Values and Ethics in Business.2

Employ Respons Rights J (2014) 26:120
DOI 10.1007/s10672-013-9230-1
Evaluating Moral Issues in Motivation Theories: Lessons

from Marketing and Advertising Practices
Tamar Shultz
Published online: 22 August 2013

# Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013
Abstract Motivation theories in the management and organizational behavior literature represent researchers attempts to understand the processes that cause people to act productively in
the context of the employment relationship, for the benefit of their employers (Miner
Organizational behavior, performance and productivity New-York: Random-House 1988).
These theories attempt to develop tools that will enable managers to make their employees
behavior cost-effective and directed toward the achievement of the organizations goals. From
this perspective, motivational and marketing practices are quite similar, especially if we
compare motivational and advertising practices. The goal of both is to propel people into
behaving in a way that will benefit the organization. This paper examines what the welldeveloped criticism of advertising and marketing practices can teach us about the use of
motivational practices in work organizations. Following Bishops (Business Ethics Quarterly
10: 371398, 2000) framework of the moral issues raised by ads, this paper critically investigates the moral meaning of classic motivational theories and practices and their implications for
both theoreticians and practitioners.
Keywords Motivation theories . Ethics
Introduction
Critical theories in organizational behavior studies aim at exposing the ideology behind the
theories used in the field (Alvesson and Willmott 1992). They offer a different perspective on
managerial functionalist theories that are widely used in organizations. Their main argument is
that prevailing theories in management and organizational behavior are oversimplified and
dominated by mechanical and managerial perspectives which are devoted to achieving organizational effectiveness and efficiency, what Lyotard (1984) called performativity, assuming the
unity of goals between employers and employees (Willmott 1997), and giving precedence to
performance over social welfare (Walsh and Weber 2002).
Critical theorists view the mainstream management theories as an ideology reproduced by
organizational and management practices while inhibiting and distorting social development
T. Shultz (*)
Netanya Academic College, School of Behavioral Sciences, Netanya, Israel
e-mail: tamishu@gmail.com
(Fournier and Grey 2000), limiting their interests to predicting and controlling human behavior
(Grimes 1992). Prasad and Caproni (1997) claim that critical theory is based on the assumption
that any reality, including the organizational one, is constructed by societal members and
therefore is based on ideologies and values persisting in the society at the time. These ideologies
and values are not spontaneous or benign; rather, they are enforced by dominant members in the
environment. The goal of the critical theory is therefore to identify the complex system of
ideology, domination and hegemony behind the different theories and practices used in order to
enlighten both managers and employees.
A few examples of such critical evaluation of theories and practices are early studies by:
Kilduff (1993) who presented a deconstruction of March and Simons (1958) textbook to illustrate
how current writings about organizations present a limited perspective and can never be neutral;
Barker (1993), exposing what he termed the concertive behind teamwork as a powerful organizational mean to reinforce obedience through peer pressure which creates an even tighter almost
invisible iron cage; and Martins (1990) deconstruction of parts of a speech given by a corporate
executive, describing an employee scheduling a Caesarian procedure around work schedule and
needs. Or more recent writings, like Kark and Waismal-Manors (2005) deconstruction of the
concept of Organizational Citizenship Behavior, or studies which critically analyze current trends
like outsourcing (Hunter and Hall 2011) or diversity management (Hoobler 2005).
Adler et al. (2007) define the common core of critical studies in management around
moral questions. Specifically, Delbridge and Keenoy (2010) state that in order to advance
critical thinking and human resources management, researchers should acknowledge the
ethical aspects of working, among others, as important aspects. Prasad and Mills (2010) call
for more studies which concentrate on the intersection between critical and normative
theories, an example of which is Foster and Weibes (2010) proposal for using ethics to
enhance the emancipatory promise of critical theory in management studies and practices.
The goal of this study is therefore to offer a critical reading of motivation practices in
organizations, using a moral perspective.
As part of their transformational processes, organizations use different types of practices
whose goals are to stimulate a certain behavior among individuals, behavior that can contribute
to the organizations success. Marketing is one of these practices. Marketing practices help
organizations improve and generate business. They help organizations satisfy their needs by
stimulating consumers to satisfy their own needs through consumption (Kotler and Turner
1981). Human resources management is another practice with the same goal, creating a
committed, loyal and motivated workforce capable of delivering competitive benefits for the
organization (Legge 1995). Marketing, which investigates human behavior, trying to describe,
explain and predict uniformities and regularities among focal participants in the business
transaction (Hunt 2010) and, the discipline of human resources management both generally
use the same positivist empiricist methods to delineate causal models of behavior. However,
although there is a vast amount of critical and ethical discussion on the topic of marketing
practices in general and on advertising practices specifically, the ethical discussion about other
motivational practices used by organizations, human resources practices and employee motivation as part of these practices, is relatively limited (Pinnington et al. 2007). Since these
practices are also part of the organizations transformational processes and since they both play
a major role in the commodification of employees and consumers to become effective actors in
the business world, they need to be scrutinized by society and by researchers as part of the
exchange processes (Donaldson 1982).
The literature about employee motivation, in the context of the employment relationship,
usually focuses on the effectiveness of certain practices and their effects on the outcomes for the
organization. However, apart from some limited critical discourse (e.g., Brewis et al. 2006),
there is rarely a discussion on this subject from the point of view of the exchange relationship
between organizations and their employees and with society in general. The assumption made
in this paper is that the employee-employer relationship is somewhat similar to the consumerbusiness relationship, even though the agencies that motivate the employee and the consumer
do not necessarily play the same role. In the consumer-business transaction, the motivated agent
is the one receiving the output (goods or services) and in return provides the business with a
certain reward (payment), while in the employee-business transaction the motivated agent, the
employee, provides the business with an output (work) and receives some reward (salary) in
return (see Table 1). It is therefore reasonable to assume that discussions in the context of
marketing, whose practices are aimed at motivating consumers to buy certain goods or services,
can supply us with some interesting perspectives on the parallel practices used in human
resources management whose goal is to motivate employees to contribute to the benefit of
the organization and to the achievement of its goals. Since the employment relationship is
usually relatively longer and more extensive than the marketing interaction, the effect of the
practices on the former should only be greater. Nevertheless, since practices of consumption
have been integrated into the everyday labor process both from the management standpoint, (for
example, viewing employees as consumers of benefits) and from the employees standpoint,
viewing themselves as commodities that need to market themselves and continuously increase
their employability (Dale 2012), it is time to incorporate moral understandings found in studies
of marketing into the organizational behavior and human resource management literature.
There is a controversy among scholars about the ethical status of the marketing industry
(Shaver 2003), with opponents viewing it as a negative force in society, driving individuals
to consume more while changing cultural values. Proponents, on the other hand, view
marketing as a force that affects both the well-being of individuals (Levitt 1970) and the
decision-making processes of consumers in a positive way. Recently, Ciulla and her colleagues (2011) claimed that we cannot expect full disclosure from salespeople and that
advertising and marketing should not be banned. However, a more thorough discussion of
the ethical standards involved in marketing and the limits that might be applied to such
activities is warranted. Obviously such a discussion is also needed in the organizational
behavior literature.
Following Bishops (2000) framework for analyzing the ethicality of image ads, this paper
will discuss four questions concerning the ethicality of motivational theories and practices: (1)
Do they make false or misleading promises? (2) Do they threaten the autonomy of the
individual? (3) Do they promote false values? and (4) Do they cause harm? An examination
of exogenous motivational theories (Katzell and Thompson 1990) will be presented. Since
Table 1 Comparing marketing and human resources practices

Marketing
Human resources management
Goals
Creating committed, loyal, motivated

and capable workforce
Creating committed, loyal and

motivated consumers
Means
Stimulating consumers to satisfy their

own needs through consumption
Motivating employees
Academic goals
Motivating agent/receives
Explain and predict uniformities and

regularities among focal participants
in the business transaction
Business/outputwork
Business/rewardpayment
Motivated agent/receives
Employee/rewardsalary
Consumer/outputproduct/service
these theories mainly describe external elements, or as Katzell and Thompson (1990) call them,
action levers, that have a potential effect on employees behavior at work, it seems appropriate
to discuss them in the context of this paper while ignoring endogenous theories, which describe
motivational processes that are less susceptible to direct external manipulation. In particular,
this paper will discuss seven categories of such theories, using Katzell and Thompson's (1990)
integrative and comprehensive model, widely used in the literature (Grant and Shin 2011) : (1)
motive/need theories, (2) incentive/reward theories, (3) reinforcement theories, (4) goal theories, (5) personal and material resource theories, (6) group and norm theories, and (7) sociotechnical system theories (see Table 2).
Making False or Misleading Promises

The ethics of puffery or bluffing raises questions in the marketing literature concerning the
gap between what a product actually does and what advertisements about the product claim
it does. The controversy is not about lying outright, which is considered illegal, but about
bluffing, which some writers claim is part of the game in the business world (Carr 1968).
Motivational theories try to make employees exert extra effort on a regular basis toward a
certain goal. By definition, this extra energy is exerted in expectation of fulfilling some of
the employees needs. For a motivational practice to be more ethical, it could involve
commitment to principle rather than to self-interest (Provis 2000) or mutual gain which
could objectively satisfy the interests of both parties. To the extent that managers make false
or misleading promises in using a motivational practice, one can say that this practice may
be immoral. If a motivational practice makes people believe that work is going to fulfill
whatever needs they have, accomplish meaningful tasks, or make their lives better, but in
reality it does not, the practice could be immoral.
Table 2 Motivational theories examined under Bishops (2000) ethical framework

Making false or
misleading promises
Threatening the
autonomy of the
individual
Promoting false
values
Causing harm
Incentive rewards theories Personal motives and values Personal motives and
values
Job enrichment
Employee participation
Personnel selection/
Need achievement
training
Job previews
Reinforcement theories
Reinforcement theories
Leadership theories
Contingent rewards
Reinforcement theories Sociotechnical Systems

Contingent rewards
Personal and material

resources
HRD

resources
Mentoring
Social and group factors
Goal setting techniques Social and group Factors
Autonomous work
groups
Management by
objectives
Group cohesiveness
Sensitivity training
Goal setting
Norm building
OD
resources
HRD
Sensitivity training
For example, incentive/reward theories assume that an attractive and satisfying job can
induce intrinsic motivation (Herzberg 1976), and that a sense of mastery and perceptions of
personal control can influence behavioral responses (Hackman and Holdham, 1976). Under
these assumptions researchers have developed job enrichment practices, which include
structural changes that introduce participatory decision-making processes in the organization
or empowerment programs. These practices are usually made under the assumption of
common interests between management and employees and could, potentially, satisfy
employees needs by loading the job with interesting and challenging tasks and with
opportunities to learn and advance; however, while introduced and promoted as an expansion of employee participation, sometimes the actual goal is cost-cutting (Winstanley and
Woodall 2000). Critical analyses further claim that these practices may play a major role in
strengthening the dualism between the powerful and the powerless (Pease 2002) and mask
the eternal conflict of interests in labor relations in work organizations (Claydon and Doyle
1996). Ironically, the use of these programs may lead to even greater control (Forrest 2000).
They may be more disempowering than empowering, especially because these practices do
not simply shift power from management to employees. Instead, they could sometimes
create more committed employees and by doing so, increase the amount of power held by
the organization (Boje and Rosile 2001), creating what Gandz and Bird (1996) call the
empowerment paradox. The power given by these practices may sometimes be only an
illusion (Jacques 1996).
Not surprisingly, in the same way that advertising impact is usually measured by
evaluating consumers reactions to an ad, for example, by change in attitudes toward the
product advertised or by actual buying behavior, the empirical management literature also
concentrates on programs impacts by evaluating those attitudes and behaviors that are
relevant to organizational effectiveness, ignoring the effectiveness of the other side to the
exchange process (that is, the impact of the program on the amount of power or the amount
of impact on decision-making gained by employees). Such an evaluation was suggested by
Harley and his colleagues (2010) who examine the extent to which high performance work
systems meet employees interests. However, they conceptualize employees interests in
terms of order and predictability in the work environment without evaluating actual interests
of their research participants.
Reinforcement theories claim that behavior is learnt through a response to rewards or
punishments (Hamner 1974). Transactional leadership style, as part of the reinforcement
theories, might be an example of a motivational practice that could comply with this ethical
requirement, since it requires leaders to recognize what employees want out of their jobs and
fulfill these desires if their performance warrants (Bass 1985). Thus, the leader-employee
transaction is based on a fair exchange process in which actual performance is rewarded
according to employees desires.
This is opposed to the transformational leadership style, in which employees are required
to change their values or beliefs and to trade their own interests for the pursuit of organizational goals (Stone, Russell and Patterson, 2004). This practice can be moral as long as the
transaction is based on complete and truthful information and promises are kept (Bass and
Steidlmeier 1999). On the other hand, McGregors (1960) theory Y represents a leadership
theory which assumes that managements responsibility is to structure the work so that
employees can achieve their own goals by working to achieve organizational goals. The
formulation of this theory encourages managers to structure an exchange system which aims
at satisfying the needs of both parties involved.
In order to avoid bluffing employers could consider employee interests and tailor the
motivational practice so that both parties can realize their goals.
Threatening the Autonomy of the Individual

Autonomy plays a significant role in debates about many aspects of our personal and
business life (Taylor 2006). Although there is much debate about the practical components
of the concept (Christman 2007), it is generally agreed that autonomy refers to peoples
ability to deliberate about their acts and freely choose the one that maximizes their own
benefits. Autonomy does not mean that the person is free of external influence, rather that
the person is active in evaluating the options and in choosing how to act (May 1994).
In marketing research the role of advertising has been deliberated in the context of its
possible infringement on consumers autonomy. Some scholars maintain that a differentiation should be made between the informative and the persuasive roles of advertising (Santilli
1983). In its informative role, advertising serves a socially useful role by providing information or knowledge about products or services offered by organizations and by making the
consumer aware of the differences between these products or services. In this sense,
advertising plays a passive but potentially positive role of supplying vital information
needed for the consumers who can then rationally decide which products or services best
meet their needs. In addition, this information can further strengthen the market and the
formation of competition that will potentially benefit the consumer (Borden 1942).
The moral debate begins when advertising plays an active role in motivating consumers
to purchase a product by taking on a persuasive role. Crisp (1987) claims that persuasive
advertisements may be morally wrong because they override consumers autonomy by
infringing on their autonomous desire, rational desire and free choice. Under these circumstances, the decision to purchase the product is no longer completely rational but rather
influenced by, for example, emotions that the advertisement succeeded in arousing that are
irrelevant to the goals of the consumer. The moral problem rests not in the consumers
irrational decisions, but in their inability to govern themselves and to choose freely (McLeod
2005). Some researchers claim that informational advertising is ethical only as long as it
contributes to a rational purchase process, while influential advertising is unethical
because it overrides this process (e.g., Santilli 1983). Thus, informative advertisements have
more potential to be moral because they add to the consumers decision options.
Bringing this discussion into the working world in general and to motivational practices
specifically, one can claim that like advertisements, the moral basis of motivational practices
aimed at stimulating work activities that help organizations reach their goals could be evaluated
according to their impact on employees autonomy. Critical writers in the human resources
management literature expose the manipulative nature of the employment relations (e.g., Du Gay
1996; Legge 1995) and the objectification of employees in this process (e.g., Townley 1994).
However, the empirical literature dealing with employee autonomy focuses almost exclusively
on autonomy as part of the characteristics of the jobs design, defined in terms of responsibility
and ownership of work processes and outcomes (Hackman and Lawler 1971). Autonomy in the
sense of the individuals self-governance, self-determination, freedom of choice or freedom of
desire, and ability to make choices based on ones own will without reference to the context of a
particular task at work is barely mentioned and rarely discussed in the management literature
(Fisher 2001). Some exceptions are the recent discussions about workplace surveillance and
privacy rights (e.g., Palm 2009) propelled mainly by the technological advances of the past two
decades, by whistle-blowing (e.g., Tsahuridu and Vandekerckhove 2008) or the betterdocumented critical analysis of organizational culture practices which define autonomy in terms
of obedience to organizational values (e.g., Willmott 1993).
Personnel selection practices such as realistic job previews, which are based on need
theories, could potentially be ethical, because they call for a complete and truthful presentation
of the available information about the job. These theories assume that the match between
individual needs and the need-fulfilling characteristics of the organization are as important as
the match between organizational requirements and individual characteristics (Wanous 1973).
This assumes that self-selection, expectation clarification (Wanous 1978), employing a proper
coping strategy or the implied honesty of the employer (Hom et al. 1999) improve selection
outcomes. Giving inaccurate or incomplete information may cause individuals to make a
decision that might have been different had they had all the information provided to them.
Making a decision using inaccurate or incomplete information may limit ones autonomy.
Buckley et al. (1997) claim that complying with this imperative could depend on the employees
characteristics, so that younger and less educated people should get more information than older
and more educated ones. Most research in this area concentrates on obtaining accurate and
honest information from employees, while neglecting the other side of this equation.
On the other hand, reinforcement theories (e.g., contingent rewards) which rely heavily
on rewards and punishments to assure employee compliance, may foster low levels of moral
reasoning (Baucus and Beck-Dudley 2005) and may undermine employee autonomy and
self-determination (Deci and Ryan 1987). Kanungo (2001) claims that instead of calling it
leadership, it should be called managership since managers are not concerned with
employees needs, desires or advancement, just with their compliance.
The extent to which the use of reinforcement for behavior control might have a negative impact
on the autonomy of the individual has been debated in the literature. Eisenberger et al. (1999)
claim that contingent rewards increase perceived autonomy because employees have the freedom
to decide how to act and whether they are willing to change their behavior in return for the reward
offered. On the other hand, in their Cognitive Evaluation Theory, Deci and Ryan (2000) claim that
contingent rewards may have a negative effect on perceptions of autonomy because they may be
perceived as pressure to behave in a certain manner. The reward offered for a specific behavior
may actually limit the behavioral choices for the individual, and the more specific the requirement,
the greater the impact on autonomy may be. Houlfort and her colleagues (2002) try to present and
empirically resolve these differences. Their study indicates that performance-contingent rewards
decrease affective autonomy but do not have an impact on decisional autonomy.
Human resources development (HRD) practices are part of the personal and material
resources motivational theories, which aim at developing human expertise (Swanson 1995)
and personal growth. It includes both performance and learning perspectives, assuming that
effective performance stems from employees who are equipped with adequate personal,
social and material resources.
The learning perspective proposes practices that aim at supporting employee development
and emancipation. While used to help employees achieve their own goals it is viewed as an
autonomy-enhancing practice. However, the performance component of HRD is sometimes
criticized in the literature for potentially sacrificing employees own developmental needs for
those of the organization (Woodall and Douglass 2000). Similar criticism is raised regarding
theories that aim at motivating employees by redesigning the social factors of the work process
through practices such as autonomous work groups, increased group cohesiveness, sensitivity
training and norm building. These practices promote decentralization, empowerment and
involvement among employees who usually work without close supervision. However, while
increasing workplace democratization and thus employee autonomy, critical studies have long
indicated the potential harm that such socio-technical procedures designed to enhance group
empowerment and cohesiveness may have on employees autonomy. These studies claim that
employees autonomy may be harmed because they may no longer have the power to decide
whether or not to work hard and their behavior may even be more monitored than under
traditional bureaucratic processes (e.g., Barker 1993, Ezzamel and Willmott, 1998). Under the
rule of the team, an individuals needs and motivations may no longer be an interest. They could
be superseded by those of the team. Moreover, the individual might be expected to regulate
these needs and conform to the teams needs. From a Foucauldian disciplinary practices
perspective these practices allow even tighter control over the labor process. Through the
exercise of what Barker (1993) called concertive control workers could reach a consensus on
how to shape their behavior according to a set of core values aimed at increasing rationalization
of production, using peer pressure within the team to induce conformity to those self-imposed
norms. Sewell (1998) talks about chimerical control, where the constant and supportive
interaction of electronic surveillance and the peer group scrutiny allows organizations to cede a
degree of discretion to teams while increasing the probability that it is exercised in line with the
organizations goals and objectives.
Sensitivity training (T-groups) is another practice that is designed to allow group members to
develop their social skills and to function effectively, thus increasing the autonomy of their
members and allowing for personal growth and self-actualization (Bugental and Tannenbau,
1965). However, these practices, which aim at improving peoples awareness of their behavior
and its impact on others, have also received considerable criticism. Lakin (1969) claimed that
these groups involve emotional confrontations and personal change that may result from group
pressures rather than from the individuals own decision. Thus, even though these group
procedures evolved out of democratic concerns for the awareness of groups and individuals,
they may easily override individuals autonomy. Similarly, Organizational Development processes, which are based on practices of socio-technical systems and include system-wide
changes including some of the above mentioned practices, aiming at harmonizing organizational resources and processes, may also reduce employees autonomy since they could induce
conformity and compliance (McKendall 1993).
If motivational practices do indeed act like persuasive advertisements, then they may
override employees own attitudes, values and beliefs and create new motives that affect their
behavior. For that matter, we could require managers to remain passive when trying to motivate
employees, restricting their role to the mediation of information between the employee and the
employer. However, assuming that persuasive practices could sometimes be beneficial, research
is needed into the aspects that guide managers decision processes concerning the use of
different motivational practices. Researchers could also offer practitioners normative
decision-making frameworks for assessing the morality of their motivational initiatives, similar
to the ones proposed in the marketing domain (e.g., Fisher 2001). Sher (2011) claims that not all
manipulative tactics are inherently immoral. He proposes that a benevolent persuasive attempt
which is grounded on the actors beliefs about their audiences normal decision-making process
could be considered moral. However, such an attempt should be grounded in a process of
thorough evaluation of the audiences real interest and of self-reflection of the actors real
motives. Alternatively, the use of an informed consent before introducing any motivational
practice could guarantee to some extent that employees are aware of the interests behind each of
the practices and the expected consequences. Additionally, requirements of recent years for
transparency of firms financial data could be extended into the employment relationships
(Estlund 2011; Lenaghan and Seirup 2007) acknowledging the critical role of information for
autonomous decision-making.
Promoting False Values

The ability to make autonomous choices represents only a small part of the problem caused
by advertising. An examination of how other aspects of autonomy are affected would reveal
that the problem may be even more acute. Sneddon (2001) argues that the worst problem is
the damage to the autonomy of mankind and peoples ability to control their lives, or what he
termed deep autonomy. In contrast to the freedom to choose, deep autonomy includes
peoples examination of their own values. Beyond the self-examination that is represented in
the freedom to choose whether to behave according to an advertised message, deep autonomy relates to the examination of the values inherent in the purchasing behavior itself. It
relates to people asking themselves whether they really want this product or whether it is
worth their while to want this product. While autonomous choice relates more to the
immediate influences upon a relatively narrower range of behaviors and reactions (e.g.,
the purchase of a certain item as a direct result of being exposed to its advertisement), deep
autonomy represents a measure of peoples autonomous existence and also relates to an
examination of general values that are not necessarily connected to a specific product but
rather to purchasing behavior in general. Such an examination is obviously more complicated and problematic.
Sneddon (2001) presents two arguments that relate to the influence of advertising on
peoples autonomy. The first argument contends that advertising constrains the range of
possibilities that an individual is exposed to because it promotes only capitalistic values
(Phillips 1997). According to this claim, advertising promotes a certain way of life and may
limit awareness of other alternatives. The second argument deals with persuasion in advertisements. For example, the claim that peoples property or clothing can affect their identity
may lead to the conclusion that consumerism can solve any of mankinds problems (Waide
1987). These processes, according to Sneddon (2001), may turn advertising into an instrument for disseminating an ideology that claims that peoples welfare improves with purchases. This ideology, by its nature, may influence peoples behavior in a way that could
refute their values and beliefs as well as restrict their autonomy.
In applying these arguments to the area of work, we can posit that just as advertising has
turned Western society into a society of consumers, motivational practices in employment may
have turned Western society into a society where life revolves around work. Bauman (2001)
talks about the seduced consumers, those individuals who are incorporated into consumer
culture and their lives are in a significant part devoted to the acquisition and display of
commodities. Work, just like consumption, does not have only an instrumental role in human
lives anymore. Both advertising and motivational practices play a role in this change. In the
same way that the disappearance of instrumentality which used to draw a limit on consumption
allowed consumerism to flourish, so could the disappearance of instrumentality from the
working life have led to the increasing role of work in our lives. Indeed, in many ways the
workaholic society owes its existence to the same forces that created the consumer society. Just
as we invest vast resources to increase the consumption of goods, so too do we invest vast
resources in encouraging devotion to work. Just as we let consumerism become the meaning in
our lives, so too do we let work become a major source of meaning in life. Indeed, many studies
show that despite great technological advancements that promised us an increase in the quality
of life, these improvements have not led to more leisure time. In fact, the opposite has happened.
The number of hours people work today is at least equal to the number of hours people worked
before the advent of todays modern technological improvements (Porter 2004). Elster (1983)
used the term adaptive preferences to describe the process in which the preferences of the less
powerful individuals are deformed to fit the options that are relevant to them. This cognitive
change is not autonomous; rather it is a reaction to a restricted range of options presented to the
individual. It therefore represents an irrational behavior which, through a causal mechanism,
may be shaped by the set of practices offered to the individual. The question remains about the
role of motivational practices in this process.
10
Workaholism is described in the literature as an over-commitment to work. The clinical

definition of the concept speaks in terms of a need to work and a sense of guilt when not
working (Spence and Robbins 1992). Some researchers view workaholism as an addiction
(Oates 1971), while others view it as an answer to various kinds of needs, such as a desire to
escape from everyday life or personality needs that include positive aspects such as the need
to be creative. Most of the research in this area focuses on the characteristics and the results
of the phenomenon, while neglecting the examination of its causes (Robinson 2000). The
few studies that do address this topic are restricted solely to demographic causes, such as
gender or personality factors. A very small number of studies have examined environmental
causes such as the culture of the organization. These studies found that workaholics describe
their organizations as less supportive of the work-life conflict (Burke 2001) and as making
higher demands of their employees (Spence and Robbins 1992). Interestingly, research did
not find any significant differences between the preferences of workaholics and nonworkaholics as to the kind of organization they would like to work for (Burke 2002).
Only the critical literature of the past few decades has started to examine the societal and
ideological sources of workaholism and to highlight the role of the organization, particularly
the behavioral norms it dictates to employees (Morgan 1997). Shenhav (1995) describes
how organizations and organizational literature, in a process presented as neutral and
objective, improve organizational practices that promote the ideology of organizational
control. This ideology is accepted as a rational way of thinking and as one that works for
the benefit of all of the members of the organization. Kunda (2000), following Etzioni
(1961), shows how organizations moved from control over employees behavior by means
of financial rewards to normative controls that are based on emotional manipulations of
peoples self-determination. One of the engineers in Kundas interviews claims that this
organization really tempts you. You want to do more and more (p. 225).
Several motivational practices are aimed at changing employees values (e.g., managerial
motivation, social motivation), based on the need motivation theories. McClelland (1965)
proposes that contrary to dominant theories, which claim that personality characteristics are
learnt or acquired at an early age, motives could also be learnt in an operant conditioning-like
process. Studies have shown the important contribution of need achievement training to
entrepreneurs success (Durand 1975; Miron and McClelland 1979), executive advancement
(Aronoff and Litwin 1971) or managerial role motivation (Singleton 1987; Miner 1986). While
these programs could be beneficial to both employers and employees they may also lead them
to better internalize organizational goals (Barker 1993). These programs may promote false
ideologies by emphasizing organizational values that are centered on productivity, effectiveness
and efficiency. The same can be said about mentoring, a motivational practice which is part of
personal and material resources practices. Theoretically, this practice assumes that through the
creation of a close relationship with the mentor, mentees can satisfy their need to belong (Kram
1985). The benefits to employees from having a mentor are well documented and include career
success (Allen et al. 2004), job-related stress alleviation (Kram and Hall 1989), burnout
prevention (Thomas and Lankau, 2009) and positive work attitudes (Koberg et al. 1994). At
the same time, mentoring practices may also lead to cultural replication (McDonald and Hite
2005). Through the amplification of employee fit, these practices may promote values that place
the organizations interests above those of the employees. Similarly, reinforcement practices,
using either rewards or punishments may, over time, lead employees to feel controlled and
manipulated (Kohn 1993) and may force them to reason ethically at lower levels of Kohlbergs
moral reasoning model (Colby and Kohlberg 1987).
Goal theory is based on the assertion that the level of achievement reached is dependent
on the level of achievement intended or aspired to (Locke 1966). Two main practices are
11
related to this theory: goal-setting programs and management by objectives (MBO). Ethical
criticism of these practices, including examples from the world of business, can be found in
recent literature (Ordonez et al. 2009). The major criticism is that goal-setting may encourage unethical behavior (Pringle and Longnecker, 1982), especially among individuals who
are just short of reaching their goal (Schweitzer et al. 2004), may reduce individuals
intrinsic motivation, and may increase risk-taking behavior (Ordonez et al. 2009). In a
recent review, Barsky (2007) claimed that goal-setting practices may foster unethical
behavior by interfering with cognitive processes, redirecting attention from the moral
consequences of the behavior and encouraging moral disengagement while the individual
is preoccupied with the goal. In addition, Pringle and Longnecker (1982) claim that the
performance evaluation processes that follow MBO practices may lead to unethical behavior
by emphasizing the ends rather than the means. Others, however, have criticized the validity
of these claims. They contend that as long as the goal-setting techniques used include
genuine participation by employees in the goal-setting process; the goals set are clear,
specific and achievable (Latham and Locke 2009); and management behaves fairly, responsibly and honestly (Giampetro-Meyer et al. 1998), these motivational practices have the
potential to contribute both to increased employee autonomy and reduced stress levels.
To the extent that motivational practices, like advertising practices, promote an ideology
that encourages workaholism, unethical behavior or values that are incongruent with the
employee values, these practices may be viewed as immoral. If they encourage people to
invest more and more time and effort in their work and in the process turn some of them into
workaholics, the moral question may be relevant. Just as consumers values may be
manipulated by advertising practices, so may employees values be affected by the use of
motivational practices that consistently promote certain values as an answer to the needs of
the organization and some of its members.
Motivational theories, by definition, promote and praise effort, effectiveness and productivity. They do not usually encourage values of friendship, humanity, family or curiosity.
They all assume that work means employer-employee relationships and no other. In general,
the values promoted by the theories might not be inherently wrong, but when they are so
strongly promoted, they may inhibit or smother other possibilities. Just as advertisements
lead people to put too much emphasis on youth, sex and appearance, so may motivational
practices lead people to put too much emphasis on money, career, professional advancement
and loyalty to the organization. Like an ad that presupposes that wrinkles on a womans face
are unbecoming and should be erased, motivational practices may presuppose that not
aiming at getting a better salary or a better position in the organization is an incorrect
attitude and must be rectified. Alternatively, motivation could be based on the individuals
desire, and therefore, practices could be developed which would be dependent on internal
rather than external stimuli (Styhre 2006).
Causing Harm
Another reason that advertising may be unethical is the possibility that it will cause harm to
the consumer (Carson et al. 1985). The potential harm in exposure to specific advertisements
has been widely documented. For example, researchers have shown that advertisements that
use stereotypes help internalize these stereotypes among their audiences (Cohen-Eliya and
Hammer 2004). Exposure to tobacco advertisements can increase the likelihood of
experimenting with smoking among youngsters, even when controlling for influences of
friends and family (Schooler et al. 1996). Early adolescents who have the most difficulty
12
defining themselves are more likely to look to the powerful images displayed by cigarette
advertisements for help (Shadel et al. 2004). Similarly, exposure to advertisements with thin
women reduces satisfaction with ones own image (Engeln-Maddox 2005), harming the selfesteem of young girls (Clay et al. 2005), increasing negative moods and levels of depression
(Bessenoff 2006), as well as body-focused anxiety (Halliwell and Dittmar 2004; Monro and
Huon 2005). Exposure of young people to television beer advertisements increased favorable beliefs about drinking and intentions to drink as an adult (Grube and Wallack 1994).
Messages in advertisements that men should be muscular can be detrimental (Berry and
Howe 2005), leading to higher levels of depression and dissatisfaction with ones image
(Agliata and Tantleff-Dunn 2004). In the same manner, exposure to motivational practices
may cause harm to employees.
The organizational behavior literature has long accepted the idea that work processes and
management practices can have an impact on employees health and well-being (Wilson
et al. 2004). The most prevalent work outcome studied is work-related stress. In general,
research has provided evidence that work characteristics are related to employees affective
reactions (Fisher 2002). One of the leading models that describe stress is Karaseks (1979)
job demand resources model, which claims that amount of work and degree of control are
two job characteristics that are related to job stress. Other job characteristics that are stressrelated are job ambiguity, job conflict (ODriscoll and Beehr 1994; 2000), felt accountability
(Hochwarter et al. 2005), job autonomy (De Jonge and Schaufeli 1998), even in the context
of team work (Van Mierlo et al. 2007), and breaches of psychological contracts (Gakovic
and Tetrick 2003).
Well-being is another variable that was extensively studied in the organizational behavior
research. Studies in this area found negative correlations between well-being and job
insecurity, number of work hours (Sparks et al. 2001), job design and work characteristics
(Wilson et al. 2004; Elfering et al. 2005) and performance monitoring (Holman et al. 2002).
Leaders also have a significant effect on workers psychological well-being (Gilbreath
and Benson 2004), health, and especially, stress levels. Researchers found significant
correlations between stress and both a leaders coercive power and her legitimate power
(Elangovan and Xie 1999; Erkutlu and Chafra 2006). The quality of leader-member exchange relationships also played an important role in creating or reducing employees stress
levels (Harris and Kacmar 2006). Other health-related studies found that job insecurity is
related to mental health complaints (Hellgren and Sverke 2003) and perceptions about
injustice may lead to aggressive behavior (Kennedy et al. 2004).
Some of the motivational practices have received some attention in this regard. Woodall
(1996) claimed that human resources development (HRD) practices may cause physical
and/or psychological harm to employees. The uncertainty and the pressure prevailing during
the unfreeze-change-refreeze process may cause personal stress. Research has also indicated that sensitivity training can potentially cause psychological damage (e.g., Rogers
1972) due to group pressure and the need to expose oneself, while organizational development efforts were criticized since the element of domination, which is based on the creation
of uncertainty and disruption, may increase stress, confusion and employees vulnerability,
thus causing harm (McKendall 1993). However, maintaining confidentiality regarding
individuals achievements and ensuring an acceptable level of peer pressure could help
secure the psychological safety of participants (Woodall and Douglas 2000).
Even though the interest in studying employees health has increased since the late 1990s
(Danna and Griffin 1999), only a limited amount of research has gone beyond the correlational research mentioned and beyond the variables presented. Most studies were published
in health-related journals and fewer in the leading management or organizational behavior
13
journals. Most of the research focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of these practices
rather than intensively testing their potential impact on employees. Moreover, the literature
deals with only a limited set of variables. For example, the marketing research deals
extensively with the impact of advertising on personal variables such as self-esteem and
locus of control. However, the management literature generally treats these variables as
resource variables, almost never as dependent variables. These variables are usually integrated into models only as moderating variables. As Domagalski (1999) claims, even the
research that investigates the relationship between different management practices in organizations and employee stress sees the stress as the employees weakness and looks for
interventions to help employees better cope with these practices.
From the limited research done in the area, we know that practices that motivate employees
on the basis of fear of punishment may cause anxiety and depression (Zoghbi, 2006) as do
practices that are based on extrinsic motivation (Luo 1999). Finally, different motivational
systems (Tomaka and Palacios-Esquivel 1997) or incentive values (Eubanks et al. 2002) may
have different effects on cardiac measures. To the extent that a motivational practice has a
negative effect on an employees health or personal variables, it could be morally questionable.
Conclusions
Emancipation and enlightenment are among the major goals of critical theory (Giroux 1983).
By drawing attention to how management practices encourage passivity, obedience and the
replication of managerial values among the weaker groups in the organization (Alvesson and
Deetz 2005), they increase awareness of their possible social effects and they encourage
organizational stakeholders to engage in actively changing the environment in which they
act. This paper represents an attempt to provide stakeholders in work organizations with a
critical evaluation of motivational practices in organizations and with some suggestions for a
more ethical, less performative implementation of these theories and practices.
Marketing practices as well as motivational practices contain both positive and controversial elements. Assuming some similarities between the two domains, this paper described
a framework for evaluating the ethicality of motivational practices in work organizations
based on Bishops (2000) proposal for the evaluation of image ads. The application of this
framework presents an alternative view of ethical aspects of motivational practices concluding that the research thus far has been somewhat limited and biased, and revealing areas in
which the current research could be enhanced.
Using a model which originally was developed for marketing researchers and practitioners allows us to look at old practices from a different perspective. It allows us to reframe
old practices in order to understand our theories and practices in a somewhat different way. It
offers us some reflexivity (Alvesson, et al. 2008). Coming from a marketing perspective
which uses a managerialist functionalist paradigm itself, Bishops (2000) model offers a
normative way to challenge our way of thinking from within, a way to develop a more
humanistic model of people management, as suggested by Mele (2009).
The review indicates that while investigating the impact of motivational practices,
researchers almost always evaluate the results in terms of organizational effectiveness.
This evaluation presents only a partial and one-sided perspective of the practices used.
Beyond the impact on organizational effectiveness motivational practices have an impact on
employees as individuals, not as workers, which is rarely studied in the management
literature. In general, when organizational researchers evaluate motivational practices they
actually act just like marketing researchers who provide their clients with evidence of the
14
effectiveness of an ad by questioning customers attitudes about a product after being exposed

to the ad, or actual behavior, disregarding any benefits to employees themselves. It is proposed
that researchers could shift the focus from organizational-centered variables to more personal
level ones. Sustainability, as Pfeffer (2010) argues, should also include employee aspects and
not only environmental aspects. For example, advertising has been accused of making people
cynical, irrational, greedy and selfish (Pollay 1986). Further research could evaluate the extent
this is true for motivational theories. The paper describes additional personal level variables
which could be integrated into evaluation models. Additionally, the use of a comparative design
to evaluate the differences between the practices could better address ethical questions in
deciding which practice to use in organizations.
Issues of personal autonomy and deep autonomy have been dealt with in the critical
literature; however, they have been generally ignored in the empirical and normative
literature. It is suggested that requirements for transparency or the adoption of a stakeholder
approach, as proposed by Greenwood (2002), could alleviate some of these problems for
practitioners, while proposing new empirical venues for researchers. This perspective allows
us to avoid the antagonistic and instrumental approach of labor relations and incorporate
employees as part of the business considerations (Ferrary 2009) without one side dominating the other (Donaldson and Preston 1995). Using this theory, both researchers and
practitioners could develop motivational practices which assume that employees are stakeholders with needs and interests, not merely resources to be effectively used by management
to reach the organizations strategic goals.
Undoubtedly, marketing science has been under much more societal scrutiny than human
resources practices. In this sense todays consumers are much more mature than todays
employees. Perhaps, just as we strive to educate people to be wiser consumers, we could also
strive to increase the literacy among them concerning motivational practices to help them
become wiser employees. The question is how much disclosure should be required. Just as
we do not expect salesmen to tell the consumer the whole truth about the flaws in the
products they are selling or all of the advantages of the competitors products, we should not
expect employers to provide a full disclosure of their product. Some of the responsibility
should remain with the employee and employees could be trained (not necessarily by
employers) to be better consumers of motivational practices.
This discussion would also benefit from the debate surrounding social marketing. This type
of marketing uses commercial marketing techniques for the purpose of influencing the behavior
of citizens to improve their welfare and the welfare of society in general (Andreasen 1995).
Marketing campaigns that try to bring about change, such as using seatbelts or refraining from
smoking, are thought of as practices of social marketing. These practices are considered to be
even more paternalistic than commercial marketing because the citizen does not even have the
small amount of immediate power that consumers have over the marketer through their
purchasing power. In addition, citizens do not enter into the relationship in order to satisfy
their own needs. Instead, they are brought into the relationship at the behest of certain social
institutions. One of the ways to cope with social marketings ethical problems is by measuring
the success of the marketing plan: the mutual satisfaction of both sides with the trade
relationship. The social marketer must prove that the potential damage to the citizens discretion
is justified by the benefits accrued by the program. A similar requirement in work organizations
would mean that researchers and practitioners may be able to act in a less paternalistic manner
by evaluating success in terms of employers and employees mutually benefitting from a
motivational practice implemented.
Bishop (2000) concludes that people are not reacting passively to image ads and are not
manipulated by them. However, unlike consumers, employees are much less powerful and
15
much more dependent on employers and therefore need more protection from both practitioners and researchers. To paraphrase Ogbors (2001) words, there is nothing inherently
wrong with motivating employees. However, when motivation is based on false or misleading promises, when it threatens employees autonomy, when it promotes false values, or
when if causes harm, the acceptance of such practices in our society could be not a sign of
approval but rather a sign of indoctrination and a call for a critical examination.
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Employ Respons Rights J (2014) 26:120

Evaluating Moral Issues in Motivation Theories: Lessons

Published online: 22 August 2013

Employ Respons Rights J (2014) 26:120

Employ Respons Rights J (2014) 26:120

Table 1 Comparing marketing and human resources practices

Human resources management

Creating committed, loyal, motivated

Creating committed, loyal and

Stimulating consumers to satisfy their

Explain and predict uniformities and

Employ Respons Rights J (2014) 26:120

Making False or Misleading Promises

Table 2 Motivational theories examined under Bishops (2000) ethical framework

Reinforcement theories Sociotechnical Systems

Personal and material

Personal and material

Social and group factors

Goal setting techniques Social and group Factors

Employ Respons Rights J (2014) 26:120

Employ Respons Rights J (2014) 26:120

Threatening the Autonomy of the Individual

Employ Respons Rights J (2014) 26:120

Employ Respons Rights J (2014) 26:120

Promoting False Values

Employ Respons Rights J (2014) 26:120

Employ Respons Rights J (2014) 26:120

Workaholism is described in the literature as an over-commitment to work. The clinical

Employ Respons Rights J (2014) 26:120

Employ Respons Rights J (2014) 26:120

Employ Respons Rights J (2014) 26:120

Employ Respons Rights J (2014) 26:120

effectiveness of an ad by questioning customers attitudes about a product after being exposed

Employ Respons Rights J (2014) 26:120

Employ Respons Rights J (2014) 26:120

Employ Respons Rights J (2014) 26:120

Employ Respons Rights J (2014) 26:120

Employ Respons Rights J (2014) 26:120

Employ Respons Rights J (2014) 26:120

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