BUS272 TB

Chapter 5 Motivation in Action 175
EXHIBIT 5-2 Management Reward Follies
We hope for …
Teamwork and collaboration
Innovative thinking and risk-taking
Development of people skills
Employee involvement and empowerment
High achievement
Long-term growth; environmental responsibility
Commitment to total quality
Candour; surfacing bad news early
But we reward …
The best team members
Proven methods and not making mistakes
Technical achievements and accomplishments
Tight control over operations and resources
Another year’s effort
Quarterly earnings
Shipping on schedule, even with defects
Reporting good news, whether it’s true or not; agreeing
with the manager, whether or not (s)he’s right
Sources: Constructed from S. Kerr, “On the Folly of Rewarding A, While Hoping for B,” Academy of Management Executive 9, no. 1
(1995), pp. 7 – 14 ; and “More on the Folly,” Academy of Management Executive 9, no. 1 (1995), pp. 15 – 16 . Copyright © Academy
of Management, 1990.
Beware the Signals That Are Sent by Rewards
Perhaps more often than we would like, organizations
engage in what has been called “the folly of rewarding A,
while hoping for B” 63 ; in other words, managers may hope
employees will engage in one type of behaviour, but they
reward another. Expectancy theory suggests that individuals
will generally perform in ways that raise the probability of
receiving the rewards offered. Exhibit 5-2 provides examples
of common management reward follies. By signalling what
gets rewarded, organizations implicitly determine whether
employees engage in organizational citizenship behaviour,
as Focus on Research shows.
Ever wonder why
employees do
some strange
things?
FOCUS ON RESEARCH
The Reward for Helping Others at Work
Is there a payoff to being a good citizen at work? We
discussed in Chapter 1 how employers like employees to
engage in organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB). But do
employees get rewarded for engaging in OCB?
Research suggests that “it depends.” In some organizations,
employees are evaluated more on how their work gets done. If they possess the requisite
knowledge and skills, or if they demonstrate the right behaviours on the job (for example,
always greeting customers with a smile), they are determined by management to be motivated,
“good” performers. In these organizations, actions targeted toward task performance
goals and actions targeted toward “citizenship” goals (for example, helping a co-worker
in need) are evaluated positively, which then motivates employees to continue their OCB.
However, in other organizations, employees are evaluated more on what gets done. Here,
employees are determined to be “good” performers if they meet objective goals such as
billing clients a certain number of hours or reaching a certain sales volume. When managers
overlook employee OCB, frown on helpful behaviours, or create an overly competitive organizational
culture, employees are not motivated to engage in helpful actions.
There may be a trade-off between being a good performer and being a good citizen.
In organizations that focus more on behaviours, following your motivation to be a good
citizen can lead to positive outcomes for your career. However, in organizations that focus
more on objective outcomes, you may need to consider the cost.