CHAPTER 8 MOTIVATING AND DEVELOPING OTHERS

Expectancy theory
Expectancy theory was developed by Victor Vroom in an attempt to explain why individuals
choose to follow certain courses of action in organisations, particularly in decision making and
leadership. Like reinforcement theory, expectancy theory (Vroom, 1995) explores the role of
rewards (and consequences) and their relationship to the decisions and actions that people
make. Expectancy theory says that individuals have different sets of goals and can be motivated
if they believe:

• There is a positive correlation between efforts and performance.
• Favourable performance will result in a desirable reward.
• The reward will satisfy an important need.
• The desire to satisfy the need is strong enough to make the effort worthwhile.
  Vroom suggests that three factors interact to create motivation.
• Valence is the perceived value (attractiveness or unattractiveness) of the consequence on
  offer. Money, status, promotion, time off and satisfaction are all potential consequences for
  work performance.
• Expectancy is the perception of capability, or confidence in one’s ability to do the work.
• Instrumentality is the belief that the consequences will actually materialise. Will the promotion
  happen? Will the manager actually impose disciplinary action if I am late again for
  work?
  A manager aiming to motivate an individual must first determine an individual’s beliefs
  regarding their ability to carry out the task [expectancy], that their efforts will achieve the
  expected reward (instrumentality], and that the reward has value [valence]. An individual
  will have greatest motivation when they are capable of accomplishing the task and are
  confident of receiving a valued reward. Under these circumstances, the person is likely to
  exert more effort in the task. When any component is drastically reduced, so is motivation
  (effort].
  In an effort to improve the amount of delegation by the nurses on her ward, Andrea
  approached the situation from an expectancy theory perspective. She identified that the
  nurses wanted to assign more duties to healthcare assistants but were reluctant because
  of concerns about accountability. Once Andrea was able to clarify accountability issues, the
  nurses were eager to delegate routine tasks in order to be able to devote more time to their professional
  responsibilities.
  Expectancy theory also considers multiple outcomes. Consider the possibility of a promotion
  to manager or team leader. Even though a staff member believes such a promotion
  is positive and is a desirable reward, the person also realises that there are some less
  desirable outcomes of promotion [e.g. working longer hours, losing the close camaraderie
  enjoyed with other staff members]. These multiple outcomes will influence the staff member’s
  decision.
  Expectancy theory is useful because of its clear implications for managing and leading.
  Leaders can create motivation by assigning responsibilities to employees that they are capable
  of performing, or by providing them with the necessary training to achieve competence.
  By removing obstacles to achievement [inadequate resources, lack of information or cooperation
  from others], employees’ confidence in their success will also increase. Rewards must be
  worth the effort needed to achieve success. Similarly, to act as a deterrent to inappropriate job
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  behaviour, consequences must be regarded as sufficiently undesirable; perhaps even more
  importantly, the employee must believe that consequences will be applied.
  Equity theory
  Equity theory suggests that effort and job satisfaction depend on the degree of equity, or perceived
  fairness, in the work situation (Adams, 1963, 1965). Equity simply means that a person
  perceives that their own contribution to the job is rewarded in proportion to the contribution of
  others. Job contributions include such things as capability, education, experience, cooperation
  and effort, whereas rewards include job satisfaction, pay, prestige and any other outcomes an
  employee regards as valuable.
  Equity does not in any way imply equality; rather, it suggests that employees who bring
  more to the job will receive greater rewards. Inequity occurs when an employee’s effort and
  rewards are perceived to be disproportional to that of another person, whether a co-worker or a
  person doing a similar job for a different employer. Inequity, then, motivates a change in behaviour
  that may either increase or decrease actual effort and job performance.
  Agenda for Change, the pay structure introduced in the NHS in 2004, is intended to bring
  equity across the various job roles within the NHS. Prior to the introduction of Agenda for
  Change, job evaluation was carried out. Job evaluation is a process of analysing roles against
  criteria such as levels of responsibility, independence, decision making, nature of relationships
  and risk. The results were used to create equity across job roles and disciplines, and to place
  each job on a pay spine. The idea is that certain roles, perhaps those with the greatest levels of
  responsibility, should be paid more.
  Unfortunately, reducing inequity may or may not change performance. Employees can try to
  restore what they perceive as equity in a variety of ways. First, they can increase or decrease
  effort. Staff members can attempt to increase their status by taking on more difficult assignments
  or by volunteering to lead team meetings or take on other responsibilities reflecting
  additional effort. Second, they may attempt to persuade the person ( s) with whom they are comparing
  themselves to increase or decrease their inputs – persuading colleagues to work more
  slowly, for instance. Third, they may attempt to persuade the organisation to change either their
  own rewards or those of the comparison persons. Fourth, they may psychologically distort the
  perceived importance and value of their own contributions and rewards (‘They couldn’t run this
  service without me’). Fifth, they may distort the perceived importance and value of the comparison
  persons’ contributions or rewards (‘What can you expect from a newly qualified person?’).
  Psychologically distorting the perceptions of a comparison person’s outcomes or
  inputs is probably the easiest way to restore equity without actually changing one’s effort.
  Disrespecting others or minimising their contribution is, sadly, rather common. Alternatively,
  the staff member may select a different comparison person, someone who is seen as more relevant
  for the comparison being made, such as the manager. Finally, the individual may actually
  leave the organisation.
  The important point is that perceived fairness of rewards affects the manner in which individuals
  view their job and the organisation, and it can affect the amount of effort they expend in
  accomplishing tasks. Moreover, evidence indicates that inequitable rewards lead to increased
  psychological tension, lower job satisfaction and poor job performance. In times of economic
  constraint, when all salary rises are capped to the rate of inflation for example, employees
  may perceive the situation as equitable, thus job satisfaction may not be adversely affected.
  However, simply distributing rewards equitably does not necessarily improve an otherwise
  poor motivational environment.
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  Goal-setting theory
  Unlike expectancy theory and equity theory, goal-setting theory suggests that it is not the
  rewards or outcomes of task performance per se that cause a person to expend effort, but
  rather the goal itself. There are three basic propositions in goal setting [Locke, 1968):
• Specific goals lead to higher performance than do general goals such as ‘Do your best’.
• Specific, difficult goals lead to higher performance than specific, easy goals, provided that
  those involved see themselves as capable of reaching the goal.
• Incentives such as money, knowledge of results, praise and criticism, participation, competition
  and time limits affect behaviour only if they cause individuals to change their goals or
  to accept goals that have been assigned to them.
  Katie, for example, had just taken a post in a hospice. An important skill in care with the
  terminally ill is communication, particularly when it comes to responding sensitively to family
  members who are distraught. Katie and her manager recognised that she needed help to
  improve her skills and confidence. Her manager asked her to write two goals related to com munication.
  Katie’s first goal was to attend a workshop offered by the Macmillan cancer charity
  on communications, and her second was to use at least one communication strategy that she
  had learned each week. Within a month, Katie’s communication skills had already improved. As
  a result, she was more confident and satisfied with this position, her patients received more
  compassionate care, and Katie found the work more rewarding.
  According to goal-setting theory, the function of rewards is to help ensure that the individual
  will accept an assigned goal or to set a more specific, difficult personal goal. The specificity
  and difficulty of the goal mobilise energy and direct behaviour towards goal accomplishment.
  If the person sees tasks and duties as reasonable and specific, difficult goals are likely to produce
  higher performance as long as such performance is rewarded and the individual is held
  accountable for the task.
  Obviously there is no single approach to motivating people. Some methods work better
  than others with different people or in different settings. Each theory of work motivation con tributes
  something to our understanding of, and ultimately our ability to influence, employee
  motivation.
  Figure 8.3 illustrates a simple model of how the various motivational theories are related.
  First, there is a task to be accomplished. If this task is expressed in terms of a specific, difficult
  goal that is accepted by the staff member, a relatively high degree of performance may
  realistically be expected in most situations. How does this happen? Goals, perceived ability
  and perceived situational constraints all combine to form the imagined likelihood that effort
  will lead to a given level of performance or goal accomplishment. This expectancy, when
  combined with the belief that valued rewards will follow from goal attainment (instrumentality].
  prompts the expenditure of effort [motivation] . Thus, goal-setting and expectancy
  theory suggest not only that staff members should know exactly what they should be doing
  but also that they should perceive rewards as contingent on performance of their assigned
  tasks.
  Managers who are effective leaders draw from their knowledge of various motivational theories
  to create the environment in which their staff derive satisfaction from the work itself. No
  motivation theory provides a complete description of the motivational process; each theory
  or technique brings a different perspective and contribution to understanding and influencing
  motivation. Effective staff motivation is best accomplished by judiciously combining theories
  and techniques so that their effects are complementary.
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  MOTIVATIONAL THEORIES
  ( Perceived ability
  Setting of goal Expectancy,
  (performance instrumentality, t–
  standard) valence
  Perceived
  situational
  constraints
  . .
  Goal-setting theory Expectanvcy theory
  Equity theory
  ~
  Perceived
  Actual ability J fairness of
  rewards
  Intrinsic
  ~
  · ( Performance ]
  rewards 4 ( Effort J H Need J Extrinsic satisfaction
  rewards
  Actual
  situational
  constraints
  .
  y
  Reinforcement theor4
  Figure 8.3 An integrated model of the motivational process
  Case study 8.1 illustrates how one nurse manager used her ingenuity to motivate staff.
• .
  Case study 8.1
  Motivating staff
  Susan’s department had not been a clinical site for student placement in the past. Susan
  was keen to host students for a number of reasons: they bring fresh ideas and help to
  keep the existing staff current in practice innovations; mentoring students is a development
  opportunity for staff members; and, perhaps most importantly, students who have
  a good experience may be attracted to working there, therefore easing the difficulties in
  recruitment.
  Initially, staff members were resistant to the idea. They believed that mentoring
  students would take valuable time away from patient care when they were already
  short-staffed. There was concern that they wouldn’t be able to offer the supervision the
  students needed, and therefore the incidence of errors would go up. Few staff members
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  had worked with students recently and none had attended mentor support training.
  Susan listened carefully to these concerns and devised a plan to motivate her staff:

1. She discussed the benefits of student placement and the potential to attract the best of
   those students as newly qualified staff: that is, she set up an attractive reward for the
   staff acting as mentors.
2. Susan set a goal of attracting two students a year to apply to work there.
3. She set up a project team to discuss staffing patterns, patient assignments and practical
   considerations of having students so as to involve others in the planning.
4. Susan asked for staff members to volunteer to mentors students, and increased expectancy
   by providing training in mentorship for her staff. She also set up a recognition programme
   for mentors, offering them preferential access to development, and setting aside
   time from clinical responsibilities for action learning among mentors as a group.
   As a result of these actions, the staff were much more motivated to take on the mentoring
   of students.
   Manager’s checklist
   The manager is responsible for:

• understanding motivating factors for employees and how motivation affects job
  performance;
• using motivational techniques to enhance employee performance;
• utilising creative techniques to motivate staff;
• empowering staff to use creativity to enhance job performance.
  Staff development
  Job performance is dependent on motivation and ability. Every individual is unique and therefore
  will have different skills, ability and experience, and will come with a different educational
  background. There are a few common denominators: all qualified staff will have successfully
  completed a course of study leading to registration, but even those courses of study may be
  very different. Some people will not have developed all of the skills and knowledge necessary
  to perform at the expected level in the job. Even when competence is achieved in one setting,
  maintaining capability throughout one’s career requires continuing education and staff development.
  One of the ward manager or team leader’s important responsibilities is to identify staff
  development needs and enable staff to learn throughout their careers.
  Life-long learning
  There was a time when people believed that the fundamental purpose of education was the
  transmission of the totality of human knowledge from one generation to the next. This is a
  workable assumption provided that the quantity of knowledge is small enough to be managed
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  collectively by the educational system and that the rate of change is small enough to allow the
  increase of knowledge to be packaged and delivered.
  Today, however, these conditions do not exist. Instead, we live in a period of knowledge
  explosion, in which cultural and technological change is rapid. For example, by the time a staff
  member has been working for three years, some of what was learned during their training is
  already out of date. The implications of this are twofold. First, learning must be viewed as lifelong
  learning, a continuous process. Second, learning must become a partnership between
  the learner and others so that learning occurs every day in an unstructured manner.
  The process of learning operates constantly during conscious human activity. How people
  learn, the content of what they need to learn, the processes of learning and how to teach are all
  important to education. People even need to be taught how to learn so they can do their learning
  efficiently and are prepared to learn new information as it becomes available.
  Most organisations have specialised training and development staff, either assigned
  directly to the service or more commonly as part of a staff development department. Such
  departments design and manage induction programmes, mandated training and development
  programmes targeted at increasing the effectiveness of staff. However, the manager or team
  leader remains important to the staff development process. The manager working with individual
  staff members identifies development needs and ensures that development and training
  are provided. The leader has a responsibility to ensure that what is learned is applied, and
  that standards and practices in work reflect best practice. Effective staff development usually
  results in higher productivity, fewer accidents or mistakes, better morale, greater pride in work,
  and better, safer patient care.

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