POLS7160

Theories of Public
Administration

Lecture 9: Motivation and Managing People in the Public Organization

Instructor: Dr. Yiran LI

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Outline

• Rainey, H.G., 2014. Understanding and Managing Public

Organizations, 5th Edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Chapter
10.

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Overview

• Chapter 10: Motivation and Managing People in the Public

Organization
I. Early theories of motivation
II. Contemporary theories of motivation
III. Class Activities

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Why Does the Federal Government Have a Hard
Time Recruiting and Retaining Millennials?

What does the Google Image search say?

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I. Early Theories Of Motivation

• Hierarchy of needs theory (Maslow)

• There is a hierarchy of five human needs; as each need
becomes satisfied, the next need becomes dominant.
• Physiological: food, drink, shelter, air, sleep
• Safety: physical safety, security, stability, health etc.
• Social: affiliation with others, affection, friendship
• Esteem: Internal (self-respect, autonomy, and
achievement); external (status, recognition, and attention)
• Self-actualization: personal growth and fulfillment

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Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Source: Motivation and Personality, 2nd ed., by A. H. Maslow, 1970.

Reprinted by permission of Prentice Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

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I. Early Theories Of Motivation

• Theory X (McGregor)
• The assumption that employees dislike working, are lazy,
seek to avoid responsibility, and must be coerced to perform.

• Theory Y
• The assumption that employees are creative, seek
responsibility, and can exercise self-direction.

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Theory X Premises
• A manager who views employees from a Theory X (negative)
perspective believes:
• Employees inherently dislike working and, whenever
possible, will attempt to avoid it.
• Because employees dislike working, they must be coerced,
controlled, or threatened with punishment to achieve
desired goals.
• Employees will shirk responsibilities and seek formal
direction whenever possible.
• Most workers place security above all other factors
associated with work and will display little ambition.

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Theory Y Premises
• A manager who views employees from a Theory Y (positive)
perspective believes:
• Employees can view work as being as natural as rest or play.
• Men and women will exercise self-direction and self-control
if they are committed to the objectives.
• The average person can learn to accept, even seek,
responsibility.
• The ability to make good decisions is widely dispersed
throughout the population and is not necessarily the sole
province of managers.

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I. Early Theories Of Motivation

• Motivation-Hygiene theory (Herzberg’s Two-factor theory)

• Intrinsic factors are related to job satisfaction and extrinsic
factors are related to job dissatisfaction
• Hygiene factors
• Factors, such as working conditions and salary, that,
when adequate, may eliminate job dissatisfaction but
do not necessarily increase job satisfaction.
• Motivators
• Factors, such as recognition and growth, that can
increase job satisfaction.

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Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory

Exhibit 10.4

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Contrasting Views of
Satisfaction-Dissatisfaction

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Debate with Simon Sinek
• Simon Sinek on Millennials in the Workplace
• Low-confidence
• Lack of coping mechanism to deal with stress
• Impatient

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Class activity
• Compensation and Salary What’s your career goal? What’s
• Working Conditions the priority when you seek for a
• Opportunities for Advancement job? Why?
• Job Security
• Recognition and Appreciation
• Challenging and Meaningful Work
• Work-Life Balance
• Health Benefits
• Relationship with Colleagues
• Supervision and Management Style
• Autonomy and Decision-Making Power
• Training and Professional Development
• Company Policies and Procedures
• Job Title and Status
• Office Environment and Facilities
• Feedback and Performance Appraisals

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II. Contemporary Theories Of Motivation

• Three-needs theory (McClelland)

• The needs for achievement, power, and affiliation are major
motives in work
• Need for achievement (N-Ach): the drive to excel, to
achieve in relation to a set of standards, to strive to
succeed.
• Need for affiliation (N-Affil): The desire for friendly and
close interpersonal relationships.
• Need for power (N-Pow): The need to make others
behave in a way that they would not have behaved
otherwise.

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II. Contemporary Theories Of Motivation

• Equity theory (Adams)

• Employees perceive what they get from a job situation

(outcomes) in relation to what they put into it (inputs) and
then compare their input-outcome ratio with the input-
outcome ratios of relevant others.

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II. Contemporary Theories Of Motivation

• Referent
• In equity theory, the other person, the systems, or the
personal experiences against which individuals compare
themselves to assess equity.
• The choice of a particular set of referents is related to the
information available about referents as well as to the
perceived relevance.

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Equity Theory Relationships

Perceived Employee’s
Ratio Comparison Assessment

*Person A is the employee, and Person B is a relevant other or referent.

Exhibit 10.6

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The equity
of reward of
input
The equity
of reward
and peer
reward
Equity Theory

• When employees perceive an inequity, they may:

• Distort either their own or others’ inputs or outcomes.

• Behave so as to induce others to change their inputs or
outcomes.
• Behave so as to change their own inputs or outcomes.
• Choose a different comparison referent.
• Quit their job.

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Equity Theory Propositions
1. If paid according to time, overrewarded employees will
produce more than equitably paid employees.
2. If paid according to quantity of production, overrewarded
employees will produce fewer but higher-quality units than
equitably paid employees.
3. If paid according to time, under-rewarded employees will
produce less or poorer-quality output.
4. If paid according to quantity of production, under-rewarded
employees will produce a large number of low-quality units
in comparison with equitably paid employees.

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Job Design And Motivation

• Job characteristics model (JCM)

• Hackman and Oldham’s job description model:

• Five core job dimensions: skill variety, task identity, task
significance, autonomy, and feedback.

• Internal rewards are obtained when:

• An employee learns (knowledge of results) through
(feedback) that he or she personally (experienced
responsibility through autonomy of work) has performed
well on a task that he or she cares about (experienced
meaningfulness through skill variety, task identity, and/or
task significance).

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Core Job Dimensions

• Skill variety
• The degree to which the job requires a variety of activities so
the worker can use a number of different skills and talents
• Task identity
• The degree to which the job requires completion of a whole
and identifiable piece of work
• Task significance
• The degree to which the job affects the lives or work of
other people

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Core Job Dimensions

• Autonomy
• The degree to which the job provides freedom,
independence, and discretion to the individual in scheduling
the work and in determining the procedures to be used in
carrying it out
• Feedback
• The degree to which carrying out the work activities
required by the job results in the individual’s obtaining direct
and clear information about the effectiveness of his or her
performance

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 The Job Characteristics Model

Source: J. R. Hackman, “Work Design,” in J. R. Hackman and J. L. Suttle, eds.,

Improving Life at Work (Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, 1977), p. 129. 28
Guidelines for Job Redesign

Source: J. R. Hackman and J. L. Suttle eds., Improving Life at Work Exhibit 10.9
(Glenview. IL: Scott, Foresman, 1977). With permission of the authors.
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Hong Kong Youth.Gov.HK

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Expectancy-Valence Theory (Vroom)

• A comprehensive theory of motivation that an individual tends

to act in a certain way, in the expectation that the act will be
followed by given outcome, and according to the attractiveness
of that outcome to the individual.

• The extent to which individuals are motivated to perform to

get a reward of value to them is based on their belief that
their performance will result in the reward they want.

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Expectancy Theory
1. Expectancy (E): This is the belief that effort will lead to the
successful completion of the task. In other words, it's the
perception of the probability that one's efforts will result in the
desired performance.

2. Instrumentality (I): Instrumentality is the belief that successful

performance will lead to certain outcomes or rewards. It's the
perception of the relationship between performance and the
attainment of specific outcomes, such as pay raises, promotions,
recognition, or job security.

3. Valence (V): Valence represents the value or desirability an

individual places on the anticipated outcomes. It's a measure of
how much an individual values or is motivated by the rewards or
consequences associated with a particular behavior.

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Motivation (M) = E * I * V

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Expectancy Theory

• Emphasizes self interest in the alignment of rewards with

employee wants.
• Addresses why employees view certain outcomes (rewards) as
attractive or unattractive.
• Emphasizes the connections among expected behaviors,
rewards, and organizational goals.
• Is concerned with individual perceptions and the provision of
feedback.

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Expectancy Relationships (Linkages)

• Effort–performance
• The perceived probability that exerting a given amount of
effort will lead to performance
• Performance–reward
• The belief that performing at a particular level will lead to
the attainment of a desired outcome
• Attractiveness
• The importance placed on the potential outcome or reward
that can be achieved on the job.

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Simplified Expectancy Theory
Performance
appraisal system

Training and Human resources

development management

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Integrating Theories of Motivation

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Discussion Question

Do you think the most important motivational needs for

public, private, and nonprofit sector employees are similar?
If not, why?

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Motivation and Compensation

• Pay-for-performance programs

• Compensation plans such as piece-rate plans, profit sharing,

and the like that pay employees on the basis of performance
measures not directly related to time spent on the job.

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Compensation Alternatives

• Competency-based compensation
• A program that pays and rewards employees on the basis of
skills, knowledge, or behaviors they possess
• Broad-banding
• Pre-set pay level, based on the degree to which
competencies exist and allow an employee to contribute to
the organization.
• Stock options
• A program that allows employees to purchase company
stock at a fixed price and profit when company performance
increases its stock value.

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Work-Life Balance: Alternative Work Schedules

• Flextime
• A scheduling option that allows employees select what their
work hours will be within some specified parameters.
• Job sharing
• A type part-time work that allows two or more workers to
split a traditional 40-hour-a-week job
• Telecommuting
• A system of working at home on a computer that is linked to
the office

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