Work Motivation

Theory and Practice

Raymond A. Katzell New York University
Donna E. Thompson Baruch College,
City University of New York

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ABSTRACT: Major theories of motivation are classified magnitude, and maintenance of effort in a person's job.
as those dealing either with exogenous causes or with en- We begin by briefly summarizing and classifying key the-
dogenous processes. Whereas the latter help explain mo- ories. Seven key strategies for improving work motivation
tivation, the former identify levers for improving worker are then distilled from this classification. Various pro-
motivation and performance. Seven key strategies for im- grams are described for implementing those strategies,
proving work motivation are distilled from the exogenous with the aim of creating work situations in which workers
theories. Illustrative programs are described for imple- are both better satisfied and more productive. Last, we
menting those strategies, programs that aim at creating suggest some future directions for research and practice.
organizations in which workers are both better satisfied
and more productive. Suggestions are offered for improv- Theories of Work Motivation
ing the science and technology of work motivation. The early theories of work motivation can be character-
ized as simplistic. One view was that the key to motivating
people at work was a behavioral version of the carrot and
In recent years, work motivation has emerged as an in- stick: Pay people for being good workers and punish or
creasing topic of concern for American society. This fire them for being otherwise. That was a basic tenet of
heightened interest is due, in part, to the flagging pro- so-caUed scientific management (Taylor, 1911). In contrast
duetivity of our organizations. Demographic changes have was the notion that a happy worker is a good worker, a
further underscored the need for innovative approaches notion that has been criticized as the core of the naive
to developing, motivating, and retaining valuable human "human relations" movement (Perrow, 1972). Eventually
resources. There is no longer an endless supply of qualified the validity of both of these formulations was called into
individuals either for unskilled entry-level positions or question by empirical findings. For example, it was noted
for technical or more highly skilled jobs (Szilagyi & Wal- that workers respond to incentives and disincentives other
lace, 1983). Moreover, changes have occurred in what than money and even the keeping of a job (Herzberg,
American workers want out of jobs and careers and, for Mausner, & Snyderman, 1959; Roethlisberger & Dickson,
that matter, out of their lives in general (Katzell, 1979; 1939), and the basic assumption of the human relations
Lawler, 1985). Demographic projections for the increased movement was challenged by the typically low correla-
diversity of the American workforce in the 1990s and tions between job satisfaction and job performance
beyond are also raising the additional problems of (Brayfield & Crockett, 1955).
matching motivational practices to the needs and values To deal with such deficiencies, other students of work
of diverse subgroups of employees (Thompson & Di- motivation have since proposed a variety of other theo-
Tomaso, 1988). retical approaches, which we summarize in the following
Interest in work motivation among psychologists and subsections. The list is not meant to be exhaustive, but
other behavioral scientists who study organizations has rather indicative of major classes of theories that have
escalated dramatically as well. In fact, probably no other received considerable attention from researchers and
subject has received more attention in recent journals scholars interested in work motivation. Although there
and textbooks of organizational behavior (Cooper & may be differences in the speofic formulations of different
Robertson, 1986). Current reviews of that literature amply theorists within a category, we believe it is more useful
document the extensive empirical research that has been here to emphasize common or related ideas. Readers in-
done and the theories that have been formulated (e.g., terested in extensions or variations of the theories, as well
Landy & Becket, 1987; Locke & Henne, 1986; Pinder, as citations of the original literature, can consult the gen-
1984). eral reviews cited earlier.
In this article we endeavor to bring together major Although theories of work motivation have been
theories, research, and applications on the subject of mo- categorized in various ways, we have chosen to classify
tivation for work performance. Work motivation is de- them broadly as either dealing with exogenous causes or
fined as a broad construct pertaining to the conditions endogenous processes. We believe this conceptualization
and processes that account for the arousal, direction, facilitates the examination of what is known about the

144 February 1990 • American Psychologist

Copyright 1990 by the Arm:dean Psychological Association, Inc. 0003-066X/90/$00.75
Vol. 45, No. 2, 146--153
conditions and practices affecting work motivation. Ex- Group and norm theory. People are motivated to
ogenous theories focus on motivationally relevant inde- perform well when their work group facilitates and ap-
pendent variables that can be changed by external agents. proves of it. The dynamics of formal and informal work
Thus, exogenous variables (e.g., organizational incentives groups often include the development of cohesiveness,
and rewards and social factors such as leader and group the emergence of norms regarding behavior, particularly
behavior) represent action levers or handles that can be about how much work is appropriate, and the conformity
used by policymakers (or experimenters, for that matter) of individual members to these norms. The work group
to change the motivation of workers. Endogenous theories, develops and maintains adherence to norms through the
in turn, deal with process or mediating variables (expec- use of social rewards and sanctions. Working in the pres-
tancies, attitudes, etc.) that are amenable to modification ence of other group members is itself a source of arousal,
only indirectly in response to variation in one or more especially if the other members are perceived as moni-
exogenous variables. toring or evaluating one's performance. People are also
prone to absorb the attitudes and behavioral dispositions
Exogenous Tkeories of other group members.
Motive/need theory. People have certain innate or ac- Sociotechnical system theory. People are motivated
quired propensities to seek out or avoid certain kinds of to perform well when the work system is designed so that
stimuli. These propensities, called motives or needs, in- conditions for effective personal, social, and technological
fluence behavior and are major determinants of perfor- functioning are harmonized. The work should be mean-
mance. Various theories differ in content regarding the ingful, challengin~ and diversified,and workers should
number of basic needs or sets of needs proposed and in have the skills,autonomy, and resources to do it well.
whether needs are arranged in some hierarchical order. Endogenous Tkeories
Incentive~reward theory. Incentives consist of fea-
tures of the work situation (e.g., what the supervisor says Arousal~activation theory. Arousal/activation theories
and does) that lead the workers to associate certain forms focus on internal processes that mediate the effects of
of behavior (e.g., high quality of product) with a reward conditions of work on performance. Physiological and
(e.g., praise). Disincentives are stimuli that conversely affective states are the two types of mediators that have
evoke avoidance, or refraining, such as a company policy received the most attention.
that docks pay when employees are absent. Incentives are Expectancy-valence theory. People are motivated
therefore important in attracting and holding employees when they expect that effort will result in good perfor-
and in directing behavior. Rewards are stimuli that satisfy mance, which in turn will be instrumental in attaining
one or more motives and therefore arouse positive psy- valued outcomes.
chological states that serve to encourage and maintain Equity theory. People are motivated by their need
the behavior that produced them. for fair treatment. Justice consists of a balance between
Reinforcement theory. People are motivated to per- a worker's inputs in a given situation (e.g., ability, se-
form well when there have been positive consequences of niority) and its outcomes (e.g., money, promotions). Eq-
good performance. Conversely, ineffective behavior should uity exists when output/input ratios for the individual
not be positively reinforced or should be punished. The employee and the reference source (e.g., co-worker,
effects of reinforcement depend heavily on the schedule profession) are equal.
according to which reinforcers are delivered. Hence, more Attitude theory. People who have favorable attitudes
attention is devoted to schedules than to the properties toward their jobs, work, and/or organizations will be more
of the reinforcers. highly motivated to remain in and perform their jobs.
Goal theory. The basic proposition of goal theory The principle of cognitive consistency also implies that
is that people will perform better if goals are defined that people will act in ways that accord with their attitudes.
are difficult, specific, and attractive. People need feedback Two major work-related attitudes are job satisfaction (af-
to continue to perform at high levels. Commitment to a fect associated with one's job) and job involvement (how
goal may be increased by money or another concrete re- important the job is to the incumbent).
ward or by participating in setting the work goals. Intention/goal theory. A person's performance is
Personal and material resource theory. Constraints determined by the goals to which he or she is committed.
on workers' abilities or opportunities to attain their work The goals may be self-set or accepted from those set by
goals are demotivating. In the extreme, such constraints others. Intentions are cognitive representations of goals
can lead to apathy or learned helplessness. Conversely, to which the person is committed. People who are com-
conditions that facilitate goal attainment are positively mitted to specific, hard goals perform at higher levels
motivating. These constraints and facilitators can be per- than people who have easier or vaguer goals.
sonal (such as skill level) or material (such as equipment). Attribution~self-efficacy theory. Although attribu-
tion and self-efficacy represent two somewhat different
theoretical strands, they can be merged in their impli-
Correspondenceccmcemin8thisarticleshouldbe ~__dremedto Raymond cations for work motivation. Attribution theory is con-
A. Katzell,Departmentof Psychology,NewYorkUniversity,NewYork, cerned with explanations that people have for why par-
NY 10003. ticular events occur or why people behave as they do. If

February 1990 * American Psychologist 145

people think that the causes of their performance are sta- assessees who had been predicted to reach middle man-
ble, internal, and intentional, successful performance will agement in fact did so eight years later; that figure may
affect their self-efficacy beliefs favorably. People with per- be contrasted with only 32% of 62 assessees reaching
ceptions of greater self-efficacy and higher self-esteem are middle management who had been predicted not to do so.
more likely to have higher performance standards and Not all of the measures in this study addressed mo-
goals, have expectations of better performance, have more tivational characteristics. But among those qualities that
favorable job attitudes, and show greater willingness to predicted success in attaining the middle-management
put forth effort on challenging tasks. level were need for advancement, energy, primacy of work,
Other cognitive theories. With the exception of inner work standards, range of interests, and need for
arousal/activation theory, the endogenous theories of security (inverse relationship). Summarizing the qualities
motivation summarized above feature various cognitive deemed essential to managerial success in the study, Bray
processes. Several other cognitive formulations have re- and Grant (1966) pointed to the importance of motivation
cently been advanced. Because they have not yet been to perform well, desire for rapid advancement, indepen-
the target of extensive research and application in work dence of the approval of others, and lesser concern with
situations, we simply note them here. They include social security, in addition to having the requisite intellectual,
cognition, social information processing, and control administrative, and social abilities.
theory (see Ilgen & Klein, 1989). Howard and Bray (1988) subsequently reported a
20-year follow-up of a total of 266 assessees in the AT&T
Exogenous Theories: program. Motivational dimensions again proved to be
Seven Motivational Imperatives prominent in predicting career advancement and success
Although endogenous theories help explain what is going 20 years laterwspecifically, the dimensions of advance-
on in motivation, it is the exogenous theories that suggest ment or achievement motivation and work involvement.
"action levers" that can be employed to change work mo- This study also shed light on motivational factors pre-
tivation. Seven key strategies for improving work moti- dictive of staying with or voluntarily leaving the company:
vation can be distilled from the exogenous theories. Table Stayers scored, on average, significantly higher on need
1 presents these motivational imperatives. Each of the for security, company value orientation, work involve-
columns corresponds to an exogenous construct. Within ment, and tolerance for delayed gratification but showed
each column, the motivational imperative or principle less urgent need for advancement.
implied by the related exogenous theory is summarized Job previews. Another program designed to imple-
and illustrative programs that have been used to fulfill ment the motivational imperative of fitting workers' mo-
the imperative are listed. Space prevents us from dis- tives to the job provides candidates with realistic job pre-
cussing all of the specific programs that organizations views. Although results have not always been positive,
have used with some degree of success, or even all that there have been numerous instances of reduction in later
are listed in Table 1. In this section, we briefly describe turnover when organizations provided applicants with
some of the more widely employed programs that have realistic previews of what their jobs would be like via
been used to implement the motivational imperatives. brochures, films, and even reports of previous employee
For purpose of illustration, we also describe in greater attitude surveys, thereby furnishing a basis for self-selec-
detail one example relating to each of the seven imper- tion (Wanous, 1980).
atives. Motive training. The second broad strategy, that of
changing motives by training, is based on the premise
Personal Motives and Values that some of the motives pertinent to work behavior are
The motivational imperative inherent in motive/need at least partly learned and therefore subject to change.
theory is that it is important to ensure that workers have For example, McClelland and Winter (1969) demon-
motives and values relevant to the type of organization strated that achievement motivation can be strengthened
and to the jobs in which they are placed. It should be through training, with favorable consequences for job
noted that the theoretical and practical value of the con- success. Training women to be more assertive and dom-
struct of personal motives has been questioned (e.g., Sal- inant in work relationships is another application of this
ancik & Pfeffer, 1978). Nevertheless, this theory remains approach (O'Donnell & Colby, 1979).
central to two basic strategies for improving work moti-
Incentives and Rewards
vation: (a) selecting workers whose motives match the
situation (personnel selection), and (b) developing those The imperative that follows from incentive/reward theory
motives in them (motive training). is that jobs and their associated perquisites must be de-
Personnel selection. In an extensive, long-term effort signed so as to be attractive, interesting, and satisfying to
to assess managerial potential, measures of various per- workers. When a national sample of 1,500 workers was
sonal characteristics were obtained from junior managers asked about the importance to them of various features
at AT&T in an assessment center by such techniques as of a job, the highest ratings were assigned to the rewards
paper-and-pencil tests, projective tests, interviews, and of interesting work, good pay, availability of needed re-
observed group exercises (Bray, Campbell, & Grant, sources, having sufficient authority, and friendly and co-
1974). Among the findings was that 64% of the initial 61 operative co-workers (Survey Research Center, University

146 February 1990 • American Psychologist

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F e b r u a r y 1990 • A m e r i c a n P s y c h o l o g i s t 147
 of Michigan, 1971). Having control over one's working there are individual differences in what people regard as
life appears to be becoming increasingly salient as well desirable in their jobs, Lawler (1987) espoused the idea
(Katzell, 1979; Lawler, 1985). of having a package of rewards and benefits from which
Enlightened employers and unions endeavor to cre- individuals could choose the combination most suitable
ate working conditions and policies that provide such re- for them. Such so-called "cafeteria" plans have been
wards. It is important to note, however, that the best of found to be workable and useful in industry (Cohn, 1988).
such programs can be undercut if they are administered
inequitably. The motivational role of equity was noted Reinforcement
among the endogenous theories summarized earlier. Its Some behavioral psychologists would question the inclu-
importance extends even to administering nonmonetary sion of reinforcement in a fist of motivational factors,
rewards such as status (Greenberg, 1988). preferring to consider it as a description of how behavior
Job enrichment. Job enrichment is one kind of in- is shaped by its consequences. However, inasmuch as it
novative program designed to t'ulfill the imperative of can account for the arousal, direction, and maintenance
making jobs attractive, interesting, and satisfying. Many of effort, students of work motivation often view it literally
behavioral scientists have advanced the thesis that diver- as a motivational mechanism.
sifted, challenging jobs are more satisfying and intrinsi- The imperative that derives from this motivational
cally motivating than simpler, more routine ones (e.g., element is that effective performance should be positively
Hackman & Oldham, 1975, 1980; Herzberg, 1966). A reinforced in order to be maintained in the future. Con-
number of attempts to implement this thesis have been versely, ineffective behavior should not be rewarded, and
reported; in the aggregate they show that effects of job a case can even be made for the judicious use of aversive
enrichment on attitudes are usually favorable, whereas reinforcement, or punishment, in organizations (Arvey
effects on performance, although often positive, are less & Ivancevich, 1980). In contrast to rewards and incentive
consistent (Stone, 1986). theory, the emphasis here is not on the nature of the
A program undertaken with 90 clerical workers in reinforcers as much as on their linkage to performance.
a large quasi-federal agency illustrates this approach (Or- Behavior analysis. In a quasi-experiment in a
pen, 1979). The employees were divided into two groups, wholesale bakery by Komaki, Berwick, and Scott (1978),
in one of which no changeswere made. The jobs of the the targeted behavior consisted of specific practices or
employees in the other group were enriched by increasing conditions that an analysis of previous accidents suggested
skill variety, task identity and significance, autonomy, and would avert injuries. The employees were given instruc-
feedback, these being core dimensions of job scope pro- tions on what constituted safe and unsafe practices, were
posed by Hackman and Oldham (1975). Measures of at- shown a record of their performance of each during a
titudes, quality and quantity of job performance, turn- baseline period, and were encouraged to improve their
over, and absenteeism were obtained before, during, and incidence of safe practices from the approximately 70%
after the experimental period, which lasted six months. level during the baseline period, to 90%. Safe performance
The resulting job performance of employees in the ex- was then reinforced by feedback via regularly posting the
perimental group differed little from that of employees percentage of safe incidents observed for each group as a
in the comparison group. However, not only were job whole and by having the supervisors comment favorably
attitudes significantly better among the employees whose to individual employees when they saw them performing
jobs had been enriched, hut absenteeism and turnover certain selected acts safely. The percentage of safe prac-
declined. The positive effects were stronger among em- tices increased markedly during the 8- to 1 l-week inter-
ployees having stronger needs for personal growth and vention periods--from 70% to 96% in one department
achievement, as hypothesized by Hackman and Oldham and from 78% to 98% in the other. Within a year, the
(1975). lost-time accident rate stabilized at the relatively low figure
This study underscores the importance of person- of below 1 per million work-hours, less than one fifth the
environment fit (Pervin, 1968), in this case fitting the accident rate during the year preceding the initiation of
rewards to the employees. Furthermore, we are reminded the program. Although the intervention introduced
that job performance depends on factors in addition to training, goal setting~ and observation in addition to re-
improved motivation: Resources and methods for doing inforcement, the fact that performance subsided to pre-
the job are also important, so changes in job design are intervention levels during a reversal period and later im-
not likely to improve performance unless the new pro- proved a~ain when reinforcement was resumed points to
cedures are at least as efficient as the old ones (Fein, 1971). reinforcement as the principal causal mechanism.
It is also worth noting that reactions to job characteristics Financial reinforcement programs. Traditionally,
depend on social cues as well as on their objective prop- financial compensation is often administered in a non-
erties (Griffin, Bateman, Wayne, & Head, 1987). contingent way, or the contingency involves just coming
Of course, the variety of incentives and rewards re- to work regularly enough and performing well enough to
fleeted in various organizational practices is enormous. avoid discharge. Another problem occurs when the ap-
Examples in addition to job enrichment include financial propriate contingent rewards are indeed administered but
compensation, promotion, merit rating, benefit programs, their contingency is not clearly understood, because an
considerate supervision, and recognition awards. Because awareness that rewards are contingent appears to con-

148 February 1990 • American Psychologist

tribute to their effectiveness (Feder & Fen'is, 1981). How- tractive, and di~cult but attainable. Feedback or knowl-
ever, a number of systems have been devised for tying edge of results of goal attainment is useful for maintaining
financial remuneration more directly to performance. the motivational force of goals (Locke, Cartledge, & Koe-
Incentive pay systems link the workers' remuneration to pel, 1968).
some concrete measure of output, such as sales or parts Goal-setting programs. A field experiment by
completed. Research data, on average, support the ben- Pritehard, Jones, Roth, Stuebing, and Ekeberg (1988)
eficial effects of such techniques on performance (Locke, demonstrates how a program of goal setting and feedback
Feren, McCaleb, Shaw, & Denny, 1980). Guzzo, Jette, can favorably affect productivity and attitudes. The ex-
and Katzell (1985) reported wide variation in those effects, periment was conducted with five groups of Air Force
from excellent to negligible. Possibilities for these varia- personnel totaling approximately 80 individuals over the
tions include (a) differences in coping with such problems course of the study. One group repaired electronic equip-
as measuring performance and providing a sufficiently ment, and the other four were engaged in storage and
large pay supplement, and (b) situational differences that distribution of materials and supplies. Productivity mea-
have been occurring that make incentive plans based on sures were compiled over a baseline period of 8 to 9
individual or small-group performance less congruent months. For the next 5 months, the groups received
with contemporary social values (Lawler, 1987). monthly feedback on their productivity. For the following
More consistent with the emerging organizational 5 months, each group participatively set difficult but at-
climate and culture are plans that accept the reality of tainable productivity goals for itself. On average, pro-
employees as influential participants in the organization ductivity improved 50% over baseline during the 5-month
and that relate their compensation to performance either feedback period, which the experimenters pointed out
of the whole organization or of its major subdivisions. probably involved informal goal setting by the groups as
There are basically three types of such plans: profit shar- well. When formal goal setting was added to feedback,
ing; employee stock ownership; and gain sharing, in which productivity improved an additional 25%. Significant
the supplemental payments depend on production im- improvements were also found in measures of job satis-
provements rather than profits. The advantages of the faction and morale, but not in turnover intentions. Taken
latter are that changes in production are more directly together, the results strongly support the positive moti-
attributable to employee performance and can be cal- vational effects of setting specific, difficult but attainable
culated more frequently. Hammer (1988) provided a re- goals, coupled with feedback on performance.
view of these various plans and a framework for under- Although in this case formal goal setting followed
standing their effects. Comprehensive organization-wide feedback and was done participatively and at the group
plans, such as the Scanlon Plan, typically involve a num- level, other studies have shown positive results when goals
ber of non financial motivational factors as well, so they are assigned or set on an individual basis and when formal
may be regarded as a type of "quality of work-life" pro- feedback follows, rather than precedes, goal setting (see
gram, to be described later (Katzell & Yankelovich, 1975). reviews by Locke, Shaw, Sam-i, & Latham, 1981, and
Nonfinancial reinforcers. Such reinforcers may also Tubbs, 1986), It should also be noted that the positive
be made contingent on performance. Examples include effects of goal setting are sometimes only temporary
time off, opportunity to obtain additional vacation time, (Ivancevich, 1976; Quick, 1979).
and posting of individual performance data, in addition Management by objectives. Positive results have also
to feedback and praise that were described earlier. been reported for other types of programs that aim to
Self-management. Another approach to reinforce- improve motivation through goals. For example, although
ment adapts the practice of self-management from clinical specific practices vary, management by objectives (MBO)
psychology (Stuart, 1977). Target setting, monitoring, and programs typically entail an element of participative ne-
feedback reinforcement are here the responsibility of the gotiation between a supervisor and a subordinate in the
individual employee rather than of a mentor or supervisor setting of work goals, plus considerations of what might
(e.g., Frayne & Latham, 1987). help the subordinate attain them, and feedback on past
A criticism of extrinsic reinforcement is that it may performance, which can also incorporate praise and crit-
reduce intrinsic motivation to do the job (Deci, 1972). icism. Reviewing experience with MBO, Carroll and Tosi
However, there are two rejoinders to that criticism: (a) No (1973) concluded that setting hard goals results in better
one has shown that in actual employment situations use performance only for employees who have self-confidence
of extrinsic reinforcement reduces total motivation to work; and expect to achieve the goals---contingencies that
and (b) designing work so that it is maximally self-rein- probably moderate the effects of all goal-setting treat-
forcing and intrinsically rewarding is not inconsistent with ments. It is also important that the employee be com-
the basic notion of rewarding good performance (Farr, mitted to the goals, a condition that is fostered by ensuring
1976; Hamner, 1974). This, in fact, appears to be the way that the goals are acceptable, which the participative na-
in which organizational reward systems are moving. ture of MBO helps to accomplish (Locke, Latham, &
Erez, 1988).
Goal Theory Goals are imparted as features of several other prae-
The motivational imperatives that follow from goal theory rices of human resource management, including job de-
are that the goals of work should be specific, clear, at- scriptions, training, performance appraisal, participative

February 1990 • American Psychologist 149

management, quality circles, and incentive pay plans. Al- or more of the following ways summarized by Walton
though such practices are not usually undertaken mainly (1976): setting up self-managing work teams, giving teams
as goal-setting techniques, we should recognize that their responsibility for whole tasks rather than special flag-
worth may depend in large measure on how well they ments, and/or encouraging flexibility of job responsibil-
serve that function (Locke et al., 1980). ities among group members.
Personal and Material Resources Group composition. Another approach to improv-
ing the motivational climate of work groups involves
There is recent evidence that inadequate resources can composing groups so that the members are more likely
adversely affect the attitudes and emotions of workers (e.g., to work well together. Perhaps the most systematic pro-
Eisenberger, Huntington, Hutchison, & Sowa, 1986; gram for applying this insight was devised by Sehutz
Freedman & Phillips, 1985; O'Connor et al., 1984). (1966). His research lent support to the theory that a
Katzell and Thompson (1986) found in a path analysis good motivational fit involves matching people whose in-
of their complex motivational model that the adequacy terpersonal needs complemented each other (e.g., by en-
of resources had a significant direct effect on the perceived suring that group members who need friendship and af-
level of extrinsic rewards and thereby indirectly affected fection are balanced by group members disposed to offer
morale and work effort. Such findings indicate that re- such rewards; that those who are passive are matched
source adequacy does affect motivation. with others inclined to be assertive; and so forth). In ad-
The motivational imperative that derives from this dition to creating groups with need complementarity, es-
thesis is manifestly that workers need to have the personal, tablishing groups whose members have similar attitudes
social, and material resources that facilitate performing and demographic characteristics has also been found to
their work and attaining their goals. The specific programs be favorable for work performance (Turban & Jones,
and interventions that can contribute to that end are 1988).
countless. K_atzell and Guzzo (1983) reviewed 10 years • Team development. Team development is another
of literature reporting behavioral science interventions group-centered approach. These programs can be broadly
aimed at improving various aspects of worker perfor- categorized as (a) group goal setting and norm building;
mance. Of the 206 reports, 83% found improvement in (b) group problem solving; (c) interpersonal and inter-
at least one objective aspect of performance, and 72% group relations; and (d) role negotiation concerned with
also found improvements in worker attitudes. Many in- clarifying and improving allocation of responsibilities
terventions, such as training, had obvious implications among group members (Beer, 1976; Woodman & Sher-
for resource improvement and corresponded to facilitators wood, 1980). Team development programs often contain
discussed by various contributors to the volume by more than one of these features. (See Sundstrom, De
Schoorman and Schneider (I 988). Unfortunately for our Meuse, and Futrell, this issue, pp. 120-133).
purpose, few of the studies expressly traced effects on Leadership. Programs for selecting and developing
specific motivational processes. However, the fact that the people who can function effectively as leaders can be use-
majority of the studies showed improvements in both at- ful for improving the performance and attitudes of group
titudes and performance is again suggestive of the in- members (Guzzo et al., 1985). Good leaders can help to
volvement of motivational factors, as is the fact that sev- create the conditions noted above that enhance the mo-
eral of the types of intervention were derived specifically tivational effects of group membership (Locke, 1974;
from motivational theory, including appraisal and feed- Yukl, 1989).
back, MBO, goal setting~financial incentives,and job
Socioteehnieal Systems
design.
We have noted that interventions in field situations gen-
Social and Group Factors erally are unable to focus the exogenous changes on a
The motivational imperative that derives from social and single motivational construct, although the programs we
group theories is that interpersonal and group processes have cited so far were typically aimed principally at one
must support members' goal attainment. A number of or another of the six other constructs we identified. An
programs have been devised with the aim of improving alternative strategy exists that deliberately involves several
the motivational climate afforded by groups. or all of the exogenous constructs in an orchestrated set
Division of labor. An instructive example is offered of changes. Although these changes are not necessarily
by a quasi-experimental field study reported by Fisher introduced simultaneously, the ultimate objective is to
(1981). The work of production employees in a major develop a system of exogenous variables that harmonizes
corporation was traditionally done via an assembly line. the individual, social, and technical parameters of the
The intervention involved reorganizing employees into organization. This type of intervention has variously been
five semi-antonomous work teams that were supplied with termed sociotechnical, system-wide, or quality of work-
the responsibility and information they needed to manage life (QWL).
their work. The resulting dramatic improvements in pro- For example, Goodman (1979) reported on a wide-
duction and costs were maintained over a 4-year follow- ranging QWL intervention guided by sociotechnieal
up period. This study illustrates the motivational benefits principles at a mining company. The changes, which in-
of restructuring the traditional division of labor in one volved miners and supervisors in one section of the mine,

150 February 1990 • American Psychologist

included such features as increased training, improved marized in the present article will help overcome those
internal communication, shared responsibility for deci- reasons for suboptimum motivational conditions in or-
sions among workers and managers, job rotation, and in- ganizations.
centive pay. Compared with another section of the mine, However, although it is evident that much has been
the experimental section showed improved job attitudes learned about work motivation, we still have far to go in
but only slight improvements in performance. However, advancing our understanding of its ingredients and in
another well-known system-wide intervention, this one perfecting techniques for applying that understanding. On
in a garment factory, conversely resulted in marked im- the scientific front, agendas deserving further attention
provements in performance but relatively slight changes include the following:
in attitudes (Marrow, Bowers, & Seashore, 1967; Seashore 1. Clarify the conceptualization of the key con-
& Bowers, 1970). Reviews of a number of system-wide structs and improve their operationalization. To illustrate,
interventions by Guzzo and Bondy (1983) and Katzell, it is apparent that job involvement is an important ele-
Bienstock, and Faerstein (1977) showed that such changes ment in work motivation. However, it seems that job in-
often result in improvements in both performance and volvement is actually not a unitary construct but reflects
attitudes and generally have stronger effects than do more both state and trait factors (Rabinowitz & Hall, 1977).
limited changes. Moreover, although as a construct it can be differentiated
from job satisfaction and organizational commitment,
Summary and Conclusions operational measures of the three are excessively corre-
lated (Brooke, Russell, & Price, 1988).
The vast body of research and theory that we have en- 2. Develop integrative theories. Mitchell (1982) and
deavored to summarize here points to a number of prac- others have suggested that the various theories of moti-
tices that can raise the level of motivation of people in vation are individually incomplete and that it would be
work organizations. We have formed these into the fol- desirable to integrate them in a comprehensive frame-
lowing seven imperatives: (a) Ensure that workers' motives work. Katzell and Thompson (in press) described a
and values are appropriate for the jobs on which they are model that combines virtually all of the constructs cited
placed; (b) make jobs attractive to and consistent with in Table I. Landy and Becker (1987) argued that the mo-
workers' motives and values; (c) define work goals that tivational dynamics of such diverse outcomes as job sat-
are clear, challenging, attractive, and attainable; (d) pro- isfaction, choice behavior, and production are likely to
vide workers with the personal and material resources be quite different and therefore lend themselves to less
that facilitate their effectiveness; (e) create supportive so- extensive middle-range theories. Another approach to
cial environments; (f) reinforce performance; and (g) middle-range theory construction would be to fit various
harmonize all of these elements into a consistent socio- theories to differences in situations, such as properties of
technical system. individuals (Mayes, 1978) or of work settings (Staw, 1977).
Rational, and even self-evident, as these principles 3. Perform empirical research to test the develop-
may seem, it is no secret that most organizations have ments resulting from each of the preceding two agenda
far to go in implementing them. For example, it has been items.
reported that fewer than one third of employees surveyed 4. Pay more attention to individual differences.
perceive that their compensation is based on their per- Theories of and research on work motivation have gen-
formance (Plawin & Suied, 1988). Perhaps acknowledging erally focused on environmental determinants of attitudes
the principles is one thing, but acting on them--imple- and performance; even theories of personal motives have
menting them--is quite another. This obstacle to utili- emphasized person-environment fit. More attention to
zation may stem from either or both of two sources. One habitual or even biological dispositions of the individual
is that the technology for applying the principles may not that may to some degree determine his or her attitudes
be known. Alternatively, there may be barriers to em- and energy levels in all work situations is warranted
ploying the technology. We refer here to well-known issues (Arvey, Bouchard, Segal, & Abraham, 1989; Staw, Bell,
of resistance to social and institutional change: vested & Clausen, 1986; Staw & Ross, 1985).
interests, conflicts of interest, tradition, threats to power In addition to these and undoubtedly other needed
or privilege, and so forth. The strategies and tactics for advances in the science of work motivation, there is a
coping with resistance to change in themselves constitute need to develop or improve the technology for improving
a set of process technologies known collectively as orga- work motivation. Specific areas needing development are
nizational development and conflict management; be- so numerous that we can but suggest a few for illustration:
cause those are discussed in other articles in this issue, 1. What can be done to increase the attractiveness
we do not endeavor to treat them here. of and commitment to work goals (Hollenbeck & Klein,
It is also possible that the alleged obviousness of the 1987)?
principles is largely a matter of hindsight, as is so often 2. How can job involvement be increased? Some of
the case with psychological pronouncements. People may these methods may involve changing the characteristics
not really appreciate the salience of these principles or, of work and its context, whereas others may have to ad-
if they do, may not know how to apply them. We hope dress the personal dispositions of workers (Rabinowitz &
that dissemination of the principles and practices sum- Hall, 1977).

February 1990 * American Psychologist 151

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