What motivates people to work? According to
equity theory, it is the perception of equitability and in equitability. Equity
theory focuses on two sides: the input and the outcome. An employee compares
his or her job’s inputs with an outcome’s ratio. If the employee perceives
inequality, he or she he will act to correct the inequity (Zawahreh and Madi,2012). Employees seek to maintain equity between the inputs
that they bring to a job and the outcomes that they receive from it against the
perceived inputs and outputs of others. The belief is that people value fair
treatment which causes them to be motivated to keep the fairness maintained
within the relationships of their co‐workers and the organization (Ball,2012).
Tasks that are clarified bring a better job
satisfaction since a clear role breeds a work force that is happy, committed
and shows much involvement in work that is done (Reuben, 2017).
Words like efforts and rewards, or work and pay, are an over‐simplification ‐ hence the use of the terms inputs and outputs. Inputs are logically what we give or put into our work. Outputs are everything we take out in return (Ball,2012). If employees perceive an inequity in their input-outcome ratio compared to other employees, they become dissatisfied and less motivated (Reuben, 2017).
Table1.0: Inputs and Outcomes of Equity Theory
|
Inputs |
Outcomes |
|
Education, intelligence, experience,
training Skills, seniority, age, sex, ethnic
background Social status, job effort, personal
appearance, health, spouse’s characteristics. |
Pay, intrinsic rewards, satisfying
supervision Seniority benefits, fringe benefits, job
status Status symbols, job perquisites, poor
working conditions, monotony, fate, uncertainty. |
Table 1.0 has showed what inputs and outcomes
are expected. If an individual perceives any of them as an input, then it is an
input and hence, he or she expects a just return for it. The problem arises if
only the employee views a particular input and not the employer. In this case,
felt injustice is experienced for example an employer may base his promotion on
seniority rather than promotion; the employee “feels” that injustice has been
done (Adams, 1965). This theory points back to consistent organizational
strategy and values be related to human resources processes. It also highlights
the difference between equity and equality, meaning that treatment that
motivates is not necessarily equal, but it is fair (Marczak, and Yawson, (2021).
Video 1.0: Equity Theory
Source: (Paul Balwant, 2017)
Video 1.0
illustrate the Equity theory about the employees needs and how to fulfill
it.
I worked for a sri lanka
leading health care sector company which fulfill Eye care needs and services to
customers. All employees in the company have performance evaluation and they
get annual increments according to their performance level. Also, the employees
get year-end and mid-year bonus according to their salary. There are number of
trainees recruit annually and they all have two years academic schedules before
release to the work stations. All of the trainees get same amount of increments
and Basic Salary. Also, there are rewarding system according to employee’s
continuous education (CE) points. All the staff members can access the learning
management system in the company and they can complete tasks and get CE points
which will help to recommendations and promotions.
References
Adams, J.S., (1965).
Inequity in social exchange. In Advances in experimental social
psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 267-299). Academic Press.
Al-Zawahreh, A. and Al-Madi,
F., (2012). The utility of equity theory in enhancing organizational
effectiveness. European journal of economics, finance and
administrative sciences, 46(3), pp.159-169.
Ball, B., (2012). A summary
of motivation theories. [Online] Available from http://www.yourcoach.be/en/employee‐motivation‐ebook/ [Accessed 09th April 2022].
Marczak, E. and Yawson,
R.M., (2021) Understanding the Theories and Interventions of Motivation in
Organization Development. In Responsible Management: Opportunities and
Challenges. Proceedings of 58th Annual Conference of the Eastern Academy of
Management. [Online]
Available from https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/108001/ , [Accessed 10th April 2022].
Reuben, M. (2017) Theories of Motivation and
Their Application in Organizations: A Risk Analysis. International Journal
of Innovation and Economic Development [Online] Available from
http://dx.doi.org/10.18775/ijied.1849-7551-7020.2015.33.2004. [Accessed 9th April 2022].
Hi Chulanga. I agree with your post. It is the perception of equitability and inequity, according to equity theory. The input and the outcome are the emphasis of equity theory. An employee compares the inputs to the outputs of his or her job. If an employee notices inequity, he or she will take action to fix it. The employee's productivity or job quality may suffer as a result. Inequities can often lead to increased absenteeism and even resignation from a company. (Greenberg, 1999).
ReplyDeleteYes Pavani,The problem arises if only the employee views a particular input and not the employer. In this case, felt injustice is experienced for example an employer may base his promotion on seniority rather than promotion; the employee “feels” that injustice has been done (Adams, 1965).
DeleteHi Chulanga, Nice post and focus was on employee satisfaction. But this had little or no connection with performance and was more about the employee than the organization or the employee’s relationship with it (Marian, 2014)
ReplyDelete