5 Ways Workplace Safety is Shifting in the Digital Age

Table of contents

Everything is changing in the digital age, from the way we do things in our personal lives to the way we do things at work. In the work category, one thing definitely undergoing change in this digital age is workplace safety.

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Fortunately, many of the issues we used to worry about have faded because we now have updated the ways we stay safe in the workplace. Here is how workplace safety is shifting in the digital age.

1. Better metal detectors

Many places of business now have walk-through metal detectors to ensure no one is bringing guns, knives or any other dangerous weapons into the workplace. When you walk through one of these metal detectors with something you shouldn’t, the detector will find it.

This is the first step for protecting the workplace. And it is rare to get anything dangerous past these detectors because those we have today are superior to the ones we had in the past — able now to detect the tiniest piece of metal.

2. Bulletproof glass

Many banks and other financial institutions now have bulletproof glass windows. This is another way the into the digital age. Bulletproof glass can protect bank tellers and others serving the public. They can also work hand-in-hand with metal detectors. .

3. Stepped-up security

Most places of business have not only the traditional security guard (or guards) but, increasingly, digital security cameras. Motion lights are another modern security feature. In combination, these tools protect your place of business from the outside in.

If burglars get past the motion lights and security guards, they will still be recorded on the security cameras. 

4. Laser safety curtains

Along with bulletproof glass, there are also to keep the workplace safe. For example, criminals and other trespassers might get through the walk-through metal detector, although this is rare, but the laser curtains will likely stop them. You never know when you will need that little bit of extra security.

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5. 3D visualization technology

With 3D visualization technology, you can see potential threats before they even happen. This technology helps you prepare for issues “you didn’t see coming.”

Using warning signs to keep employees safe

Another way to keep your workplace safe is to incorporate  on signs and product labels. These educate employees about the different machinery in the workplace, including its operating instructions; they educate customers about product safety.

URLs and QR codes can be printed on a sign posted in the workplace or on a label placed on a machine, which, when scanned by employees, offers additional information. This way, they know the proper way to use machines to avoid injury.

You never know what may happen 

These tools not only help employees stay , but may also increase productivity. Technology continues to advance every day. 

Related: 

In sum, it is always better to be . And, here, the digital age is playing a big role in the safety every one of us wants and expects.

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Workplace Incivility

Select and complete one of the following assessments from your text: 

Box 8. 2: Workplace Incivility Scale I selected this exercise since my organization recently had a change in leadership at the highest levels. I thought to compare/contrast the Incivility Scale under the old and new regimes. I concentrated on my interactions with my superiors.

Old Leadership. New Leadership

Put you down or was condescending to you?

  • Yes. This was a frequent occurrence at staff
  • No.

Paid little attention to your statement or

  • Yes. This was a frequent occurrence at staff
  • No.

Addressed you in unprofessional terms either

  • Yes. This seems to be at odds with the above
  • No.

Personal attack.

  • Ignored or excluded you from professional
  • No. This does not really apply in my situation

As can be seen above, there has been a wholesale change in the leadership style in my organization. Everyone that has been promoted to a leadership position has had to attend at least one Leadership Continuum (more likely, he has attended at least five). One of the core concepts that is taught is the theory of “Praise in Public, Shame in Private. It has constantly amazed me how many leaders never picked up on that lesson. I try to embrace that lesson with my subordinates in all of my interactions. With the new leadership in place, we seem to produce the same output as before, but with a higher moral level. The new boss still challenges your professional judgment to keep you on your toes, but it is accomplished in a far less confrontational manner. In conclusion, It seems as if the Incivility Scale for my organization has shifted significantly in the “civil” direction.

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Understanding the Importance of Networking in the Workplace

Social networking is a big hit these days and as such, it is no longer a surprise why its appropriateness is being questioned in the workplace. The propriety of social networking while in the office, the question as to whether or not it would be disallowed or welcomed as part of the work day are but a few of the issues that surround this topic. Many people expressed their sentiment about this issue but regardless of their position, it cannot be denied that there is a growing concern about social networking in the workplace. Facebook, Twitter and My Space are but few of the most popular social networking sites these days.

According to the vice president of Office Product Management Group, social networking can be utilized as a tool to help boost the productivity and efficiency of businesses. He said that the web of communication brought about by social networking can be a way to help formulate communities outside of the workplace that will foster a cultural diversity. This outside community can help the workplace get a speedier discovery of opinions and data that can create a positive impact on both personal and professional decision making due to the increasing the speed of cross-pollinating concepts (Durant, 1).

While there are some businesses which welcomed the idea of social networking, there are those who think of it as a nuisance which hinders the productivity and performance. They cannot help but think this way because there are those employees who spend most of their time browsing facebook rather than doing what they are paid to do while in the office. However, people must not let their preconceived notion get in the way of understanding how to utilize the purpose and power of social networking.

Those who think that Facebook and Twitter are a waste of time miss the reason why people entertain such networking. For social networking in the workplace to succeed, they must have knowledge-based teamwork founded on a particular project. These activities hold the key to the success of business and these may be improved by enhancing the principles of social networking usage. It is a known fact that businesses spend a lot of time in organizing meetings and retreats and the one thing they all have in common is a face to face interaction.

The world is now facing an economic crisis which makes retreats hard to justify and as such, social networking may be a good substitute for this kind of interaction because it builds a certain atmosphere of activity (Yeh, 1). Some businesses view social networking as a positive contribution to the workplace while others view them negatively. The opposing sentiments of the different kinds of businesses is but a normal reaction to this issue. However, no matter what their stance on this matter is, no one can deny the power and the growing implications that it has in our daily living.

Works Cited Durant, John. “Social Networking and Workplace Productivity”. MSDN Blogs. Microsoft Corporation. 2010. Web. 2 Aug. 2010. <http://blogs. msdn. com/b/johnrdurant/archive/2010/03/02/social-networking-and-workplace-productivity. aspx> Yeh, Chris. “Get Real: Social Networking in the Workplace”. Information Management. Information Management and Source Media Inc. 2009. Web. 2 Aug. 2010. < http://www. information-management. com/infodirect/2009_135/enterprise_intelligence_social_networking_facebook_knowledge_transfer-10015899-1. html? pg=1>

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An Analysis of Ethics In the Workplace

In the first article “What role should HR play in corporate ethics” the authors establish that HR is vital toward maintaining and building corporate ethics programs. In particular the researchers suggest that HR professionals can create programs that help facilitate open communication and enhance ethics by helping employees and management officials understand the effects non-ethical behavior may have on customers, shareholders and organizational productivity. The authors also suggest that ethics programs should be linked to all business units including finance, security and any legal organization components.

An ethics program according to this author must cover multiple areas including risk assessment, organizational standards, communication, reporting and organizational assessment. I support the author’s views in this article. Ethics starts by opening the lines of communication within an organization. HR plays a key role in ethics development in an organization because HR professionals come to intimately understand the needs, wants and problems employees may have with ethical subjects.

In the second article, “How HR can facilitate ethics” the authors suggest again that HR professionals must play an important role in developing, maintaining and updating ethics programs. This article like the previous article supports adopting ethical systems within the organization. A key element of ethics programs defined by the authors is also communications. The authors suggest that HR plays three critical roles with respect to ethics including determining employee’s loyalty, providing consistent information and assessing perceptions about ethical behaviors in an organization. Again the authors here make a valid point.

HR is critical as the previous article mentions to the success of an organizational ethical program. I also believe that a solid ethics program will build loyalty but not just among employees. A company that has a reputable ethics program in place will also stand out among the competition. In an increasingly global marketplace it is vital that organizations take steps to ensure they conduct ethical business practices.

Both of these articles are very relevant to the field of HRD. As companies continue to expand into an international marketplace, the media more and more is highlighting stories that feature unethical behavior. Such behavior tarnishes the reputation of companies and also harms employee’s chances for advancement and personal success. It is vital that human resource professionals take an active role in developing ethical systems within the organization. HR professionals are trained not only in ethical management but also to work with employees to form a bridge between managers and employees.

HR professionals can help open the lines of communication, survey current employees and mangers to determine potential problems areas, and work with multiple business units synergistically to ensure all company objectives are met in as ethical a manner as possible. It’s not enough to simply “do” business.

Companies that fail to uphold ethical standards will ultimately fail in the long term. It is important that companies not only remain competitive but take pride in ethical work practices. HRD teams should continually work to discover new and innovative techniques for building ethical work practices into organizational processes and procedures. Ethics is something that should be ingrained in the heart and soul of organizations.

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Romance in the Workplace

Failed romances in the workplace may sometimes lead to sexual harassment charges which could result in potential negative effect on the public image of the company, expensive legal battles, and possible settlements. Personal relationships between co-workers could also impede productivity and performance. An employee could also develop a conflict of interest with the company due to his or her romantic involvement with a co-worker. For instance, he or she may put the interest of his or her significant other ahead of the company’s best interests which can hurt the company as a result.

For companies like Springfield Manufacturing Corporation, they believe that a work environment that encourages dating among employees can help the employees to balance their personal and professional lives (Deisenhouse, 1996). Many companies also believe that when employees are free to develop personal relationships, they become more productive. In addition, anti-dating policies may shy away desirable job candidates and choose not to work in the firm as these policies are an implication of freedom limitation.

I believe that banning coworker dating is overly restrictive as it limits personal freedom and human rights. When the company uses the possible detrimental effects of dating in the workplace (e. g. , charges of sexual harassment, reduction of productivity, etc. ) as the reason for dating to be banned, I think the company is just making excuses so that it (company) would be free from problems that may arise as a result of allowing dating in the workplace. Companies that enforce anti-dating policies should consider the dating policies implemented in DuPont and Apple Computers.

Although both of these companies allow dating, they required the employees to inform the company if their personal relationship could have adverse effects on the company’s business operations. In this way, the employee would be able to work with management and find a way to alter the work relationship of the employees involved (Jenner, 1993). The ways adopted by these companies show that problems that may possibly arise from coworker dating could be prevented. Since there are ways to prevent the problems it could cause the company, I stand by my opinion of banning coworker dating as an overly restrictive policy.

New Components in the Electronic Business First, the company needs to determine where the new manufacturing department would be located. This would be followed by the projection of costs of adding an entire manufacturing department that is capable of meeting the large demand of the US Department of Defense. The company has to project the cost of building the new production department which includes the office building, the machineries, tools, and materials needed. The number of employees to be recruited for the new department should also be considered.

The company also has to determine the manner of recruitment—would the company hire the services of a recruitment firm or would they find the means to recruit by themselves? Then, the cost of hiring new employees and the cost of their salaries for the whole year should also be forecasted. (2) If I were Beth Ann, I would recommend that the company should hire outside consultants to help the company devise an affirmative action program. I would exhaust every possible source to find the right people.

This involves considering all people who can do the job and have the necessary qualifications (e. g. , technical knowledge necessary to do the job) regardless of their race, age, and sex. If the job can be done by people with a disability, they should also be included in selecting potential candidates for the position. Hiring the services of employment agencies in nearby cities and surrounding towns and advertising in regional vocational-technical schools would be of much help to the company to hasten the recruitment process.

For the supervisory positions, I would ask the current employees interested in the job to apply for the position. I would also make the position open for outsiders as well who possess the necessary qualifications so as not to miss the opportunity to hire the best employees who can greatly contribute to the company. Hiring the services of a good recruitment firm would help the company to hasten the recruitment process. However, the company should still participate in the recruitment process. First, the company should hire supervisors for the new plant.

Possible candidates from outside would be selected with the help of the recruitment firm and would be interviewed by recruitment specialists of the firm. The current employees interested in the position would also be interviewed by recruitment specialists of the company. A final interview should be conducted by the current manufacturing department head. When the company is done with the hiring of supervisors, the company can start recruiting employees who will be part of the new manufacturing department. The same hiring process used in recruiting supervisors would be employed.

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Flexible pay systems to motivate the workforce

By using time rates, employees are paid according to the time they spend at work. This will be based on an hourly rate, a weekly rate or an annual salary. This is a very popular payment system and is used in many jobs. This system has many advantages. Some of its advantages are that it is very simple and easy to understand, very easy to calculate and pay does not vary much. The main disadvantage is that it is not a good payment system to motivate workers. It lacks of incentives to improve productivity and efficiency. Still, it can be a motivation for people that get satisfaction from the job itself and not from their wage.

Individual payment by results reward individuals directly according to how much they produce. It is mainly used in manufacturing environment where it is easier to calculate the work output. The main advantage of this system is that it is simple to understand as employees can predict their earnings according to the rate of work. It is also a good motivator, as employees will earn more if they produce more. This payment system can also reduce costs because if an increased number of tasks are completed in the same amount of time and using the same equipment, the cost per unit of output will be lower.

On the other hand, this payment system can be very expensive to install and maintain. It can also result in many disagreements about standards of levels of production. Employees can produce less efficiently in order to increase their work output and this may result in a decrease in quality. Other disadvantages are that the emphasis on personal performance can cause friction between employees and can also cause stress and poor health after a sustained period of working. Another type of payment system is work-measured schemes.

In this type of system, a standard time is established to perform a job or a component of tasks. Employees are rewarded for performance above the standard time. One of the advantages is that employees will work harder that the standard rate and therefore productivity increases. The main disadvantage is that work should be measured accurately because time to perform tasks could be exaggerated and this will make incentive payments easier to obtain. In measured day work, techniques of work measurement are used to determine the level of performance expected of an employee and then an appropriate level of payment is set.

The levels of performance are agreed by using work-study techniques. This payment system encourages a high and steady rate of output. Its disadvantages are that there are no direct individual incentives for high performance and there is little encouragement for innovation. Another disadvantage is that there is no direct relationship between the individual effort made and rewards obtained. Group incentives are based on the same principles as the individual payment by results system. It rewards the group with a cash payment for production output that meets the agreed target.

This has many advantages namely, employees are usually encouraged to find ways to improve performance and productivity and employees become more interested in how the organisation is managed. It is cheaper to install plant of enterprise-wide payment by results schemes than individual payment by results schemes. Its disadvantages are that there is a weaker link in employees’ minds between the bonus and the level of their effort, so it may not be a strong incentive. Schemes can be difficult to understand and bonus payments could be affected by factors such as inflation, which the workforce can do nothing about.

Also, output can be restricted by the group because it is individual employees who determine what level of earnings they wish to earn. Individual bonuses are granted in addition to base salary and paid to individuals as a reward for achievement or for completion of a project. With individual bonus schemes, employees are more motivated to achieve targets and even in less than the standard time. This system has many disadvantages. One of them is that individual bonus systems are difficult to operate where outputs of work are intangible. This system can also encourage individualistic and uncooperative behaviours.

Individual motivation is reduced to a sole concern for achieving bonuses. Performance-related pay is an incentive plan that pays good performers more money than others. Employees receive higher raises or bonuses for their contribution to work. This has many advantages. One of them is that it rewards the individual by linking systematic assessment of their performance to their level of pay or to a bonus. The factors taken into account may be weighed to reflect their relative importance to the organisation. It can be used where an incentive is needed but the actual work rate is difficult to measure.

It can reward factors not easily taken into account in other payment systems. Effective individual performance can be elicited. Variable pay plans also have a downside. These plans may be stressful to workers because pay for performance sometimes encourages an unhealthy degree of competition among employees. It is also very costly to run. Also, employees may concentrate on their objectives related to pay rather than the whole job. It can create inequity if employees feel awards were given through favouritism rather than objective judgement.

Disagreements may also exist about the performance factors to be assessed and if great care is not taken in the choice of factors there may be claims of subjectivity or even of sex bias. In cafeteria or flexible pay systems, employees can choose their own preferred reward or combination of rewards and are usually based on benefit packages. The advantages are that they are flexible and if well-managed they can be tax-effective and reduce employer risks and liabilities during insurance claims. Gainsharing is a profit-sharing plan that calculates the contribution of specific groups.

When employees make labor-saving suggestions and increase productivity, they share in the gains by receiving a bonus. Its advantage is that it encourages teamwork and cooperation. It also allows employees to have control over their work. Recovery insurance group could pay its employees by group incentives. This system makes use of the same principles of the individual payment system. But by implementing group incentives, one would be encouraging more teamwork. If effective teams are build, one would have better outcomes and results. New ideas can arise and the company will better off. And to this, the team will be paid extra bonuses.

Although wages may not be the main motivators, the extra pay should still help to motivate the workers more. As said before this method of payment has many benefits. The differences between this suggested system and the present system used by the company are many. One of them is that an employee that has been working for only three years with the company may be giving better results than the one working for the company for seven years. Because of this, with the present system, the latter is having a higher wage because of the extra increment for every year of service. Also the present system is not a good motivator.

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Work Motivation

Work Motivation Theory and Research at The Dawn Of The Twenty-First Century Based on this journal, the writers examine progress made in theory and research on needs, traits, values, cognition, and affect as well as three bodies of literature dealing with the context of motivation: national culture, job design, and models of person environment fit. They focus primarily on work reported between 1993 and 2003, concluding that goal setting, social cognitive, and organizational justice theories are the three most important approaches to work motivation to appear in the last 30 years.

The writers reach 10 generally positive conclusions regarding predicting, understanding, and influencing work motivation in the new millennium. Miner (2003) concluded that motivation continues to hold a significant position in the eyes of scholars. Miner’s conclusion is based on a comparison with other middle range theories of organizational behavior (OB). The question remains on an absolute standard, motivation theory and research have fared well over the last quarter of a century.

In answering this question, we provide a definition of the construct and an assessment of how the field of motivation in the workplace has evolved and progressed since the year in which the last chapter devoted exclusively to this topic appeared in the Annual Review of Psychology (ARP). We selectively review theory and research, emphasizing work published in the past decade, 1993–2003, with special emphasis given to research on contextual effects and mediating mechanisms.

Work motivation is a set of energetic forces that originate both within as well as beyond an individual’s being, to initiate work-related behavior and to determine its form, direction, intensity, and duration (Pinder 1998). where motivation is a process resulting from the interaction between the individual and the environment. However, because of space limitations, the writers just focus on national culture, job design characteristics, and person-environment fit, omitting reviews of other exogenous sources of motivation.

MOTIVATIONAL FRAMEWORK The framework used in reviewing the literature is consistent with Locke & Henne(1986). Needs is followed by a focus on (b) personal traits. An individual difference variable rooted in needs is (c) values. Because context affects the extent to which needs are met and values are fulfilled, emphasis is given to (d) national culture, (e) job design characteristics, and (f) person context fit. Needs and values affect (g) cognition, particularly goals. Cognition plays an integral role in each of these concepts.

Although (h) affective reactions need not depend on cognition (Bandura 1997), the two usually are reciprocally related (Lord & Kanfer 2002). Finally, affect is influenced by culture as well as by organizational norms (Lord & Harvey 2002). We close with an (i) assessment of progress in the field since 1977. NEEDS Aslam et al. (2000) presented a process-based analysis of need structure and need salience derived from the social identity approach to organizational behavior.

When personal identity is salient, needs to self- actualize and to enhance self esteem through personal advancement and growth become dominant. When social identity is salient, the need to enhance group based self-esteem through a sense of relatedness, respect, peer recognition, and attainment of group goals dominate. They stated that McGregor’s (1960) Theory Y assumptions apply when the supervisor and employee share the same identity; Theory X assumptions apply when they do not do so. 2 People are motivated to attain goals that are compatible with their self-identity.

Needs associated with a specific group membership are internalized; they serve as a guide for behavior in a specific working context. Need-based theories explain why a person must act; they do not explain why specific actions are chosen in specific situations to obtain specific outcomes. Moreover, they do not easily account for individual differences. Hence, along with increased attention to needs, there has also been a resurgence of interest in individual differences, particularly with regard to the effects of job characteristics on employee motivation.

TRAITS In summary, the importance of personality in predicting, understanding, and influencing choice, affect, and performance has been shown, as well as the importance of job characteristics (e. g. , autonomy) as a mediator/moderator. An issue identified by Locke & Latham (2004) that has yet to be addressed is how general variables such as personality are applied to and are mediated by task and situationally specific variables in affecting performance, or how they are moderated by situations and affect situational structuring and choice.

Locke (2001) showed that values and personality work through goals and self-efficacy to influence performance. Yet it is likely that some trait effects are direct and thus are not mediated. Research is needed on if, when, and why this occurs VALUES Values are rooted in needs and provide a principal basis for goals (Locke & Henne 1986). Locke & Henne (1986) argued that values are inherent in most work moti- vation theories. These theories focus on the influence of one or several particu- lar values, such as perceptions of fairness on action or on the effects of values in general (expectancy theory).

CONTEXT As a result of globalization, however, values have been studied within the context of a person’s culture and job as well as person-environment fit. National Culture In an attempt to tie together needs and values, Steers & Sanchez-Runde (2002) stated that national culture determines three key sets of distal sources of motivation: (a) people’s self-concept, including personal beliefs, needs, and values; (b) norms about work ethic and the nature of “achievement,” tolerance for ambiguity, locus of control, etc. ; and (c) “environmental factors”.

Based on their conceptual model, the authors concluded that these distal factors influence self-efficacy beliefs, work motivation levels, and goals, as well as the nature of incentives and disincentives to perform. Building on research findings of other scholars, Leung (2001) has offered four hypotheses for further research: (a) work teams in collectivistic cultures have higher levels of unconditional benevolence and positive social identity that, in turn, lead to higher levels of in-group involvement than is the case for groups that value ndividualism; (b) productivity and performance levels are more homogenous (not necessarily higher or lower) in collectivistic cultures than in individualistic cultures; (c) motivational strategies by superiors have more effect on subordinates in cultures with high levels of power distance than in cultures low in power distance; and (d) negative reactions from supervisors in high power-distance cultures generate more negative reactions among workers than is the case in low power-distance cultures.

Job Design Characteristics Gustafson & Mumford (1995) reported that the ability of personality measures to predict performance as well as satisfaction increases when characteristics of a job are taken into account. Job autonomy can facilitate the time necessary for learning and development, which in turn improves job performance (Wall & Jackson 1995).

Cordery (1997) argued the necessity of differentiating the importance of three dimensions of job autonomy, namely (a) method control as defined by the amount of discretion one has over the way in which work is performed, (b) timing control in terms of the influence one has over scheduling of work, and (c) discretion in setting performance goals.

He found four interrelated dimensions that affect job autonomy, namely the extent to which the supervisor (a) provides clear attainable goals, (b) exerts control over work activities, (c) ensures that the requisite resources are available, and (d) gives timely accurate feedback on progress toward goal attainment. PERSON CONTEXT-FIT The basic assumption underlying these models is that the relationship between person variables (such as needs or values) and both individual and organizational outcomes is contingent upon various features of the environment (such as the job, the organization, or culture).

These models originated from Shaffer’s (1953). He used Murray’s (1938) needs to develop a goodness-of-fit model that takes into account individual differences in needs as well as the characteristics of jobs. Cable ; DeRue (2002), through a confirmatory factor analysis, found that employees differentiate among three varieties of fit: (a) person-environment fit (in which the focus is on organizational outcomes such as organizational identification and turnover decisions); (b) “needs-supplies” fit (in which the primary focus is on career-related outcomes such as employee satisfaction) and (c) job demands–employee abilities fit.

COGNITION As Locke ; Henne (1986) observed, cognition is inherent in motivation. The sensations of pleasure and pain are informational. Based on needs, values, and the situational context, people set goals and strategize ways to attain them. Goal-Setting Theory A meta-analysis by Zetik ; Stuhlmacher (2002) revealed that negotiators who have specific, challenging, and conflicting goals consistently achieve higher profits than those with no goals. Consistent with goal-setting theory, the higher the goal, the higher the outcome.

No effect was found for participation in setting goals. Contextual Conditions Seijts ; Latham (2000b) examined the applicability of goal-setting principles when personal goals are potentially incompatible with those of the group. They found that social dilemmas are boundary conditions for the usual positive effects of goal setting. Self-enhancing personal goals have a detrimental effect on a group’s performance. Audia et al. (2000) found that past success increased strategic decision makers’ satisfaction, and satisfaction led them to increase their past strategies.

Higher satisfaction was associated with higher self-efficacy and higher performance goals that increased dysfunctional persistence subsequent to a radical change in the environment. Implementation Intentions and Auto-Motive Goals Gollwitzer (1999) found that goal intentions that are accompanied by implementation intentions on tasks that are complex for people lead to a higher rate of goal attainment than do goal intentions only. An implementation intention is a mental link that is created between a specific future situation and the intended goal-directed response. Thus, it is subordinate to goal intention.

Implementation intentions specify when, where, and how behavior is likely to lead to goal attainment. By forming implementation intentions, people strategically switch from conscious effortful control of their goal-directed behavior to being automatically controlled by situational cues. Bargh ; Ferguson (2000) summarized research findings that show that automatic or nonconscious goals produce the same outcomes as conscious goal pursuit in information processing, memory storage, social behavior, and task performance, as well as in self efficacy, self evaluation, and mood state. Feedback

Ashford et al. (2003) stated that the processing of feedback likely involves monitoring the environment in an automatic preconscious fashion through visual, auditory, and relational cues. In their enumerative review, Ashford ; Black (1996) also suggested three primary motives for feedback seeking: instrumental to attain a goal and perform well, ego-based to defend or enhance one’s ego, and image-based to protect or enhance the impression others have of oneself. Self-Regulation Goal setting and feedback seeking in relation to goals are the core of self-regulation (Latham ; Locke 1991).

Self-regulatory processes supporting goal implementation were examined by Gollwitzer ; Bayer (1999). They offered a time perspective on goal striving and self-regulatory processes as mediating the effects of intentions on behavior. The latter consists of four phases: predecisional (choosing among competing wishes, based on expected value); preactional (forming implementation intentions in the service of the goal intention); actional (bringing goal direct actions to a successful end); and postactional (evaluation as to whether further action is necessary)

Expectancy Theory After reviewing the literature, Ambrose ; Kulik (1999) concluded that little or no advances have been made in expectancy theory research in the past decade. Ambrose ; Kulik concluded that there are few theoretical or applied reasons for additional research on the application of this theory to organizational behavior Social Cognitive Theory SCT research shows empirically that the effect of environmental antecedents and consequences are mediated by cognitive variables.

SCT emphasizes dual control systems in the self-regulation of motivation, namely a proactive discrepancy production system that works in concert with a reactive discrepancy reduction system (Bandura 2001). Thus, people are motivated by the foresight of goals, not just the hindsight of shortfalls. A specific high goal creates negative discrepancies to be mastered. Effort and resources are mobilized based on anticipatory estimates of what is necessary for goal attainment. AFFECT/EMOTION Mowday ; Sutton (1993) argued against an overemphasis on cognition in the study of motivation.

This is because moods and emotions influence the attainment of complex long-term goals (Lord ; Kanfer 2002) and are interrelated with the other constructs we have discussed. Erez ; Isen (2002) showed that people with higher levels of positive affect exhibited higher levels of persistence, effort, self-reported motivation, and performance on two different tasks. Positive affect was associated with higher levels of valence and expectancy beliefs at these tasks as well as higher levels of instrumentality beliefs at one of them. Organizational Justice

A significant body of research on work motivation that has appeared since Korman et al. ’s 1977 review is conceptualizations of organizational justice (Greenberg 1987). These studies, based on sociolegal research of disputants’ reactions to a conflict resolution, supplement Adam’s equity theory, the fundamental idea of which is that individuals develop beliefs about the inputs they provide in their employment relationship as well as about the outcomes they receive in return, and they form attitudes about the ratio between inputs and outcomes in relation to the corresponding ratios they perceive among comparison others.

The premise of organizational justice is that fair procedures enhance employee acceptance of organizational outcomes. second premise, namely that in addition to being fair, leaders must be perceived as fair with regard to outcomes and processes that serve an important psychological need (Greenberg 1990). CONCLUSIONS First, three theories dominate the motivation literature: goal-setting, social cognitive, and organizational justice. Second, whereas theory and research in the third quarter of the twentieth century focused almost exclusively on cognition (Latham ; Budworth 2004), this is no longer true.

Third, the ability to predict, understand, and influence motivation in the workplace has increased significantly as a result of the attention that has been given to all rather than only a few aspects of an employee’s motivation. Fourth, whereas the dependent variables historically studied were limited to traditional measures of job performance and satisfaction, today’s dependent variables range from citizenship to counterproductive behavior. Fifth, Cronbach’s (1957) plea a half century ago for experimental and correlational psychology to combine forces has been heeded.

Sixth, the importance of context to motivation has been recognized much more in recent years than in the past; so much so that an additional chapter could be devoted to it. Seventh, these advances in the study of motivation may reflect the fact that this subject is no longer restricted to the research findings of North Americans. Eighth, behavioral scientists in the latter half of the twentieth century responded positively to William James’ exhortation to systematically study consciousness. Ninth, the antagonisms among theorists that existed throughout much of the twentieth century have either disappeared or have been minimized.

Tenth, the nomological nets related to work motivation constructs are thicker and tighter than ever before, but the size of the aggregate net (metaphorically speaking) is not growing at a rate commensurate with the energy that scholars and practitioners have invested since 1977. Accordingly, Steers (2001) recently recognized the limitations of current theory and research in work motivation, and issued a call for groundbreaking papers for publication in a special edition of the Academy of Management Review in 2004. It is too soon to assess whether any of the papers published in response to his call will

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