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Role of Motivation in Higher Productivity

Authors:
  • SRM University Sonepat

Abstract

This paper explores the role of motivation in higher productivity. There is a general believe that man has the natural tendency to be lazy with regards to work and he is being forced by circumstances to work. According to some scientists, motivation is a need and organisation is making great use of every facility in human works to achieve motivation. Productivity means the rate of power to produce, but productivity from the management or economic point of view is the ratio of what is produced to what is required to produce it. This study is therefore designed to find out the link between the extent to which various motivation strategies that encourage the workers to improve their job commitment and increase their productive capacity. It is examined through the origin and evolution of related studies. On the other hand, it offers information relative to the influences perceived and detected in these developments. This paper presents a concepts-based finding. These data allow us to offer an approximated picture of the motivation in higher productivity. Research suggests that individuals are motivated to perform well when the work is meaningful and they have responsibility for the outcomes of their assigned tasks. It is recommended that, an organisational movement should be away from the current merit-pay reward system to an organisational structure that promotes challenges and accomplishments, creates organisational learning opportunities, utilises group incentives as well as individual incentives, rethinks job design, uses positive reinforcement and promotes healthy work environments.
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ROLE OF MOTIVATION IN HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY
S. K. Srivastava* and Kailash Chandra Barmola**
ABSTRACT
This paper explores the role of motivation in higher productivity. There is a general believe
that man has the natural tendency to be lazy with regards to work and he is being forced
by circumstances to work. According to some scientists, motivation is a need and
organisation is making great use of every facility in human works to achieve motivation.
Productivity means the rate of power to produce, but productivity from the management or
economic point of view is the ratio of what is produced to what is required to produce it.
This study is therefore designed to find out the link between the extent to which various
motivation strategies that encourage the workers to improve their job commitment and
increase their productive capacity. It is examined through the origin and evolution of
related studies. On the other hand, it offers information relative to the influences perceived
and detected in these developments. This paper presents a concepts-based finding. These
data allow us to offer an approximated picture of the motivation in higher productivity.
Research suggests that individuals are motivated to perform well when the work is meaningful
and they have responsibility for the outcomes of their assigned tasks. It is recommended
that, an organisational movement should be away from the current merit-pay reward system
to an organisational structure that promotes challenges and accomplishments, creates
organisational learning opportunities, utilises group incentives as well as individual
incentives, rethinks job design, uses positive reinforcement and promotes healthy work
environments.
Keywords: Motivation, Productive capacity, Job commitment, Work environments,
Behaviour analysis
INTRODUCTION
Psychologists are intrigued by human motivation and many of the motivational theories
developed in the last century are applicable today. Use of the theories has enabled us to understand
the link between motivation and job satisfaction, productivity, leadership styles and personal
characteristics. There is a general believe that man has the natural tendency to be lazy with
* Professor of Psychology, Gurukul Kangri University, Haridwar (UK-India)
** Ph.D. Student in Psychology, Gurukul Kangri University, Haridwar (UK-India)
ISSN: 0973-8533
Vol. 5 No. 1, June 2011
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106 S. K. Srivastava and Kailash Chandra Barmola
Vol. 5, No. 1, June 2011
regards to work and he is being forced by circumstances to work. This idea about man still
continues to create problems for the development process of the society in the face of abundant
human and material resources resulting to low productivity. Low productivity is a problem that
thrives in many societies particularly in the developing countries irrespective of constant efforts.
A lot of money, energy and time are wasted. Had it been properly utilised it would have yielded
higher productivity and as such greater wealth for the societies involved. Man is the factor that
utilises other resources available within the society for the production of goods and services in
order to satisfy individual needs. Thus, when human resources are minimally utilised and a
maximum output is realised, it leads to the realisation of the goals of the systems associated
with these productive activities. The extent to which these human resources are utilised
effectively depends on a number of factors: the set of skills, the level of knowledge, and the
efficiency to capitalise.
The behavioural scientists have primarily attested that increased output is a function of the
level of human welfare. This concept outstrips attention being focused on machines alone
because at the heart of the enterprise and its entire structure, the human resource enabled with
skill, experience, attitudes and intelligence is the most significant in factor combination of wealth
creation and production process. Organisations, no matter their nature, always aim at achieving
their corporate goals; otherwise, the survival of such enterprise will be more of a dream than a
reality. The success of any organisation is often measured by the degree of its productivity.
Although, this can however be said to be independent on the attitude and morale of the workers
in form of their level of job commitment. No company can therefore afford to ignore any of the
many factors that may contribute to the boosting of the commitment levels of its workers, which
is motivation. In all productive activities, the basic elements and factors include land, capital,
labour and the entrepreneur. The labourers and the entrepreneurs are human and as such very
important in any productive enterprise. They utilise the other factors for the realisation for the
goal of the enterprise. It can then be adduced that human beings play a very important role within
any system and in particular industrial organisations. For this reason, they should be given a high
consideration so that they can contribute effectively and efficiently during productive activities.
Finding the answers of these questions, in fact, is the key. One of the important responsibilities,
according to some scientists, is the need of motivation, and organisations are making great use of
every facility to achieve motivation. In today’s competitive world, in order to gain the planned
purposes, besides physiological needs and other needs, opinions, insights, security, guarantee of
workers are playing the main role in the development of present day highly successful
organisation.The studies of Honari (2006) showed that motivation evokes effort and dynamicity
in every organisation, it causes improvement in prices and in market. In the other words, factors
such as welfare, wage, work conditions of human resources are some of the aspects and nature
of work which increases the degree of quality and quantity of products.
Motivation: A simple definition of motivation is that which makes people put real effort and
energy into what they do. Any discussion of motivation should begin with the definition of its
subject matter. One may expect the motivational theories to be the perfect place to look for a
generally agreed upon definition. The inquisitive reader will find, however, that the field of
motivation is characterised by an abundance of different theoretical frameworks and models that
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make it difficult, if not impossible, to identify similarities and differences. Kanfer (1990) surveyed
over 30 theories specific to work motivation; and recently, Clark (1998) reviewed over 40
research-based theories of motivation. However, the number of proposed definitions by far
surpasses the number of theories. For example, Kleinginna and Kleinginna (1981) listed 98
definitions of motivation from which they synthesized their own physiological definition with
emphasis on process-restrictive, vector and phenomenological aspects. The large number of
different operational definitions can lead to different conclusion about the phenomenon of interest
(Kazdin, 1998). Most workers in the field of motivation define motivation in their own terms. As
a result, individual research efforts overlap only little. Although viewing a particular phenomenon
from many different perspectives may not be a drawback by itself, in the case of motivation
research the point can be made that much of the research effort has not resulted in an increased
understanding of motivated behaviour. Within the work motivation literature we can find some
general definitions. For example, Vroom (1964) proposed that the concept of motivation has to
do with the choices made by persons or lower organisms among alternative forms of voluntary
activity. Pinder (1998) views the motivation to work as a set of energetic forces that originate
both within as well as beyond an individual’s being, to initiate work-related behaviour, and to
determine its form, direction, intensity and duration. Other motivational theorists also operationalize
motivation as the direction, effort and persistence of behaviour, including Clark (1998), Ford
(1992), Locke and Latham (1990), Madsen (1961).
Theory of Motivation: Psychologists have been exploring how to motivate employees since
early in the last century and a lot of knowledge on human motivation has been developed and
widely applied. It should be noted that job satisfaction is closely associated with motivation and
some important motivational theories are described below.
1. Roethlisberger and Dickson (1939) Classic Study on Worker Performance: The
unusual level of attention from managers and researchers motivated workers to high
performance because it fulfilled the workers’ previously unmet social needs. He
concluded that performance feedback and pay-for-performance were the specific
conditions that increased and maintained the high levels of performance. The fulfillment
of social needs is not needed to explain the performance changes.
2. Maslow Needs Hierarchy Theory (1954): To formulate a positive theory of motivation,
humans have innate hierarchical needs, lower-order needs (e.g., air, water, food and
shelter) that dominate their behaviour. Unmet needs create psychological tension that
energizes and motivates behaviour that will fill those needs? No practical tools predict
and control behaviour? People don’t inherently dislike work. People exercise self direction
and self control. Human beings learn to accept and seek responsibility. Management’s
methods of organisation and control need to recheck, establish short-term and long-
term goals, provide frequent feedback on progress, assessment and changes of goals,
appraise results.
2. Skinner Behaviour Analysis (1953): To predict and control behaviour person’s
history and current environment. Behaviour is function of environmental contingencies
of reinforcement, establishing operations such as deprivation or satiation. Establishing
operations and past consequences determine the direction, effort, and persistence of
108 S. K. Srivastava and Kailash Chandra Barmola
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behaviour. Vroom expectancy theory (1964) explains work behaviour (not the control
of it). Person must believe that there is a relation between performance and valued
outcomes (Instrumentality). People must see a relationship between how hard they try
and quality of performance (Expectancy). The perceived outcomes, valence,
instrumentality and expectancy generate a force to exert different levels of effort in
performance.
3. Adams Equity Theory (1965): Dissatisfaction and low morale, internal perceptions of
work environment causes people to form beliefs and attitudes; these cognitions, in turn,
instigate and direct various work-related behaviours (Pinder, 1998). Motivation is a
function of how a person sees self in comparison to other people. Feelings of inequity
cause tension — the greater the inequity, the greater the tension and the greater the
motivation to reduce it. Based on the result of the comparison a person may either
work hard or less,
4. Locke and Latham Theory of Goal Setting and Task Performance (1990): Explain
why some people work harder than others or perform better than others independently
of their ability and knowledge. Human action is directed by conscious goals and
intentions. Goals influence people’s choice of task and task performance. Goals are the
basis for motivation and direct behaviour, provide guidelines. Two conditions must be
met before goals can positively influence performance: First, person must be aware of
goal and know what must be accomplished. Second individual must accept the goal as
something worth willing to work. Goals have to be accepted (basic premise). Goals
should be difficult and specific. Goal setting and feedback of hard goals lead to greater
effort and persistence than easy goals, assuming that goals are accepted.
5. Ford Motivational Systems Theory (1992): Motivation plays a major role in producing
variability and change in behaviour patterns. Motivation is a function of goals, emotions,
and personal agency beliefs. Motivation initiates and maintains activity until the goal
directing the episode is attained. Principles for motivating humans that can alter
problematic motivational patterns and promote the development should be used in more
adaptive pattern.
MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS INFLUENCING THE PRODUCTIVITY
1. Intrinsic/Extrinsic Motivation: According to a recent study, intrinsic motivation
strengthened the relationship between prosocial motivation and employee outcomes. The study
claims that employees experience prosocial motivation as more autonomous when intrinsic
motivation is high because intrinsically motivated employees feel that performing well is beneficial
to their own self-selected goals, as they enjoy their work and value the outcome of helping
others. Drawing on concepts from research on prosocial personality, prosocial motivation should
be pleasure-based rather than pressure-based, because employees feel volition, autonomy and free
choice in their efforts to benefit others by way of in-role and extra-role work performance when
prosocial motivation is accompanied by intrinsic motivation. When intrinsic motivation is low,
however, employees will experience prosocial motivation as more controlled because they do not
enjoy their work or benefiting others through their work. Then, prosocial motivation will be
better characterised as pressure-based and it possibly result in stress and role overload.
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The psychological costs may impede or diminish any positive effects on work performance.
Extrinsic motivation is also important in performence of workers. Extrinsic motivation like pay,
wages, bonus and other incentives play a significant role in productivity of workers.
2. Cognition: Cognitive theories of motivation, on the other hand, suggest that our experiences
generate internal cognitions (such as desires and beliefs). These cognitions, in turn, determine
current performance (Clark, 1998; Ford, 1992; Maslow, 1954; Vroom, 1964). However, the
question arises: Where do cognitions come from? They are the results of past interactions with
our environment. For these cognitions to be useful, they must relate to the person’s environment.
We call people whose cognitions are not related to their environment, maladjusted, neurotic, or
schizophrenic. We learn from our past experiences that we can successfully perform in some
environments and not so successful in others. Behaviour analysis postulates that the ultimate
sources of our behaviour, including verbal statements such as beliefs, wishes, or desires, can
ultimately be traced to the consequences of our behaviour in (past and) current environments.
Cognitions are nothing more than our ability to describe particular reinforcement contingencies of
our own behaviour based on our own past experiences (Mawhinney & Mawhinney, 1982).
3. Environment: Recent models of work motivation are addressing the role of the
environment as one determinant of behaviour. For example, Keller (1999) performance factors
model includes antecedents and consequences as influences on performance. Locke and Latham’s
(1990) goal setting theory centers around goals as antecedents and feedback as consequences of
performance. This focus on empirical events makes goal setting theory one of the more practical
cognitive theories of motivation that exists today. In summary, conceptualizing motivation as an
internal construct places the causes of behaviour inside the person. The environment provides the
backdrop against which motivational mechanisms and processes determine appropriate courses
of action. These internal events are difficult to observe and measure which can lead to a number
of independent models of the causes of behaviour. Furthermore, when behaviour or performance
does not meet societal or work standards, we tend to assume that something is wrong with the
person, rather than looking for deficits in the person’s environment. Behaviour analysis attempts
to explain behaviour and performance by understanding the context in which it occurs.
MOTIVATION AND PRODUCTIVITY
It is a truism that employees are an organisation’s most valuable assets. This highlights the
importance of understanding the theory and application of motivation to manage human resources
(Amar, 2004). One then wonders what the basic prerequisites of workers’ productivity are.
Although this question cannot be answered with a definite statement, but among other factors,
motivation is important for enhancing level of job commitment of workers, which invariably
leads to a higher productivity of the workers. It is then necessary for motivation of the workers
in organisation to be enhanced in order to increase productivity. Productivity literarily means the
rate of power to produce, but productivity from the management or economic point of view is
the ratio of what is produced to what is required to produce it. Usually, this ratio is in the form of
an average; expressing the total output of some category of goods divided by the total input of,
say labour or raw material. In principle, any input can be used as the denominator of the
productivity ratio. One can speak of the productivity of land, labour, capital or sub-categories of
110 S. K. Srivastava and Kailash Chandra Barmola
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any of these factors of production. Simply put, productivity is the act of producing or bringing
into being commodities of great value or adding to the wealth of the world. It can be used to
measure the index of growth, efficiency, economic standard etc. On the other hand, motivation is
a word that is rather cumbersome to define in a meaningful manner. Adams and Jacobson (1964)
suggest that motivation deals with all the conditions that are responsible for variation in the
intensity, quality and direction of behaviour. From an organisation point of view, motivation deals
with everything that a manager knows or can use to influence the direction and rate of individual’s
behaviour towards commitment. An overwhelming amount of energy is expended in trying to get
people to do what we want them to do. We all have a task to motivate ourselves to do what we
think we should do. It is widely believed that when a worker is highly motivated, this goes a long
way in improving organisational productivity, effectiveness and efficiency. Against this background
it is necessary to look for a way through which the morale of workers can be improved which
will at the end, enhance job commitment with an improvement on the standard of living of
people, and increase in wealth of individuals and development of the society. This study is
therefore designed to find out the link between the extent to which various motivation strategies
encourages the workers to improve their job commitment and increase their productive capacity.
The relationship between motivation and productivity is more substantial than simply a
psychological connection.
(A) Gender Differences: It is found in research that women were mainly motivated by
other factors in the workplace not by job role itself and had fewer primary needs met at
work. Women were also more dissatisfied in their job than men.
(B) Age Differences: The research indicated that the older generation was more productive
than their younger colleagues. However, research in other fields has suggested that
research productivity declines with age (Over, 1982; Over, 1988), and that there is a
negative association between age and scientific productivity and creativity (Cole, 1979).
(C) Caring Responsibilities: It is investigated that those with no dependants spent more
hours on work, and consequently had higher counts than their colleagues with caring
responsibilities. Those with dependants were far less interested in work for its own
sake, had less satisfaction from working as output was less important and felt less need
of work in order to succeed.
(D) Hours Spent on Work: The results of researches clearly indicate that those that spent
more hours on work were mostly those that were motivated by their job role, and had
greater job satisfaction than those spending less time on work (either because they
were not motivated by their job role or because their job role did not permit it).
(E) Sources of Motivation: It is indicated in research that the majority of workers are
primarily motivated by their job role rather than workplace or extra-workplace factors.
Interestingly, those that were motivated by factors external to workplace had lower job
satisfaction. Perhaps not surprisingly, those that were primarily motivated by the job
role had a higher output than those with other sources of motivation. The research also
showed that having one’s primary needs met at work was key to job satisfaction and
the higher the job satisfaction level, the higher the output.
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MOTIVATIONAL STRATEGIES TO ENCOURAGE PRODUCTIVITY
Pay-for-performance incentives are often utilised in the private sector to encourage competition
among and within team, but such a model may not be directly applicable to the public sector, as
resources are often tighter, and money may not be the primary source of motivation for those
with an ethos of public service. Research suggests that individuals are motivated to perform well
when the work is meaningful and individuals believe they have responsibility for the outcomes of
their assigned tasks. It is recommended following suggestions which may help to improve
productivity among workers.
1. Promote Challenges and Accomplishments: Specific and challenging goals can lead to
higher levels of performance, productivity, and creativity which in turn is linked with an overall
stronger commitment to the organisation (Perry, Mesch, & Paarlberg, 2006). We propose
developing challenging goals and timelines together with employees. By setting goals, employees
obtain a clear strategy for their own professional development, which creates greater satisfaction
and motivation (Ambrose & Kulik, 1999). Goals should be challenging but also attainable.
Complex and abstract goals may lead to decreased work performance and negatively impact
employee morale. Accomplishing goals that challenge employee creativity and problem-solving
skills can improve performance, enhance employee self-confidence, and improve job satisfaction
which can outweigh a one-time monetary award (Perry, Mesch, & Paarlberg, 2006). Goal setting
should be followed by regular and thorough feedback given by supervisors on employee’s goal
achievements.
2. Create Organisational Learning Opportunities: Goal setting should be challenging
and achievable, goals can also promote learning opportunities. Organisations can integrate learning
opportunities through setting goals that allow employees to engage in problem-solving and
knowledge acquisition. We have found that merit pay and pay-for-performance systems yield
little positive results on employee performance or learning opportunities, yet a system of
progressively giving employees more complex tasks can stimulate employee learning and consistently
improve employee performance. Organisational learning opportunities can also challenge an
employee to think more expansively about their own personal goals (Perry, Mesch, & Paarlberg,
2006).
3. Utilise Group Incentives as Well as Individual Incentives: Organisational learning
and employee personal growth are impacted by the incentives offered in the work environment.
It is recommended, implementing a variety of awards such as team awards, individual recognition
based on extraordinary performance, and rewards for all employees for their achieved goals. In
order to strengthen teamwork, praise employees for performance that benefits the team. Awarding
only a few people with rewards might be counterproductive. According to Bob Behn, some hard
working employees might feel treated unfairly and lose their work spirit or develop resentments
to other employees and the team (Behn, 2000).
4. Rethink Job Design: Incentives are just one method used to promote motivation in the
work environment, another method is job design. It is advised, implementing a job design in an
organisation in which employees rotate job positions (if possible), gain more responsibility over
their work and resources, and engage in trainings and organisational learning opportunities.
112 S. K. Srivastava and Kailash Chandra Barmola
Vol. 5, No. 1, June 2011
Research has shown that job design is a central element in motivation. Employees work better if
they are involved in the organisations decision-making process, and if they have control over
their own professional development (Ambrose & Kulik, 1999). Jobs designed with a sense of
challenge and task significance can facilitate a sense of meaningfulness, leading to better work
performance and personal growth in the work setting (Perry, Mesch, & Paarlberg, 2006).
5. Use Positive Reinforcement: There is little research showing a significant relationship
between merit-pay and performance, yet motivating factors such as job design and positive
reinforcement has improved employee performance (Perry, Mesch, & Paarlberg, 2006). It is
strongly suggested, using positive reinforcement as a key tool for motivation. The latest research
about motivation in the public sector has shown that traditional approaches, such as incentive pay
systems, do not lead to more motivation or better performance on the job.
6. Promote a Healthy Work Environment: Organisational practices that motivate employees
and improve performance may be ineffective if little attention is paid to the working environment.
Create an environment where your employees feel fair and safe. There are two elements, crucial
for motivated workers: first, the absence of dissatisfaction in the work environment with salary;
second enthusiasm shown by motivators to generate extrinsic and intrinsic motivation.
CURRENT STUDIES ON MOTIVATION AND PRODUCTIVITY
A few current studies related to motivation and productivity are mentioned here. Uwe and
Hartwig (2000) have examined the effects of a psychologically based management system on
work motivation and productivity. It is concluded that PPM (Participative Productivity Management)
helps to increase productivity mainly by increasing task and goal clarity, and that increases in
productivity can only be reached reliably when no competing system of performance appraisal
exists besides PPM. Wright (2002) has examined the role of work context in work motivation (A
public sector application of goal and social cognitive theories). The findings of a covariance
(LISREL) analysis of state government employee survey data suggested a few minor modifications
to this model, the results indicated that the theoretical framework can identify specific leverage
points that can increase work motivation and, therefore, productivity in the public sector. Mehta,
et al. (2003) studied the leadership style, motivation and performance in international marketing
channels (An empirical investigation of the USA, Finland and Poland). More specifically, in
administering a firm’s marketing channels, participative, supportive and directive leadership styles
may be effective in eliciting channel partners to exert higher levels of motivation, which, in turn,
may be associated with higher levels of performance. The linkages among leadership styles,
motivation, and performance are empirically examined on data drawn from a sample of automobile
distributors in the USA, Finland and Poland.
Seo, et al. (2004) studied the role of affective experience in work motivation. Based on
psychological and neurobiological theories of core affective experience, we identify a set of
direct and indirect paths through which affective feelings at work affect three dimensions of
behavioural outcomes: direction, intensity, and persistence. First, affective experience may influence
these behavioural outcomes indirectly by affecting goal level and goal commitment, as well as
three key judgment components of work motivation: expectancy judgments, utility judgments,
and progress judgments. Second, affective experience may also affect these behavioural outcomes
Role of Motivation in Higher Productivity 113
Global Journal of Business Management
directly. Patterson, et al. (2004) examined the organisational climate and company productivity
(The role of employee affect and employee level). An overall analysis showed that company
productivity was more strongly correlated with those aspects of climate that had stronger
satisfaction loadings. A second prediction, that managers’ perceptions of climate would be more
closely linked to company productivity than would those of non-managers, was not supported.
However, managers’ assessments of most aspects of their company’s climate were significantly
more positive than those of non-managers. Kuvaas (2006) has studied work performance,
affective commitment and work motivation (The roles of pay administration and pay level). The
key findings are that base pay level, but not bonus level, was positively related to both self-
reported work performance and affective unit commitment, and that these relationships were partly
mediated by intrinsic motivation. Furthermore, moderation analyses revealed that the relationships
between bonus level and the outcome variables were not affected by type of pay plan.
Miao and Evans (2007) studied the impact of salesperson motivation on role perceptions and
job performance (A cognitive and affective perspective). Empirical results from a survey of
salespeople indicate that, compared to the global motivation constructs, the cognitive and affective
representation of I/E (intrinsic and extrinsic) motivation provides a more robust description of the
salesperson motivation-role perceptions-performance relationship. Ellerslie and Oppenheim (2008)
examined the effect of motivation on publication productivity of UK. Findings demonstrate
significant differences in motivational levels and publication counts by age, gender, caring
responsibilities and hours spent on research. The paper concludes that those likely to produce
more publications were older males without responsibilities who did 6-15 hours research per
week. Dysvik and Bard (2008) examined the relationship between perceived training opportunities,
work motivation and employee outcomes. Intrinsic motivation was found to moderate the relationship
between perceived training opportunities and organisational citizenship behaviours. The form of
the moderation revealed a positive relationship for those with high intrinsic motivation. In sum,
the variables included as predictors in our study explained 13 per cent of the variance in task
performance, 19 per cent of the variance in organisational citizenship behaviour and 24 per cent
of the variance in turnover intention.
Mason, et al. (2008) studied motivation and perceived productivity at a merged higher
education institution. The results reflect that there is a positive relationship between motivation
and perceived productivity at the specific organisation under investigation indicating an increase
or decrease in motivation is accompanied by a corresponding increase or decrease in perceived
productivity. Ibadan and Obioha (2009) examined the role of motivation in enhancing job
commitment in Nigeria industries (A case study of energy foods company limited). It can then be
adduced that human beings play a very important role within any system and in particular
industrial organisations. For this reason, they should be given a high consideration so that they
can contribute effectively and efficiently during productive activities. Kuvaas and Dysvik (2009)
studied the perceived investment in employee development, intrinsic motivation and work
performance.
Intrinsic motivation was found to moderate the relationship between perceived investment in
employee development and organisational citizenship behaviour. The form of the moderation
revealed a positive relationship only for employees with high levels of intrinsic motivation.
114 S. K. Srivastava and Kailash Chandra Barmola
Vol. 5, No. 1, June 2011
Parkin, et al. (2009) examined the motivation among construction workers in Turkey. As a
result it is suggested that workers on Turkish construction sites are managed in a way which
limits their opportunities to fulfill higher level needs, and in order to increase worker motivation,
and therefore productivity, the management of such workers should move away from control
through external means and towards control through internal and cultural forces. Baek, et al.
(2010) have investigated the influences of core self-evaluations, job autonomy and intrinsic
motivation on in-role job performance. The results suggest that employees perceived higher in-
role job performance when they had higher core self-evaluations and intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic
motivation partially mediated the relationship between core self-evaluations and job performance,
and it also fully mediated the relationship from job autonomy to job performance. Masoud and
Camal (2010) studied the effect of motivation on the productivity of the employees of sport
departments of Ardabil province. It is concluded that there is a significant and positive relationship
between the motivation and the environmental factors and the degree of productivity of employees
of sport departments of Ardabil province.
CONCLUSIONS
From this study it is obvious that most workers in the industry are not satisfied and
motivated in their jobs, especially those in the junior cadre. Significant relationship was found
between motivation and job commitment on one hand, and satisfaction with job and job
commitment on the other hand. It is found that individuals are motivated to perform well when
the work is meaningful and individuals believe they have responsibility for the outcomes of their
assigned tasks. It is recommended that, an organisational movement should be away from the
current merit-pay reward system to an organisational structure that promotes challenges and
accomplishments, creates organisational learning opportunities, utilises group incentives as well
as individual incentives, rethinks job design, uses positive reinforcement and promotes healthy
work environments.
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