UNIT – I Lesson 1 HRM – AN OVERVIEW Lesson Outline Nature of ...

the odds are high because they get no achievement satisfaction from happenstance
success. Similarly they dislike low odds which have high probability of success,
because there would be no challenge to their skills.
• Individuals of the second type, namely those with high need for power enjoy being
“in-charge” and striving for influence over others. They tend to prefer to be
competitive in status-oriented situations. Need for power may be further divided
into institutional powers and personal powers. People seeking personal power like
to inspire subordinates and expect the latter to respect than obey them. Other
managers seeking institutional power tend to use authority, regulations and other
such formal mechanisms and get things done in the interests of the organization.
• Affiliation, the third need identified by McClelland is the desire to be liked and
accepted by others. Individuals with high need for affiliation would constantly tend
to strive for friendships, prefer cooperative situations rather than competitive ones
and desire relationships involving a high degree of mutual sensitivity,
understanding and appreciation.
Vroom’s Expectancy Theory
This is a process theory of motivation that helps managers to appreciate the complexities
of motivation. Victor Vroom (1964) made an important contribution to managers’
understanding of motivation through his Expectancy Theory, which is an alternative to the
content theories. According to Vroom’s theory, individuals’ effort is based on their
perceptions of certain factors in the work environment. They are termed as Expectancy,
Instrumentality and Valence. The strength of the motivation to perform a certain act will
depend on the combination of the three factors.
Valence means attraction or repulsion of an outcome to an individual. In order for
the valence to be positive, the person must prefer attaining the outcome to not attaining it.
A valence of zero occurs when the individual is indifferent towards the outcome. The
valence is negative when the individual prefers not attaining the outcome to attaining it.
Expectancy is the expected relationship between effort and successful performance. It is
the probability that a particular action or effort will lead to a particular first level outcome,
such as production or quality. Instrumentality is the performance-reward linkage. It is the
degree to which a first-level outcome will lead to a desired second-level outcome such as
money, recognition, job security or career growth.