VROOM’S EXPECTANCY THEORY
Use this to understand why people react to certain work-based requests or promises as they do.
Victor Vroom suggested that an individual will behave in a certain way based upon the belief (expectation) that a specific act will be followed by a desired reward (valence) once the act has been completed (instrumentality).
He expressed his expectancy theory of motivation in terms of a mathematical formula:
Motivation = Valence × Expectancy × Instrumentality.
If any one of the three factors is nil, the overall score will be zero, and there will be nil motivation.
The model assumes that it is possible for the manager to score these three factors when in reality they are subjective and incredibly difficult to assess in ourselves let alone in another person.
HOW TO USE IT
- Don’t dismiss Vroom’s theory just because people don’t consciously allocate scores to concepts like valence, expectancy and instrumentality, and if they did how on earth could you as a manager guess what they were? People may not use the jargon or consciously identify and weigh up the factors in the terms that Vroom describes, but they do think in terms of: What do I want? How likely is it that I can get it? Will the organisation deliver on its promises?
- So forget about the scores. Instead, find out what your employees want from their job and provide work that is economically beneficial and/or intrinsically motivating for them. This will have the effect of creating rewards that they really want (see Theory 26).
- If expectancy is all about effort and results, make sure that you create an environment where effort is both encouraged and rewarded and employees have access to the resources, equipment and materials they need to get results.
- Strengthen the instrumentality link in the chain by keeping your promises and distancing yourself from those that don’t.
- It’s no good delivering on two out of the three factors because, as shown by Vroom, failure to deliver on any one results in nil motivation.
QUESTIONS TO ASK
- Which factor (if any) would I and my staff give a score of zero to – valence, expectancy or instrumentality?
- Even if there are no zero scores what can I do to show staff that good work is recognised and rewarded?