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Expectancy Theory of Motivation

Decent Essays

Expectancy Theory of Motivation,

an approach to improving performance.

Mark R. Mattox

Western Governors University

Expectancy Theory of Motivation

“Expectancy Theory -

A theory that says that the strength of a tendency to act in a certain way depends on the strength of an expectation that the act will be followed by a given outcome and on the attractiveness of that outcome to the individual.”

(Judge 07/2012, p. 224)

Explanation of the Three Components and Relationships

of the Expectancy Theory of Motivation

The three components of Expectancy Theory of Motivation are expectancy, instrumentality, and valence.

1 Expectancy:

Expectancy is related to the amount of effort that an …show more content…

(Judge 07/2012, p. 224)

Application of Expectancy Theory of Motivation to the Given Work Scenario

Effort–Performance Relationship:

Some of the employees have said that they cannot be successful with the new process because it requires more dexterity than they believe that they are capable of. These employees are needing to have an increase in the expectancy component of the Expectancy Theory of Motivation. They need to be shown that they are able to improve task performance. These employees need to be retrained on the new process, so that they can have the confidence that they are able to utilize the new process. The employees in this category need to be shown that an increase in effort will equate to an increase in performance.

Performance–Reward Relationship:

Some of the employees who do not have difficulty with the process feel that it is not worth putting in the extra effort to reach the new production goals. There is usually no difference in salary increases among those who meet department goals and those who fall short of the goals. In this case these workers are needing to have a change in their compensation to create a stronger correlation between meeting department goals and salary increase. These employees would generally increase their effort, if there was a distinctive

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