Assignment 06 -Equity Theory
Equity
theory was introduced by Porter and Lawler. This theory is based on the
employee beliefs about their work in relation to the number of inputs they
invest in order to obtain the expected outcomes (Lunenburg & Ornstein,
2008).
According
to the study conducted by Hofmans (2012), the employee inputs are the total
effort they extend to execute organizational work. As per the author,
educational background, experience related to the job, trainings received are
the inputs of employees.
The
outcomes are the returns employees receive after they put their total effort.
These are the set of rewards they receive for executing the work, such as,
salaries or wages, promotions, job security, better working conditions, status
etc. s (De Gieter et al. 2012).
Employees
then try to assess the ratio between inputs and outcomes. Every employee
expects this ratio to be equal as they expect employment fairness. When if the
ratio becomes equal, it indicates that there is a fair and equitable exchange
between themselves and the employer. In other words, they receive equal returns
for their effort. When if the ratio is not equal, this leads to a situation
where employees become demotivated (De Gieter et al. 2012).
According
to the study conducted by Lunenburg and Ornstein (2008), employees act
differently during an inequity. Inequity might be positive or negative. When
there is a negative inequity where outcomes are less (less rewards) compared to
the efforts employee put forward, then employees become demotivated. They contribute
less time and effort, become lethargic and ultimately become less productive.
Such employees have a higher tendency to leave the organization or get absent.
If the inequity is positive, where outcomes are greater (more rewards) compared
to the efforts employee put forward, then employee become motivated. They even
tend to work additional hours without pay.
Therefore,
this theory helps employers to discover remedies to eliminate inequities in the
organizations and help maintain a balance between the work done and the rewards
given to employees.
As
per the below video constructed by Dr. Ben Baran, it explains how equity theory
works on employees in organization. Also, through the example, Dr.
Ben explains the consequences of having an inequity in a workplace. He
has taken two employees (Jane and Bob) who engage in the same job in the same
department. Both these workers are paying similar level of effort, they are in
similar nature of ambience and have same inputs towards their jobs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p_4C0Mzne4
Employee
Jane is facing an inequity compared to Bob. What can she do to reduce the
tension and store equity in her mind is discussed in this video by Dr. Ben
Baran. Jane notices that Bob receives more outcomes for the inputs he poses, than
what she receives. To restore balance, Jane has to alter her outcomes simply by
either demanding more pay, steal, or decrease her inputs. Decreasing inputs can
be done in various ways such as decreasing the efforts, reduce the quality of
work, arrive late to work, attack the opponents’ inputs or in other words
sabotage the opponent, point out the extra payments received by the opponent to
others. In the long term, a major conflict arises between parties and it will
further make Jane more desperate and reduce performance.
References
De
Gieter, S., De Cooman, R., Hofmans, J., Pepermans, R. &Jegers, M. (2012).
Pay level satisfaction and psychological reward satisfaction as mediators of
the organizational justice turnover intention relationship. International
Studies of Management &Organization, 42:50-67.
Hofmans, J. (2012). Individual differences
in equity models. Psicológica, 33, 473-482.
Lunenburg,
F.C. & Ornstein, A.C. (2008). Education administration: Concepts
and practices (5th Ed.). Wadsworth: Cengage Learning.
The Equity Theory of Motivation deals with the way people compare the value of themselves to others in similar work situations based on their inputs and outputs. Inputs are what you bring to the situation, like your skills, time and education (Indika S, 2019).
ReplyDeleteSome are motivated by the challenge they face in carrying out their job, some are motivated by the level of fame they earn, others and majority of people are motivated by the money they earn. People will work better when they are motivated enough with the pay scale, the incentives and the wages they are offered in return of a job well done (Robbins 2012)
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