Vroom’s Expectancy Theory

Human resources are considered to be the most important asset for any organization. Any organization can have the best physical assets but having great human resources actually creates a difference. So, to enhance the overall productivity of the organization, it is essential to keep its human resources or employees motivated and happy. Now, for the employees to feel productive and content, they need to have constant motivation. Motivation is a significant factor because it encourages employees to give their best performance and to fulfil organizational goals. But there could be many ways in which the employees can be motivated. There are certain motivational theories too which have helped to encourage the employees. One such important theory is ‘Vroom’s Expectancy Theory’.

What is Vroom’s Expectancy Theory?

This theory is given by Victor Vroom. He believed that people’s motivation is influenced by the type of reward they expect to receive for performing their tasks well. People in the organization determine how much effort they should put to get the required rewards. Humans are rational beings so, they always attempt to increase the perceived worth of such rewards. People get highly motivated if they believe that behaving in a particular way will lead them to their preferable rewards. In Vroom’s model, three variables are involved and these are Valence, Expectancy and Instrumentality. Following is the relationship among these variables.

Motivation = Valence * Expectancy * Instrumentality

All of the three variables are highly positive variables. And, if value of any variable is zero, motivated performance becomes zero.

Following is an explanation of the variables:

1. Valence

• Valence refers to the ‘value of the rewards’ which results from performance. 
• Whenever an individual has a preference for any reward, valence indicates the value of that preference. 
• Every person has a different perception towards valence. As, what is valuable for one person might not be for others. So, some might find it valuable and some may not. For example, employees interested in promotion and recognition will not have any valence for cash rewards.
• Valence is the attraction or repulsion of an outcome.
•  Valence is not the actual value of the reward rather it is the perceived value of the reward which they expect to receive after attaining the goals.
•  Valence can also be zero when the employees are indifferent about the outcomes they receive. Valence can also be defined as how much an individual really wants a reward.

2. Expectancy

• It indicates the extent to which a person believes that his efforts will result in the first-level outcome, like task completion.
•  Expectancy is the likelihood that a specific action will result in a specific outcome. 
• It is the individual’s perception of the probability that a particular action or behaviour will result in a certain outcome. 
• For this reason, it also refers to as ‘Effort-Performance Probability’. It explains the association between efforts and performance. 
• The value ranges from 0 to 1. So, assuming that employees feel the likelihood to attain an outcome is zero, the efforts would also be 0. Also, if employees feel the likelihood to attain an outcome as 1, then they will put in more effort to achieve the outcomes. 
• Expectancy can be affected by various factors like appropriate skills, right resources, social support, access to information, etc.

3. Instrumentality

• The term “instrumentality” refers to a person’s expectation and belief that his performance will result in a specific desired reward. It is the degree to which a first-level outcome will lead to a desired second-level outcome.
• It is based on the fact that if employees will perform well, then a valid outcome can be expected. 
• For example, if someone desires a promotion and believes that superior performance is crucial to getting the promotion. Then, superior performance will be considered the first-level outcome and promotion as the second-level outcome. So, here superior performance will be instrumental in attaining the promotion.
• The value for instrumentality ranges from 0 to 1. 
• It reflects the relationship between performance and reward. For this reason, it refers to ‘Performance-Reward Probability’. 
• Instrumentality is also dependent on various factors like who is receiving the outcome, clarity among performance and reward etc.

Critical Evaluation of Vroom’s Expectancy Theory

Following are some of the points in regard to the Vroom Expectancy theory:

1. Not many research studies have been involved while designing or testing Vroom’s theory. So, this theory is difficult to research and apply in practice.
2. The major assumption under this theory is that humans are rational beings. So, every decision is rational and based on conscious thoughts. But, in reality, there can be cases where human beings react intuitively or irrationally. Decisions might involve an unconscious thinking process.
3. Vroom’s theory is undoubtedly considered an important theory of motivation. But at the same time, it is very complex. And, when it comes to organizational situations, managers do not have the required time to put such a complex theory into use.
4. But this theory has been really helpful in comprehending organizational behaviour. It clearly explains how an individual is goal-directed and how his individual efforts help the organization to achieve its goal.
5. This theory has given due importance to human values and human dignity. As it believes that human is a rational being and can decide their future depending on their beliefs and expectations. And, managers with their efforts can attain satisfying rewards.