Types of employee motivation - Dissertation Example

? Types of employee motivation Table of Contents Introduction 4 About the Company (Saudi Telecom Company- STC) 4 Research and Analysis 5 Research Statement 5 Aim of the Study 5 Significance of research 6 Research Design 6 Research Method 7 Method and Process of Data Collection 8 Questionnaire Survey 8 Research Findings and Analysis 8 Responses from the employees 8 Conclusion and Recommendations 10 Reference 11 Bibliography 12 Appendix 13 Questionnaire 13 Introduction Motivation plays a key role in giving shape to the way organisations function today. It accounts for an important component of the human resource functions practiced in companies. Human resource is considered to be the most important asset of any company. Motivating the human resource works towards achieving higher efficiency in their services (Changing Minds, 2011). Research reveals that a highly motivated employee has a greater productivity than an employee who is not so motivated. Thus organisations implementing employee motivation strategies are deemed to perform better than those without such practices. This project aims to identify the different ways of motivating employees in organisations in Saudi Arabia. Its main focus is to identify the factors which help to motivate employees. The company chosen for the purpose of the project is Saudi Telecom Company (STC), which holds the top most position in the telecommunications sector in Saudi Arabia. The research conducted for the purpose is by using the questionnaire. The questions are aimed towards the employees of the organisation to find out their views about the motivational factors which would enhance their work productivity. The results following from the questionnaire have been presented as research findings in the project. Finally, it provides strategies which should be developed by the organisations which would motivate its staff towards enhancing their productivity. About the Company (Saudi Telecom Company- STC) The company was established in 1998 after being approved by the “Council of Ministers’ Decree No. 213” (STC, 2011) to establish under the name of STC. It is considered to be the leading telecommunication service provider in Saudi Arabia. It has been continuously working towards meeting its customer requirements, keeping up with the changing technologies and going with the market trends. The company underwent change in its strategy from that of a government system to standards of commercial business. This transition comprised of internal reorganisation, staff development, re-skilling, changing the company’s internal process, restudying its customer requirements and at the same time continuing to undertake its corporate responsibilities (STC, 2011). This company has been chosen for this study because it has been working towards changing its strategies which would necessarily involve restructuring its human resource practices, of which motivation is an important component. Research and Analysis Research Statement The research statement is as follows- What factors are used in organisations of Saudi Arabia for motivating its employees? STC or the Saudi Telecom Company has been chosen for the study and choice of this firm is done purely on the basis of judgement. The research question would allow for designing the most appropriate motivational mix by the management of the organisation. Aim of the Study The research aims to identify the different ways of motivation that are practiced in the firms of Saudi Arabia. It finds the different views proposed by employees of the company. This is done by conducting a primary research on the subject. A secondary research component would also be present to get a more comprehensive view on the subject. The literature review would be developed using secondary research techniques. It would include the use of books, journals and scholarly articles. The primary research techniques would be primarily based on the use of questionnaire. The questionnaire method would be followed. The responses following from the method would be collected, interpreted and analysed. The aim of the study would be as follows: Identify the various methods of motivation practiced in organisations in Saudi Arabia. Significance of research It is a known fact that motivation of employees accounts for a critical factor for an organisations’ success. According to Vroom’s Theory of motivation, the performance level of an employee is directly linked to his level of motivation (Kinicki, 2009, p.181). Organisations designed to have a greater motivational factors for employees are able to achieve greater productivity and vice versa. The research would be conducted to identify the various motivational requirements of employees for enhancing their performance. These would be presented as recommendations to be implemented in the organisation. Research Design The research methodology demonstrates the ways in which data is collected, compiled, analysed and then interpreted. In this case, the questionnaire method has been used for the collection of data. The data collected has been used for competitive analysis. In this project the feedback from the employees has been used to find out what are the factors which they prefer to motivate them. The research is designed to identify these factors (Kothari, 2008, p.3). Research Method The project would be mainly composed of two components, namely, the literature review and the primary research. The literature review would be presented using secondary research techniques. This would be done by using books and scholarly articles. The most important part of the research would be conducted by using primary research techniques. Primary research would be primarily used for empirical study in this project. 28 employees of the organisation would be chosen as the sample for the project. The questionnaire would be framed for the purpose. It is composed of close ended questions. The respondents would be among the employees of the organisation at different levels. Respondents could be from both the senior level as well as junior levels of the organisation, as motivation is a unanimous requirement for all. However, the factors of motivation may differ from employee to employee. It may also differ according to the position in the organisation. The questionnaire would be filled up by the employees. The results would be subjected to both qualitative and quantitative research techniques. The results following from the questionnaire would be collected and used for statistical evaluation using tolls in MS-Excel (Carlberg, 2002, p.7). Every response that would be collected will be emphasised using pie-charts. Pei-charts find usage in the making assessments of the public opinion by exhibiting the proportion of the sample which maintains a particular opinion (De Vaus, 2002, p. 218). The findings following from the research has been analysed in the project. Suitable recommendations have been proposed in response to the findings. The main reason for using the quantitative techniques is that it would allow the researcher to quantify the findings. It would be able to present the impact of each motivational factor on individual performance using facts and figures. It would enable quantifying the data numerically. This would make the interpretation of data faster and easier. Method and Process of Data Collection The questionnaire method has been used for collecting the data. 28 employees of the organisation STC was chosen to give their opinion on the subject. The questions are designed keeping in focus the various approaches taken by the company to motivate them and effectiveness of the approaches. A number of motivational approaches were provided out of which employees were asked to give their preference. The motive of this research lies to identify the extent to which motivation played a critical role in organisations in Saudi Arabia (Latham, 2007, p. 4). Questionnaire Survey The questionnaire developed consists of close ended questions which are depicted by figures to demonstrating the peoples’ opinion about the motivational issues in the organisation (Twiss, 1992, p.108). Close ended questions have been chosen for the purpose of getting speedy responses and for the convenience of data interpretation and analysis. The drawbacks of communication and interview skills can also be avoided in this method (Hyman & Sierra, 2009, p.156). Research Findings and Analysis The employees in the organisations would be asked to answer questions provided in the questionnaire. The questions asked would be on different aspects of motivation and their impact on individual and organisational productivity. The responses that follow would be presented in the form of findings and analysis. Responses from the employees Before coming to the findings, it would be important to study the sample characteristics. This would be required for overcoming all kinds of biasness. In this case, because the sample units are human beings, such characteristics as age, gender, qualification and experience would be required. A random sample of 28 employees would have to be chosen from the entire organisation. The questions in the questionnaire caters to the different aspects of motivation, like compensation, rewards, incentives, recognition, training and development, working environment, competitiveness, working hours, relationship between management and employees and interpersonal relationship between employees. The analysis would provide an insight into various factor of motivation that would motivate employees at various levels in the organisation. It would definitely not be the same for all levels. The analysis would highlight on both the monetary and non-monetary benefits that would induce employees to perform better. The results would help to assess the extent to which each factor would motivate employees. It would also allow comparison between the factors. Based on this result, recommendations would be provided for implementing these factors. It would help to analyse how effective would the factors be in different situations and work environments. Following from the results, the management would be able to design a favourable compensation structure which would be effective in bringing out the best performance from the employees. It would help the management to implement programs for the betterment for the work culture of the organisation. The management would also be able to design a specific work schedule for the employees. Most importantly, a proper reward structure would be formulated which would be aimed at acquiring the best results from the employees. This would help the management to attract talents from the market and also to curb the attrition rates to a large extent. Most the quality of results of employees and the organisation would improve. Conclusion and Recommendations As would be evident from the data collected, designing a proper compensation package would provide the motivation for the employees. The result would give the level of importance of each motivational factor in the organisation. It is also the easiest way in which employees would feel the urge to exert greater effort for improving productivity. It was also be helpful to correlate relationship between motivation and employee productivity. Thus the organisation would have to focus on the various motivational factors for the same. Following are the motivational factors which the management would have to look into. The result of the strategy would give an insight as to what would be the extent to which each factor would require attention. Employees try to perform better when they are able to foresee a proper career growth in the organisation. Thus the management should formulate designs for the employees to grow within the organisation. The promotion structure would have to be fair and justified and biasness of all kinds would have to be avoided. A proper system of incentive would also go a long way in motivating the employees. The non monetary benefits are also of primary importance for the employees of an organisation. It is critical that the performance of employees are recognised and rewarded adequately. Proper and strict working hours would help employees to maintain work-life balance. Erratic working hours usually result in grudge and discomfort among them. Most importantly, the management should identify the areas where an employee needs attention and provide training accordingly. Employees must also be given the chance to present their views for the purpose. Designing and implementing the above system would be done on the basis of the findings from the research. It is critical for the management of organisations to realise that both monetary and non-monetary benefits are critical in enhancing the motivation level of employees. Reference Carlberg, C. G. 2002. Business analysis with Microsoft Excel (2nd Edition). Que Publishing. Changing Minds. 2011. Activation Theory. [Online]. Available at: http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/activation_theory.htm. [Accessed on January 27, 2011]. De Vaus, D. A. 2002. Surveys in social research. Routledge. Hyman, M. & Sierra, J.J. 2009. Marketing Research Kit for Dummies. For Dummies. Kothari, C.R. Research Methodology : Methods And Techniques. New Age International. Kinicki. 2009. Organizational Behavior 3E. Tata McGraw Hill. Latham, G. P. (2007). Work motivation: history, theory, research, and practice. Sage. STC. 2011. About STC. [Online]. Available at: http://www.stc.com.sa/cws/portal/en/stc/stc-landing/stc-lnd-abtsaudtelc. [Accessed on January 25, 2011]. Twiss, B. C. 1992. Forecasting for technologists and engineers: a practical guide for better. Peter Peregrinus. Bibliography Bruce, A. 2006. How to Motivate Every Employee: 24 Proven Tactics to Spark Productivity in the Workplace. McGraw-Hill Professional. Bruce, A. & Pepitone, J. S. 1998. Motivating employees. McGraw-Hill Professional. Diamond, H. & Diamond, L. E. 2010. Perfect Phrases for Motivating and Rewarding Employees, Second Edition: Hundreds of Ready-to-Use Phrases for Encouraging and Recognizing Employee Excellence. McGraw-Hill Professional. Herzberg, F. 2008. One more time: how do you motivate employees?. Harvard Business Press. Lauby, S. J. 2005. Motivating Employees. American Society for Training and Development. Silva, S. 2009. Does Empowerment Motivate Employees in the Hospitality Industry ( Sri-Lanka) to Increase Performance. GRIN Verlag. Snell, S. 1998. Motivate Your Staff!. Kogan Page Publishers. Appendix Questionnaire Part1 Name: Age: Gender: Education: Designation: Experience: Part 2 1. Your level of motivation directly influences your productivity. a. Highly Agree b. Agree c. Indifferent d. Disagree e. Highly Disagree 2. You would take a greater work load if you are offered a higher salary? a. Highly Agree b. Agree c. Indifferent d. Disagree e. Highly Disagree 3. The system of promotion in your organisation is fair and reasonable. a. Highly Agree b. Agree c. Indifferent d. Disagree e. Highly Disagree 4. The incentive system in your organisation is fair and reasonable. a. Highly Agree b. Agree c. Indifferent d. Disagree e. Highly Disagree 5. The growth prospects in your organisation enhance your performance considerably. a. Highly Agree b. Agree c. Indifferent d. Disagree e. Highly Disagree 6. Recognition of your work and regular feedback on your performance would enhance your performance a. Highly Agree b. Agree c. Indifferent d. Disagree e. Highly Disagree 7. The present incentive and reward system motivates you to perform better and faster. a. Highly Agree b. Agree c. Indifferent d. Disagree e. Highly Disagree 8. The training and development programs undertaken in your organisation are satisfactory and help to improve your productivity. a. Highly Agree b. Agree c. Indifferent d. Disagree e. Highly Disagree 9. You would prefer a pleasant work environment more than a higher salary for working in a an unpleasant environment a. Highly Agree b. Agree c. Indifferent d. Disagree e. Highly Disagree 10. A competitive work culture motivates you more than a secure job with fixed hours of work and a decent pay. a. Highly Agree b. Agree c. Indifferent d. Disagree e. Highly Disagree Read More