The Expectancy Theory of Motivation

● The Expectancy Theory of Motivation
• Another approach, one that many believe goes far in explaining how people are motivated, is the expectancy theory. One of the leaders in advancing and explaining this theory is the psychologist Victor H. Vroom. He holds that people will be motivated to do things to reach a goal if they believe in the worth of that goal and if they can see that what they do will help them in achieving it. In a sense, this is a modern expression of what the German priest Martin Luther observed centuries ago when he said, "Everything that is done in the world is done by hope."
• In greater detail, Vroom's theory is that people's motivation toward doing anything will be determined by the value they place on the outcome of their effort (whether positive or negative) multiplied by the confidence they have that their effort will materially age in achieving a goal. In his own terms, Vroom's theory may be stated as
Force = Valence x Expectancy
where force is the strength of a person's motivation, valence is the strength of an individual's preference for an outcome, and expectancy is the probability that a particular action will lead to a desired outcome. When a person is indifferent about achieving a certain goal, a valence of zero occurs; there is a negative valence when the person would rather not achieve the goal. The result of either would be, of course, no motivation. Likewise, a person would have no motivation to achieve a goal if the expectancy were zero or negative. The force exerted to do something will depend on both valence and expectancy. Moreover, a motive to accomplish some action might be determined by a desire to accomplish something else. For example, a person might be willing to work hard to work hard to achieve company goals in marketing or production for a promotion or pay valence.

● The Vroom Theory and Practice
• One of the great attractions of the Vroom Theory is that it recognizes the importance of individual needs and motivations. It thus avoids some of the simplistic features of the Maslow and Herzberg approaches. It does seem more realistic. It fits the concept of harmony of objectives: individuals have personal goals that are different from organizational goals, but these can be harmonized. Furthermore, Vroom's Theory is completely consistent with the system of managing by objectives.
• The strength of Vroom's Theory is also its weakness. His assumption that perception of value vary between individuals at different times and in different places to fit real life more accurately. It is consistent also with the idea that a manager's job is to design an environment for performance, necessarily taking into account the differences in various situations. On the other hand, the theory is difficult to apply in practice. Despite its difficulty in application, the logical accuracy of Vroom's Theory indicates that motivation is much more complex than the approaches of Maslow and Herzberg seem to imply.
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Fundamentals of Management : Leading / Motivation [BBA 2305]
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