Explain three theories of motivation of employees in an organization

1.Expectancy theory
This theory was originally proposed by pioneering psychologists Kurt Lewis and Edward Tolman. It was popularized by Victor Vroom in 1964.

-The expectancy theory is based on two fundamental assumptions:

-Individuals make decisions about their own behaviour in organizations using their abilities to think, reason, and anticipate future events hence motivation is a conscious process governed by laws.

Forces in the individual and the environment combine to determine behaviour. Individual values and attitudes interact with environmental components, such as role expectations and organizational climate to influence behaviour.

Vroom explained that motivation is a product of three factors which he referred to as valence, expectancy and instrumentality.

Valence: Refers to the perceived positive or negative value, worth or attractiveness that an
individual ascribes to potential outcomes, rewards or incentives for working in an
organization.

It is the strength for a person’s desire for a particular reward e.g. an outcome is positively valent when a person prefers attaining it to not attaining it.

An outcome is considered to have a negative valence when a person is indifferent to attaining or not attaining it. For instance, a young teacher may not accord retirement benefits attention.

Expectancy: Refers to subjective probability that a given effort will yield specified performance level.

In Mathematics, probability ranges from zero to one. When expectancy falls to zero, the individual believes that effort is unrelated to performance. However, when expectancy climbs to one, complete certainty exists that performance or goal achievement depends on effort. eg: If teachers feel that there is high probability of improving student achievement by increasing their own effort, then they have a high expectancy level.

Instrumentality: probability that performance will lead to a desired reward. It represents the belief by the employee that a reward will be received once the task has been accomplished. e.g. If teachers think that high student achievement in their classrooms is likely to result in public recognition of their teaching ability, then instrumentality is high.

2.Goal Theory of Motivation

This theory was developed by Edwin Locke (1968). The theory became very popular during the 1970s.

According to Locke a goal is simply what an individual consciously tries to achieve. Therefore, Locke suggested that: Intentions to achieve a goal constitute the primary motivating forces behind work behaviour. For instance if one has nothing to gain as a result of a given behaviour, he will not have the urge to exhibit such behaviour.

People will rest in order to regain strength.
People eat in order to satisfy hunger
People study in order to gain knowledge or pass examinations.
Thus, the need to achieve a goal drives the concerned individual to behave in a certain manner.

According to goal theory it has generally been accepted that:

Specific goals are superior to general goals i.e. specific goals motivate individuals to behave in specific manners. There is no time wasted in trying to speculate on how one is expected to behave!
Difficult goals, when accepted lead to greater efforts than easy goals. E.g. when students are called upon to individually write a comprehensive term paper or end of semester exams, they work harder than when they work in groups.

3.Behaviorism Theory

This theory is associated with the works of B.F. Skinner in the 1970’s.

According to Skinner, environment is the primary source of motivation and that behaviour is affected by environmental conditions such as reinforcement.

Skinner maintained that reinforcement can be either positive or negative.

Positive reinforcement involves presentation of a reward while negative reinforcement involves withdrawal/ removal of something needed from the situation.

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Titany answered the question on August 23, 2021 at 05:10