An experiential exercise for teaching theories of work motivation: using a game to teach equity and expectancy theories

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to provide an experiential exercise for management and leadership educators to use in the course of their teaching duties. Design/methodology/approach The approach of this classroom teaching method uses an experiential exercise to teach Adams’ equity theory and Vroom’s expectancy theory. Findings This experiential exercise has proven useful in teaching two major theories of motivation and is often cited as one of the more memorable classes students experience. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is an original experiential exercise for teaching the equity and expectancy theories of motivation.