Employee motivation in the workplace

The job of a manager in the workplace is to get things done through employees. To do this the

manager should be able to motivate employees. But that's easier said than done! Motivation

practice and theory are difficult subjects, touching on several disciplines.

In spite of enormous research, basic as well as applied, the subject of motivation is not clearly

understood and more often than not poorly practiced. To understand motivation one must

understand human nature itself. And there lies the problem!

Human nature can be very simple, yet very complex too. An understanding and appreciation of

this is a prerequisite to effective employee motivation in the workplace and therefore effective

management and leadership.

Our articles on motivation theory and practice concentrate on various theories regarding

human nature in general and motivation in particular. Included are articles on the practical

aspects of motivation in the workplace and the research that has been undertaken in this field,

notably by Douglas McGregor (theory y), Frederick Herzberg (two factor motivation

hygiene theory,) Abraham Maslow (theory z, hierarchy of needs), Elton Mayo

(Hawthorne Experiments) Chris Argyris Rensis Likert and David McClelland

(achievement motivation.)

Why study and apply employee motivation principles?

Quite apart from the benefit and moral value of an altruistic approach to treating colleagues as

human beings and respecting human dignity in all its forms, research and observations show

that well motivated employees are more productive and creative. The inverse also holds true.

The schematic below indicates the potential contribution the practical application of the

principles this paper has on reducing work content in the organization.

Motivation is the key to performance improvement

There is an old saying you can take a horse to the water but you cannot force it to drink; it will

drink only if it's thirsty - so with people. They will do what they want to do or otherwise

motivated to do. Whether it is to excel on the workshop floor or in the 'ivory tower' they must

be motivated or driven to it, either by themselves or through external stimulus.

Are they born with the self-motivation or drive? Yes and no. If no, they can be motivated, for

motivation is a skill which can and must be learnt. This is essential for any business to survive

and succeed.

Performance is considered to be a function of ability and motivation, thus:

Job performance =f(ability)(motivation)

Ability in turn depends on education, experience and training and its improvement is a slow

and long process. On the other hand motivation can be improved quickly. There are many

options and an uninitiated manager may not even know where to start. As a guideline, there

are broadly seven strategies for motivation.

Positive reinforcement / high expectations

Effective discipline and punishment

Treating people fairly

Satisfying employees needs

Setting work related goals

Restructuring jobs

Base rewards on job performance

These are the basic strategies, though the mix in the final 'recipe' will vary from workplace

situation to situation. Essentially, there is a gap between an individuals actual state and some

desired state and the manager tries to reduce this gap.

Motivation is, in effect, a means to reduce and manipulate this gap. It is inducing others in a

specific way towards goals specifically stated by the motivator. Naturally, these goals as also

the motivation system must conform to the corporate policy of the organization. The

motivational system must be tailored to the situation and to the organization.

In one of the most elaborate studies on employee motivation, involving 31,000 men and

13,000 women, the Minneapolis Gas Company sought to determine what their potential

employees desire most from a job. This study was carried out during a 20 year period from

1945 to 1965 and was quite revealing. The ratings for the various factors differed only slightly

between men and women, but both groups considered security as the highest rated factor. The

next three factors were;

advancement

type of work

company - proud to work for

Surprisingly, factors such as pay, benefits and working conditions were given a low rating by

both groups. So after all, and contrary to common belief, money is not the prime motivator.

(Though this should not be regarded as a signal to reward employees poorly or unfairly.)

The theorists and their theories

Motivation theorists and their theories

Although the process of management is as old as history, scientific management as we know it

today is basically a twentieth century phenomenon. Also, as in some other fields, practice has

been far ahead of theory. This is still true in the field of management, contrary to the situation

in some of the pure sciences. A giant of a man, like Albert Einstein, formulates a theory, which

is later proved by decades of intensive research and experimentation. Not so in the field of

management.

In fact this field has been so devoid of real fundamental work so far, that Herbert A. Simon is

the first management theoretician to win the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1978. His

contribution itself gives a clue to the difficulty, bordering on impossibility, of real fundamental

work in this field concerned with people. In order to arrive at a correct decision, the manager

must have all the information necessary relevant to the various factors and all the time in the

world to analyze the same.

This is seldom, if ever, the case. Both the information available and the time at the managers

disposal are limited, but he or she must make a decision. And the decision is, therefore, not

the optimum one but a 'satisficing' one - in effect, a satisfactory compromise under the real

conditions prevailing in the management 'arena'.

Traditional theory 'X'

This can best be ascribed to Sigmund Freud who was no lover of people, and was far from

being optimistic. Theory X assumes that people are lazy; they hate work to the extent that

they avoid it; they have no ambition, take no initiative and avoid taking any responsibility; all

they want is security, and to get them to do any work, they must be rewarded, coerced,

intimidated and punished. This is the so-called 'stick and carrot' philosophy of management. If

this theory were valid, managers will have to constantly police their staff, whom they cannot

trust and who will refuse to cooperate. In such an oppressive and frustrating atmosphere, both

for the manager and the managed, there is no possibility of any achievement or any

creative work. But fortunately, as we know, this is not the case.

Theory 'Y' - Douglas McGregor

This is in sharp contrast to theory 'X'. McGregor believed that people want to learn and that

work is their natural activity to the extent that they develop self-discipline and self-

development. They see their reward not so much in cash payments as in the freedom to do

difficult and challenging work by themselves. The managers job is to 'dovetail' the human wish

for self-development into the organizations need for maximum productive efficiency. The basic

objectives of both are therefore met and with imagination and sincerity, the enormous

potential can be tapped.

Does it sound too good to be true? It could be construed, by some, that Theory 'Y'

management is soft and slack. This is not true and the proof is in the 'pudding', for it has

already proved its worth in the USA and elsewhere. For best results, the persons must be

carefully selected to form a homogeneous group. A good leader of such a group may

conveniently 'absent' from group meetings so they can discuss the matters freely and help

select and 'groom' a new leader. The leader does no longer hanker after power, lets people

develop freely, and may even (it is hoped) enjoy watching the development and actualization

of people, as if, by themselves. Everyone, and most of all the organization, gains as a result.

Theory 'Z' - Abraham Maslow

This is a refreshing change from the theory X of Freud, by a fellow psychologist, Abraham

Maslow. Maslow totally rejects the dark and dingy Freudian basement and takes us out into the

fresh, open, sunny and cheerful atmosphere. He is the main founder of the humanistic school

or the third force which holds that all the good qualities are inherent in people, at least, at

birth, although later they are gradually lost.

Maslow's central theme revolves around the meaning and significance of human work and

seems to epitomize Voltaire's observation in Candide, 'work banishes the three great evils -

boredom, vice and poverty'. The great sage Yajnavalkya explains in the Brihadaranyaka

Upanishad that by good works a man becomes holy, by evil works evil. A mans personality is

the sum total of his works and that only his works survive a man at death. This is perhaps the

essence of Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, as it is more commonly know.

Maslow's major works include the standard textbook (in collaboration with Mittlemann),

Principles of Abnormal Psychology (1941), a seminal paper, 'A Theory of Human Motivation'

(1943) and the book, Eupsychian Management (pronounced yew-sigh-keyan) published in

1965. Maslow's theory of human motivation is, in fact, the basis of McGregor's theory 'Y' briefly

described above. The basic human needs, according to Maslow, are:

physiological needs (Lowest)

safety needs;

love needs;

esteem needs; and

self-actualization needs (Highest)

Mans behavior is seen as dominated by his unsatisfied needs and he is a 'perpetually wanting

animal', for when one need is satisfied he aspires for the next higher one. This is, therefore,

seen as an ongoing activity, in which the man is totally absorbed in order to attain perfection

through self-development.

The highest state of self-actualization is characterized by integrity, responsibility,

magnanimity, simplicity and naturalness. Self-actualizers focus on problems external to

themselves. His prescription for human salvation is simple, but not easy: 'Hard work and total

commitment to doing well the job that fate or personal destiny calls you to do, or any

important job that "calls for" doing'.

Maslow has had his share of critics, but he has been able to achieve a refreshing synthesis of

divergent and influential philosophies of:

Marx - economic and physical needs;

Freud - physical and love needs;

Adler - esteem needs;

Goldstein - self-actualization.

Motivation theorists and their theories

Frederick Herzberg - Hygiene / Motivation Theory

This is based on analysis of the interviews of 200 engineers and accountants in the Pittsburgh

area in the USA. According to this theory, people work first and foremost in their own self-

enlightened interest, for they are truly happy and mentally healthy through work

accomplishment. Peoples needs are of two types:

Animal Needs (hygiene factors)

Supervision

Interpersonal relations

Working conditions

Salary

Human Needs (motivators)

Recognition

Work

Responsibility

Advancement

Unsatisfactory hygiene factors can act as de-motivators, but if satisfactory, their motivational

effect is limited. The psychology of motivation is quite complex and Herzberg has exploded

several myths about motivators such as:

shorter working week;

increasing wages;

fringe benefits;

sensitivity / human relations training;

communication.

As typical examples, saying 'please' to shop-floor workers does not motivate them to work

hard, and telling them about the performance of the company may even antagonize them

more. Herzberg regards these also as hygiene factors, which, if satisfactory, satisfy animal

needs but not human needs.

Chris Argyris

According to Argyris, organization needs to be redesigned for a fuller utilization of the most

precious resource, the workers, in particular their psychological energy. The pyramidal

structure will be relegated to the background, and decisions will be taken by small groups

rather than by a single boss. Satisfaction in work will be more valued than material rewards.

Work should be restructured in order to enable individuals to develop to the fullest extent. At

the same time work will become more meaningful and challenging through self-motivation.

Rensis Likert

Likert identified four different styles of management:

exploitative-authoritative;

benevolent-authoritative;

consultative;

participative.

The participative system was found to be the most effective in that it satisfies the whole range

of human needs. Major decisions are taken by groups themselves and this results in achieving

high targets and excellent productivity. There is complete trust within the group and the sense

of participation leads to a high degree of motivation.

Fred Luthans

Luthans advocates the so-called 'contingency approach' on the basis that certain practices

work better than others for certain people and certain jobs. As an example, rigid, clearly

defined jobs, authoritative leadership and tight controls lead in some cases to high productivity

and satisfaction among workers. In some other cases just the opposite seems to work. It is

necessary, therefore, to adapt the leadership style to the particular group of workers and the

specific job in hand.

Victor Vroom

Vroom's 'expectancy theory' is an extension of the 'contingency approach'. The leadership

style should be 'tailored' to the particular situation and to the particular group. In some cases it

appears best for the boss to decide and in others the group arrives at a consensus. An

individual should also be rewarded with what he or she perceives as important rather than

what the manager perceives. For example, one individual may value a salary increase,

whereas another may, instead, value promotion. This theory contributes an insight into the

study of employee motivation by explaining how individual goals influence individual

performance.

We have discussed above only a selection of the motivation theories and thoughts of the

various proponents of the human behavior school of management. Not included here are,

among others, the thoughts of:

Seebohm Rowntree - labor participation in management;

Elton Mayo - the Hawthorne Experiments;

Kurt Lewin - group dynamics; force field theory;

David McClelland - achievement motivation;

George Humans - the human group;

William Whyte - the organization man.

What does it all add up to? Back to 'square one'? Yes, indeed, the overall picture is certainly

confusing. This is not surprising, for the human nature and human mind defy a clear-cut

model, mathematical or otherwise.

In some of the theories and thoughts presented, however, one can see some 'glimpses' of the

person and how, perhaps, he or she could be motivated. This is rewarding in itself. But, as

noted earlier, practice has been ahead of theory in this field, so let us now move to the

practical side of management of human behavior and motivation in the workplace.

Motivation theory into practice

Application of employee motivation theory to the workplace

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Management literature is replete with actual case histories of what does and what does not

motivate people. Presented here is a tentative initial broad selection of the various practices

that have been tried in order to draw lessons for the future.

'Stick' or 'carrot' approach?

The traditional Victorian style of strict discipline and punishment has not only failed to deliver

the goods, but it has also left a mood of discontent amongst the working class. Punishment

appears to have produced negative rather than positive results and has increased the hostility

between 'them' (the management) and 'us' (the workers). In contrast to this, the 'carrot'

approach, involving approval, praise and recognition of effort has markedly improved the work

atmosphere, produced the 'goods' and given the workers enormous satisfaction.

Manager's motivation 'toolkit'

The manager's main task is to motivate his or her team, both individually and collectively so

that they can deliver the 'goods' and also derive satisfaction from it.

This may appear somewhat contradictory, but it seems to work. The main tools in the

manager's kitbag for motivating the team are:

approval, praise and recognition

trust, respect and high expectations

loyalty, given that it may be received

removing organizational barriers that stand in the way of individual and group

performance (smooth business processes, systems, methods and resources - see

outline team building program)

job enrichment

good communications

financial incentives

These are arranged in order of importance and it is interesting to note that cash is way down

the ladder of motivators. Let's look at a couple of examples taken from real life situations.

The Swedish shipbuilding company, Kockums, turned a 15 million dollar loss into a 100 million

dollar profit in the course of ten years due entirely to a changed perception of the workforce

brought about by better motivation. At Western Electric there was a dramatic improvement in

output after the supervisors and managers started taking greater interest in their employees.

Don't coerce - persuade!

Persuasion is far more powerful than coercion, just as the pen is mightier than the sword.

Managers have a much better chance of success if they use persuasion rather than coercion.

The former builds morale, initiative and motivation, whilst the latter quite effectively kills such

qualities. The three basic components in persuasion are:

suggest;

play on the person's sentiments; and

appeal to logic.

Once convinced, the person is so motivated as to deliver the 'goods'. The manager will have

achieved the goal quietly, gently and with the minimum of effort. It is, in effect, an effortless

achievement.

There has been a considerable amount of research into persuasion / motivation in the field of

advertising and marketing. The research is entirely of the applied type, which can and has

been used to great practical advantage. Some of the findings in this field were first published

in the fifties in a book with the title, The Hidden Persuaders, which became a bestseller.

More contemporary 'persuaders' used by advertising and marketing people include:

Faster talk is found to be more effective, since it is remembered better.

Brain emits fast beta waves when a person is really interested in a particular

presentation. These waves can be detected by an instrument.

Subliminal approach using short duration presentation, whereby the message is

transmitted below the level of awareness.

Can these findings be used in actual work conditions? AT&T (The American Telephone and

Telegraph Co.,) recognizing the importance of hidden needs, at one time succeeded in

promoting long distance calls by use of the simple phrase: 'Reach out, reach out and touch

someone'. Managers will need to adapt this persuasion / motivation technique to their own

situation.

Motivation theory in to practice 2

Application of employee motivation theory to the workplace

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Job satisfaction - is there a trend?

This is the title of a study carried out by the US Department of Labor among 1500 workers, who were asked to rate the job factors, from a list of 23, which they considered important starting from the most important factor. Their findings (Sanzotta (1977)) are:

White-collar workers Blue-collar workers

a. interesting work

b. opportunity to develop special

abilities

c. enough information

d. enough authority

e. enough help and equipment;

f. friendly and helpful coworkers

g. opportunity to see results of work

h. competent supervision

i. responsibilities clearly defined

j. good pay

a. good pay

b. enough help and equipment

c. job security

d. enough information

e. interesting work

f. friendly and helpful coworkers

g. responsibilities clearly defined

h. opportunity to see results of work

i. enough authority

j. competent supervision

It is interesting that out of the 23 job factors listed for the survey, yet with the exception of two

items (white-collar workers' choice (b) and blue-collar workers' choice (c)) groups selected the

same top ten factors, although with different rankings. It is significant that good pay was

considered as the most important factor by the blue-collar workers, but it ranked as the least

important for white-collar workers.

Motivating your salesforce

It is well known that individual behavior is intensely personal and unique, yet companies seek

to use the same policies to motivate everyone. This is mainly for convenience and ease

compared to catering for individual oddities (Lindstone (1978)). 'Tailoring' the policy to the

needs of each individual is difficult but is far more effective and can pay handsome dividends.

Fairness, decisiveness, giving praise and constructive criticism can be more effective than

money in the matter of motivation. Leadership is considered synonymous (Tack (1979)) with

motivation, and the best form of leadership is designated as SAL, situation adaptable

leadership. In this style of leadership, one is never surprised or shocked, leadership must begin

with the chief executive and it is more a matter of adaptation than of imparting knowledge.

Ultimately, it is the leadership quality which leads to the success of a company through

building and motivating its people.

'The one-minute manager'

A contemporary bestseller (Blanchard & Johnson (1983)) aimed at managers who seek to make

star performers of their subordinates. To start with, the manager sets a goal, e.g. one page

read in one minute, and it is seen to be achieved by 'one minute' of praising or reprimand as

the case may be. But to be effective, these must be given (a) promptly, (b) in specific terms,

and the behavior, rather than the person, should be praised or reprimanded.

The concept is basic and it makes sense, although the book seeks to 'dramatize' it. 'One

minute' praising is seen to be the motivating force. Everyone is considered a winner, though

some people are disguised as losers, and the manager is extolled not to be fooled by such

appearances.

'Lessons from America's Best-run Companies'

Another bestseller, In Search of Excellence (Peters & Waterman (1982)). Several criteria,

including analysis of annual reports and in-depth interviews, were used to pick 14 'model

excellent companies' out of an initial sample of 62 companies. As expected, most of the action

in high-performing companies revolved around its people, their success being ascribed to:

productivity through people;

extraordinary performance from ordinary employees;

treating people decently.

Personnel function and in particular leadership were considered the most critical components.

If the leaders in an organization can create and sustain an environment in which all employees

are motivated, the overall performance is bound to be good. The three essentials for creating

such an environment are:

fairness;

job security; and

involvement.

Of all the resources available, the human resource is clearly the most significant, but also the

most difficult to manage. Excellence can only be achieved through excellent performance of

every person, rather than by the high-pitched performance of a few individuals. And motivation

is, undoubtedly, the crux.

Conclusion

There is no simple answer to the question of how to motivate people. Can money motivate?

Yes, but money alone is not enough, though it does help. We have discussed some of the

pertinent theories bearing on human motivation and this is balanced by some of the practical

factors which can lead to excellence. Human resource remains the focal point and leadership

the critical component, and motivation has to be 'tailored' to each individual. The next section

deals with an important mode of motivation, namely financial aspects of rewarding employees.

Employee rewards

Introduction

The previous section dealt with motivation theory and practice. There is no doubt that

motivation is the crux for good performance, but there is no clear cut answer to the question of

how to motivate. The previous pages gave a glimpse of the answer through various theories

and practices.

Money is a factor in motivating people and this section concentrates on this. Employee reward

systems are discussed in general and later in specifics in terms of payment by results. Various

schemes for financial motivation are also described.

Money is important!

This is, perhaps, saying the obvious. But it still needs to be said, for a perusal of the previous

section may give the impression to the contrary, at least judging from Maslow's concept.

Refreshing as it is, if the theory was completely valid then, at least in affluent countries,

economic incentives should have lost all their force. This, we know is not correct.

According to Peter Drucker (1974) 'there is not one shred of evidence for the alleged turning

away from material rewards... Antimaterialism is a myth, no matter how much it is extolled.' In

fact, they are taken so much for granted that their denial may act as a de-motivator.

'Economic incentives are becoming rights rather than rewards.'

There is no doubt that we live in a money-motivated world. Any amount of human relations

cannot compensate for a lack of monetary reward. If the reward is right, good human

relations will give that extra zest to a team, motivating them to give of their best efforts.

Insufficient monetary reward cannot be compensated by good human relations.

Even dedicated footballers do not think of playing for England, they merely pay 'lip service' to

it.; the financial rewards of playing for their clubs far exceed those recieved from playing from

their country .Cricketers and rugby players no longer play for their own country but opt for the

'highest bidder'. Professional tennis players have refused to play at Wimbledon, the 'Mecca' of

lawn tennis, because the rewards were not attractive.

It is no different in the industrial world. Strikes for better salary and rewards do still occur. All

this despite the claim of psychologists that security is the prime need of a person, as indicated

in the previous section. Has the sense of values changed with time? But we are not concerned

here with the philosophical angle, but with hard facts of life in a commercial world.

Self-motivation can go only so far and it needs to be constantly reinforced by rewards. In

particular, merit must be measured and rewarded regularly, if it is to be encouraged and

sustained. The 'gold banana' in Foxboro has its origin in just an ordinary banana which one of

the pioneers could muster on the spur of the moment when he discovered extraordinary

performance by one of the employees (see next section.)

Employee rewards

Motivating executives

We discuss this subject separately, since there is an indication from various surveys (see

previous section) that the blue-collar and white-collar workers do not attach the same

importance to financial incentives. This is probably more due to differing value system of the

two, rather than the importance each attaches to the money per se.

Properly used, money can be a motivating factor, but little money may have no effect (Crystal

(1970)). To achieve motivation of executives, therefore:

reward should be meaningful; and

reward should vary with performance.

The concept is simple, but its implementation is not easy. However, the job is well worth

trying. To be effective, the reward should be 'tailored' to each individual, but only as part of

the total compensation concept. It is essential (Moore (1968)) to develop an overall program

within which each compensation package must be individualized.

There is also need for constant search of new ideas in this respect. The essentials of an

effective company-wide executive compensation scheme are: sound salary-base structure,

several fundamental compensation devices and considerable flexibility in its application.

The five basic elements (Ellig (1982)) of executive compensation are:

salary,

short-term incentives,

long-term incentives,

employee benefits and

perquisites.

Any plan for executives should take into account the following factors:

Executives perceive others as working less and paid more.

Appearance of a reward as important a factor as the reward itself.

Flexibility, but not at the expense of discretion.

Performance rating should support the pay action.

Correcting one inequity may lead to yet another.

A decision once announced is difficult to modify.

An arithmetic increase in the number of people involved results in a geometric

increase in the time required to reach agreement.

Motivating for high performance can cost a lot of money. Not everyone can be motivated by

money alone, however much. Incentive pay plans should be designed (Ivancevich (1983)) not

only to reward good performance but also to minimize the negative side-effects, such as

conflict and grievance. At times it is difficult to develop a valid, equitable and acceptable

means of performance. Many pay plans fail because of either not being suited to the particular

situation or because of poor implementation. It is essential to consider the following aspects

before designing a pay plan to motivate performance:

preference of individual employees;

size of pay rewards for high performance;

method of motivating individual job performance;

subjective

We have pointed out earlier that for effective and sustained motivation, the reward must be

prompt and immediate. The example of Foxboro has been quoted. In its early days, the

company's very survival depended on technical innovation. Late one evening (Peters &

Waterman (1982)) a scientist walked into the president's office with a working prototype. The

president was dumbfounded by the elegance of the solution and sought to reward him

immediately and on the spot. Rummaging through the drawers of his desk, all he could find

was a banana and this had to suffice. This was the forerunner of the 'gold banana' concept, a

very apt and fitting reward. Likewise, Thomas Watson Snr. had made a practice of writing out a

check on the spot for any unusual achievement that he observed.

Executive pay - a caution

However, we must introduce a note of caution. There is a connection (White (1973)) between

executive pay and company size, in terms of turnover or number of employees, but no

connection between executive pay and improvement in profitability - the bigger the company,

the higher the pay, but efficiency is not necessarily higher. The higher salary is probably

because of a larger number of levels in big companies. Of course, with the large number of

variables involved, it is difficult to correlate any two isolated factors, such as executive pay

and overall company efficiency.

There should be a direct correlation, but perhaps the yardsticks available for this purpose are

inadequate to establish it. Let us, however, reiterate that individual executives have different

senses of values, of which money is one, and an important one at that. No reward other than

money is so flexible, so measurable or so controllable. But in using financial motivation, the

companies must be clear on what they wish to achieve, then define what managers are

expected to contribute towards the objectives and finally ensure that financial reward is linked

to managerial performance.

Performance related pay

Reward can act as the 'catalyst' for improved performance and better productivity. But reward,

as such, is not enough and in any case it is not a substitute for good management. Rather, it is

a part of management. Certain basic criteria are essential for rewards to be effective. These

include:

Reward should be quick.

Reward should be significant.

The goals and rewards must be; known, understandable; and attainable.

Reward must be distinctly and directly related to performance.

Reward should be irrevocable.

Reward should be compatible with job measurement.

If the reward plan is seen to be unfair and unrealistic, for example promotion on the basis of

seniority or favoritism, it may have a definitely negative effect as a motivator. For rewards to

be effective, they have to be generous and significant as noted above, hence they must be

structured to attain a proper balance of motivating people to purpose and at optimum effort.

Rewards are generally reckoned to improve productivity by somewhere of the order of 20 to 30

per cent. This is nearly twice as much as that attained by goal-setting or job-redesign. But

each incentive or reward system is likely to have value under certain conditions only. Hence to

be effective, the rewards must be 'tailored' and changed to suit the specific conditions. There

is no magic formula for all situations and at all times.

Productivity is usually but erroneously associated only with the workshop floor. But total

productivity which ultimately determines the profitability of the entire organization is the sum

total of the productivity at various levels right up to the CEO. For if the workers are not given

the right materials at the right place and at the right time, their productivity will suffer due to

no fault of theirs. The manager, therefore, plays a vital role in the productivity of the workers

and team.

One can even go as far to say that productivity is the only reason for the existence of the

manager. Individually the manager may be considered nonproductive, in that he or she does

not contribute directly to the production, but is responsible for integrating the work of his or

her team into a total productivity effort, Thus, a manager can increase productivity indirectly

by aiding to produce more, and here too, financial motivation plays a major role.

Reward systems

The financial rewards are basically of three types:

profit sharing;

job evaluation; and

merit rating.

Profit sharing

Profit sharing could be on a macro basis or on a micro basis. The former relates to the entire

company as a whole and the latter to a particular section or group dealing with a particular

activity and/or product. On a macro level, it would be difficult to identify and reward

outstanding performance. This is possible on a micro level by treating the particular activity as

a cost and profit center by itself. This is easier said than done, since overheads and other

common services have to be charged and this cannot be done completely objectively. The cost

allocation in such cases is somewhat arbitrary and the profit will therefore not be a true

reflection of the performance of that particular group or activity.

Job evaluation

In case of job evaluation, the various component factors have to be isolated and evaluated for

purposes of inter-job comparison. Each factor is assigned a rating on the basis of a scale

agreed beforehand by the union and the management joint committee. The total rating for

each job then forms the basis of wage structure. However, there must be a base level,

representing, in effect, the 'minimum wage', depending on the nature of work and the

geographical area. In some cases and in some countries these are stipulated by law. A typical,

though somewhat broad, list of job factors is as follows:

working environment;

physical characteristics;

mental characteristics;

extent of responsibility;

training and experience.

In case of managers, the factors are:

responsibility;

expertise;

human relations.

Merit rating

Merit rating has been used as an indicator of performance. Each employee is rated, typically as

excellent, good, average or poor, in respect of the following abilities:

communication;

human relations, including leadership and motivation;

intelligence;

judgment;

knowledge.

The rating, unfortunately, tends to be carried out purely mechanically and it carries a heavy

bias of the rater who may be too lenient, may not be objective and may also have favorites or

otherwise in the group being rated.

The Glacier Project

This relates to a major scientific investigation in a real life situation. The Glacier Metal

Company (UK) was the largest manufacturer of plain bearings in Europe employing some 4500

persons in six factories. This was a unique experiment, commercially successful and probably

without a parallel.

The project began in 1948 with the assistance of the Tavistock Institute of Human

Relations and it sought to provide novel answers to baffling problems in industrial

organizations. Simply stated, once people get a job, they begin to lose interest in the work,

hate their firm and soon organize themselves in order to pressurize the firm for higher wages.

The Glacier project used the task approach concept, under which the task is carefully analyzed

and roles clearly defined in order to provide scope for peoples effective participation in the

fulfilment of companies objective. Work is seen to have two components:

prescribed; and

discretionary.

The latter is more difficult of the two. A supervisor, for example, has the discretion in matters

of priorities, allotment of work and development of his or her department. These elements

determine the extent of responsibility and are the basis of the theory of equitable payment

developed by the renowned psychoanalyst, Elliott Jaques.

According to this, wages should be related to the responsibility involved and this in turn

depends on the discretionary elements. Jaques developed a technique for measuring the time-

span for discretion for different types of work and formulated a scale of equitable earnings for

a laborer, machine operator, supervisor and engineer. The Glacier model is far more

comprehensive, but for our present purpose the quantification of wage differential serves as a

motivator for better performance.

Payment by results

One of the earliest and best examples of this is the Rucker and Scanlon plans introduced in the

USA in the depression of the 1930s. Joseph Scanlon was a union officer in the Penn Steel Mill

which, as a result of the depression, was on the brink of extinction.

The aim of the plan was to reduce waste and increase efficiency with consequent increase of

productivity and profits. The savings and surplus resulting from implementation of the

suggestions of the group are shared. For equitable distribution, a committee has to administer

the plan and the company has to disclose (McBeath (1974)) a considerable amount of financial

data and be also prepared to share profits.

As a result the plan has not always been successful. In a survey (Gruneberg & Oborne (1982))

of 44 cases, 30 were reported to be successful. Thus success has been achieved in some

companies and in some situations. But the concept is sound. The plan gives the participants a

real sense of participation and self-esteem, and the group cohesion and motivation are

increased in anticipation of the reward. Other methods of payment by results include:

time saved;

piecework;

daily work measurement;

productivity index;

added value.

In each case, the savings or increased production are quantified in monetary terms and sought

to be shared amongst the concerned people. Earlier schemes were based on individual effort

which could be appropriately rewarded. However, modern technology and production methods

are quite often based on a team approach, hence new schemes for payment by results have to

be tried and implemented, if found effective. In this case individuals do not get rewarded as a

result of their own effort and it is the group performance which counts. This requires a change

of attitude of the workers, as also of the management.

Like the Scanlon plan, the management needs to be prepared to discuss openly with the

workers / unions the real change / improvement in the relevant indices and this requires

disclosure of otherwise confidential financial and production data. In the long run, such an

open attitude will benefit both.

Which scheme is best?

There is no such scheme! Each situation must be studied in depth and a suitable scheme

'tailored' for the specific situation. Also important is the history and culture of the organisation

concerned. Anything radically different and without active participation of all concerned is

bound to fail. It is advisable also not to introduce drastic changes suddenly. The system must

be properly formulated and after full and frank discussion with the concerned people tried out

on a 'mini' scale and refined in the light of the experience gained.

The main factors involved in selection of a suitable scheme are:

micro versus macro level;

problems of implementation; and

maintenance over a sustained period.

The micro versus macro aspect has been briefly touched on earlier in this chapter. Both have

their pros and cons and an ideal system may well be a combination of the two. It is good to

reward individual performance since it could act as an instant motivator. On the other hand

certain benefits result only from a group action and therefore must be shared among the

entire group or even across the entire company.

Implementation of any scheme is the most important phase and it should not be rushed

through. Sufficient time should be allowed for discussion and suggestions from the concerned

group. At this stage all problems that may arise during implementation stage cannot be

foreseen, but some of the obvious ones certainly can be anticipated.

Once implemented, both sides should be willing to modify the scheme in the light of the

experience gained. There should be no hesitation to refine the scheme until found completely

satisfactory. It will require full cooperation and complete honesty.

Conclusions

Money is certainly a motivator and a major one at that. Success of companies such as of

Microsoft, IBM and other such tech companies is certainly, at least to some extent, a result of

such motivation. There are, of course, other factors particularly job satisfaction as shown in the

previous section.

Rewarding employees financially does improve levels of employee motivation and thus

improves productivity, which ultimately shows up in the 'bottom line', and part of the increased

profits must be circulated back to the workforce responsible for it.

Some of the schemes for reward systems and payment by results have are briefly discussed.

The novel Glacier project and the Scanlon plan are briefly described. There is no such thing as

the 'best scheme'. It must be formulated and 'tailored' to each specific case.

Team Building: Managing the Norms of Informal Groups in the Workplace

This sub-article on the informal workgroups is available for use as a classroom / training

handout.

Click Managing Informal Group Norms to view the non-printable version.

Introduction

Jeff Lane was at his wits end. As a newly appointed production manager, he had tried virtually

everything to get his work group to come up to production standard. The equipment was

operating properly, and the group had the training and experience to meet expectations, yet it

was not performing well. What was wrong? And what could he do to correct the situation?

Managers and supervisors frequently face such a dilemma-standards that should be met but

aren't for what seems like no apparent reason. What Jeff Lane and other managers/

supervisors sometimes fail to realize is that within every organization there are often informal

group pressures that influence and regulate individual behavior.

Informal groups formulate an implicit code of ethics or an unspoken set of standards

establishing acceptable behavior In Jeff's department, the informal group may have

established a norm below that set by the organization, subtly exercising control over its

members regarding the amount of output.

Dynamics of informal groups

Informal groups almost always arise if opportunities exist.

Often, these groups serve a counter organizational function, attempting to counteract the

coercive tendencies in an organization. If management prescribes production norms that the

group considers unfair, for instance, the group's recourse is to adopt less demanding norms

and to use its ingenuity to discover ways in which it can sabotage management's imposed

standards.

Informal groups have a powerful influence on the effectiveness of an organization, and can

even subvert its formal goals. But the informal group's role is not limited to resistance. The

impact of the informal group upon the larger formal group depends on the norms that the

informal group sets. So the informal group can make the formal organization more effective,

too.

A norm is an implied agreement among the group's membership regarding how members in

the group should behave. From the perspective of the formal group, norms generally fall into

three categories-positive, negative, and neutral. In other words, norms either support,

obstruct, or have no effect on the aims of the larger organization.

For example, it the informal group in Jeff's shop set a norm supporting high output, that norm

would have been more potent than any attempt by Jeff to coerce compliance with the

standard. The reason is simple, yet profound. The norm is of the group members own making,

and is not one imposed upon them. There is a big motivational difference between being told

what to do and being anxious to do it.

If Jeff had been aware of group dynamics, he might have realized that informal groups can be

either his best friend or his worst enemy. He should have been sensitive to the informal groups

within his area and he should have cultivated their goodwill and cooperation and made use of

the informal group leadership.

That is, he should have wooed the leadership of the informal group and enlisted the support of

its membership to achieve the formal organization's aims. The final effect of his actions might

have been positive or negative, depending upon the agreement or lack of it between the

informal group and himself.

Harnessing the power of informal groups is no easy task. The requirements include:

an understanding of group dynamics and,

an ability to bring about changes in informal group norms that positively reinforce the

formal organization's goals.

As a starting point, managers and supervisors should at least be aware of the reasons behind informal group formation and the properties and characteristics of these groups.

Formation of informal work groups

Individuals are employed by an organization to perform specific functions. Although the whole

person joins an organization, attention is usually focused on the partial person, the part of the

individual doing the job. Because people have needs that extend beyond the work itself,

informal groups develop to fill certain emotional, social, and psychological needs.

The degree to which a group satisfies its members needs determines the limits within which

individual members of the group will allow their behavior to be controlled by the group.

Sense of belonging

Several major functions are served by informal groups. For example, the group serves as a

means of satisfying the affiliation needs of its members for friendship and support. People

need to belong, to be liked, to feel a part of something. Because the informal group can

withhold this attractive reward, it has a tool of its own to coerce compliance with its norms.

Identity and self esteem

Groups also provide a means of developing, enhancing, and confirming a person's sense of

identity and self-esteem. Although many organizations attempt to recognize these higher

needs, the nature of some jobs-their technology and environment-precludes this from

happening. The long assembly line or endless rows of desks reinforce a feeling of

depersonalization.

Stress reduction

Another function of groups is to serve as an agent for establishing and testing social reality.

For instance, several individuals may share the feeling that their supervisor is a slave driver or

that their working conditions are inadequate. By developing a consensus about these feelings,

group members are able to reduce the anxiety associated with their jobs.

All for one, one for all

Finally, the informal group serves as a defense mechanism against forces that group members

could not resist on their own. Joining forces in a small group makes the members feel stronger,

less anxious, and less insecure in the face of a perceived threat.

As long as needs exist that are not served by the formal organization, informal groups will form

to fill the gap. Since the group fills many important needs for its members, it influences

member behavior.

Leadership of informal work groups

Informal groups possess certain characteristics that, if understood, can be used to advantage.

While many of these characteristics are similar to those of formal organizations, others are

unique. One attribute of informal groups is rotational leadership.

The informal leader emerges as the individual possessing qualities that the other members

perceive as critical to the satisfaction of their specific needs at the moment; as the needs

change so does the leader. Only rarely does a single individual possess all of the leadership

characteristics needed to fill the various needs of the group.

Unlike the formally appointed leader who has a defined position from which to influence

others, the informal leader does not possess formal power. If the informal leader fails to meet

the group's expectations, he or she is deposed and replaced by another. The informal group's

judgment of its leaders tends to be quicker and more cold-blooded than that of most formal

groups.

Supervisory strategies

The supervisor can use several strategies to affect the leadership and harness the power of

informal groups. One quick and sure method of changing a group is to cause the leader to

change one or more of his or her characteristics. Another is to replace the leader with another

person.

One common ploy is to systematically rotate out of the group its leaders and its key members.

Considering the rotational nature of leadership, a leader may emerge who has aims similar to

the formal goals of the organization. There are problems with this approach, however. Besides

the practical difficulties of this, this strategy is blunted by the fact that group norms often

persist long after the leader has left the group.

A less Machiavellian approach is for the supervisor to be alert to leaders sympathetic to the

supervisor's objectives and to use them toward the betterment of the formal group's

effectiveness. Still another method is to attempt to 'co-opt' informal leaders by absorbing them

into the leadership or the decision-making structure of the formal group. Co-opting the

informal leader often serves as a means of averting threats to the stability of the formal

organization.

Remember, though, a leader may lose favor with the group because of this association with

management, and group members will most likely select another leader.

Informal Work Group Communication (The Grapevine)

Another characteristic of the informal group is its communications network. The informal group

has communications processes that are smoother and less cumbersome than those of the

formal organization.

Thus its procedures are easily changed to meet the communication needs of the group. In the

informal group, a person who possesses information vital to the group's functioning or well-

being is frequently afforded leadership status by its members. Also, the centrally located

person in the group is in the best position to facilitate the smooth flow of information among

group members.

Knowing about informal group communication the supervisor can provide a strategically

placed individual with information needed by the group. This not only enhances the stature of

this individual perhaps elevating him or her to a leadership position but also provides an

efficient means of distributing information. Providing relevant information to the group will also

help foster harmony between the supervisor and the informal group.

By winning the cooperation of informal group leaders the supervisor will most likely experience

fewer grievances and better relationships.

Informal group cohesiveness

A third characteristic of informal groups is group cohesiveness-the force that holds a group

together. Group cohesiveness varies widely based on numerous factors-including the size of

the group dependence of members upon the group achievement of goals status of the group

and management demands and pressures. For example group cohesiveness increases strongly

whenever the membership perceives a threat from the outside. This threat produces the high

anxiety that strong group cohesiveness can help reduce.

If the supervisor presses the group to conform to a new organizational norm that Is viewed as

a threat to the security needs of group members The group will become more unified in order

to withstand the perceived threat. Thus management can limit its own effectiveness by helping

to increase the group's cohesiveness. With the passing of the threat the group tends to lose its

cohesiveness.

Perhaps paradoxically the most dangerous time for group cohesion is when things are going

well. Supervisors can use the factors that affect group cohesiveness to increase their own

effectiveness.

Decision making process involvement

For instance a supervisor can involve the informal group members in the decision-making

process. Input from group members will not only reduce their feeling of alienation but also

improve communication between the supervisor and subordinates thereby reducing potential

conflict.

Where group participation in decision making is not practical the supervisor should carefully

explain the reasons to play down what might be seen as a threat to the group. In some cases

the supervisor may want to increase the groups cohesiveness deliberately devising situations

that put one group into competition with another. If this gambit is carefully controlled the

solidarity that results may bring a higher level of performance.

The danger of this strategy is that the supervisor may be unable to control the reaction of the

group. The ploy could backfire bringing competition and dissension within the group.

Informal group norms or values (unspoken rules)

The final characteristic of informal groups is the establishment of the groups norms (values).

As we discussed earlier, norms keep a group functioning as a system instead of a collection of

individuals.

Norms are of great importance to the informal group in controlling behavior and measuring the

performance of members. Because norm (values) violations threaten a group's existence,

departures from the norm usually carry severe sanctions. The members must either conform

or sever their group affiliation.

The latter action is unlikely, especially if the individual values group membership to satisfy

certain needs.

Two points are important to note about the norms of informal groups.

First, where both formal and informal norms exist, the informal norms transcend the

formal. At moments when norms conflict with organizational objectives, organizational

effectiveness suffers.

Second, members of an informal group may be unaware that the norms of the group

influence their behavior. Norms are particularly potent because without knowing it

members would not even think of acting otherwise-norms are that ingrained into their

behavior pattern.

Transforming informal work group/ team norms

A supervisor should attempt to encourage norms that positively affect the formal

organization's goals, and to alter those that are negative. If this is accomplished, the informal

group/ team will direct its energies toward desired goals.

How can a supervisor bring about a positive change in a group / team's norms?

Once a group / team has developed its norms, they are strictly enforced until changed. But

norms change frequently because the group / team must be responsive to changes in its

environment for self-protection. When a perceived change occurs in the environment that

affects the group / team, it tightens, eases, or changes it norms.

There are three stages to fostering group / team / team norms that are congenial to the

organization.

First Stage

The first stage involves determining what the group/ team/ norms are, and then getting group/

team members to recognize their existence and influence.

This can often be accomplished by observing the behavior patterns of the group / team,

interviewing group / team members, or asking the group/ team to identify its own norms. As

noted earlier, people frequently respect and follow norms unconsciously.

A suggested way is to use our Team Building - Informal Group Organizational Norms Employee

Survey (available for purchase by clicking here.) This instrument has ten predetermined

dimensions, these are (together with definitions,) as follows.

Organizational / Personal Pride. Satisfaction or pleasure taken in attaining personal

or organizational achievements.

Performance / Excellence. Manner or quality of functioning when striving to meet or

beat standards of performance. This includes setting personal standards when none are

set/ defined.

Teamwork / Communication. The perception that organizational goals and

objectives are communicated to and shared by members of the group. The organization

has effectively shared its' vision or sense of purpose so that all employees can articulate

and subscribe to.

Leadership / Supervision. The style of management / supervision in engaging

employees to deliver willingly their best efforts towards organizational goals.

Profitability / Cost Effectiveness. Awareness of employees of their roles and

actions to the organizations 'bottom line'.

Colleague / Associate Relations. Personal connections or dealings between or

among individuals and groups.

Customer / Client Relations. Personal and group attitude towards clients, both

internal (i.e. other departments in the case of service departments) and external

suppliers and customers.

Innovation / Creativity. To be aware of, appreciate the need for and strive for new

ways of performing a function, process, procedure or the organization's business model

in terms of the need flowing from constant changes in the external environment, the

need to be competitive and the need to retain customer loyalty and confidence.

Training / Development. The opportunities within the organization and the climate

set that promote personal growth and development.

Candor / Openness. The willingness to promote open, honest and direct dialog by all

employees at all levels on issues that affect individuals, groups and the organization as

a whole. This includes the sharing of information, respect for the diverse backgrounds

and experiences of members, the absence of 'competition over territory' and the

agreement of goals and levels of performance/ quality.

Helping define norms is useful because it assists the group / team in clarifying its thinking and

frees members from behavior patterns that they may not really wish to follow in the first place.

When group / team members actually become aware of negative norms, they commonly reject

them and seek alternative modes of behavior. And the supervisor can't begin to change

negative norms to positive ones until group / team members first become aware of their

existence.

Second Stage

Having identified the team's norms, the next stage is to measure the norms and establish a

norm profile. Using the Team Building - Informal Group Organizational Norms Employee Survey

instrument, each team member is posed a set of questions, related to the 10 dimensions. As

shown in the 'Group Norms Profile' graphic, the responses can be averaged and plotted in

order to obtain a norm profile for the group under review.

The difference between where the group / team is versus where the desired norms of the

group should be, denotes the normative "gap." These gaps provide the starting point for

determining where changes should occur.

Third Stage

The final stage is to bring about normative change. A systematic change process consists of

six steps:

Demonstrate the importance of norms in achieving organizational and group/ team

effectiveness.

Create positive norm goals through cooperative effort.

Establish normative change priorities.

Determine a plan of action to bring about change.

Implement and monitor the change strategy.

Review the effectiveness of the strategy periodically and modify where necessary.

This process emphasizes the creation of positive norms through cooperative effort that

benefits both the supervisor and the group/ team. Positive group/ team norms -increase the

effectiveness of the supervisor while providing an environment in which group/ team members

can satisfy their own needs.

The process also improves team communications and trust, reducing the anxiety sometimes

created by perceived threats from management.

If the informal group / team's norms are negative, they can negate the interests of an

organization many times the group / team's size. The process of change is a tool by which a

supervisor can deal with the informal group/ team stresses that exist within the organization

and that tend to de-motivate employees.

By fostering positive group norms, a supervisor can harness the power of informal groups and

release the energies of such groups to work together as a team to achieve desired goals.

The Self-fulfilling Prophecy or Pygmalion Effect

Introduction

In 1911 two researchers with the unlikely names of Stumpt and Pfungst began an investigation

of an even more unlikely horse named Clever Hans. The unlikely thing about Hans was that he

could add, subtract, multiply, divide, spell and solve problems involving musical harmony. Any

number of animals had been taught to perform such tricks before, but they all had to be cued

by their trainers.

The really clever thing about Clever Hans was that he could run through his repertoire even

when his owner a German mathematician named Von Osten, was not present. The horse would

answer questions for anyone. Von Osten swore he was mystified by the whole thing.

In 'Teachers and the Learning Process' (Prentice-Hall, 1971), Robert Strom describes what

Stumpt and Pfungst learned. "Among the first discoveries made was that if the horse could not

see the questioner, Hans was not clever at all. Similarly, if the questioner did not himself know

the answer to the question, Hans could not answer it either... A forward inclination of the head

of the questioner would start Hans tapping, Pfungst observed... as the experimenter

straightened up, Hans would stop tapping he found that even the raising of his eyebrows was

sufficient. Even the dilation of the questioner's nostrils was a cue for Hans to stop tapping."

In other words, unwittingly, people were giving the horse the correct answers by

communicating their expectations to him via physical signals. Hans was able to pick up on

those signals even subtle ones.

He was clever only when people expected him to be!

A management concept

As it is known and taught today in management and education circles, the notion of the self-

fulfilling prophecy was conceptualized by Robert Merton a professor of sociology at Columbia

University. In a 1957 work called 'Social Theory and Social Structure', Merton said the

phenomenon occurs when "a false definition of the situation evokes a new behavior which

makes the original false conception come true."

In other words, once an expectation is set, even if it isn't accurate, we tend to act in ways that

are consistent with that expectation. Surprisingly often, the result is that the expectation, as if

by magic, comes true.

An ancient myth

Magic certainly was involved in the ancient myth from which the idea of the self-fulfilling

prophecy takes its other common name. As Ovid told the story in the tenth book of

Metamorphoses, the sculptor Pygmalion, a prince of Cyprus, sought to create an ivory statue of

the ideal woman.

The result which he named Galatea, was so beautiful that Pygmalion fell desperately in love

with his own creation. He prayed to the goddess Venus to bring Galatea to life. Venus granted

his prayer and the couple lived happily ever after.

A modern update

That's where the name originated but a better illustration of the "Pygmalion Effect" is George

Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion, in which Professor Henry Higgins insists that he can take a

Cockney flower girl and, with some vigorous training, pass her off as a duchess. He succeeds.

But a key point lies in a comment by the trainee, Eliza Doolittle, to Higgins' friend Pickering:

"You see, really and truly, apart from the things anyone can pick up (the dressing and the

proper way of speaking and so on), the difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how

she behaves, but how she's treated. I shall always be a flower girl to Professor Higgins,

because he always treats me as a flower girl, and always will, but I know I can be a lady to you

because you always treat me as a lady, and always will."

The bottom line?

Consciously or not we tip people off as to what our expectations are. We exhibit thousands of

cues, some as subtle as the tilting of heads, the raising of eye brows or the dilation of nostrils,

but most are much more obvious. And people pick up on those cues.

Key Principles

The concept of the self-fulfilling prophecy can be summarized in these key principles:

We form certain expectations of people or events

We communicate those expectations with various cues

People tend to respond to these cues by adjusting their behavior to match them

The result is that the original expectation becomes true

This creates a circle of self-fulfilling prophecies.

Does it work?

A convincing body of behavioral research says it does.

In 1971 Robert Rosenthal, a professor of social psychology at Harvard, described an

experiment in which he told a group of students that he had developed a strain of super-

intelligent rats that could run mazes quickly. He then passed out perfectly normal rats at

random, telling half of the students that they had the new "maze-bright" rats and the other

half that they got "maze-dull" rats.

The rats believed to be bright improved daily in running the maze they ran faster and more

accurately. The "dull" rats refused to budge from the starting point 29% of the time, while the

"bright" rats refused only 11% of the time.

This experiment illustrates the first of a number of corollaries to our four basic principles.

Corollary 1

Rosenthal concluded that some students unknowingly communicated high expectations to the

supposedly bright rats.

The other students communicated low expectations to the supposedly dull ones. But this study

went a step further.

According to Rosenthal, "Those who believed they were working with intelligent animals liked

them better and found them more pleasant.

Such students said they felt more relaxed with the animals, they treated them more gently and

were more enthusiastic about the experiment than the students who thought they had dull rats

to work with."

Corollary 2

Better performance resulting from high expectations leads us to like someone more

Lower performance resulting from low expectations leads us to like someone less

Rats not good enough for you?

In another classic experiment, Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson worked with elementary school

children from 18 classrooms. They randomly chose 20% of the children from each room and

told the teachers they were "intellectual bloomers."

They explained that these children could be expected to show remarkable gains during the

year. The experimental children showed average IQ gains of two points in verbal ability, seven

points in reasoning and four points in over all IQ. The "intellectual bloomers" really did bloom!

How can this possibly work?

In 'Pygmalion in the Classroom' (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1968), Rosenthal replies: "To

summarize our speculations, we may say that by what she said, by how and when she said it,

by her actual facial expressions, postures and perhaps by her touch, the teacher may have

communicated to the children of the experimental group that she expected improved

intellectual performance.

Such communication together with possible changes in teaching techniques may have helped

the child learn by changing his self concept, his expectations of his own behavior, and his

motivation, as well as his cognitive style and skills."

There was no difference in the amount of time the teachers spent with the students. Evidently

there was a difference in the quality of the interactions. The teachers also found the

"bloomers" to be more appealing, more affectionate and better adjusted. Some students

gained in IQ even though they had not been designated as "bloomers," but they were not

regarded to be as appealing, affectionate or well-adjusted.

Apparently, the bloomers had done what was expected of them and the teachers were

comfortable with them. The other students who did well surprised the teachers; they did the

unexpected and the teachers were not as comfortable with them. It may be that they were

thought of as overstepping their bounds or labeled as troublemakers.

Corollary 3

We tend to be comfortable with people who meet our expectations, whether they're

high or low;

We tend not to be comfortable with people who don't meet our expectations, whether

they are high or low.

As for our expectations of what will happen or how someone will behave, we form them in a

thousand ways, many preconceived. We all are prejudiced in the literal sense of the word; we

'prejudge' either positively or negatively.

We like to think we know what's going to happen before it happens, and we don't like to be

proven wrong. We want to feel that we can control things.

The impulse has given rise to religion, which says we can influence the gods with prayer,

magic, which says we can manipulate events with secret powers; and science, which says we

can understand the logic behind events and use it to predict similar events.

Corollary 4

Forming expectations is natural and unavoidable

The simple truth is that almost all of us behave pretty much according to the way we're

treated.

If you keep telling a teenager, for example, that he's worthless, has no sense of right or wrong

and isn't going to amount to anything, he'll probably respond accordingly.

If you keep telling him (sincerely) that he's important to you that you have every confidence in

his judgment as to what?s right or wrong and that you're sure he's going to be successful in

whatever he decides to do, he'll also tend to respond accordingly.

You transmit those expectations to him and he'll begin to reflect the image you've created for

him.

Corollary 5

Once formed expectations about ourselves tend to be self-sustaining

Exactly how do we communicate the expectations responsible for the Pygmalion Effect? The

process works in very similar ways with people as it did with Clever Hans.

In 'Educational Sociology: a realistic approach (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1980),

Thomas L. Good, Jere E. Brophy list a dozen ways in which teachers and managers may

behave differently toward students and workers.

Corollary 6

Good managers produce employees who perform well and feel good about themselves;

Bad managers produce employees who perform poorly and feel badly about

themselves

Self-fulfilling prophecy in action

One of the critical tools a manager uses to influence employees is the performance review.

Most managers underestimate its importance. Certainly the review is used as a report card, as

a means of calculating the size of raises, as a way to introduce areas needing improvement

and as a permanent record of what someone has accomplished.

Much more importantly, though, reviews influence future performance. They offer a good

example of how self-fulfilling prophecies work, for good or ill.

Take the case of a bright, young, aggressive employee. Let's assume she is abrasive,

disruptive and disrespectful at times. However, she can also be creative, hard-working and full

of enthusiasm. Given proper channeling, she can produce excellent results.

Some managers, required to assign her to a performance category, would call her "excellent"

They're impressed by her strengths. Others, focusing on her weaknesses, would call her

"poor." Still others, weighing the pluses and minuses, would call her "average." Even with the

scant information you have, you can see that any of these ratings could be justified.

But what these managers are doing probably unknowingly, is helping to determine the young

woman's future performance. If she's rated "excellent," what will happen? She will tend to be

even more abrasive, disruptive and disrespectful. She will also probably be more creative,

enthusiastic and hard-working. She will do more of what she believes her manager wants.

What if she's rated "poor" She will likely be less abrasive, but she will also be less creative and

enthusiastic. Suppose she's rated "average" Depending on what her manager says about the

rating and why she got it, she may adjust her behavior slightly.

The variable here is the manager's rating. It is based on the manager's values, prejudices and

feelings. Most employees will take the cues and alter their future behavior accordingly.

Corollary 7

Performance ratings don't just summarize the past, they help determine future

performance

A manager cannot avoid communicating low expectations because the messages are often

non-verbal and unintentional. As with observers communicating to Clever Hans and teachers

communicating to students, managers nod their heads, prolong or shorten eye contact,

express themselves in a certain tone of voice, etc.

Some managers refuse to admit they communicate negative expectations: "I never said

anything negative to him. I hardly spoke to him at all." (As if that doesn't send a powerful

message.)

The key is not what managers say, but the way they behave.

Corollary 8

The best managers have confidence in themselves and in their ability to hire, develop

and motivate people; largely because of the self-confidence, they communicate high

expectations to others.

A manager increases or decreases initiative by the frequent or infrequent use of praise,

criticism, feed back information, etc. The manager, therefore, plays a highly significant role in

the success or failure of an employee. The various ways in which teachers communicate

expectations to students can be broken down into four general categories. The same

categories suggest ways by which managers can influence the success of subordinates.

Climate

Managers create a warmer social and emotional mood for high-expectation employees.

They smile, more nod their heads approvingly and look into subordinates eyes more

often. They are generally more supportive, friendly, accepting and encouraging

Input

More assignments and projects are given to high-expectation employees. In addition,

these assignments are more challenging and afford higher visibility.

Output

Managers give high-expectation employees more opportunities to speak at meetings, to

offer their opinions or to disagree with the manager?s opinions. They pay closer

attention to their responses, and give them more assistance or encouragement in

generating solutions to problems.

Feedback

Managers give more positive reinforcement to high expectation employees. They praise

them more for good work and criticize them less for making mistakes. Consequently,

confidence grows.

Like the teacher with the student and the trainer with the trainee, the manager has a

profound impact on the success or failure of the subordinate.

To quote Livingston once more, "If he is unskilled, he leaves scars on the careers of the young

men (and women), cuts deeply into their self-esteem and distorts their image of themselves as

human beings. But if he is skilful and has high expectations of his subordinates, their self-

confidence will grow, their capabilities will develop and their productivity will be high More

often than he realizes, the manager is Pygmalion."

How teachers communicate expectations

Seating low expectation students far from the teacher and/or seating them in a group

Paying less attention to lows in academic situations (smiling less often, maintaining

less eye contact, etc.)

Calling on lows less often to answer questions or to make public demonstrations

Waiting less time for lows to answer questions

Not staying with lows in failure situations (e g. providing fewer clues, asking fewer

follow-up questions)

Criticizing lows more frequently than highs for incorrect responses

Praising lows less frequently than highs after successful responses

Praising lows more frequently than highs for marginal or inadequate responses

Providing lows with less accurate and less detailed feedback than highs

Failing to provide lows with feedback about their responses as often as highs

Demanding less work and effort from lows than from highs

Interrupting lows more frequently than highs

How managers communicate expectations

Seating low-expectation employees in low-prestige office areas far from the manager

Paying less attention to lows in business situations (smiling less often and maintaining

less eye contact). Giving them less information about what?s going on in the

department

Calling on lows less often to work on special projects, state their opinions, or give

presentations

Waiting less time for lows to state their opinions

Not staying with lows in failure situations (i.e. providing less help or giving less advice

when subordinates really need it)

Criticizing lows more frequently than highs for making mistakes

Praising lows less frequently than highs after successful efforts

Praising lows more frequently than highs for marginal or inadequate effort

Providing lows with less accurate and less detailed feedback on job performance than

highs

Failing to provide lows with feedback about their job performance as often as highs

Demanding less work and effort from lows than from highs

Interrupting lows more frequently than highs