Victor Vroom is a business school professor at the Yale School of Management, who was born on 9 August

1932 in Montreal, Canada. He holds a PhD from University of Michigan.

Vroom's TESTING primary research was on the expectancy theory of motivation, which attempts to explain why

individuals choose to follow certain courses of action in organizations, particularly in decision-making and

leadership. His most well-known books are Work and Motivation,Leadership and Decision Making and The

New Leadership. Vroom has also been a consultant to a number of corporations such as GE andAmerican

Express.

Expectancy Theory

Vroom's theory assumes that behavior results from conscious choices among alternatives whose purpose it is to

maximize pleasure and minimize pain. The key elements to this theory are referred to as Expectancy (E),

Instrumentality (I), and Valence (V). Critical to the understanding of the theory is the understanding that each of

these factors represents a belief.

The Expectancy Theory of Victor Vroom deals with motivation and management. Together with Edward Lawler

and Lyman Porter, Vroom suggested that the relationship between people's behavior at work and their goals was

not as simple as was first imagined by other scientists. Vroom realized that an employee's performance is based

on individuals factors such as personality, skills, knowledge, experience and abilities.

The expectancy theory says that individuals have different sets of goals and can be motivated if they believe that:

There is a positive correlation between efforts and performance, Favorable performance will result in a desirable reward, The reward will satisfy an important need, The desire to satisfy the need is strong enough to make the effort worthwhile.

Vroom's Expectancy Theory is based upon the following three beliefs:

1. Valence (Valence refers to the emotional orientations people hold with respect to outcomes [rewards].

The depth of the want of an employee for extrinsic [money, promotion, time-off, benefits] or intrinsic

[satisfaction] rewards). Management must discover what employees value.

2. Expectancy (Employees have different expectations and levels of confidence about what they are capable

of doing). Management must discover what resources, training, or supervision employees need.

3. Instrumentality (The perception of employees whether they will actually get what they desire even if it

has been promised by a manager). Management must ensure that promises of rewards are fulfilled and

that employees are aware of that.

Vroom suggests that an employee's beliefs about Expectancy, Instrumentality, and Valence interact

psychologically to create a motivational force such that the employee acts in ways that bring pleasure and avoid

pain. This force can be 'calculated' via the following formula: Motivation = Valance ×

Expectancy(Instrumentality). This formula can be used to indicate and predict such things as job satisfaction,

one's occupational choice, the likelihood of staying in a job, and the effort one might expend at work.

Vroom's theory suggests that the individual will consider the outcomes associated with various levels of

performance (from an entire spectrum of performance possibilities), and elect to pursue the level that generates

the greatest reward for him or her.

Expectancy refers to the strength of a person's belief about whether or not a particular job performance is

attainable. Assuming all other things are equal, an employee will be motivated to try a task, if he or she believes

that it can be done. This expectancy of performance may be thought of in terms of probabilities ranging from zero

(a case of "I can't do it!") to 1.0 ("I have no doubt whatsoever that I can do this job!")

A number of factors can contribute to an employee's expectancy perceptions:

the level of confidence in the skills required for the task

the amount of support that may be expected from superiors and subordinates

the quality of the materials and equipment

the availability of pertinent information

Previous success at the task has also been shown to strengthen expectancy beliefs.

[edit]Instrumentality

e.g. "What's the probability that, if I do a good job, that there will be some kind of outcome in it for me?"

If an employee believes that a high level of performance will be instrumental for the acquisition of outcomes

which may be gratifying, then the employee will place a high value on performing well. Vroom defines

Instrumentality as a probability belief linking one outcome (a high level of performance, for example) to another

outcome (a reward).

Instrumentality may range from a probability of 1.0 (meaning that the attainment of the second outcome — the

reward — is certain if the first outcome — excellent job performance — is attained) through zero (meaning there

is no likely relationship between the first outcome and the second). An example of zero instrumentality would be

exam grades that were distributed randomly (as opposed to be awarded on the basis of excellent exam

performance). Commission pay schemes are designed to make employees perceive that performance is positively

instrumental for the acquisition of money.

For management to ensure high levels of performance, it must tie desired outcomes (positive valence) to high

performance, and ensure that the connection is communicated to employees. The VIE theory holds that people

have preferences among various outcomes. These preferences tend to reflect a person's underlying need state.

[edit]Valence

The term Valence refers to the emotional orientations people hold with respect to outcomes (rewards). An

outcome is positively valent if an employee would prefer having it to not having it. An outcome that the

employee would rather avoid ( fatigue, stress, noise, layoffs) is negatively valent. Outcomes towards which the

employee appears indifferent are said to have zero valence. Valences refer to the level of satisfaction people

expect to get from the outcome (as opposed to the actual satisfaction they get once they have attained the reward).

Vroom suggests that an employee's beliefs about Expectancy, Instrumentality, and Valence interact

psychologically to create a motivational force such that the employee acts in ways that bring pleasure and avoid

pain.

People elect to pursue levels of job performance that they believe will maximize their overall best interests (their

subjective expected utility).

There will be no motivational forces acting on an employee if any of these three conditions hold:

the person does not believe that he/she can successfully perform the required task

the person believes that successful task performance will not be associated with positively valent outcomes

the person believes that outcomes associated with successful task completion will be negatively valent (have no

value for that person)

(Source: WILF H. RATZBURG British Columbia Institute of Technology)

WHAT IS EXPECTANCY THEORY? DESCRIPTIONThe Expectancy Theory of Victor Vroom deals with motivation and management. Vroom's theory assumes that behavior is a result from conscious choices among alternatives. The purpose of the choices is to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. Together with Edward Lawler and Lyman Porter, Vroom suggested that the relationship between people's behavior at work and their goals was not as simple as was first imagined by other scientists. Vroom realized that an employee's performance is based on individual factors such as personality, skills, knowledge, experience and abilities. The expectancy theory says that individuals have different sets of goals and can be motivated if they have certain expectations. EXPECTANCY THEORY EXPECTATIONS

There is a positive correlation between efforts and performance, Favorable performance will result in a desirable reward, The reward will satisfy an important need, The desire to satisfy the need is strong enough to make the effort worthwhile.

Vroom's Expectancy Theory is based upon the following three beliefs. EXPECTANCY THEORY BELIEFS

1. Valence. Refers to the emotional orientations which people hold with respect to outcomes [rewards]. The depth of the want of an employee for extrinsic [money, promotion, free time, benefits] or intrinsic [satisfaction] rewards. Management must discover what employees appreciate.2. Expectancy. Employees have different expectations and levels of confidence about what they are capable of doing. Management must discover what resources, training, or supervision the employees need.3. Instrumentality. The perception of employees whether they will actually receive what they desire, even if it has been promised by a manager. Management must ensure that promises of rewards are fulfilled and that employees are aware of that.

Vroom suggests that an employee's beliefs about Expectancy, Instrumentality, and Valence interact psychologically. In this way they create a motivational force, such that the employee will act in a way that brings pleasure and avoids pain. This force can be 'calculated' via a formula: EXPECTANCY THEORY FORMULA 

Motivation = Valence x Expectancy(Instrumentality). This formula can be used to indicate and predict things as: job satisfaction, occupational choice, the likelihood of staying in a job, and the effort that one might expend at work.

 

EXPECTANCY THEORY APPLICATION Vroom used two equations to predict employee motivation. (Transparency master #23 illustrates an example that helps clarify how these equations are used.) Imagine that you are the sales manager at a local automobile dealership. You are trying to determine whether Joyce, one of your promising young salespeople, is motivated to exert high or low effort. There are three steps to follow in applying Vroom's theory. STEP 1. Calculate the valence for all levels of performance. The equation is: Valence for performance = [the sum of (Instrumentality x Valence) for all outcomes]. This equation determines the value that a worker places on accomplishing a specific level of performance. This is an important component of employee motivation. For example, if an employee does not value high performance, the employee will not be motivated to work hard. Returning to our example, Joyce's valence for high performance is: High Performance Valence = [(Instrumentality 1 x Valence 1) + (I2 x V2) + (I3 x V3)] = [(1.0 x 2) + (.75 x 1) + (-.9 x 2)] = .95 Now calculate Joyce's valence for low performance. The equation is: Low Performance Valence = [(I1 x V1) + (I2 x V2) + (I3 x V3)] = [(1.0 x .5) + (.75 x -1.0) + (.60 x -2)] = -1.45

STEP 2. Calculate the force on an individual to exert different levels of effort. Force represents the strength of an individual's intention to respond in a particular manner. The equation for calculating force is: Force = the sum of [Expectancy x Valence for Performance (from STEP 1)] for all levels of performance associated with one level of effort. Since Joyce only has one level of performance related to high effort, the force on her to exert high effort is: Force = (.80 x .95) = .76. Her force to exert low effort = (.80 x -1.45) = -1.16. STEP 3. Compare force values for each performance level. The final step consists of determining whether Joyce is motivated to exert high or low effort. According to Vroom "... people choose from among alternative acts the one corresponding to the strongest positive (or weakest negative) force". Since the force to exert high effort (.76) is greater than the force to exert low effort (-1.16), Joyce would be motivated to exert high effort. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. Do you think predictions based on expectancy theory are accurate?

2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using expectancy theory to predict employee motivation? expectancy theory is about the mental processes regarding choice or choosing.it explains the processes

that an individual undergoes to make choices.in organizational behaviour study expentancy theory is a motivation theory first proposed by victor vroom of the yale school of management

Expectancy Theory (Vroom)

The Expectancy Theory of Victor Vroom deals with motivation and management. Vroom's theory assumes that behavior is a result from conscious choices among alternatives. The purpose of the choices is to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. Together with Edward Lawler and Lyman Porter, Vroom suggested that the relationship between people's behavior at work and their goals was not as simple as was first imagined by other scientists. Vroom realized that an employee's performance is based on individual factors such as personality, skills, knowledge, experience and abilities.

The expectancy theory says that individuals have different sets of goals and can be motivated if they have certain expectations.

Vroom introduces three variables which he calls Valence, Expectancy and Instrumentality.

Valence is the importance that the individual places upon the expected outcome of a situation.

Expectancy is the belief that output from the individual and the success of the situation are linked, e.g. if I work harder then this will be better.

Instrumentality is the belief that the success of the situation is linked to the expected outcome of the situation, e.g. it's gone really well, so I'd expect praise

Expectancy Theory formula

This formula can be used to indicate and predict things as: job satisfaction, occupational choice, the likelihood of staying in a job, and the effort that one might expend at work.

This theory is meant to bring together many of the elements of previous theories. It combines the perceptual aspects of equity theory with the behavioral aspects of the other theories. Basically, it comes down to this "equation":

M = E*I*V or motivation = expectancy * instrumentality * valence

M (motivation) is the amount a person will be motivated by the situation they find themselves in. It is a function of the following.

E (expectancy) = The person's perception that effort will result in performance. In other words, the person's assessment of the degree to which effort actually correlates with performance.

I (instrumentality) = The person's perception that performance will be rewarded/punished. I.e., the person's assessment of how well the amount of reward correlates with the quality of performance. (Note here that the model is phrased in terms of extrinsic motivation, in that it asks 'what are the chances I'm going to get rewarded if I do good job?'. But for intrinsic situations, we can think of this as asking 'how good will I feel if I can pull this off?').

V(valence) = The perceived strength of the reward or punishment that will result from the performance. If the reward is small, the motivation will be small, even if expectancy and instrumentality are both perfect (high).

At first glance this theory would seem most applicable to a traditional-attitude work situation where how motivated the employee is depends on whether they want the reward on offer for doing a good job and whether they believe more effort will lead to that reward.

However, it could equally apply to any situation where someone does something because they expect a certain outcome. For example, I recycle paper because I think it's important to conserve resources and take a stand on environmental issues (valence); I think that the more effort I put into recycling the more paper I will recycle (expectancy); and I think that the more paper I recycle then less resources will be used (instrumentality)

Thus, this theory of motivation is not about self-interest in rewards but about the associations people make towards expected outcomes and the contribution they feel they can make towards those outcomes.

Expectancy Theory expectations

There is a positive correlation between efforts and performance, Favorable performance will result in a desirable reward, The reward will satisfy an important need, The desire to satisfy the need is strong enough to make the effort worthwhile.

Vroom's Expectancy Theory is based upon the following three beliefs.Expectancy Theory beliefs

1. Valence. Refers to the emotional orientations which people hold with respect to outcomes [rewards]. The depth of the want of an employee for extrinsic [money, promotion, free time, benefits] or intrinsic [satisfaction] rewards. Management must discover what employees appreciate.

2. Expectancy. Employees have different expectations and levels of confidence about what they are capable of doing. Management must discover what resources, training, or supervision the employees need.

3. Instrumentality. The perception of employees whether they will actually receive what they desire, even if it has been promised by a manager. Management must ensure that promises of rewards are fulfilled and that employees are aware of that.

4. Motivation is the primary factor for an organization’s success. It is the process which initiates, guides and maintains the goal oriented behaviours in employees and causes them to act positively. It can be extrinsic and arise from the environment or intrinsic arising from inside the employee himself.

5. Organizations require physical, financial and human resources to work in a synergy and motivation puts these human resources into action. Motivated employees have a high level of efficiency which increases productivity, lower operating costs and gives better results and when employees are satisfied they create friendly relationships and work in a team. This co-operation brings stability and team work results in proper resource utilization, cordial work environment and goal achievement. Motivation is a continuous process which varies in individuals and organizations. A motivated individual will always achieve his goals, remain satisfied with the job and positive to be part of a team while for an organization, motivated employees bring revenues, adaptability and creativity.

6.This paper explains the practical implementation of the motivational theories with an example of Baringa Partners which is the top ranked workplace in UK in 2010. The paper briefly describes the motivational theories and concludes by focusing on the practical implementation of these theories with respect to Baringa Partners UK.

7. Motivational theories8. Motivational theories explain the processes which help in understanding the reasons behind a particular

action or behavior. There are two categories for these theories, content and process. The content type is one which is focused on the internal factors that contributes to directing human behavior and includes Maslow’s hierarchy of Needs and Alderfer’s ERG Theory. One the other hand, the process theories explains how people think and how these thoughts influence their behaviors. These include Adam’s Equity theory, Vroom expectancy theory and goal setting theory (www.managementstudyguide.com)Content Theory – Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:

As we spend the major portion of our lives at the workplace so the workplace should fulfill our needs so that we remain motivated. Maslow’s theory says that the desire to satisfy a need is the force behind our actions and attitudes. According to Maslow there are five levels of need. The first one is the sense of survival or Physiological needs that includes hunger, thrust etc. Next is the need for security and protection and together these two levels form the basic needs. Once these are fulfilled Maslow next are the social needs. Employees need to be accepted and recognized in an organization. They want to be socially connected and work as a team. This helps in enhancing the self esteem of a person ultimately increasing the level of productivity which results in self actualizing needs. It’s a place where the employee is at the height of satisfaction from the organization. Maslow explains how by satisfying one need at a time we can gradually rise up and achieve success. (P. Dianna, 2005)

9. Content Theory - ERG Theory10. Clayton Alderfer’s ERG Theory establishes that there are three levels of needs that can be handled

together in terms of existence, relatedness and growth. Existence includes the basic needs to exist such as food, shelter etc and working to earn money to satisfy this need. Relationships are the desires to have friendly relations with co-workers which is important as we spend half of our daily life in the office and growth means that the needs are satisfied by personal growth and development. Alderfer believes that we can act on these needs together but if a higher need is unfulfilled then much importance will be given to lower level needs as they are easier to satisfy. (P. Dianna, 2005) 

Process theory – Adam’s Equity Theory:

Also known as the social comparison theory says that employers and employees have an exchange relationship where employers provide outcomes (pay, appraisal, promotions) in exchange for the employees’ inputs (performance). An employee who perceives that the ratio between the outcome and inputs is equal is motivated and satisfied. The balance between the outcomes and inputs is the goal for motivation. An employ can feel under rewarded if he feels that the ratio of his inputs to outcomes is less than others or can also rarely feel over rewarded. (Pynes, 2008)

11. Process theory – VROOM ’s Expectancy theory:12. The theory states that an individual has a conscious decision making process which is responsible for the

actions taken. The decision to act is made by considering three sets of perceptions which are expectancy, instrumentality and valence. Expectancy is that a certain level of effort is needed to have a certain level of performance. Instrumentality means that the level of performance is associated to some outcome (pay, promotion etc) and valence is the attractiveness of the outcome. The decision to act is a combination of all three sets. This theory is based on three forms of relationships such as a probability that a given amount of effort will lead to the desired performance, then the degree to which the person believes performing at a certain level will result in the attainment of the desired result and the degree to which the rewards satisfy the person’s needs and what is the attractiveness of those rewards to the person. (Pynes, 2008)

13. Process theory – goal setting theory:14. The theory states that goals should be flexible to change based on past and future changes. Goal that is

specific, challenging, reachable and acceptable to employees leads to higher performance than the goals which are unclear, unchallenging and unattainable. Clear expectations result in high performance. (Pynes, 2008)

15. Analysis of Baringa Partners

Understanding human nature is difficult and so motivating employees remain an exceptionally difficult task and often poorly practiced. Managers can not force the employees to perform in a certain way and need effective skills to motivate people to perform on their own will. An exemplary workplace is Baringa Partners. It is the leading consultancy operating in energy, utilities and financial services sectors in UK that has been top ranked in the list of 50 best workplaces in UK by the Great Place to Work Institute UK. The Best Workplaces Programmer is the largest of its kind. Companies are ranked as a result of employee survey ensuring that the major contribution to the position of an organization results according to employees’ feedback and a management analysis of the values, policies and practices that highlight an organization’s culture.

16. At Baringa employees show a positive attitude towards job performance, quality of work life, job security, pays and benefits. The Management has an employee centered approach where every employee is important and has a say in the core values and decisions the company makes. There are various interactive techniques for rewarding employees such as the quarterly awards scheme for individuals who have contributed exceptionally to the core values. Employees are motivated to perform outstandingly and the company is motivated to support their careers. New starters are welcomed and provided with a “buddy”, who is a senior employee and provides advice and help to the new comer for a year. Career Advisors and mentors are present for all problems that may hinder the performance of a person. The company hosts family weekends and activities twice a year for employees and their partners who help in enhancing team building. Baringa supports employees in their performances as a result of which employees are motivated to give their best.

17. Conclusion18. Baringa Partners is a company that works according to both the process and content theories of

motivation. While analysis Baringa Partners according to the hierarchy of needs given by Maslow we see that all the five levels of needs are not only identified clearly but also are being taken care of at Baringa. Employees feel positive towards job security which means their basic and security needs are fulfilled. They like the quality of life at Baringa and their performances are rewarded and so the recognition needs are also fulfilled resulting not only high levels of trust and commitment.Similarly the process theory of equity given by Adam is also practiced at Baringa Partners. According to the theory employers and employees practice an exchange relationship and outcomes are provided by employers to employees for their inputs. When the ratio of both is equal the employ is motivated to perform. At Baringa when employees perform well they are rewarded as well as acknowledged by informing the entire organization about their good performance and celebrations are accompanied to the appraisal due to which the company has no turnover problems instead it is one of the best places to work

at. Employees are the best asset of an organization in todays world and motivation is the best tool that the organization can use to achieve success.