The automotive industry regularly pays incentives based on monthly targets. This type of practice can lead to salespeople focusing their efforts towards the end of the month to meet often unattainable targets. At the same time, when the target is clearly not reachable the salespeople can delay the sale so as to increase their chances the following month. This often leads to better deals being offered in the last few days of the sales cycle, meaning customers can negotiate a better deal if they time their purchases based on this cycle and happen upon a salesperson who needs just a few more sales to reach their target. Thinking ethically, there are problems with this approach. The offer of a bonus or commission may lead to behaviours that undercut or even ‘steal’ other sellers’ potential customers. Of course, savvy shoppers can capitalise on this. More broadly, this practice is seen where sales targets are applied or even year-end targets are used. It can focus efforts towards the ‘finish line’ but it also rewards last-minute focus over long-term focus, which can lead to burnout and inconsistent effort.
Question:
Why would offering a reward to employees who go the ‘extra mile’ to meet a deadline send the wrong message to employees in the longer term? This process involves five steps:

1 Define the problem – what is it that could be improved?
2 Identify and define the specific behaviour(s) you wish to change.
3 Record and track the occurrence of the target behaviour.
4 Analyse the current negative consequences of the undesired behaviour and arrange for more positive consequences to follow the desired behaviour.
5 Evaluate whether the behaviour has improved, and by how much.
Figure 5.14 summarises how different motivation concepts covered in this chapter can be applied to a variety of common management challenges. Understanding why and how a motivational perspective works helps managers better match motivational techniques with motivation opportunities and enhances

the likelihood of success. In the following sections we will explore in more detail different ways that work and how rewards can be used to motivate employee performance.

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Managerial challenges Motivation theories Herzberg's two- Expectancy Equity Reinforcement Firm has a low-cost business strategy but needs to motivate employees An employee feels he cannot meet his performance goals An employee feels underpaid relative to her co-workers An employee engages in inappropriate behaviour (bullying, ridiculing co-workers) A talented employee is not feeling challenged at work Because the work is repetitive, some employees find it boring and hard to stay motivated Self- efficacy McClelland's needs theory factor theory x x x M xd x x theory theory x x x x 14 x M x Figure 5.14 Different motivation concepts and theories can be applied to various managerial challenges to enhance employee motivation.