analyst at
Mosby Associates, the Maslows hierarchy of needs could be used to explain why an
individual might be motivated. It fulfills the physiological needs (through the salary and
other monetary benefits); safety needs (through seniority plans, union, health insurance,
employee assistance plans, severance pay, pension); social needs ( through formal and
informal work groups or teams); esteem needs (through promotions, status symbol); self
actualization needs ( through the personal growth at work and realization of self
potential.)
2.

Would this job provide you motivation in each of Maslows levels? How? How, if at all,
would this job relate to Herzbergs two factors?
The financial analyst at Mosby Associates would likely fulfill the physiological needs
(through salary and benefits); safety needs (since job security is strong due to the well
established nature of the company); love/belongingness needs (due to the constant
interaction with coworkers and customers); and esteem needs (with the opportunity to
advance and become a chief financial officer).
Using Herzbergs two-factor theory, hygiene factors would include: low salary, benefits,
and good working conditions (no late nights required, state of the art equipment).
Motivator factors might include the ability to work autonomously, be self-directed,
opportunity for career advancement, and the immediate constructive feedback received
from the supervisors.

3.

Using this job as a reference point, as best as you can trace through each step (the boxes
in figure 6.7) in the Porter and Lawler expectancy model of motivation.
Use the models steps which are skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy,
and feedback.

V.

HINTS FOR INTERNET EXERCISE: What Is the Motivation Potential of Jobs at

Southwest Airlines?

1.

From a job design standpoint, which job would seem to have the most motivation
potential? The least?
For each individual the motivation potential obtained from a job would vary. It would
depend on an individuals skills and interest and the job profile. Job design is the
specification of the contents, method, and relationships of jobs to satisfy technological
and organizational requirements as well as the personal needs of job holders.
The air hostesses, stewards, and pilots would have the most motivation potential, as the
post of pilot is the most crucial in the aviation industry, and demands passion for the job,
enthusiasm, and the drive to achieve success.
The air hostesses and stewards are very essential in an airline industry as they are the
representatives of the company, they are the public faces.
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Additional to this, the benefits which come along with such profiles are very good.
On the other side, cleaners of vehicles and equipment, office clerks, and service
technicians would have the least motivation potential. Their scope of work is very narrow
and the benefits offered are average or sometimes below average.
2.

Of the jobs that you consider poorly designed, discuss some ways that they might be
improved.
Few ways in which poorly designed jobs can be improved are job analysis, job design,
characteristics of desirable jobs and fine tuning of jobs through job enrichment and
adjusted work schedules to further increase their capacity to motivate and challenge
employees.

3.

Compare these jobs to other companies that post jobs on their websites. Now go to
company websites in manufacturing and the public sector in your local area that provide
job openings and/or descriptions. Do you think some industries tend to have more
motivating potential jobs than others?
Yes, some sectors do have more motivating potential jobs than others. But which sector
offers more motivating potential jobs depends on an individuals perception. Not every
one is motivated with the same factor, it would vary across.
In some cases the job description listed on the websites may not be very clear. In such a
situation its difficult to say which job would be more challenging.

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