What is expectancy theory in business? What are expectancy theory and why is it important for business? What are expectations, and how can they be measured? What are management's responsibilities to employees under the law of reasonable expectations? These are just a few questions that need to be answered by persons who are interested in learning about these concepts.
One aspect of the theory of expectancy is the concept of the motivational effect. The theory states that a person expects to receive a reward if he performs the action or behavior that has been rewarded previously. For example, if a man earns $ 500 for each week that he works on the project that his boss instructs him to complete, he (the man) expectations of being paid will be very high. However, what if the man is informed only of the pay once he has actually accomplished the required tasks? Under the theory of expectancy, his motivation to perform would be very low.
Another aspect of expectancy theory in business is the perceived likelihood of an outcome. In business, people often have the attitude that they have a chance of getting something or not losing it. This perceived likelihood of an outcome can be extremely powerful. If someone in a supervisory position receives the same pay and accolades as his co-worker who is doing the same task but doing it much better, he (the perceived probability favorite) may not be motivated to do a great job because of the disparity in pay. This can lead to poor performance and poor supervision of the subordinate.
Another aspect of Expectancy theory in business is the use of an expectancy management tool. An expectancy management tool is a tool or technique that increases the perceived likelihood of an outcome through a series of feedback processes. This tool can be in the form of a reward schedule with monetary payments for each correct performance, a chart of the employee's progress with respect to the desired outcome, or a chart of the employee's expected end result. Each of these tools provides the employee with incremental increases in his or her expectation of a desirable outcome. This allows the employee to take his or her relationship with the company more seriously and also gives the employee a reason to stay with the organization if they are truly committed to reaching their goals.
One other important aspect of expectancy theory in business is the belief in the necessity and importance of effort. The theory maintains that motivation is a psychological process and that changing the way one perceives and responds to a certain situation alters the way one will act. For instance, a parent sees his or her child messing up a house and assumes that this behavior is universal. In the presence of the parent, the child will act consistently and appropriately and this increases the parent's motivation. In the absence of the parent, the child will engage in inconsistent and worthless behavior and the parent's motivation may be lower.
These three components of expectancy theory are closely related and play an important role in creating motivation. They also have varying consequences depending upon the type of management approach used. Management based approaches that rely on organizational culture, leadership beliefs, and traditional disciplinary methods have been found to foster more consistent and reliable levels of motivation. On the other hand, management-based approaches that rely solely on financial incentives that do not require a high level of emotional involvement or trustworthiness from employees foster less consistent and reliable levels of motivation. By using expectancy theory in business one can understand why consistency and reliability are important elements for reaching the desired outcomes of the organization.For more info on this topic, see this alternative post: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expectancy_theory.
