CHAPTER 3

LEADERSHIP THEORIES

Learning Outcomes;

After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Describe similarities and differences between the University of Michigan

and Ohio State University leadership models.

2. Discuss similarities and differences between the University of Michigan

and the leadership Grid

3. Discuss similarities and differences among the three process motivation

theories.

4. Explain the four types of reinforcement.

5. State the major differences among content, process and reinforcement

theories.

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3.0 INTRODUCTION

The leadership behavior

Late 1940’s, most of the leadership research had shifted from traits theory paradigm to

the behavioral theory paradigm, which focuses on what the leader says and does.

Unfortunately, no leadership behaviors were found to be consistently associated with

leadership effectiveness. Today research continues to seek better understanding of

behavior, it complexity, and its effects on employee performance.

3.1 LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOUR IS BASED ON TRAITS

Leaders’ behavior is much based on their traits and skills. It is also said that a good

predictor of employee retention is the relationship between manager and employee. The

good relationship between employee and leader is likely to be motivated. Therefore, the

relationship is based on the manager’s leadership personality traits and attitudes, which

directly affect his or her behavior with the employee.

The search for traits or characteristics that differentiate leader from nonleaders,

through done in a more sophisticated manner than our on-the-street survey, dominated

the early research efforts in the study of leadership. However, attempts to identify traits

consistently associated with leadership have been more successful. Six traits on which

leaders are seen to differ from nonleaders include drive, desire to lead, honesty and

integrity, self-confidence, intelligence, and job-relevant knowledge. These traits are

briefly described in Figure 3.1.

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Figure 3.1: Six Traits That Differentiate Leaders from Nonleaders

1 Drive. Leaders exhibit a high effort level. They have a relatively high desire for

achievement, they’re ambitious, they have a lot energy, they’re tirelessly persistent in

their activities, they show initiative.2 Desire to lead. Leaders have a strong desire to influence and lead others. They

demonstrate the willingness to take responsibility.3 Honesty and integrity. Leaders build trusting relationships between themselves and

followers by being truthful or nondeceitful and by showing high consistency between

word and deed.4 Self-confidence. Followers look to leaders for an absence of self-doubt. Leaders,

therefore, need to show self-confidence in order to convince followers of the rightness

of goals and decisions.5 Intelligence. Leaders need to be intelligent enough to gather, synthesize, and

interpret large amount of information and to create visions, solve problems, and make

correct decisions.6 Job-relevent knowledge. Effective leaders have a high degree of knowledge about

the company, industry, and technical matters. In-depth knowledge allows leaders to

make well-informed decisions and to understand the implications of those decisions.

Yet traits alone do not sufficiently explain leadership, which will result in the ignorance

situational factors. Possessing the appropriate traits will make an individual an effective

leader. Results indicated that what is right in one situation is not necessarily right for

another situation. So, even though some interest in traits has reemerged during the past

two decades, a major movement away from traits theories began as early as the 1940s.

3.2 LEADERSHIP STYLES

Leadership styles are the combination of traits, skills, and behaviours leaders use as

they interact with followers. Behaviour is the most important component beside traits and

skills, as it relatively consistent pattern with the characteristics of a leader.

This derived the autocratic and democratic leadership styles by Kurt Lewin in the 1930s,

University of Iowa.

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Autocratic Leadership Style – decisions, tells/instruct employees, and supervise

workers all by leader himself.

Democratic Leadership Style – leader encourages participation in decisions,

work together with employees upon tasks, give freedom to work without muc

supervision.

This lead to an era of behavioural rather than traits research, to be discussed below;

3.2.1 UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AND OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY STUDIES

(Mid - 1940s to Mid – 1950s)

Leadership research was conducted at Ohio State and the University of Michigan at

about the same time during the mid-1940’s to mid 1950s. These studies were not based

on prior autocratic and democratic leadership styles, but rather sought to determine the

behaviour of effective leaders, term as leadership bahaviour.

UNIVERSITY of MiCHIGAN : Job-Centered and Employee-Centered Behavior

The studies was conducted to determine leadership effectiveness. The researchers

identified two styles of leadership behavior, which they called job centered and

employee centered. The U of Michigan model stated that a leader is either more job

centered or more employee-centered. See Figure 3.2 for the University of Michigan

Leadership Model: a one-dimensional continuum between two leadership styles.

Figure 3.2: The University of Michigan Leadership Model: Two Leadership Styles,

One Dimension

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Autocratic Democratic

Job-Centered Leadership Style. The job centered style has scales measuring two job-

oriented behaviors of goal emphasis and work facilitation. Job centered behavior refer to

the extent to which the leader take charge to get the job done. The leader closely directs

subordinates with clear roles and goals, while the manager tells them what to do and

how to do it as they work toward goal achievement.

Employee-Centered Leadership Style. The employee-centered style has scales

measuring two employee-oriented behaviors of supportive leadership and interaction

facilitation. Employee-centered behavior refers to the extent to which the leader focuses

on meeting the human needs of employees while developing relationships. The leader is

sensitive to subordinates and communicates to develop trust, support and respect while

looking out for their welfare.

OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY: Initiating Structure and Consideration Behaviour

The Personnel Research Board of Ohio State University was identifies four leaderships

styles based on two distinct dimensions which eventually called initiating structure and

consideration. The initiating structure behavior (leadership style), is essentially the

same as the job-centered leadership style; it focuses on getting the task done. The

consideration behavior (leadership style), is essentially the same as the employee-

centered leadership style; it focuses on meeting people’s need and developing

relationships.

MJob-Centered

Leadership StyleEmployee-Centered

Leadership Style

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Because a leader can be high or low on initiating structure and/or consideration, four

leadership styles are developed. The Ohio State University Leadership Model identifies

four leadership styles; low structure and high consideration, high structure and high

consideration, low structure and low consideration, and high structure and low

consideration..

Figure 3.3: The Ohio State University Leadership Model: Four leadership styles

and two dimensions.

Leader with high structure and low consideration behavior use one-way

communications, and decision are made by the managers, whereas leaders with high

consideration and low structure use two-way communications and tend to share decision

making.

3.2.2 THE LEADERSHIP GRID THEORY

The Leadership build on the Ohio State and Michigan studies; it is based on the same

two leadership dimensions, which called concern for production and concern for people.

The concern for both people and production is measure through a questionnaire on

scale from 1 to 9. Therefore. The grid has 81 possible combinations of concern for

production and people. However, the Leadership Grid identifies five leadership styles:

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Low structure &

Low structure &Low consideration

High consideration High consideration

High Structure

High Structure &Low consideration

&

High

Consideration

HighLow

Initiating Structure

O

1,1 improverished; 9,1 authority compliance; 1,9 country club; 5,5 middle of the road; 9,9

team leader. See Figure 3.4 for adaptation of Leadership Grid.

Figure 3.4: Leadership Grid by Blake, Mouton and McCanse

Following are descriptions of leadership styles in the Leadership Grid:

The improverished leader (1,1) has low concern for both production and people.

The leader does the minimum requirement to remain employed in the position.

The authority-compliance leader (9,1) has a high concern for production and a

low concern for people. The leader focuses on getting the job done as people are

treated like machines.

The country-club leader (1,9) has a high concern for people and a low concern

for production. The leader strives to maintain a friendly atmosphere without

regard for production.

The middle-of-the leader (5,5) has balanced, medium concern for both people

and production. The leader strives to maintain satisfactory performance and

morale.

The Leadership

GridCountry-ClubHigh concern for people, low concern with production

Team leaderHigh concern for people, High concern with production

5.5Middle of the roadModerate concern for peopleModerate concern with productionImpoverished

Low concern for people, Low concern with production

Authority-complianceLow concern for people, high concern with production

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The team leader (9,9) has a high concern for both people and production. This

leader strives for maximum performance and employee satisfaction and

generally the most appropriate for use in all situations.

3.3 LEADERSHIP AND MAJOR MOTIVATION THEORIES

In this section we will discuss motivation and how it affects leadership. Three

classification of motivation theories describe the need to balance professional and

personal need, which are content, process and reinforcement, and three content

motivation theories: hierarchy of needs, two-factor and acquired needs theory.

According to Fred Luthans & Alexander Stajkovic, the real challenge for leaders is to

manage human resources as effectively as possible in order to attain world-class

performance. Quotation from Beverly Kaye said that “People don’t leave companies,

they leave bad bosses.”

3.3.1 Motivation Process

Motivation process occur when people go from need to motive to behavior to

consequence to satisfaction or dissatisfaction.

Example: In a situation when you are hungry (need) and go to a restaurant (motive) for

food. You buy food (behavior) to fulfilled you hunger (consequence and satisfaction) you

hunger. However, if you failed to get the food, or the food that you desire, you would be

dissatisfied. Satisfaction is usually short-lived, food that satisfied you sooner or later will

fade and you will need another one. For this reason, motivation process has afeedback

loop.

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Need MotiveNeed

BehaviourNeed

ConsequenceceNeed

Satisfaction orDissatisfactionee

d

FeedbackhaviourN

3.5.1 Content Motivation Theories

Before we present the content motivation theories, let’s discuss content motivation

theories in general. Content motivation theories focus on explaining and predicting

behavior based on people needs. However, the prediction of behavior does not include

specific behavior that will be used to satisfy the need; predicting behavior refer to the

person being motivated to behavior to satisfy need. Motivation is also considered an

inner desire to satisfy an unsatisfied need. Have you ever wondered why people do the

things they do? The primary reason people do what they do is to meet their needs or

wants to be satisfied. People want job satisfaction, and they will one organization for

another to meet this need.

3.5.1.1 Hierarchy of Need Theory

Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs suggests that people are motivated by these

factors.

Physiological: food and water

Safety: physical and economic

Belongingness: friendship, love, social interaction

Esteem: achievement and recognition

Self-actualization: realizing your full potential

As each level of need is substantially satisfied, the next need becomes dominant as

shown in Figure 3.5, the individual needs moves up the hierarchy.

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Figure 3.5: Abraham Maslow Motivation Theory

People are motivated through five level of need; physiological, safety, belongingness,

esteem and self-actualization. The major recommendation to leaders is to meet

employees’ lower-level needs so that they will not dominate the employee’s motivational

process. You should get to know and understand people’s needs and meet them as a

means of increasing performance. Here are some ways in which managers attempt to

meet these five needs.

Physiological Needs: Organization meet these needs through adequate salary, breaks

and working conditions.

Safety Needs: Organization meet these needs through safe working conditions, salary

increases to meet inflation, job security and fringe benefits (medical insurance/sick

pay/pensions) that protect the physiological needs.

Social Needs: Organization meet these needs through the opportunity to interact with

others, to be accepted, to have friends. Activities includes parties, picnics, trips and sport

teams.

Esteem Needs: Organizations meet these needs through titles, the satisfaction of

completing the job itself, merit pay raises, recognition, challenging tasks, participation in

decision making and change for advancement.

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Self-Actualization Needs: Organizations meet these needs by the development of

employees’ skill, the chance to be creative, achievement and promotions, and the ability

to have complete control over their jobs.

3.5.1.2 Two-Factor Theory

Herzberg’s Two-Factor (Motivation-Hygiene) Theory combined lower-level needs into

one classification he called hygiene or maintenance; and higher-level needs into one

classification he called motivators. This theory examines the work-related factors that

are SATISFIERS to employees and those factors that are DISSATISFIERS. This theory

proposes that people are motivated by motivators (intrinsic) factors rather than

maintenance (extrinsic) factors.

Figure 3.6: Two-Factor Motivation Theory

Herzberg argues that both factors are equally important, but that good hygiene will only

lead to average performance, preventing dissatisfaction, but not, by itself, creating a

positive attitude or motivation to work. To motivate the employee management must

enrich the content of the actual work they ask them to do. For example, building into

tasks set a greater level of responsibility, and the opportunity to learn new skills. In

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advocating making work more interesting, and improving the quality of the work

experience for the individual, Herzberg coined the phrase 'Quality of Working Life'.

In 1966, Herzberg interviewed a number of people in different professions at different

levels to find out two things:

• Those factors that MOTIVATED them in the workplace

• These were identified as factors that gave employees an incentive to work

resulting in job satisfaction. They are also referred to as 'motivators'. These

motivators increased the job satisfaction of the employee and further increased

their efficiency.

• Those factors that PREVENTED JOB DISSATISFACTION

The table below lists the common hygiene factors and motivators identified within

organizations.

Herzberg's Two-factor Theory

Hygiene Factors Motivators

Salary,

Job Security,

Working Conditions,

Level and Quality of

Supervision,

Company Policy and

Administration,

Interpersonal Relations

Nature of Work,

Sense of Achievement,

Recognition,

Responsibility,

Personal Growth and

Advancement

These were identified as factors that prevented job dissatisfaction. These did not make

the employees happy (or have job satisfaction): it just removed the unhappiness out of

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working. They are also referred to as 'hygiene' factors. Such hygiene factors, if not

satisfied, had an effect of reduced employee efficiency.

Herzberg believed that all factors fell into one of these categories and therefore had

separate consequences. His research concluded that some factors fell into both

categories although they held a stronger position in one of them. See the diagram below

for examples of the factors that he determined for each category.

By looking at the diagram, it shows that a sense for achievement, recognition of their

effort, the nature of the work itself, and the desire for responsibility are all strong factors

for motivation. At the bottom of the diagram, the way the business is run, how they are

supervised, the work conditions and their pay, are all factors that can lead to job

dissatisfaction if not met to the standards of the employee.

The size (or width) of the bars that represent each factor compensate for the level at

which it is a concern. For example, from the diagram, the way the business is run is a

higher dissatisfaction cause (if it is run badly) then the concern of bad working

conditions. You may look at 'pay' and think that this bar should be a lot wider on the job

dissatisfaction side, but most people would not take the job in the first place if they

considered the pay as 'totally unacceptable'.

Take another example: the employee does not see the lack of personal responsibility as

major job dissatisfaction, but when people do seek responsibility, it is a huge

motivational factor for them: hence the long extension of the bar more on the motivation

side of the diagram.

You will further notice that those factors encouraging motivation (job satisfaction) have

little connection with money and are more associated with personal development and

achievement. Hygiene factors concern more the employees’ personal attitudes towards

the context of their job and involve money in most cases to provide a solution to the

issue.

You may also have noticed that two bars on the diagram (achievement and pay) are

shaped differently. This is to illustrate that, for Achievement, it is something that is only

acquired for a short term and is therefore an ongoing need that is searched for over and

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over again. In other words: one week you may achieve, say, a good personal sales

figure, and the following week your standard drops to a disappointing level in which you

seek to achieve this figure yet again. The Pay factor (salary) also has a similar concern:

you may increase an employee's salary that removes job dissatisfaction at first, but in

time (can be as low as days) the employee will increase their personal spending to what

they are earning and will eventually, again, become dissatisfied. In such a case, it may

be for your benefit that you offer an additional incentive to keep the employee further

satisfied to prevent this on-going cycle from occurring.

3.5.1.3 Acquired Need Theory

McClelland’s Learned Needs Theory suggests that people are motivated by the need for

affiliation, the need for achievement, or the need for power. They have a desire to do

something better or more efficient than before. This is called the need for achievement.

Need for Achievement

Need for Achievement

Personal responsibility

Feedback

Moderate risk

Study has reveled that people are desire to have impact to be influential. Individual with

high level of this desire enjoy being in-charge of something, striving influence for others

and prefer to be competitive and status oriented. This desire is known as desire for

Power.

Need For Power

Influence

Competitive

The third need identified by this theory is the desire for affiliation. Affiliation refers to the

need to have relationship with others. People desires for friendship, cooperation by

others and leading to develop networking as to satisfy the need for affiliation.

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Need for Affiliation

Acceptance and Friendship

Cooperative

(David McClelland, The Achieving Society, 1961)

Acquired needs theory says that all people have the need for achievement, power, and

affiliation, but to varying degrees. Here are some ideas for motivating employees based

on their dominant needs:

Motivating employees with a high need achievement. Give them nonroutine,

challenging tasks with clear, attainable objectives. Give them fast and frequent

feedback on their performance. Continually given them increased responsibility

for doing new things. Keep out of their way.

Motivating employees with a high need power. Let them plan and control their

jobs as much as possible. Try to include them in decision making, especially

when they are affected by the decision. They tend to perform best alone rather

than as team members. Try to assign them to a whole task than just part of a

task.

Motivating employees with high need affiliation. Be sure to let them work as part

of a team. They derive satisfaction from the people they work with rather than

the task itself. Give them lots of praise and recognition. Delegate responsibility

for orienting and training new employees to them. They make great buddies and

mentors.

Figure 3.7: A Comparison of Content Motivation Theories

Hierarchy of needs

(Maslow)

Two-factor theory

(Herzberg)

Acquired need theory

(McClelland)Self-Actualization Motivators Achievement and Power

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Esteem Motivators Achievement and PowerBelongingness Maintenance AffiliationSafety Maintenance Not ClassifiedPhysiological Maintenance Not ClassifiedNeeds must be met in a

hierarchical order

Maintenance factors will not

motivate employees.

Employees must be

motivated differently based

on their acquired needs.

The Need to Balance Professional and Personal Needs

The need to balance professional and personal needs is currently a hot topics, with the

ascent of matrixed organizations working around the clock due to a global marketplace –

and with reengineered, downsizing, rightsizing world that focuses on how to get more

done with fewer people. Successful leaders use socialized power and strive to meet the

needs of people and the organizations to create a win-win situations for all stakeholders.

Two major things organizations are doing to help employees meet their personal needs

are providing on site day care centers – or giving employees information to help them

find good day care – and offering flextime. Some leaders are also telling employees to

go home and “get a life” before is too late.

3.5.2 PROCESS MOTIVATION THEORIES

Process motivation theories focus on understanding how people choose behavior to

fulfill their needs. Process motivation theories go step further, attempting to understand

why people have difference needs, why their needs change, how and why people

choose to try to satisfy needs in different ways, the mental process people go through as

they understand situations, and how they evaluate their need satisfaction.

3.5.2.1 Equity Theory

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Equity theory is primarily J.Stacy Adams’ motivation theory, in which people said to be

motivated to seek social equity in the rewards they receive (output) for their performance

(output). Equity theory proposes that people are motivated when their perceived inputs

equal outputs.

Motivating with Equity Theory.

According to equity theory, when employees believe they are equitably rewarded they

are not actively motivated. However when employees believe they are underrewarded,

they are demotivated. Using equity theory in practice can be difficult because you don’t

always know who the employee’s reference group is, nor their view of input and

outcomes. However, this theory does offer some useful general recommendations:-

1. Managers should be aware that equity is based on perception, which may not be

correct. It is possible for the manager to create equity or unequity . Some

managers have favorite subordinates who get special treatments; other don’t. So

don’t play favorites.

2. Rewarded should be equitable. When employees perceive that they are not

treated fairly, morale and performance problems occur. Employees producing at

the same level should be given equal rewards. Those producing less should get

less.

3. High performance should be rewarded, but employees must understand the

inputs needed to attain certain outputs. When incentive pay is used, there should

be clear standards specifying the exact requirements to achieve the incentive. A

manager should be able to objectively tell others why one person got higher merit

raise than another did.

3.5.2.2 Expectancy Theory

Expectancy theory proposes that people are motivated when they believe they can

accomplish the task, they will get the reward and the rewards for doing so are worth the

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effort. The theory is based on the following assumptions: Both internal (needs) and

external (environment) factors affect behavior; behavior is the individual’s decision;

people have difference needs, desires, and goals; people make behavior decisions

based on their perception of the outcome.

Motivating with Expectancy Theory

One study found that expectancy theory can accurately predict a person’s work effort,

satisfaction level, and performance – but if the correct values are plugged into the

formula. A more recent meta-analysis (a study using the data of 77 other prior studies)

has inconsistent findings with some positive correlations. A more recent study found that

expectancy theory can be used to determine if leaders can be trained to use ethical

considerations in decision making.

Therefore, this theory work in certain contexts but not in others. Expectancy theory also

works best with employees who have an internal locus of control, because if they control

their destiny, their efforts will result in success. The following conditions should be

implemented to make the theory result in motivation:-

1. Clearly define objectives and the performance necessary to achieve them.

2. Tie performance to rewards. High performance should be rewarded. When one

employee works harder to produce more than other employees and is not

rewarded, he or she may slow down productivity.

3. Be sure rewards are of value to the employees. Managers should get to know

employees as individuals. Develop good human relations as a people developer.

4. Make sure your employees believe you will do what you say you will do. For

example, employees must believe you will give them a merit raise if they do word

hard. So that employees will believe you, follow through and show them you do

what you say you’ll do.

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5. Use the Pygmalion effect to increase expectations. Your high expectation can

result in follower self-fulfilling prophecy. As the level of expectation increases, so

will performance.

3.5.2.3 Goal Setting Theory

Goal-setting theory proposes that specific, difficult goals motivate people. Our behavior

has a purpose which is usually to fulfill the needs. Goals give us a sense of purpose as

to why we are working to accomplish a given task.

Writing Objectives. To help you to write effective that meet the criteria you will learn

next, use the model. The parts of the writing objectives model are (1) Infinitive + (2)

action verb + (3) singular, specific, and measurable result to be achieved + (4) target

date.

Criteria for Objectives. For an objective to be effective, it should include the four criteria

listed in step 3 and 4 of the writing objectives model:

Singular result. To avoid confusion, each objective should contain only one end

result.

Specific. The Objective should state the exact level of performance expected.

Measurable. If people are to achieve objectives, they must be able to observe

and measure their progress regularly to monitor progress and to determine if the

objective has been met.

Target date. A specific date should be set for accomplishing the objective. When

people have a deadline, the usually try harder to get the task done on time.

In addition to the four criteria from the model, there are three other criteria that do not

always fit within the model:

Difficult but achievable. A number of studies show that individuals perform better

when assigned difficult objectives rather than (1) easy objectives, (2) objectives

that are too difficult or (3) simply told “ do your best “.

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Participatively set. Term that participate in setting their objectives generally

outperform group s with assigned objectives.

Commitment. For objectives to be met, employees must accept them. If

employees are not committed to striving for the objective, even if you meet the

other criteria, they mat not meet the objective. Use participation helps get

employees to accept objectives.

3.5.2.3.1 Motivating with Goal Setting Theory

Assign specific, challenging goals. One of the simplest, most effective ways to motivate

workers is to give them specific, challenging goals. However, an amazing number of

managers never do this with their employees.

Make sure workers truly accept organizational goals. Specific, challenging goals won't

motivate workers unless they really accept, understand, and agree to the organization's

goals. For this to occur, people must see the goals as fair and reasonable. Plus, they

must trust management and believe that managers are using goals to clarify what is

expected from them rather than to exploit or threaten them ("If you don't achieve these

goals…"). However, participative goal-setting, in which managers and employees

generate goals together, can help increase trust and understanding and thus acceptance

of goals.

Provide frequent, specific performance-related feedback. In addition to accepting

specific, challenging goals, goal-setting theory also specifies that employees should

receive frequent performance-related feedback so they can track progress toward goal

completion. Feedback leads to stronger motivation and effort in three ways. First,

receiving specific performance feedback that indicates how well you're performing can

encourage employees who don't have specific, challenging goals to actually set goals to

improve their performance. Second, once people meet goals, performance feedback

often encourages them to set higher, more difficult goals. Third, feedback lets people

know whether they need to increase their efforts or change strategies in order to

accomplish their goals.

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3.5.3 RENFORCEMENT THEORY

B.F. Skinner, reinforcement motivation theorist, contends that to motivate employees it

is not necessary to identify and understand needs (content motivation theories), nor to

understand how employees choose behaviors to fulfill them (process motivation

theories). All manager needs to do is understand the relationship between behavior and

their consequences, and then arrange contingencies that reinforce desirable behaviors

and discourage undesirable behaviors. Reinforcement theory proposes that through the

consequences for behavior, people will be motivated to behave in predetermined ways.

More specifically, reinforcement is the process of changing behavior by changing the

consequences that follow behavior. Reinforcement has two parts: reinforcement

contingencies and schedules of reinforcement. Reinforcement contingencies are the

cause-and-effect relationships between the performance of specific behaviors and

specific consequences.

A schedule of reinforcement is the set of rules regarding reinforcement contingencies,

such as which behaviors will be reinforced, which consequences will follow those

behaviors, and the schedule by which those consequences will be delivered.

Figure 3.8: Reinforcement Theory

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3.5.3.1 Types of Reinforcement

Positive reinforcement. A method of encouraging continued behavior is to offer

attractive consequences (reward) for desirable performance. For example, an

employees is on time for a meeting and rewarded by the manager thanking him or her.

The praise is used to reinforce punctuality.

Avoidance or Negative reinforcement strengthens behavior by withholding an

unpleasant consequence when employees perform a specific behavior. Negative

reinforcement is also called avoidance learning, because workers perform a behavior to

avoid a negative consequence.

By contrast, punishment weakens behavior (i.e., decreases its frequency) by following

behaviors with undesirable consequences. While punishment can weaken behavior,

managers have to be careful to avoid the backlash that sometimes occurs when

employees are punished at work.

Extinction is a reinforcement strategy in which a positive consequence is no longer

allowed to follow a previously reinforced behavior. By removing the positive

consequence, extinction weakens the behavior, making it less likely to occur.

3.5.5 Schedules for Delivering Reinforcement

Componentsof

ReinforcementTheory

Componentsof

ReinforcementTheory

Schedules forDelivering

Reinforcement

Schedules forDelivering

Reinforcement

Motivating withReinforcement

Theory

Motivating withReinforcement

Theory

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A schedule of reinforcement is the set of rules regarding reinforcement contingencies,

such as which behaviors will be reinforced, which consequences will follow those

behaviors, and the schedule by which those consequences will be delivered. There are

two categories of reinforcement schedules: continuous and intermittent.

With continuous reinforcement schedules, a consequence follows every instance of

a behavior. For example, employees working on a piece-rate pay system earn money

(consequence) for every part they manufacture (the behavior). The more they produce,

they more they earn.

By contrast, with intermittent reinforcement schedules, consequences are delivered

after a specified or average time has elapsed or after a specified or average number of

behaviors has occurred. As shown on the next slide, there are four types of intermittent

reinforcement schedules. Two of these are based on time and are called interval

reinforcement schedules, while the other two, known as ratio schedules, are based on

behaviors.

Figure 3.9: Intermittent Reinforcement Schedules

With fixed interval reinforcement schedules, consequences follow a behavior only after a

fixed time has elapsed. For example, most people receive their paychecks on a fixed

interval schedule (e.g., once or twice per month). With variable interval reinforcement

VariableVariable

Interval(Time)

Interval(Time)

Fixed

Ratio(Behavior)

Ratio(Behavior)

consequences followbehavior after a fixed time has elapsed

consequences followbehavior after a fixed time has elapsed

Consequences followbehavior after differenttimes that vary aroundan average time

Consequences followbehavior after differenttimes that vary aroundan average time

Consequences follow a specific number of behaviors

Consequences follow a specific number of behaviors

Consequences followa different number ofbehaviors that vary around an average number

Consequences followa different number ofbehaviors that vary around an average number

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schedules, consequences follow a behavior after different times, some shorter and some

longer, that vary around a specified average time. On a 90-day variable interval

reinforcement schedule, you might receive a bonus after 80 days or perhaps after 100

days, but the average interval between performing your job well (behavior) and receiving

your bonus (consequence) would be 90 days. With fixed ratio reinforcement schedules,

consequences are delivered following a specific number of behaviors.

For example, a car salesperson might receive a RM1,000 bonus after every 10 sales.

Therefore, a salesperson with only 9 sales would not receive the bonus until he or she

finally sold a tenth car. With variable ratio reinforcement schedules, consequences are

delivered following a different number of behaviors, sometimes more and sometimes

less, that vary around a specified average number of behaviors. With a 10-car variable

ratio reinforcement schedule, a salesperson might receive the bonus after 7 car sales, or

after 12, 11, or 9 sales, but the average number of cars sold before receiving the bonus

would be 10 cars.

3.5.6 Motivating with Reinforcement Theory

Identify means identifying critical, observable, performance-related behaviors. Measure

means measuring the baseline frequencies of these behaviors. Analyze means

analyzing the causes and consequences of these behaviors. Intervene means changing

the organization by using positive and negative reinforcement to increase the frequency

of these critical behaviors. Evaluate means evaluating the extent to which the

intervention actually changed workers' behavior.

Don't reinforce the wrong behaviors. While reinforcement theory sounds simple, it's

actually very difficult to put into practice. One of the most common mistakes is

accidentally reinforcing the wrong behaviors. Correctly administer punishment at the

appropriate time. Most managers believe that punishment can change workers' behavior

and help them improve their job performance. Furthermore, managers believe that fairly

punishing workers also lets other workers know what is or isn't acceptable. However,

one of the dangers of using punishment is that it can produce a backlash against

managers and companies. However, if it is administered properly, punishment can

weaken the frequency of undesirable behaviors without creating a backlash.

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Choose the simplest and most effective schedule of reinforcement. When choosing a

schedule of reinforcement, managers need to balance effectiveness against simplicity. In

fact, the more complex the schedule of reinforcement, the more likely it is to be

misunderstood and resisted by managers and employees.

Identify means identifying critical, observable, performance-related behaviors. Measure

means measuring the baseline frequencies of these behaviors. Analyze means

analyzing the causes and consequences of these behaviors. Intervene means changing

the organization by using positive and negative reinforcement to increase the frequency

of these critical behaviors. Evaluate means evaluating the extent to which the

intervention actually changed workers' behavior.

Don't reinforce the wrong behaviors. While reinforcement theory sounds simple, it's

actually very difficult to put into practice. One of the most common mistakes is

accidentally reinforcing the wrong behaviors. Correctly administer punishment at the

appropriate time.

Most managers believe that punishment can change workers' behavior and help them

improve their job performance. Furthermore, managers believe that fairly punishing

workers also lets other workers know what is or isn't acceptable. However, one of the

dangers of using punishment is that it can produce a backlash against managers and

companies. However, if it is administered properly, punishment can weaken the

frequency of undesirable behaviors without creating a backlash.

Choose the simplest and most effective schedule of reinforcement. When choosing a

schedule of reinforcement, managers need to balance effectiveness against simplicity. In

fact, the more complex the schedule of reinforcement, the more likely it is to be

misunderstood and resisted by managers and employees.

54

By using all the approaches, leaders can more completely meet the diverse motivational

concerns of their employees. No one theory or approach works with every employee or

in every situation.

3.6 CONCLUSION

Motivation is important because it helps to explain why employees behave the way they

do. At this point you may be wondering: How do these theories fit together? Is the one

best? Should I try to pick the correct theory for a given situation? The groups of theories

are complementary; each group of theories answers a different stage in the motivation

process. Each group of theories answers a different question. Content motivation

theories answer the question: What needs do employees have that should be met on the

job? Process motivation theories answer the question: What do employees choose the

behavior to fulfill theirs need? Reinforcement theory answers the question: What can

leaders do to get employees to behave in ways that meet the organizational objectives?

In this chapter you learned that motivation process went from need to motivate to

behavior to consequence to satisfaction or dissatisfaction.

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3.7 REFERENCES

1. Robert N. Lussier and Chistopher F. Achua (2004), “Leadership –Theory,

Application, Skill Development” 2nd Edition. South Western, Thomson Corporation

2. David Pardey (2007), “Introducing Leadership”, 1st Edition. Butterworth

Heinemann

3. Kinicki, A, & William K.W, (2008), “Management: A Practical Introduction”,

3rd Ed. rwin-McGraw Hill

4. Robbin,S.P., & Coulter M,(2008), “Management”, 9th Ed. Pearson-Prentice

Hall

.

4. Schermerhon, J.R.,(2007).”Management,(th Ed. John Wiley & Soc Inc.

EXERCISE;

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Q1 True or False?

1. A happy employee = a productive employee?

2. My supervisor motivates me to be a better employee by threatening to fire me if I don’t

perform.

Q2 Big questions to ponder as you proceed:

1. What factor does money have on motivation? Would your (could you) work twice as

hard if they doubled your salary? Is any executive worth the salaries they are paid

(sometimes 100 times what their average employee makes!)?

2. Can the company do ANYTHING to motivate someone who truly isn’t internally

motivated?

3. Should it be the company’s goal to create a job that is meaningful and challenging for

every employee at every level? Is that even possible?

4. What can management do (in terms of employee incentives, programs, etc.) to make

employees more satisfied with their jobs and, therefore, to work harder to achieve the

company’s goals?

QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW

1. Does motivation come from within a person, or is it a result of the situation? Explain.

2. Compare and contrast Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory with Herzberg’s two-

factor theory.

3. Describe the three needs isolated by McClelland. How are they related to worker

behavior?

.

4. Explain the Goal-Setting theory. How applicable is it to leadership practice?

5. How is leadership behavior based on traits?

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6. Do you agree with the University of Michigan Model (with two leadership styles) or

with the Ohio State model (with four leadership styles)?

7. What are three important contributions of the Leadership Grid and high-high

research?

8. Which of four content motivation theories do you prefer? Why?

9. Which of the three process motivation theories do you prefer? Why?

10. Reinforcement theory is unethical because it is used to manipulate employees. Do

you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.

11. Which motivation theory do you feel is the best? Explain why.

12. What is your motivation theory? What major methods, techniques and so on, do you

plan to use on the job as a manager to increase motivation and performance?

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