Application and Limitations of the Expectancy Theory in Organizations

Abstract

The expectancy theory is a tool that is widely used by companies around the world. Through a well-established reward system, employees put more time and effort into their work, knowing that they will be rewarded for their efforts. However, Nsofor found that each employee is motivated in a different way. A large part of employees are not suitable for implementing the expectancy theory. Therefore, this paper focuses on the application and limitations of expectancy theory in organizations. This research found that expectancy theory is limited in scope, does not include other factors explaining motivation, and is only limited to material reward. Also, expectancy theory can only be applied to performance that can be easily measured. This research paper demonstrates the credibility of the above viewpoints through different case studies. This paper can also enhance cooperations understanding of expectancy theory.