Adams equity theory, also known as the equity theory of motivation, was developed in 1963 by john stacey adams, a workplace behavioral psychologist. It can even undermine the motivation of other employees. This theory shows that you become more motivated when your perceived fairness is high and demotivated when you perceive unfairness. The higher an individuals perception of equity, the more motivated they will be. When compared to other people, individuals want to be compensated fairly for their contributions the outcomes they experience match their input s. The equity theory of motivation how to keep your team. Equity theory is used in parlance of human resource management. Pdf the utility of equity theory in enhancing organizational. An employee compares his or her jobs inputs with an outcomes ratio. Adams equity theory calls for a fair balance to be struck between an employees inputs hard work, skill level, tolerance, enthusiasm, and so on and an employees outputs salary, benefits. According to the theory, employee motivation is the result of the balance between what an. Equity theory is frequently identified as a vital theory for understanding employee motivation.
Expectancy theory published on march 29, 2016 march 29, 2016 43 likes 3 comments. Pdf this paper will focus on examining equity theory, its propositions. High performance is achieved by well motivated people who are prepared to exercise discretionary effort. Adams equity theory how fairness affects employee motivation. When applied to the workplace, equity theory focuses on an employees workcompensation relationship or exchange relationship as well as that employees attempt to minimize any sense of unfairness that might result. The equity theory of motivation how to keep your team motivated. Adams equity theory, a powerful theory of motivation toolshero. Equity theory, most popularly known as equity theory of motivation, was first developed by john stacey adams, a workplace and behavioral psychologist, in 1963. Adams equity theory how a manager can motivate their. Everyone takes up a job as they are motivated by some factor or the other. The construct is delineated through a series of propositions, and implications for equity research in organizations are discussed. Difference between expectancy theory and equity theory.
The equity theory owes its origin to several prominent theorists. According to equity theory, it is the perception of equitability and inequitability. Adams equity theory how a manager can motivate their team. If the employee is able to find his or her right balance it would lead to a more productive relationship with the management. Equity theory of motivation management study guide. In this model, like in expectancy theory, people are viewed as having thoughts, feeling, and opinions that affect their work. An individual is said to be highly motivated if he. The difference between expectancy theory and equity theory needs substantial analysis as both explain how employees relationships evolve in a working environment. Much like the five levels of needs determined by maslow and the two factors of motivation as classified by herzberg intrinsic and extrinsic, the adams equity. Stacey adams, recognized that motivation can be affected through an individuals perception of fair treatment in social exchanges. Adams equity theory of motivation equity theory suggests that individuals engage in social comparison by comparing their efforts and rewards with those of relevant others. The utility of equity theory in enhancing organizational effectiveness introduction what motivates people to work. Adams suggested that employees try to maintain a balance between what they give to an organisation against what they receive, and base satisfaction with their own balance. Equity theory is based in the idea that individuals are motivated by fairness.
Inputs include all the rich and diverse elements that employees believe they bring or contribute to the job. The absence of motivation factors leads to a decrease in motivation, and the presence of motivation factors increase motivation. The adams equity theory was developed by the american psychologist john stacey adams in 1963. Equity theory states that a persons motivation is based on what they believe is fair or not fair compared to others pennsylvania state university, 2016. The utility of equity theory in enhancing organizational effectiveness. The equity theory of motivation describes the relationship between the employees perception of how fairly is he being treated and how hard he is motivated to work. Stacey adams equity theory employee motivation theories. Equity theory proposes that a persons motivation is based on what he or she considers to be fair when compared to others redmond, 2010. Equity theory explains how people strive for fairness and justice in social exchanges or give and take relationships.
It says that individuals compare their job inputs and outcomes with those of others and then respond to eliminate any inequalities. The perception of individuals about the fairness of their rewards relative to others influences their level of motivation. Mar 25, 2020 the equity theory of motivation states a persons motivation is directly related to their perception of equity or level of fairness. The diagonal model of job satisfaction and motivation. Thus, adams equity theory shows the level of motivation among the individuals in the working environment.
It explains why a promotion or raise rarely has the desired effect. John adams put forward his theory on motivation in 1963 which extends beyond. Equity theory of motivation tries to address this problem of unequal treatment among employees in a company and its effect on the overall motivation of the employees because slight unequal treatment is present everywhere but when this unequal treatment becomes excessive than it hampers the motivation of the employees in a negative way which can. Equity theory of motivation examples explained hrf. Equity allocations treat a fair allocation as one that pays individuals in accordance with their contributions. The utility of equity theory in enhancing organizational effectiveness article pdf available in european journal of economics, finance and administrative sciences march 2012 with 17,549 reads. Instead of focusing on money alone, adams equity theory looks at compensation in relation to our social environment, and its subsequent effect on motivation. It is a cognitivecentered theory as it is basically concerned with the person himself, his beliefs, feelings or perceptions. The equity theory of motivation states a persons motivation is directly related to their perception of equity or level of fairness. John stacey adams suggests that the higher an individuals perception of equity, the more motivated they will be and. John stacey adams suggests that the higher an individual s perception of equity, the more motivated they will be and. Introduction to equity theory first developed in 1963 by john stacey adams 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 outcomes of others. Equity is measured by comparing the ratio of contributions or costs and benefits or rewards for each person.
The core of the equity theory is the principle of balance or equity. In equity theory, motivation is affected by the individual perception of. Equity theory of work motivation is based on the social exchange process. And that meant leading to an expectation as part of this theory that an employee would feel motivated if they were known to be doing a similar type of. A motivation is the force that energizes, directs and sustains behavior. Equity theory of motivation tries to address this problem of unequal. If there are unequal levels of input or output, either internally or within an observed group, then adjustments are made to create more fairness. This theory of motivation states that positive outcomes and high levels of motivation can be expected only when employees perceive their treatment to be fair.
However, equity theory takes a less straightforward and more fluid approach than previous models. In this assignment, we will know more details about equity theory and how to use it to motivate employee performance as a manager. The higher an individual s perception of equity, the more motivated they will be. Equity theory helps us understand work motivation by looking at peoples values. Employees place great importance on being treated fairly and equally. Equity theory, most popularly known as equity theory of motivation, was first developed by john stacey adams, a workplace. The adams equity theory shows why salary and benefits alone dont determine an employees motivation.
Stacy adams and proposed that people are motivated to seek social. The core of equity is the principle of balance or equity. The equity theory based on simple assumption that people want to be treated fairly. The utility of equity theory in enhancing organizational. For a business owner or manager, this is a particularly important lesson to learn with regard to employees. It also explains why giving one person a promotion or payrise can have a demotivating effect on others. Developed by the behavioral and workplace psychologist, john stacy adams, equity theory of motivation is one of the justice theories explaining the correlation between input and outcome of performance of employee at a job with hisher perception of equitable or inequitable behavior from the employers. Based on the maslows theory and equity theory, according to their characters, the questionnaire aim to find the limitation of these two theories, check whether the two theories follow the real situation. Leaders and managers have sought to understand theories of motivation and then test them in the workplace to increase the productivity and effectiveness of their workforce.
Adams equity theory leadership skills training from. Jan 09, 2018 according to the theory, employee motivation is the result of the balance between what an employee attributes to the company against the recognition heshe receives as compared to what hisher coworkers receive for the same attribution. In short, adams equity theory means that employees will become demotivated if. According to this theory of motivation, an individuals motivation level is connected with his perception of equity, fairness and justice practised by management. The theory is also known as adams inequity theory of motivation. This video will show you how to apply adam s equity theory to workplace motivation. Improving motivation with adams equity theory youtube. John stacy adams introduced equity theory in 1963, and addressed our tendency to compare ourselves to others. In this clip, i discuss the five key parts of equity theory, an example of. John stacey adams equity theory helps explain why pay and conditions alone do not determine motivation. Its about the balance between the effort an employee puts. In its basic form, the equity theory of motivation implies that each individual is motivated by the concept of fairness. Adams equity theory, a powerful theory of motivation.
And equity theory effectively looked at an employee population to try and determine how far it was important for employees to feel equally treated. The theory proposes that the employee evaluates the outcomes from the job i. Considered one of the justice theories, equity theory was first developed in the 1960s by j. And in motivation for employees, we have equity theory which is one of the most popular motivation theories in managing and motivating employee performance. Looking back over our series, adams equity theory ties in closely with those of maslow and herzberg. The principal object of any system is equity or fairness. There are three cognitive processes of work motivation. Motivation is the theoretical concept, which attempts to explain human behavior. Oct 22, 2014 equity theory explains how employees determine what is fair and how they act upon their perceptions. This article explains the adams equity theory, developed by john stacey adams in a practical way.
The equity can be expressed as thus, adams equity theory shows the level of motivation among the individuals in the working environment. In this study, it is aimed to test herzbergs two factor motivation theory empirically. As per this motivation theory, an individuals motivation level is correlated to his perception of equity, fairness and justice practiced by the management. Jan 18, 2012 equity theory helps us understand work motivation by looking at people s values. Adams equity theory equity theory, most popularly known as equity theory of motivation, was first developed by john stacey adams, a workplace and behavioral psychologist, in 1963. It was published in the journal, experimental social psychology, 1965, new york titles inequality in social exchange. The research supports equity predictions in the area of underpayment, but the overpayment effects have not been satisfactorily demonstrated. Marketing and management of innovations issn 22276718 on. John stacey adams equity motivation theory allows you to put workplace psychology into action and increase your own or your teams motivation. This supports adams equity theory that people tend to us e a. Human beings are different from other living beings because they have emotions and it is due to emotions that we do not like unequal treatment between two people who are putting same effort whether its at home or at a college or at work.
Read this article to learn about the equity theory of motivation and its evaluation. Adams equity theory builds on maslows hierarchy of needs and herzbergs two factor theory, and was first presented in 1963. Motivation provides reasons for peoples action, desires, and needs. May 03, 2018 the theory is also known as adams inequity theory of motivation. Stacey adams formulation of the theory which is most highly developed and researched statement on the topic. Adams 1965 defines inequity as inequity exists for person whenever he perceives that. Nov 20, 2014 adams equity theory of motivation equity theory suggests that individuals engage in social comparison by comparing their efforts and rewards with those of relevant others. Equity theory of motivation equity theory was developed by james stacy adam.
John stacey adams, a workplace and behavioural psychologist, articulated a construct of equity theory on job motivation and job satisfaction in 1965 okpara, 2006, p. There are different models of equity aristotle even had one but by far the most influential is adams 1965 equity theory. Every employee of an organisation expects that he should be treated with justice. John stacey adams proposed that an employees motivation is affected by whether the employee believes that their employment benefitsrewards are at least equal to the amount of the effort that they put into their work. Adams equity theory of motivation and vrooms expectancy. Equity theory was first developed in 1963 by jane stacy adams.
Equity theory of motivation the equity theory of motivation is used to describe the relationship between the employees perception of how fairly is he being treated and how hard he is motivated to work motivation is the activation of an energized goaloriented behavior. Equity theory in some sense is related to motivationhygiene theory, in that it considers both demotivators and motivators. Adams s 1965 equity theory is another form of motivation. The equity theory of motivation employee motivation.
As weve talked about many times here at brighthr, your business needs motivated staff to operate at its full capacity. After reading it, you will understand the basics of this powerful motivation theory what is the adams equity theory. Miles university of georgia equity theory proposes that individuals who perceive themselves as either underrewarded or overrewarded will experience distress, and that this distress leads to efforts to restore equity. Sep 25, 2016 equity theory of motivation, developed in the early 1960s by j. First developed in the early 1960s by behavioural psychologist john s. According to adams, individuals calculate equity comparing two outcomeinput ratios. Applying adams equity theory to employee engagement. While the feelings of demotivation arise, if an individual perceives to be treated unfairly in the organization. In this clip, i discuss the five key parts of equity theory, an example of how it may operate at work, and some of.
This paper discusses and describes the equity theory of motivation with its implications to managers in the light of a real organizational example. No matter what avenue of life is in question, fair treatment is something that everyone appreciates and demands. Adams equity theory, which stresses the importance of striking a balance between employee inputs and outputs. Equity theory, popularly known as adams equity theory, aims to strike a balance between an employees input and output in a workplace. In short, adam s equity theory means that employees will become demotivated if. Equity theory reminds us that people see themselves and crucially the way they are treated in terms of their surrounding environment, team, system, etc not in isolation and so they must be managed and treated accordingly. Download our free ebook a summary of motivation theories to get an overview and brief practical analysis all the theories in one handy document. Adams, equity theory is concerned with defining and measuring the relational satisfaction of employees. John stacey adams equity motivation theory allows you to put workplace psychology into action and increase your own or your team s motivation. There is nothing wrong in this expectation by the employees.
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