THE ROLE OF MOTIVATION ON EMPLOYEES PERFORMANCE: EVIDENCE FROM ANOINTED ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING SERVICES LIMITED

ABSTRACT

The study sought to find the role of motivation on employee performance. The study was conducted by collecting data from a sample of 72 respondents’ selected using purposive and convenience sampling technique from the targeted population of 90. The data was analysed using the responses from the survey reveal that motivation has a positive effect on employees’ performance in the company. Again, it was revealed from the study that non-monetary factors also motivate employees significantly. Based on the findings, it was recommended that management of Anointed Electrical Engineering Services Limited should put measures in place to ensure that working conditions are improved. Also management should pay attention to the non-monetary factors of motivation so as to enhance employee performance in the company.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

In the light of today’s business conditions, motivating people to give off their best has become more crucial than ever, because of stiff competition and economic uncertainty (Osabiya, 2015). One factor that can set apart an organisation, be it public or private sector, is its workforce. Therefore establishing and maintaining a stable workforce is a major concern of the human resource department. It is expected that giving employees the right motivation would minimize turnover and increase performance.

Background to the Study

A great amount of worldwide wealth occurs in the form of human capital. Therefore, managing human resources plays a crucial role in the process of increasing companies’ effectiveness (Kirstein, 2010). One of the most important aspects of human resource management is motivation. The importance of motivating people at work is noticeable at all levels of an organisation. Starting from managers who need to be aware of factors that motivate their subordinates to make them perform well, through employees who need to think through what expectations they have of work, ending up with human resource professionals who have to understandmotivation to effectively design and implement reward structures and systems for their establishment (Kirstein, 2010). It is obvious that companies need motivated employees. However, because of the complex nature of human behavior, motivation is not easy to understand and use (Kirstein, 2010).

Motivation in the work contextis defined as an individual’s degree of willingness to applya high level of effort to reach organisational goals (Robin & Decenzo, 1995). Naturally, organisations expect individuals who are motivated to perform well in the workplace. In addition, they hope to employ people who have the ability to motivate others to work hard towards the accomplishment of goals assigned to them. If organisations can motivate employees to become effective problem solvers and to exceed customer expectations, then the organisational goals and objectives can be realized (Harvard press, 2005).

The changing view of organisational rewards and employee motivation have led to a multitude of theories of exactly how the job rewards influence the motivation and performance of employees. Steers and Porter (1987) stated that a comprehensive theory of motivation at work must address itself to at least three important sets of variables which constitute the work situation. That is, the characteristics of the individual, the characteristics of the job and the characteristics of the work environment.

Armstrong (2003) pointed out that all organisations should be concerned with what should be done to achieve a sustained high level of performance through people. This means giving close attention to how individuals can best be motivated through such means as incentives, rewards, leadership, the work they do, and the organisational context within which they carry out the work. The aim is to develop motivation processes and a work environmentthat will help to ensure that individuals deliver results in accordance with the expectation of management.

Motivation theories examine why people at work behave the way they do in terms of their effort and the directions they are taking. They also describe what organisations can do to encourage people to apply their efforts and abilities in ways that will further the achievement of the organisation’s goals as well satisfying their own needs. However, despite many studies on motivation, managers today are no closer to understanding employees’ motivation than their counterparts were more than a half of century ago (Kovach, 1995).

Although a number of researches suggest that money is not as motivating as it seems to be, many companies try to implement monetary incentives as their main tool to motivate employees.This performance related pay became the new mantra that was used unquestionably by many companies (Frey &Osterloch, 2002). As a result of recent financial crisis worldwide, many large and small organisations had to cut costs through reduction of employees’ salaries and bonuses (Oldham & Hackman, 2010). The question that has arisen is, are there other options of motivating employees that would be equally effective but more cost efficient?

The literature on the subject of motivation shows that there are several other ways to motivate employees (Allender&Allender, 1998; Mayfield, Mayfield &Kopf, 1998; Lawyer, 1969; Lu, 1999;Oldham& Hackman, 2010; Roche & MacKinnon, 1970; Tharenou, 1993;). Apart from these, there are theories which seek to explain motivation.The most well-known and often cited theories can be divided into two categories: content theories and process theories. The content theories focus on what motivates people. They are promoted by authors such as Maslow, McClelland, Alderfer and Herzberg. The process theories focus on how motivation occurs and what kind of processes influence motivation. They are promoted by authors such as Skimmer, Victor Vroom, Adam and Locke.

Every employee has his or her own set of motivations and personal incentives that ginger him or her to work hard. Some are motivated by being recognised for what they do while others are motivated by compensation incentives such as salary increases, profit-sharing, stock option and bonuses.Whatever the form of employee motivation, the key to promoting motivation, as an employer, is incentives (Mc Coy, 2000).Also, some studies have revealed that employee motivation iskey to long-term benefits for the company as it promotes workplace harmony and increases employee performance. It also leads to staff retention and company loyalty which, in turn gives birth to growth and development of business (Jishi, 2009).

Furthermore, worker’s motivation is essential since there is a direct relationship between motivation and performance (Osabiya 2015). It is only through motivation that managers help their employees to generate the excellent performance that enables companies or organisations to boost profitability and survival and even thrive during tough times.Also, increased motivation creates the condition for a more effective workforce.

Employee motivation is an interactive process between workers and their working environment. Therefore, good management and supervision are still critical factors in reaching organisational goals (Hornby &Sidney, 1988). This research will focus on how motivation can meet the challenges of workplace diversity.

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Item Type: Ghanaian Topic  |  Size: 71 pages  |  Chapters: 1-5

Format: MS Word  |  Delivery: Within 30Mins.

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