Category: Motivation

What do Job Ads Say About Your Organizational Culture?

Topic: Compensation, Culture, Motivation, Rewards, Organizational Reputation Publication: The International Journal of Human Resource Management Article: Compensation as a Signal of Organizational Culture: The Effects of Advertising Individual or Collective Incentives Author: K. Kuhn Reviewed By: Lit Digger It is commonly assumed that compensation and rewards systems reflect the cultures of the organizations

Can Personality Lead to Better Performance?

Topic: Motivation, Personality, Job Performance Publication: Personality and Individual Differences (MAR 2009) Article: Using a two-factor theory of achievement motivation to examine performance-based outcomes and self-regulatory processes. Authors: Story, P.A., Hart, J.W., Stasson, M.F., & Mahoney, J.M. Reviewed By: Samantha Paustian-Underdahl Have you ever wondered why some employees seem to find

Which Employees Set the Bar Higher?

Topic: Personality, Motivation, Goals Publication: Personality and Individual Differences (JAN 2010) Article: Individual differences in reactions to goal-performance discrepancies over time. Authors: P.D. Converse, E. Steinhauser, and J. Pathak Reviewed By: Benjamin Granger By nature, a goal creates a discrepancy between an employee’s current performance and some future state. For example,

Beware the Turnover Bug: It’s Contagious!

Topic: Employee Satisfaction, Motivation, Turnover Publication: Academy of Management Journal (JUN 2009) Article: Turnover contagion: How coworkers’ job embeddedness and job search behaviors influence quitting. Author: W. Felps, T.R. Mitchell, D.R. Hekman, T.W. Lee, B.C. Holtman, W.S. Harman Reviewed By: Benjamin Granger There is a HUGE body of research literature on the predictors and causes of employee turnover (better grab two cups of coffee before reading all of these articles!). Most of the research has investigated either individual-level explanations (e.g., low job satisfaction) or economic

A more personal “length of service award” makes a difference

Topic: Motivation, Rewards, Strategic HR, Publication: HR Magazine Article:  Length-of-Service Awards Becoming More Personal. Author: R.R. Hastings Featured by: Sarah Bowen Length-of-service awards (the small gold pin or certificate at the bottom of your junk drawer) can be truly rewarding when managed in the proper way. However, when carelessness is evident in such gestures, employees do not

Quarter past nine, I’m late again!

Topic: Compensation, Motivation, Rewards, Strategic HR Publication: Research and Practice in Human Resource Management Article: A Mathematical Model to Monitor Late Arrivals at Work Author: S.A. Oke, T.M. Ezenachkwu Featured by: Sarah Bowen In their recent article, Oke and Ezenachukwu embark on an ambitious journey to prove that timeliness is improved through rewards and recognition in the workplace. The authors conduct their research in

Who is holding the glass ceiling in place?

Topic: Compensation, Organizational Justice, Motivation, Rewards Publication: Journal of Human ResourcesArticle: Who is holding the glass ceiling in place? Author: N. Fortin Featured by: Benjamin Granger Many 21st century women still earn less than their male counterparts.  However, this injustice may not be due fully to chauvinists and stereotypes. In her article, The Gender Wage Gap among Young

What to do about the Failure-Focused Employee

Topic: Job Performance, Motivation Publication: Human Performance Article: Failure avoidance motivation in a goal-setting situation. Author: S.R. Heimerdinger, V.B. Hinsz Featured by: Benjamin Granger Although it is known that employees who set specific and difficult goals tend to outperform those who set broad and relatively easy goals, different employees have differing motivational mindsets when they set their goals. Some employees are motivated to

In the name of the cubicle, the computer, and the conference call, Amen.

Topic: Motivation, Organizational Performance, Work Environment Publication: Journal of Organizational Change Management Article: Workplace Spirituality and Organizational Commitment: An Empirical Study. Blogger: LitDigger Much academic literature investigating workplace performance overlooks the element of employee spirituality, but Rego and Cunha (2008) recently dared to venture into this unfamiliar territory. They found that workplace spirituality

Pay-for-performance: Helping those that help themselves?

Topic: Compensation, Motivation, Rewards Publication: The Wall Street Journal Article: When schools offer money as a motivator. Blogger: James Grand Long gone are the days when Mom and Dad would offer a few bucks for an “A” on your report card to buy some candy from the grocery store.  Now, the schools are starting to provide the incentives—and they aren’t just offering up