Iggy has seen what he feels is too much turnover in the work force at his distillery. He wants to see his workers perform better and demonstrate a better commitment to the organization. Explain how motivation relates to job performance and organizational commitment, and give some examples of what Iggy can do to boost performance and commitment.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Student answers will vary but should demonstrate understanding of motivation and how it relates to job performance and organizational commitment. A sample answer follows.

Turning first to job performance, literally thousands of studies support the relationships between the various motivating forces and task performance. The motivating force with the strongest performance effect is self-efficacy/competence, because people who feel a sense of internal self-confidence tend to outperform those who doubt their capabilities. Difficult goals are the second most powerful motivating force; people who receive such goals outperform the recipients of easy goals. The motivational force created by high levels of valence, instrumentality, and expectancy is the next most powerful motivational variable for task performance. Finally, perceptions of equity have a somewhat weaker effect on task performance.

The relationship between motivation and organizational commitment seems straightforward. After all, the psychological and physical forms of withdrawal that characterize less committed employees are themselves evidence of low levels of motivation. Clearly employees who are daydreaming, coming in late, and taking longer breaks are struggling to put forth consistently high levels of work effort. Research on equity and organizational commitment offers the clearest insights into the motivation-commitment relationship. Specifically, employees who feel a sense of equity are more emotionally attached to their firms and feel a stronger sense of obligation to remain.

Iggy can set difficult goals that he knows will challenge his workers, but he should also make them attainable. When the employees achieve goals, Iggy should praise them so they gain self-confidence and believe in their abilities. Iggy can also make sure all employees are treated fairly and equally in order to boost their sense of equity.