Personal Motivation and Demotivation

Expectancy Theory of Motivation

ABC Enterprises is a regional sales and marketing organization that has a main branch and two other branches in different locations. All the sales representatives are based in the main facility; meetings also take place in this place. Another facility has artists who design graphics and handle all the printed products. The last branch has the ICT department and manages the design of websites, technological support, and other marketing that takes place on the internet. The environment is fast-paced, and motivation is the key to maintaining the smooth operation of the operations. The sales team is compensated using a commission and salary pay structure; IT is paid on an hourly basis, and web and graphic designers are paid by salary. Focusing on how expectancy theory motivates or demotivates the employees of ABC can be analyzed.

Jessica (sales) is behind in the scheduled work; this is because of several reasons, such as the complaints of the customers on technical issues, slow ad-design turnaround, and little motivation to meet the needs of sales. Paul (graphics) is the sole graphic designer for the twenty sales representatives. He is a salaried employee, and he must complete ten ads in a day; however, he does not reach the goal weekly or daily, which leads to a delay in the website launch. Kate (IT) handles the issues related to technology for the employees. Sometimes she oversees why the internet marketing is not working as expected. She is paid hourly, but the organization is uncomfortable with the overtime payments because it reduces the company’s profits. Laura s the local district manager in charge of the campaign.

Problem analysis and recommendation

Laura faces different problems regarding the employees’ motivation. A majority of the issues resulting from the low motivation from the organization’s policies which reduces the expectancy of the employees, valence, and their instrumentality or a combination (Nawrot, 2013). Expectancy theory uses three factors to determine the force of motivation. Any policy which reduces any of these factors reduces employee motivation (Theories of Motivation, 2017).

Expectancy, which links the effort and performance of the employees, must be addressed. This is particularly the situation with Jessica. She puts in a lot of energy and finds new accounts but does not seem to be able to close the sales due to factors outside her control. Her commission comes from closing deals, and her motivation drops since she is not closing most of the accounts. Although she puts in the effort, she is not successful.

In the case of Paul, he does not link performance with high effort. He can put in a lot of effort by creating exceptional work that still falls behind. Alternatively, she can do a sub-standard job and meet the required quota. Since his association of performance is quantity over quality, he is motivated to do more rather than better advertisements. On the other hand, Kate has no reason to work faster. Although the money compensated gives him a good instrumentality, he benefits more from working slowly and collecting the overtime payments. There is no factor in existence that raises her instrumentality to work fast. If there was an incentive for working fast or a negative consequence for too much overtime, she might be motivated to work faster and better.

Maslow’s Theory of Needs

When Brian was hired as a Production Supervisor at Widgets International two years ago, it was widely speculated that he would easily make it to senior management one day. Brian had it all – a business degree from Penn State, an ability to analyze problems and arrive at workable solutions, and a charming manner. But now, two years later, Brian has become a major thorn in the side of his manager, Brad Summers, V.P. Production. When Brad was recruiting for the position of Production Supervisor, Brian nearly knocked the door down to interview and then to get an offer. He put in at least hours a week during his first year on the job; then in the last six months, he races to the door at closing time.

Brian interviewed for two positions in the company in the previous year that would have been promotions for him, but in each case, more senior employees were promoted. He started an online MBA program at the University of Phoenix but finds it difficult to get time to accomplish the work. He had since complained bitterly when another team of employees won the coveted “Team of the Year” award at the end of the previous year. Brian claimed that the award was given to the other team because their Production Supervisor was the nephew of the company president. He says he is bored with his job. It doesn’t provide him with enough challenges.

Problem Analysis and Recommendation

Brian could apply Maslow’s Theory of Need Hierarchy to handle Brad’s situation. The theory is based on the premise that the strongest need most often dictates a person’s behavior at a given time. The needs are hierarchical, with the greatest being physiological needs, safety needs, Needs for love, affection, and belongingness, esteem needs, and the least being self-actualization needs (Drucker, 2017). Brad has esteem needs that have not been met. He complains bitterly when another team of employees wins the team of the year award. To satisfy these requirements, Brian should try to recognize Brad’s achievements and openly congratulate him or put him in charge of a team. Brad’s self-actualization needs have not been met. He wants to be more and do more, this can be seen from the two interviews he took in a bid to be promoted. Brian should take note of this and explain to Brad why the others were the best candidates and encourage him that his day would come.

Theories of motivation, such as expectancy theory, could be used to find ways of motivating employees. The theories also help in determining the reasons for underperformance. Brian could apply Maslow’s Theory of Need Hierarchy to handle Brad’s situation. The theory is based on the premise that the strongest need most often dictates a person’s behavior at a given time. In ABC enterprises, expectancy theory provides the next course of action for the employees who are recording poor performance.

References

Drucker, P. F. (2017). The Theory of the Business (Harvard Business Review Classics). Harvard Business Press.

Theories of Motivation. (2017). Retrieved from https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_organizational-behavior-v1.1/s09-theories-of-motivation.html

Nawrot, A. (2013). Expectancy Theory Case Study Summer 2013. https://wikispaces.psu.edu/display/PSYCH484/4.+Expectancy+Theory+Case+Study+Summer+2013

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Option #1: Personal Motivation and Demotivation (Expectancy Theory)

Please give an example of an instance of personal motivation/ demotivation regarding expectancy theory and give another example of an instance of motivation/demotivation regarding a second theory of motivation. Provide a critique of the reasons that motivation failed or succeeded. Given these experiences, what lessons were learned and what recommendations are possible?

Personal Motivation and Demotivation

Your paper should be 2-3 pages in length, not counting title and reference pages, and conform to CSU-Global Guide to Writing and APA. Include at least three scholarly references in addition to the course textbook. The CSU-Global Library is a good place to find these references.