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 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 and American 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. Vroom's theory assumes that behavior results from
conscious choices among alternatives whose purpose it 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 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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Instrumentality
eg.
"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.
Valence
"Is the outcome I get of any value to me?"
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)
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