Expectancy theory of motivation

Expectancy Theory of Motivation Expectancy Theory of Motivation A. Explain the three key components and relationships in the expectancy theory of motivation.
Expectancy theory is based on the idea that ‘ people can make conscious choices about their motivation’ (Williams 2010, p. 507). This means that people can be motivated if an action is followed by a particular reward. From this point of view, the expectancy theory has three critical components: ‘ valence, expectancy and instrumentality’ (Williams 2010, p. 507). These components could be further analyzed as follows: a) valence reflects ‘ the level of attractiveness of a reward’ (Williams 2010, p. 507). When the valence of a particular task is high, the motivation of the employee to execute the particular task is expected to be high also. According to Williams (2010) valence, as a component of the expectancy theory of motivation, has another implication: the valence related to a particular task can be considered by an individual as important but for another individuals may be considered as of no particular value (Williams 2010, p. 507). This means that the effectiveness of valence, as a component of the expectancy theory of motivation is not standardized. Montana & Charnov (2008) note that in the first phase of expectancy theory of motivation an individual need to be pursued that he will be able to perform a particular task (p. 248); b) expectancy reflects the relationship between performance and expected outcomes; this means that if the rewards related to a particular task are important then it is quite possible for an individual to be motivated in order to perform the above task (Williams 2010, p. 507). Griffin & Moorhead (2011) describe this component of the expectancy theory of motivation as the ‘ performance -to – outcome expectancy’ (Griffin & Moorhead 2011, p. 104); c) the last component of the expectancy theory of motivation is instrumentality which shows ‘ the preference of an individual for the rewards related to a particular task’ (Montana & Charnov 2008, p. 248). In the context of the expectancy theory of motivation, instrumentality reveals the willingness of an individual to perform higher in order to get more rewards (Williams 2010, p. 507). In any case, the expectancy theory promotes the idea that motivation can be high only if ‘ all three components are high’ (William 2010, p. 507). This means that if one of the components is low, then motivation cannot be high even if the other two components are high.
B. Explain how the company in the given scenario could apply the expectancy theory of motivation to enhance the motivation of its employees.
The company in the given scenario could use the expectancy theory of motivation in order to enhance its employees’ motivation. According to the scenario, the employees of supervisor A are not convinced neither for their potential to reach the performance required for developing the tasks incorporated in the new production process nor for the relationship between this process and high rewards. Moreover, employees of supervisor A are not convinced that they would be given fair rewards even if they would increase their performance and if they would develop the required tasks successfully. In other words, in the specific company all three components of the expectancy theory of motivation, as described earlier, are low. In order to increase employees’ performance the company’s managers should focus on all three components of the expectancy theory of motivation. In practice, the following measures would be introduced: a) employees should be asked to participate in an event where the performance of other employees in regard to similar activities is presented; preferable, those employees would be of similar background and experience with the employees of supervisor A; in this way, employees would be convinced that they would be able to perform the tasks incorporated in the new production process. At the same time, the rewards related to the new production process should be presented to employees, in order for them to decide whether the valence of the new production process is high; b) In the above event also, reference could be made to the rewards that those employees, the employees who participated in the other project, were given, as a result of their performance. In this way employees would be convinced that the rewards related to the new production process are realistic and they are expected to be awarded to those who will perform high in regard to the tasks incorporated in the new production process. In other words, employees should be convinced in regard to the relationship between the new production process and a series of rewards; c) Moreover, a different plan of rewarding should be introduced in regard to the new production process; rewards should be given partially, for example on a weekly basis, instead of following the end of each task. At the same time, the rewards related to the new production process should be slightly increased, for showing the intention of the company’s owner to provide to employees a fair compensation in case of high performance. In this way, employees should verify that the promised rewards will be given and that the increase of their performance will be appropriately rewarded.
References
Griffin, R., & Moorhead, G. (2011). Organizational Behavior: Managing People and Organizations. Belmont: Cengage Learning.
Montana, P. & Charnov, B. (2008). Management. New York: Barrons Educational Series
Williams, C. (2010). Management. Belmont: Cengage Learning.