Motivational Theories, Essay Example

Part of a manager’s duties in the workplace involves motivating employees. A manager who successfully motivates his or her employees will be able to reap the benefits tied to better employee performance. A manager who unsuccessfully motivates employees earns the consequences of a poorly functioning organization. Managers can apply different motivational theories to assist them in motivating staff. Three motivational theories, Expectancy Theory, Reinforcement Theory, and Adam’s Equity Theory of Motivation, are useful tools for motivating employees.

Expectancy Theory points to the relationship between motivation and outcome (“Expectency Theory” n.d.). Essentially, the theory states that people will work hard when they expect the outcome of their hard work to be positive (“Expectency Theory” n.d.). As such, expectancy theory states that motivating people should come down to three things (“Expectency Theory” n.d.). First, motivation is a factor of effort (“Expectency Theory” n.d.). In order to motivate others, employers should encourage the belief that more effort equals better performance. Second, employers should encourage the belief that better performance will lead to better rewards (“Expectency Theory” n.d.).Finally, employers should focus on the outcome by making sure that the reward is attractive to the employee (“Expectency Theory” n.d.).

Expectancy theory has both pros and cons when managers use it in the application of performance improvement. First, since expectancy theory is dependent upon individual perspective, the outcome is dependent on each employee’s individual perspective. If the manager has an understanding of the perspective, it will be successful; otherwise it will fail miserably. If managers want to see the results of expectancy theory, they can utilize several tools. First they can use a reward system that is closely tied to pay-for-performance (“Expectency Theory” n.d.). Second, they can use training to instill the belief that added effort will lead to better performance.

A second motivational theory, Reinforcement Theory, states that individuals behaviors are a function of the consequences (“Reinforcement Theory” n.d.). In other words, an individual will repeat behaviors that lead to positive consequences and fail to repeat behaviors that lead to negative consequences (“Reinforcement Theory” n.d.). Management should be sure to tie the consequence directly to the behavior in order to see the results.

While Reinforcement Theory can be helpful to managers, it has been criticized for failing to focus on the causes of individuals’ behavior. On the positive side, the theory can be a strong tool for analyzing the controlling mechanisms of human behavior (“Reinforcement Theory” n.d.). Under this theory, managers can use several tools to motivate individuals’ behavior including positive reinforcement or negative reinforcement (“Reinforcement Theory” n.d.).

The third motivational theory is Adam’s Equity Theory of Motivation. This theory states that employees will strive to achieve equity between them and their coworkers (buzz). This can be achieved when the outcome to input ratio is equal for all employees (buzz). Managers can implement this theory by tying rewards to performance and by setting goals effectively for workers (buzz).

Adam’s Equity Theory can work in situations where the work employees perform is easy to measure and compare. When employees perform similar, standardized procedures, managers can easily compare the data. However, sometimes employees perform job duties that may not tie directly to a quantifiable measure. In cases such as this, equity theory falls short.

Motivated employees will work harder. This hard work leads to a more profitable company. Motivation theories explain ways managers can ensure that their organizations are more profitable. With proper application, both employees and managers can reap the benefits.

References

Expectency Theory: Motivate Your Team by Linking Effort With Outcome. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.lacpa.org.lb/Includes/Images/Docs/TC/TC341.pdf

Reinforcement Theory of Motivation. (n.d.). Retreived from http://www.managementstudyguide.com/reinforcement-theory-motivation.htm

Equity Theory of Motivation. (n.d.) Retreived from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/equity-theory-of-motivation.html