• Unit 2: Motivation

    Employee motivation is an intrinsic and internal drive to put forth the necessary effort and action toward work-related activities. Managers need to understand how employees are motivated and how to motivate them. Thus, this unit examines theories of motivation and how to use regular performance appraisals and incentives to improve the performance of employees and execute company strategy. Engaged and motivated employees have higher levels of job satisfaction and are more productive.

    Completing this unit should take you approximately 8 hours.

    • Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

      • apply theories of motivation (job-oriented, behavior-oriented, cognition-oriented, and needs-oriented) to inspire and motivate individuals;
      • utilize a system that includes performance appraisals and feedback as tools for employee development and to improve job performance; and
      • recommend incentives and rewards to inspire high performance in teams.

    • 2.1: Motivation Theories

      Many different factors can impact people's motivation. People who are motivated extrinsically will focus on the outcome that they achieve. People motivated intrinsically will focus on the self-satisfaction that they receive from a job well done. As you learn about motivational theories, pay attention to motivational factors and see if you can differentiate the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations of people you know.
      • Motivating an Organization Book
        Analyzing motivation allows managers to connect with people at different levels. Ultimately, the goal is to help people increase their productivity, achieve their full potential, and increase their commitment to the organization. This article will introduce you to the nine specific theories that fall into these four basic categories: job-oriented theories, behavior-oriented theories, cognition-oriented theories, and needs-oriented theories.
      • Motivating Employees Book
        Read this resource to understand motivation in terms of the P-O-L-C framework. You will explore needs, goal-setting, and process-based theories, which consider the mental process of the employee as key to understanding their motivation.
      • Work Motivation for Performance Book
        This resource delves into the theories of motivation and explores process theories of motivation, content theories, and newer theories of motivation. Pay close attention to social motives and their corresponding definitions.

    • 2.2: Managing Motivation

      Once we understand what motivates people, we must figure out how to use that information to help us manage people within an organization. This section will examine the following questions: How can a company devise a fair policy for reviewing individual performance? How can a company ensure that people are empowered to perform at their highest levels? How can a company promote employee satisfaction and reduce dissatisfaction, leading to employee turnover?
      • Retention and Motivation Book
        Read this resource to look at the problems that employee turnover can cause. It also explores how to structure a retention policy so companies can understand why employees are dissatisfied and what can be done about it.
      • Manager's Role in Promoting Motivation Page
        It is the manager's responsibility to determine what motivates employees as individuals. This article reviews the manager's role in the process of motivating employees.
      • Managerial Responses to Motivation Page
        Motivating employees to accomplish the organization's goal involves various tools, such as employee recognition, employee involvement, job redesign, and variable pay. This article explains how to use employees' needs to increase motivation.
      • Decision Support Systems Book
        Task motivation is impacted by various factors, including the perception of the task, the characteristics of the task, and the decision environment. This resource discusses how a Decision Support System (DSS), which involves data analysis in decision-making, interacts with a task's characteristics. You will explore how managers can use DSS to examine the effects of feedback and rewards on employee motivation.
      • How to Motivate Employees Page
        Watch this video to review the psychology of motivation and tips on how managers can use leadership skills to build a culture of motivation.

    • 2.3: Coaching and Employee Empowerment

      Some businesses tend to use a leadership style whereby all decisions are controlled by managers without input from employees. This top-down management approach rarely encourages employees to do any more than just their job. However, studies have shown that people thrive in an environment that encourages them to contribute to the company's success. This section illustrates that when managers coach and empower employees to achieve their maximum potential, the manager's career will also grow.
      • The Puzzle of Motivation Page

        This video indicates that a reward-based incentive may work for routine or mechanical tasks. When creativity or problem-solving is required, the reward system is ineffective in improving performance.

      • Managed, Enabled, Empowered Book
        When employees are enabled, they can self-direct within certain boundaries. When employees are empowered, they are completely self-directed within the organization's limits. This article examines the important connections between empowerment and innovation.
      • The Benefits of Managing Openly Book
        To be a successful manager, you must create an atmosphere that encourages open communication so that individuals feel invested in the organization's success. Read this article to learn how open communication improves employee engagement, which leads to greater job satisfaction, reduced stress, loyalty, and mutual respect throughout the organization.
      • How to Break Bad Management Habits Page
        If we want managers to become an organization's future leaders, how should they be trained? Watch this video to see ways organizations can coach managers as they climb the corporate ladder so that their skills development aligns with goals for the future business.

    • 2.4: Training

      Training and development involve improving the effectiveness of organizations and the individuals and teams within them. Training may be viewed as related to immediate changes in organizational effectiveness via organized instruction, while development is related to the progress of longer-term organizational and employee goals. While training and development have differing definitions, the two are frequently used interchangeably or together. This section explores how training is closely associated with human resources and talent management.

      • Training and Evaluating Employees Page

        This article reiterates that employees need training to succeed and provides an overview of the 360-degree performance appraisal system.

      • Selecting and Managing Your Team: Employee Training Page
        Companies need to develop effective training systems which can use multiple training systems. Companies also need to consider external professional development opportunities for their executive and professional employees. Read this resource to learn about the benefits of training employees. This text also mentions the value of mentoring, coaching, and team-building activities.

    • 2.5: Performance Management

      Now that we have considered motivational theories and the constructs of managing motivation, coaching, and empowering employees, this section explores companies' processes to evaluate performance. Many companies still conduct annual performance reviews; however, today's flatter organizations have to function in an ever more dynamic business environment and require a more iterative performance process. No matter which type of firm you work for, you will find that having more frequent conversations with your employees about their development and performance will help you build a workforce that can position the firm to be competitive in the future.
      • Employee Assessment Book
        A performance review system is an approach to assessing and encouraging positive job performance. It is a tool for development, but it also provides the basis for the company to give raises and promotions or take corrective actions. There are various evaluation methods, including rating scales, essays, checklists, critical incident appraisals, work standards approach, and ranking methods. With the management by objectives (MBO) approach, performance is measured against the goals set by the manager and employee. A narrative is included with the behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS) approach for each rating. This text addresses how to design an effective performance appraisal system.
      • Performance Appraisal Book
        Read this review of the performance appraisal process. Performance appraisals can be one of the most mishandled aspects of management. The use of performance appraisals, problems with them, and methods for reducing errors are explored.
      • Motivating Employees through Performance Appraisals Book

        Frequent feedback on high and low performance is distinguished from the performance appraisal. This resource considers the components of an effective appraisal system and provides tools for conducting an effective performance appraisal meeting.

      • Performance Evaluation Page

        This video argues that you should keep the annual performance review in a new form. The professor posits that any performance requiring corrective feedback should be given when the action needs to be taken.

    • 2.6: Feedback

      How feedback is delivered to employees is critical if a manager wants to change performance in the firm. The resources and videos in this section will give insight and tips on effectively giving and receiving feedback. After completing the section, consider unique ways modern organizations can use performance appraisals and feedback effectively.

      • Performance Evaluation: Systems and Processes Page

        This video discusses the process of asking for feedback from our colleagues. Knowing how we receive our performance feedback from our supervisors will help us develop our feedback delivery to others. Note that this approach to coaching and receiving feedback relies on trust in the employee and their desire to perform well.

      • Giving Great Employee Feedback Page

        Watch this video for tips on using effective management skills to deliver employee feedback. Note that it is important to focus on examples of behavior that can help employees improve their performance.

      • Closing the Loop on Feedback Page
        Modern organizations should provide feedback promptly and in the context of the actual performance. The goal is to have the recipient implement the feedback as quickly as possible. This video discusses how traditional feedback methods are less effective in a modern and dynamic business environment.

    • 2.7: Engaging in Difficult Conversations

      All managers and leaders have to occasionally face a situation where they have to engage in difficult conversations with employees. Generally, this occurs when the employee is just not meeting their expectations. As a manager and leader, one of the first questions is whether the employee's expectations or goals were appropriately set and understood. If the answer to this question is yes and the employee has still failed to measure up, there are some tough decisions. Sometimes the manager has to decide whether the employee should be let go, but more likely, the manager wants the employee to improve. This section addresses having those difficult conversations in a way that will lead to improvement.

      • Managing poor performance Page

        This video focuses on managing poor performance using reframing as an integral part of day-to-day management.

      • Having Difficult Conversations Page

        Having difficult conversations is what spurs growth. Watch this video to see how we can learn how to do it with practice.

      • Difficult Conversations Made Easy Page

        In this video, Joy Baldridge will give you tools to work with language and personality types. It points out that the future workforce must be flexible and adaptable.

      • Delivering a Negative News Book

        This text offers the goals when delivering negative news. It also offers information on how to mitigate the risk of litigation and how to avoid polarizing terms.

    • 2.8: Compensation, Incentives, and Rewards

      Managers and leaders need to determine and implement the rewards and incentives that will be used to continue to motivate employees. Rewards serve several functions, including (1) stimulating job effort and performance, (2) reducing absenteeism and turnover, (3) enhancing employee commitment, (4) facilitating job satisfaction, and (5) facilitating occupational and organizational choice. The resources in this section will help you make recommendations about rewards and incentives.
      • Reward Systems in Organizations Book
        This text examines the aspects of reward systems in organizations, such as the bases of reward distribution, intrinsic vs. extrinsic rewards, the relationship between money and motivation, and pay secrecy.
      • Compensation Book
        This text looks at salary and bonuses, benefits, insurance, long-term incentive plans, and paid expenses. Some companies offer employee stock options believing that they incentivize employees with an ownership stake in the firm to boost the company's stock price (ordinarily a function of firm performance). Managers may use some of these tools when organizational systems govern salary.
      • Positive Employee Relations with Millennials Book

        The differences in what motivates and satisfies millennials versus baby boomers are explored in this resource. Millennials are now the largest demographic segment in the workforce, outnumbering Gen Xers and Boomers. Thus, outdated performance systems will not serve modern employees and organizations. This text explores millennials' values and characteristics and their relationship with management.

      • Compensation and Benefits Book

        This resource reminds managers and leaders that compensation packages need to align with the company's core values.

    • Study Guide: Unit 2

      We recommend reviewing this Study Guide before taking the Unit 2 Assessment.

    • Unit 2 Assessment

      • Unit 2 Assessment Quiz
        Receive a grade

        Take this assessment to see how well you understood this unit.

        • This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
        • You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
        • You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.