Equity Theory Approach To Motivate Employees

The Equity Theory touches on the effects these situations have on the employee’s motivational level. In society today employees are constantly comparing how they are

This can also relate to the process theories such as the expectancy and equity theories. The expectancy theory (Appendix c) predicts that individuals will be motivated if they value the reward given for work and believe this is a just reward. By working hard and professionally they can achieve promotion and so become motivated. The basis of the equity theory is related to one’s perception of job input and outcomes and those of their colleagues (Appendix d). Employees in Primark who have high input and outcomes can see these outcomes through the opportunity of promotion. However such fairness does not always arise in Primark.

Rather, Equity, and the sense of fairness which commonly underpins motivation, is dependent on the comparison a person makes between his or her reward/investment ratio with the ratio enjoyed (or suffered) by others considered to be in a similar situation”(Balancing Employee Inputs and Outputs).

Adam’s Equity Theory is a model of motivation which basically states that employees will perform at a more productive rate if they feel that they are being treated fairly (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010). Equity is achieved when a worker perceives their reward for their amount of work to be equal to that of a relevant worker. Negative inequity is perceived by the employee when the relevant worker receives greater rewards for the same amount of work. Positive inequity is perceived by the employee when the relevant worker receives fewer rewards for the same amount of work (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2010).

A belief in what the organisation is looking to achieve will allow individuals pride and drive to motivate them.

Adams was a workplace and behavior psychologist who pushed the ideas of the Equity Theory onto employees. Equity Theory works to explain the importance of keeping equity between the contributions that an employee brings to a job and the benefits that the employee receives. According to www.MindTools.com, “Much like many of the more prevalent theories of motivation (such as Maslow 's Hierarchy of Needs and Herzberg 's Two-Factor Theory), Adams ' Equity Theory acknowledges that subtle and variable factors affect an employee 's assessment and perception of their relationship with their work and their employer.” Adams’ findings also point out that employees will take into consideration how others are being rewarded in the workplace and then compare it to their own rewards. If things do not feel equal for an employee, motivation is very likely to dwindle for the employee in spite of the unfairness.

There are five major components of job satisfaction, one being monetary benefits (Ghillyer 2010). According to Ghillyer (2012) an employee’s behavior towards their pay may affect their work performance. The issue that arises with employee motivation is that management is unable to satisfy all (Ghillyer 2010). This becomes an even larger problem when employees being joining unions, resigning and being frequently absent (Ghillyer 2010).

The challenges of an organization can influence the performance of an organization from a satisfaction with pay (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, & Cardy, 2016, p. 296). The employee salary within an organization is a huge cause for turnover of employees (p. 296). First, the topic of employee salary is of great importance for the current and potential workforce (Lee & Lin, 2014, p. 1577). In addition, employees that have the perception on receiving lower compensation that others within their market will lack in performance and have a desire to leave the organization (p. 1577). In retrospect, the regular evaluation of compensation within the organization is vital to the reduction of employee turnover (p. 1577).

Equity Theory: Individuals compare their work inputs and outcomes with others and then respond to eliminate any inequities between those comparisons

Swenson, D. Expectancy and equity theories of motivation. The College of St. Scholastica Website. Retrieved from http://faculty.css.edu/dswenson/web/OB/VIEtheory.html Robbins, Judge, Millet, Marsh, 2008, Organizational Behavior, 5th Edition, Pearson

The equity theory conceived by J. Stacy Adams is based premise that "people gauge the fairness of their work outcomes relative to others, any perceived inequity is a motivating state of mind" (Schermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn, 2005, p.10, chpt.6). This theory when applied to a sales force would not be the best method to motivate this employee group as to what is deemed fair by a team leader could be perceived as unfair by the

Human Resources is dependent on the success, happiness, and contentment of employees that keep the business on course. Motivation is one of the best ways to push employees forward while making sure everyone is in a comfortable position in their job. Motivational theories just attempt to explain what motivates or makes people act the way that they do. The goal of understanding these theories and their outcomes is to ensure a better performance from each employee, and to give each of those employees the best situation they can have in the workplace. Visionaries such as Abraham Maslow, Frederick Herzberg, and Henry A. Landsberger also brought forward new ways of management and ways to handle internal situations that changed the landscape of human resources as a whole. Motivational theories instituted in the workplace have a commonly positive effect on both employees and management, showing that it is important to strive for proven motivational practices.

The literature review, explain the theories which are related to the case study’s problems in order to the motivation and satisfy employees’ needs. There are three important theories include; organizational motivation justice, Maslow’s hierarchy needs theory, and expectancy theory.

Behavior based motivation such as Equity Theory, Expectancy Theory and Reinforcement Theories are built on the premise that employee behavior is directly linked to the consequences of their actions.

To give context, Job satisfaction can be defined as “positive feeling about one’s job, resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics” (Robbins, Judge et al. 2013). Firstly, Saari and Judge (2004) conferred the idea that good management can improve job satisfaction and stated that an individual has higher levels of job satisfaction when if a manager can create four key positive job oriented roles; mentally challenging work, equitable rewards, supportive work environment, and supportive work colleagues. Conversely, it was then proposed by Ilies, R. and Judge, T.A., 2003 that job satisfaction is only partially determined by the degree of management, whereas predetermined genetic attributes have a higher level of importance on job satisfaction.