Behaviorial Process Theories

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One of the many behavioral process theories is the expectancy theory of motivation. A man by the name of Victor Vroom who was a professor from Yale University came up with this theory on motivation ("Management study guide," 2008). His theory on motivation is basically, the thought that people will be motivated to output a high amount of effort if they can obtain good work reviews which in return will lead to work rewards such as bonuses or a bigger salary. These things in return would satisfy an employee’s personal goals of obtaining rewards such as these, which caused their high output of effort from the start. Vroom stated "people consciously chose a particular course of action, based upon perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs as a consequence of their desires to enhance pleasure and avoid pain" (Vroom, 1964). The expectancy theory of motivation has three key components and focuses on three key relationships as well. The three key components of the expectancy theory of motivation are expectancy (effort-performance relationship), instrumentality (performance-reward relationship) and valence (rewards-personal goals relationship). The first key component is expectancy, which is the belief that if a worker can output a higher level of effort they will achieve better performance. An example of expectancy would be “if I work harder at work will I produce more than my co-workers”? The next key component would be instrumentality. Instrumentality is the thought process that if a worker can perform his or her job really well at a high standard, then he or she will receive some type of reward due to his or hers performance. An example of instrumentality would be “if I produce more than my co-workers will I get a promotion quicker or a larger raise”? The last key component of the expectancy theory of motivation is valence. Valence is the value that a person

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