Motivation at work

8 important questions on Motivation at work

McClelland's theory of motivation

He conceptualizes motivation as stemming from trait-like inner needs for achievement, affiliation and power:

-Need for Achievement (nAch)
- Need for Affiliation (nAff)
- Need for Power (nPow)

McClelland suggested that these inner needs were trait-like, and could be developed. Ideas such as these are consistent with our understanding of factors such as self-efficacy.

Achievement-motivated effort is a product of three factors:

1. A person's level of nAch
2. Individual perceptions of the probability of success in the task
3. Intrinsic rewards associated with accomplishment

Two different types of powerrelevant roles

1. Relational power jobs that provide the job holder with frequent opportunities to exert influence over others, such as in teaching or psychologist roles.
2. Directive power jobs, which do not allow for as many opportunities to exercise power over other but can require a certain amount of administration and paperwork, such as in business management roles
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Number of features of goals that made them more or less effective

1. Goals must be specific and challenging.
2. Motivating goals must be measurable.
3. Goals must be attainable and time-bound.

Mechanisms by which goal setting promotes performance

1. Goals direct attention and effort towards activities that are relevant for achieving the goal. Goals therfore affect cognition and behaviour.
2. Goal setting energizes behaviour
3. Goals induce persistence and prolonged effort.
4. Goals influence the acquisition and use of task-relevant knowledge and strategies that increase the chances of task success.

Under what conditions do goals lead to motivation and performance?

1. Strongest when individuals are committed to their goals.
2. When goals are difficult, commitment becomes even more significant.
3. Feedback on progress and performance enhances goal-related behaviour. People with high self-efficacy use feedback to decrease anxiety and increase their motivation, effort and task focus.
4. The goal setting-performance relationship is moderated by task complexity. The link between goals and performance is clearest for low complexity tasks.
5. The final constraints on the link between goal setting and performance are situational or contextual

Goal commitment affected by two factors

1. The importance of the goal to the individual
2. Personal belief that they are capable of achieving their goal

Three kinds of justice perception

1. Distributive Justice: The essence of equity perceptions
2. Procedural Justice: Targeted towards the organizational systems used to determine how rewards are distributed.
3. Interactional Justice: Interpersonal justice concerns the extent to which people feel treated with respect and dignity. Informational justice refers to the ways in which decisions or procedures at work are communicated and explained.

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