Motivational Practices in Dubai, the UK, the US - Research Paper Example

Business Table of Contents Introduction 3 Background 3 Research Aim 5 Research Objective 5 Research Questions 5 Rationale of the study 6 Problem statement 6 Literature Review 7 Motivational theories 7 Motivational practices in Dubai, the UK, the US 8 Research Methodology 9 Research Philosophy 9 Research Approach 9 Research Design 10 Research Strategy 10 Research Methods 10 Sampling method 10 Data Collection 11 Research Ethics 11 Time scale 11 Reference List 12 Introduction Employee motivation is regarded as the most significant concept in human resource management and organizational behaviour as it increases organisational effectiveness and is also known as the predictor of job satisfaction (Ghafoor, 2011). The employees need to be motivated in order to operate the business without any disturbances. The most important motivational factor is obviously money, which is provided to them in form of salary or bonuses. However, there is difference in employee motivational practices that are adopted by different countries across the globe. The employee motivational practices that are highly effective in one country can be ineffective in other countries (Manolopoulos, 2007). This research proposal focuses on the different employee motivation practices adopted by different counties according to their cultures. The two different cultures that are considered for the study are western and Middle East. The employee motivation practices in Dubai are compared with that of the UK and the US. Background Motivation cannot be measured or seen directly rather it is an external inducement or internal drive that can even lead to rewards and recognition (Oluseyi and Ayo, 2009). The employees are motivated in order to spread awareness regarding the specific goals related to their job responsibilities. As a result, the employees direct full effort towards the achievement of the goals (Lord, 2002; Khan, Farooq and Ullah, 2010). The employee’s performance is not only dependent on their skills but also on motivation level. Hence, retention and productivity of the employees are regarded as the main functions of the employee motivation (Mitchell, et al, 2001). Decenzo (2001) have stated that the individual motivational factors vary organisation-wise and culture-wise. Management researchers have ascertained culture can be defined as the homogeneous way of evaluating ideas of an individual or a group. However, according to Deresky (2003), culture includes shared values, assumptions, goals and understanding, which are passed from one generation to another. Likewise, organisations across the globe have adopted different work culture and the employee motivational practices are also different (Deresky, 2003). According to a survey conducted by Bayt.com (2013), revealed that employees in the Middle East feel that they are highly motivated by their work and have good work life, which matters to them for job satisfaction. Work life balance, rewards and recognition also plays a significant role in motivating the employees of Middle East (Bayt.com, 2013). Despite of high motivational factors, the employees in the UAE are not happy with their work (Maceda, 2008). Moreover, in the US the work pressure is more as compared to Middle East. The Americans have egoistic and individualistic culture and thus recognition is very significant for them. Similarly, employees in the US are motivated by “employee of the month schemes” (Access Intelligence, LLC, 2013). Apart from that rewards and appreciation increase the productivity of the employees to a great extent (Access Intelligence, LLC, 2013; Casserly, 2013). Additionally, the companies in the UK spend lump sum amount on financial incentives, which are paid to the employees to motivate them. They are also encouraged to give the management regular feedback. The companies also allow the employees to play an autonomous role in the work place, provides an opportunity to participate in planning and decision making process. This is a way of motivating the employees to do their work (Charchard, 2013; Nohria, Groysberg and Lee, 2008). Research Aim The main aim of research is to establish the contrast in employee motivational practices that are adopted by the Western countries and Dubai. Though there are limited studies pertaining to the employee motivational practices in Dubai, the research will try to give a brief description regarding the practices and compare it with Western countries. Hence, the key motive of the research is to elucidate the difference between employee motivational practices that are adopted by different countries or cultures. Research Objective In order to attain the main goal of the research, the following research objectives are formulated: 1) To critically analyse the factor influencing employee motivation. 2) To highlight the employee motivation techniques used by Dubai or Middle Eastern countries. 3) To elucidate the practices followed by the Western countries such as the UK or the US. 4) Compare the two practices adopted in both the countries and evaluate them accordingly. Research Questions After considering the research aim and objectives, the following research questions are formulated: 1) What are the factors that influence employee motivation in organisations? 2) What are the major differences between the employee motivational practices that are adopted in Dubai and Western countries? Rationale of the study According to Erez and Den (2001), understanding employee motivation practices have become very crucial as structure of organisations are changing as they are expanding globally and shifting from traditional to decentralized structure. Moreover, it is observed that employee motivational practices vary country-wise and culture-wise; hence it is significant to understand the different practices used by organisations. However, it is also noticed that, there are very limited studies pertaining to employee motivational practices in Middle East as compared to western countries. Therefore, the main rationale of the study is to elucidate the employee motivational practices adopted in Dubai and compare it with the practices of Western countries such as the UK and the US. Problem statement Problem statement is defined as the short description of issues, which is required to be solved within the research (Hakim, 2007). The main issue for conducting this research is that there are limited online resources or scholarly articles, which explains the employee motivation practices adopted in Dubai. However, this problem is solved after extensive search for the resources and collecting data pertaining to the employee motivation in the UAE and compares the same with the western countries such as the UK and the US. Literature Review Motivational theories Abraham Maslow had developed a model in 1943 concentrating on human motivation, which is based upon his clinical experiments and experiences that he had carried out rigorously (Baumeister and Vohs, 2007). He had placed the essential needs of an individual under five categories that are arranged in hierarchy such as safety needs, physiological needs, social needs, self actualization needs and esteem needs. These needs can be explained in organisational perspectives. According to Porter (1964), the autonomy, esteem and security needs are satisfied at the middle management level of an organisation. The higher order needs are not satisfied or least satisfied at the bottom level management (Baumeister and Vohs, 2007). Herzberg, Mausner and Snyderman (1959) have pointed out at the fact that the managers can employ factors such as motivators in order to encourage the employees and satisfy them in their work so that the productivity of the organisation increases. The managers should also concentrate on eliminating those factors that can maximize job dissatisfaction i.e. hygiene factors. Hence, it is significant to understand that if the employees think that the hygiene factors have dropped below a certain level then job dissatisfaction arises. Herzberg (1966) had stated that the factors linked with job satisfaction or motivators take into account tasks, recognition and rewards, promotion, physical working environment, bonus and incentives and lastly work facilities. However, the hygiene factors include administration and policies, employee-supervisor relationship, working condition, salary, security, status and relationship with the subordinates (Herzberg, 1966). Motivational practices in Dubai, the UK, the US Dubai is regarded as the most populated city in the UAE (Latham & Watlins, 2011). Employee satisfaction is relatively low in Dubai as compared to other nations across the globe. It is noticed that about 73% of employees are not happy with their type of work in the UAE. However, as per the survey conducted by Maceda (2008) about 65% of the employees in the UAE feel highly motivated to do their work and 56% are committed to the organisation they are working. Despite of the high motivation level, only 27% of the employees are satisfied in doing their job (Maceda, 2008). Despite high motivational level of employees in the UAE, they are not satisfied with their work. The main reason behind this dissatisfaction was identified in the survey conducted by Maceda (2008). The study revealed that the employees did not get the amount of salary that was promised by the employers at the time of recruitment; they were also deprived of increment after specified period of time despite its good performance. Majority of the respondents in the survey conducted by Bayt.com (2013) indicated towards the fact that good work life balance is significant for motivating an employee. Other than these factors other motivational factor includes recognition and achievement, career development and personal contentment. The employees in the UAE feel that internal communication is significant and thus the level of communication within the organisation is recorded to be high (Bayt.com, 2013). Hence, it can be stated that in spite of high motivational factors the employees are not satisfied with their job mainly because they are deprived of recognition. In the UK, thousands of employees were demoralised during the recession period as they had to lose their jobs (Peacock, 2011). Nevertheless, when the condition improved, the companies concentrated on improving the job satisfaction level of the employees by undertaking motivational practices. A survey conducted by Roger (2012) revealed that about 22% of the employees in the UK are satisfied with their work. Nonetheless, the study conducted by Robert Half (2014) revealed that the employees feel de-motivated toward their due to a number of reasons, which are described henceforth. According to the study, about 27% of the employees are unhappy with the salary structure and 15% lack in career advancement (Robert Half, 2014). Research Methodology Research methodologies assist a researcher in selecting a proper scientific approach in executing a research. In this particular research, researcher aims at obtaining both primary and secondary data for successfully accomplishing the research objectives. Research Philosophy Research philosophy is significant for developing knowledge regarding any study. There are three types of research philosophies, which can be considered in academic sources such as interpretivism, positivism and realism. In this research interpretivism philosophy is considered as it depends on psychological factors of the employees. Research Approach In this particular research, deductive approach is employed as it starts with a specific objective and analyses different theories that are linked with the subject. Research Design The researcher aims at using descriptive design in order to assess the primary and secondary data that are obtained from different sources (Hakim, 2007). Research Strategy The researcher will use both primary and secondary data in order to achieve the specific objective of the research. The primary data is collected from online survey and also one-to-one interviews. For the secondary data, researcher will access the data that are provided in the University library such as Emerald and EBSCO. Research Methods Bothe qualitative and quantitative data are used for accomplishing the research questions. The analysis is done with the help of MS Excel where graphs are drawn (Morgan, 2007). Sampling method Simple random sampling is used in this research as the respondents are chosen from the population randomly (Huxham and Vangen, 2008). The respondents for face-to-face interview is chosen from a large population in the UK whereas the set of questionnaire prepared for the survey are uploaded in Survey Monkey so that maximum number of respondents can answer to the questions that are asked in the survey. Data Collection The primary data is collected from the survey analysis, which is conducted with the help of questionnaire that is distributed among the population in the UK and uploaded in the Survey Monkey; whereas, the secondary data are obtained from the scholarly articles that are available in the University Library. Research Ethics During the collection of primary data research ethics will be taken into account. The research will not only disclose the identity of the individuals who participated in the survey but also not force them to answer any question. Time scale For conducting the research, the researcher will take three months. In the first month, the research topic is selected after that the research aim and objectives are depicted followed by the steps that will be required to finish the project. In the second month, literature review is prepared based on the articles that are available in the University Library. In the third month, the data for secondary and primary research is collected and analysed in order to achieve the research objectives. Reference List Access Intelligence, LLC, 2013. Motivating Employees on a Global Scale: Author Bob Nelson. [online] Available at: < http://www.chiefmarketer.com/motivating-employees-on-a-global-scale-author-bob-nelson/ > [Accessed 17 December 2014]. Baumeister, R.F. and Vohs, L.D., 2007. Self-regulation, ego depletion, and motivation. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 1, pp. 1-14. Bayt.com, 2013. Bayt.Com And Yougov Survey Reveals That Work-Life Balance Is The Most Motivating Factor For Employees In The UAE. [online] Available at: < http://www.bayt.com/en/press-release-article-15550/ > [Accessed 17 December 2014]. Casserly, M., 2013. Master Class: Americas Top CEOs On The Secrets Of Motivating Employees. [online] Available at: < http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2013/10/15/master-class-americas-top-ceos-on-the-secrets-of-motivating-employees/ > [Accessed 17 December 2014]. Charchard, C., 2013. Job Satisfaction Beats Bonuses In Staff Motivation Stakes. [online] Available at: < http://www.cipd.co.uk/pChurchm/peoplemanagement/b/weblog/archive/2013/10/21/job-satisfaction-beats-bonuses-in-staff-motivation-stakes.aspx > [Accessed 17 December 2014]. Decenzo, D. A., 2001. Fundamentals of management: Essentials concepts and application. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Deresky, H., 2007. International Management: Managing Across Borders and Cultures. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Erez, M. and Eden, D., 2001. Introduction: trends reflected in work motivation. Work Motivation in the Context of a Globalizing Economy, pp. 1-8. Ghafoor, M. D., 2011. Organizational effectiveness: a case study of telecommunication and banking sector of Pakistan. Far East Journal of Psychology and Business, 2(1), pp. 37-48. Hakim, C., 2007. Research design: successful designs for social and economic research. 5th ed. London: Routledge. Herzberg, F., 1966. Work and the nature of man. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell. Herzberg, F., Mausner, B. and Snyderman, B., 1959. The motivation to work. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Huxham, C. and Vangen, S., 2008. Researching organizational practice through action research: Case studies and design choices. Organizational Research Methods, 6, pp.383-404. Khan, S. U., Farooq, S. U. and Ullah, M. I., 2010. The Relationship between Rewards and Employee Motivation in Commercial Banks of Pakistan. Research Journal of International Studies, 14, pp. 37-52. Latham & Watlins, 2011. Doing Business in the United Arab Emirates. [online] Available at: < http://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=11&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CFIQFjAK&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lw.com%2Fupload%2Fpubcontent%2F_pdf%2Fpub2783_1.pdf&ei=xoaSVPHtHoK0uQSv54DwDA&usg=AFQjCNHSo5yqFxsA9bxe7CsllF-zK7Nclw&bvm=bv.82001339,d.c2E > [Accessed 18 December 2014]. Lord, R. L., 2002. Traditional motivation theories and older engineers. Engineering Management Journal, 14, pp. 3-7. Maceda, C., 2008. UAEs Job Satisfaction Rating Very Low. [online] Available at: < http://gulfnews.com/business/general/uae-s-job-satisfaction-rating-very-low-1.99982 > [Accessed 18 December 2014]. Manolopoulos, D., 2007. An evaluation of employee motivation in the extended public sector in Greece. Employee Relations, 30(1), pp. 63-85. Mitchell, T.R., Holtom, B.C., Lee, T.W., Sablynski, C.J. and Erez, M., 2001. Why people stay: using job embeddedness to predict voluntary turnover”, Academy of Management Journal, 44, pp. 1102-1121. Morgan, D. L., 2007. Paradigms lost and pragmatism regained: methodological implications of combining qualitative and quantitative methods. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 1(1), pp. 48-76. Nohria, N., Groysberg, B. And Lee, L., 2008. Employee Motivation: A Powerful New Model. [online] Available at: < https://hbr.org/2008/07/employee-motivation-a-powerful-new-model > [Accessed 17 December 2014]. Oluseyi, A. S. and Ayo, H. T., 2009. Influence of Work motivation, leadership effectiveness and time management on employees’ performance in some selected industries in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. European Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Sciences, 16, pp. 7-17. Peacock, L., 2011. Companies Join Forces To Motivate UK Workers. [online] Available at: < http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/hr-news/8413578/Companies-join-forces-to-motivate-UK-workers.html > [Accessed 18 December 2014]. Robert Half, 2014. Infographic: Job Satisfaction Index. [online] Available at: < http://www.roberthalf.co.uk/job-satisfaction-infographic > [Accessed 18 December 2014]. Roger, S., 2012. Happiness Index: The UK In Happiness, Anxiety And Job Satisfaction. [online] Available at: < http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/nov/20/happiness-index-anxiety-satisfaction-uk > [Accessed 18 December 2014]. Read More