Expectancy Theory Case Study

Elements of the expectancy theory were very clearly demonstrated throughout this case study, and particularly with the new pay structure. With the proposed compensation plan, the physicians would have a very clear understanding of how their effort to obtain the minimum number of patients directly correlates to their individual success, and the success of their peers and hospital. The increased connection between effort input to rewards reaped for each doctor means that there is a higher expectancy value than before. Additionally, with this new plan instrumentality increases because an underperforming doctor will always have to rely on another doctor to carry their weight, and directly face the uncomfortableness and bruised ego that comes with …show more content…
Regarding the bonuses, while I personally am more sympathetic in this case to the importance of the organization’s financial success over that of the individual, altering Rubash and Herndon’s proposed bonus system could be beneficial to generating wider support from doctors. In order to offer a sense of extrinsic motivation to those highly productive doctors other than by doing good for the organization, instead of the entirety of the surplus generated by the group going into the development fund, three quarters of it would. The leftover quarter of the surplus could then either go to the top earning doctor, or be evenly distributed amongst the top three or so productive doctors. If MGOA took this approach to offering bonuses, the organization would still increase their funds going towards development, while doctors could maintain a certain amount of motivation rooted in their own self interest. My second suggestion would be to encourage doctors to conduct their research in a group so that they can reap the benefits of sharing their time and resources. One of the doctors’ main concerns with the plan proposed by Rubash and Herndon was that by requiring a minimum revenue, the doctors associated with Harvard’s Medical School would be challenged for time conduct research and to publish, both of which are essential to maintain their partnership with Harvard, and to the organization’s identity. By encouraging doctors to combine their research efforts doctors would not necessarily have to spend as much time individually in group research than they would everyone in the department focusing exclusively on their own research. So, one example of how doctors could collaborate could be if each department came together and agreed upon an area of research they as a whole would like to pursue, and then the whole department could combine their