Vroom’s Expectancy Theory
Krystal
BUS 375
March 2015
Vroom’s Expectancy Theory
Victor Vroom’s Expectancy Theory implicates motivation and management. He examines the reason people choose to follow a particular course of action. Motivation speaks of the initiation, direction, intensity and persistence of behavior. “Motivation is that which cause arousal, direction and persistence of voluntary actions that are goal oriented; in sum, an employee’s willingness to do their job” (Kopp, D. 2014). This encouragements comes from the fight between an individuals existing and desired state. Vroom’s theory assumes that behavior results from conscious choices among options whose purpose it is to capitalize on pleasure and limit pain.
The theory focuses on personal perceptions. According to Vroom, “a person’s motivation towards an action at any time would be determined by an individual’s perception that a certain type of action would lead to a specific outcome and his personal preference for the outcome” (Francis, A. 2010). It is a process theory of motivation that suggests that motivation depends on individuals’ expectation about their ability to perform tasks and receive rewards. The theory is not concerned with identifying needs but the thinking process that is used to achieve rewards.
In the expectancy theory, because the mode it multiplicative, there are three variables which have to be high in value to be able to indicate motivated performance choices. Motivation = Valence*Expectancy*Instrumentality. These three elements are the key concepts behind the theory.
Valence: refers to the strength of an individual’s preference for receiving a reward. Depending on the outcome, people tend to have different valences. The relative valence they attach to various outcomes is influenced by conditions such as age, education and type of work. The valence of a person for a goal may be positive or negative depending upon his positive or...