The expectancy theory of motivation is something that business owners and managers have been trying to get there hands around for quite some time. Being able to answer the question of what motivates another individual to act is a powerful indeed because it holds the key to motivating them. Even in today’s society this question still hasn’t been fully answered. This article will focus on the expectancy theory of motivation and how we can use it in the workplace.

The Process
Expectancy Theory States that workers motivation is a result of how much a person wants a reward (valence), the estimate that the probability that the effort will result in the expected performance (expectancy) and the belief that the performance will result in the reward (instrumentality). In other words people want to believe they will be rewarded for their effort(s) and the level effort they are willing to exert is based on this belief of reward.
 
Expectancy Theory is constantly working in any organization that has employees. Employees come to work because they get paid despite whether or not they enjoy the type of work they are doing. To enjoy the work is another benefit for them. Workers make choices from the options that are available and their likelihood of achieving beneficial results. This helps determine how much energy and motivation they are going to spend in achieving these objectives.

In Closing
The basis of this article assumes that managers have the ability to control how much energy and motivation their workers put forth by making a determination on what the workers objectives and goals are. This information is useful because the information should be used to create any incentive programs we may implement. This would be implementing the main principles from the expectancy theory of motivation in the real world.