Summary Chapter 12: Motivation Across Cultures - Comprehensive Chapter

Chapter 12: Motivation Across Cultures Learning Objectives and Chapter Summary 1. DEFINE "motivation" and explain it as a psychological process. Two basic types of theories explain motivation: content and process. Content motivation theories have been given much more attention in international management research, because they provide the opportunity to create a composite picture for motivation of human resources in a particular country or region of the world. In addition, content theories apply more directly to providing ways for managers to improve the performance of their human resources. 2. EXAMINE the hierarchy-of-needs, two-factor, and achievement motivation theories, and assess their value to international human resource management. Maslow’s hierarchy-of-needs theory has been studied in a number of different countries. Researchers have found that regardless of country, managers have to be concerned with the satisfaction of these needs for their human resources. Some researchers have suggested that satisfaction profiles are not very useful for studying motivation in an international setting, because there are so many different subcultures within any country or even at different levels of a given organization. These researchers have suggested that job categories are more effective for examining motivation, because job level (managers versus operating employees) and the need hierarchy have an established relationship. 3. DISCUSS how an understanding of employee satisfaction can be useful in human resource management throughout the world. Herzberg’s two-factor theory has received considerable attention in the international arena, and his original findings from the United States have been replicated in other countries. Cross-cultural studies related to job satisfaction also have been conducted. The data show that job content is more important than job context to job satisfaction.