The Common Drivers Contributing to Employees Satisfaction - Research Proposal Example

Introduction A person’s career passes through different stages and as the progression takes place in career, the overall level of motivation as well as the level of involvement changes. Those motivators which were key factors behind the career progression may not remain as important as they were before when employees progress at a later stage of their career. Various research studies indicate that as the career progression takes place, the overall relationship of an individual with the organization may be moderated. (Cennamo & Gardner, 2008) Such aspects therefore may indicate that the level of motivation for the employees working at the later stage of their career may not be same. It is therefore critical for organizations to understand and outline what actually motivates employees working at the later stage of their career. Background This research study will focus on understanding and exploring as to what actually motivates employees working at the later stage of their careers. Employee motivation has been one of the hotly debated and discussed topics in academic literature with many theoretical underpinnings outlining as to what actually motivates an employee throughout his or her career. From Maslow’s theory of hierarchy to latest research on the topic indicates the overall importance of motivation within an organization. It is however, critical to note that every organization contains a mix of employees belonging to different age groups and career stages. Motivation drivers for employees working at three different stages of the career therefore may be different as compared to the motivators for employees at the early or mid-stage career. (Dwyer, 2009) Research Problem Each employee pass through three different phases of career i.e. start, mid and later stage and at each stage, the level of motivation and motivators change because employee needs change with the passage of time. As a person ascends on the hierarchy of needs, the nature of motivators change and employees look for different and unique ways to get themselves motivated and generate the level of job satisfaction required to retain the job. The overall research problem is based upon understanding and exploring as to what are the key and common drivers of motivation and job satisfaction for employees working at the later stage of their career. Research Objective As outlined above, the motivation and education needs of employees at three different stages of their career are different. The overall research objective therefore is to explore and assess as to what motivates employees who are at the later stage of their career. Particularly, this research objective will focus on understanding and exploring factors behind the job satisfaction and how it is being driven by the employees at the later stage of career. Focus will also be made on exploring the role of managers and leaders in creating the environment and factors which actually drive the motivation of such employees. Significance of the study This research study will help managers and organizations to actually understand the motivational factors for creating job satisfaction for their employees at the later stage of their careers. Particularly, firms will be able to utilize this research to devise and reevaluate their existing policies to accommodate the changing factors which may contribute towards the job satisfaction. Literature Review It has been suggested that the research on the topic of understanding linkages between employee job satisfaction in terms of commitment and outcome has largely remained ignored. London (1990) outlined that employee motivation for the later stage employees has been ignored and focus has been limited only up to the initial and mid-career employees. Theories of adult psychological development also shed light on the general perception about how later stage employees may perceive themselves within the organization. Erickson’s theory of human development indicates that as a person becomes old, he seeks meanings and identity and in a complex and high tech environment where things change fast, later stage employees may find it difficult to extract meanings out of their work and hence may be demotivated from their work. In such an environment it is therefore critical to outline and identify the key factors which can create job satisfaction for employees. (Dann, 2007) It has been outlined that the overall organizational commitment and outcomes may be moderated at the later stage of an employee’s career thus suggest that the employees may not remain as motivated as they may be at the earlier stage of their career. It has also been suggested that the overall progression at the later stage of an employee’s career has often been dominated by the actions of their employers’ indicating that their careers may be at the end. (Darren et.al 2006). Miller & Form’s were the earliest proponents of highlighting the issues of motivation and job satisfaction for employees working at the later stage of their career. Common motivators according to them include advantages gained due to seniority, higher level of income, more family responsibilities, and identification with the firm as well as the community.( Meredith, 2000). These factors therefore critically allow an employee to retain their jobs and drive the required satisfaction from the job. As employee progresses towards their retirement age, the need to retire with dignity as well as protection of privileges accumulated during the entire career remain key motivating factors. (Glass, 2007) It has also been suggested that as the employees progress towards the later stage of their careers they are made part of the inner circle of the organization. This sense of belonging and value therefore serves as they key motivating factor for such employees for their job satisfaction.( Halliman, 1998) It has also been outlined that at the later stage of a person’s career work does not serve as the motivating factor but rather it is considered as a mean to generate income to pursue other things in life. (Yu, & Miller, 2005) Employees at the later stage of their career therefore tend to see the work as an opportunity to earn a steady stream of income which they can channel towards doing things they always wanted to do in their ordinary life. Such activities include sailing, hiking, vacations etc. which can provide employees an escape route from their repetitive and mundane work. (Kyle, 2006) Hypothesis In order to conclude this research, following hypotheses will be formulated: 1. Is compensation the major factor which drives the job satisfaction among employees working at the later stage of their career? 2. Recognition, identity within the organization and job longevity may be the critical factors behind the motivation of older employees working within the organizations. Research Methods Research methodology is considered as the investigation of the research through various methods in order to determine as to what is actually achievable and what cannot be achieved through the research. In order to accomplish the overall research objectives of this study, researcher aims to use mixture of different methods in order to achieve the research objectives. To achieve the research objectives, a mix of different methods including extensive review of existing literature, personal interviews as well as survey methodology. Research Design This research will be based upon the use of both the primary as well as secondary research. Secondary research will be based upon extensive use of existing literature on the topic of motivation and education and how they can be translated into job satisfaction for employees at the later stage of their career. Secondary research will actually enable the researcher to acquire comprehensive set of data as well as ideas to build a credible framework to conclude the research according to the overall research expectations. This research study will use a mix of both the qualitative as well as quantitative research methods to understand and explore research questions. Qualitative research will be based upon the review of academic literature as well as industry journals and other sources dealing with the issues of HR and motivation. Specific emphasis will be made on understanding as to how managers are actually dealing with the issue of motivation and job satisfaction for the employees who are at later stage of their career. Sampling Sampling is a research technique which outlines as to how many members from the given population should be chosen for accumulating the information required for the research study. Sampling technique therefore help researchers to reduce the number of data to deal with in order to complete the research according to the available resources and expertise. In order to accomplish this research, researcher aims to draw a sample of 15 employees selected randomly from mid-sized firms. The selection criteria will be based upon number of years left in service i.e. a general criteria of 10 years before the superannuation age will be administrated in order to select the sample. Apart from selecting employees who are working at the later stage of their career, researcher also aims to draw a further sample of 5 managers who are handling the older employees within their departments and organizations. Researcher aims to perform correlation and regression analysis on the data obtained from the research. In order to perform the correlation and regression analysis, researcher will chose job satisfaction as an dependent variable whereas independent variables will include employee compensation, recognition, identity as well as job longevity. Researcher aims to outline as to how these common factors actually influence the level of job satisfaction in any given organization and how employees at the later stage of their career. Questionnaire Design Researcher will develop a questionnaire to interview employees as well as the managers in order to conduct the research. Use of questionnaire is considered as a relatively cheaper method to collect data and this can be easily administrated with the personal interview techniques. Questionnaire will be a general to specific in nature and will outline the factors which may be contributed towards job satisfaction. Questionnaires will be administrated alongside the personal interviews of the employees and managers. Time Table Researcher aims to conclude this research work within the period of 3 to 4 months with initial one moth will be spent on the literature review and design and development of questionnaire. 1 month will be spent on the collection of data through the questionnaire as well as personal interviews whereas rest of the period will be spent on analyzing the data as well as writing the overall dissertation. Limitations of the Research Since this research study will be limited in scope therefore researcher expects the traditional limitations for conducting this research. Due to lack of adequate time, resources and money, researcher therefore assumes that this research study may be limited in its overall scope. It is also expected that all the academic help will be provided by the Supervisor to properly handle academic limitations to perform this research. References Cennamo, L & Gardner, D (2008) Generational differences in work values, outcomes and person-organization values fit, Journal of Managerial Psychology, 23(8), p.891 - 906 Dann, S (2007) Branded generations: baby boomers moving into the seniors market, Journal of Product & Brand Management, 16(6), p.429 – 431 Darren, J.E, Andrew, M. T., & David, S. W. (2006). Towards a Unified Model of Employee Motivation. Strategic Change, 15(6): 295. Dwyer, R (2009) Prepare for the impact of the multi-generational workforce!, Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, 3(2), p.101 - 110 Glass, A (2007) Understanding generational differences for competitive success, Industrial and Commercial Training, 39 (2), p.98 – 103 Halliman, R (1998) A coming of age: A comparison of organizational performance of baby boom CEOs to CEOs born prior to the baby boom era, Journal of Management History 4(1), p.68 – 74 Kyle, D. (2006) Managing your multigenerational workforce. Human Resource Management International Digest, 14 (3). London, M (1990) Enhancing Career Motivation in Late Career, Journal of Organizational Change Management, 3(2), p.58 – 71 Meredith, K. L. (2000). Empowering Employees New York: McGraw -Hill. Yu, H & Miller, P (2005) Leadership style: The X Generation and Baby Boomers compared in different cultural contexts, Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 26 (1), p.35 – 50 Read More