Chapter 11: Motivation 1. How could you use expectancy theory to increase your o

Question

Chapter 11: Motivation

1. How could you use expectancy theory to increase your own motivational level?

2. What similarities do you see between motivating professional athletes and workers in business?

Chapter 12 - Communication

3. What kind of facial expression do you think might make a person appear intelligent?

4. For what reasons do executives spend an average of about 30 hours per week in meetings?

Chapter 13 - Teams, groups and Team work

5. In what way is being a member of a virtual team much like being a telecommuter?

6. In what way does the position of a project manager resemble that of a general manager, including a CEO?

Explanation / Answer

1

increase your own motivational level

1) evaluate how much you want the outcome,
(2) examine how likely you are to get the outcome if you take action, and
(3) determine whether you can perform the action(s) that may lead to the outcome.

Each of these factors combine into your overall self motivation. Each has equal weight, so in deciding what actions to take your motivation will be highest for the action that has the the highest level of the combined factors. Vroom named these factors Valence, Instrumentality, and Expectancy.

Valence

Valence basically refers to how much you value the ultimate outcome that may result from your action. For example, if you highly value money, then the more you get paid for taking a certain action, the higher your motivation. But if money isn't as important to you, then the amount you get paid will have little impact on your motivation.

Your level of motivation will be directly influenced by how much you want the outcome. The more you value the outcome, the more motivation you have to make the effort and take the action to achieve the outcome.

Instrumentality

The next factor in Vroom's theory of motivation is instrumentality. This refers to your level of certainty that performing an action will lead to the desired outcome. For example, you may feel fairly certain that showing up for work and doing your job will mean you get paid, but you may not be as certain that putting in extra effort and time will result in a big raise.

The more certain you are that your efforts will lead to your desired results, the more motivation you will have to put forward the effort.

Expectancy

The last factor is expectancy. This refers to the belief that you have the ability, resources, knowledge, etc. to actually perform the action and achieve the expected outcome. An example of this would be the belief that by working harder or more efficiently, that you would end up producing more. It is the belief that your attempts to take action will be successful.

2  motivating professional athletes and workers in business

The right attitude makes all the difference. Managers should encourage employees to set their own goals and share those goals with the office, which establishes immediate accountability. The same applies for an Olympic athlete: coaches inspire individual athletes to set personal training goals, which makes them accountable, since their individual performance ultimately affects the team

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