COMM 226 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Expectancy Theory, Weighted Arithmetic Mean, Job Satisfaction
4 Dec 2018
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Fido employees shared with us an organizational incentive issue that has left workers
feeling unmotivated and discouraged. The same incentive system is in place for all consultants
in the department, regardless of how long an employee has worked there. This unambiguous
incentive process has drawn employees to feel a variety of dispirited feelings. These feelings
arise from discrepancies in the theories of expectancy, procedural fairness and how the
workforce is becoming more diverse. Is it fair to give the same incentives to an employee who
has worked for the company for a couple months versus someone who has been there years?
Is it strategic to provide the same incentives for all employees, regardless of the diversity in the
organization?
Fido employees are right to be upset by this organizational problem as it highlights
problem areas that management needs to work on. According to the expectancy theory, you will
feel satisfied if your inputs and outputs compare to that of someone in a similar position. Fido
employees lack this and therefore feel inequity. An employee that has put years of work and
ideas into the company feels that their inputs to the organization are much larger than someone
who started more recently, therefore expects more of an output (or incentive) and is left with
inequity when that feeling is not met.
The workforce is constantly becoming more diverse. Diversity is in age, sexual
orientation, religion, ethnic background, etc.. Different people have different likes, dislikes,
motivators and de-motivators so why does Fido hold the same incentives for all employees?
This is a poor management decision because incentive programs should take into account
diversity and be somewhat personalized in order to enhance motivation of employees.
