This theory is about choice it argues that the

goals and can be motivated if they have certain expectations. This theory is about
choice. It argues that the strength of a tendency to act in a certain way depends on the
strength of an expectation that the act will be followed by a given outcome and on the
attractiveness of the outcome to the individual. It includes three variables namely,
attractiveness, performance- reward linkage and effort -performance linkage. Thus,
whether one has the desire to produce at any given time depends on one‘s particular
goals and one‘s perception of the relative worth of performance as a path to the
attainment of those goals.
The theory has basically four steps. First, what perceived outcomes does the job offer to
the employee. The outcomes may be good such as pay, security, companionship, chance
to use talents among others or negative such as fatigue, boredom, harsh supervision,
treat of dismissal among others. Secondly, how attractive do employees consider these

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outcomes? The individual who finds a particular outcome attractive; that is positively
valued will prefer attaining it to not attaining it. Third what behavior must the employee
exhibit in order to achieve these outcomes? The outcomes are not likely to have any
effect on the individual employee‘s behavior unless the employee knows clearly and
unambiguously, what she must do in order to achieve them. Lastly how does the
employee view the chances of doing what expected of her? After the employee has
considered her own competencies, and her ability to control that variable that will
determine her success, what probability does she place on successful attainment?
This theory thus emphasizes on payoffs, or rewards. As employees have to believe that
that the rewards the organization is offering align with their wants. It is a theory based
on self-interest, that is, each individual seeks to maximize his or her expected
satisfaction. A major concern here therefore is the attractiveness of the reward; hence
there is need for knowledge and understanding of what value the individuals put on
organizational payoffs so that employees can be rewarded with the things they positively
value. Therefore according to the theory, how motivated an employee is depends on the
link between effort and performance; the link between performance and outcome and the
link between outcome and individual needs.
According to Gupta (2011) the theory emphasizes that motivation is based on the
amount of effort required, the rewards or returns and the value the individual gives to the
rewards. The theory states that individuals base decisions on their expectations that one
or another alternate behavior is more likely to lead to needed or desired outcome
(Jackson and Mathis, 2004). Basic to this theory is the notion that people join
organization with expectations and if these expectations are met they will remain
members of the organization (Daly & Dee, 2006). Turnover and retention framework
developed from this theory assert that decisions to stay or leave an organization can be

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explained by examining the relationship between structural, psychological and
environmental variables. Johnsrud& Rosser,(2002), Zhou & Volkwein,(2004), Daly &