Victor Vroom’s Expectancy Theory

Victor Vroom’s Expectancy Theory


Victor Vroom's expectation theory is among the most commonly acknowledged theories of motivation (ANSARI, 2019) Another well-known scientist with a PhD from the University of Michigan was Victor Vroom (ANSARI, 2019) His most significant contributions include studies on job motivation, which is illustrative (ANSARI, 2019) By his valuable research on leadership and decision-making, as well as by his expectancy theory, a cognitive model that focuses on motivation to work (Expectancy theory, 2008) (ANSARI, 2019) which he attempts to justify why people adopt specific organizational courses of action (ANSARI, 2019) According to Robbins (2003), "the intensity of a tendency to act in a certain way depends on the degree of an anticipation that the act would be followed by a given outcome and on the attractiveness of that outcome to the individual" (2003, emphasis added) (ANSARI, 2019)

The theory, also known as expectancy theory, states that an employee's behavior is determined by the expected outcome of the act (Varma, 2017)

The main component of the expectancy model is role clarity, which influences how well employees understand their job, objectives, and their supervisor's expectations (Schwind et al 2005) (Mansaray, 2019)

Factors Focused to Stimulate an Individual to More Effort

The theory explains how a person perceives or comprehends the relationship between effort, performance, and rewards (Nsofor, 2009) Vroom focused on the factors that stimulate or prompt an individual to exert more effort in something, as this was the foundation for motivation (Nsofor, 2009) He identified three factors, each of which was based on the individual's perception of the situation (Nsofor, 2009)

They Are

  1)      Expectancy: -             This refers to the degree to which the person thinks a specific activity will result in a specific outcome.

 2)   Instrumentality: -      This relates to the degree to which the person thinks that effective performance will result in the desired outcomes.   

 3)        Valence: -                   This relates to how strongly one believes that those alluring rewards are in fact available.


Diagram of Expectancy theory (Source: Datuk Dr. Mahamad Zubir bin Seeht Saad 2018)

The above three main factors in this theory are expectancy, instrumentality, and valence. In the workplace, the authority can put this theory into action by rewarding employees for good performance (Jain, et al., 2019)

According to Vroom, these three factors combine to form a "force" that stimulates or motivates an individual to exert effort in order to achieve a level of performance and then obtain end rewards (Nsofor, 2009)

He proposed that "force" or "effort" was a result of the formula's multiple of "expectancy" and "valence" (which included instrumentality) (Nsofor, 2009)

 

Force = Expectancy x Valence

i.e. F = f (E x V)

 

 

References

ANSARI, S., 2019. HIMALAYAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY. AN EVALUATION OF THE EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION BASED ON TWO FACTORS THEORY, 8(10), pp. 1-48.

Jain, D. . A., Gupta, D. B. & Bindal, D. M., 2019. International Journal of Engineering and Management Research. A Study of Employee Motivation in Organization, 9(6), pp. 65-68.

Mansaray, H. E., 2019. Budapest International Research and Critics Institute (BIRCI-Journal) Humanities and Social Sciences. The Role of Human Resource Management in Employee Motivation and Performance-An Overview, 2(3)(2019), pp. 183-194.

Nsofor, A. A., 2009. SSRN Electronic Journal. Influence of Expectancy Theory on Employees' Performance in Lagos State, 10(2009), pp. 1-67.

Varma, C., 2017. International Journal of Social Science & Interdisciplinary Research. IMPORTANCE OF EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION & JOB SATISFACTION FOR ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE, 6(2)(2017), pp. 10-20.

 

 


Comments

  1. Good article Farhan and adding furthermore to your content, One of the most widely accepted explanations of motivation is Victor Vroom’s expectancy theory. Victor Vroom was another well-known scientist, PhD from University of Michigan. His major contributions include work on motivation in the workplace, illustrated by his expectancy model which is a cognitive model that focuses upon motivation to work (“Expectancy theory”, 2008), and his precious research into leadership styles and decision-making. In which he tries to explain why individuals choose to follow certain courses of action in organizations. Robbins (2003) defines Expectancy Theory as “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” (2003, p.173).

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    1. Agreed with you Malshani & adding more according to the expectancy theory, employees' behavior is determined by the outcome of the action. It implies that when employees want a raise in their salary increment, they begin working longer hours (Jain, et al., 2019) The expectancy, instrumentality, and valence are the three main factors in this theory (Jain, et al., 2019) In the workplace, the authority can put this theory into action by rewarding employees for good performance. (Jain, et al., 2019)

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