Cross Cultural Management Expectancy Theory

Cross Cultural Management

Expectancy Theory

The expectancy theory proposes that individuals receive motivation from their conscious expectations.

Individuals are more productive when they are sure that their expectations are realizable.

This theory focuses on the individual's outcomes and not their needs

Employee motivation determines how much the employee wants are rewarded as a valence.

Victor Vroom from the Yale School of Management postulated the expectancy theory in 1964. This theory proposes that individuals receive motivation from their conscious expectations of things that will happen when they do certain things, and these individuals are more productive when they are certain that their expectations are realizable (Malcolm, 2010). Unlike the other theories, this one focuses on the individual's outcomes and not their needs. The theory provides that the probability of an individual to perform in a specified manner depends on the likelihood of an expectation that the performance will yield a definite result and the appeal of the result to the individual (McInerney & Van Etten, 2004).

The application of the model to the Haier case

The desire of Haier's employees for rewards is evident

Valence is the importance linked with an individual on the expected result.

Factors such as possession of appropriate skills for the job, the availability of the right resources, and availability of the required information to perform the required tasks affected them

This theory provides that employee motivation is a product of how much the employee wants a reward which is considered as valence. In the case of Haier, this is evident from the desire of the company's employees for rewards from the company (Nelson, Quick, & Nelson, 2012). Expectancy in regard to the theory is the likelihood that the determination will result in the expected performance which is achieved in the case of Haier through setting goals. Additionally the theory also provides for instrumentality which is based on the belief that the performance will result in rewards. In essence, valence is the importance linked with an individual on the expected result (Steele, 2011).This expectation is not the satisfaction that employees expect to receive after achieving the goals: it is seen in Haier through recognition. Expectancy is the faith that best efforts will result in better performance. This is the driving force in Haier by expecting employees and managers to perform better (Harold & Heinz, 2006). This is affected by factors such as possession of appropriate skills for the job, the availability of the right resources, and availability of the required information to perform the required tasks. This theory focuses on the relationship between effort, performance and reward (Raiffa, 1982).

Organizational Culture at Haier

The case study expectancy theory is evident from Haier's Case since employees have the desire to work hard for the company's success

The motivation that employees elucidate is directly linked to the theory