My Expectancy Theory Post

     This week in mgmt we spoke about motivation theories in business. We were asked to incorporate it into our blog post for the week concerning a situation we have had dealing with one of these theories. Expectancy theory summed up in short states that we are motivated by things that are desirable, that we know how to get, and that we believe we are capable of getting.
     I have worked in a couple restaurants over the years doing everything from washing dishes to now managing. One of the restaurants in particular stands out in my mind when I learned about the expectancy theory.
     This particular restaurant had a low-medium turnover rate when it came to employees. This being the restaurant industry was considered on the better side of things. I was working in several different areas of the establishment at the time but the kitchen was where most of this theory was recognized.
     While I was working in the kitchen I was forced to pick up several Executive Chef positions as well as Sous Chef when they decided to leave the restaurant unannounced. While this was a great opportunity for me to step up and shine, it also required approx 70-80hrs a week in some cases. This being said the money was great in theory but after working this much in one week all I wanted was a bed and a day off not more money.
     After the third instance of this similar nature I was noticing a trend that I was being compensated nicely when it was absolutely necessary because I was the go-to guy but after the position was filled I was "demoted" back to my normal wage. A person would think that if they came to the rescue several times for an organization that this would be noted and the normal wage might benefit a small bit for being a team player, this was not the case.
     Once I sat back and noticed that my skills were being abused and that I was not appreciated like I thought I should have been. the work I was willing to put out was not my best. I felt like the organization was not taking into consideration the individuals that came to the rescue when it really mattered.