The environment with respect to the workplace has been exposed to constant changes in the recent times with respect to the scope and nature of the work. These constant changes in the workplace have forced the management of the different organizations to take up new approaches in management. One of the primary factors is the way in which the managers or the management body of the organization motivates the workers in achieving the goals of the organization (Olafsen et al., 2015).
Humans in their natural environment are not homogenous entities. They tend to have different needs, as well as various perceptions for rewards so that they feel motivated in the workplace. Therefore to motivate the employees, a knowledge based study needs to be done by the organization so that they have a clear understanding of the human nature and their individual differences and the amalgamation of the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards (Shields et al., 2015).
The managers are of the notion that they can motivate the employees by offering them rewards such as paid vacations, higher pay structure and bonuses. It is seen that in majority of the cases the employees and the managers base the incentive on extrinsic values that is perpetuated. It has been noted by many researchers that monetary incentives sometimes do not act as motivators for the employees and they may become demotivated. Incentives that is monetary in nature helps in motivating the employees to a particular point (Malik, Butt & Choi, 2015).
The situation that involves motivating the employees is very difficult. The trend that the managers follow is that they try to focus on the incentives that are monetary in nature as a tool for motivating the employees. The aim and objectives of this research will be to investigate the following matter:
The first part of the research will deal with the open-ended face-to-face interviews that will be conducted in a particular organization. This method is important, as it will help the interviewees to get an opportunity to record their responses. These interviews provide another advantage as well such as it will allow the respondents to make conversations in the same directions. It is one of the ways in which they can interact and listen to the interviewees so that the interviewers can get a better understanding of their work culture. The secondary data through books and journals will provide an in-depth analysis about the motivational factors.
According to Nyberg, Pieper & Trevor (2016), the organizations that are present globally require large number of employees so that they can efficiently manage their workplace. The hiring of the employees are done mainly through the recruitment process, which helps in achieving the goals of the organization as well as the targets of the employees. It has been noted that the managers assume that the motivational factors for the employees may be through the various schemes that are provided to them. They fail to understand that the employees are not always motivated through these schemes, as it does not drive all the employees for a higher level of motivation. The primary purpose of this study will be to investigate the perception of motivation for the employees so that the reward systems will effectively motivate the employees.
Conceptual Framework
Early Approaches to Performance Management
In the early 1400s there were many researches that was conducted with respect to employee motivation such as monitoring of the work, which was given to them by the management. Fredrick Taylor tried to improve the performance and the efficiency of the employees by applying various techniques but got stiff resistance from the employees. It was noticed by him that the employees faced a situation, which he termed as ‘soldering’ where it was seen that the employees felt that working at a faster speed would put other workers out of work. Therefore, Taylor concluded that the motivational factor for improving the performance of the employees would be by giving them monetary rewards (Landy & Conte, 2016).
Motivation is a challenging and a complex area in the Human Resources subject with respect to function, purpose and its mode of application. It is seen that the managers have to work in harmony with the employees so that the organization can reach its goal. Thus, motivation acts a driving force, which helps the employees in performing better in the organization without being manipulated (Karami, Dolatabadi & Rajaeepour, 2013).
Motivation is an important aspect in the everyday life of the employees. The demand of the managers is that they want their employees who can be efficient, focused and committed to the targets set by the organization. Performance of the employees can be seen as directly proportional to the motivational levels of the employees. The main factor that acts as a driving force for the eagerness to work in the organization is the motivation that is provided to the employees. It is also important that the right working environment and the choice of the motivational programs will help in increasing the performance of the employees (Bullock, Stritch & Rainey, 2015).
It has been duly noted by many researchers that motivation acts as an essential tool that helps the managers to maintain higher performance level in the organization, which acts as an inspiration for the employees to achieve greater productivity. Managers tend to use motivation in the organizations so that employees are inspired individually as well as in groups to produce the best results in the organization and make them work in an efficient manner (Muogbo, 2013).
The changing nature of the environment with respect to work has seen that motivating the employees is an essential tool in making the organization survive in the competitive world. The employees who are motivated tends to become more productive so that the organization can survive (Pinder, 2014).
The managers have the sole responsibility of motivating the employees in the organization as they monitor and look after the performance of the employees in a constant manner. The main reason for this is that the managers are the only people who can influence the employees by giving them a variety of rewards, which will help in motivating them towards the commitment of the organization. It is important that the issues that are present in management with motivation with respect to the employees must be solved immediately so that the organization can maintain its productivity level. It is therefore necessary that the employees and the mangers work as partners so that motivation can be effectively maintained in the workplace (Kallio & Kallio, 2014).
Rewards are mainly divided in to two categories, which are extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. The extrinsic rewards are variety of external items that are provided by the managers to the employees as incentives, which helps in increasing the productivity of the organization. Some examples of this kind of rewards are bonuses, flexibility in the work schedules, monetary benefits and internal promotions (Bradler et al., 2016).
The intrinsic rewards are internal in nature and are less tangible in nature. The intrinsic rewards involve the characters such as autonomy, feedback and variety of skills as motivation. Some of the examples of intrinsic rewards are the competence, choice, progress of the employees, relationship with the employees and the work that they perform in the organization (Kallio & Kallio, 2014).
Organizations mostly view the reward policy as a means of motivating certain aspects of the employees. Rewards help in motivating the employees so that they perform effectively in achieving the targets and the goals of the organization. The different kinds of organizations that are present on a global scale finds that rewards play an important role in helping the employees to maintain a higher standard of performance and stability in the workforce (Barrick et al., 2015).
The managers need to be capable enough to satisfy the employees with the process of rewards system, which is complex in nature. It is the function, which is related to various factors that the managers intend to achieve it so that it can be implemented positively. Firstly, the satisfaction of the employees with respect to rewards is related in an intrinsic way towards the organization. the feeling of satisfaction can only occur when the employees receive the benefits from the organization. The level of satisfaction and dissatisfaction is influenced by the comparisons that are done with the other employees in similar but different organizations (Wojtaszek, 2016).
Motivational sector in the organization is a very complex process and there are many studies, which provide the strategies will help in studying the motivation and performance of the employees. The organization will become a success if it has the required amount of employees that will help in achieving the goals of the organization. The nature of humans is that they are inconsistent in nature and their needs keep on changing according to the different individuals and in different period (Gupta & Shaw, 2014). For an organization to become successful, they need to lay emphasis on how they will motivate the employees through rewards system so that they perform effectively within the organization. Some of the theories that will help in understanding the performance with respect to motivation of employees are Theory X and Theory Y by McGregor, Theory of Motivation by Maslow, ERG Theory of Motivation by Clayton Alderfer, Two Factor Theory by Herzberg, Achievement Motivation by McClelland, and Expectancy Theory by Vroom (Cajlljer, (2014).
According to Breevaart et al. (2014), the viewpoint of these various theorists will help in explaining the motivational issues from different viewpoints. Thus, motivation is the means by which people achieve their performance level through the cognitive process so that the level of expectation, valuation and what can be received can be calculated. The managers have to motivate the employees by understanding the processes so that it helps them in getting a better understanding of the programs related to rewards system for motivation to take place effectively.
The aim of this research will be to investigate the effects that rewards have as a motivational tool and the different varieties of rewards that will be given to the employees, which will motivate them to work effectively in the organization. Furthermore, it will explore the challenges that the managers will face when they apply the various motivational theories in the organization. The research will be based on the different literatures that are present with respect to motivation and the rewards system (Olubusayo, Stephen & Maxwell, 2014).
This chapter will help in understanding the methodology that will be used for the research process. The review of literature, which will be based on qualitative research method will identify the strengths and weaknesses of the interview process and the research philosophy. It will also discuss the ethical considerations, which will help in successfully conducting the research. The chapter will end with a thorough explanation of the process of recruitment with the help of sample size.
In order to make the particular research more scientific in nature, the process has to be done with the principles that are scientific in its application and in the process of methodology respectively. Therefore, the researchers have to adopt the method, which can help in the collection of the data and allow for the reliability and credibility for the analysis process.
The quantitative method of research is used to study the natural occurrences or phenomenon that takes place while the research is undertaken such as experiments in the laboratory and the surveys conducted of various people. The qualitative method of research on the other hand, helps in conducting the research process based on the case studies, questionnaires, interviews and ethnography. The assumption that needs to be taken in the qualitative research rather than in quantitative research is that the latter method tries to study the phenomenon of the humans, which do not lead to quantification easily. This research process will be done based on the qualitative method as motivation is a common phenomenon and can help in better understanding if it can be contextualized (Glesne, 2015).
It is a process, which involves an in-depth structural form of interview process and a conversation that is purposeful between two persons. The main principle in this type of interview process helps in gaining knowledge and data that is generated through the process of interaction. There are primarily three forms of interview process in the qualitative method which includes the structured, semi-structured and the unstructured format. The interviewees in this research process were asked the same questions in a predetermined format. The flexibility in the interviews that are semi-structured will allow the researcher to investigate the conversations in an in-depth manner. The researcher will keep the flow of the conversation by using different reminders.
The qualitative method is advantageous as well as it is more flexible in nature. It helps the researcher and the respondent to clarify the questions if the answers are not satisfactory with respect to the semi-structures method of interview, which is open minded. This process of clarification will help the researcher in understanding the importance of rewards and its perspective with the methods of motivation that is chosen in the organization.
The face-to-face process of interview is also advantageous as it allows the interviewer to use nonverbal behaviors during the process of interview. This allows the interviewer to make more in depth conversation with the respondent or refrain from sensitive issue, which might cause discomfort to the respondent (Lewis, 2015).
There are limitations as well in this approach related to the interpretation of data, which is linked with the qualitative process of research. Unlike the quantitative process of research, which allows the researcher to deal with issues that maybe related to experiments can be easily measured or quantified, the qualitative process handles the values and perceptions of the people, which cannot be quantified or measured.
The face-to-face process of interview also has limitations related to the confidentiality of respondents. This becomes difficult as the researcher comes to know about the name and contact of the interviewee or the respondent (Creswell, 2013).
The qualitative process of research is mainly based on four paradigms such as constructivism, positivism, post-positivism and critical theory. This method of research process, which will be based on qualitative method will use the epistemological process of assumption, which states that knowledge is situational, interactional and contextual. The interactions with the respondents will help in understanding the perceptions of rewards that are used to ,motivate the employees for performance and the dilemmas that is faced by the managers in motivating the employees.
Almost all the research procedures has the involvement of human beings, which has issues that needs to be dealt with ethics and given proper consideration. The qualitative method of research process should focus on ethical issues such as the complications that may arise in the process of qualitative research. The issues related to emotional safety, informed consent, reciprocity and confidentiality needs to be kept in mind by the researcher before conduction the research process. This research will deal with the issues that are related to informed consent and confidentiality of the respondents.
The sample size for this research will include around 20 respondents, which will comprise of males and females equally. The respondents have acted in a double position as managers who have the responsibility of a small team consisting of 10 employees under them and have to report to the higher management about the welfare of the employees. The information will be gathered from different institutions such as oil and gas companies, insurance companies and banking institutions. The interview process will help in highlighting the issues with the perception of the respondents related to motivation based on rewards system and the challenges that the managers face in using the motivational theory in the workplace. This will help in further studies that may take place on a larger scale.
This research will focus on the perceptions that the employees have on the use of motivation through various reward systems. The interviews of the various participants that will be conducted will be based on the people who are living in the area of Queensland in Australia and are working in various institutions. The research will also focus on the strengths and the weaknesses of qualitative interview process and the ethical issues, which will help in providing a description for the sample of the research.
The outcome of the following research will help in improving the reward structure that is already present in the organization. Based on the interviews that will be conducted with the employees and the managers, there will be a rewards system that has to based on cash and in kind. This will help in appealing to the employees about the preferred reward mode that is the cash method. The rewards need to be for the employees and not for the top management of the organization, as it will help in motivating the employees intrinsically and a tool for training the employees. The system of rewards needs to be frequent in nature, as it will help in retaining the employees within the organization. These appraisals will help the employees to be recognized within the company and motivate them on a continuous manner. The employees need to help the management in designing the structure of the rewards system through proper questionnaire method, as it will help in taking the taste and preference of the employees in account.
References
Barrick, M. R., Thurgood, G. R., Smith, T. A., & Courtright, S. H. (2015). Collective organizational engagement: Linking motivational antecedents, strategic implementation, and firm performance. Academy of Management Journal, 58(1), 111-135.
Bradler, C., Dur, R., Neckermann, S., & Non, A. (2016). Employee recognition and performance: A field experiment. Management Science, 62(11), 3085-3099.
Breevaart, K., Bakker, A., Hetland, J., Demerouti, E., Olsen, O. K., & Espevik, R. (2014). Daily transactional and transformational leadership and daily employee engagement. Journal of occupational and organizational psychology, 87(1), 138-157.
Bullock, J. B., Stritch, J. M., & Rainey, H. G. (2015). International comparison of public and private employees’ work motives, attitudes, and perceived rewards. Public Administration Review, 75(3), 479-489.
Caillier, J. G. (2014). Toward a better understanding of the relationship between transformational leadership, public service motivation, mission valence, and employee performance: A preliminary study. Public Personnel Management, 43(2), 218-239.
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage publications.
Glesne, C. (2015). Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction. Pearson.
Gupta, N., & Shaw, J. D. (2014). Employee compensation: The neglected area of HRM research. Human Resource Management Review, 24(1), 1-4.
Kallio, K. M., & Kallio, T. J. (2014). Management-by-results and performance measurement in universities–implications for work motivation. Studies in Higher Education, 39(4), 574-589.
Karami, A., Dolatabadi, H. R., & Rajaeepour, S. (2013). Analyzing the effectiveness of reward management system on employee performance through the mediating role of employee motivation case study: Isfahan Regional Electric Company. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 3(9), 327.
Landy, F. J., & Conte, J. M. (2016). Work in the 21st Century, Binder Ready Version: An Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology. John Wiley & Sons.
Lewis, S. (2015). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Health promotion practice, 1524839915580941.
Malik, M. A. R., Butt, A. N., & Choi, J. N. (2015). Rewards and employee creative performance: Moderating effects of creative self?efficacy, reward importance, and locus of control. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 36(1), 59-74.
Muogbo, U. S. (2013). The Impact of Employee Motivation On Organisational Performance (A Study Of Some Selected Firms In Anambra State Nigeria). The International Journal of Engineering and Science, 2(7), 70-80.
Nyberg, A. J., Pieper, J. R., & Trevor, C. O. (2016). Pay-for-performance’s effect on future employee performance: Integrating psychological and economic principles toward a contingency perspective. Journal of Management, 42(7), 1753-1783.
Olafsen, A. H., Halvari, H., Forest, J., & Deci, E. L. (2015). Show them the money? The role of pay, managerial need support, and justice in a self?determination theory model of intrinsic work motivation. Scandinavian journal of psychology, 56(4), 447-457.
Olubusayo, F. H., Stephen, I. A., & Maxwell, O. (2014). Incentives Packages and Employees’ Attitudes to Work: A Study Of Selected Government Parastatals In Ogun State, South-West, Nigeria. International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science, 3(1), 63.
Pinder, C. C. (2014). Work motivation in organizational behavior. Psychology Press.
Shields, J., Brown, M., Kaine, S., Dolle-Samuel, C., North-Samardzic, A., McLean, P., … & Plimmer, G. (2015). Managing Employee Performance & Reward: Concepts, Practices, Strategies. Cambridge University Press.
Wojtaszek, H. (2016). Selected aspects of innovative motivation. World Scientific News, 44, 1.
Essay Writing Service Features
Our Experience
No matter how complex your assignment is, we can find the right professional for your specific task. Contact Essay is an essay writing company that hires only the smartest minds to help you with your projects. Our expertise allows us to provide students with high-quality academic writing, editing & proofreading services.
Free Features
Free revision policy
$10Free bibliography & reference
$8Free title page
$8Free formatting
$8How Our Essay Writing Service Works
First, you will need to complete an order form. It's not difficult but, in case there is anything you find not to be clear, you may always call us so that we can guide you through it. On the order form, you will need to include some basic information concerning your order: subject, topic, number of pages, etc. We also encourage our clients to upload any relevant information or sources that will help.
Complete the order form
Once we have all the information and instructions that we need, we select the most suitable writer for your assignment. While everything seems to be clear, the writer, who has complete knowledge of the subject, may need clarification from you. It is at that point that you would receive a call or email from us.
Writer’s assignment
As soon as the writer has finished, it will be delivered both to the website and to your email address so that you will not miss it. If your deadline is close at hand, we will place a call to you to make sure that you receive the paper on time.
Completing the order and download