Importance of the Clear and Effective Use of Houses Path Goal Theory of Leadership through the
Abstract The theoretical concepts of Path-Goal Theory of Leadership and Expectancy Theory are discussed in relation to one another. ... Various studies are referred to as evidence of the theories and a short discussion on the use of the theories to increase leadership effectiveness concludes the paper. ... One way to increase productivity is through the effective use of Houses Path-Goal Theory of leadership. ... Through an understanding of Expectancy Theory of motivation, leaders can increase the effective use of Houses Path-Goal Theory of leadership. In this paper the theoretical concepts of Houses path-goal theory and Vrooms expectancy theory will be discussed. Following this, there will be a consideration of the application of these theories and a short description of various studies that support the use of these theoretical concepts. ... Theoretical Constructs According to Houses Path-Goal theory of motivation, leaders can be most successful if they efficiently tie together workers personal goals with the aims of the organisation, effectively making the achievement of personal goals beneficial to the organisation. ... They can endeavour to do this through methods such as giving guidance, setting goals, and offering ample feedback. ... (Keller, 1989) Path-Goal theory is best utilised by aligning situational factors with different kinds of leader behaviour. ... (Johns & Saks, 1996) Expectancy theory as created by Victor Vroom in his 1964 book, "Work and Motivation," asserts that motivation is determined by the results that employees expect for various behaviours, because motivation leads to effort and effort leads to rewards. ... According to expectancy theory, motivation to work is highly determined by both leader behaviour and worker expectations. ... Porter and Lawler (1968) expanded on Vrooms theory in "Managerial Attitudes and Performance" by adding the idea that expectations influence individuals behaviour. (as cited in Isaac, Zerbe & Pitt, 2001) All people tend to pursue the behaviour or goal with the highest expected utility because individuals act in self-interest work in order to maximise the probability of desirable outcomes for themselves. ... The components of todays expectancy theory include outcomes (consequences of behaviours), instrumentalities (how likely these outcomes will occur in the case of each behaviour), the valence of each outcome (how much personal utility each is worth to the individual), expectancies that first level outcomes or the behaviours can be achieved, and the force or efforts made by the individual to achieve each outcome based on the product of expectancy and valence.