research proposal on employee motivation

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The effect of motivation on employee engagement in public sectors: in the case of North Wollo zone

• Abriham Ebabu Engidaw   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5081-5668 1  

Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship volume  10 , Article number:  43 ( 2021 ) Cite this article

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The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on employee engagement in public sectors. To meet this purpose, a quantitative and qualitative study survey was conducted and the researcher used an explanatory survey research design. The study was used both primary and secondary sources of data. The target population for this study was selected four city administrative office employees including all kebeles office employees and as a sample size, 349 questionnaires were filled and collected from these employees. The study used proportionately stratified with simple random sampling because to collect the relevant data and to give equal chance for all employees. Later on, statistical package for social science (SPSS) was used to the required test of inferential statistics; including reliability analysis, bivariate correlation, analysis of variance (ANOVA) test, and multiple regression analysis. The finding of the study revealed that extrinsic motivation was considered more significant than intrinsic and there was a positive significant relationship between intrinsic and extrinsic motivations with employee engagement. From the results, it was also concluded that the relationship and effect of extrinsic motivation were stronger on employee engagement as compared to intrinsic motivation. As a recommendation, the organizations should find which ways are able to motivate employees, what drives them, then making sure they utilize appropriate motivational techniques with each employee. Managers should also endeavor to communicate the organization’s purpose to employees. Finally, the organizations should take steps to incorporate the vision of employees for the organization with its own vision.

Introduction

An unmotivated employee is likely to put little effort into work tasks, produce work of lower quality, avoid the workplace, and even exit his or her job if given the opportunity to do so. On the other hand, motivated employees are likely to willingly take on tasks, produce work of high quality, and be creative, persistent, and productive. Employees motivation has two forms, intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation arises from the intrinsic value of the work for the individual (for example, its interest value), whereas, extrinsic motivation arises from the desire to obtain some outcomes (for example, as rewards) that are apart from the work itself (Amabile, 1993 ). Each and every person in an organization is motivated in a different manner. Workers’ motivation depends on many intrinsic and extrinsic factors like interesting work, job appreciation, satisfaction, stress, job security, promotion and growth, rewards, work environment, punishment and recognition etcetera (Palaniammal, 2013 ).

The main purpose of these motivating factors is to create an environment where people are willing to work with zeal, initiative, interest, and enthusiasm, with a high personal and group satisfaction, with the sense of responsibility, loyalty, and confidence to achieve their personal as well as organizational goals (Palaniammal, 2013 ). Research has shown that there is a difference in strength between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on their relationship and impact on employee engagement. Khan ( 2011 ) concluded that the relationship and impact of extrinsic motivation were stronger on employee engagement as compared to intrinsic motivation.

According to Shuck ( 2010 ) employee engagement is an individual employee’s cognitive, emotional, and behavioral state directed toward desired organizational outcomes. Recently, Rice ( 2012 ) defined engagement as full employee engagement represents an alignment of maximum satisfaction for the individual with a maximum contribution for the organization’s success. The focus of all definitions was on two things, employee satisfaction and contribution to organizational success.

According to different researchers’ study results, employee motivation can be used to engage employees in their work in the organization. Beyond motivation, to achieve success in today’s highly competitive environment many organizations have identified the need to engage their workforce. Habte ( 2016 ) concluded that managers perceive intrinsic motivation have a larger influence on the psychological aspects of employee engagement than extrinsic motivation. This supports the idea stated by Berl and Williamson ( 1987 ) but still contradict with the finding of Iqbal and Khan. When we see the above research findings: the study conducted by Khan ( 2013 ) is contradicted with the findings of Habte ( 2016 ), Thomas ( 2009 ) and Khan ( 2011 ).

This study was carried out in four selected city administration office employees in order to know and explain the effect of motivation on employee engagement. Basically, the researcher is initiated to conduct this study because based on his observation and preliminary investigation there is a problem of employees being motivated and engaged in public sectors and the other reasons are first there is the inconsistency of previous findings relating to this topic, second as the researcher’s knowledge there are few studies conducted directly related to this topic specifically in our country Ethiopia. So this study can try to fill these gaps. Based on the above research problems the researcher developed the following research questions:

Objectives of the study

General objective.

The main objective of this study was to identify the effect of motivation (intrinsic or extrinsic) on employee engagement in public sectors in the case of selected zones.

Specific objectives

To explain the effect of intrinsic motivation on employee engagement in selected city administration employees.

To describe the effect of extrinsic motivation on employee engagement in selected city administration office employees.

To identify which motivation factor (intrinsic or extrinsic) more significantly affects employee engagement in the organization.

To examine the effect of overall motivation on employee engagement.

Literature reviews

• Employee engagement

Employee engagement is defined as “harnessing of organizational members selves to their work roles; in engagement, people employ and express themselves physically, cognitively and emotionally during role performance”, In other words, “individual involvement and satisfaction as well as enthusiasm for work” Andrew ( 2012 ).

According to Kahn ( 1990 , 1992 , cited in Saks, 2006 ) job engagement means worker should be psychologically available during the performance of the organizational role.

The organization is totally dependent on their employees; therefore, they need to be engaged in their jobs. Engagement in the organization’s jobs enables employees to make operations successful, as it runs with the mutual commitment of organizations and employees. When organization employees will engage, they will use their potential to drive high performance (provide better services and attract maximum customers). Engage employees are more dedicated and helping to maximize the organization’s productivity. They are more likely to consider themselves as an employer. Therefore, organizations should pay attention to the employee engagement concept. Otherwise, it can be the biggest threat to the organization’s success. If the organization’s management is not interested in engaging employees, consequently it would lead to unsatisfactory beneficiaries and lose their customers (Andrew & Sofian, 2012 ).

From the theories and literature discussed above the researcher identified two broad motivation factors called intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and these motivation factors are also identified as an independent variable because they have an effect on the dependent variable, employee engagement, in one way or another.

• Intrinsic motivation

According to Berl and Williamson ( 1987 ) intrinsic motivation is defined as the doing of an activity for its inherent satisfactions rather than for some benefits. Intrinsic motivation can be defined as the motivation to perform an activity in order to experience the pleasure and satisfaction inherent in the activity. They also further stated intrinsic motivation focuses on factors inside the individual which are based on personal needs. Employees get intrinsic reward directly from the job they perform, job satisfaction, interesting work, job appreciation, or the sense they help a client, Intrinsic motivated workers employ in a job because of their own interest in it and enjoy the job due to search for new solutions for business challenges and are more likely to burn up energy to identify problems and find innovative solutions.

From the Khan ( 2013 ) findings, they concluded that managers perceive intrinsic motivation as generally having a larger influence on the psychological aspects of employee engagement. They found that extrinsic motivation is of importance to employee engagement, though to a lesser extent psychologically but rather as a part of the total package that is offered to the employee by the organization and the manager. Habte ( 2016 ) concluded that managers perceive intrinsic motivation have a larger influence on the psychological aspects of employee engagement than extrinsic motivation. This conclusion leads to the next research hypothesis development on this research:

Hypothesis 1

Intrinsic motivation has a positive significant effect on employee engagement.

• Extrinsic motivation

Extrinsic motivation is defined as a construct that pertains whenever an activity is done in order to attain some separable outcome and refers to doing an activity simply for the enjoyment of the activity itself, rather than its instrumental value (Deci & Ryan, 2008 ). Or it can be the rewards offered to employees as an encouragement to engage in a behavior/task in which they cannot employ or “an employee is inner-directed, is interested or fascinated with a task and engages in it for the sake of task itself” (Zhang, 2010 ). When organizations wanted to fulfill a task from employees, they deal with monetary rewards and other tangible benefits. It referred to extrinsic rewards in motivational language. Management should know what motivates their workers and manipulate motivational techniques based on employees ’s desires. This would help organizations to recognize, educate and retain creative and productive employees for their engagement. For organizations to be better products and to have efficient performance, both extrinsic and intrinsic reward systems should be introduced. The purpose of explaining motivation (extrinsic, intrinsic) is to identify which motivation affects and has a relation with job engagement. Employees consider both important factors for their job motivation but some employees consider it more in line with extrinsic than intrinsic and vice versa (Zhang, 2010 ).

The study of Khan ( 2013 ) also concluded that the relationship and impact of extrinsic motivation were stronger on employee engagement as compared to intrinsic motivation. Thomas ( 2009 ) saying about intrinsic motivation at work stated that intrinsic rewards become more important and more prevalent in the workplace today. The above review leads to the following research hypothesis:

Hypothesis 2

There is a positive significant effect relationship between extrinsic motivation and employee engagement.

Overall motivation and employee engagement

Khan ( 2013 ) conducted research on the relationship between work motivation (intrinsic and extrinsic) and employee engagement on Allied Bank of Pakistan. The finding of the study revealed that there is a positive relationship between intrinsic motivation and employee engagement, and extrinsic motivation and employee engagement. Four intrinsic factors namely interesting work, job appreciation, satisfaction, and stress, and four extrinsic factors namely job security, good wages, promotion and growth, and recognition were identified as important factors for engagement. The study concluded that there is a positive relationship between intrinsic motivation and employee engagement, and extrinsic motivation and employee engagement. Furthermore, it is also concluded both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation has a strong positive impact on employee engagement.

Aworemi ( 2011 ) conducted research on the motivational factors of employees and their influence on employee engagement Nigeria and Marginson ( 1991 ) conducted research on academic salaries: will award restructuring make a difference in employees’ engagement? And many researchers raised many issues and get different findings of motivational factors for employee engagement. By considering these reviews the researcher developed the next hypothesis:

Hypothesis 3

There is a positive significant effect relationship between overall motivation and employee engagement.

Empirical literature review

Khan and Iqbal ( 2013 ) study concluded that there is positive relationship between intrinsic motivation and employee engagement, and extrinsic motivation and employee engagement. Furthermore, it is also concluded both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation has strong positive impact on employee engagement. The study also concluded that the relationship and impact of extrinsic motivation was stronger on employee engagement as compared to intrinsic motivation.

Bergstrom and García ( 2016 ) studied the influence of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on employee engagement in private and public organizations. However the study focused on the perceptions of managers “not employees”. From the findings study they concluded that managers perceive intrinsic motivation as generally having a larger influence on the psychological aspects of employee engagement. They found that extrinsic motivation is of importance to employee engagement, though to a lesser extent psychologically but rather as a part of the total package that is offered to the employee by the organization and the manager. Thomas ( 2009 ) saying about intrinsic motivation at work, stated that intrinsic rewards become more important and more prevalent in the workplace today.

Habte ( 2016 ) concluded that managers perceive intrinsic motivation have a larger influence on the psychological aspects of employee engagement than extrinsic motivation. This supports the idea stated by Bergstrom and García ( 2016 ) but still contradict with the finding of Iqbal and Khan.

Michael ( 2008 ) conducted study on using motivational strategy as solution for employee retention and turnover in both public and private sector organizations in South Africa and the researchers used training and development, recognition, reward, a competitive salary package and job security as motivational factors. Kassa ( 2015 ) in his research on motivation and its effect on employee retention in Ambo Mineral Water Factory, stated that employees are highly motivated with reward motivational factors and are less motivated with interesting work and training and development and working environment motivational factors.

Owusu ( 2012 ) conducted research on the effects of motivation on employee performance of commercial bank in Ghana and the researcher used salary, fringed benefits, promotion, and loans as motivational factors. Pessaran and Tavakoli ( 2011 ) conducted research on identifying the employees’ motivation of Parsian hotels in Tehran and the study used salary, security, working condition, status, achievement, recognition, growth and advancement, work itself and responsibility as motivational factors.

Conceptual framework

After reviewing the relevant concepts and theories of motivation (intrinsic, extrinsic) and employee engagement mentioned in this chapter, the conceptual framework of the study has been developed as shown in the following figure (Fig. 1 ).

Research methodology

To achieve this study’s purpose, the researcher has used an explanatory survey research design, and also quantitative and qualitative study survey was employed. Standard close-ended questionnaires were used as a survey tool. The study was used both primary and secondary sources of data. The target population for this research was four city administrative office employees including all kebeles office employees and 349 questionnaires were collected from employees. The study used proportionate stratified with simple random sampling because to collect the relevant data and to give equal chance for all employees.

Since the organization under the study has four city administrations in different area. The sample was drawn from all city administrative offices proportionally as follows (Table 1 ).

After the proper data collection, coding, and organization, the study data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Under the descriptive statistics, mean and standard deviation are used and bivariate correlation was used to see whether the independent variables (intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation) have a relationship with the dependent variable (employee engagement). To determine the effect of independent variables (intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation) on the dependent variable (employee engagement) multiple linear regression analyses were used.

Measurements of variables

The independent variables for this study are intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation whereas the dependent variable was employee engagement. The researcher used standardized close-ended and some open-ended questionnaire instruments for collecting the primary sources of data. Questionnaires concerning employee engagement used are adapted from Gallup’s 12 standard questionnaires on the other hand questionnaires regarding intrinsic and extrinsic motivation is adopted from Khan ( 2013 ) Five-point Likert-Style rating scale was deployed in order to know the employees level of agreement on the effect of motivation (intrinsic and extrinsic) and employee engagement. The questionnaire has three parts; the first part is about demographic variables, the second part was about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and the last part also about employee engagement. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation have 8 items each and employee engagement had 12 items and both are used five-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5).

The study was aimed at analyzing the effect of motivation on employee engagement at selected city administration offices. The dependent variable employee engagement and independent variables extrinsic and intrinsic motivation mean score was comparatively moderate. This points out that the greater part of respondents has a minor agreement on all measures. And also it shows that there was not a problem of multi co linearity, normality, and linearity in the study variables.

Based on the Table 2 result, the Pearson product-moment correlation analysis result showed that there is a moderate positive and significant relationship between intrinsic motivation and employee engagement at .329 and sig .000. This implied if the intrinsic motivation for the employees is increased it will also increase their engagement level. Lower employee intrinsic motivation will also lower their engagement level. The results of bivariate correlation confirmed that there is a moderate positive significant relationship between extrinsic motivation and employee engagement at .444 and sig level of .000. This implied if the extrinsic motivation for the employees is increased it will make significant positive changes in employee engagement. By lowering employee extrinsic motivation, employee engagement will also be lower. The study result showed that there was a moderate positive relationship between overall motivation and employee engagement. Also, extrinsic motivation had a more moderate positive relation with employee engagement as compared to intrinsic motivation.

Table 3 multiple regression analysis results portray that R square is .252 and adjusted R square is .248. This implied that 24.8% variation in employee engagement is explained by motivation in selected city administrations. In addition, the significance value of F statistics indicates a value .000 and it was less than p  < .05 so that it means the model was significant enough.

Also based on Table 4 result, multiple linear regression analysis results also confirmed that intrinsic motivation has a positive significant effect on employee engagement with the unstandardized Beta value of (.249, sig. level .000). As a result, the regression coefficient clarifies the average amount of change in employee engagement was affected by a unit of change in intrinsic motivation.

Regression analysis results also confirmed that extrinsic motivation had also a moderate positive significant effect on employee engagement. Since the beta value is .389 with a significance level of .000. Also, the result of extrinsic motivation showed it had a more moderate positive significant effect on employee engagement as compared to intrinsic motivation.

Furthermore, regression analysis was used to find out the effect of motivation on employee engagement. The result of the model summary from regression analysis indicated that overall motivation has a moderately positive effect on employee engagement. As a result, the regression coefficient clarifies the average amount of change in employee engagement was affected by a unit of change in motivation. The finding of the study indicated that intrinsic motivation has a highly significant effect on employee engagement compared to extrinsic motivation.

Based on open-ended questions feedback in the mentioned offices promotion and other related benefits are based on the strength of relationship with administers, there is a high shortage of working materials, there is no clear authority and responsibility delegation, no attractive work environment, no clear plan is prepared, fairness problem, high workload with unsatisfactory incentive and salary, there is the unnecessary intervention of managers at work, even superiors are not punctual and their incompetency/low problem-solving ability, some employees are hired on the unrelated job with their profession. Additionally, payments are not delivered on time, availability of hostile attitude, no motivational packages are available in those offices, customers’ poor discipline and others are things leading to be demotivated at their work and other related problems are available on those offices.

Comparison of the result of this study with the result of previous researches

As mentioned in the literature reviewed, the study of Christian et al. ( 2011 ) and Chalofsky and Krishna ( 2009 ) suggested that there was link between work engagement and motivational factors. Kahn ( 1990 ) and May et al. ( 2004 ) also relate employee engagement to motivation. Fairlie ( 2011 ) and Macey and Schneider ( 2008 ) pointed out that an investigation is required to find the link between work motivation and employee engagement. Thomas ( 2009 ) saying about intrinsic motivation at work, stated that intrinsic rewards become more important and more prevalent in the workplace today. Habte ( 2016 ) concluded that managers perceive intrinsic motivation have a larger influence on the psychological aspects of employee engagement than extrinsic motivation. Hence the finding of this study also supports these previous findings and also it contradicted with Habte ( 2016 ) finding.

Conclusions of the study

The study also examined the effect of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on employee engagement. Four hypothesis questions were tested to answer the research question and fulfilled the research purpose. To achieve this objective, a quantitative and qualitative study survey was conducted and the researcher used an explanatory survey research design. A Standard close-ended questionnaire was used as a survey tool. The study was used both primary and secondary sources of data. The target population for this study was selected four city administrative office employees including all kebeles office employees) and as a sample size, 349 questionnaires were filled and collected from these employees. The study used proportionately stratified with simple random sampling because to collect the relevant data and to give equal chance for all employees. Later on, statistical package for social science (SPSS) software was used for the required test of inferential statistics; including reliability analysis, bivariate correlation, analysis of variance (ANOVA) test, and multiple regression analysis. From the findings of the research, it is concluded by answering the research questions and there is a significant positive relationship between intrinsic motivation at .329 and sig .000 and employee engagement and there is a positive significant relationship between extrinsic motivation and employee engagement at .444 and sig level of .000.

Findings of multiple regressions analysis portray that that intrinsic motivation has a positive significant effect on employee engagement with the unstandardized Beta value of (.249, sig. level .000). As a result, the regression coefficient clarifies the average amount of change in employee engagement was affected by a unit of change in intrinsic motivation. So that the decision rule in this research’s first hypothesis is to accept the alternative hypothesis.

Intrinsic motivation has a positive and statically significant effect on employee engagement at (Beta value of .249, sig. level .000). So the decision is to accept the alternative hypothesis and reject null hypothesis.

And also the regression analysis results confirmed that extrinsic motivation had also a moderate positive significant effect on employee engagement. Since the beta value is .331 with a significance level of .000. Also, the result of extrinsic motivation showed it had a more moderate positive significant effect on employee engagement as compared to intrinsic motivation. Based on the above study result the decision is to accept the alternative hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis of hypothesis two.

There is a positive significant effect relationship between extrinsic motivation and employee engagement at the beta value of .331 with a significance level of .000. So the decision is to accept the alternative hypothesis and to reject the null hypothesis.

When we test hypothesis three, the study revealed that there exists a positive significant relationship between both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and employee engagement. There was also sufficient evidence to conclude that in addition to these relationships successful motivational factors (intrinsic and extrinsic) had positive effects on employee engagement in selected city administration office employees. Hence, for the management to stimulate employees' motivation and also to improve the level of staff works engagement, greater efforts must be placed on the two perceived motivating factors. In addition, as the open-ended question result, there is a low motivation with weak employees’ engagement at work in those offices. So the decision is to accept the alternative hypothesis.

There is a positive significant effect relationship between overall motivation and employee engagement. The decision is to accept the alternative hypothesis and to reject the null hypothesis.

Limitation of the study

In this study, the independent variables, intrinsic and extrinsic motivations were explained only 24.8% of the variation in employee engagement, but the other 75.2% were explained by other factors that were not included in this study. So, future studies could examine the rest variables which can explain the variation in employee engagement.

The study was only focused on four city administration office employees. Therefore, future researchers relating to this topic should assess in a wider and larger scope to include other private organizations and increase the generalizability of the study.

Besides this study, a comparative study could be done to know what the difference is available in different sectors relating to this topic. And another limitation is the research variable taken is subject to the understanding and knowledge of the researcher.

Recommendations

Recommendations for policy and practice.

The study result shows that employees of selected city administrations were motivated by both extrinsic and intrinsic motivations but they were more motivated by intrinsic motivation factors than extrinsic ones. So the management of those offices should give relevant attention to these factors to stimulate the employee’s engagement while developing and or revising strategies and policies for their organization.

The management and policymakers of selected city administrations should use rigorous efforts in encouraging employees intrinsic and intrinsic motivation for better work engagement by creating an attractive work atmosphere and satisfaction, provide appreciation for good performers, moreover the management should also increase employees extrinsic motivation by creating job security, provided promotion and growth, benefits, and good salary, give appropriate reward and recognition for employees, provide opportunities to some form of ownership, as well as increased responsibility and authority.

The organization should find which ways are able to motivate employees, what drives them, then making sure they utilize appropriate motivational techniques with each employee. Managers should also endeavor to communicate the organization's purpose to employees. Finally, the organizations should take steps to incorporate the vision of employees for the organization with his or hers own vision. This will motivate employees to engage and contribute to the organization’s goals.

These offices should give a fair promotion and other related benefits, solve the shortage of working material problems, should set clear authority and responsibility delegation, create an attractive work environment, clear work plan to be prepared, minimize workload and make satisfactory incentive and reward based on their performance, avoid the unnecessary intervention of managers at work, solve unpunctuality problem and could improve managers skill by developmental programs to make them more experienced, some employees are hired on the unrelated job with their profession so review and correct this issue are better. Additionally, payments should to deliver on time, motivational packages should present in those offices, and also to increase employees engagement the office should facilitate short term and long term work-related training, perform periodic performance appraisal, make supervision and control at work, reduce time management problems and unpunctuality, prepare benefit package and equal reward systems, better to make decision makings more participative and open to motivate employees or to create a sense of ownership, should give induction pieces of training when new entrants have joined the office, minimize the availability of corruption and unethical activities, work to keep rule and regulations, try to solve the shortage of office facilities, better to make a fast decision, and other related problems should be solved on those offices.

Generally, selected city administrations should communicate with employees regarding how looks like their motivation and engagement, which things should be fulfilled and the organizations management could assess more factors that are most important to increase employees engagement at work and it should make important corrective actions, it will make employees more engaged, strengthen their relationship with the university as well as it will make employees more motivated and loyal to the organization.

Implications of the study

Theoretical implications.

This study can contribute to the existing literature in employees motivation, their engagement at work and effective human resource management and identifies the ways to satisfy/motivate these employees’ to increase organizational performance. Basically my findings are aligned with those of other scholar’s works relating to this topic and are important to show/provide interesting and recent perhaps promising areas to work on under the recent world.

Practical implications

The actual result of the paper also provide recommendations for public organizations on how to be more competitive through managing their employees, motivating them and also through resilience and renewal different human resource management strategies, and the researcher has also gave relevant recommendations for policymakers and other concerned bodies as shown in above.

Suggestion for future study

The research was conducted from employees’ perspective only by using employees’ engagement. It should be interesting to consider from the perspective of managers by using managers engagement.

The researcher conducted more of quantitative study; deep qualitative study could also be adopted to validate the results of this study. Employees of government organizations and none government organizations may motivate indifferent way, hence it should also be interesting to study from perspective of employees of government organizations.

From the findings of the study it is concluded that the model which included intrinsic motivation (IM) and extrinsic motivation (EM) explained only 25.2% of the variance of employee engagement the rest 74.8% may be due to the other variables which were not included in this study and left for further study.

Availability of data and materials

Not applicable.

Abbreviations

Statistical package for social science

Analysis of variance

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Engidaw, A.E. The effect of motivation on employee engagement in public sectors: in the case of North Wollo zone. J Innov Entrep 10 , 43 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-021-00185-1

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-021-00185-1

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• Public sectors

Employee motivation

Employee motivation can be defined as “influencing others in a specific way towards goals specifically stated by the motivator, conforming within organisational constraints” (MacKay, 2007, p.21) and the level of motivation of the workforce represents one of the most critical factors affecting organisational performance. One of the main reasons for increasing importance of motivation in the workplace relates to the role of human resources becoming greater in ensuring long-term growth for the business.

Employee motivation is an essential component of a successful business practice. No matter how appealing products and services a company is providing, how efficient are company’s business and marketing strategy and what size of budget does a company have to operate, low morale and lack of motivation in employees could be a major problem for companies who aim to make a profit in marketplace.

It has been argued that while each individual has a general idea of what motivation is, these ideas differ from each other. One of the most comprehensive definitions of the term motivation is offered by Business Dictionary (2012) as internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy in individuals to be interested and committed to a position, role or subject in a continuous manner, and exhibit persistent effort in achieving a goal.

Alternatively, motivation can be defined as “a process of stimulating someone to adopt a desired course of action” (Kumar, 2008, p.12), and the level of employee motivation can be justly specified as one of the major factors contributing to overall organisational competitiveness

It has been also said that “all employees have unique needs that they seek to fulfil through their jobs. Organisations must devise a wide array of incentives to ensure that a broad spectrum of employee needs can be addressed in the work environment, thus increasing the likelihood of motivated employees” (Gitman and McDaniel, 2008, p.247)

It is much easier for small and medium size businesses to monitor the level of motivation in their employees and detect and take measures if the motivation in  workforce is low and it is causing problems. In global, multicultural companies, on the other hand, objectively assessing employee morale and level of motivation may present major challenges due to cultural and regional differences, not recognizing the problem due to lack of contact between senior level managers and floor staff and range of other factors.

Thomas (2009) associates changing nature of employee motivation with the rapid decline of bureaucracy and decrease of formal rules within organisations mainly during the last three decades. Moreover, Thomas (2009) divides motivational tools into two categories: tangible and intangible. Tangible motivational tools include physically tangible elements such as financial incentives, specific perks and company benefits, while intangible motivational tools can be formal or informal recognition of contribution thanks letters, parties etc.

Thomas (2009) convincingly argues that the choice between tangible and intangible motivational tools in any given situation depends on a range of factors such as industry, employee cultural background the level of education, etc. However, Thomas (2009) fails to illustrate the application of tangible and intangible motivational tools referring to real life business case studies, and this fact marks the main shortage of the author’s text.

The idea of institutionalising specific patterns of employee motivation practices within organisations has been enthusiastically put forward by Llopis (2012). Specifically, according to Llopis (2012) rather than being perceived as one time occasions, employee motivation practices need to be implemented in a regular manner on the basis of formulation of relevant programs.

The high quality of leadership has been identified by Lockley (2012) as the most basic factor impacting upon the level of employee motivation. According to Lockley (2012), if managers lack basic interpersonal and communication skills, their attempt to introduce various employee motivational programs and initiatives are destined for failure.

Gitman, LJ & McDaniel, C, 2008, The Future of Business: The Essentials, Cengage Learning

Kumar, S.A. (2008) “Entrepreneurship Development” New Age International

Llopis, G. (2012) “The Top 9 Things That Ultimately Motivate Employees to Achieve” Forbes, April 6, 2012

Lockley, M. (2012) “The Secret to Motivating a Team” The Guardian, January 6, 2012

MacKay, A. (2007) “Motivation Ability and Confidence Building in People” Taylor & Francis

Motivation (2012) Business Dictionary, Available at: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/motivation.html

Thomas, K.T. (2009) “Intrinsic Motivation at Work: What Really Drives Employee Engagement” 2 nd edition, Berrett-Koehler Store

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Expertly Crafted Research Proposal On Motivation And Employees Performance

Type of paper: Research Proposal

Topic: Motivation , Workplace , Employee , Company , Theory , Employees , Online , Employment

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Published: 03/08/2023

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References 12 Introduction As we know, the labor resources are the main resource of enterprises. The results of the company and its competitiveness depend largely on the quality and effectiveness of the above mentioned resources. The difference between the labor force and other types of resources lies in the fact that each employee may waive the conditions offered to him and can require changes in working conditions, retraining or even voluntary redundancy. The concept of “labor resources of the enterprise” characterizes its potential workforce. Employees can be organized in labor unions and to act as a separate subject of negotiations with the administration on working conditions and payments. In this case, the employee motivation plays the significant role in the company’s performance. Each big company has the human resources department in its organizational structure. This department aims to maximize employee performance and help to reach satisfaction. A well-organized human resources department can be the main key to success. One of the most important functions of such department is to support the necessary level of motivation among employees, because it impacts on the whole employee performance. Thus, the main issue of the work is how motivation can impact on the employee performance and why employee performance is so important for the companies? Context Let’s analyze some facts about how different companies motivate their employees. It can be companies from different businesses, small or big, which characterize by strong financial performance. I have chosen such companies as Coca-Cola, Nestle, Procter & Gamble, Luxoft, EPAM, Barclays, British Airways, Ryanair, Phillip Morris and Mayo Clinic. As we can see, companies represent different sectors of activity. Most of them use both material and non-material incentives in order to increase company’s performance and employee satisfaction. At the same time, companies usually provide their employees some benefits, which are connected to the company’s specialization. It can be the discounts on the company’s products (Coca-Cola, Nestle, P&G), free air tickets (British Airways, Ryanair), some free services (Mayo Clinic) and others. At the same time, modern companies are competing with each other in a variety of ways to non-financial motivation to attract and retain employees. The organizations often have to show remarkable ingenuity, providing more and more intangible benefits, to somehow stand out from the others. The number of bonuses, which a few years ago could be considered a significant advantage when employee chose a job, have already not represent effective tools in motivating force due to their high prevalence. In this case, it needs to analyze some extra benefits or special methods, which companies use to increase the employee motivation. For example, Coca-Cola provides employees the special total benefits package together with the annual and long-term incentives (Official Site of the Coca-Cola Company, 2016). One more factor is directly positive image of the stable company that brings joy and gladness to people. If the people are proud of their place of work, they will work effectively. Another example is Nestle. It uses the similar strategy: positive image of the company is the crucial factor thanks to which employees are motivated. One of the elements of the Total Reward Policy is providing convenient work-life environment (Official Site of Nestle, 2016). The next company, Procter & Gamble actively uses the program of challenges for all employees (from specialist level and higher) in order to develop their professional skills and strongly motivate them to achieve more complicated tasks (Procter & Gamble. Career, 2016). IT-companies (Luxoft, EPAM) do not actively promote their image. They motivate employees through their participation in the complicated and interesting projects (Official Site of Luxoft, 2016). IT-specialists appreciate the cohesive team and project attractiveness more than any other benefits (Official Site of EPAM, 2016). Bank institution (Barclays) provides their employees a flexible working schedule with the opportunity to work from the home and balance their home and work life (Official Site of Barclays, 2016). British Airways and Ryanair provide employees great opportunities for travelling and have an active rest (Official Site of Ryanair, 2016). The employees of these companies can also have discounts at various hotels and retail outlets. As we know, air transport becomes more popular in our world. In this case, employment at the airline company is considered as prestigious, well-paid work. Such company as Phillip Morris provides regular challenges and complicated tasks for employees in order improve their professional skills and increase their motivation (like P&G). At the same time, this company practices often rotations of employees (Official Site of Philip Morris, 2016). Mayo Clinic is one of the best medical institutes in the US in accordance with the different rankings (Official Site of Mayo Clinic, 2016). The strong requirements during hiring process help to choose the most motivated employees initially. In this case, the company only supports required level of motivation through comfortable working conditions, modern equipment and other useful services. It also provides their employees special system of online services through which they can plan their travel, know expense reimbursement and receive other useful information. Thus, the investigation will be based on the motivation strategies, which are used in the above mentioned companies and their impact on the company’s performance. Theoretical background Nowadays, there is no unanimity among scholars in understanding the definition “motivation”. The educational and scientific literature provides different definitions. One of them is the following: motivation is the process of inducement yourself and others to achieve personal goals and objectives of the organization (Zeiger, 2016). Motivation is the internal state that determines human behavior (Filatova, 2012). The literature is widely represented the materials of theoretical study of motivation and, in particular, judgments about it as a comprehensive phenomenon associated with cognitive, emotional and volitional functions of the person (Mohr, Goulet and Heller, 2004). There is also information about the features of the origin, formation and manifestations of motives; about the role of psychological factors, which are involved in a particular motivational process and define the adoption patterns of behavior by one or another person (Staying Challenged, 2016). Numerous studies have shown that effective work is unthinkable without proper motivation. Moreover, its strength should be adequate to the goal of the company’s activity. If it is insufficient, the goal of the activities will not be reached (Manzoor, 2012). At the same time, the excessive motivation may occur errors in the work, violations of security measures, ethical standards and others (Sankaran and Bui, 2001). There are at least nine theories, which connect with the motivation: the theory of needs (Maslow), the theory of existence, communication and growth (Alderfer), the theory of acquired needs (McClelland), the theory of two factors (Herzberg), theory of expectations (Vroom), theory of justice (Adams), the theory of Porter-Lawler, theory of goal setting (Locke) and the concept of participatory governance. The majority of the motivation theories considers the necessity for a person to meet any needs (Selvarajah et al., 2010). It should be noted that the need is a condition of the individual that is created by the desire in facilities, which are required for his existence and development; they are also of his activity (Battistella and Nonino, 2012). The need causes a person to work when his satisfaction falls below an acceptable level (McDaniel, 2011). Satisfied need can reduce or completely lose its motivating potential for individuals. At the same time, need related to a specific subject, which able to satisfy demand, becomes a motive (Hitka and Balazova, 2015). The content theories (for example, theories of Taylor, Maslow, Alderfer, McClelland, Herzberg) focus on the identification of human motives list, the construction of their hierarchy, allocation of motive typology and other issues (Dargahi and Mousavi, 2015). The role of needs in the labor motivation has been investigated by the founder of scientific management, Frederick Taylor. He has formulated the classical theory of motivation. It states that acts of people are motivated by their desire to meet the growing needs, so they are interested to earn money. Based on this idea, Taylor has created a labor stimulation system, which implies an increased reward for exceeding output norms and reduced reward – in case of default. It can force the majority of people to work at full capacity. Another motivation theory is based on the Maslow pyramid of needs (Wachter, 2013). Specialist Maslow has identified five groups of needs and has arranged them in a pyramid (Martin, 2007). This form (pyramid) is explained by the following: the needs, which are at the higher place in the hierarchy, can be real motivators of behavior for smaller number of people (Ugah and Arua, 2011). D. McClelland has identified three types of needs: need in succession, in the power and need of being involved. The first is expressed in the human desire to achieve his goals more efficiently than before (Royle and Hall, 2012). The second is the desire to have an impact on the people’s behavior and to take responsibility for their actions. In this case, it is the power of authority and talent. Some managers need power to address urgent organizational problems which they understand better than others and are ready to charge themselves with hardships, which are related to the decisions of the above mentioned problems. The third group of the needs is realized through search and establishing good relationships with others and getting their support (Beugelsdijk and Smeets, 2008). Specialist Herzberg has shown that not only satisfaction influences on the people’s behavior, but also the dissatisfaction or other needs can affect on it. He divided the needs into two groups: motivational and hygienic (related to working conditions) (Magloff, 2016). He has shown that the ability to meet the needs of motivational factors can improve employees’ productivity (Siemens, 2005). But when the needs are satisfied, their effects disappear. Dissatisfaction in hygienic factors can cause considerable discontent and sharply reduces incentives to activity (Duffy, 2004). At the same time, the satisfaction of the above mentioned factors does not cause great labor enthusiasm and only creates the preconditions for it. Specialist Herzberg claimed that it is impossible to motivate employees only through the wages. It is necessary to include the motivational factors in order to encourage labor efforts. Another specialist, Vroom, considered that people are driven by the hope for a fair remuneration in addition to the conscious needs (Vroom and Deci, 1983). In this case, the definition “expectation” is considered as how people understand to what extent their actions will lead to certain results (Scholl, 2016). It can refer to the possibility of performing some work and receive fair remuneration for it. Expectation depends on the psychology of the individual, his experience, intuition and the ability to assess the situation. It has a significant impact on the activity of employees and their desire to achieve set goals. One more motivation theory is connected with the specialist Adams. He claimed that the fairness of activity and results evaluation largely influence the human motivation (Sengupta, 2011). Fairness is defined by comparing the current evaluation with the previous ones as well as with evaluation of similar achievements of other employees. If the employee sees that all staff is estimated through the same measures, he will feel satisfied and will be proactive and motivated (Gambrel and Cianci, 2003). Specialist Locke has pointed out that people perceive the purpose of the organization as their own and strive to achieve it. If the goals are realistic, clear and acceptable to the employee, he will strive harder for their achievement (Thoreau, 2016). At the same time, he will be satisfied with the process performance and, in spite the complexity, he will be able to achieve great results with it. The achievement of above mentioned results can increase employee motivation, and failure can reduce it (Moller et al., 2005). The last important motivation theory is called a participative management concept. It proceeds from that employee gets satisfaction from participating in the affairs of the company. In this case, the employee works not only with increased efficiency, but also maximally shows their abilities and opportunities (Kudadjie-Gyamfi, 2006). After analyzing the most important motivation theories, one can say that employee behavior in the workplace is controlled by his needs, which are caused by lifestyle, personal characteristics and other factors. Research Assumptions The main goal of the paper is to analyze the impact of employee motivation on his efficiency in the work and to what extent people should be motivated in order to achieve high performance. The theoretical study of the problem can allow formulating two main assumptions (hypothesis) of the work: the process of employee motivation is significantly influenced by his personal characteristics: anxiety, emotional balance / irritability as well as his motivation to succeed or protection; directly clear goals strongly contribute to the high employee performance. It should be noted that methods of material and non-material incentives should be combined in a well-balanced proportion in order to increase employee motivation. Precisely this combination is used in the majority of companies. Methodologies Staff assessment is a system that allows researcher to measure the overall level of the work results and the level of professional competence of the employees, their potential in the context of the company’s strategic goals. Current investigation needs to use two groups of methods: common scientific methods and specific ones. The first group of methods includes analysis and synthesis, comparison, observation and also generalization method. The group of specific methods allows to research the process of employee motivation in more detail. This group includes experimental and qualitative methods. It should be noted that the most commonly used methods for the study of motivation are the following: interview, testing, expert assessment, survey and observation. Qualitative methods allow to test existing hypotheses and assumptions in conversation with employees at different levels from different companies. At the same time, there are several technologies of formalized assessment, which are used in the majority of the US companies. Examples of them are the following: management by objectives, performance management, “360 grades” and assessment center (Filatova, 2012). The first technique allows evaluating personal achievements of each employee who works in the company. The second one provides performance management. It assesses not only the results, but also specific ways to achieve them. The technique “360 degrees” involves a systematic survey of employees at different levels, including line managers, their subordinates, colleagues and clients. The last technique can be useful in the evaluation of senior management in the context of the staff competencies. All these methods should be used in the analysis the employee motivation in the above mentioned companies, and the impact of motivation to the employee performance. Plan of work After analyzing a lot of literary sources and forming the hypothesis for research, it is possible to form the plan for work. It consists of three main stages: stage 1: preparations for the research, secondary source readings; stage 2: data collection; stage 3: analysis of research findings, making conclusions, paper writing, preparation of articles and conference presentations. The paper will be divided into six chapters and appendix section. The first chapter of the work will be devoted to the investigation of the main principles of employee motivation, types of motivation and the structure of the need-motivational sphere. The second chapter will represent the process of employee motivation (based on the particular companies): examples of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Analysis of the motivational impact on the both employees’ and companies’ performance will be presented in the next chapters. The paper will be finished by conclusions, which summarize the main results of the investigation and their practical importance and also analyze opportunities for further research of employees’ motivation. References Battistella, C. and Nonino, F. 2012. Open Innovation Web-Based Platforms: The Impact of Different Forms of Motivation on Collaboration. Innovation : Management, Policy & Practice, [online] 14(4), p.557. Available at: https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P3-2926847221/open-innovation-web-based-platforms-the-impact-of [Accessed 8 Apr. 2016]. Beugelsdijk, S. and Smeets, R. 2008. Entrepreneurial Culture and Economic Growth: Revisiting McClelland's Thesis. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 67(5), pp.915-939. Dargahi, H. and Mousavi, S. 2015. Ethnic Differences and Motivation Based on Maslow's Theory on Iranian Employees. Iranian Journal of Public Health, 42(5). Duffy, J. 2004. Work Motivation: History, Theory, Research, and Practice. Canadian Psychology, 48(4). Filatova, A. 2012. Essence and Main Motivation Theory of Efficiency of Work Staff. Fundamentals of Economics, Management and Law, 1(1). Gambrel, P. and Cianci, R. 2003. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: Does It Apply in A Collectivist Culture. Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 8(2). Hitka, M. and Balazova, Z. 2015. The Impact of Age, Education and Seniority on Motivation of Employees. Business: Theory and Practice, [online] 16(1), p.113. Available at: https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-410770997/the-impact-of-age-education-and-seniority-on-motivation [Accessed 8 Apr. 2016]. Kudadjie-Gyamfi, E. 2006. The Impact of Imposed Patterning, Intrinsic Motivation, and Cognition on Random and Simple Outcomes in Choice Behavior. The Behavior Analyst Today, [online] 7(4), p.481. Available at: https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-170115019/the-impact-of-imposed-patterning-intrinsic-motivation [Accessed 8 Apr. 2016]. Magloff, L. 2016. Herzberg & Taylor's Theories of Motivation. [online] Smallbusiness.chron.com. Available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/herzberg-taylors-theories-motivation-704.html [Accessed 8 Apr. 2016]. Manzoor, Q. 2012. Impact of Employees Motivation on Organizational Effectiveness. Business Management and Strategy, [online] 3(1), p.1. Available at: https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P3-2485742121/impact-of-employees-motivation-on-organizational-effectiveness [Accessed 8 Apr. 2016]. Martin, A. 2007. Examining a multidimensional model of student motivation and engagement using a construct validation approach. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 77(2), pp.413-440. McDaniel, L. 2011. A Comparison of the Impact of Acceptance and Support on the Motivation to Use Information Systems. Business Renaissance Quarterly, [online] 6(3), p.50. Available at: https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P3-2609848951/a-comparison-of-the-impact-of-acceptance-and-support [Accessed 8 Apr. 2016]. Mohr, E., Goulet, L. and Heller, J. 2004. Mastering Motivational Theories. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 8(1). Moller, L., Huett, J., Holder, D. and Young, J. 2005. Examining the Impact of Learning Communities on Motivation. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, [online] 6(2), p.137. Available at: https://www.questia.com/article/1P3-975609581/examining-the-impact-of-learning-communities-on-motivation [Accessed 8 Apr. 2016]. Official Site of Barclays, 2016. Key Time Working. [online] Barclays Bank Jobs and Careers. Available at: https://jobs.barclays.co.uk/our-roles/personal-banking/key-time-working/ [Accessed 8 Apr. 2016]. Official Site of British Airways, 2016. BA Careers - Rewards in BA. [online] Britishairways.com. Available at: http://www.britishairways.com/careers/ba_rewards.shtml [Accessed 8 Apr. 2016]. Official Site of EPAM, 2016. Leadership. [online] Epam.com. Available at: https://www.epam.com/about/company/leadership [Accessed 8 Apr. 2016]. Official Site of Luxoft, 2016. Luxoft benefits. [online] Luxoft. Available at: http://www.luxoft.com/luxoft-benefits/ [Accessed 8 Apr. 2016]. Official Site of Mayo Clinic, 2016. About Mayo Clinic. [online] Mayoclinic.org. Available at: http://www.mayoclinic.org/about-mayo-clinic [Accessed 8 Apr. 2016]. Official Site of Nestle, 2016. Rewards. [online] Nestle.com. Available at: http://www.nestle.com/jobs/your-career-at-nestle/rewards [Accessed 8 Apr. 2016]. Official Site of Philip Morris, 2016. PMI.com Your Career. [online] Pmi.com. Available at: http://www.pmi.com/eng/careers/pages/your_career.aspx [Accessed 8 Apr. 2016]. Official Site of Ryanair, 2016. Ryanair Careers. [online] Careers.ryanair.com. Available at: https://careers.ryanair.com/ [Accessed 8 Apr. 2016]. Official Site of the Coca-Cola Company, 2016. Why Work at The Coca-Cola Company. [online] The Coca-Cola Company. Available at: http://www.coca-colacompany.com/careers/why-work-at-the-coca-cola-company/#10 [Accessed 8 Apr. 2016]. Procter & Gamble. Career., 2016. Procter & Gamble. Our People.. [online] Pgcareers.com. Available at: http://pgcareers.com/our-people/ [Accessed 8 Apr. 2016] Royle, T. and Hall, A. 2012. The Relationship Between McClelland’s Theory of Needs, Feeling Individually Accountable, and Informal Accountability for Others. International Journal of Management and Marketing Research, 51). Sankaran, S. and Bui, T. 2001. Impact of Learning Strategies and Motivation on Performance: A Study in Web-Based Instruction. Journal of Instructional Psychology, [online] 283), p.191. Available at: https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-79370574/impact-of-learning-strategies-and-motivation-on-performance [Accessed 8 Apr. 2016]. Scholl, R. 2016. Motivation: Expectancy Theory. [online] Web.uri.edu. Available at: http://web.uri.edu/lrc/scholl/motivation_expectancy/ [Accessed 8 Apr. 2016]. Selvarajah, C., Chelliah, J., Meyer, D., Pio, E. and Anurit, P. 2010. The Impact of Social Motivation on Cooperative Learning and Assessment Preferences. Journal of Management and Organization, [online] 161), p.113. Available at: https://www.questia.com/article/1P3-2044376091/the-impact-of-social-motivation-on-cooperative-learning [Accessed 8 Apr. 2016]. Sengupta, S. 2011. Growth in Human Motivation: Beyond Maslow. Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, 471). Siemens, L. 2005. Motivation in a global economy: Lessons from Herzberg. Canadian Public Administration/Administration publique du Canada, 483), pp.413-419. Staying Challenged, 2016). Staying Challenged: Stepping Outside of Your Comfort Zone. [online] Mindtools.com. Available at: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/staying-challenged.htm [Accessed 8 Apr. 2016]. Thoreau, H. 2016. Locke's Goal-Setting Theory: Understanding SMART Goal Setting. [online] Mindtools.com. Available at: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_87.htm [Accessed 8 Apr. 2016]. Ugah, A. and Arua, U. 2011. Expectancy Theory, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, and Cataloguing Departments. Library Philosophy and Practice. [online] Available at: https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-256863787/expectancy-theory-maslow-s-hierarchy-of-needs-and [Accessed 8 Apr. 2016]. Vroom, V. and Deci, E. 1983. Management and Motivation. Penguin. Wachter, K. 2013. Rethinking Maslow's Needs. Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, 952). Zeiger, S. 2016. Theories on Motivation in Organizations and Management. [online] Smallbusiness.chron.com. Available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/theories-motivation-organizations-management-25221.html [Accessed 8 Apr. 2016].

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Research Proposal: The Impact of Rewards on Job Performance with the Mediating Role of Motivation

The process of globalisation has significant effects on countries, organisations, and individuals, encompassing competition and change. Rewards systems, for instance, are becoming globally competitive. Amid globalisation, the pandemic is changing employee benefits as well. In order to better support the business and the employees, organisations are looking for better ways of motivating employees to perform at their best, and one of the strategies is the use of an applicable and appropriate reward system. Reward systems not only determine the attraction and retention of top-performing employees but continuously motivate and can positively impact the performance of employees, leading them towards achievement and success.

In my experience of three years as an HR Specialist, the effectiveness of compensation and benefits strategies that make the employees feel motivated and valued has served as my strong motivator to pursue my Master’s degree. However, as globalisation arose and the global pandemic happened, organisations faced challenges and uncertainty about better strategies that could influence employees’ motivation to improve job performance. As I start my journey towards a master’s degree in industrial psychology, I want to make a significant contribution to the field of research and make recommendations for the improvement of organisations. Thus, I’m thinking about having a study about the impact of rewards on job performance with the mediating role of motivation. I would like to focus on how employees are inspired and motivated by appropriate rewards to give their best performance and increase overall productivity. Conducting a thorough  software engineer performance review is crucial for organisations to ensure that their development teams are aligned with business goals and delivering high-quality software products.

Here are the three main objectives and reasons that spark my interest in taking this particular study:

• First, to assess and identify the impact of rewards on employee performance evolution. Thus, organisations can match their employees’ reward systems to their strategies, goals, and values for improving job performance.
• Second, to improve the organisation’s reward strategies, flexible savings account plans can enhance employee motivation, which can lead to increased overall productivity and allow an organisation to achieve higher levels of output.
• Lastly, the outcome of this research can help in providing knowledge and understanding of the influence that rewards may have on employees’ motivation. With the acquired information, the organisation will come up with effective reward strategies for enhancing its growth and competitiveness.

With regard to methodology, I’m thinking of conducting a descriptive survey research design that allows a methodical and well-organised description that is valid, accurate, and reliable. In addition, to show the effectiveness of the results of the study, The population that I chose to participate in the study is made up of employees from selected retail companies in Metro Manila using a stratified sampling technique. The reason for selecting this sector is that employee performance is directly associated with rewards.

The importance of this study is to know how rewards greatly affect employee performance with the role of motivation of an employee inside the organisation and what their effect can be on the human resources management strategy of the company. This research will be useful to: first, the management will learn how to satisfy employees by motivating them through an appropriate reward system, improving employee performance, and designing good strategic management. Second, the employees will have knowledge of how rewards can greatly affect motivation and work performance. Third, HR practitioners can use this study as their guide when designing a total reward system for their employees to motivate them and have great work performance. Other than that, future researchers can help them with this study if they wish to focus on this topic and elaborate further for their research purposes.

The limitation of this research proposal is the participants which are only employees in the retail industry. The influence of rewards on job performance may focus as well on other sectors and industries. Secondly, the influence of demographic traits on performance may also be assessed.

As this served as my research proposal, I am exploring for review of related literature that will support this study such as the theoretical framework and methodology. Moreover, I would like to consider the effect of the pandemic and the systematic change it causes on the planning and implementation of total rewards design as we are preparing for the future of work, the new normal.

Edsen Dave G. Del Mundo is a master’s degree student at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

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