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THE EFFECTS OF MOTIVATION ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IN THE
EDUCATION SECTOR (A CASE STUDY ON KAAF UNIVERSITY COLLEGE)
BY
JIMMY ABIGAIL JOSEPH
(AC/12/WDS/1056)
PROJECT WORK
SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT,
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT
OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE DEGREE IN
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
AUGUST, 2015
1
DECLARATION
I, JIMMY ABIGAIL JOSEPH, author of this research project do hereby declare that except for
reference to other people’s work, which has been duly acknowledged, the work presented here
was done by me as a student of Department of Human Resource Management of the University
College of Management Studies during 2012-2015 academic years.
This work has never been submitted in whole or in part for any degree in this university or
elsewhere.
………………………
JIMMY ABIGAIL JOSEPH
(STUDENT)
This work has been submitted for examination with our approval as supervisors.
………………………
EMMANUEL OFORI – MENSAH
(MAIN SUPERVISOR)
2
DEDICATION
To The Glory of God and Our Lord Jesus Christ and to my mother Unwana Luke for the
enormous sacrifices she made to enable me come these far in my Education.
3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
My humble appreciation goes to the Almighty God who stood by me throughout my academics.
As a beneficiary of his guidance, I am highly appreciative of the contribution of my supervisor,
Mr. Emmanuel Ofori - Mensah a lecturer at University College of Management Studies, for all
the necessary support accorded during the project, whose comments, directions and
encouragement gave me the zeal and inspiration to complete this work no matter the odds. I do
appreciate his kindness, friendship, understanding, patience and unrelenting support
I am also grateful to Mr. Stephen Kuku, a lecturer at KAAF University College who assisted in
distribution and collection of the questionnaire.
Special thanks also go to Mr. Asante, H.O.D of the Human Resource Management of KAAF
University College, who led me to the school Management team for their permission and
approval for the administration of the questionnaire.
I am grateful to all my lecturers whose mentorship has been of immense help to me.
I also extend my sincere gratitude to my mother Miss Unwana Luke whose love, efforts and
understanding has been relentless throughout my academic years.
Finally, I would like to thank all my friends especially, Mrs. Mary Dodzih and Young Dorcas
Aseye who helped in diverse ways to make this work and my academic years a success.
4
ABSTRACT
5
Table of Contents
6
List of Tables
7
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0 Background to the Study
The overall success of an institution in achieving its strategic objectives relies heavily on the
performance level of employees. Employee performance is a function of ability and motivation,
where ability is comprised of the skills, training and resources required for performing a task and
motivation is described as an inner force that drives individual to act towards something. Flippo
(2001) adds that employee performance in institutions results in a more motivated work force
that has the drive for higher productivity, quality, quantity, commitment and drive. He also
concurs with Mondy (2007) and Armstrong (2005) both of who were of the opinion that it results
in more positive approaches and benefits than other managerial perspectives.
Organizations in this dynamic globalized world are continuously trying to develop and motivate
their employees to help achieve enhanced performance with various Human Resource
applications and practices.
Every organization that is committed to generating profits for its owners (shareholders), and
providing quality service for its customers and beneficiaries, is concerned with its performance
and performance of its employees.
Employee performance is defined as the outcome or contribution of employees to make them
attain goals (Herbert, John & Lee 2000) while performance may be used to define what an
organization has accomplished with respect to the process, results, relevance and success.
Afshan et al. (2012) define performance as the achievement of specific tasks measured against
predetermined or identified standards of accuracy, completeness, cost and speed. Employee
performance can be manifested in improvement in production, easiness in using the new
technology, highly motivated workers.
Employee's performance means how well employees perform on the job and assignments
assigned them measured against the generally accepted measure of performance standards set by
their companies. This means there are general expectations expected of employees in relation to
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their performance in every company. Employees can be said to have performed when they have
met the expectations and performed up to standard.
An important part of performance management noted by Bratton and Gold (2003) is to collect
and review data on an individual’s past and current work behavior and performance.
Performance is the accomplishment of a given task measured against pre-set standards of
accuracy, completeness, cost and speed (Business Dictionary 2010: online). This implies that any
given performance management process has to efficiently and effectively steer and control the
organization through predetermined steps and stages to attain established goals and objectives of
the organization in general and the individual employees in particular.
According to Sambo (1988) performance is the product of ability and motivation (Performance =
Ability times motivation).
Sambo (1988) continued by saying that what all organizations fail or are unable to determine
prior to entry by new entrants is the level of motivation. This is because among all others things,
motivation i.e. situational and colloquial does not easily render itself to measurement
management, therefore, we have the singular task of motivating staff to perform, since this is the
only variable in the performance equation that management influence.
Sambo (1988) also looked at motivation as the label for everything that determine how an
individual decides to initiate efforts on task, how he decides on the level of effort to exert on that
task. This view of motivation is obviously very embracing and effecting, motivation therefore is
spaced demanding task on management. He suggested that management determines the needs of
its staff and the situational variables that determine a person’s behavior. The main task of every
manager or administrator is to effectively achieve the objectives of the organization and this can
be attained through proper motivation among all employees in the organization or system. The
importance of motivation as an instrument in the hands of the management of an organization
has been a critical issue since the early 20th century. The persistent search by student for those
performance and productivity led to the formulation of the various management and motivation
theories. The early postulation of the motivation theorists were based on the belief that individual
seeks only pleasure and minimized displeasure. According to Koontz et al (1972) motivation is
“a general concept applying to the entire class of drives, desire, needs, wishes and similar forces”
9
equally, to say that managers or administrators – motivate the workers that they do those things
which they hope will satisfy. These drive and desires induces the employees to act in a desired
manner.
In any organizational set up, the motivational process is concerned with how behavior gets
started, is energized, is sustained, is directed, is stopped, and what kind of subjective reaction is
present in the organization while all this is acting on. The assumption is that people work to
satisfy needs and apply drive or effort towards goal which provide the means of satisfying these
needs. Thus, the greater the need and the more relevant the goal object to need fulfillment, the
harder people work, so the individual is motivated by the extent to which a job provides needs
related rewards. Maslow (1943) provides a five category classification of need: physiological,
safety, social, esteem and self-actualization need.
Maslow argued that people in an organization or work place are motivated to perform by a desire
to satisfy a set of integral needs. He said that once one order is satisfied, the individual is
motivated by the next needs. He believes that things got do not motivate behavior and lower
level needs must be satisfied before attention can be paid to the higher level needs.
Movement is different from motivation. Movement is the internal movement within an object or
towards another object or objects. Therefore movement alone does not result into action.
Motivation on the contrary is the internal movement within an entity that causes another
movement in another entity that further causes the combination of internal and external activities.
To this end organizations are to seek to recruit and retain employees that are willing to work and
retain those enjoying their work and continually strive to improve their work performance (Stroh,
2001). Doing so requires the existence of a model that stimulates performance and predicts
employee behavior. Managing the performance of employees forms an integral part of any
organization’s strategy of dealing with their human capital (Drucker as cited in Meyer & Kristen,
2005). This function also includes creating a conducive and enabling environment for employees
to achieve organizational objectives. In a conducive work environment, motivating employees is
used as a strategic tool to enhance job performance.
Lawler (2003) argues that employees do not just need to be motivated, but also need to be
capable of performing the assigned tasks. Hence, a highly motivated employee who does not
10
possess the required core competences (required expertise, knowledge, skills and behavioral
attributes) cannot perform well. Similarly employees with all the required competences would
not necessarily do well, while they experience de-motivation or are unmotivated (Roberts, 2005;
Amos et. al., 2004; Oosthuizen, 2001).
Motivation policies often forms part of quality and service initiatives with the objective of
getting everyone in the organization oriented towards the same direction, to develop awareness
of staffs and customers and to foster a team spirit within business units. In some organizations
the objective of Motivation policies is to promote a greater degree of innovation. Motivation
policies in promoting leadership in innovation involve the empowerment of all staff towards
making a contribution. Related to this, may be used to market new technologies internally, to
market a new corporate image, to change the ethos of the organization and, importantly, to
communicate strategic leadership issues. Motivation may be used as a competitive weapon to
differentiate the organization externally, giving the organization and externally-perceived
competitive advantage in terms of responsiveness.
Successful motivation policies appear to be dependent on a number of factors: Foremost,
programs rely on communications, good communication systems and strong messages. The
message must get through to the people who need to hear it. Motivation policies depend on
factors associated with the organization’s culture, including commitment at all levels, co-
operation, an open management style, and general awareness of the need to make cultural
changes and recognition that the customer comes first. This involves a recognition that everyone
in the organization must be pointing in the same direction towards the organizational objective.
Motivation policies must be accepted as a mainstream responsibility. Recipients of motivation
policies message need to see the benefits for themselves, this leads to ownership of the process.
Motivation policies have to be consistent, balanced, maintained and built upon as an ongoing
resource. This in turn is reliant upon feedback and continued interest - the motivation policies
message should also be enjoyable.
According to Wloodkwowskit (1989) the main Criterion for successful motivation planning, no
matter what the instructional plan may be, is that each time phase (beginning, during, and
ending) of the sequence of instruction for the particular project object includes significant
11
positive motivational influence on the workers. He further listed out six basics question for
motivation planning as follows:
What can I do to establish a positive working attitude for this programme?
How do I best meet the needs of my workers throughout this working sequence?
What about this working conditions that will stimulate my workers?
How does this working pattern increase or affect workers feeling of competence?
How this working pattern does provide for my workers?
Knoveles (1980) contented that when workers are motivated to work, they work harder and learn
more. A manager working with motivated worker finds instruction more successful, achieves
greater satisfaction and avoids burnout.
1.1 Statement of the Problem
According to Michael Porter’s five forces of competitive position (or strategic) model, news
firms freely enter into the competitive industry or market and some existing firmly leave the
competitively market due to forces beyond their control (Porter, 2010). Similarly the provision of
tertiary educational services in general and that of private educational services in particular have
become intensely competitive and this brings about both opportunities and threats. Those private
tertiary institutions that will fail to properly motivate their employees will not only experience
high employee turnover but will consequently loose a good number of their customers. Other
threats that face private tertiary institutions that do not adequately motivate their employees
include: volatile loyalty and commitment, potential defective morale, employees’ taste for
different motivational packages and increase in the cost of recruitment and placing. Whenever
competent lecturers and essential employees consistently leave a given private university or
University College, such tertiary institution will develop negative branding. The other few
competent employees that will remain will unavoidably be overworked and as a result are most
likely to perform poorly.
It appears that the resources for serious operation for motivating teaching and non-teaching staff
at KAAF University College are inadequate. There is the problem of motivating planning that
liquidity and late payment of salaries occur. There is a problem of threat for retrenchment of
work threatening to lay down their tools. Lecturers do have meetings every year Full time
12
workers have to look for additional job to supplement the low salary and the delay in payment.
Some lecturers delay in marking papers as a result in delay in salaries of staffs. Apart from
salaries, lecturers hardly receive any form of allowances and loans. Most lecturers do not get
access to training on continuous professional development in upgrading knowledge to the benefit
of students. Some lecturers do an hour instead of three as a result of demonization.
The researcher has looked into the various motivations that Private Tertiary Institutions need to
provide standard delivery services
out-perform other institutions
become competitive and
Ultimately motivate employees.
In other words, the study investigated in part into how KAAF University College employees
achieve their individual performance targets. To this end, the top management personnel must
specify what they ought to do and see to it that they do those things that make employees
perform well in KAAF University College.
1.2 Purpose of the study
The purpose of this study is to investigate the process and the applications of motivational tools
and their impact on employee performance.
1.3 Research Objectives
The objectives are:
To determine the procedure, process and practices of motivation in the education sector.
To discover the motivational packages that positively influences employee performance
in the education sector.
To assess ways of improving the motivational systems in the education sector.
To examine how motivation affects employee performance in the education sector.
1.4 Research Questions
The research will address the following specific questions:
13
What are the procedure, process and practices of motivation in the education sector?
What are the motivational packages that positively influence employee performance in
the education sector?
How can the motivational systems of the education sector be improved?
How can motivation affect employee performance in the education sector?
1.5 Significance of the study
The study is vital in so many ways.
The research will help to reveal lapses namely discriminatory practices in the
motivational systems in the education sector and make recommendations on how to
address the said lapses. It is useful to employees as it enables them to understand the
circumstances under which they perform better and the circumstances under which they
perform poorly.
It further helps those in management positions to understand how internal and external
motivations influence each other. Managers are particularly encouraged to factor the
interests and goals of employees in the organizational objectives and to focus on internal
motivations of employees.
The study scientifically informed employers that salaries have the strongest relationship
with motivation and that employees similarly prefer a blend of financial and non-
financial motivational packages.
It would enable the researchers to find ways and means in improving motivation. The
study will add to the wealth of knowledge on motivation and performance. Its unique
contribution lays in its discovery that internal motivators are stronger than external
motivators.
1.6 Scope of the Study
The scope of this study is conducted at KAAF University College main campus located at
Gomoa Buduburam in the Central Region as a case study to access the impact of motivation, on
staffs overall performance.
1.7 Limitation of the Study
14
Although, this study has accomplished the purpose which is set out to do, one of its
limitations is that the validity of the results of findings is dependent on the honesty of the
respondents in providing the needed information.
Also finance which is a core area in research located some problems on printing and
scanning of materials.
Another problem is the unnecessary secrecy purported to prevent the organization from
exposure or probe from the members of the society.
Some staffs are slow in filling the form and some don’t have time to fill the form.
Despite these limitations, however, this study was deemed successful because the
purpose for which it was designed was achieved.
1.8 Definition of Terms
Abilities – general human capacities related to the performance of a set of task
Attitude – this represent a person generally feeling favorable and unfavorable towards
some stimulus object.
High Performance Work Systems – a work place or work systems were the various
parts or subsystems are aligned or fit together in a way that lead to increased productivity,
quality, flexibility and shorter cycle times as well as increased customer and employee
satisfaction quality of work life.
Human Relations – a movement that advocates more human working conditions. It was
formulated as a response to for the frequent abuse of unskilled workers.
Human Resource Development (HRD) – a set of systematic and planned activities
designed by an organization to provide its members with the necessary skills to meet the
current and future job demands.
Human Resource Management (HRM) – the effective utilization of employees to best
achieves the goals of and strategies of the organization as well as the goals and needs of
employees.
Job discrimination – an example of one type of discrimination at a workplace. It occurs
when organization’s places limit on job availability, through such things as restricting
15
advertisement and recruitment, rejecting applicants, salary disparities among staffs of the
same grade, or offering lower salaries to certain type of individuals.
Motivation, Volition And Performance (MVP) - The integrative MVP theory points
out that motivation is the external and internal force that boost enthusiasm to (i) reach
peak performance (ii) improve results (iii) genuinely care about their peers and company
and (iv) maintain positive results.
Performance Management – a management tactic that goes beyond the annual
performance ratings and interviews and seeks to incorporate employee goal setting,
feedback, coaching and rewards, and individual development.
Skills – a combination of abilities and capabilities that are developed as a result of
training.
360 Degree Performance Appraisal – an approach to performance evaluation that
generally uses peer, subordinate, superior and customer feedback to obtain and complete
a picture as possible as employee’s performance.
1.9 Organization of the Study
The thesis will be organized in five chapters and the breakdown is as follows;
Chapter one covers the background of the study, statement of the problem, the purpose of the
study, research objectives and questions, significance of the study, scope of the study, definition
of terms, and organization of the study.
Chapter two covers literature review.
Chapter three covers the research methodology,
Chapter four embraces findings and discussion.
Chapter five covers the summary, conclusion and recommendations of the study.
16
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.0 Introduction
The study focuses on the effects of application of motivational tools and the performance of
institution. It also focuses on motivation as a fore that energizes, directs and sustains the efforts
of employees; it situates employees’ performance and productivity. This chapter talks about
theoretical concept of motivation, performance and productivity, theories of motivation and
human resource, empirical literature, motivation and performance, measurement of employee
and organizational performance, summary of some research findings. The challenges associated
with implementing motivation policies as well as the benefits of motivation, among other issues.
2.1 Definition of Motivation and Methods of Motivation
2.1.1 Motivation
Grant (2008) says that motivation is fundamentally meant to facilitate behavioral alteration. It is
a force that enables an individual to act in the direction of a particular objective. According to the
study of Grant (2008) held on employee motivation; motivation forced such result as
productivity, performance and persistence. According to the studies of Ryan and Deci, (2000)
motivated employees are more oriented towards autonomy and freedom and are more self-driven
as compared to less motivated employees which lead to availing developmental opportunities
more correctly. (Guay et al., 2000; Vansteenkiste et al., 2007) goes further to reveal that
similarly employee commitment with their work and jobs is more, if they are motivated as
compared to less motivated employees.
According to Maslow, Alderfer, McClelland, Hackman and Hertzberg; the growth is most
influential motivator for individuals that exploit the potential of employees. (Basset-Jones and
Lloyd, 2005; Chen et al., 2004) explains, It is found that an undeniable link exists among the
motivation of employees and the satisfaction with the jobs and also to organizational
commitment. Chintallo & Mahadeo, (2013) continues to explain that employee motivation is
most important element for all organization to attain achievement weather these are public or
private.
17
According to the outcomes of the study accomplished on the association between motivation and
job satisfaction of employees by Sirota et al. (2005) having 135,000 respondents from different
groupings and countries, organizations implementing various motivation programs involving
three constructs as camaraderie, equity and achievement were considered to be more effective
than organizations that had no or twice as many ‘enthusiastic’ employee (of total 45%). A study
was done by (Asim, 2013) to find the effect of motivation on employee performance in which it
was concluded that if employees are motivated then their performance will increase.
2.1.2 Motivation Methods
According to Coates et al (1994) there are as many different methods of motivating employees
today as there are companies, institutions, organizations etc, operating in the global environment.
Still, some strategies are prevalent across all organizations striving to improve employee
motivation. The best employee motivation efforts will focus on what the employees deem to be
important. It may be that employees within the same department of the same organization will
have different motivators. Many organizations today find that flexibility in job design and reward
systems has resulted in employees' increased longevity with the company, improved
productivity, and better morale. The motivation methods mentioned by Coates et al (1994) are
empowerment, creativity and innovation, learning, quality of life, and monetary incentive.
Coates et al, (1994) explain the method of empowerment in the sense that giving employees
more responsibility and decision-making authority increases their realm of control over the tasks
for which they are held responsible and better equips them to carry out those tasks. As a result,
feelings of frustration arising from being held accountable for something one does not have the
resources to carry out are diminished. Energy is diverted from self-preservation to improved task
accomplishment.
Coates et al, (1994) further reveals on the method creativity and Innovation, saying that at many
companies, organizations, institutions, employees with creative ideas do not express them to
management for fear that their input will be ignored or ridiculed. Company or organization
approval and toeing the company line have become so ingrained in some working environments
that both the employee and the organization suffer. When the power to create in the organization
is pushed down from the top to line personnel, employees who know a job, product, or service
18
best are given the opportunity to use their ideas to improve it. The power to create motivates
employees and benefits the organization in having a more flexible work force, using more wisely
the experience of its employees, and increasing the exchange of ideas and information among
employees and departments. These improvements also create an openness to change that can
give a company the ability to respond quickly to market changes and sustain a first mover
advantage in the marketplace or environment.
Coates et al, (1994) concerning learning say that, if employees are given the tools and the
opportunities to accomplish, most will take on the challenge. Companies can motivate employees
to achieve more by committing to perpetual enhancement of employee skills. Accreditation and
licensing programs for employees are an increasingly popular and effective way to bring about
growth in employee knowledge and motivation. Often, these programs improve employees'
attitudes toward the client and the company, while bolstering self-confidence. Supporting this
assertion, an analysis of factors which influence motivation-to-learn found that it is directly
related to the extent to which training participants believe that such participation will affect their
job or career utility. In other words, if the body of knowledge gained can be applied to the work
to be accomplished, then the acquisition of that knowledge will be a worthwhile event for the
employee and employer.
Coates et al, (1994) talks on the method of quality of life saying; the number of hours worked
each week by American workers is on the rise, and many families have two adults working those
increased hours. Under these circumstances, many workers are left wondering how to meet the
demands of their lives beyond the workplace. Often, this concern occurs while at work and may
reduce an employee's productivity and morale. Companies or institutions that have instituted
flexible employee arrangements have gained motivated employees whose productivity has
increased. Programs incorporating flex time, condensed workweeks, or job sharing, for example,
have been successful in focusing overwhelmed employees toward the work to be done and away
from the demands of their private lives.
According to Coates et al, (1994) on the method of monetary incentive explains that for all the
championing of alternative motivators, money still occupies a major place in the mix of
motivators. The sharing of a company's, organization, institutions profits gives incentive to
employees to produce a quality product, perform a quality service, or improve the quality of a
19
process within the company. What benefits the company directly benefits the employee.
Monetary and other rewards are being given to employees for generating cost-savings or
process-improving ideas, to boost productivity and reduce absenteeism. Money is effective when
it is directly tied to an employee's ideas or accomplishments. Nevertheless, if not coupled with
other, nonmonetary motivators, its motivating effects are short-lived. Further, monetary
incentives can prove counterproductive if not made available to all members of the organization.
Coates et al, (1994) study after study has found that the most effective motivators of workers are
nonmonetary. Monetary systems are insufficient motivators, in part because expectations often
exceed results and because disparity between salaried individuals may divide rather than unite
employees. Proven nonmonetary positive motivators foster team spirit and include recognition,
responsibility, and advancement. Managers, who recognize the "small wins" of employees,
promote participatory environments, and treat employees with fairness and respect will find their
employees to be more highly motivated. One company's managers brainstormed to come up with
thirty powerful rewards that cost little or nothing to implement. The most effective rewards, such
as letters of commendation and time off from work, enhanced personal fulfilment and self-
respect. Over the longer term, sincere praise and personal gestures are far more effective and
more economical than awards of money alone. In the end, a program that combines monetary
reward systems and satisfies intrinsic, self-actualizing needs may be the most potent employee
motivator.
2.2 DEFINITION OF EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE AND FACTORS AFFECTING
EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE
2.2.1 Employee Performance
According to the results of the study conducted by Yang (2008) on individual performance
showed that performance of the individuals cannot be verified. Similarly he asserts that
organizations can use direct bonuses and rewards based on individual performance if employee
performance is noticeable.
In line with Yang (2008), Bishop (1987) investigated employee performance and revealed that
acknowledgment and recognition and reward of performance of employees direct the
discrimination between employee productivity. Yazıcı, (2008) explains that moral and
20
productivity of employees is highly influenced by the effectiveness of performance of an
organization and its reward management system.
Ahmad, (2012) reveals that to satisfy customers, firms do much effort but do not pay attention on
satisfying employees. But the fact is that customer would not be satisfied until and unless
employees are satisfied. Because, if employees are satisfied, they will do more work therefore
ultimately customers will be satisfied. (Azar and Shafighi, 2013) further says that employee
performance is actually influenced by motivation because if employees are motivated then they
will do work with more effort and by which performance will ultimately improve, therefore,
motivation has a significant and positive relationship with employee performance.
According to Koontz, (1988) Ways in which employee performance can be increased include;
proper incentive systems which may be financial or nonfinancial. Financial incentives include;
salaries, allowances, overtime payment, bonus and wages, while non financial incentives
include; promotion, medical allowance, training, transport, subsidized housing and meals. This
should be after identifying the needs and desires of employees that can be satisfied hence
increased performance.
2.2.2 Factors Affecting Employee Performance
Goal Clarity
Willmot (2007) asserts that people must have in mind a clear picture of any end or goal they are
to achieve. If this picture does not exist, they cannot tell if they are making progress or when
they have completed the task or assignment, let alone if it has been completed properly.
Knight (2008) agrees and adds that keeping the end in view has been sage advice for almost two
thousand years. The time a manager spends in developing, communicating and clarifying the
goals or ends to be achieved is time well spent.
Repertoire
Nickols (2003) writes that to achieve a goal, the people working toward it must possess a
suitable, flexible repertoire. They must be able to engage in whatever behaviors are necessary to
obtain that goal despite changing circumstances and environmental disturbances. In some cases,
21
this will involve carrying out a routine that has been specified in advance by someone else. In
other cases, it will require figuring out — on the spot — an appropriate course of action. He
concludes that in many situations, the end to be achieved will remain constant but the conditions
under which it is to attained will vary. Therefore, employees need to possess a suitable and
flexible repertoire.
Knowledge of Structures
According to Fred (2003), figuring out what to do in a particular situation requires knowledge of
the structure of that situation. People must understand the elements that make up the situation,
how those elements are connected to one another and the relationships that exist between and
among these elements. This knowledge of the structure of the situation allows people to say how
the actions they take will lead to the result they seek. It also allows them to say, for a given
result, the actions that will lead to it. Absent this knowledge, action is little more than a shot in
the dark and achieving desired results depends mainly on luck or intuition.
Sara (2004) agreed and added that employees can only perform to the best of their knowledge
and therefore those with good knowledge about the structures will perform better.
Feedback
Gerhart (2004) wrote that without information about actual conditions in relation to intended
goals or results, no one can perform to standard. Such information is known as feedback. It
informs progress, enables corrections and, eventually, signals attainment of the objective. For
most hard tasks (i.e., tasks involving tangible products or other immediate and readily measured
effects of one’s actions), feedback is generally available without much effort on any-one’s part.
We are aware of our actions and their effects. But, for soft tasks (i.e., tasks where the effects of
our actions are not tangible, immediate nor readily measured), the feedback loop is essentially
open. This is especially true when the main effects of a person’s actions are the reactions of other
people. Therefore, lack of good feedback leads to lack of correction and hence poor
performance.
22
Mental Models
Sara (2004) asserts that absent feedback, people have no choice except to act in ways that are
consistent with internally-held views or mental models of what is appropriate or what should
work instead of externally-based information about what is and isn’t actually working. For this
reason, it is worthwhile spending time working with people to identify the mental models they
currently use in situations where feedback isn’t readily available. In some cases, this will surface
mental models that are inappropriate or inadequate. In other cases, it might surface mental
models that are superior to those held by most people. This means that employee performance
does not only depend on the information provided to the employees but also to their mental
models.
Motivation
Kathleen (2004) asserts that it is one thing to be capable of doing something; it is something else
altogether to want to do it. Setting aside the issue of coercion, people generally want to do things
for two basic reasons: (1) it serves some purpose of their own or (2) it serves someone else’s
purpose and they’ve accepted something in return for doing whatever it is that someone else
wants done. Self-satisfaction and incentives; these are the two great motivators.
Environment
In his studies on performance, Rynes (2004) found out that performance might not occur if the
environmental conditions are so unsuitable as to present insurmountable barriers to performance.
He writes that Most of us can successfully drive our cars on windy days but none of us can drive
through a tornado. In less dramatic terms, missing tools and equipment, competing priorities, a
repressive climate and other factors can interfere with our ability to perform as expected,
regardless of our motives or our repertoire, the presence or absence of feedback and the quality
of the mental models that guide our thinking and actions. In short, the task environment must
support the desired performance; at the very least, it must be manageable.
Technology
According to Samuel (2010), technology is primary tool that can be used to boost employee
performance. Ha writes that improvement in technology accompanied by training of the
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employees can significantly increase their levels of performance because it reduces the stress that
comes with doing the job manually.
Abilities, training and experience
Scott (2000) defined ability as the capacity to learn and perform the tasks required. He revealed
that a good mixture of ability, training and experience is the root cause best performances. He
asserts that best performing employees at least have two of the three factors.
Work-Home Balance
Berman (2001) wrote that as much as an employer may not want to be affected by the personal
life of his employees, personal problems can sometimes affect employee performance. Managers
need to be sensitive to employee personal problems, and be prepared to discuss the issues with
employees when necessary. If an employee requires time off to deal with a personal problem,
then granting that time off will help to show all of your employees that the company values its
employees.
As a researcher, I strongly support the above factors that affect employee performance as valid
even in the present situation hence employees should take them serious and find out how to
mitigate their effects to have improved employee performance.
2.3 The Relationship between Motivation and Employee Performance
According to Steers (1999), employee motivation is the process of enabling or authorizing an
individual to think, behave take action, control work and decision making in an autonomous
way.
A number of studies have examined the relationship between motivation and performance,
Koestner (1999) wrote that if motivation is crucial for initiating behavior, then performance
exists at the opposite end of the spectrum and is defined as the outcome of a motivated act.
Posti, (2005) says that people need motivation just as pieces of equipment need fuel and
operators. This is highly demanded to ensure that they are always at their optimum working
condition. In turn, this will absolutely lead to optimum productivity. People are one of the most
important assets in business. They have unlimited potential to contribute in the achievement of
24
objectives. Their aggregate productivity propels the operations of the company. It dictates the
overall performance, which creates an attractive corporate culture.
According to Dems, (2010). The value of human resource productivity is a managerial concern.
Employee motivation is the classic response on this matter. This has been utilized for ages by
many different entities, small- and large-scale businesses alike. It fosters mutual growth in an
employer-employee relationship. Indeed, motivation increases productivity.
In their study Wood, et al (2000) examined the role of active exploration in an adult training
program. Their results indicated that participants who were trained to actively explore the
environment during training had higher intrinsic motivation levels, as well as higher performance
on transfer tasks.
In agreement Cooper, et al (1999) found that intrinsic motivation was associated with higher
levels of creativity-based performance for an in-basket work task. The in-basket technique is an
employment screening task in which an applicant is asked to complete a set of paperwork that
would be representative of his/her actual work tasks.
Amodt (1999) and Graen (1999) also found that intrinsic motivation in employees was related to
higher levels of creative performance, as rated by work supervisors. However, Fang (1997)
reported that, although intrinsic motivation was related to innovative performance, it was not
related to other work outcomes.
According to Hersey (1996). Motivation is concerned with human behaviour. It is the inner
striving condition described as wishes, desires, drives or moves, human psychological
characteristics, which includes the factors that cause channel and sustain human behaviour.
Therefore motivation deals with what makes people active. It`s the influence force that gives rise
to behaviour involving creating conditions in which employees want to work and are willing to
accept responsibility.
According to Waterman (1982). Motivation is the degree of effort an employee exerts to
accomplish a task; it shows an excitement about work. From the managers’ point of view, person
who is motivated has such characteristics as hardworking, sustaining a pace of hard work, self-
directed behavior towards important organizational goals. Motivation is the key to performance
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improvement. There is a saying that saying that “you can take a horse to the well to drink water
but you cannot force it to drink”, it will drink if only it is thirsty-so with people. They will do
what they want to do or otherwise motivated to do. Whether it is to excel on the workshop floor
or in the ivory tower, they must be motivated or driven to it, either by themselves or through
external stimulus.
According to Heneman, (1992). Differences in institutional arrangements contribute to the
feasibility and effectiveness of various monetary incentives, as do differences in employees’
preferences for specific incentives. Therefore, companies are wise to study these issues before
implementing changes to existing incentive plans. This is especially pertinent for service
organizations, where financial reinforcements tend to produce a stronger effect on task
performance than non-financial rewards used alone. Even stronger results are seen with a
composite approach. For example, one meta-analysis of 72 field studies found that monetary
incentives improved task performance by 23%, social recognition improved task performance by
17% and feedback elicited a 10% improvement18. Simultaneously combining all three types of
reinforcements improved performance by 45%.
Putting in consideration Milkovich, (1991) presentation that team-based or small-group
incentives are defined as rewards whereby a portion of individual pay is contingent on
measurable group performance. In general, its effectiveness is dependent on the characteristics of
the reward system, the organization, the team and the individual team members. Here again,
studying this issue via employee surveys or interviews can be useful. But generally speaking,
research suggests that equally divided small-group incentives sustain high levels of productivity
and satisfaction for group members, and that small group incentives are at least as effective as
individual incentives with groups of two to twelve people. Qualitative, quantitative and survey
research studies of alternative pay systems such as profit-sharing or gain-sharing plans are even
more consistent in their findings. These incentive programs include various pay-for-performance
approaches that link financial rewards for employees to improvements in the performance of the
work unit20. Research reveals that these types of incentive systems are associated in practice –
and in employer and employee minds – with both higher productivity and improvements in
organizational performance.
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2.4 Theoretical Conceptualization of Motivation
According to Rudolf & Kleiner, (1989); Mouton, (2001). The integrative MVP theory points out
that motivation are the external and internal force that boosts enthusiasm to:
i. reach peak performance,
ii. improve results,
iii. genuinely care about their peers and company, and
iv. Maintain positive results
In agreement John Keller,(2006) says that this theory is recommended to guide empirical
research on motivation because it entails an explanatory frame and almost all existing theories of
motivation. That is, it contains the assumptions, formulas and principles that are common to the
said theories and that complement each other.
2.4.1 Concept of Motivation
Casio, (2003); Ehlers and Lazenby, (2004). People are important assets of organizations. In part
they specify, design, market or use both products and services. These people are either
stakeholders, owners, employees or customers. Employees are similarly known as internal
customers. Employees therefore occupy strategic positions as they are in a sense part of the
organization and in another sense part of the customers.
Meyer, (2002). In order to execute the organizational strategy, it is important that the
organization acquires the correct competencies, which are primarily the skills, knowledge and
behavioral attributes the organization possesses in its human capital. In other words, the strategy
of the organization is productively executed only if the employees of that organization have the
requisite competencies that comprise the requisite skills, knowledge and behavioral attributes
Lawler, (2003) reveal that considering the aforementioned, it makes sense that human resource
managers must obtain adequate knowledge regarding what motivates employees to fulfil their
full potential.
In the light of the above, I strongly recommend that competitive organizations should invest in
effective strategies to motivate their respective staff for them to maintain their competitiveness.
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Some of the different motivators are money, opportunity for personal development, flexible
schedules and sense of accomplishments. Different individuals prefer different motivators or sets
of motivators. This implies that a given specific motivator can be more appealing to an
individual or group of individuals than other motivators whereas another specific motivator can
similarly be more appealing to another individual or group of individuals than a different
motivator or set of motivators. This notwithstanding, employees have shared preferences, values,
desires and dispositions. If this is an absolute watertight inference then it is plausible to get the
right stimuli that make employees efficiently and effectively perform tasks in a timely manner.
This makes organizations succeed in the challenging and competitive market environment.
Rensis Likerthas, (2008). Apart from determining the employees’ preferences of a motivator or
set of motivators, human resource scholars, specialists and practitioners in private tertiary
institutions are to further determine if motivation is essentially internal or external. Some
scholars hold that motivation is essentially internal. If this is the case then either employees
naturally disposed to accomplish a given task or willingness is the precondition for the
accomplishment of a task. For other scholars motivations are essentially external. If this is the
case then external agents and factors are enough to determine employees to accomplish a given
task. Two propositions inferred and deduced from these arguments. First, internal and external
motivators influence each other and are complimentary. Second, willingness ultimately accounts
for any voluntary human action. Therefore internal motivation has a stronger force than external
motivation.
Shulze and Steyn, (2003); Oosthuizen, (2000); Amos et. al, (2004) reveals that motivation can be
said to be intentional and directional. Also motivation is the assent and agreement of the human
will with itself to move itself to further move the human intellect and body to act. This means
that the only role of the human will is to decide and urge the intellect and body to act. That is
human will does not act but is the reason for acting. It is the human intellect that acts by
specifying and judging and the human body carry out practical action or activities in agreement
with the dictate of either the will or intellect. The human body can similarly undertake activities
as a result of the unified prompting of the human will and intellect. Again, it can be deduced and
inferred that capability and willingness are the two complementary qualities that employees need
to efficiently and effectively carry out the tasks they ought to carry out well. They also need
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other motivators that are essentially external such as adequate pay, good team work, and
availability of other conditions that enable employees to realize their needs and interests. Human
resource managers must therefore;
i. develop skills to motivate employees,
ii. Assemble and maintain employees who are competent and willing, and
iii. Design standardized incentive-based or reward-based performance checklist to in part
prevent or minimize discrimination in the motivation systems.
They further say that human resource managers must ensure that the competencies and
personalities of the employees match the demands of the job and the cultural acceptability of the
job.
2.4.2 Concept of Motivation and Performance
Stroh, (2001) defines motivation as the internal movement within an entity that causes another
movement in another entity that further causes the combination of internal and external activities.
To this end organizations are to seek to recruit and retain employees that are willing to work and
retain those enjoying their work and continually strive to improve their work performance. Doing
so requires the existence of a model that stimulates performance and predicts employee behavior.
Drucker as cited in Meyer & Kristen, (2005) also reveals that managing the performance of
employees forms an integral part of any organization’s strategy of dealing with their human
capital. This function also includes creating a conducive and enabling environment for
employees to achieve organizational objectives. In a conducive work environment, motivating
employees is used as a strategic tool to enhance job performance.
Lawler (2003) argues that employees do not just need to be motivated, but also need to be capable of performing the assigned tasks. Hence, a highly motivated employee who does not possess the required core competences (required expertise, knowledge, skills and behavioural attributes) cannot perform well. Roberts, (2005); Amos et. al, (2004); Oosthuizen, (2001) further explains that similarly employees with all the required competences would not necessarily do well, while they experience de-motivation or are unmotivated.
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2.4.3 The Concept of Motivation and Productivity
According to Halse and Humphrey (1986), two factors impact positively on productivity,
namely, physical factors and psychological factors. The physical factors include the inputs of
machinery, money, materials and labor and end with the output of the product or service being
rendered. Psychological factors that affect the productivity include the motivators and de-
motivators that influence the performance of employees.
Also according to Cronje et. al. (2003) productivity “is a state of mind”; the spirit of progress;
“the ratio between goods and services produced (output) and the resources (input) used to
produce them, to indicate the productive efficiency of labor. Hence organizations should not
have one-off improvement productivity approach. They must put in place a long-term
productivity plan. It must include addressing employee turnover, absenteeism and retrenchment
as these variables negatively impact on the productivity of employees. Adonis, (2007);
Swanepoel, (2003); also reveals that organizations can also use the “productivity ratios” which is
a statistical tool that uses historical data to examine past levels of productivity index (P)
a. Motivation Process
b. Identification of need
c. Tension
d. Course of action
e. Result – positive/negative
f. Feed back
2.5 Theories of Motivation and Human Behavior
It has earlier been stated in this chapter that one of the theories of motivation is the integrative
theory of motivation, volition and performance - the integrative MVP. This theory is a meta-
theory that comprised almost all other theories of motivation including: Mcclelland’s
Achievement Need Theory; Alderfer’s Erg Theory of Motivation; Abraham Maslow need-
hierarchy or deficient theory of motivation; Vrooms Expectation Theory; Herzberg’s Two-Factor
Theory of Motivation and Skinner’s Reinforcement theory of Motivation. Since it is easier to
understand all units of the whole individual and more difficult to understand the whole
instantaneously, the researcher prefers to focus on the theories that constitute the integrative
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MVP theory individually. However this chapter will review only the Herzberg’s Two-Factor
Theory of Motivation. There are two reasons for doing so. First, the scope and period for the
study is limited. Second, the Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory of Motivation better suit motivation
in a workplace.
According to Henry and Williams (1981), human motivation is a process by which behavior is
mobilized and sustained in the interest of meeting individual needs and achieving organizational
objectives.
2.5.1 Theories that Support the Study
Herzberg’s Two - factor theory and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs are examples of content
theories. They are concerned with individual needs and goals and they seek to identify the
rewards that are most important. They further, explain the specific factors that motivate people.
They attempt to explain why human needs change, but not how they change. Equity theory by
Adams and Goal-Setting theory by Locke are examples of process theory which is concerned
more with the ‘how’ of motivation. They are concerned about the psychological and behavioral
processes that motivate an individual. They are all about how people’s needs influence and drive
their behavior. People need to see what is in it for them and to sense that “fair play” is being
exercised to all concerned.
2.5.1.1 Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Abraham Maslow developed the hierarchy of needs, which suggests that individual needs exist in
a hierarchy consisting of physiological needs, security needs, belongingness needs, esteem
needs, and self-actualization needs. Physiological needs are the most basic needs for food, water,
and other factors necessary for survival. Security needs include needs for safety in one's physical
environment, stability, and freedom from emotional distress. Belongingness needs relate to
desires for friendship, love, and acceptance within a given community of individuals. Esteem
needs are those associated with obtaining the respect of one's self and others. Finally, self-
actualization needs are those corresponding to the achievement of one's own potential, the
exercising and testing of one's creative capacities, and, in general, to becoming the best person
one can possibly be.
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He further says that unsatisfied needs motivate behaviour; thus, lower-level needs such as the
physiological and security needs must be met before upper-level needs such as belongingness,
esteem, and self-actualization can be motivational. According to the implications of the
hierarchy, individuals must have their lower level needs met by, for example, safe working
conditions, adequate pay to take care of one's self and one's family, and job security before they
will be motivated by increased job responsibilities, status, and challenging work assignments.
Maslow argued that people in an organization or work place are motivated to perform by a desire
to satisfy a set of integral needs. He said that once one order is satisfied, the individual is
motivated by the next needs.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs has been criticized for its failure to provide any empirical evidence
and the theory has not actually received a great deal at empirical validation. The original word of
Maslow did not include any actual-behavioral evidence to support the theory. The fact is that the
model is difficult to test. Moreover, the needs categories are vigilant clearly overlap one another
and the backset hierarchy is simply not a universal characteristic. However, I agree on its
relevance since no matter how, human needs are categorized, they are important in
understanding human behavior within the organization. Maslow’s theory influences all KAAF
employees regardless of the age, gender, qualification and so on.
2.5.1.2 Two - Factor Theory (Herzberg’s 1965)
A different approval has been presented by Herzberg with the two factor theory. His theory is
actually based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs but he distinguishes needs in hygiene factors and
motivators or growth factors. He highlighted that when an institution hygiene factors do not exist
(e.g. salary, job security, working conditions, level and quality of supervision, company policy
and administrative and interpersonal relations) employees are dissatisfied and if these factors
exists this does not mean that employees are motivated or satisfied-this is because based on his
research the opposite of de-motivation is motivation only semantically and not when it comes to
understanding the behavior of employees in their jobs (Herzberg 2002). Herzberg’s theory
provides a strong link between motivation and performance of employees in the education sector.
He presents that performance can come as an emanation of feelings like achievement,
advancement, growth which are related with motivation. He emphasized the importance of job
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enrichment and he separated it from job enlargement which includes increased responsibility and
involvement, opportunities for advancement and the sense of achievement. The following is a
glance at each of the motivation factors according to Herzberg.
Achievement: An example of positive achievement might be if an employee completes a
task or project before the deadline and receives high reviews on the result, the satisfaction
the employee feels would increase. However, if that same individual is unable to finish
the project in time or feels rushed and is unable to do the job well, the satisfaction level
may decrease.
Recognition: When the employee receives the acknowledgement they deserve for a job
well done, the satisfaction will increase. If the employees work is overlooked or criticized
it will have the opposite effect.
Work itself: This involves the employees’ perception of whether the work is too difficult
or challenging, too easy, boring or interesting.
Responsibility: This involves the degree of freedom employees have in making their own
decisions and implementing their own ideas. The more liberty to take on that
responsibility the more inclined the employee may be to work harder on the project, and
be more satisfied with the result.
Advancement: This refers to the expected or unexpected possibility of promotion. An
example of negative advancement would be if an employee did not receive an expected
promotion or demotion.
Possibility of Growth: This motivation factor includes the chance one might have for
advancement within the institution. This could also include the opportunity to learn a new
skill or trade. When the possibility/opportunity for growth is lacking or if the employee
has reached the peak or glass ceiling, as it is sometimes referred to, this could have a
negative effect on the satisfaction the employee feels with their job and position.
The following are the hygiene factors, which work in the same way with positive or negative
attributes. However, these factors can only have an effect on the dissatisfaction one feels.
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Institution Policy or Administration: An employee’s perception of whether the policies in
place are good or bad or fair or not, changes the level of dissatisfaction that employee
will feel.
Personal or Working Relationships: This is those relationships one engages in with their
supervisors, peers, and subordinates. How someone feels about the interaction and
discussions that take place within the work environment can also effect dissatisfaction.
Figure 2.2.4: Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory
Source: Grobleret. Et. al. (2006) Human Resource Management in South Africa (3rded.).
London: Thomson Learning.
2.5.1.3 Equity Theory
Equity theory suggests that individuals engage in social comparison by comparing their efforts
and rewards with those of relevant others. The perception of individuals about the fairness of
their rewards relative to others influences their level of motivation in the education sector. Equity
exists when individuals perceive that the ratio of efforts to rewards is the same for them as it is
for others to whom they compare themselves. Inequity exists when individuals perceive that the
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Hygiene needs:
Reflect job context and
Negative job environment
creates
Hygiene factors:
More money
Better supervision
Good working conditions
Which influence? Level of job
dissatisfaction
Level of performance
Level of job satisfaction
Motivator needs:
Reflect job context and
Positive job allow worker
Motivator factors:
Achievement
Responsibility
Growth
Which influence?
ratio of efforts to rewards is different (usually negatively so) for them than it is for others to
whom they compare themselves.
There are two types of inequity-“under-reward” and “over-reward”. Under-reward occurs when a
person believes that he/she is either puts in more efforts than another, yet receives the same
reward, or puts in the same effort as another for a lesser reward. For instance, if an employee
works longer hours than her coworker, yet they receive the same salary, the employee would
perceive inequity in the form of under-reward. Conversely, with over-reward, a person will feel
that his efforts to rewards ratio is higher than another person's, such that he is getting more for
putting in the same effort, or getting the same reward even with less effort. While research
suggests that under-reward motivates individuals to resolve the inequity, research also indicates
that the same is not true for over-reward. Individuals who are over-rewarded often engage in
cognitive dissonance, convincing themselves that their efforts and rewards are equal to another's.
According to the equity theory, individuals are motivated to reduce perceived inequity.
Individuals may attempt to reduce inequity in various ways. A person may change his or her
level of effort; an employee who feels under-rewarded is likely to work less hard. A person may
also try to change his or her rewards, such as by asking for a raise. Another option is to change
the behavior of the reference person, perhaps by encouraging that person to put forth more effort.
Another issue facing equity theory concerns how institutions and employees handle
inconsistencies in equity that emerge between different types of comparisons. For example, when
pay dispersion is high, star performers making self-comparisons perceive high equity, but
average and low performers making social comparisons may perceive low equity. Bloom, (1998)
in general, research suggests that in some circumstances, the costs of perceived inequity among
the latter group can outweigh the benefits of perceived equity among the former group.
However, this Bloom, (1998) research has yet to identify conditions under which KAAF
University can create favorable perceptions of equity for different groups of employees. Colella
et al, (2007) says one practical solution, pay secrecy, appears to be a mixed bag, as employees
often view it as a signal of inequity and resist by going out of their way to publicize their
salaries. Finally, a person experiencing inequity may change the reference person and compare
35
him or herself to a different person to assess equity. For leaders in the education sector, equity
theory emphasizes the importance of a reward system that is perceived as fair by employees.
2.5.1.4 Goal Setting Theory
Latham and Locke (2002) states that motivation and performance are higher when individuals set
specific goals, when goals are difficult but accepted and when there is feedback on performance.
Locke [1984] argued that difficult specific goals lead to significantly higher performance than
easy goals, no goals or even the setting of an abstract goal such as telling employees to do their
best.
The goal theory suggests that the joint setting of objectives, feedback and involvement, which
are all part of a managerial approach, can improve motivation. The theory places particular
emphasis on goal-setting behavior and stipulates that the goals need to be clear, specific and
achievable if they are to motivate. Nagyms [2002] argued that employees are motivated if they
are aware of what needs to be done in achieving a specific goal, irrespective of the difficulties
they might encounter in doing so. This theory lies at the center of performance based motivation
programme which are effectively applied in human resource management in form of
management by objectives (MBO) technique that harbors employee involvement in goal setting,
decision making and feedback. Robbins [1998] states the employees will perform better if they
get continuous feedback in terms of how well they are progressing toward their goals.
Employees granted the opportunity to be involved in the preparation of their own goals would be
more committed in achieving such goals.
Managers of KAAF University college should set enabling environment so that employees needs
are met. They should also ensure that employees participate in goal setting and they should not
be too rigid or difficult to achieve. Employees expect to be given feedback to be able to know
their progress.
Another human relations theorist, Mcaregor (1960) in his work “the human side of enterprises”
advanced two beliefs about human behavior that could be held by different managers, divergent
views of managers about their employees. The first set of assumptions he summarized in what
he calls theory and which views man on the following set of principles.
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Mcaregor (1960) continues to say that average human beings have an inherent dislike of worth
and will avoid it if he can. Because of this human characteristic of dislike of work, work people
must be covered, controlled directed and threatened with punishment to get them to put forth
adequate effort towards the advancement of the organizational objectives.
Mcaregor (1960) also adds that the average human being prefers to be directed wishes to avoid
responsibility, has relatively little ambition and wants security above all. He says that managers
who adopt this style of leadership authority instill fear into their employees by having them
closely watched in order to obtain results. These assumptions have its emphasis on control and
extrinsic rewards.
Mcaregor (1960), in his second set of assumptions called theory ‘Y’ he sees man in a more
favorable light. The assumption of workers under this concept of management was that they
possess potential that is generally untapped by most working environments. Theory ‘y’ has the
following set of assumptions; the expenditure of physical and mental effort in works is as natural
as play or rest. External control and the threat of punishment are not the only means for bringing
about effort towards organizational objectives people will exercise self-direction and self-control
in the service of objectives to which they are committed. Commitment to objectives is a function
of the rewards associated with neither achievement. Average human beings Learn under proper
conditions not lonely to accept but also to seek responsibility. The capacity to exercise a
relatively high degree of imagination, ingenuity and creativity in the solution of organizational
problems is widely not narrowly distributed in the population. Under the conditions of modern
industrial life, the intellectual potentialities of the average human beings are only partially
utilized. Megregor’s theory ‘y’ presents it tents of concern for workers, morals, encourage
managers to begin to delegate authority for making decisions, enrich or enlarge jobs by making
decisions enrich or enlarge jobs by making decisions, enrich or enlarge job by making them less
repetitive a the warp to motivate employees to higher productivity.
Critics of theories X and Y opinioned that the theories do not tally with our traditional life
pattern and the opposite of dissatisfaction being no dissatisfaction. In organizations where the
reaction is positive, motivation is helping significantly improve quality of work and developing a
deeper involvement and cross-fertilization amongst staff.
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Responses are more positive in those organizations which have a supportive culture. Employees
in such companies are less cynical than they might otherwise be of compensation policies. This
suggests the right organizational climate is highly desirable prior to developing a motivation
policy.
Nelson and Quick (2003) argue that the combination of motivators and hygiene factors has four
(4) possible outcomes:
i. High motivated staff and few complaints: In such a work environment, staff employees
are motivated to perform above expectations and are contended with their work
environment.
ii. Jobs which are low in both hygiene factors and motivators: Such an environment results
in low levels of motivation and many employee complaints, where employees are de-
motivated to perform but also disgruntled with the working conditions.
iii. Job which are high in motivators, but low in hygiene factors: This lead to employees who
are discontent with their work environment, but are still motivated to perform, especially
when they take pride in their work.
iv. Job which is low in motivators, but high in hygiene factors: Although employees in such
an environment do not complain much about the work environment, they are complacent
and have little motivation to excel. Nelson and Quick (2003) therefore concluded that the
combination of hygiene factors and non-hygiene motivational factors lead to enhanced
performance and productivity. Nel et. al. (2001) therefore claims that organizations need
to prioritize hygiene factors before the introduction of motivators.
2.6 Empirical Literature on Motivation and Performance
Paul Young, (1941, 1950). Empirical study and/or research on motivation arguably started
around 1930 and were initially focused on ‘what moves organisms to act’ and from 1930 to 1960
was dominated by Clark Hull and Kenneth Spence (Baars J., 1986). From 1960 to 1970 the focus
shifted from nonhuman mechanism to human cognition, behaviour and related outcomes. By
1970 motivation research almost became synonymous with achievement motivation research and
from the 1990s scholars focused more on the causes of human performance (Anderman, 2013).
Finally since 2006, John Keller has expanded the integrative theory of MVP to include the
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concepts of intention, action and information processing within the framework of a system
model.
Chen and Silverthorne (2008), identify three types of performance. The first type of performance
measures output rates, amount of sales over a given period of time, the production of a group of
employees reporting to manager, and so on. The second type of performance measures involves
ratings of individuals by someone other than the person whose performance is being considered.
The third type of performance measures is self-appraisal and self-ratings. As a result, the
adoption of self-appraisal and self-rating techniques are useful in encouraging employees to take
an active role in setting his or her own goals. Hersey and Blanchard, (1993), continue that job
performance measures the level of achievement of business and social objectives and
responsibilities from the perspective of the judging party.
2.6.1. Performance Appraisal and Purpose
Robbins et al., (2000) defines performance appraisal as “the evaluation of an individual’s work
performance in order to arrive at objective personnel decisions”. Boswell & Boudreau, (2002)
reveals that while employees are keen to get feedback on their performance, organizations
investigate into how well their employees perform to make critical recommendations and
decisions. Winston & Creamer, (1997). An effective performance appraisal system must be clear,
open, fairness and must recognize productivity through rewards.
2.6.2 Performance Appraisal Methods
According to my research, there are three main approaches to measuring employee performance.
They are:
Absolute standards
Relative standards and
Objectives.
Absolute Standards
Dessler, (2000). Absolute standards refer to a situation that employees are compared to a
standard, and their evaluation is independent of any other employee in a group. This absolute
39
standard is also known as the old method of performance appraisal of employees. An example of
the absolute standard scales is the checklist scale. In using the checklist scale, the evaluator has a
list of situations and statements and compares one employee to other employees. By doing so the
evaluator makes decisions of the employee’s characteristics and performance. Answers of
checklist are often “Yes” or “No” (Decenzo, 2002).
Relative Standards
Dessler et. al. (2000). The relative standards rates individual employees against other employees.
It ranks individual employees by classifications such as the top 5 best employees (group order
ranking), individual positioning against others and not against work standards such as 1st and
2nd (individual ranking) and pairing employees to compare them to each other in order to
determine the best person for each characteristics.
The Standard of Objectives
Ingham, (1995). The standard of objectives assigns one or some of the organizational objectives
to a given employee to achieve. His or her appraisal is based on how best he or she achieves the
said organizational objective or objectives. This approach is commonly referred to as
Management by Objectives (MBO).
2.6.3. 360 Degree Feedback Appraisal
One of the most recent performance appraisal methods is the 360 Degree Feedback Appraisal.
Yukl and Lepsinger, (1995); Tornow, (1993) defines 360 Degree Feedback Appraisal as the
“Feedback from multiple sources’’ that involves inputs from an employee’s superiors,
colleagues, subordinates, sometimes customers, suppliers and/or spouses” using a standardized
instrument. It is therefore a practice and process of gathering and processing a multi-rater
assessment on individuals (Jones and Bearley, 1996) that includes self-assessment and produces
wider perspective on the employee performance and competencies (Shrestha, 2007). It has been
used for human resource development, appraisal and pay decisions (Armstrong, 1998; Stone,
2002).
40
2.6.4 Measurement of Employee and Organizational Performance
There are those scholars of performance measurement who focus only on measuring the finances
of organizations. These focus only on measuring the financial profit and loss of organizations.
They measure only financial performance. It is however important to focus on other areas of
performance in an organization. These areas include employee performance. Doing so will
realize the following:
Propel quality and productivity improvement activities
raise awareness of the effect of quality problem
Identify and track progress against organizational goals
Identify opportunities for improvement
Compare performance against both internal and external standards
Highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the organization
Ensures that customer requirements have been met
Facilitates the setting of sensible objectives
Ensures compliance with the establish objectives and standards.
Provides standards for establishing comparisons
provide visibility and a “scoreboard” for people to monitor their own performance level
highlights quality problems and determine areas for priority attention
provides feedback for driving the improvement effort
2.6.5 The Process Cost Model of Quality of Performance Measurement
There are rewards for good quality and poor quality performance. That is there are positive
rewards of good quality performance and the costs of poor quality performance. The maxim is
that any organization or employee that produces poor performance will pay the “Price of
Nonconformance”. Similarly efforts to produce good quality are also costly. First, it involves
costs for preventing failure, harm and ensuring good quality performance (prevention cost).
Second, it involves the cost of getting feedbacks from suppliers and customers and cost to ensure
products conform to specifications (appraisal costs). Third, in involves costs to rectify failures
and rebrand the products and services (failure cost). The cost of failure is more difficult to
address and has far reaching negative consequences. These include poor reputation, loss of
41
customers and payment of damages either to individual customers or governments or regulatory
bodies. Therefore it is imperative that private tertiary institutions spend on preventing poor
performance and improvements activities rather than spending on addressing the effects of poor
performance. Prevention of poor performance and effective quality improvements result in:
Reduced failure costs
Lower appraisal costs
Increased market share
Increased customer base
More productive workforce
The Process Cost Model categorizes the cost of quality (COQ) into the cost of conformance
(COC) and the cost of non-conformance (CONC). Therefore the formula for the Process Cost
Model is:
COQ = COC + CONC where
COC is the process cost of ensuring that a given products/services meets the required and
specified standards in the most effective manner
CONC is the cost of failing to ensure that a given product/service meet the required and
specified standards in the most effective manner.
2.6.6 The Tools of Performance Measurement
There are several tools that are used to measure performance. The researcher will however
discuss the balanced scorecard performance measurement tool. The balanced scorecard tool for
measuring performance entails the following procedures:
Defining the goals
ensuring the goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely
Defining the outcome metrics that are the measurable metrics to demonstrate that the
goals are being achieved
Identifying the drivers of the outcomes by brainstorming on each outcome metric to
ascertain the measurable factors that influence each of the outcomes
Identifying the drivers that have the greatest impacts and classify them as driver metrics
42
Demonstrating the stages any previous driver metric is being influenced by another
metric making the previous driver metric become outcome metric at the next level down
Organizations using existing metrics as starting points for evolving deriving new sets of
metrics as their own sets of metrics.
Using primary sets of metrics and derived sets of metrics to trigger effectiveness,
efficiency and productivity metrics
2.7 The Challenges Associated With Implementing Motivation Policies
Some problems are encountered in establishing motivation policies as a priority, although once a
small group of individuals become involved the program can run itself. Relying on the
motivation policies message to diffuse through the organization can be problematic, even where
a good grapevine exists as the message may not get through to the right people. Many motivation
policies activities, for example getting people together to celebrate the organization’s successes,
may be difficult to implement because of the company’s geographic spread. When “selling”
motivation policies by written form, it is seen as important to recognize that you are competing
for the readers’ time, as a consequence written materials and reports must be attractively
“packaged” to gain attention.
With motivation policies activities measurement is difficult. However organizations may impose
formal measures on specific initiatives which afford some measure of control. There is a general
feeling that introduction of tight financial controls may endanger the effectiveness of motivation
policies. The Maslow and Herzberg factors aims at motivating employees well for an improved
performance but needs are insatiable. Some Private universities rely only on school fees as the
major source of revenue without government subvention and subsidies so it will be very difficult
to satisfy all needs of workers. They may run at a lost if they want to abide by these theories.
2.8 Benefits of Motivation Policies to an Organization
Motivation policies have been introduced by organizations over the past decade. It has often
been initiated as part of a Total Quality Management program or similar activities. In the past
few years Motivation policies has emerged as a separate task, in many cases representing the co-
ordination of a range of disparate activities.
43
Motivation policies is introduced for a variety of reasons connected with the realization that the
organization has to be better integrated and directed towards the employees and the customer;
thus motivation policies forms part of broader business objectives.
Motivation policies is used to develop inter-functional relationships, to improve
understanding and minimize conflict
Motivation policies have also been used to assist in cultural change as part of the post-
merger integration process.
Motivation policies are often recognized as an important task by key individuals in a
company who then champion its introduction.
Motivation policies have been used to raise the profile of HR departments, to make them
more responsive, and to improve their internal credibility where they have suffered from
poor image or performance.
Motivation policies often forms part of quality and service initiatives with the objective of
getting everyone in the organization oriented towards the same direction, to develop awareness
of staffs and customers and to foster a team spirit within business units. In some organizations
the objective of Motivation policies is to promote a greater degree of innovation. Motivation
policies in promoting leadership in innovation involve the empowerment of all staff towards
making a contribution. Related to this, may be used to market new technologies internally, to
market a new corporate image, to change the ethos of the organization and, importantly, to
communicate strategic leadership issues.
Motivation may be used as a competitive weapon to differentiate the organization externally,
giving the organization and externally-perceived competitive advantage in terms of
responsiveness.
2.9 Summary of Some Previous Research Findings
Positive incentives such as good salaries encourage higher performance whereas negative
incentives such as disciplinary actions against improper conduct discourage certain
practices or behavior (Bourne et al., 2003; Robson, 2005).
Motivation in addition to the employee skills, job design and work structure affect the
performance of a firm. Also motivation in addition to capability; opportunity and
44
understanding have significant impact on the output of a process (Boudreau et al., 2003;
Becker et al., 1997).
Maximizing personnel motivation and satisfaction contributes to maximizing
performance (Sargiacomo, 2002; Van Lerberghe et al., 2002; Rector and Kleiner, 2002).
Managers need to acquire and effective use or apply the skills of motivation if their
organizations or businesses are to survive or succeed.
Performance is considered to be a function of ability and motivation. Thus job
performance = f (ability) and (motivation).
A research conducted in Pakistan that measured the effect of ‘Human Resource
Strategies’ like pay, promotion and training on job satisfaction concluded that pay,
promotion and training had positive and significant impact on job satisfaction even
though it observed that Pakistanis prioritize pay and promotion to training (Dr.
Kashifurrehman et al., 2007).
Job satisfaction occurs when someone feels he/she has proficiency, value, and is worthy
of recognition. Furthermore, A satisfied worker is creative, flexible, innovative, and loyal
(Al Jenaibi, 2010),
The literature on the effects of motivation on staff overall performance in the education sector, as
reviewed from the texts stressed the need for motivational strategies as a result of change,
planning for the change and to get abreast with all it takes to ensure that the literature on
different aspects of motivation by employers yield maximum outputs. Motivational theories by
Herzberg, Maslow and others were discussed together with the benefits and challenges
encountered in implementing the strategy. This chapter has generally explored motivation and its
theory and practices, employee performance and the relationship between motivation and
employee performance. From the above literature, I can conclude that motivation can really have
an effect on the level of employee performance as confirmed by Wood (2000) and Koestner
(1999) and the clear link between motivation and employee performance help us to investigate
the validity of various aspects in relation to KAAF University College.
CHAPTER THREE:
45
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
This chapter presents the methodology employed for data gathering as well as the relevant
statistical analytical tools that were employed for analyzing the survey results gathered during
the study. Topics discussed are research design, area of the study, population of the study,
sample determination, data instrument, method of data collection and analysis.
3.2 Area of the Study
The area of the study is KAAF University College, a private tertiary institution in Buduburam in
the Central Region of Ghana. They offer courses in business, engineering, nursing law and
computer courses. They have campus at Premier Towers in Accra Central. This study is focus at
the main campus in Buduburam near Kasoa.
3.3 Research Design
The study is in the form of cross sectional study in which data was collected once across a
population through sampling. In carrying out this study a, description research design was
employed. Descriptive research design according to Osuala (1993) is that research which
specifies the natures of phenomena for a full understanding are for making a wide range of
policy – decision.
The descriptive research will be adopted and use to describe answers to questions of who, what,
where, when, and how. Example, who implemented the motivation policies? What are the
systems requirements, specifications and functions of motivation? When was the motivation
policies implemented and when will it be evaluated?
Conclusive answers to questions such as why organizational performance or productivity may
increase or decrease if the universities implement a good motivational system or why universities
with motivation system perform better than the others are questions that must be answered
through this research design.
3.4 Population of the Study
46
All individuals who become the object of research are population (Mostafa, 1998).The
population is a composite of all the elements that formed the events, things or people that have
similar characteristics, which become the focus of a researcher because it is viewed as a universe
of research. Population is the group of interest to the researcher, the group to whom the
researcher would like to generalize the result of the study. The elements which make up the
population should be identical, either by living together in a defined territory or having a
common nationality. In research work, the target population is the complete group of the specific
population elements relevant to the research project (Cooper& Schindler, 2011).
This population is heterogeneous, and the population size in this study can be seen from teaching
and non-teaching staff, and organization position. The population of the study is 55 employees
making teaching and non-teaching staff. 28 are lecturers in both businesses engineering
department of KAAF University College, The non-teaching staff population is made up of 27
staff of 11 senior staff and 16 junior staff.
3.5 Sample Size
The sample size of the population of 55 staffs was reduced to 20 and that constitutes the sample
size of the population. Out of the 28 lecturers, sample size of 12 was selected which includes 8
non-teaching staffs including 2 management members.
The sample size was selected as the research is to measure performance on motivation. The
questionnaires were given to both teaching and non-teaching staffs. It will be time consuming to
interview all the 55 teaching and non-teaching staffs that was why 20 were selected. The data
collected is true representation of all the staffs of the population because most staffs gave similar
opinions.
3.6 Sampling Techniques
The sample for this study is to focus on teaching and non-teaching staffs of KAAF University
College. The researchers used stratified random sampling and convenient sampling to select
respondents of the school. This technique was used because it helped the selection of typical and
relevant cases necessary to equip the study with the required information and because it will be
more convenient since the population, every member that is the object of research is considered.
47
According to Saunders et al (2000), “dividing the population into a series of relevant strata
means that the sample was more likely to be representative, as you can ensure that each of the
strata was represented proportionally within the sample”. That is management; teaching and non-
teaching staff formed the strata.
It is not possible to collect data from the whole population for practical reasons; in this study
convenience sampling techniques was used to select the respondents from the strata. In order to
ascertain a fair representative of the population convenient sampling was chosen by
consideration of the purposes of the research. One of the requirements of the convenient
sampling is information availability of the sample, that the natures of information are good and
correct. In selecting a sample of 20 respondents, a non-probability/random sampling technique,
specifically convenient sampling was be used. This technique was chosen to collect the research
data, researcher distributes questionnaires to sample that are the active members whose work
directly and indirectly related to KAAF University College.
3.7 Data collection Instrument
The data collecting instrument used was questionnaires. The researcher employed both
quantitative and qualitative methods in analyzing the primary data. The quantitative analysis
involved the use of Microsoft Excel to analyze the data to produce descriptive statistics
(percentages). Qualitative analysis entailed evaluation of views of respondents. The analysis was
presented in the form of tables with accompanying narrative that explained the findings. The
study used primary data generated for this specific research from management and staff of
KAAF University College using only questionnaires. Secondary data was sourced from both
internal and external sources like journals, magazines, internal, library, electronic sources
depending on the nature and scope of the information needed.
This record inspection was carried out in relevance to the study objectives. Reliability was
achieved by administering questionnaires to both teaching and non-teaching staff of KAAF
University College, Buduburam campus.
3.8 Data Collection Procedures
48
The researcher administered questionnaire as the method of data collection for the study. The
researcher collected an introductory letter from University College of Management Studies in
order to visit the organization selected (KAAF University College) as a case study for the
research, to seek their consent for assistance in the study. The management and all the teaching
and non-teaching staff from the school were given the structured interview questionnaires to
respond on the same issues and the questionnaire were collected in a fortnight.
3.9 Data Processing and Analysis
The data collected were first cleansed. Some of the wrongly answered questionnaire was
corrected using various techniques of imputation. The cleansed data were then coded and
analyzed using descriptive statistic and a cognitive interpretative tool. The statistical tools of
analysis include frequency tables, pie charts and other quantitative computations such as
percentages (Mayring, P., 2000).
Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. The qualitative data from secondary
sources were analyzed using content analysis and logical analysis techniques. Quantitative data
analysis was done using Microsoft Office Excel 2007. Percentages were used for the quantitative
data analysis. It was used to determine the proportion of respondents choosing the various
responses. This was done for each group of items relating to the research questions. The
proportions showed the diverse views of employees on the various sub-issues. Tables and charts
were also used to ensure easy understanding of the analyses.
3.10 Chapter Summary
The survey research method which is widely used by social researchers was adopted for the
study. The instruments used in collecting the primary data from a sample of 20 teaching and non-
teaching staffs were structured questionnaire that was why 20 teaching and non-teaching staff
was selected out of a population of 55. The data collected is true representation of all the staffs of
the population because most staffs gave similar opinions. Stratified and convenient sample was
used as a sample technique and the findings can be generalized for the entire population.
49
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
4.1 Introduction
This section of the dissertation study would be discussing the findings and results based on the
collated primary data and information on the survey. The primary aim and goal of this
dissertation study is directed towards the effect of motivation on employee performance in the
Education Sector- KAAF University College.
4.2 SECTION A: Basic Demographic Data of Respondents
4.2.1 Gender of Respondents
Evidence of table one shows that the male are more than the women. Out of the 20 respondents
14 were males representing 70% and the female 6 representing 30% of respondents.
Graph 4.2.1 Gender of respondents
50
male female
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
sex of respondents
sex of respondents
4.2.2 Position held in the organization
Ideally, a holistic view of the designation of employees of KAAF University College revealed
three different titles and they are non-teaching staffs, teaching staffs and managers. The
respondents of the study consist of 5 (25%) non-teaching staff, 13 (65%) teaching staff and the
remaining 2 (10%) managers being heads of department.
RESPONSE NO. OF RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE %
Non-teaching staff 5 25
Teaching staff 13 65
Managers 2 10
Total 20 100
Table 4.2.2 Position held in the organization.
4.2.3 Respondents Length of Stay in the School
The chart below shows that, 0-5 years (45%) of the members of staff have been in the university
from start since the university is still young, while more than 6 years and above representing
55% of the members of staff are new faces. This means that labor turnover is low.
Chart 4.2.3 Respondents length of stay in the school
51
respondents lenghth of stay
O-56years and above
4.3 SECTION B: Motivational Packages at KAAF University College
4.3.1 Facilities Enjoyed by Respondents
With regards to advance salary, 2 (10%) indicated they have enjoyed it, 12 (60%) said no and 6
(30%) were not aware whether it existed. This means that most employees at KAAF don’t
benefit from the advance salary as a motivational package.
For prompt payment of salary, 17 (85%) said no and 3 (15%) said not aware. This means that
employees at KAAF are not paid on time.
Another benefit like Christmas bonus, 1 (5%) said yes, 18 (90%) said no and 1 (5%) said they
are not aware. This means that vast majority of employees at KAAF do not enjoy Christmas
bonus as a motivational package.
For annual bonus, all 20 (100%) of respondents said no. This means that all respondents of the
research are of the view that they don’t enjoy annual bonus as a motivational package.
Benefits like adequate transport service, all 20 (100%) of respondents said no. this results shows
that benefits like adequate transport service does not exist in KAAF.
Again respondents were asked if they enjoyed car loan as a motivational package, all 20 (100%)
said no. this reveals that all employees of KAAF do not enjoy car loan as a motivational
package.
On adequate office equipment, 19 (95%) said yes and just 1 (5%) said not aware. This means
that majority of the employees of KAAF are of the view that they have adequate office
equipment.
Finally adequate residential accommodation – 1 (5%) said yes, 17 (85%) said no and 2 (10%)
said not aware. This reveals that employees of KAAF do not enjoy adequate residential
accommodation as a motivational package.
This means motivation of members of staff is very low in KAAF University College. Their main
salary is what they enjoy but even the salaries are not paid on time.
RESPONSE YES NO NOT
AWARE
TOTAL
NO. PER% NO. PER% NO. PER% NO. PER%
52
Advance salary 2 10 12 60 6 30 20 100
Prompt payment of salary 0 0 17 75 3 15 20 100
Christmas bonus 1 5 18 90 1 5 20 100
Annual bonus 0 0 20 100 0 0 20 100
Adequate transport services 0 0 20 100 0 0 20 100
Car loan 0 0 20 100 0 0 20 100
Adequate office equipment 19 95 1 5 0 5 20 100
Adequate residential accommodation 1 5 17 85 2 10 20 100
Table 4.3.1 benefits enjoyed by respondents
4.3.2 Packages That Motivates employees the Most
From graph 4.3.2 below, 11 (55%) of respondents ticked salary increase, 4 (20%) selected
promotion, 1 (5%) indicated motivational talks and 4 (20%) ticked recognition.
Therefore, it can be said that most employees of KAAF University College prefer salary
increase.
53
Graph 4.3.2 Packages which motivates employees the most
4.3.3 Employees and Management
Total from table 4.3.3 below suggest that 12 (60%) agrees that management is really interested in
motivating employees, 8 (40%) said no. Herein, it is concluded that management shows interest
in motivating employees.
Again from table and figure 4.3.3 below, analysis shows that 11 or 55% of the total respondents
agreed that the managers have the affection that motivate staff to work in terms of appreciating
their performance, while 9 or 45% said no to such affections quality that motivate staff to work.
This means that management appreciates employees’ performance at KAAF
RESPONSE YES NO TOTAL
NO. PER% NO
.
PER%NO.PER%
Is management really interested in motivating
employees?
12 60 8 40 20 100
Does management appreciate the performance of
staff?
11 55 9 45 20 100
Table 4.3.3 Employees and Management
54
Salary increase Promotion Leave Motivational talks
Recognition0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
55%
20%10%
5%
20%
Packages Which Motivates Employees The Most
Series 1
perc
enta
ge
4.4 SECTION C: Effects of Motivational Package on Employee Performance
4.4.1 Influence of motivational package on employee performance
The study revealed that 6 (30%) of respondents find delight in the students. Inner satisfaction,
early reporting to work and loyalty to the university is the second most influenced work
characteristics represented by 4 (20%) of respondents and finally staying on the job
characteristics represented 2 (10%). This indicates that these motivational packages have an
influence on employees of KAAF University College and that there is a good relationship
between motivation and employees.
Graph 4.4.1 Influence of motivational package on employee performance
55
Early
reporting t
o work
Stayin
g on th
e job
Delight in
studen
ts
Inner sati
sfaction
Loyalty
to the u
niversi
ty0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
20%
10%
30%
20% 20%
Influence of motivational package on employee performance
Series 1
perc
enta
ge
4.4.2 Responses on whether Employee is able to achieve the same levels of output without
motivational packages
RESPONSES NO. OF REPONDENTS PERCENTAGE %
Yes 0 0
No 20 100
Total 20 100
Table 4.4.2 Employee is able to achieve the same levels of output without motivational
packages
Table 4.4.2 below shows that all 20 (100%) of respondents said yes. This means that if KAAF
University College withdraws its motivational packages, employees would not achieve the same
levels of output.
4.5 In your assessment, how has staff motivation impacted on productivity?
All of 20 (100%) of respondents says that it has helped in the admission of more students.
KAAF University College admission data for business student’s for September admissions since
2010 to 2014 reveals there is marginal growth which saw decline in the latter stages. Year 2010,
15 students were admitted, 2011-26 students, 2012 – 55 students, 2013 – 156 students, and 2014
– 54 students. This means there is no consistency though there is marginal growth. It can also
mean that motivation is also not consistent. The higher the motivation, the higher the admission
and vice versa.
56
Figure 4.4 KAAF admission data Source field
Year 2010 year 2011 year 2012 year 2013 year 20140
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
KAAF first semester business admission data.
KAAF first semester business admission data.
4.6 Conclusion
In conclusion, there is therefore a direct relationship between motivation and performance. When
employee is motivated according to what drives them to perform beyond expectation, they would
definitely exceed performance and hence, increase productivity. On the other hand, when
employees are down, low salary, lack of recognition of employee performance and other
incentive, employee will not give up their best but rather lukewarm attitude towards work and
this will affect work output and therefore productivity will be decreased.
57
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION
5.1 Introduction
This chapter discusses the findings of the study and draws conclusion based on the findings that
emerged. Recommendations for improving the motivation and development activities at KAAF
University College for an improved services delivery will be highlighted.
5.2 General Summary
The general aim of the study was to investigate the impact of motivation and staff performance at
KAAF University College.
This study is vital in so many ways because it helps those in management positions to understand
how internal and external motivations influence each other. Managers are particularly
encouraged to factor the interests and goals of employees in the organizational objectives and to
focus on internal motivations of employees.
Literatures on human resource management, motivational needs, and Maslow and Herzberg
motivation theories and how it enhances performance, were reviewed. It establishes the point
that motivation is probably the single most important issue affecting the ability of organizations
performance to achieve its assigned objective effectively and efficiently.
The descriptive research design was adopted and used to describe conclusive answers to
questions such as why organizational performance or productivity may increase if the
universities implement a good motivational system or why universities with motivation system
perform better than the others.
5.2.1 Summary of Findings
The study reveals that labor turnover at KAAF is low. It can be attributed that since there is no
opportunity elsewhere, employees are forced to stay at KAAF.
58
From the findings, vast majority of respondents are of the view that they have adequate office
equipment but never had the opportunity to enjoy some benefits workers elsewhere enjoy. This
means motivation of staffs is very low in KAAF. Their main salary is what they enjoy and want
to enjoy the facilities mentioned but cannot access them.
It also came to light that employees of KAAF University College prefer salary increase to any
other motivational packages like promotion, recognition and motivational talks. This means that
when they are paid well, they will be more committed to their jobs and it will induce them to
give up their best to enhance performance.
Evidence from the study also shows that management is really interested in motivating
employees, which means that management interest in motivating employees has led to
employees commitment, improve productivity and profitability as the university has high-skilled
employees that help in effective organizational performance.
The study also show that majority of employees agrees that managers have the affection that
motivates staff to work in terms of appreciating their performance. Those who said yes see the
appreciation verbally but those who answered in the negative were expecting citation and awards
as part of appreciation which has not been done yet in the history of the school.
From the study it was revealed that the performance of employees is influenced by the
motivational packages in KAAF. The study showed that majority of the employees of KAAF
find delight in the students while others early reporting to work, inner satisfaction, staying on the
job and loyalty to the university. This indicates that there is a good relationship between
motivation and employees performance.
The study also revealed that if these motivational packages were not available, employees would
not be able to achieve the same level of output. This means that if KAAF University College
should withdraw its motivational packages, it will have a negative impact on employee’s
performance.
From the study, KAAF admission data for business student’s for September admissions since
2010 to 2014 reveals there is marginal growth which saw decline in the latter stages. This means
59
there is no consistency though there is marginal growth, which also means that motivation is also
not consistent. Profit margin was confidential and was not disclosed.
5.3 Recommendations
The following recommendations are made based on the findings of the study:
The study reveals that labor turnover at KAAF is low; therefore it is recommended that there
should be more recruitment to replace old experienced staff in the bank to ensure continuity
since most of the employees have been there since the launching of the school.
From the study, it was found out that most staff at KAAF does not enjoy motivational needs like
advance salary, prompt payment of salary, Christmas bonus, annual bonus, adequate transport
services, car loan and adequate residential accommodation. It is recommended that in order to
improve performance, KAAF should introduce such packages.
From the study, it was also found out that most employees at KAAF prefer salary increase than
any other motivational package. It is recommended that in order to increase productivity and
induce employees to give up by their best to enhance performance, the management of KAAF
should as a matter of urgency really focus on the total implementation of salary increase.
From the findings of the research, majority of the employees agree that management is interested
in motivating employees. It is fully recommended that management should undertake a periodic
survey to find out the needs and hidden complaints of staff so that it can be fully addressed.
Management of KAAF should also improve its motivation policies to include reward or
compensation for staff who undertake self-advancement to enhance their skills and improve their
performance in order to maintain such staff and reduce attrition. It is also recommended that
demonstration of motivating all employees should be seen by all and not a few fortunate ones.
Transparency should also be considered when administrators decide to motivate employees to
enhance productivity.
From the findings of the research, majority of the employees agree that management appreciates
the performance of staff. It is recommended that management should recognize the success of
employees and inspire employees to work toward achievements. The employee will be inspired
by knowing their contributions are valued and that management is confident in their capabilities.
60
From the findings of the research, majority of the employees find delight in the students through
the influence of the motivational packages. It doesn’t really influence them in the case of
reporting to work early, staying on the job, inner satisfaction and loyalty to the university. It is
therefore recommended that management of KAAF should put in place resource that takes care
of employee motivation like salary, incentives, good working atmosphere, appreciation, healthy
environment to influence employees at work.
From the study, it was found out that without these motivational packages employees would not
be able to achieve the same level of output. Keeping employees motivated is one of the key roles
of any organization as it leads to increase in overall productivity and profitability, it is therefore
recommended that the motivating of employees and equity theory must continue to exist in
KAAF and management must execute it to the latter since employees are also on the move to
achieve targets and follow instructions from managers.
From the study, KAAF admission data for business student’s for September admissions since
2010 to 2014 saw decline in the latter stages. It is therefore recommended that motivating of
KAAF should be vital and consistent.
5.4 Suggestions for Further Research
Following the results of this study suggestion for further research bases mainly on the scope and
issue on the case study of the motivational model effect on management efficiency are hereby
made:
It is recommended that further study can be extended to other tertiary institutions to assess the
effects of motivation on employee performance. The sample size can be enlarged in those
institutions and different statistical tool can be used in the research. This finding could bring
relative different motivational packages that could be implemented in these institutions by
management. That apart, most tertiary institution can also investigate levels of motivation that
can enhance their employees’ performance. Their findings would help universities to determine
which packages their employees’ desire most for the university to grow in this dynamic
education environment.
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5.5 Conclusion
The following conclusions have been drawn from the major findings of this study.
Managers of KAAF need to consider resources such as adequate transport services for the
purpose of advising management efficiency. More effort need to be made to ensure consistency
of motivation and delay in payment of salaries need to be addressed with utmost vigor.
Retrenchment threats need to be reverted to motivational plans for staff to promote desire and
remove the associated voices.
Managers need to evolve, experts – enthusiasm, empathy clarity commitment to avoid waste of
huge resources – essential for good practice of the job control. Dedicated workers must be
acknowledged and rewarded.
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APPENDIX 1
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TELL US WHAT YOU THINK
Dear sir/Madam,
Questionnaire for management, teaching and non-teaching staff of KAAF University College
This questionnaire has been designed to solicit information for purely academic purposes. This is
to enable Abigail, a final year student of The University College of Management Studies,
complete her thesis on the topic; THE EFFECTS OF MOTIVATION ON EMPLOYEE
PERFORMANCE IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR (A CASE STUDY ON KAAF
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE) in pursuance of a degree in Business Administration Human
Resource Management option. All information given would be treated with utmost
confidentiality.
SECTION A
BASIC DEMOGRAPHIC DATA
INSTRUCTION: Please read the questions carefully and then indicate your response (s) in
the brackets that are consistent with your choice.
1. Sex. Male ( ) female ( )
2. Position held in the organization-----------------------------------
3. How long have you been working with KAAF University College? 0-5years ( ) 6-10 years ( )
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SECTION B
MOTIVATIONAL PACKAGES AT KAAF UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
1. Give your responses to the following by using the response alternatives.
Do you enjoy the following facilities? {1 - Yes 2 - No 3 - Not aware}
Advance salary 1 2 3
Prompt payment of salary 1 2 3
Christmas bonus 1 2 3
Annual bonus 1 2 3
Adequate transport services 1 2 3
Car loan 1 2 3
Adequate office equipment 1 2 3
Adequate residential accommodation 1 2 3
Total 1 2 3
2. Which of the following motivational packages motivate you the most?
Motivational Packages Tick
Salary increase
Promotion
Leave
Motivational talks
Recognition
3. Give your responses to the following by using the response alternatives.
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{1 - Yes 2 - No}
RESPONSE 1 2
Is management really interested in motivating employees?
Does management appreciate the performance of staff?
SECTION C
EFFECTS OF MOTIVATIONAL PACKAGE ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE
1. In what ways do these packages influence you?
EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE TICK
Early reporting to work
Staying on the job
Delight in customers
Inner satisfaction
Loyalty to the University
2. Would you be able to achieve the same level of performance if these packages were not
introduced or were withdrawn by management? Yes ( ) No ( )
3. In your assessment, how has staff motivation impacted on productivity?
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…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………….
Thank you for your kind co-operation
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