Expectancy Theory - Priyanka Chaudhary

International Journal of Research & Development in
Technology and Management Science Kailash

Volume - 21| Issue 1 | ISBN - 978-1-63102-445-0 | March 2014
editor.ijrdtm@rtmonline.in | editor@ijrdtm.com | http://journal.rtmonline.in | http://www.ijrdtm.com
Paper Id: IJRDTM 05273
A STUDY OVER EXPECTANCY THEORY OF MOTIVATION IN

SMALL SCALE INDUSTRIES IN NCR
By
Priyanka Chaudhary | Assistant Professor, wellwisher.priyanka@gmail.com, DSITM
ABSTRACT
A Vrooms Expectancy Theory of Motivation has been
described among cooperative employees and managers in
Small Scale Industries. About hundred cooperative employees
and managers were administered. The theory does not provide
specific suggestions on what motivates organization members
but a process of cognitive that reflects individual differences in
work motivation. From a management standpoint, the
expectancy theory has some important implications for
motivating employees. It identifies several important things that
can be done to motivate employees by altering the persons
effort-to-performance
expectancy,
performance-to-reward
expectancy, and reward valences. The study also describes the

importance of education in employees to increase the
effectivity and efficiency. The limitations and implications of
the further research has been described.
KEYWORDS: Small Scale Industries, Motivation, Business, Instruments
INTRODUCTION
The Expectancy Theory of Motivation was propouned by Victor H.Vroom, an international
expert on leadership and decision making. He was named to the original board of officers of the
Yale School of Management when it was founded in 1976. Vroom has focused much of his
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research on dealing with motivation and leadership within an organization. One of the most
inspiring books on the subject of motivation was written by Vroom in 1964, called Work and
Motivation. He has served as a consultant to a number of government agencies, as well as more
than 100 major corporations worldwide, including General Electric and American Express.
Vroom's Expectancy Theory addresses motivation and management. The theory suggests that
an individual's perceived view of an outcome will determine the level of motivation. It assumes
that the choices being made are to maximize pleasure and minimize pain, as also seen in the
Law of Effect, "one of the principles of reinforcement theory which states that people engage in
behaviours that have pleasant outcomes and avoid behaviours that have unpleasant outcomes"
(Thorndike, 1913). He suggests that prior belief of the relationship between people's work and
their goal as a simple correlation is incorrect. Individual factors including skills, knowledge,
experience, personality, and abilities can all have an impact on an employee's performance.
Vroom theorized that the source of motivation in Expectancy Theory is a "multiplicative
function of valence, instrumentality and expectancy." (Stecher & Rosse, 2007). He suggested
that "people consciously chose a particular course of action, based upon perceptions, attitudes,
and beliefs as a consequence of their desires to enhance pleasure and avoid pain" (Vroom,
1964).
Vroom's Expectancy Theory is based on these three components:
Expectancy: Expectancy can be described as the belief that higher or increased effort
will yield better performance. This can be explained by the thinking of "If I work
harder, I will make something better". Conditions that enhance expectancy include
having the correct resources available, having the required skill set for the job at hand,
and having the necessary support to get the job done correctly.
Instrumentality: Instrumentality can be described as the thought that if an individual

performs well, then a valued outcome will come to that individual. Some things that
help instrumentality are having a clear understanding of the relationship between
performance and the outcomes, having trust and respect for people who make the
decisions on who gets what reward, and seeing transparency in the process of who
gets what reward.
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Valence: Valence means "value" and refers to beliefs about outcome desirability
(Redmond, 2010). There are individual differences in the level of value associated
with any specific outcome. For instance, a bonus may not increase motivation
for an employee who is motivated by formal recognition or by increased status such
as promotion. Valence can be thought of as the pressure or importance that a person
puts on an expected outcome.
Vroom concludes that the force of motivation in an employee can be calculated using the
formula:
Motivation= Valence*Expectancy*Instrumentality
In the workplace, one could view the order in this way:
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LITERATURE REVIEW
"Since it is a popular motivational theory in I/O Psychology, many studies have been conducted
in the United States, as well as other countries" (Matsui & Terai, 1975), to test the efficacy of
the Expectancy Theory using between-subjects design and within-subjects design. In betweensubjects design studies, groups of people are asked questions about their expectancies,
instrumentalities, and valences with a motivational force score computed for each person. The
motivational force score is combined with performance ratings given by supervisors for a total
force score. "This type of study distinguishes between the most motivated, and the least
motivated employees" (Redmond, 2009).
Within-subjects design, by contrast, studies how one individual is motivated by different tasks.
In this study, a person is given different tasks and is provided a force score for each to
determine which task the person is more highly motivated in. Because Vroom developed the
Expectancy Theory to account for varying motivation across tasks, the within-subjects design
studies are considered better suited for testing the theory (Redmond, 2009). For each person, a
correlation is computed between predictions of effort made by the theory and actual amounts of
effort expended on tasks (Redmond, 2009).
From the research that has been conducted to test the theory, overall results suggest that the
theory can be useful as a predictor of the choices people will make when given different tasks,
and remains a popular theory in the workplace. The strongest support in favor of this research
was shown for valence, instrumentality, and expectancy as individual components, which
showed higher correlations and predictions resulting for within-subject design studies, rather
than the motivational force score or the total force score (Redmond, 2009).
Jay Caulfield, from Marquette University, used Expectancy Theory as a framework for his
research study. This study was to investigate the motivational factors that may contribute to
students providing anonymous feedback to teachers. Expectancy theory has been more
effective in predicting motivation when the subject being studied had more discretion in
performing a task (Caulfield, 2007). Since the evaluation process is completely anonymous, it
makes sense that Expectancy Theory is a good choice for predicting students motivation for
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filling out the evaluations in the first place. The purpose of using Vrooms Expectancy Theory
now, was to determine the outcome the students believed would be attained by providing these
evaluations (Caulfield, 2007). The results of the study indicated that students motivation was
dependent upon the importance to them of improving the value of the class and of future
classes, and the expectation that their formative feedback would lead to increased value for
them, their peers in the classroom and for students in future classes (Caulfield, 2007). The
findings conclude that it is important that the teachers stress that the evaluations are very
important tools for improving the learning and teaching experiences in the present, and the
future.
Another research example involves business students nearing their masters degree
certifications at Carnegie-Mellon University. The purpose of the study was to predict the
appeal of potential employers using a questionnaire to evaluate which goals people believed to
be most important. Goals included chance to benefit society, freedom from supervision, and
high salary. After establishing the rank of individual goal preferences, the individuals
evaluated three companies of interest to determine the degree to which each student believed
they would be able to satisfy his or her goals. After combining these two variables, an
instrumentality-goal index was calculated for each company and was given an attractiveness
rating. The results of the study noticeably indicate that companies seen as providing a means
towards attaining important goals were most attractive. This study showed that 76 percent of
students chose the company that had the highest instrumentality score. This study exemplifies
how Vrooms research results are consistent with his theory. Years later, after following the
actual employment, similar supporting evidence was also found (Miner, 2005).
Another research study in expectancy tested the hypothesis that the behaviour of some
individuals are determined by personal expectancies while the behaviour of other individuals
are determined by social norms. The researchers took two groups of people and gave one group
personal expectations about their behaviour. The other group was given information on what
the social norms were for the time being. The researchers found that strong expectancy
behaviour correspondence was given for those individuals who were aware of personal
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expectancies but who were not knowledgeable about social norms. For those individuals who
were attuned to social norms, their behaviour corresponded with such (Miller & Grush, 1988).
METHODOLOGY
The following information is concerned with exploring the components of Expectancy Theory,
analyzing the research dedicated to the theory, identifying strengths and weaknesses, and
discussing the factors that explain motivational behaviour in the workplace. It will be examined
to demonstrate the application of Expectancy Theory in practical terms. Each of these elements
will be instrumental in better understanding one of the more popular theories for explaining and
influencing motivational behaviour, particularly in the workplace. The locus of control is
different for incentives and motivation. Motivation is intrinsic control where incentives are
extrinsically controlled by people in the organization (Mathibe, 2011).
There are few issues emerged in employees of small scale industries which are as follows:
EXPECTANCY:
a). The nature of the task/work assigned is reasonable, attainable, interesting or challenging.
b). The employees are able to do the task or they need more training/education.
c). The employees possess the self confidence required to do the task or they need a
supervision to boost their morale.
d). What factors constitutes the acceptable performance of employees?
e). The task provides the employees feeling of usefulness, competence and involvement.
INSTRUMENTALITY:
a). The trust of employees towards the supervision/management.
b). The excuses and lies of employees towards not doing their work.
c).The performance of employees are predictable or fair.
d). The outcomes perceived are equitable or not.
VALENCE:
a). The goals of employees are congruent with those of organizational goals.
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b). The result of the task will worth the expenditure of time and effort made by the
employees.
c). The rewards offered to the employees really values.
d). What else informal rewards can be offered to employees other than sanctioned ones?
e). How will those rewards be perceived by the employees?
CONCLUSION
After analyzing the above issues that emerged during the study the conclusions drawn are as
follows:
Firstly, it has been observed that there was an increase in level of performance of employees
when the more motivational environment has been established.
Secondly, there was also seen an increase in the self confidence of employees when the
supervision was directed.
Thirdly, it has been noticed that small scale industries use to implement the pull strategy
rather than the push strategy. Because they had a opinion that pushing forcefully for the task
will act as an negative discipline which will increase the labour turnover.
Fourthly, there are many facilities provided by the government like regarding the education,
training, welfare, wages, bonus etc. which by the time increases the morale of employees and
due to which they merge their personal goals with the organizational goals.
Fifthly, the small scale industries are observed as totally task oriented, where in the
accomplishment of the work has been numbered as the first duty of an employee. In short the
expectancy level in SSI is high.
Sixthly, there are less excuses made by the employees to avoid the task. Reason being that
they are illiterate and unable to defend themselves. This is the reason why employees need a
leader as a representative.
Seventhly, the reward provided to the employees on completion of task are less admirable.
On asking, the answer we got was because the government provides many facilities and
assistances both monetary and non-monetary the reward offer are more than enough.
So, on aspect of three element i.e Expectancy, Instrumentality and Valence we came to the
result that:
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Expectancy = High in SSI

X
Instrumentality = High in SSI
X
Valence = Medium in SSI
Than the level of Motivation seems to be Medium in SSIs.
REFERENCES
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Behavior and Human Performance, 4, 142-175.
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Management Review, 14, 20-39.
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review. Academy of Management Review, 6,75-88.
Culp, III., K. (1997). Motivating and retaining adult volunteer 4-H leaders.
Journal of Agricultural Education, 38(2), 1-7.
Deci, E. L. (1975). Intrinsic motivation. New York: Plenum Press.
Greenberg, J. (2011). Behavior in organizations (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice
Hall.
Hellriegel, D., & Slocum, J. W. (2011). Organizational behavior (13th ed.). Mason, OH:
South-Western Cengage Learning.
Herzberg, F. (1968). One more time: How do you motivate employees? Harvard Business
Review, 46, 53-62.
Markham, S. E., Dow, S. K., & McKee, G. H. (2002). Recognizing good attendance: A
longitudinal, quasi-experimental field study. Personnel Psychology, 55, 639-660.
Maslow, A. H. (1970). Motivation and personality (2nd ed.). Reading, MA: AddisonWesley.
Mayo, E. (1933). The human problems of an industrial civilization. New York, NY:
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McClelland, D. C. (1976). The achieving society. New York, NY: Irvington Publishers.
McShane, S. L., & Von Glinow, M. A. (2011). Organizational behavior (5th ed.). New York,
NY; McGraw-Hill.
Mercer, M. K., Carpenter, G., & Wyman, O. (2010). Pay for results: Aligning executive
compensation with business performance. New York, NY: Wiley.
Nadler, D. A., & Lawler, E. E. (1983). Motivation: A diagnostic approach. In J. R. Hackman
& E. E. Lawler (Eds.), Perspectives on organizational behavior (pp. 67-78). New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill.
Pinder, C. C. (1987). Valence-instrumentality-expectancy theory. In R. M. Steers & L. W.
Porter (Eds.), Motivation and work behavior (4th ed.) (pp. 69-89). New York, NY: McGrawHill.
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Websites:
http://www.uri.edu/research/lrc/scholl/webnotes/Motivation_Expectancy.htm
http://faculty.css.edu/dswenson/web/OB/VIEtheory.htm
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/expectancy-theory-of-motivation.html
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International Journal of Research & Development in

Technology and Management Science Kailash

Paper Id: IJRDTM 05273

A STUDY OVER EXPECTANCY THEORY OF MOTIVATION IN

expectancy, and reward valences. The study also describes the

KEYWORDS: Small Scale Industries, Motivation, Business, Instruments

International Journal of Research & Development in

Paper Id: IJRDTM 05273

Instrumentality: Instrumentality can be described as the thought that if an individual

International Journal of Research & Development in

Paper Id: IJRDTM 05273

In the workplace, one could view the order in this way:

International Journal of Research & Development in

Paper Id: IJRDTM 05273

International Journal of Research & Development in

Paper Id: IJRDTM 05273

International Journal of Research & Development in

Paper Id: IJRDTM 05273

International Journal of Research & Development in

Paper Id: IJRDTM 05273

International Journal of Research & Development in

Paper Id: IJRDTM 05273

Expectancy = High in SSI

International Journal of Research & Development in

Paper Id: IJRDTM 05273

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