Motives and Incentives in the Performance of Employees - Dissertation Example

Motives and Incentives in the Performance of Employees 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the Research The modern business environment poses a significant challenge for businesses at both the local and international level. The global crisis has made it increasingly vital for organizations to take measures to ensure the life of their businesses, overcoming both internal and external operation factors to achieve revenue growth and corporate performance. It is widely agreed that effective management of one of the most important factors for organizations to stay profitable in a highly competitive global economy. These factors of production are the three M’s: materials, machine and manpower. It is the last of these, the human resource of a company, which poses the biggest challenge. A motivated employee is a valuable asset that brings tremendous worth to an organization. 1.2 The Objectives of the Research This research will try to resolve the problem of employee motivation and incentives programs by determining the factors that would give them motivation in their work, which in turn will result into satisfactory performance that would make possible the organization’s success. It will also try to look into the style and strategies of Al-Amal Hospital in Jeddah, the company in focus, in dealing with their workforce and how their workforce stay motivated and happy with their job. 1.3 Research Problems It is the purpose of this paper to identify the motivational strategies and incentives that would improve employee behaviour in the workplace. The focus of this study will be an evaluation of the practices of hospitals in Saudi Arabia, particularly Al-Amal Hospital in Jeddah. This will include an evaluation of the employee motivation and incentive strategies available to Al-Jamal Hospital, how they were applied in the organization and the effectiveness of these approaches. 1.4 Limitations of the Study As the data collected for random sampling will be from a single company, this study will be demographically limited. The opinions, feelings, beliefs and situation of participants may therefore be insufficient to totally represent the situations at other hospitals in Saudi Arabia, or the feeling of their employees toward motivation and incentives. In terms of the secondary data from various literature, studies and researches, there is a potential risk of relying upon information that cannot be proven correct within the context of this study, given that the results will not be derived not from data based on empirical study. 1.5 Timescale The timetable for the Dissertation is from October 2011 until April 2012, as is illustrated by the Gantt chart below. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction One of the most important aspects of a business in production is the motivation of the workforce. Manual labour is not comparable to the work produced by machines, and therefore the amount of work done is not the same. Thus, the most effective way to increase company performance and ensure productive, effective employees is to take steps to motivate the staff. One of the usual managerial approaches to this goal is through the use of financial rewards, however research suggests that there may be other more suitable strategies. In fact, Kohn (1993) suggests that if the motivational frame is focused only on material rewards, the levels of production might actually decrease. Pugh and Hickson (1989) investigated this area through the “Hawthorne Experiment”. The conclusion of their study was that if the managers do not take into account the employees’ personal necessities and desires, they will be likely to maximize payment but minimize effort. Therefore, it is a crucial issue among business at present to learn how to offer non-material rewards as motivation. Hoegl and Gemuenden (2001) support this by stating that teamwork can be defined as a social structure comprised of over three people in context or organization. Therefore, as members of this structure work together as a single unit and look to achieve the same objective, techniques which improve the inter-relationship will improve group output. Additionally, the power of agglomerate and relation of status, composition, leadership, size, principles and roles are other factors that affect teamwork (Robbins, 2001). Carnegie (1985) believes that it is the chief executive who holds the formula to ensure the success or failure of an organization and who is responsible for encouraging the commitment of the workers, thereby guaranteeing the success of the organization. He adds that it is the human capital and not financial capital that is most crucial in organizational efficiency and it is for this reason that people can be seen as the main source of the competitive edge hospitals. 2.2 Levels of Employee Motivation As stated in the research of Mosley, Megginson and Pietri (2001), employee motivation can be categorized into three broad levels. The first level is the direction of the behaviour of employees, which entails those behaviours that the employee decide to show and do. The second is the level of effort, which describes how the degree of commitment one has to work hard in developing the behaviour. Lastly, there is the level of persistence, which is concerned with the willingness of an individual to behave properly in spite of any obstacles they may face. Daschler and Ninemeier (1989) investigated what employees may look for from the work place, and also assessed some of the apprehensions held by employees. Key considerations among the employees were as follows: 1) a favourable job status; 2) satisfactory workplace and pay; 3) a trustworthy and respectable management; 4) job security assurance; 5) acceptable working relationship with co-employees and managers; and 6) just and reliable company policies in subjects that may affect them (Daschler and Ninemeier, 1989). Human motivation is for requirements that will gratify their needs. This depends on several factors, however, that will differ according to the particular situation and individual requirements. Aside from the fundamental needs such as food, shelter, medicine and clothing, workplaces should also seek to boost of self-esteem and acceptance. Cheng (1995) says that every person feels these factors in varying levels. So, managers should attempt to understand motivational theories and consider how to implement them in order make the conditions better. 2.3 Business Practices in Saudi Arabia There is a relatively limited body of literature on the organizational performances of employees and its effects on business in Saudi Arabia, with the majority of the texts on management only beginning to take an interest in Saudi companies from around the 1990s. In the work by Pillai et al. (1999) on leadership in organizations, the practices of Saudi companies are basically influenced by the traditions in which the manager of the organization is seen as father figure, with the corresponding duties of care. This way of thinking can pose problems, however, since the dependence of employees on father figure management means that it can be difficult to convince employees to become a part of the solution to common managerial problems, which can result in hindering the process of change in a company (Yavas, 1997). Studies have shown that the people in Saudi Arabia favour being guided and being given directions as to what they need to do and that they prefer the intervention of government in business practices (Bhuian, et. al., 2001). The culture permitting in Saudi Arabia is fairly homogenous as with other Gulf nations, which is likely because of the strong influence of the teaching of Islam in the region. Islam affects all aspects of Saudi lives (Lundgen, 1998). Business decision, as with other decisions in Arabic countries, is therefore strongly influenced by Islam and the belief that everything that happens does so because of the will of God (Walker, et. al., 2003). Literature shows that Saudi nationals are motivated by their position and status, which is why many prefer managerial levels or higher when working and believe that accepting manual labour jobs can be considered as an embarrassment. However, more recent studies have shown that there is a continuous process of social and cultural transformation in the Middle East, most particularly in Saudi Arabia (Yamani, 2000). Presently, Saudi Arabia is faced with a severe shortage of skilled workers leading to a lack of the most needed technological advances (Curry and Kadash, 2002). 2.4 Al-amal Hospital in Jeddah The Al-Amal Hospital is a 276 bed modern facility that employs more than 600 employees. Situated in the Al-Naeem District in North Jeddah, Al-Amal is a hospital that exclusively handles addictive disease cases, mainly treats Saudi Nationals who suffer from diseases due to addiction. From the time it began operation in September 7, 1991, the hospital has been directly run by the Ministry of Health. The term “Al Amal” literally means “Hope". This is because the facility serves as a source of hope for patients trying to gain treatment for their addictive diseases through the care of the carefully chosen staff. 3. METHODOLOGY 3.1 Participants The choice of study sample is a vital step in any research. In almost all situations, a random sample is needed since it rarely efficient, practical or even ethical to make use of the whole population in the study (Marshall, 1996). Purposive sampling makes use of information selection based on the essential characteristics involved in the study being undertaken. The important focus of this research is the perception of employees from Al-Amal Hospital in Jeddah and it is for this reason that they will form the participants in the survey used to collect data. Conclusions will also be formed from the deductive analysis based on the answers of the random sampling of individuals involved in employee motivation and incentives from Al-Amal Hospital. For the purpose of this study, the survey will be piloted and then approximately 50 questionnaires will be distributed to hospital employees coming from varying demography. The participants will be taken from different departments with various job responsibilities and organizational positions. Of the 600 employees that Al-Amal Hospital has, the 50 samples are sufficient to represent the whole. Aside from the random sampling survey, a qualitative analysis will be conducted into the data from various secondary sources, such as books, journal and other studies and research, in order to identify trends and recommendations within the field. 3.2 Instruments This type of study design is that of a survey and qualitative analysis based on collected literature of studies carried out by reputable experts. The survey will be through the survey of supervisors, employees and staff from Al-Amal Hospital in Jeddah, with the aim of gathering first-hand insights into employee motivation and incentives, and the effects that these may have on their performance. The questionnaire would also consider the answers of supervisors of employees to get a more accurate determination of how said incentives may affect the performance of employees. Additionally, the literature to be used as the basis for qualitative analysis will be from secondary data. This study will make use of a questionnaire containing twenty questions, ten of which answerable by yes or no and another using the Likert scale rated from never, almost never, sometimes, often, and always. (Jamieson, 2004). The questionnaire will be used to survey the employees from the chosen hospital, Al-Amal, utilizing the Likert scale to determine how and the degree to which motives and incentives impact upon the performance of employees in the hospital. These results will then be extrapolated to generally represent the other hospitals in kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 3.3 Validity Validity will be attained in this study through the careful formation of questions to be included in the survey. An attempt will be made to ensure that that the questions are representative of all tested areas. This is done by making sure that the sample taken through the survey is sufficient random sampling to represent the majority. The participants would also be with the different demographic origins. Moreover, to ensure credible and accurate random sampling that is representative of the whole, sufficient samples are to be surveyed. For the purpose of this study, 50 participants will be asked to partake in a survey via a questionnaire. The fifty are random sample of the 600 employees of the hospital which can be considered as representative of the whole. The credibility of qualitative research not only lies in the methods and reliability but also on the validity of the findings (Silverman, 2001). The degree to which measures are error-free may be referred to as a measure of the reliability, as well as consistent and accurate results. If these two are present, then internal and external validity is likewise addressed (Ormrod, 2005). Validity is the ability of a research instrument to measure what should be measured. To get the best results, both reliability and validity should be compared (Zikmund, 2003). 3.4 Procedures The information and data will be selected, collated, organized and coded for a more comprehensive review. Procedures will be based on the replies given in the interview. The findings from qualitative research from secondary data will be grouped according to common subjects or themes enabling more effective analysis of data taken from various sources. To be able to hold a survey, permission will be asked from the Al-Amal Hospital officials in charge of dispensing approval. To get said permission, a formal letter request to the hospital’s HR head will be composed, asking for the holding of such a survey. A guarantee to the hospital, the officer in charge and all participants that privacy and anonymity will be enforced should be included in the letter. All identities and personal details of participants will remain confidential. Only when the permission is granted will the survey form and questionnaires be distributed to those targeted to join the survey. An instruction of returning all questionnaires to the hospital will be given out and once complete, the tabulation and analysis of the answers will ensue. 3.5 Preliminary Results From the initial results produced by the qualitative analysis of the literature review, it is apparent that motives and incentives provided for by the management of a company greatly impacts on the performance of employees. Though the culture in Saudi Arabia greatly differs from those of many other countries, employee performance in Saudi Arabian companies can be dictated by the motivational acts and the incentive programs provided them by the company to which they belong. 4. Conclusion The topic of this research proposal is of great relevance, especially to Saudi Arabia where there is a lack of similar research. Preliminary results have shown that employee performance can be greatly affected by motivation strategies and incentives by the management of the hospitals. This is the case with most companies, and is particularly important in Saudi Arabia. References Bhuian, S., Abdulmuhmin, A., and Kim, D. (2001, March/ April). “Business education and its influence on attitudes to business, consumerism, and government Saudi Arabia”. Journal of Education for Business, 76(4), 226-230. Carnegie, D. (1987). Managing through people. New York: Dale Carnegie & Associates, Inc. Cheng, H. (1995). 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