HRC220

Test 2 Notes

Study unit 4: Motivation

What is Motivation?

Motivation is the process of stimulating people to take action and accomplish

goals. It is derived from the word "motive," which refers to the needs, desires,
wants, or drives within individuals. Motivation is crucial for managers to drive
employees towards the organization's objectives. Without motivated employees,
little would be accomplished.

Importance of Motivation

Managers need to motivate people towards the goals of the organization.

Motivation is essential because without it, employees would not be driven to
achieve the organization's objectives. Motivation is what propels employees to
put in the necessary effort and work towards the desired outcomes.

Types of Motivation

Intrinsic Motivation: Motivation that comes from within the individual, such as a
sense of accomplishment or personal [Link] Motivation: Motivation
that comes from external factors, such as rewards, recognition, or fear of
punishment.

Methods to Motivate Employees

Need-based Perspectives on Motivation

● Existence: Material and physical desires essential for survival

● Relatedness: The need to have relationships in which thoughts and
feelings are shared
● Growth: The need to be productive and change oneself and the
environment
● Need for Affiliation: The need for human companionship, reassurance, and
approval from others
● Need for Achievement: The desire to accomplish tasks or goals more
effectively than before
● Need for Power: The desire to control the resources in one's environment
Process-based Perspectives on Motivation

● Job Design: How organizations define and structure jobs

● Organizational Rewards: Tangible and intangible rewards provided by the
organization
● Performance Management: Processes to measure and manage employee
performance
● Goal Setting: The process of setting specific, challenging, and accepted
goals

Job Design

Job Specialisation

● The process of separating all the activities necessary for the business or
the organization into individual tasks
● Pros: Risk reduction, improved morale, task proficiency, equipment
specialization, increased speed between tasks
● Cons: Limited skill set, boredom, career rigidity, dependency issues,
resistance to change

Job Rotation

● Systematically moving workers from one job to another to minimize

monotony and boredom

Job Enlargement

● Also known as horizontal job loading, is expanding a worker's job to

include tasks previously performed by other workers

Job Enrichment

● Also known as vertical job loading, entails giving workers more tasks to
perform and more control over how to perform them

Job Characteristics Theory

● Uses five motivational properties of tasks and three critical psychological

states to improve outcomes
● Motivational properties: Skill variety, task identity, task significance,
autonomy, and feedback
● Critical psychological states: Experienced meaningfulness, experienced
responsibility, and knowledge of results
Flexible Work Arrangements

● Compressed Work Schedule: A work schedule in which employees work a

full 45-hour week in fewer than the traditional 5 days
● Job Sharing: Two or more part-time employees share one full-time job
● Extended Work Schedules: Work schedule that requires relatively long
periods of work followed by relatively long periods of paid time off
● Flexible Work Schedules: Also known as flexitime, give employees more
personal control over the hours they work each day
● Telecommuting: Work arrangement in which employees spend part of their
time working off-site

Goal Setting Theory

● Developed by Edwin Locke in the late 1960s

● Believes that behavior is driven by goals and intentions
● Implications: People do things because they have a goal or objective in
mind
● Key elements: Challenging goals, specific goals, accepted goals, and
commitment to goals

Encouragement

What is Encouragement?

Encouragement is the act of providing positive feedback that focuses on effort

and/or improvement, rather than specific outcomes. It is different from praise,
which is given when success has been achieved. Encouragement can lead to
better job performance and higher productivity.

Importance of Encouragement

The ability to successfully encourage others through periods of difficult times and
lack of progress is both a science and an art. Encouragement can help
employees stay motivated and overcome challenges.

How to Encourage Employees

● Ask them what help they need

● Coach them to discover choices
● Recognize their small incremental wins
● Thank them
● Demonstrate your confidence in them
 ● Put them on stretch assignments
● Help them get recognized by others

Recognition

What is Recognition?

Employee recognition is the act of acknowledging employees for their

contributions, not just high performances but also day-to-day tasks, teamwork
efforts, ideal behaviors, or simply for the way they do things.

Importance of Recognition

Recognition has a tremendous potential to drive engagement, productivity, and

employee retention. If you give your employees their due recognition, you can
unlock their full potential.

How to Recognize Employees

Top-Down Recognition
● Say thanks more often
● Send a thank you card
● Give sincere compliments
● Use a pad of sticky notes
● Have a company thanks "feed"
● Store gift cards
● Extended breaks
● Award certificates
● Early finishes
● Late starts
● Give free gym time
● Team walks
● Lunch for the team
● Power naps
● Team drinks
● Annual year book
● Add each employee to the "about us" page

Personalized Recognition
● Ask how they want to be recognized
● Personalized gift ideas
● Custom caricatures
● Personal poems
● Professional photo shoot
● Training opportunities
● Lunch with the leader
● Platform to voice new ideas and strategies
● Display achievements
● Role shadowing opportunities
● Job swaps for a day
● Give new starters a mentor
● Organise team building experiences
● Pat attention to their social spaces
● Give some autonomy over social spaces
● Quiet break-out areas
● Birthday recognition/treats/time off
Practice questions

1. According to Goal Setting Theory, which of the following is NOT a key

element for effective goal setting?

a. Accepted goals
b. Easy goals
c. Challenging goals
d. Specific goals

2. What are the three critical psychological states in the Job Characteristics
theory?

3. Which of the following is NOT a motivational property in the Job

Characteristics theory?

a. Skill variety
b. Autonomy
c. Employee satisfaction
d. Task identity

4. What is the primary source of motivation according to the definition

provided?

a. Needs, desires, wants, or drives within individuals

b. External rewards
c. Managerial pressure
d. Organisation goals

5. What is the primary purpose of employee recognition?

a. To increase company profits

b. To reduce workplace conflicts
c. To drive engagement, productivity, and employee retention
d. To comply with labour laws

6. What is the key difference between encouragement and praise?

a. Encouragement is verbal, while praise is always written

b. Encouragement focuses on effort and improvement, while praise is
given for achieved success
c. Encouragement is only for managers, while praise if for all
employees
d. Encouragement is given after success, while praise is given during
the process
7. Which of the following is NOT a need-based perspective on motivation

a. Job design
b. Existence
c. Relatedness
d. Growth

8. True or false? Job rotation involved systematically moving workers from

one job to another to minimise monotony and boredom.

9. True or false? Encouragement is only given when success has been

achieved.

10. Which flexible work arrangement involves employees working a full week
in fewer than the traditional 5 days?

a. Job sharing
b. Extended work schedules
c. Telecommuting
d. Compressed work schedule

11. What is the main difference between job enlargement and job
enrichment?

a. Job enlargement involves more tasks but less control

b. Job enrichment gives workers more control over how to perform
tasks
c. Job enrichment focuses on horizontal loading
d. Job enlargement involves vertical loading

12. Compare and contrast various job design strategies used to motivate
employees, including job specialisation, job rotation, job enlargement, job
enrichment.
MEMO

1. Easy goals

2. Experienced meaningfulness, experienced responsibility and knowledge of

results

3. Employee satisfaction

4. Needs, desires, wants or drives within individuals

5. To drive engagement, productivity, and employee retention

6. Encouragement ficuses on effort and improvement, while praise is given

for achieved success

7. Job design

8. True

9. False

10. Compressed work schedule

11. Job enrichment gives workers more control over how to perform tasks

12. Job specialization involves breaking down jobs into small, specialized
tasks. This can have some benefits, like improved efficiency, risk
reduction, and increased speed between tasks. However, it can also lead
to a limited skill set, boredom, and resistance to change from employees.
On the other hand, job rotation systematically moves workers between
different jobs, which helps reduce monotony and boredom.

In contrast, job enlargement expands a worker's job to include more

tasks, increasing the variety and challenge of the work. This can be more
motivating for employees than highly specialized jobs. Job enrichment
takes this a step further by giving workers more control and responsibility
over their work, which increases their autonomy, the meaningfulness of
their tasks, and the feedback they receive.

The key difference between these strategies is that job specialization

focuses on breaking down and streamlining tasks, while job enlargement
and enrichment aim to make jobs more varied and empowering for
employees. Each approach has its own pros and cons in terms of
employee motivation and engagement that managers need to carefully
consider when designing jobs. Striking the right balance is crucial for
keeping employees motivated and
Study unit 5: Performance Management

What is Performance Management?

Performance management refers to the regular review and evaluation of an

employee's job performance and overall contribution to the organization. It is a
critical process that helps organizations assess and improve employee
productivity, identify strengths and weaknesses, and make informed decisions
about rewards, promotions, and development needs.

Importance of Performance Management

● Provides valuable feedback to employees on their performance

● Helps determine appropriate rewards, bonuses, and promotions
● Identifies training and development needs
● Supports HR activities like succession planning, recruiting, and training

Core Elements of Performance Management

1. The Appraiser: Usually the employee's supervisor, who is assumed to be

best positioned to evaluate the employee's day-to-day performance.
Potential issues include incomplete or distorted information, which can be
addressed through a multi-rater or 360-degree feedback system.

2. Frequency of Appraisal: Typically annual, but "as-needed" systems

have been proposed as an alternative. The organization's culture should
be considered.

3. Measuring Performance: Identifying what should be measured and

selecting the best method, such as graphic scales, checklists, essays,
diaries, or rating scales.

The Performance Management Process

The performance management process consists of four key activities:

1. Performance Planning:
○ Setting the direction and defining expectations
○ Determining employee goals and objectives, which can be
trait-based, behavior-based, or results/outcome-based
○ Deciding on the evaluator and the evaluation method
 2. Performance Coaching and Mentoring:
○ Conducting interim checks on progress
○ Exploring the causes of poor performance
○ Providing coaching and mentoring to assist employees in reaching
their goals

3. Performance Measurement and Evaluation:

○ Measuring the performance
○ Rating the performance

4. Performance Feedback and Documentation:

○ Providing performance feedback
○ Recording and communicating performance results

Practical Example

Here's an example of how performance objectives and measurement can be set

for a faculty member:

Performance Target Stretch Measurement Weight

objective target

Lecture Lecture two Lecture three Target = 3/5 30%

undergraduate modules for modules for Stretch target = 4/5
modules the year the year Anything over = 5/5

Lecture Get a student Get a student Target = 3/5 10%

undergraduate evaluation of evaluation of Stretch target = 4/5
modules 65% 80% Anything over = 5/5
successfully

Criticisms and Errors to Avoid

● Employees may not trust the appraisal system, leading to issues between
supervisors and subordinates
● Employees may adapt their input to please the employer, leading to
unattainable goals or unethical practices
● Managers may judge employees based on likability rather than
accomplishments
● Unreliable raters can cause biases and skewness in appraisal results
● Performance appraisal systems are not "one size fits all"
To avoid common errors:

● Don't store up feedback; provide it throughout the year

● Don't use the review for discipline
● Create two-way communication
● Focus on the future and how to help the employee improve
● Ensure the panel is trained to carry out performance appraisals
Practice questions

1. Which of the following is a criticism of performance appraisal systems?

a. Appraisal systems eliminate bias in evaluations

b. Performance appraisals always lead to improved productivity
c. Employees may adapt their input to please the employer
d. Performance appraisals are universally applicable

2. Which of the followin is NOT a key activity in the performance

management process?

a. Performance management and evaluation

b. Talent acquisition
c. Performance planning
d. Performance coaching and mentoring

3. What is the purpose of performance coaching and mentoring in the

performance management process?

a. To reduce workload for managers

b. To assist employees in reaching their goals
c. To determine employee salaries
d. To replace formal performance evaluations

4. What is the primary purpose of performance management in

organisations?

a. To increase employee salaries

b. To reduce workforce size
c. To implement new technologies
d. To assess and improve employee productivity

5. Which of the following is NOT a core element of performance

management?

a. Measuring performance
b. Frequency of appraisal
c. The appraiser
d. Employee satisfaction surveys

6. What is a potential issue with having the employee’s supervisor as the

sole appraiser?

a. Increased objectivity
 b. Improved feedback quality
c. Incomplete or distorted information
d. Enhanced employee trust

7. True or false? The performance management process consists of three key

activities: planning evalutation and feedback.

8. True or false? Performance management typically involves an annual

review of employee performance.

9. What are the three types of employee goals and objectives that can be
determines during the performance stage?

[Link] the performance management process in detail, including its four

activities
MEMO

1. Employees may adapt their input to please the employer

2. Talent acquisition

3. To assist employees in reaching their goals

4. To assess and improve employee productivity

5. Employee satisfaction surveys

6. Incomplete or distorted information

7. False. The process consists of four key activities: performance planning,

coaching and mentoring, measurement and evaluation, and feedback and
documentation

8. True

9. Trait-based, behaviour-based or results/outcome-based

10. The performance management process consists of four key activities,

such as performance planning, performance coaching and mentoring,
performance measurement and evaluation, and performance feedback and
documentation.

Performance planning consists of setting the direction and defining

expectation, determining employee goals and objectives, and deciding on
the evaluator and the evaluation method.

Performance coaching and mentoring consists of conducting interim

checks on progress, exploring causes of poor performance, providing
coaching and mentoring to assist employees in reaching their goals.

Performance measurement and evaluation consists of measuring the

performance and rating it according to a set system

Performance feedback and documentation consists of providing the

employee with feedback based on the evaluation and recording and
communicating the performance results.