Vroom's Model of Expectancy Theory
Vroom developed the Vroom's Model of Expectancy Theory in 1964. According to Vroom's hypothesis, motivation, as well as outcome and performance, all influence effort. According to the hypothesis, an employee's conduct results from the deliberate decisions they make from the range of available options (Hsu, Shinnar, & Powell, 2014). As a result, he contends that decisions are driven by both maximal pleasure and little to no pain. Either way, Vroom recognizes that the performance of employees is based on their skills, as well as knowledge, experience, abilities, and personalities. He, however, goes further to say, that the performance, the motivation, and the motivation, all depend on the motivation of level of the person (Boone & Kurtz, 2009). He thus utilizes three variables to explain the phenomenon. They include; expectancy, instrumentality as well as valence.
Expectancy
Expectancy, in this case, spells that effort is directly proportional to performance. It translates that if more effort is put into work, then a higher performance will be achieved. The expectancy variable thus focuses on increasing the efforts in some areas to ensure an increase in the performance as well. In this case, increasing the effort in prospective areas would include providing the relevant raw materials, having the appropriate skills for a task as well as having a reliable support system such as proper supervision.
Instrumentality
The Instrumentality variable, on the other hand, translates to the idea that better performance assures a better outcome. It thus shows the correlation between performance and outcome. The main point, in this case, is that the company needs to invest their trust in individuals who base their decisions in the outcome and be transparent about the recipient of the outcome.
Valence
The third variable is valence. Valence, in this case, constitutes the value that a person attaches to the outcome that is expected (John R. Schermerhorn, Osborn, Uhl-Bien, & Hunt, 2011). As such, valence has two sides; it can be negative, or positive. If the valence of a person is positive, it means the individual is geared towards attaining the outcome, and the opposite is true for negative valence.
How the model measures motivation
Vroom's model measures the force of motivation of the prospective employees because motivation is the basic determinant for the kind of tasks to choose from the various alternatives. it this comes down to the equation; Motivation force = expectancy * instrumentality * valance.
Various factors such as self- efficacy as well as goal difficulty and control, affect the expectancy of an employee. Self-efficacy, in this case, is the confidence of an individual that he can complete given tasks. Goal difficulty constitutes employees having a low expectancy when it comes to attaining the organization's goal because the goals seem to be either too high and hence unattainable. Control, on the other hand, is the extent to which the employee can affect the outcome that is expected. As such, a higher control level dictates a high level of motivation.
Factors that impact on the outcome instrumentality also affect motivation. For instance, the level of trust between the employees and their leaders. If the subordinates trust the leaders, then it is most likely that they would work hard, with a hope of gaining a reward at the end.
Moreover, the control level of a person also impacts on their instrumentality and their motivation at large. If some personnel have a good control level, the same translates to their instrumentality and motivation. Subsequently, the expected outcome also impacts on the outcome. Such relies on the needs, the goals as well as the values of a person.in a case, where the employees' goals and needs are high, then they will also have high levels of motivation.
In a case, where the product of an individual's instrumentality, their valence, and their expectancy is zero, it means that the individual has zero motivation. As such, a high motivation force value shows that a person has a high level of motivation, and the opposite is also true.
How Valence can aid in staffing issues
Valence is critical to solving staffing issues in an organization. For one, an organization needs to invest much in determining the value that their personnel place on the reward. Moreover, they could also take time to evaluate the needs as well as the goals of the individual, together with their specific motivation sources. They should by that establish which employees have positive valence. Based on Vroom's theory, the people with a positive valence are the best choice for employees in any organization, as compared to those with negative valence. As such, the people with positive valence always work towards getting rewards, and would thus be zealous about attaining the goals of the organization. Evidently, valence is imperative to ensuring that the organization only employs the individuals who would be motivated towards attaining the goals of the organization.
References
Boone, L. E., & Kurtz, D. L. (2009). Contemporary Business 2010 Update. John Wiley & Sons.
Hsu, D. K., Shinnar, R. S., & Powell, B. C. (2014). EXPECTANCY THEORY AND ENTREPRENEURIAL MOTIVATION: A LONGITUDINAL EXAMINATION OF THE ROLE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION. Journal of Business and Entrepreneurship, suppl. Special Issue: Entrepreneurial Education; Durant, 26(1):121-140.
John R. Schermerhorn, J., Osborn, R. N., Uhl-Bien, M., & Hunt, J. G. (2011). Organizational Behavior. John Wiley & Sons.
