1. Chapter
12
Motivation Across Cultures
The specific objectives of this chapter are:
1. DEFINE motivation, and explain it as a psychological
process.
2. EXAMINE the hierarchy-of-needs, two-factor, and
achievement motivation theories, and assess their
value to international human resource management.

2. Chapter
12
Motivation Across Cultures
The specific objectives of this chapter are:
3. DISCUSS how an understanding of employee
satisfaction can be useful in human resource
management throughout the world.
4. EXAMINE the value of process theories in
motivating employees worldwide.

3. Chapter
12
Motivation Across Cultures
5. RELATE the importance of job design, work
centrality, and rewards to understanding how to
motivate employees in an international context.
The specific objectives of this chapter are:

4. 4
 Motivation
A psychological process through which unsatisfied
wants or needs lead to drives that are aimed at goals
or incentives.
The Nature of Motivation
The Basic Motivation ProcessThe Basic Motivation Process
McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Adapted from Figure Figure 12–1: The Basic Motivation Process
Unsatisfied
need
Drive toward goal
to satisfy need
Attainment of
goal (need
satisfaction)

5. 5
The Nature of Motivation
The Universalist
Assumption
 The first assumption is that the motivation process is universal, that
all people are motivated to pursue goals they value—what the work-
motivation theorists call goals with “high valence” or “preference”
 The process is universal
 Culture influences the specific content and goals pursued
 Motivation differs across cultures

6. 6
The Nature of Motivation
The Assumption of
Content and Process
 Content Theories of Motivation
Theories that explain work motivation in terms of what
arouses, energizes, or initiates employee behavior.
 Process Theories of Motivation
Theories that explain work motivation by how employee
behavior is initiated, redirected, and halted.

7. 7
The Hierarchy-of-Needs Theory
The Maslow Theory
 Maslow’s theory rests on a number of basic assumptions:
 Lower-level needs must be satisfied before higher-
level needs become motivators
 A need that is satisfied no longer serves as a
motivator
 There are more ways to satisfy higher-level than there
are ways to satisfy lower-level needs

8. 8
Self-Actualization
Needs
Esteem Needs
Social Needs
Safety Needs
Physiological Needs
Basic physical needs for water,
food, clothing, and shelter.
Desires for security, stability, and
the absence of pain.
Desires to interact and affiliate with
others and to feel wanted by others.
Needs for power and status.
Desires to reach one’s full potential,
to become every thing one is capable
of becoming as a human being.
Maslow’s Need HierarchyMaslow’s Need Hierarchy
McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Adapted from Figure 12–2: Maslow’s Need Hierarchy
Self-Actualization
Needs
Esteem Needs
Social Needs
Safety Needs
Physiological Needs

9. 9
The Hierarchy-of-Needs Theory
International Findings
on Maslow’s Theory
 With some minor modification researchers examined the need
satisfaction and need importance of the four highest-level needs in
the Maslow hierarch
 Esteem needs were divided into two groups:
 Esteem – including needs for self-esteem and prestige
 Autonomy – including desires for authority and opportunities for
independent thought and action

10. 10
The Hierarchy-of-Needs Theory
International Findings
on Maslow’s Theory
 The Haire study indicated all these needs were important to the
respondents across cultures
 International managers (not rank-and-file employees) indicated the
upper-level needs were of particular importance to them
 Findings for select country clusters (Latin Europe, United States/United
Kingdom, and Nordic Europe) indicated autonomy and self-actualization
were the most important and least satisfied needs for the respondents
 Another study of managers in eight East Asian countries found that
autonomy and self-actualization in most cases also ranked high

11. 11
The Hierarchy-of-Needs Theory
International Findings
on Maslow’s Theory
 Some researchers have suggested modifying Maslow’s “Western-
oriented” hierarchy by reranking the needs
 Asian cultures emphasize the needs of society
 Chinese hierarchy of needs might have four levels ranked from
lowest to highest:
 Belonging (social)
 Physiological
 Safety
 Self-actualization (in the service of society)

12. 12
Top-Ranking Goals for Professional Technical PersonnelTop-Ranking Goals for Professional Technical Personnel
from a Large Variety of Countriesfrom a Large Variety of Countries
Adapted from Table 12–1: Top-Ranking Goals for Professional Technical Personnel from a Large Variety of Countries

13. 13
Top-Ranking Goals for Professional Technical PersonnelTop-Ranking Goals for Professional Technical Personnel
from a Large Variety of Countriesfrom a Large Variety of Countries
Adapted from Table 12–1: Top-Ranking Goals for Professional Technical Personnel from a Large Variety of Countries

14. 14
The Hierarchy-of-Needs Theory
International Findings
on Maslow’s Theory
 Hofstede’s research indicates:
 Self-actualization and esteem needs rank highest for professionals and
managers
 Security, earnings, benefits, and physical working conditions are most
important to low-level, unskilled workers
 Job categories and levels may have a dramatic effect on motivation and
may well offset cultural considerations
 MNCs should focus most heavily on giving physical rewards to lower-
level personnel and on creating a climate where there is challenge,
autonomy, the ability to use one’s skills, and cooperation for middle- and
upper-level personnel.

15. 15
Table 12–2: The Four Most Important Goals Ranked by Occupational Group and
Related to the Need Hierarchy
Four Most Important GoalsFour Most Important Goals
Ranked by Occupational GroupRanked by Occupational Group
Adapted from Table 12–2: Four Most Important Goals Ranked by Occupational Group and Related to the Need Hierarchy

16. 16
Table 12–2: The Four Most Important Goals Ranked by Occupational Group and
Related to the Need Hierarchy
Four Most Important GoalsFour Most Important Goals
Ranked by Occupational GroupRanked by Occupational Group
Adapted from Table 12–2: Four Most Important Goals Ranked by Occupational Group and Related to the Need Hierarchy

17. 17
The Two-Factor Theory of Motivation
The Herzberg Theory
Two-Factor Theory of Motivation
A theory that identifies two sets of factors that influence job satisfaction:
 Motivators
Job-content factors such as achievement, recognition, responsibility,
advancement, and the work itself
 Hygiene Factors
Job-context variables such as salary, interpersonal relations, technical
supervision, working conditions, and company policies and
administration

18. 18
Herzberg’s Two-Factor TheoryHerzberg’s Two-Factor Theory
McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Adapted from Table 12–3: Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory
Salary
Technical supervision
Company policies and administration
Interpersonal relations
Working conditions
Achievement
Recognition
Responsibility
Advancement
The work itself
Hygiene Factors Motivators

19. 19
Herzberg’s Two-Factor TheoryHerzberg’s Two-Factor Theory
Adapted from Table 12–4: The Relationship Between Maslow’s Need Hierarchy and Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory

20. 20
The Two-Factor Theory of Motivation
The Herzberg Theory
 The two-factor theory holds that motivators and hygiene factors relate
to employee satisfaction – a more complex relationship than the
traditional view that employees are either satisfied or dissatisfied
 If hygiene factors are not taken care of or are deficient there will
be dissatisfaction
 There may be no dissatisfaction if hygiene factors are taken care
of – there may be no satisfaction also
 Only when motivators are present will there be satisfaction

21. 21
Views of Satisfaction/DissatisfactionViews of Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction
McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Adapted from Figure 12–3: Views of Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction
Traditional View
Dissatisfaction Satisfaction
Two-Factor View
(Hygiene Factors)
(Motivators)
Absent
(Dissatisfaction)
Present
(No Dissatisfaction)
Absent
(No Satisfaction)
Present
(Satisfaction)

22. 22
The Two-Factor Theory of Motivation
Two categories of International findings relate to the two-factor theory:
 One type of study consists of replications of Herzberg’s research in a
particular country
Do managers in country X give answers similar to those in
Herzberg’s original studies?
 The others are cross-cultural studies focusing on job satisfaction
What factors cause job satisfaction and how do these responses differ
from country to country?
International Findings
on Herzberg’s Theory

23. 23
The Two-Factor Theory of Motivation
 A number of research efforts have been undertaken to replicate the
two-factor theory – they tend to support Herzberg’s findings
 George Hines surveyed of 218 middle managers and 196 salaried
employees in New Zealand using ratings of 12 job factors and
overall job satisfaction – he concluded “the Herzberg model
appears to have validity across occupational levels”
 A similar study was conducted among 178 Greek managers – this
study found that overall Herzberg’s two-factor theory of job
satisfaction generally held true
International Findings
on Herzberg’s Theory
Two-Factor Replications

24. 24
The Two-Factor Theory of Motivation
 Motivators tend to be more important to job satisfaction than hygiene factors
 MBA candidates from four countries ranked hygiene factors at the bottom
and motivators at the top while Singapore students (of a different cultural
cluster than the other three groups) gave similar responses
 Job-satisfaction-related factors may not always be culturally bounded
 Lower- and middle-management personnel attending management
development courses in Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Japan
ranked the importance of 15 job-related outcomes and how satisfied they
were with each
 Job content may be more important than job context
International Findings
on Herzberg’s Theory
Cross-Cultural Job-
Satisfaction Studies

25. 25
The Two-Factor Theory of Motivation
 Job-Context Factors
In work motivation, those factors controlled by the organization, such
as conditions, hours, earnings, security, benefits, and promotions.
 Job-Content Factors
In work motivation, those factors internally controlled, such as
responsibility, achievement, and the work itself.
International Findings
on Herzberg’s Theory
Cross-Cultural Job-
Satisfaction Studies

26. 26
Motivation Factors in ZambiaMotivation Factors in Zambia
McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Adapted from Figure 12–4: Motivation Factors in Zambia
High
Dissatisfaction
High
Satisfaction
Neutral
Point
-2.00 -1.00 +1.00
+2.00 Average Standard Score of Frequency of Mention of Items
Growth Opportunity
Work Nature
Material and Physical Provisions
Relations with Others
Fairness in Organizational Practices
Personal Problems

27. 27
JOI Results in Four Cross-Cultural GroupsJOI Results in Four Cross-Cultural Groups
Adapted from Table 12–5: The Results of Administering the Job Orientation Inventory to Four Cross-Cultural Groups

28. 28
Achievement Motivation Theory
Characteristic profile of high achievers:
 They like situations in which they take personal
responsibility for finding solutions to problems.
 Tend to be moderate risk-takers rather than high or low
risk-takers.
 Want concrete feedback on their performance.
 Often tend to be loners, and not team players.
The Background of Achievement
Motivation Theory

29. 29
Achievement Motivation Theory
A high nAch can be learned. Ways to develop high-
achievement needs:
 Obtain feedback on performance and use the information
to channel efforts into areas where success will likely be
attained
 Emulate people who have been successful achievers;
 Develop an internal desire for success and challenges
 Daydream in positive terms by picturing oneself as
successful in the pursuit of important objectives
The Background of Achievement
Motivation Theory

30. 30
Achievement Motivation Theory
 Polish industrialists were high achievers scoring 6.58 (U.S.
managers’ scored an average of 6.74)
 Managers in countries as diverse as the United States and those of
the former Soviet bloc in Central Europe have high needs for
achievement
 Later studies did not find a high need for achievement in
Central European countries
 Average high-achievement score for Czech industrial managers
was 3.32 (considerably lower than U.S. managers)
International Findings on
Achievement Motivation Theory

31. 31
Selected Countries on the Uncertainty-AvoidanceSelected Countries on the Uncertainty-Avoidance
and Masculinity Scalesand Masculinity Scales
Masculinity index
5 23 41 59 77 95
Uncertaintyavoidanceindex
11
16
21
27
32
37
43
48
53
59
64
69
75
80
85
91
96
101
107
110
Weak uncertainty avoidance
Feminine
Norway
Finland
Others
Weak uncertainty avoidance
Masculine
Great
BritainIndia
USA
South Africa
Canada
Others
Strong
uncertainty
avoidance
Feminine
France
Brazil
Costa Rica
Spain
South Korea
Others Strong
uncertainty
avoidance
Masculine
Japan
Austria
Germany
Mexico
Others
Adapted from Figure 12–5: Selected Countries on the Uncertainty-Avoidance and Masculinity Scales

32. 32
Achievement Motivation Theory
 Achievement motivation theory must be modified to meet the specific
needs of the local culture:
 The culture of many countries does not support high achievement
 Anglo cultures and those that reward entrepreneurial effort do
support achievement motivation and their human resources should
probably be managed accordingly
International Findings on
Achievement Motivation Theory
Hofstede offers the following advice:
The countries on the feminine side . . . distinguish themselves by focusing on
quality of life rather than on performance and on relationships between people
rather than on money and things. This means social motivation: quality of life
plus security and quality of life plus risk.

33. 33
Select Process Theories
Equity Theory
 When people perceive they are being treated equitably it will have a
positive effect on their job satisfaction
 If they believe they are not being treated fairly (especially in relation
to relevant others) they will be dissatisfied which will have a negative
effect on their job performance and they will strive to restore equity.
When the theory is examined on an international basis, the
results are mixed.
There is considerable research to support the fundamental
equity principle in Western work groups.

34. 34
Select Process Theories
Equity Theory
 Equity perceptions among managers and nonmanagers in an Israeli
kibbutz production unit
 Everyone was treated the same but managers reported lower
satisfaction levels than the workers
 Managers perceived their contributions to be greater than other
groups in the kibbutz and felt under compensated for their value
and effort

35. 35
Select Process Theories
Equity Theory
 Employees in Asia and the Middle East often readily accept
inequitable treatment in order to preserve group harmony
 Men and women in Japan and Korea (and Latin America)
typically receive different pay for doing the same work – due to
years of cultural conditioning women may not feel they are
treated inequitably
These results indicate equity theory is not universally
applicable in explaining motivation and job satisfaction

36. 36
Select Process Theories
Goal-Setting Theory
 A process theory that focuses on how individuals go about setting
goals and responding to them and the overall impact of this process
on motivation
 Specific areas that are given attention in goal-setting theory include:
 The level of participation in setting goals
 Goal difficulty
 Goal specificity
 The importance of objective
 Timely feedback to progress toward goals

37. 37
Select Process Theories
Goal-Setting Theory
 Unlike many theories of motivation, goal setting has been continually
refined and developed
 There is considerable research evidence showing that employees
perform extremely well when they are assigned specific and
challenging goals that they have had a hand in setting
 Most of these studies have been conducted in the United States –
few have been carried out in other cultures

38. 38
Select Process Theories
Goal-Setting Theory
 Norwegian employees shunned participation and preferred to have
their union representatives work with management in determining
work goals
 Researchers concluded that individual participation in goal setting
was seen as inconsistent with the prevailing Norwegian philosophy of
participation through union representatives
 In the United States employee participation in setting goals is
motivational – it had no value for the Norwegian employees in this
study

39. 39
Select Process Theories
Expectancy Theory
 Expectancy Theory
A process theory that postulates that motivation is
influenced by a person’s belief that
 Effort will lead to performance
 Performance will lead to specific outcomes, and
 The outcomes will be of value to the individual.

40. 40
Select Process Theories
Expectancy Theory
Expectancy theory predicts that high performance followed by high rewards will
lead to high satisfaction
Does this theory have universal application?
 Eden found some support for it while studying workers in an Israeli kibbutz
 Matsui and colleagues found it could be successfully applied in Japan
Expectancy theory could be culture-bound – international managers
must be aware of this limitation in motivating human resources since
expectancy theory is based on employees having considerable control
over their environment (a condition that does not exist in many cultures)

41. 41
Motivation Applied
Job Design, Work Centrality, and Rewards
Job Design
 Quality of work life (QWL) is not the same throughout the world.
 Assembly-line employees in Japan work at a rapid pace for hours and
have very little control over their work activities
 Assembly-line employees in Sweden work at a more relaxed pace and
have a great deal of control over their work activities
 U.S. assembly-line employees typically work somewhere between – at a
pace less demanding than Japan’s but more structured than Sweden’s
 QWL may be directly related to the culture of the country.
Quality of Work Life:
The Impact of Culture

42. 42
Cultural DimensionsCultural Dimensions
Adapted from Table 12–6: Cultural Dimensions in Japan, Sweden, and the United States

43. 43
Motivation Applied
Job Design, Work Centrality, and Rewards
Sociotechnical Job
Designs
 The objective of these designs is to integrate new
technology into the workplace so that workers accept and
use it to increase overall productivity
 New technology often requires people learn new methods and in
some cases work faster
 Employee resistance is common
 Effective sociotechnical design can overcome these
problems

44. 44
Motivation Applied
Job Design, Work Centrality, and Rewards
Sociotechnical Job
Designs
 Some firms have introduced sociotechnical designs for better blending
of their personnel and technology without sacrificing efficiency
 General Foods
 Autonomous groups at its Topeka, Kansas plant
 Workers share responsibility and work in a highly democratic
environment
 Other U.S. firms have opted for a self-managed team approach
 Multifunctional teams with autonomy for generating successful
product innovation is more widely used by successful U.S., Japanese,
and European firms than any other teamwork concept

45. 45
Motivation Applied
Job Design, Work Centrality, and Rewards
Work Centrality
The importance of work in an individual’s life can provide
important insights into how to motivate human resources
in different cultures
 Japan has the highest level of work centrality
 Israel has moderately high levels
 The United States and Belgium have average levels
 The Netherlands and Germany have moderately low levels
 Britain has low levels

46. 46
Motivation Applied
Job Design, Work Centrality, and Rewards
Work Centrality
 Work is an important part of most people’s lifestyles due to a variety
of conditions
 Americans and Japanese work long hours because the cost of
living is high
 Most Japanese managers expect their salaried employees who are
not paid extra to stay late at work, and overtime has become a
requirement of the job
 There is recent evidence that Japanese workers may do far less
work in a business day than outsiders would suspect
Value of Work

47. 47
Motivation Applied
Job Design, Work Centrality, and Rewards
Work Centrality
 In recent years, the number of hours worked annually by German
workers has been declining, while the number for Americans has been
on the rise.
 Germans place high value on lifestyle and often prefer leisure to
work, while their American counterparts are just the opposite.
 Research reveals culture may have little to do with it
 A wider range of wages (large pay disparity) within American
companies than in German firms creates incentives for American
employees to work harder.
Value of Work

48. 48
Motivation Applied
Job Design, Work Centrality, and Rewards
Work Centrality
 Impact of overwork on the physical condition of Japanese workers
 One-third of the working-age population suffers from chronic fatigue
 The Japanese prime minister’s office found a majority of those
surveyed complained of
 Being chronically tired
 Feeling emotionally stressed
 Abusive conditions in the workplace
 Karoshi (“overwork” or “job burnout”) is now recognized as a real
social problem
Value of Work

49. 49
Motivation Applied
Job Design, Work Centrality, and Rewards
Job Satisfaction
EU workers see a strong relationship between how well
they do their jobs and the ability to get what they want
out of life
 U.S. workers were not as supportive of this relationship
 Japanese workers were least likely to see any connection
This finding suggest difficulties may arise in American,
European, and Japanese employees working together
effectively

50. 50
Motivation Applied
Job Design, Work Centrality, and Rewards
Job Satisfaction
 An emphasis on flexibility. An emphasis on control.
 Cooperation built on intuition and
pragmatism.
 The habit of analyzing things in such
great depth that it results in “paralysis
through analysis.”
 An emphasis on cooperation, trust, and
personal concern for others.
 The avoidance of risk taking and the
feeling of distrust of others.
 Viewing work as a challenging and
development activity.
 Viewing work as a necessary burden.
 A more holistic, idealistic, and group
thinking approach to problem solving.
 Logical and reason-centered,
individualistic thinking.
Moving toward …Moving away from …

51. 51
Motivation Applied
Job Design, Work Centrality, and Rewards
 Managers everywhere use rewards to motivate their
personnel
 Some rewards are financial in nature such as salary raises,
bonuses, and stock options
 Others are non-financial such as feedback and recognition
 Significant differences exist between reward systems that
work best in one country and those that are most effective
in another
Reward Systems

52. 52
Motivation Applied
Job Design, Work Centrality, and Rewards
Incentives and Culture
 Use of financial incentives to motivate employees is very
common
 Countries with high individualism
 When companies attempt to link compensation to performance
 Financial incentive systems vary in range
 Individual incentive-based pay systems in which workers are paid
directly for their output
 Systems in which employees earn individual bonuses based on
organizational performance goals

53. 53
Motivation Applied
Job Design, Work Centrality, and Rewards
Incentives and Culture
 Many cultures base compensation on group membership
 Such systems stress equality rather than individual incentive plans
 An individually based bonus system for the sales representatives in
an American MNC introduced in its Danish subsidiary was
rejected by the sales force because
 It favored one group over another
 Employees felt that everyone should receive the same size bonus
 Indonesian oil workers rejected a pay-for-performance system
where some work teams would make more money than others

54. 54
Motivation Applied
Job Design, Work Centrality, and Rewards
Incentives and Culture
Workers in many countries are highly motivated by things
other than financial rewards
 The most important rewards in locations at 40 countries of an
electrical equipment MNC involved recognition and achievement
 Second in importance were improvements in the work
environment and employment conditions including pay and work
hours

55. 55
Motivation Applied
Job Design, Work Centrality, and Rewards
Incentives and Culture
 French and Italian employees valued job security highly while
American and British workers held it of little importance
 Scandinavian workers placed high value on concern for others on the
job and for personal freedom and autonomy but did not rate “getting
ahead” very important
 German workers ranked security, fringe benefits, and “getting ahead”
as very important
 Japanese employees put good working conditions and a congenial
work environment high on their list but ranked personal advancement
quite low

56. 56
Motivation Applied
Job Design, Work Centrality, and Rewards
Incentives and Culture
 The types of incentives that are deemed important appear to be
culturally influenced
 Culture can even affect the overall cost of an incentive system
 Japanese efforts to introduce Western-style merit pay systems typically
lead to an increase in overall labor costs
 Companies fear that reducing the pay of less productive workers’ may
cause them to lose face and disturb group harmony
 Hence, everyone’s salary increases as a result of merit pay systems

57. 57
Case
 Copy Shop