Performance and Motivation at Work

This course is a part of Organizational Psychology, a 5-course MicroMasters series from edX.

High performing employees is one of the most important contributors to successful organizations. But how can high performance be supported? In this course we will cover topics relating to managing for high performance, including motivating employees through goal setting and coaching, measuring performance accurately and fairly, and developing performance to support organizational goals.

We will start by defining performance. Students will be able to describe what performance is and key factors contributing to high performance.

We will then move on to exploring how employees can be motivated to perform – one of the cornerstones of high performance described in our first section. Students will learn about some key models of motivation and how these can be used to motivate employees. Students will be able to describe important factors for a motivating work environment.

Our next section will look at the key features of a good performance management system. Students will be able to describe what factors need to be in place, beyond motivation, and how organizations can design systems and processes to support performance. Students will also learn about the importance of leadership factors such as ongoing provision of feedback and coaching.

Then we will look at performance measurement. Students will be able to describe different approaches, such as measuring results and behavior, and they will be able to describe how criteria and standards are formulated to capture performance. They will also learn about the importance of accuracy (validity) and fairness in performance ratings.

The last section will focus on some recent developments and challenges to performance management. Students will learn about some of the ongoing debates in this area and get an idea of what some have suggested is the future of high performance in organizations.

What you'll learn

• What performance is
• Models of motivation
• How leadership, coaching, job design, and rewards support performance
• How to measure different aspects of performance
• Planning a performance management system