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This study assessed Chinese women's motivation to manage and its relationship to managerial success in Chinese state-owned enterprises. It was found that overall managerial motivation of Chinese women in this study was as high as that of Chinese men. In addition, overall managerial motivation was positively related to the hierarchical job level. Of the various component motives, the desires to exercise power and to stand out from the group were the significant predictors. Research and practical implications of the study are discussed. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Shamir (1991: 405) noted that 'current reviews of work-motivation theories are unanimous in their dissatisfaction with the state-of-the-art'. He concluded that existing theories offer an inadequate account of the impetus of employment and should be 'supplemented by a self-concept based on theory of work motivation'. This paper suggests that the concept of ideology can provide a foundation for this kind of theory. First, it attempts to elucidate the explanatory power of the concept of ideology in the context of understanding the effective performance of organizational members. Second, it indicates how ideology can be shown to address the issues of organizational dynamism which Shamir found to be problematic. Third, it shows how the nature of ideologic, in conjunction with the substance of ideological belief, offers an explanation of the variety to be found in organizational behaviour. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.), Introduction Shamir (1991) considers that current work-motivation theory has at least five shortcomings which a self-concept based theory could remedy. The first is the 'individualistic bias' of existing theory, whereby [...]

Local government productivity can be boosted via employee incentives. This was revealed by a survey of North Carolina municipal governments which looked at the relationship between incentives and productivity. The study examined needs assessment techniques, performance evaluation practices, and organizational development and training customs. The results reinforced the importance of a performance appraisal system in implementing incentives in a productivity program.

Employee involvement and motivation are important goals in reorganization. Direct employee involvement in decision making is critical in motivating participants during and after rapid organizational change. However, a distinction between the intention to empower, its operationalization as a goal and its result must be recognized. A study of the restructuring effort in the Social Services Division of the Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, a British welfare agency, sheds light on these relationships. The division was reorganized from a functional to a geographical structure that expanded area control while integrating previously separate services. Analysis reveals that participation, involvement and motivation are accomplished through active intervention by a strong leadership. This does not contradict the principle of employee autonomy and involvement; rather, it prevents backsliding to previous non-participatory behavior.

The impact of new information technology in the workplace, particularly on job quality, were studied. Data from 114 companies in Canada involved in the primary, manufacturing and service sectors were used. A structured interview process was undertaken for a representative sample of white-collar workers who were then asked to fill out the Job Diagnostic Survey form which assesses five job core dimensions including skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and job feedback. A Motivating Potential Score (MPS) was also computed for each respondent. Results showed that computerization improved the job quality of 70% of the respondents while 6.7% showed a net decline. In addition, net gains of female workers as expressed by the MPS were significantly higher than males. Net gains were also higher among clerical workers compared to the technical and managerial respondents.

Job redesign theories try to explain how job re-design raises worker productivity and job satisfaction. The most widely discussed of these theories is the Job Characteristics Model proposed by J.R. Hackman and his colleagues in 1976. According to this model, job content has five dimensions which, when activated, will enhance job performance. These five dimensions are task variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback. A review was undertaken of 31 case studies and experiments that defined job re-design as the modification of job content according to the Job Characteristics Model's dimensions. Findings revealed very little support for Hackman's job redesign theory.

A multivariate model that links job characteristics and work motivation was used to examine the relationship between affective outcomes and job complexity. The moderating influence of context satisfactions and growth needs on this curvilinear relationship was also studied. The model was tested using data obtained from 247 state agency employees who had each completed a Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS) questionnaire. The JDS questionnaires completed were then used to analyze the variables of the Job Characteristic Theory that had been used to formulate the multivariate model.

Research was done to examine achievement and power as motivation needs in relation to life success measured in terms of status/wealth, contribution to society, professional fulfillment, family relationships, personal fulfillment, and security. The study involved 756 full-time managerial and nonmanagerial service industry workers in Florida who were asked to answer the Life Success Measures Scale and the Manifest Needs Questionnaire. Results indicate that values and motives are interrelated. The need for both achievement and power was shown to be directly influenced by work-related success values.

J.B. Rotter's (1966) locus of control (LOC) research is evaluated to examine how hypothesized internal and external (I-E) differences in employee attitudes and behavior were influenced by research design and methodology. These variations in LOC research strategies were studied by analyzing I-E differences in a professional and a blue-collar sample. It was found that I-E differences varied by research design, criterion type, and construct operationalization. The results suggest that a meta-analysis of LOC literature may be necessary to determine whether I-E differences reported were due to true differences on the LOC construct, as opposed to being the result of variations in statistical analysis.

A self-concept-based theory should be integrated into current theories of work motivation to emphasize the inadequacy of the hedonistic-utilitarian model while using 'structural' symbolic interactionism as a theoretical base. This theoretical structure allows for a more defined organizational commitment concept. The self-concept theory controls an over-emphasis of calculative logic by supplying a means for gauging collectively directed work efforts of individuals. A form of intrinsic motivation that has a broader task orientation, in terms of human values, self-perceived traits, and identities, is provided by the theory. The potential involvement of management in employee motivation, organizational culture, and symbolic action is also provided in the theory.

Individuals studying work motivation theories need to include more concrete connections between work environments and the individual to provide better explanations of how people contribute to work efforts in organizations. Three important co-determinants of job motivation are discussed: moral commitments, the affirmation of identity, and calculative considerations. Theoretical analysis suggests that perceived overall efficacy sanctions and social rewards need to be given an important focus when developing calculative models of collectivistic work motivation. Analysis also suggests that identity affirmation and moral commitments should not be limited to cost benefit calculations because this may not acknowledge the social beginnings of collectivistic motivation, and may block the significance of these elements in developing theories of collective action.

A study analyzing job satisfaction among 1,473 subjects was conducted to determine what factors outside of work could affect satisfaction levels. Factors examined include institutional confidence, social trust of respondents, and sense of social equity. Research results indicate that when these factors were combined with factors used in previous research, such as demographic variables and social involvement, two factors were found to contribute to job satisfaction: institutional confidence and social trust.

This paper proposes a metatheory of work motivation incorporating theories of self-concept that have been proposed in the sociological and psychological literatures. Traditional theories of work motivation are reviewed, and the self-concept-based sources of motivation are presented. How the self-concept influences behavior in organizations is explained and used to develop a metatheory of motivational sources. Both research and managerial implications of the model are presented. KEY WORDS: self-concept-based motivation; metatheory; social identities; sources of motivation; motivational profile., INTRODUCTION There is growing realization that traditional models of motivation do not explain the diversity of behavior found in organizational settings. While research and theory building in the areas of [...]

We propose six hypotheses that relate employee, internal, and external inequities to changes in performance. We test these hypotheses with a sample of 362 Major League Baseball players. The findings showed that overpayment (as measured by actual employee and external inequities) is a significant predictor of positive performance changes, underpayment is a significant predictor of negative performance changes, and employee equity is a greater predictor of change in performance than internal equity. KEY WORDS: equity; compensation; overpayment; pay; performance., INTRODUCTION Equity theory argues that employees examine their inputs and outputs and judge fairness by comparing them to the inputs and outputs of a referent other (Adams, 1963, 1965). Inputs [...]

This article reports a study of two types of gainsharing programs: performance improvement programs and team suggestion programs. To determine the factors influencing the programs' effectiveness, the authors examined the results of four interventions (two of each type of program) conducted by one consulting firm. The quantitative data derived from program measures and archival records indicate that gainsharing led to improved productivity, quality, supply costs, safety, attendance, and development of cost-saving ideas. The qualitative data derived from interviews and archival records suggest the programs also enhanced employees' awareness of organizational goals, personnel growth and development, and lateral and vertical communication. The research revealed the importance of process variables to the programs' successful implementation. The authors conclude that gainsharing and organization development complement each other, and discuss implications for future research. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

This article reports a study of five manufacturing organizations with performance gainsharing plans, in which 100 nonmanagement employees responded to job characteristics scales from the Job Diagnostic Survey and were evaluated by their supervisors with respect to prosocial organizational behavior. The number of suggestions employees contributed to formal employee involvement systems was found to be positively related to perceptions of job complexity. A significant interaction revealed that suggestion making was also positively related to assisting behavior (a measure of extra-role prosocial behavior), but only for employees reporting that they experienced relatively high levels of job complexity. Suggestion making was not found to be related to compliance (a measure of role-prescribed prosocial behavior). The authors present implications for further research on prosocial organizational behavior and the management of high-involvement gainsharing plans. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Practitioners tend to employ cultural referral categories when classifying what has motivated clients to enter employee assistance programs (EAPs). These categories are rooted in ideology and used in ways that often conceal the diverse factors leading troubled employees to seek help. In particular, application of the term 'self-referral' has grown dramatically while application of the term 'supervisory referral' has declined, which may reflect practitioners' underlying beliefs about how employees ought to use EAPs. The article discusses some studies of alcohol treatment efforts for which the use of cultural referral categories made interpretation of the findings difficult. Following a review of the medical and psychiatric literature on seeking help, the authors call for construction of a grounded theory based on qualitative research, and recommend that EAPs develop more accurate classifications for labeling cases. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

The effectiveness of various forms of incentives being used in the financial services industry are examined. Reinforcement theory shows that the incentives do increase performance levels. The incentives do not sustain the high levels of performance, which eventually fall back toward their original levels. Researchers have devised a computerized training video which integrates theory and practice. The video is designed to achieve high prolonged performance from sales personnel.

The authors developed a model of interest in promotion and seeking promotion by integrating insights from the literature on internal labor markets, discrimination in organizations, cognitive balance theory, labeling theory, and expectancy theory. After making predictions based on this model, a sample of employees and supervisors in six offices of a federal government agency was examined. Data were drawn from questionnaire responses and personnel records. Interest in promotion proved to be more widespread than willingness to sacrifice to obtain promotion, and the former was related as predicted to the attractiveness of outcomes expected to accompany promotion and to several variables affecting promotion opportunity. Willingness to sacrifice for promotion was related to attractiveness of promotion, and some evidence indicated that this willingness declined when promotion opportunity was low - even when controlling for promotion interest. The implications of the findings for future research and practice are presented. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

The image of man as presented in the predominant organizational theories of motivation does not accord with the author's experience of working with people in organizations. This dissonance has led to a critique of the concept of motivation and its inherent theoretical shortcomings as to the reality of people in organizations. The main argument of this essay, however, stems from a meta-critical perspective according to which notion of motivation and its referrant theories can be regarded as scientific inventions. The hypothesis is offered and elaborated that motivation is a surrogate for meaning, i.e. for the meaning of work and life which is increasingly lost through the high frequency of fragmentation and splitting in our contemporary work enterprises. Any attempt towards discovering existential dimensions of meaning can be accomplished only if social scientists, managers and workers alike, both individually as well as collectively, again become aware of death as a fact of life; it is only through acknowledging mortality that humanization can occur. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Managing to Be Fair: An Exploration of Values, Motives, and Leadership This paper explores several issues of distributive justice as they are represented in the thinking practices of managers. The [...]