Organizational Behavior

Fourteen

Motivating with Systems

In your journey through this chapter, you will read about motivational systems within organizations. The systems may also serve other functions, such as ensuring legal compliance, but our main interest is the effect each has on individual and group behavior. We will begin by exploring the motivating potential of the way jobs are designed and end by discussing the motivating potential of organizational goals and mission statements. In between, we will review the ongoing rewards and development systems within organizations that reinforce and improve job performance in pursuit of organizational goals.

“I'm never gonna leave SAS; just bury me here. I'm just gonna stay here forever,” said one SAS employee. SAS Institute, a software pioneer, has an impressive record of more than 30 years of consecutive increases in revenue growth and profitability. It is the largest privately held software company, with 400 offices across the world and more than 13,000 employees. At the heart of its success is a simple employee-focused philosophy: “Satisfied employees create satisfied customers.” In an industry characterized by hypercompetition, where employees tend ...