Adequately motivated employees are vital when it comes to fostering success in any organizational setting. The concept of employee motivation is among the significantly explored ideas in the field of management as well as psychology. The major reason for this is due to the relation it has with issues of leadership, job design, and psychology. The expectancy theory by Victor Vroom is one of the key motivation theories. It revolves around decisions individuals make while suggesting that people opt to behave in certain ways. The reason for this is that persons are motivated to select certain behaviors over other people due to the anticipated outcomes. The theory supposes that behavior emanates from identifiable choices among distinct choices that target minimizing pain and restoring satisfaction. The motivation people portray relies on traits, including knowledge, abilities, and skills (Quick, 1988). The essay reflects on expectancy theory's efficacy in motivating me while working at a coffee shop, including where the theory worked and the areas where it failed.
The situation in which a leader applied expectancy theory to motivate me successfully was when I worked part-time at a restaurant situated in Queens, New York. The restaurant was a chain coffee shop with the mission of making sure its customers received high-quality and fresh coffee and snacks, including French fries and burgers. I decided to secure the job since I wished to attain exposure in interacting and managing clients. Whereas I would get a similar experience when working at a bank or other service sector, I opted for a hotel job since various financial institutions in the region were not employing part-time employees (Quick, 1988). While working at the coffee shop, my main duties comprised taking customers' orders while ensuring they received the orders based on their specifications (Chiang & Jang, 2008). Additionally, I would pack food for consumers who preferred takeaway food before taking extra tasks that needed more experience, such as preparing an employee work schedule. I enjoyed the assignments because they allowed me to develop a significant desire to work in the service sector. I related with customers from distinct backgrounds and ages while at the same time making friends due to the satisfactory services I offered.
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Our manager applied the expectancy theory to a level that motivated me successfully when I was working at the coffee restaurant. The manager ensured that the employees remained motivated to increase their level of satisfaction and performance in the workplace. The manager would work with the employees closely to ensure that they performed their tasks according to expectations. The manager would also make sure to listen to the grievances by the employees in line with allowing them to contribute to the decision-making process, allowing the workforces to feel like part of the organization. Furthermore, the incentives and rewards offered to the employees matched their contributions to the organization as well as the level of experience. Nonetheless, the number of rewards provided was high enough to ensure that the employees remained satisfied with the tasks they undertook in the organization (Quick, 1988). In my case, I was in college while the pay offered was above my expectations, hence increasing my motivation to work for the restaurant. The operating environment was more than sufficient in my case since I was able to work while at the same time studying. The opportunity allowed me to gain a chance to pursue my studies in line with sustaining myself financially. From my perspective, I regarded working at the restaurant as offering the highest satisfaction (Chiang & Jang, 2008). As such, our manager at the restaurant applied expectancy theory effectively to the extent that he managed to motivate the employees in the organization to improve their performance, which later led to an increased customer base and profitability.
The manager at the restaurant would set proper goals, which motivated the workforces. The manager has a solid understanding of the principles of expectancy theory by managing effective workforces that accomplished the goals of the organization. The manager understood the needs of the employees while at the same time looking for any skills gaps that required training to ensure the workforces delivered services according to the expectations of the restaurant and employees (Chiang & Jang, 2008). With a proper understanding of the employees, the manager ensured that they happily and willingly participated in diverse projects in the organization due to proper planning of participation, which motivated the staff based on their capacity to perform certain tasks (Quick, 1988). Overall, the employees would receive the rewards they considered meaningful based on the contributions they made to the organization.
The expectancy theory failed to work to a certain degree, mostly due to lack of active participation by the manager, especially when it came to finding out what the workforces valued as rewards. The manager also failed to assess the capability of the employees accurately, hence presenting challenges in ensuring that all the resources were available to help the workforces in performing their jobs successfully. The manager would also fail to keep his word often, which led the employees to develop a feeling of distrust since they would not receive the promised rewards. The manager would also offer certain rewards and motivations, although the employees did not believe in or value some of them. Failure to select the rewards that would offer enough perceived value-led individuals could cause employees to lose performance motivation. As such, due to a lack of understanding by the management, the employees would portray reduced motivation. Thus, addressing these weaknesses would ensure that the restaurant emerged successful in its operations, especially on areas of profitability and competitiveness.
References
Chiang, C. F., & Jang, S. S. (2008). An expectancy theory model for hotel employee motivation. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 27 (2), 313-322.
Quick, T. L. (1988). Expectancy theory in five simple steps. Training & Development Journal, 42 (7), 30-32.
