Victor Vroom’s Expectancy Theory

Expectancy theory:

• Victor Vroom’s Expectancy Theory
• Currently most widely accepted explanations of motivations
• Expectancy theory says that an employee will be motivated to exert a high level of effort when he or she believe that effort will lead a good performance appraisal; that a good appraisal will lead to organization rewards such as bonus, a salary increase or a promotion and that the reward will satisfy the employee’s personal growth.

• Effort-performance relationship
• The probability perceived by the individual that exerting a given amount of effort will lead to performance
• Performance –reward relationship
• The degree to which the individual believes that performing at a particular level will lead to the attainment of desired outcome.
• Reward –personal goal relationship
• The degree to which organizational rewards satisfy an individual’s personal goals or needs and the attractiveness of those potential rewards for the individuals.

Expectancy Theory is based on the idea that work effort is directed towards behavior that people believe will lead to desired outcomes.

• We develop expectations about:
• Whether we can achieve various levels job-performance
• Whether performance will lead to desired outcomes
• Finally, we direct out efforts towards outcomes that helps us to fulfill our needs
• Employees are rational, not impulsive (rash, spontaneous, thoughtless)
• They think about what they have to do to be rewarded and how much rewards mean to them before they perform their jobs.
• Four important variable needs to be understood to understand the expectancy model:
• First level and Second level outcomes
• Expectancy
• Instrumentality
• Valence
• First Level and Second Level Outcomes:
• First level outcomes: performance achieved as a result of efforts.
• The belief that a particular level of effort will be followed by a particular level of performance is called expectancy.
• Expectancy is simple probability from zero to one.
• Performance may be reflected through productivity, absenteeism, quality of work and liking to work.
• Second Level outcomes: rewards (positive or negative), that first level of outcome are likely to produce.
• They include a pay raise, promotion, peer acceptance and job security.
• Expectancy: Zero: no chance that a first level of outcome will occur after the behavior (effort)
• One: certainly that particular first level of outcome will follow a behavior(effort)
• Effort to performance {EàP}
• Instrumentality:
• Perception by an individual that first level outcomes are associated with second level outcomes.
• Instrumentality is relation between first level of outcome and second level of outcomes.
• It can have value ranging from -1 to +1
• -1: indicates that attainment (accomplishment, achievement, and fulfillment) of second level of outcome is less likely, if first level outcome has occurred.
• +1: suggests that the attainment of a second level outcome has be attained.
• Instrumentality: Zero, there is no relation between first level outcome and second level outcomes
• Performance to outcome {PàO}
• Valence:
• Fourth element in the expectancy model
• Valence is individual’s preference for a second level of outcome. Valence can have values ranging from negative to positive.
• Outcomes having a positive valence includes being respected by friends and co-workers, performing meaningful work, having job security and earning enough money to support self and his/her family
• Outcomes having negative  valence are things that one wants to avoid, such as being laid-off, being passes over for promotion, or being discharged for drunken behavior at work place.
• Valence of outcome:
• Positive: Outcome is preferred
• Negative: Outcome is not preferred/ to be avoided
• Zero: individual is indifferent about receiving it.
• Summary:
• Motivation= Expectancy X Instrumentality X Valence
• If any one of these variable is low, motivation is likely to be low.

 (Ref: Organization Behavior- S.P.Robbins and LM Prashad)