In the corporate world, Expectancy Theory can be used in several ways. One way is to determine whether a candidate is likely to do well on a particular task or test. For example, if the client wants to be hired for a particular position, then the manager can use the expectancy theory to determine whether the client will do well on the job. Expectancy also predicts that a client will react a certain way to a particular event just because they have expectations about the event.
Expectancy also predicts that a client will not perform well on a particular task or examination if they do not have any expectations about that task or examination. In other words, the expectation theory says that if the client has no expectations, they will do poorly on the task or exam. In fact, the opposite is true.
For instance, if the client is a salesperson, then the expectancy of the person is going to be high if the client wants to make sales. But if the client has no aspirations of working as a salesperson, then the client’s expectancy of their job will be very low. In this case, we would observe that the client is a high achiever with high interest. However, if she had aspirations of working as an accountant, then she would have low expectancy. The importance of expectancies lies in the fact that it enables us to differentiate between people who are doing well and people who are doing badly.
According to expectancy theory, it is better to make a qualitative analysis of the questions instead of a quantitative one. This is because qualitative methods have stronger validity than quantitative methods. If you ask a question such as ‘How good is your memory? ‘, then you can be reasonably sure of the answer. However, in order to make a qualitative analysis, you will have to make use of various questionnaires for attaining objective data.
Another important aspect of expectancy theory is the relation between expectations and motivation. The theory says that there is a strong relation between the expectation and motivation. For example, if a client expects to get an A grade, and he or she gets an A, then this will definitely boost his or her motivation. This is why it is important to make sure that your questions are clear and straightforward so that there is no question of miscommunication between the examiner and client.
One aspect of expectancy theory which is of great importance is that the client has a reasonable expectation of the test. In case of any uncertainty, the client should be given room to answer doubts. In most cases, the client will give a reason for not getting the desired result. So in case of doubt, the theory says that the expectations should be realistic and should be able to withstand the test.
In conclusion, expectancy theory basically says that a client’s expectations have a great influence on the results of the examination. It also says that the client should be very realistic with respect to his or her expectations. Once these are understood, then the expectations of the client can be made objectively, and they can be used as basis for the performance appraisal. This article is intended to help you understand the importance of expectancy theory in evaluation and testing.
