Vroom's theory of expectations makes a great contribution to the world of work and organizations in that it includes the importance of considering the needs and expectations of workers when structuring and organizing the activity labor.
In the following Psychology-Online article we will explain what the Vroom's expectation theory, their contributions in the field of human resources and we will put some examples on the application of this theory in the field of organizations.
The Victor Vroom's expectation theory Explains how people act motivated by expectations we have from the results that we are going to obtain when performing a certain action Human beings, as thinking beings and with continuous growth needs (personal / family, labor and social), we act motivated by certain goals that we establish for the achievement of our projects of lifetime. For this reason, the actions we take will come conditioned by the anticipated perception (or expectation) of the result that will derive from certain conduct.
In this way, the behaviors that will encourage us the most will be those that allow us to achieve our personal goals. On the contrary, those that do not contribute anything to our personal development will be quickly discarded or, in case of being forced to do them, we Over time they will cause a strong internal discomfort by investing our energy in actions that do not involve any type of food or internal nutrition.
The contributions of Vroom's theory of expectations have been mainly in the area of Social and Organizational Psychology, specifically in the area of Human Resources.
This approach has served as the basis for the planning and structuring of work providing as a novelty the consideration of how the behavior of workers is motivated by the perception and expectation they have about the result they are going to obtain from their labor action. Thus, for favor certain behaviors (performance, efficiency, etc.) or delete others (absenteeism, non-compliance with rules, late entry, etc.) the organization must have take into account the aspects that will favor the motivation or dis-motivation of the worker to perform them, considering personal preferences and interests from each of them.
According to this theory, to ensure good work performance, it is necessary take care of three types of relationships that occur in every work process. Since the breach of any of them will lose the motivating force towards the worker, thus negatively impacting his performance and efficiency. These three aspects are:
- Effort-performance ratio: the effort of the worker must be directly related to the performance that he obtains from his behavior. In the opposite case (no matter how hard he tries, he cannot obtain the expected results), the worker will not feel motivated to carry out said action.
- Yield-boost ratio: in this case, it is about reinforcing the best returns more, that is, the higher the performance, the greater the reward (greater in quantity or quality, especially greater in relation to the value that workers give it).
- Reinforcement-value ratio: this type of relationship refers to the importance that the reward given to the worker has to have a positive value for him to thereby motivate his behavior.
Víctor Vroom establishes a formula to determine the degree of motivation of workers towards a certain action:
Motivation = Expectation * Instrumentality * Valencia
These three factors are the key elements that will condition the motivation towards the task of the workforce, being:
- Expectation: perception that the worker has about the result that he is going to obtain from his behavior. It has a value between 0 and 1.
- Instrumentality: the worker's perception that his particular action (as a constitutive element of the company) will be decisive in achieving the expected result. This value also ranges from 0 to 1.
- Valencia: the value that the worker gives to the result obtained by the task performed. This aspect presents values between -1 and 1.
Based on the formula established by Vroom to determine the degree of motivation of workers towards the tasks and based on the values of the different elements involved, we are going to comment Some application examples of this theory in the workplace:
To encourage and motivate certain behaviors
- Find out the needs and interests of workers to establish, based on them, the rewards of the different results. The expectation of these results will motivate the action of the workers. In this way, rewards They can range from: a salary increase or some additional economic benefit for those most economically needy or for those who value money positively; individual or public recognition; job promotion or improvement; particular job advantages; etc.
- Specify the effects that each labor action has on the final result trying that all the workers are important elements in the achievement of the final result. The worker's perception of the importance of your individual contribution will greatly condition your motivation to carry it out
- Set rewards that, as we have just commented, be important for the workers.
When the organization takes these parameters into account, the motivating force will be high since the values of the three elements will be positive. For example: Motivation (0.72) = expectation (0.9) * instrumentality (0.8) * valence (1).
To discourage and eliminate certain behaviors
This usually occurs in cases where workers engage in inappropriate or disruptive behaviors. In these cases, the interesting thing is that both the expectations of the workers, the instrumentalization and the valence present low or negative so that the motivating force of the combination of these elements supposes a very low value that discourages the performance of the behavior in question.
For example, in the case in which a worker is late for work, sanctions can be established (financial, calls for attention, loss of job and / or salary temporal, etc.) the perception of which, together with the awareness that this result depends on their concrete action, together with the negative that said Outcome, will demotivate the worker to carry out such conduct.
With regard to performance, if low returns are penalized or not rewarded additionally, the expectations of the results, awareness of the consequences of their concrete action and the negative of the result will demotivate the workforce towards the decline productivity.
It should be noted that this theory, like all those aimed at managing the human resources of organizations work, must be used responsibly and with an attitude of general improvement of each and every one of the involved. Otherwise, in the wrong hands, great abuse and labor negligence can be committed. It is therefore about encouraging individual conscience so that the benefit that these theories can bring us is for the benefit of the achievement of global social improvements.
Another theory to consider in the field of human resources is Herzberg's two-factor theory of work motivation. On the other hand, here you will find different personal motivation techniques at work.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
