The Relationship between Gender and Employee Motivation - Guaranteed Trust Bank in Nigeria - Research Proposal Example

Running head: Influence of Gender on Motivation in the Workplace and beyond                                                                                                                                                                              Research Proposal on The Relationship between Gender and Employee Motivation: A Case Study of Guaranteed Trust Bank, Nigeria. [Writer's Name] [Institution's Name]     Table of Contents Table of Contents 2   The Relationship between Gender and Employee Motivation: 3 A Case Study of Guaranteed Trust Bank, Nigeria. 3 Introduction: 3 Literature Review: 4 Motivation and Theoretical Aspect: 7 8 Comparative Analysis of Motivation Theories: 10 The Most Common De-Motivators: 12 Importance of the study: 13 Research question and objectives: 13 The objectives are: 14 Research Methodology: 15 Organization of Results: 16 Limitations of Research: 16 Solutions to the problem: 17 Conclusion 18 References: 20 Annexure I: 22   The Relationship between Gender and Employee Motivation: A Case Study of Guaranteed Trust Bank, Nigeria. Introduction: There are three meanings attached to the concept of human resource management. In the first place, persons in an organization are regarded as a valuable source, and that there is a need to invest time and effort in their deve1opment. Secondly, they are human resources, which mean they have their own special characteristics. Some of these factors can be quantified, while others can be only referred to in qualitative terms. The environment of business is an extremely important phenomenon. (Smith, B.D. 1996) The approach focuses on the need to humanize organizational life and introduce human values in the organization. Lastly, human resources do not merely focus on employees as individuals but also on other social realities, units and processes in the organization. (Aswathappa K., 1997) With the increasing number of women in the workforce, it has become important to understand the issues related to the organizational behavior of women at workplace. Motivation at workplace between both genders is one of these important issues. This study will be an important milestone in understanding the behavioral aspects of genders at work which influence motivation. Literature Review: Existing literature provides a recognized conceptualisation and definition of ‘Queen Bee Syndrome’ to provide a uniform understanding of the undermining behaviour of women at workplace along with traditional male dominance. This also led to the focus of studies on the various aspects of the rival behaviour of women at workplace and the factors which give rise to such attitude. As mentioned in most of the articles and research studies most of the women don’t have positive reputation at workplace. They are considered as less flexible, non-cooperative and unpleasant at work as compare to their male co-workers. Women also don’t find it very pleasant to work with other women, as the experience of a woman is cited by (Mizrahi, 2004): "Unfortunately, there is nothing I enjoy about working with women. I find them to be petty, tyrannical, emotional (usually about issues that call for logic), spiteful, and vengeful (have I missed any stereotype cliches?). They are mistresses of micromanagement.... I have spent a great deal of my life working with women (and occasionally for--a mistake I will not repeat again in this lifetime) and, except for an occasional bright spot, I have never failed to be disappointed...." Explaining the motivating behaviour of women at workplace for others, the researchers have been coined the term of “Queen Bee”. “Queen Bee” is a syndrome in which the women find other women a threat to their power and position and get themselves occupied with men at workplace. Women tend to adopt more discriminatory behaviour against other women as they like to maintain their uniqueness and individualistic image in front of their male colleagues and seniors that further leads to different motivational issues among female workers (Dobson & Iredale, 2006). Women adopt many strategies at workplace in order to de-motivate other female colleagues mostly and male colleagues rarely. Most of these strategies are concealed or hidden without an open expression of harmful intensions. The adverse effect of this concealed aggression multiplies as the person being affected cannot prove the accusations and forth most. In many cases this hidden aggression remains unreported and if reported cannot be detected. There is also lack of concrete law for such hidden hostile behavior and all such factors initiate a negative impact and de-motivation in the whole organization. Some researchers stated that motivation level and behavior of women at work place is the result of biological predisposition. As mentioned by Helm and Murphy in their book that the conflicting nature of men and women results due to their nature upbringing. According to them working of a woman with other women can be more challenging as compare to working of women with men. They state that there are many biological and sociological reasons of the defiance of female to female relationship at workplace causing numerous issues and impacts on motivation level they attain in long term. Researchers such as Sherry Argov (2002) have identified a characteristic of profile of female high achievers. First, these women like situations in which they take personal responsibility for finding solutions to problems with a very high level of motivation. They want to win because of their own efforts, not because of luck or chance. Second, they tend to be moderate risk takers rather than high or low-risk takers, being reasonable keep their motivation level on average in most of the cases. If a decision-making situation appears to be too risky, women will learn as much as they can about the environment and try to reduce the probability of failure wherever men mostly overlook the hidden dangers and under the surge of superficial motivation take risky steps. In this way, women turn a high-risk situation into a moderate-risk situation by keeping a reasonable to low level of announced motivation, whereas men, sometimes turn moderate risk situations into high risk factors because of careless and emotional motivation. If the situation is too-low risk, however, there usually is an accompanying low reward, and women tend to avoid situations with insufficient incentive. By way of self-motivation and positive attitude women tend to earn respect and appreciation in the male dominated environment through their efforts and determination. Although the women leaders at work place often have these characteristics but they tend to pressurize their subordinates and downplay their job-related skills and talent. Women at higher ranks also tend to hide their talent and abilities as they feel insecure due to the other female employees, this may lead to a general understanding for their lower motivation level that is not true of course. As a result they become un-recognizable as mentioned by Heim and Murphy, "by downplaying our power, women can and do become invisible." Workplace motivation is the product of organizational working environment and the environment defines the kind of behaviours that are acceptable within it (Randall, 1997). The work environment can sometimes increase the opportunity for motivation especially when firms are undergoing reconstituting programs repeatedly and frequently (McCarthy et al., 1995). Another reason for the phenomenon of motivation in the workplace to gain strength is limited job opportunities of the victim employees and this places those employees on a vulnerable situation if the firm is downsizing. Moreover, continuous downsizing increases the pressure on employees and makes the environment less favourable for motivation (Smith, 1999). Some theorists argue that insecurity of jobs and frequent downsizing drives out the bully inside the managers and other staff members (McCarthy et al, 1996). Some theorists also believe that motivation is a strategy that organizations use for forcing target employees to leave by making them less motivated in many cases (Smith 1999). Initially, people were reluctant to use the term motivation for workplace and a number of theorists on the subject believe that this has lead to the increment of the problem and ignorance about the importance of motivation (Hockley, 2003). The term has gained recognition and understanding during the late 1990s, and now female authorities do not only emphasize on the physical aspects but the psychological impacts of motivation on females. There are seven identified categories of motivation in female in comparison with males. Those are internal motivation, business initiated motivation, cultural initiated motivation, externally originated motivation and third party initiated motivation. (Cox, 1997) Motivation and Theoretical Aspect: Dr. Abraham Harold Maslow in an article ‘A Theory of Human Motivation’ appeared in Psychological Review in 1943 endeavored to formulate a specific needs-based structure of human based. The theory was based upon his clinical experiences with people as compared with the theories presented before from authors like Skinner and Freud that were mostly theoretical and based on animal behavior. The basis of Maslow’s theory is that people are motivated by different unsatisfied needs and that there are some lower factors that should be satisfied before satisfying higher needs. As per Maslow, there are some general categories of needs that should be satisfied before any person could act in a selfless manner. There needs were termed by him as ‘deficiency needs’. Satisfaction of needs is healthy while avoiding gratification makes people act immorally. As depicted in the diagram given in Appendix known as ‘Maslow’s Needs Triangle’ or ‘Maslow’s Needs Pyramid’ which explains that after satisfaction of a need it ceases to act as a motivator and subsequently next need, ranked higher, commences to motivate. Different types of needs starting form highest level are; Physiological needs; Safety needs; social needs; esteem needs; and self- actualization needs. Opposite to this five factors theory, Herzberg present his two point theory defining all five in his two point’s theory of Hiegene Factors and Motivators. Contrast of these two theories is obvious from the diagram below. Organization An organization is born when two or more individuals join together with the consent of coordinating their overall activities to accomplish their goals. The purpose of organization is to establish an arrangement of responsibilities and positions through and also by means of which any enterprise is able to perform its task. It is pertinent to mention that an organization should not be viewed strictly as the specific term ‘framework’ entails. In real sense, every organization should be reviewed due to different changes in the external as well as internal environment. (Nanette M. 2004) Management Theory for Organization Views and considerations on management have changed considerably over the past century, especially in the last few decades. Some of the significant management theories for organization are as follows: Scientific Management Theory Fredrick Taylor was the person who developed the ‘scientific management theory’ that espoused the careful measurement and specification of entire organizational task which were standardized to the larger extent. Employees were punished and rewarded. This approach seemed to work well for almost all organizations particularly with assembly lines and different other mechanistic and routine activities. Comparative Analysis of Motivation Theories: Many clinicians and theorists who utilize the abstract psychological construct of self-actualization spend little time and effort establishing a precise definition (Weiss, 1991). How one arrives at his/her definition is critical in the sense that it establishes assumptions about the growth of the human organism (Alexander, Droker, & Langer, 1990). Obviously, there are a vast array of different, and even conflicting, views concerning the possibilities and limitations of the human organism. There is however, one common theme that runs through most all of these views which holds: Though rarely attained, a mature level of psychological health is possible (Fromm,1941; James, 1958; Jung, 1933; Maslow, 1968; Schultz, 1977; Loevinger, 1985; and, Cook-Greuter,1990). While Kurt Goldstein (1939) is recognized as the developer of self-actualization as a major theoretical construct, self-actualization is most frequently associated with Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers (Feist, 1994). Maslow's (1970) holistic-organismic theory holds that basic needs (deficiency or D motives) and metaneeds (being or B motives) are what motivates human behavior. He places needs in a hierarchical manner in which basic needs are at the bottom. These basic needs must be satisfied before higher needs can exercise their influence and become paramount to the organism. Basic needs include: physiological needs, safety needs, belongingness and love needs, self-esteem, and self-actualization. Maslow further viewed metaneeds as growth needs which encompass needs such as justice, truth, goodness, beauty, law and order, and perfection. In making an extensive study of self-actualizers, Maslow (1970) developed a list of attributes that self-actualizer's possess. A true self-actualized individual will possess a realistic orientation to life; acceptance of self: others, and nature; spontaneity; problem centeredness instead of self-centeredness; an air of detachment; need for privacy; autonomy and independence; a fresh appreciation of people and things; profound religious or mystical experiences; an identification with the human race; deep relationships with a few people; a philosophical sense of humor; a resistance to enculturation; an ability to distinguish between means and ends; a high degree of creativity; and, democratic values and attitudes. Where Goldstein (1939) viewed self-actualization as a motive to realize all of one's potentialities. Maslow (1970) saw the construct as a level of development. Another theory, which in many ways mirrors Maslow's (1970), is that of Cad Rogers (Schultz & Schultz, 1994). Rogers' (1961) theory holds at its center the actualizing construct. For Rogers, the actualizing tendency is what drives an individual to become more human. Thus, the actualizing tendency is viewed as an inherent biological force which motivates people to seek fulfillment of innate tendencies. Rogers (1959) saw this as the very essence of life. Key to Rogers' (1961) theory is the "organismic valuing process." This process evaluates all life experiences by how well they serve the actualizing tendency. Experiences perceived as desirable and good promote actualization. Experiences perceived as obstacles to the actualization process are viewed as undesirable and are most often avoided. Self-actualisation itself is only a manifestation of Rogers' construct of actualising. To the extent that self-actualisation is in harmony with the organismic valuing process, the individual is healthy (Rogers. 1961). Having briefly addressed only two of the major theories surrounding the construct of self-actualisation, any attempt to concretely establish a definition of the construct may be a stretch. For the purpose of this study, I will be adopting the definition provided by Crandall (1973) which simply states: "Self-actualisation in its simplest form values and possesses a concept of positive mental health and optimal functioning." Taking his simple definition, Crandall (1986) accompanied by Jones (1986), developed a scale for measuring self-actualisation. Their scale very much echoes the simplicity of their definition of the construct. The Most Common De-Motivators: Internal motivation occurs between employers and employees for example it could be between female manager and female subordinate and between female colleagues. In this type of motivation, the participants are the employees within the same organization. These behaviors could develop a sense of low self-esteem, low morale, worthless feeling, and frustrated feeling in the victims of such motivation. The incidents in this form of motivation are difficult to prove and that is why the victim finds it very difficult to report them on the higher level. Moreover, in most cases the female would not get support or help from other co-females and this worsens the situation. (Hockley, 2003) Importance of the study: This study is of particular importance to the business development managers, HR consultants, employers and employees because negative behaviour of employees based on gender divide at workplace can sabotage the organizational culture and can adversely affect the productivity of employees by causing an overall negative environment. Finally, we document that social, cultural and business environmental variables are key descriptors of motivation and these may undermine behavior of women when it comes to the influence of gender in motivation. Collectively, the evidence suggests that employers can gain substantial value from a careful consideration of these factors and can create highly motivated environment in their organizations and workplaces. (Annexure I) Research question and objectives: The research seeks to answer the question on the causes and consequences of high and low motivation levels and undermining behaviour of men and women in the contemporary business environment. Answers to this question would clarify what are the social and business environmental factors which give rise to such behaviour, why women engage in these strategies and what are the consequences for the organization of such behaviour of female employees. The proposed research aim to find answers the following questions: 1. What are the main causes of high and low motivation prevalence among women? 2. What are the problems being experienced by the organization due to the presence of motivation among women leaders and men or women employees? 3. What strategies can be implemented to minimize the problems of lack of motivation or prevalence of de-motivation? 4. Do these acts of undermining the fellow female workers affect the organizational learning process of female workers? 5. Are the antecedents which cause female motivation in the workplace the same significant events that lead to female motivation in other areas beyond the workplace (motivation for men, motivation within friendships, etc)? 6. What factors can positively affect the undermining behavior of women at workplace? The objectives are: 1. To determine the causes of motivation prevalence based on gender influence at Guaranteed Trust Bank, Nigeria. 2. To determine what are the problems being experienced by Guaranteed Trust Bank, Nigeria due to the gender based behaviors of working men and women? 3. To determine suitable methods Guaranteed Trust Bank, Nigeria can adopt to eliminate the negative behaviour of males and female employees that cause gender discrimination and de-motivation. 4. To determine which strategies can be implemented by Guaranteed Trust Bank, Nigeria in order to reduce the effects of the gender influence on motivation at work place among women and men employees. 5. To undertake the comparative analysis of the events which lead to motivation in other areas beyond the workplace at Guaranteed Trust Bank, Nigeria? 6. To determine the factors that can positively affect the attitude of women and men at Guaranteed Trust Bank, Nigeria. Research Methodology: In order to determine the reasons of motivation between women at Guaranteed Trust Bank, Nigeria and in other matters of life, the research philosophy undertaken will be inter-pretivisim.  The reason of selecting such a philosophy is that the research emphasis on knowing people’s opinion (Saunders et al, 2003). The results will be based on the opinion of people, which will be taken through interviews with the male and female employees of different departments in Guaranteed Trust Bank, Nigeria and by doing unstructured types of questions in the questionnaire (de Leeuw, 2008).  The type of approach which will be used is the Subjectivism approach which the process of interaction with employees will be crucial, for example a group interview and case study that I will create to identify the nature of rival behaviour among the female employees of the Guaranteed Trust Bank, Nigeria. An inductive approach will be used to be fully aware of the situation in order to provide solutions to accomplish the goal of this research (Gill, 1997). The research will use a combination of both primary and secondary methods as supported by many researchers (Conger, 1998). By using both types of methods the researcher will be able to get deep insight into the main reasons of the behaviour of men and women. The primary research methods will constitute the questionnaire survey which will be undertaken at 100 employees of different departments out of which 50:50 ratio of men and women will participat (Kervin 1992). The deeper insight will be undertaken through the interviews with the Human resource experts. It will also involve providing detailed analysis on problems faced by the organizations due to the development of the rival behaviour among female employees and the measures which can be undertaken by the organizations and regulatory bodies to address the situation. The secondary research methods will include an academic literature review of many reputable scholarly journals, textbooks and newspaper articles, which will provide information regarding this phenomenon. Organization of Results: Organization of the study is through sections and sub-sections reflecting the inductive to deductive flow of the study. Outcomes of the primary data collection will be presented in tables, graphs and charts to facilitate clarity and readability. Limitations of Research: The research is limited only to the number of persons targeted in this study i.e., 50 man and 50 women that the period of research would allow so that a continuation of the study may be necessary. Nevertheless, qualitative survey enables the collection of a wide-range of information to support and understanding of contemporary undermining and de-motivating practices. Another concurrent limitation of the research is tight budget, limited time, and lack of other people to help in the data collection process. However, by working within a schedule and research plan, the research process can succeed. Solutions to the problem: Professional female associations have realized and recognized motivation in female and they have provided guidelines and practices to follow for dealing with them. Organizations that acknowledge the problem have come up with strategies to deal with motivation and work towards reducing it. However, theorists also believe that it is necessary to develop strength and vigour to deal with these issues on a personal level. Some females also recommend tougher rules and regulations in the female arena to counter workplace motivation (Connolly, 2001). One strategy of tackling motivation in the workplace specifically in females is to ask government, employers, workers, public bodies, professional bodies, and the community to participate. The implementation of the strategy requires the integrated, cultural, gender sensitive, non-discriminatory participation of these bodies. (Hadikin, Muriel O'Driscoll, 2000) A futuristic approach to the problem is realization of causes and the potential bullies that create such rivalries among the victims and working for uprooting such evils from organizational set up. It is not possible to eradicate motivation in female considering the outward nature of the work, however, it is possible to measure the risks with the help of evaluating the factors that are causing it and analysing the aspects of the organization that are modifiable so that we are able to minimize the risk of motivation. (Adams, 1992) Some people propose approach in relation with business organizations and they promote intervention of the framework of human rights. This approach is beneficial in the sense because it requires employers to care about the health and other rights of their employees. Motivation among female workers could undermine the physical and psychological capabilities of an individual. Another strategy of dealing with motivation is dealing with it on an individual scale. One of the strategies is counselling, which has been found effective in a number of cases. However, individual strategies depend on the type of violence and the kind of support they have from their respective organizations. Moreover, support also depends on circumstances; this means that studies suggest victims of internal motivation do not receive the same kind of support like the victims of external motivation. (Glendinnig, 2001) Conclusion The competing and undermining behaviour of women at workplace is the result of the workplace segregation and limited organizational power. Women participation at all levels of organization should be ensured by the provision of equal chances of advancement only at the basis of high level performance and professionalism. The presence of women at the positions of authority should be ensured. The empowerment initiative should be taken while keeping in view the cultural aspects of the organization on justified basis without keeping bias attitude for gender, Especially in today’s era of globalise economy where the employees of an organization are from different cultural background. This diversion in the employees culture leads to different reactions form the employees; organizational culture can provide multiple pockets of varying degrees of resistance and support for any change Endeavour (Meyerson & Martin, 1987). It has been noted in many instances by the different researchers that the discriminating attitude of employers towards the employees on basis of gender often results in shape of adverse effects on the culture of organization (Wilkins & Dyer, 1988). It is important for the management of the organization to assess and recognize the effects of these attitudes on the empowering process in order to save the process from failure due to inappropriate measures against resistance. On the other hand the assessment can help the organization in recognizing the unanticipated opportunities for empowerment present within a potentially dis-empowering, larger organizational context. It is not necessary for all females to undergo motivation in the workplace from the categories discussed in the earlier parts of the paper but it is likely that they would experience some form of the motivation during their working time. Females remain noble in most of the professions with a huge responsibility on their shoulders. Acts like motivation, violence, and other activities are not only harmful for the females, they affect the whole organizational culture and corporate performance. Moreover, it becomes even more problematic for business organizations to retain and recruit females in such a hostile environment where significant female rival groups rule. As a result it becomes highly important for the corporate gurus to find causes of motivation and uproot those at their earliest. Experience and expertise in female groups are also a virtue but considering the increased phenomenon of motivation, it seems difficult that females would opt to stay to in the same place for a long time. (Connolly, 2001) The authorities, public bodies, communities, NGOs need to come up with policies and frameworks that minimize workplace motivation so that the effectiveness of female participation on the progress of organizations should become retainable and achievable. References: Argov, S. 2002. Why Men love Bitches. Avon, Massachusetts: Adams Media Corporation Bryman, A., Bresnen, M., Beardsworth, A. & Keil, T. 1988. Qualitative research and the study of leadership. Human relations, 41(1), 13-30. Chambers, R L. & Skinner, C. J. (eds), 2003. Analysis of survey data. New York: Wiley. Conger, J.A. 1998. Qualitative research as the cornerstone methodology for understanding leadership. Leadership Quarterly, 9(1), 107-121. Cox, 1997, ‘Survey of Motivation Among Females’, Journal of Family Female. Creswell, J.W., 2003. Research design. Qualitative and quantitative approaches, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. de Leeuw, E.D., Hox, J.J. & Dillman, D.A., 2008. ‘Mixed mode surveys: When and why.’ In E.D. de Leeuw, J.J. Hox & D.A. Dillman (eds.), The International Handbook of Survey Methodology New York: Erlbaum, pp. 299-316. Dobson, Roger & Iredale, Will. 2006. Office queen bees hold back women‘s careers – new research provides insight into women‘s prejudice against women in the workplace. Sunday Times, 31 Dec. Gill, J. & Johnson, P., 1997. Research methods for manager, 2nd ed., Paul Chapman, London. Glendinnig, P.M. (2001). Workplace motivation: Curing the cancer of the American workplace. Public Personnel Management, Vol. 30, pp. 269-285 Kervin, J.B., 1992. Methods for business research, New York: Harper Collins. Heim, P., & Murphy, S., 2001. In the company of women: Turning workplace conflict into powerful alliances. Saunders, M., Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A., 2003. Research method for business students. 3rd ed., Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Meyerson, D., & Martin, J. (1987). Cultural change: An integration of three different views. Journal of Management Studies, 24, 623-647. Mizrahi, R. (2004). "Hostility to the Presence of Women": Why Women Undermine Each Other in the Workplace and the Consequences for Title VII. Yale Law Journal, 113(7), 1579. Smith, W. 1999, ‘Stressed Out’, Courier Mail, May 1st, p. 29. Wilkins, A. L., & Dyer, W. G., Jr. (1988). Toward culturally sensitive theories of culture change. Academy of Management Review, 13, 522-533. Ruth Hadikin, Muriel O'Driscoll, Hadikin (2000). The Motivation Culture. Retrieved on September 5, 2008 from Annexure I: Timescale: Task Date Undertake research on line /2009 Collection of related material from library and other sources /2009 Collection of data and gather information from all sources /2009 Preparation of literature review /2009 Feedback from the course supervisor /2009 Finalization of first 2 chapters of dissertation /2009 Presentation of Literature review to the supervisor /2009 Preparation of questionnaire and interview questions /2009 Supervisor review and approval of questionnaire and interview questions. /2009 Preparation of research methodology /2009 Undertake the survey through questionnaire /2009 collect the questionnaire answers /2009 Interview Financial Managers /2009 Analysis of data and results preparation 2009 Written preparation of results /2009 Preparation of first draft for supervisor review /2009 Feed back on first draft /2009 Correction according to the feedback /2009 Submission of final report /2009 Resources: The resources needed to complete this project may be different from other people’s research reports. I feel the resources which I will need are as following: Resources Cost Reason Tape recorder 100 To record the interview A4 Paper 200 To print copies of the Research method project Fuel 500 I will need fuel for my car to visit organizations printer 2000 To buy a printer to print my documents Printer Ink 500   pens 50 For writing a draft on papers Camera 3000 To use it to take pictures of the people I will interview Laptop 4000 I will use it to for research and to write my project books 1000 I will need it for research and reference Files 100 To organize my paper Internet connection 300 To use it for online research Total Cost 11750   Read More