Which of the following identifies the four factors that directly influence individual Behaviour and performance?

JANUARY 26, 2020

SUMMARY

“Men are from Mars. Women are from Venus “. This is the title of a classic book by Dr John Gray, that shows how difficult it is for people of different gender to understand each other. In this episode, Dr Yong will share the MARS model which does the exact opposite. It is a simple framework that helps people to understand what drives behaviour and performance in the organisations. If you are in a situation where you are trying to convince someone to change; it may be your bosses, subordinates, co-workers, spouse or children, or anyone for that matter, this podcast is for you.

Episode 10: Changing Behaviour Using MARS Model

Welcome to the Square Apple Show. I’m Hsin Ning and in this episode I’m going to share another model that you can use to change the behaviour of yourself and the people around you.

Ways to Change Behaviour

I’ve shared in an earlier podcast on how to systematically change people’s behaviour using the switch framework developed by the Heath brothers. As a re-cap, the switch framework is about directing the Rider, which is the rational and analytical self, motivating the Elephant, which is the emotional and instinctive part of us, and finally shaping the Path, which is changing the environment around us to make it easier for the person or us to adopt the change.

Today, I am going to share another model that I find very useful in deciphering the lever to use to influence and change people’s behaviour. The psychology theories that underpin both models are similar, but they are structured in different ways.

So, if you are in a situation where you are trying to convince someone to change, it may be your bosses, subordinates, co-workers, spouse, children, or anyone for that matter, this podcast is for you. Or if you are simply trying to find a way to motivate yourself to change your current behaviour, please also sit tight and listen in.

Ready?

Let me illustrate the framework with a story. Facets of the stories are what I have experienced in my course of work as a change management consultant. Other facets are what I’ve heard from co-workers or read from case studies. So, let me start with a disclaimer – the story itself is fictional and any resemblance to actual events, individuals, dead or alive are purely coincidental.

Case Study of a Soap Factory

The story is set in a factory manufacturing cleansing product like soap bars. This factory is part of large company where the headquarters are in a geographically and culturally faraway place. A majority of the 500-workforce works on the factory floor.

The workers in the factory have a practice of bringing back the products that they have produced for their own use. To them, it is perfectly normal because everybody does it. There is no malice or ill intent behind the action, and they don’t perceive their action as illegal.

Recently, the headquarter (HQ) management has decided to implement an ERP system in the factory to improve the efficiency of the processes, in addition to enhancing governance and accountability. The head quarter management has long been aware of the issue where workers brought back products for their own use. With the ERP system, the shortfall in the stock produced will easily come to light. The management realised that the local team in the factory may therefore resist the implementation of the ERP system as it would mean that they could no longer had the liberty to consume those stocks.

Therefore, the management wanted to have a plan to address this possible resistance before the ERP system was implemented. However, they were also aware of the cultural sensitivities around the issue.

What will you do if you were in the shoes of the headquarter management?

Introducing the MARS Model

The MARS Model was developed by Dr Steven McShane and Dr Mary An Von Glinow who shared that there are four factors that directly influence employees’ behaviour and their resulting performance. The four factors are motivation, ability, role perceptions, which refer to the individual’s expected role obligations, as well as situational factors. These are abbreviated as the MARS Model. Let me explain how we can use the MARS model to change the behaviour of the factory workers.

Motivation

Let’s start with M, which stands for Motivation.

Without getting too technical, motivation is the needs, desires, wants or drives within the person. Sometimes, people are driven by extrinsic rewards, while at other times, people are driven by other motivations such as the need to bond with others, the need to protect what they have, or the need to understand.

The HQ management knows that the workers are from a collectivistic society. Thus, this means that they would prioritise the good of the community they are in over themselves. So, the management decided to implement an incentive program, whereby, if the stock number produced by a team didn’t tally with that of the expected output, every member of the team will be penalised through a deduction of the overall team bonus.

Ability

Next, A is for Ability.

So, the management got a small win with the use of the extrinsic reward. However, when they examined the problem a little more, they realised that the root of the problem already presented itself when the employee participated in the onboarding orientation event. It seemed that the local trainers had informed employees that one of the perks of working in the factory was that they could occasionally enjoy the fruit of their labour, just by taking them home at the end of the day, as long as the quantity was small.

Based on this data point, the management decided to replace the local trainers and the curriculum with HQ trainers and a centralised curriculum. In the training, they taught new recruits the correct procedures to account for the stocks, and conveyed that the company values integrity and honesty, disallowing products produced for customers to be consumed by employees at their liberty.

This is the second lever in the MARS model, which is Ability, and could be simply framed as “Does the employee know what to do and how to do?” Thus, by replacing the local with HQ trainers and a centralised curriculum, the company ensures that employees have clarity on the right thing to do.

Role Perception

The third lever is R which stands for Role Perception.

Simply put, role perception is what the individual perceives to be his or her expected role obligations. This was a bit tricky and sensitive to implement because of the sensitivities around the practice. Hence, the HQ management instituted a model employee and team program where those who displayed exemplary conduct and work performance are given the title of either “Role model worker” or “Role model teams”. These individuals were interviewed, and their photos were displayed at prominent locations in the factory floor. Of course, amongst the things which they mentioned included valuing honesty and integrity, which may translate to indicators like zero discrepancy between the actual and expected outputs.

Through the testimony of these role models, other employees get the idea of the management’s expectations of them.

Situational Factors

Motivation, Ability and Role Perceptions all relate to factors within the individual. The last factor, S, which represent Situational Factors, are external to the person, but would affect their behaviour and performance. Examples of situational factors include the office environment, resources, and how the organisational structure supports or impedes the change in the behaviour.

In this example, the situational factor that supported the change was the eventual implementation of the ERP system. The existence of a system that gave transparency to track the actual and expected outputs made the worker think twice about taking the output.

Conclusion

The MARS model is a comprehensive framework for us to identify levers to use in influencing individual’s behaviour and performance. Of course, different levers will fit into different scenarios, and it doesn’t mean that the more levers we use, the outcome would be better.

So, the next time you are faced with a situation where you need to change someone’s behaviour, think about the following.

Firstly, what motivates that person? Does he care about money, or does he care about the approval by people around him? Or maybe he just wants to gain personal clarity and understanding of the matter.

Secondly does he know how to change? Does he have the skills and knowledge to undertake the change? Does he know what needs to be done?

Thirdly, what is his role perception? Does he perceive that the change is necessary in his current role obligations or not?

Finally, think about the situational factors. What external environmental factors can you change to make sure that it’s easier for people to adopt the change? Is it implementing a set of process, or system or giving people more resources?

If you have questions or thoughts on this episode, please connect with me on LinkedIn at bit.ly/squareapple. That’s bit.ly/squareapple. Thank you and see you soon.

SHOW NOTES

References:

1. The MARS Model is developed by Dr Steven McShane and Dr Mary An Von Glinow states that there are four factors that directly influence employee behavior and the resulting performance. These for factors are motivation, ability, role perceptions (the individual’s expected role obligations), and situational factors abbreviated as MARS Model. More details can be found in McShane, S., & Glinow, M. A. V. (2017). Organizational behavior. McGraw-Hill Education.

2. The quote “Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change” in the introduction to the podcast is attributable Dr Wayne Dyer, an internationally renowned author and speaker in the fields of self-development and spiritual growth. Source of quote: Dyer, W. (2009), Success Secrets, Retrieved from https://www.drwaynedyer.com/blog/success-secrets/

#MARSmodel #motivation #roleperception

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