Mgt 302 - Organizational Behavior: Individual Worker

Introduction

In the case study problem for module one, we were given a situation where an organization held a one day mandatory diversity training program at a nice hotel, the employees were paid for their time at the program and were required to repeat the training until they passed the exam given at the conclusion. However, it noted that the employees were not motivated to perform well; put in minimal effort and that most of the employees failed the final exam which necessitated in their retaking of the course.

The instructor of this course requested that the following questions be answered using the expectancy and reinforcement theories of motivation: "Explain why the employees in this organization may not be motivated to perform well in the training program, and suggest improvements in the program based on these theories so that employees are motivated to understand the material, pass the exam, and apply the material in the workplace".

Main Body

According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2009) motivation is: "Something that motivates; an inducement or incentive". Therefore based on this definition the employees do not an inducement or incentive to pass the exam. If anything it appears that they have plenty of incentive to fail and retake the course and exam over and over again.

For example, if given a choice between being at the office all day doing work related things, which could be stressful depending on the work the organization does, or going and sitting in a conference room at a nice hotel where there is little or no requirement to perform well, most employees opt to take the training program. And while it did not state such, all of the training programs I have attended that were a day long affairs also included a free catered breakfast and lunch. Add to that the employees are getting paid for their time at the program plus being allowed to repeat the course as many times as needed, there is simply no inducement to pass the exam.

This is costing the organization money, not only for the initial program, but every time an employee has to repeat the course. Therefore something needs to be done to induce the employees to pass the exam and pass on the first time. So using the expectancy and reinforcement theories of motivation, the following suggestions are being presented as ways to motivate the employees to not only do well in the program, but to pass the exam on the first attempt.

Expectancy Theory

According to the Management Study Guide (n.d.) the expectancy theory by Victor Vroom states that: "the intensity of a tendency to perform in a particular manner is dependent on the intensity of an expectation that the performance will be followed by a definite outcome and on the appeal of the outcome to the individual". In short, an employee's motivation to perform any given task is directly related to the reward for that task.

So the motivation in this scenario is positive when failing the test in that the employees get to spend the day away from the office and its environment for a relative easy day with a free meal or two.

One suggestion would be to move the location where the program is taught. Instead of having it away from the office, use a conference room within the office to hold the program. By having there, it gives the feeling that this is part of the normal work routine where normal output, i.e. the employees passing the course, is expected and not something special as is the case of holding the program at a nice hotel. Again while it did not state as such it is assumed that the employees were given a free breakfast and lunch, this could also be eliminated as well.