1) Answer the questions below dealing with Management/Business A) Describe the m
ID: 452463 • Letter: 1
Question
1) Answer the questions below dealing with Management/Business
A) Describe the motivation process according to expectancy theory. Be sure to identify and describe the three core constructs and how they relate. Feel free also to draw a diagram if that would help in your explanations. Next, after explaining the theory in general, explain how incentive pay as a compensation strategy can act as a motivator within the framework of expectancy theory. Finally, explain how a manager’s decision to award incentive pay based on an individual team member’s performance versus overall team performance could influence an individual’s motivation through the framework of expectancy theory.
B) According to job characteristic theory (Hackman & Oldham, 1974; 1980), there are five characteristics of jobs that ultimately promote “satisfaction with the work itself.” Identify and define/describe these five characteristics. Then, describe “growth need strength” and explain how this construct may influence the relationship between the five characteristics and employees’ satisfaction with the work itself.
Explanation / Answer
Answer A:
The Expectancy Theory of Motivation explains the behavioral process of why individuals choose one behavioral option over another. The theory explains that individuals can be motivated towards goals if they believe that: there is a positive correlation between efforts and performance, the outcome of a favorable performance will result in a desirable reward, a reward from a performance will satisfy an important need, and/or the outcome satisfies their need enough to make the effort worthwhile. Vroom introduces three variables within the expectancy theory which are valence (V), expectancy (E) and instrumentality (I). The three elements are important behind choosing one element over another because they are clearly defined: effort-performance expectancy (E>P expectancy), performance-outcome expectancy (P>O expectancy).[5]
Three components of Expectancy theory: Expectancy, Instrumentality, and Valence
1. Expectancy: Effort Performance (EP)
2. Instrumentality: Performance Outcome (PO)
3. Valence: V(R) Outcome Reward
Expectancy: Effort Performance (EP)[edit]
Expectancy is the belief that one's effort (E) will result in attainment of desired performance (P) goals.
1. Self efficacy- the person’s belief about their ability to successfully perform a particular behavior. The individual will assess whether they have the required skills or knowledge desired to achieve their goals.
2. Goal difficulty- when goals are set too high or performance expectations that are made too difficult. This will most likely lead to low expectancy. This occurs when the individual believes that their desired results are unattainable.
3. Perceived control - Individuals must believe that they have some degree of control over the expected outcome. When individuals perceive that the outcome is beyond their ability to influence, expectancy, and thus motivation, is low.
Instrumentality: Performance Outcome (PO)[edit]
Instrumentality is the belief that a person will receive a reward if the performance expectation is met. This reward may present itself in the form of a pay increase, promotion, recognition or sense of accomplishment. Instrumentality is low when the reward is the same for all performances given.
Another way that instrumental outcomes work is commissions. With commissions performance is directly correlated with outcome (how much money is made). If performance is high and many goods are sold the more money the person will make.
Factors associated with the individual's instrumentality for outcomes are trust, control and policies: •Trusting the people who will decide who gets what outcome, based on the performance, •Control of how the decision is made, of who gets what outcome, •Policies understanding of the correlation between performance and outcomes.
Valence V(R)[edit]
Valence:[6] the value an individual places on the rewards of an outcome, which is based on their needs, goals, values and Sources of Motivation. Influential factors include one's values, needs, goals, preferences and sources that strengthen their motivation for a particular outcome.
Valence is characterized by the extent to which a person values a given outcome or reward. This is not an actual level of satisfaction rather the expected satisfaction of a particular outcome.[7]
The valence refers to the value the individual personally places on the rewards. -1 0 +1
-1= avoiding the outcome 0 = indifferent to the outcome +1 = welcomes the outcome
In order for the valence to be positive, the person must prefer attaining the outcome to not attaining it.
Answer B:
Hackman and Oldham first outlined this view in 1975; their model has inspired thousands of research papers and its key concepts still provide the foundations of much job satisfaction and job characteristics research. The job characteristics model proposes that three psychological states of a job holder result in improved
work performance, internal motivation, and lower absenteeism and turnover. The motivated, satisfied, and productive employee is one who
(1) experiences meaningfulness of work performed.
(2) experiences responsibility for work outcomes, and
(3) has knowledge of the results of the work performed.
Achieving these three psychological states serves as reinforcement to the employee and as a
source of internal motivation to continue doing the job well. According to Hackman and Oldham five core dimensions of job characteristics are as follows:
1) Skill Variety: The degree to which a job entails a variety of
different activities, which demand the use of number of different
skills and talents by the jobholder.
2) Task Identity: The degree of which the job requires completion of a
whole and identifiable piece of work that is doing a job from
beginning to end with a visible outcome.
3) Task Significance: The degree to which the job has a substantial
impact on the lives or work of other people, whether in the
immediate organization or in the external environment.
4) Autonomy: The degree to which the job provides substantial
freedom, independence, and discretion to the individual in
scheduling the work and in determining the procedures to be used in
carrying it out. Autonomy deals with the amount of freedom that
employees can exercise in their job.
5) Task Feedback: The degree to which carrying out the work
activities required by the job results in the individual being given
direct and clear information about the effectiveness of his or her
performance. It is important to realize that each of five job
characteristics affects employee performance differently. Therefore
employees will experience the greatest motivation when all five
characteristics are present, since the job characteristics combine to
produce the three psychological states.
Further, when these critical psychological states are experienced, work
motivation and job satisfaction will be high. Furthermore, behavioral outcomes,
such as the quality of work and attendance, may also be improved.
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