Equity Theory (Adams) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Equity Theory (Adams) - Essay Example ng to Adams, in relation to a given work situation, employees seek to maintain equity when it comes to the rewards they get from their jobs and the inputs they give to it. Without maintaining this equity, the employees would feel negatively about their work situation and be distressed about it. Overtime, the idea of equity has been developed to include and influence many other facets of organizational behavior. Two of these are the psychological contract and employee motivation since they stand out as primary examples where the equity theory becomes applicable. The idea of establishing or creating equity between the employee and the company is very clearly seen when it comes to motivation since according to the theory employees seek to create equitable relationships and rewards can be used to make individuals work harder. However, when it comes to the psychological contract, the application of the equity theory is more subtle therefore it would be important to understand how the psychological contract and the equity theory complement each other. Robinson and Rousseau (1994) say that the psychological contract is quite important for all facets of management and those employees who are given employment with a company hope to obtain equal benefits from their employment as compared to the input they are giving to the company. In essence, the psychological contract of an employee is based on the idea of creating equity. As per the meaning of the term, a psychological contract is the implicit contract of several deep understandings between the company and the employee as they relate to the expectations of the employee and the obligations of the company (Emott, 2006). Guest (2004) takes an even larger view of the psychological contract in employment situations where recommends that a full understanding of an equitable relationship should incorporate fairness to both parties and it should be based on mutual trust. This kind of equity is perhaps too idealistic since it