Summary containing all the relevant theory discussed during the lectures of the course Managing People Psychological Foundationsgiven in the second year of International Business Administration at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. By learning this summary I personally passed the final exam.
Organizational Behavior is the interdisciplinary field dedicated to understanding people at
work
Human Resource Management is the policies, practices and systems that influence
employees’ attitudes, behaviors, and performance
Motivation describes the psychological processes that underlie direction, intensity, and
persistence of behavior. Motivation is a set of energetic forces that originate within and
outside an employee that initiates work-related effort and determines its direction, intensity,
and persistence.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs:
1. Self-actualization
2. Self-esteem
3. Love and belonging
4. Safety and security
5. Physiological needs
Mixed empirical support because of culture, does not align with all core values.
Early theories on motivation:
Alderfer’s Erg Theory
o Extension of Maslow’s theory existence, relatedness, and growth needs
o Multiple needs can be activated simultaneously and change in prominence
o Again: mixed empirical support
McClelland’s Need Theory
o Achievement, affiliation, and power
o Popular lay theory based on value of extrinsic rewards
Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory
o Hygiene factors determine dissatisfaction: motivation factors determine
satisfaction beginning of understanding intrinsic motivation
o Empirical support questionable: two-factor aspect not as clear as portrayed
Content theories on motivation:
Equity Theory (Adams) – justice as a motive
o Equity compares how well you are doing compared to how well others are
doing in similar jobs.
o Instead of focusing just on what you put in and get out, equity theory also
considers the comparison of your input-output ratio to those of others.
o Important factor: fairness (organizational justice theory)
o Individual outputs / individual inputs = other’s output / other’s input
Self-determination Theory (Ryan & Deci)
o Interplay between intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors
o Three basic human needs:
Autonomy
Competence / mastery
Relatedness
o Fulfillment of needs wellbeing, engagement intrinsic motivation
o Hybrid theory of content and process
,Strong empirical support for validity and usefulness of the theory: when needs are met,
people perform better, are healthier, more engaged, and more committed (among other
outcomes).
Implications for organizations: design jobs in such a way that autonomy, mastery, and
connectedness are promoted. Often used as a foundation for job design theories.
Conclusion on early / content theories: people have basic needs that motivate behavior.
Context-based theories on motivation:
The job characteristics model
o Motivational aspects of work by
designing jobs
o Hackman & Oldham: job design is
the organization of a job’s
elements
o Job characteristics model core
dimensions:
Skill variety
Task identity
Task significance
Autonomy
Feedback
Job demands-resources theory (Bakker &
Demerouti)
“Job resources are those physical,
psychological, social, or organizational aspects
of the job that are either functional in achieving
work goals, reducing job demands, or
stimulating personal growth, learning, and
development” e.g., autonomy, social support,
opportunities for development
“Job demands refer to those physical,
psychological, social, or organizational aspects
of the job that require sustained physical and/or psychological (cognitive and emotional)
effort or skills and are therefore associated with certain physical and/or psychological costs”
e.g., work pressure, emotional workload, conflict
, - Job demands-resources theory and self-determination theory: job resources fulfill
basic human needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness (i.e., they are
intrinsically motivating)
- Demand not always negative!
o As long as they are manageable and buffered by sufficient resources
o Challenge demands vs hindrance demands
o To prevent boreout (demands + resources needed)
- Job demands-resources theory related to many outcomes: performance, satisfaction,
health, commitment, absenteeism, and job loss.
Conclusion: it is important to understand individuals’ motivation in team systems and the
larger context.
Process-based theories on motivation:
Expectancy theory (Vroom)
o Effort performance relationship (expectancy)
Will maximum effort always lead to positive performance appraisals?
o Performance rewards relationship (instrumentality)
Will good performance appraisals always lead to fitting rewards?
o Rewards goals relationship (valence)
Will rewards lead to fulfillment of foals?
Widespread support for predictive value on performance and effort, but questionable validity
and theory tends to be idealistic.
Goal setting theory (Locke)
o Goal behavioral intention behavior (theory of planned behavior)
o People are generally motivated by challenging goals
Focus attention: goal specificity and goal commitment
Energized and persistence boost
Discover new strategies
Goal setting is definitely effective: types of goals (i.e., participative, assigned, self-set) seem
equally effective contingency approach; effectiveness can vary across cultures.
Conclusion: clear goals and transparent rewards help motivating people
KNOWLEDGE CLIP 1: ATTITUDES
Attitudes are evaluative statements or judgements concerning objects, people, events, or
ideas. Attitudes are learned predispositions to respond in a consistently favorable or
unfavorable manner with respect to an attitude object.
Attitudes vary in complexity and are an important predictor of organizational behavior.
Attitude has three different components:
1. Cognitive component
, 2. Affective component
3. Behavioral component
Theory of planned behavior (Ajzen):
links beliefs to behavior.
Cause of behavioral intentions are:
- Attitude
- Subjective norms
- Perceived behavioral control
Implementation intentions: from behavioral
intentions to behavior.
Cognitive dissonance theory (Festinger): the relationship between attitude and behavior:
from behavior to attitudes.
The unbalance between cognition, affect, and behavior.
1) change the attitude and / or behavior 2) reduce the importance.
Attitudes behavior and behavior attitudes.
Work experiences as predictor of attitudes (e.g., challenging work).
Attitudes are critical for predicting work-related behaviors.
Managers should be aware of them and change them if necessary and possible.
Attitudes and OB
1. Satisfaction = positive job evaluation
+ performance and OCB | - absenteeism, turnover, and deviance
2. Involvement = identification with and participation in job
+ performance and OCB | - absenteeism and turnover
3. Commitment = identification with goals organizational and membership
+ performance and OCB | - absenteeism and turnover
4. Perceived Organizational Support (POS) = perceptions of care and contribution
+ well-being, organizational identification, and OCB | - N-comm, A-comm and
involvement
5. Work engagement = vigor, dedication, and absorption
+ performance, OCB, and health | - CWB, absenteeism and turnover
KNOWLEDGE CLIP 2: PERSONALITY
Personality is the combination of enduring physical, behavioral, and mental characteristics
that makes individuals unique.
- Personality traits predict many OB-related outcomes, such as performance, career
success, and promotions.
- Personality traits underlie attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors, and it influences the
way we deal with demands, resources, etc. at work.
Key aspects of personality:
(Relatively) stable
o Temporal stability
o Cultural stability
Psychological dispositions towards certain behaviors
Highly visible in weak (vs. strong) situations
Determined by genetics and environment = interactionist perspective
Personality as a relatively stable individual difference that predicts work related outcomes.
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