actions, but to what level the employee will perform in regard to those actions (Schwab 1978). This somewhat scientific approach to explain motivation involves three key steps. The valence of outcomes is the first step which incorporates the concept of the attractiveness associated with activities. Unlike Maslow, Herzberg, or McGregor, the expectancy theory "makes no a priori statements about what outcomes individuals will find valent or nonvalent (Schwab, 1978)." The second assumption in the expectancy theory regards people’s beliefs about the connection between activity and outcome. These perceptions " can be thought of as subjective probabilities and are referred to as instrumentality perceptions (Schwab 1978)." In essence, people have an idea that there is a link between performance and wage increases. The final premise of the expectancy theory " pertains to the individual’s beliefs about the connection or linkage between one’s effort to engage in an activity and the likelihood that the activity will be accomplished (Schwab, 1978). Crystallized, the expectancy theory of motivation states that employee motivation is high when a task is attractive in itself, and when the outcomes of the completed task are attractive to the employee. Because of the complexities of the internal nature of the expectancy theory, it is a difficult approach to take as a manager. Though it takes into account that the recognition of the outcome of an action may influence the frequency of that behavior, the expectancy theory still relies too much on the internal processes of motivation because of its basis in cognition. A far simpler way to motivate employees disengages itself from internal (intrinsic) processes and solely analyzes how external events can influence the frequency of motivated behavior. This method is motivation by reinforcement. Motivation by reinforcement may be argued to not even be a valid motivational theory since it deals...
