How does the 3 variables of the Expectancy theory of motivation affect a worker's perfomance in an organization?

Answer 1

The Expectancy Theory assumes that behavior results from conscious choices among alternatives whose purpose it is to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. Together with Lawler and Porter(1968), Vroom of Yale School of Management(1964) suggested that the relationship between people's behavior at work and their goals was not as simple as was first imagined by other scientists. Vroom realized that an employee's performance is based on individuals' factors such as personality, skills, knowledge, experience and abilities.

The three main variables of the Expectancy Theory are;

Valence- It is the strength of an employee's performance for a particular outcome or reward, which can either be intrinsic or extrinsic. Valence can either be given a positive or negative value by an individual. For example in a work situation, we would expect such outcomes or reward as pay increases, promotion and recognition by superiors to have positive valence while job pressures and interpersonal conflicts may have negative valence.

Intrinsic rewards are those that directly relate to the nature of the work, for example, how interesting it is and working conditions. Extrinsic rewards do not directly relate to work, for example, salary.

Theoretically, an outcome or reward has a valence because it is related to the needs of the individual, therefore, this variable provides a link to the Content Theories. The individual will consider the outcomes associated with various levels of performance from an entire spectrum of performance possibilities and elect to pursue the level that generate the greatest reward for him or her(Vroom, 1964).

Valence is characterised by the extent to which a person values a given outcome or reward. It is important to note that valence is not the actual level of satisfaction that an individual receives from an outcome but rather it is the expected satisfaction a person receives from a particular outcome(Redmond, 2010). The value a person places on an expected outcome or reward is directly related to who they are, their needs, goals and values or preferences at the work place.

However, some workers' performance is not affected by the valence they place in outcome. Some perform not because they place value in the reward they are going to get but because they enjoy doing their job.

Instrumentality- It is the perceived relationship between performance and outcomes or rewards and can vary in value from negative one(-1) to positive one(+1). For example, if high performance in an organisation is always rewarded, then instrumentality will have a value approaching +1,0. If high performance usually yields no rewards, the value for instrumentality will be zero. Finally, in the unlikely state that performing at a high level would result in a reprimand, instrumentality would have a negative value.

A worker will only perform at a certain level if they believe that the performance will lead to a given expressed outcome. The instrumentality component of the expectancy theory is the person's belief that if they can meet performance expectations, they will receive a great reward(Scholl, 2002). The variable affecting instrumentality are trust in leaders, control and policies-how formalised are reward systems.

Expectancy- It is the perceived relationship between effort and performance. Expectation entails an evaluation of how much effort the performance will take and the probability of achieving performance(Warren R. Plankett, 1983). The expectancy component of expectancy theory is the belief that one's effort will give the expected performance(Scholl, 2002). This component illustrate that in order for a person to be effectively motivated, that individual needs to perceive that their personal expenditure of effort will result in an acceptable level of performance. In addition in order for a person to be motivated into putting effort towards a task, they need only to believe that their effort will result in a certain level of performance or that a certain level of performance is attainable.

Since expectancy is the perceived relationship between effort and performance, similar to probability, expectancy can range from 0 to +1,0. For example, if a financial analyst is given a project that he or she knows can be completed on time, the value for that expectancy can be certainty or +1,0. On the other hand, if competing the project on time will be difficult or nearly impossible given the available resources or skills, the value for this expectancy would approach zero.

There are variables which affect an individual's expectancy perception:

Ø Self- efficiency- A person's belief in their ability to perform successfully.

Ø Goal difficulty- How attainable is the goal.

Ø Control- Does the person actually have control over the expected outcome. For example, if I spent most of tonight studying, will it improve my grade on tomorrow's math exam?

Imposters believe that they are not as capable as they appear to be and consequently fear that their incompetence will be revealed to others. They are filled with self-doubt, afraid to take risks and seldom ask for help because they believe they lack the necessary competencies. They are also likely to doubt that any amount of effort will result in high performance.

Victor H. Vroom (1964) defines motivation as a process governing choices among alternative forms of voluntary activities, a process controlled by the individual. The individual makes choices based on estimates of how well the expected results of a given behaviour are going to match up with or eventually lead to the desired results. Motivation is a product of the individual's expectancy that a certain effort will lead to the intended performance, the instrumentality of this performance to achieving a certain result, and the desirability of this result for the individual, known as valence.

Although individuals may have different sets of goals, they can be motivated if they believe that there is a positive correlation between efforts and performance, favourable performance will result in a desirable reward, the reward will satisfy an important need, and the desire to satisfy the need is strong enough to make the effort worthwhile.

McGraw supports the idea that for motivation to be high, expectancy, instrumentalities and total valence of all outcomes must all be high. A person will not be highly motivated if any of the following conditions exist:

i) He believes he can't perform well enough to achieve the positive outcomes that he knows the company provides to good performance- high valence and high instrumentality but low expectancy.

ii) He knows he can do the job and is fairly certain what the ultimate outcome will be- say a promotion or a transfer, however, he doesn't want those outcomes or believes other negative outcomes outweigh the positive- high expectancy and high instrumentality but low valence.

iii) He knows he can do the job and wants several important outcomes but he believes that no matter how well he performs, the outcomes will not be forthcoming- high expectancy and positive valences but low instrumentality.

One research study indicated that production workers who were high performers tended to be significantly different from the low performers in that they believed their level of productivity directly affected their attainment of reward (Georgopoulos et al, 1957). However, the linkage between effort and performance has not been clearly established, although some research supports this position(Cummings and Schwab, 1973).

It is therefore important to note that motivation of an employee is a product of the three variable of the expectancy theory: expectancy, instrumentality and valence. When the three are high, performance of the employee will also be high. When any or all of the three is zero, the employee will not perform since motivation is a product of the three. Management therefore should ensure optimum levels for all the three variables to maintain them high enough to motivate a worker to perform high in the organisation.

Answer 2

The three variables of the Expectancy theory of motivation (expectancy, instrumentality, valence) affect a worker's performance by influencing their belief in their ability to perform well (expectancy), the perceived link between performance and outcomes (instrumentality), and the value placed on the outcomes (valence). When all three variables are high, it can lead to boosted motivation and improved performance in the organization.