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Performance Appraisal on Employees’ Motivation: A Comprehensive Analysis

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• First Online: 20 September 2020
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• Maryam Alsuwaidi   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9281-8560 19 ,
• Muhammad Alshurideh   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7336-381X 19 , 20 ,
• Barween Al Kurdi   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0825-4617 21 &
• Said A. Salloum   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6073-3981 22  

Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 1261))

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• International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Systems and Informatics

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Several analysis studies have been carried out with a view to providing valuable knowledge into the existing research outline of the performance appraisal and employee motivation. The current study systematically reviews and synthesizes the performance appraisal and employee motivation aiming to provide a comprehensive analysis of 27 articles from 2015 to 2020. The research will aim to establish the impact of performance appraisal fairness on the employees’ motivation in an organization. To achieve its objective, the study will adopt descriptive research. It will be informed of a survey, and there will be a sample selection to make the process economical. This shows that there will be a use of different techniques of information collection since the data to be collected a primary data. There will be interviewing of the sample size, and their responses will be noted down. The presence of the researcher may influence some people, and this necessitates the use of questionnaires for the respondents to fill on their own. In addition, most of the analyzed studies were conducted in Malaysia, China, Pakistan, and India. Besides, most of the analyzed studies were frequently conducted in job satisfaction and performance context, employee motivation followed by organizational effectiveness context. To that end, the findings of this review study provide an insight into the current trend of how performance appraisal affects employee’s motivation.

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Maryam Alsuwaidi & Muhammad Alshurideh

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Alsuwaidi, M., Alshurideh, M., Al Kurdi, B., Salloum, S.A. (2021). Performance Appraisal on Employees’ Motivation: A Comprehensive Analysis. In: Hassanien, A.E., Slowik, A., Snášel, V., El-Deeb, H., Tolba, F.M. (eds) Proceedings of the International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Systems and Informatics 2020. AISI 2020. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 1261. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58669-0_61

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Work Motivation: The Roles of Individual Needs and Social Conditions

Thuy thi diem vo.

1 Department of Business Administration, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, No. 43, Section 4, Keelung Road, Da’an District, Taipei City 106335, Taiwan; wt.ude.tsutn.liam@31880701d (T.T.D.V.); wt.ude.tsutn.liam@nehcwc (C.-W.C.)

Kristine Velasquez Tuliao

2 Graduate Institute of Human Resource Management, National Central University, No. 300, Zhongda Road, Zhongli District, Taoyuan City 320317, Taiwan

Chung-Wen Chen

Associated data.

The data that support this study are publicly available.

Work motivation plays a vital role in the development of organizations, as it increases employee productivity and effectiveness. To expand insights into individuals’ work motivation, the authors investigated the influence of individuals’ competence, autonomy, and social relatedness on their work motivation. Additionally, the country-level moderating factors of those individual-level associations were examined. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to analyze data from 32,614 individuals from 25 countries, obtained from the World Values Survey (WVS). Findings showed that autonomy and social relatedness positively impacted work motivation, while competence negatively influenced work motivation. Moreover, the individual-level associations were moderated by the country-level religious affiliation, political participation, humane orientation, and in-group collectivism. Contributions, practical implications, and directions for further research were then discussed.

1. Introduction

Work motivation is considered an essential catalyst for the success of organizations, as it promotes employees’ effective performance. To achieve an organization’s objectives, the employer depends on the performance of their employees [ 1 ]. However, insufficiently motivated employees perform poorly despite being skillful [ 1 , 2 ]. Employers, therefore, need their employees to work with complete motivation rather than just showing up at their workplaces [ 3 ]. Work motivation remains a vital factor in organizational psychology, as it helps explain the causes of individual conduct in organizations [ 4 ]. Consequently, studies on the factors that encourage work motivation can contribute to the theoretical underpinnings on the roots of individual and practical social conditions that optimize individuals’ performance and wellness [ 5 ].

Several decades of research have endeavored to explain the dynamics that initiate work-related behavior. The primary factor examining this aspect is motivation, as it explains why individuals do what they do [ 6 ]. The basic psychological needs have represented a vital rationalization of individual differences in work motivation. Psychological needs are considered natural psychological nutrients and humans’ inner resources. They have a close relationship with individual conduct and have a strong explicit meaning for work performance [ 7 , 8 ]. Different needs are essential drivers of individual functioning due to the satisfaction derived from dealing with them [ 9 ]. In addition to individual-level antecedents, the social context has also been regarded to have implications for work motivation. Social exchange and interaction among individuals accentuate the importance of work motivation as something to be studied with consideration of contextual factors [ 10 ].

Significant contributions have been made to the socio-psychological perspective of work motivation ( Table 1 ). However, current literature shows three deficiencies. First, over 150 papers utilize the key approaches of psychological needs to justify motivational processes in the workplace [ 11 ], which justifies the vital role of psychological needs in interpreting individual work motivation. The association between psychological needs and work motivation has often been implicitly assumed; however, the influence of psychological needs on work motivation has been inadequately tested [ 8 ]. The verification of the extent and the direction of influence will provide a better understanding of, and offer distinct implications for, the facilitation of work motivation. In examining the influence of psychological needs on work motivation, this paper mainly focuses on the intrinsic aspect of motivation. The study of Alzahrani et al. (2018) [ 12 ] argued that although intrinsic motivation is more efficient than extrinsic motivation, researchers have mostly neglected it.

Several investigated predictors of work motivation in general and intrinsic motivation in particular.

Second, there is no study examining the country-level moderating effects of social conditions and national cultures on individual relationships between psychological needs and work motivation. Pinder (2014) [ 20 ] argued that contextual practices could influence variables at the individual level. Culture is a crucial factor influencing motivation [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. Researchers (e.g., [ 19 ]) have further suggested that both the proximal social situations (e.g., workgroup) and the distal social situations (e.g., cultural values) in which humans operate influence their need for satisfaction and their motivation type. Intrinsic motivation interacts with prosocial motivation in judging work performance [ 21 ]. By including the social conditions in the framework, prosocial motivation is considered. Prosocial motivation refers to the desire to help and promote the welfare of others [ 22 , 23 ]. The study of Shao et al. (2019) [ 24 ] proposed that prosocial motivation promotes employee engagement in particular organizational tasks. Researchers often consider prosocial motivation as a pattern of intrinsic motivation [ 23 ]. This implies that when intrinsic motivation is investigated, prosocial motivation should be examined together to obtain a comprehensive understanding.

Third, there are few studies using a considerable number of cross-national samples to investigate factors influencing work motivation. A cross-cultural analysis makes the findings more objective by minimizing individual bias towards any particular culture. Therefore, the examination of the study is crucial to expanding insights on the influence of social situations on the individual associations between psychological needs and work motivation.

2. Literature Review and Hypothesis Development

2.1. work motivation: a conceptual background.

Work motivation is considered “a set of energetic forces that originate both within as well as beyond an individual’s being, to initiate work-related behavior, and to determine its form direction intensity and duration” [ 20 ]. Nicolescu and Verboncu (2008) [ 25 ] argued that work motivation contributes directly and indirectly to employees’ performance. Additionally, research (e.g., [ 26 ]) has postulated that work motivation could be seen as a source of positive energy that leads to employees’ self-recognition and self-fulfillment. Therefore, work motivation is an antecedent of the self-actualization of individuals and the achievement of organizations.

Literature has identified several models of work motivation. One of the primary models is Maslow’s (1954) [ 27 ] need hierarchy theory, which proposes that humans fulfill a set of needs, including physiological, safety and security, belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization. Additionally, Herzberg’s (1966) [ 28 ] motivation-hygiene theory proposed that work motivation is mainly influenced by the job’s intrinsic challenge and provision of opportunities for recognition and reinforcement. More contemporary models also emerged. For instance, the study of Nicolescu and Verboncu (2008) [ 25 ] has categorized the types of motivation into four pairs, including positive-negative, intrinsic-extrinsic, cognitive-affective, and economic-moral spiritual. Additionally, Ryan and Deci [ 29 ] focused on intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation.

With the existence of numerous factors that relate to work motivation, this paper mainly focuses on intrinsic motivation. Previous research found that emotional intelligence and interpersonal relationship quality predict individuals’ intrinsic motivation [ 14 ]. Additionally, the study of Lin (2020) [ 13 ] argued that personal factors, including age, gender, educational level, living setting, health status, and family support, impact people’s intrinsic motivation. To understand more about intrinsic motivation, the authors examined individuals’ psychological needs. Fulfillment of the basic needs is related to wellness and effective performance [ 7 ]. Since intrinsic motivation results in high-quality creativity, recognizing the factors influencing intrinsic motivation is important [ 5 ].

Although a significant number of important contributions have been made regarding intrinsic motivation, self-determination theory is of particular significance for this study. Self-determination theory (SDT) postulates that all humans possess a variety of basic psychological needs. One of the primary crucial needs is the need for competence [ 30 , 31 ], which makes individuals feel confident and effective in their actions. Additionally, the need for autonomy [ 32 ] is one of the important psychological needs, which makes people satisfied with optimal wellness and good performance obtained as a result of their own decisions. Moreover, SDT proposed the crucial importance of interpersonal relationships and how social forces can influence thoughts, emotions, and behaviors [ 33 ]. This means that the psychological need for social relatedness [ 34 ] also plays a significant role in human’s psychological traits. Individuals need to be cared for by others and care for others to perceive belongingness. The need for relatedness can motivate people to behave more socially [ 35 ].

Prior research (e.g., [ 36 ]) has explored self-determination theory and related theories as approaches to work motivation and organizational behavior. The study of Van den Broeck et al. (2010) [ 37 ] emphasized grasping autonomy, competence, and relatedness at workplaces. This paper contributes to the exhaustive understanding of intrinsic work motivation influenced by further examining the impact of these three factors on work motivation as well as the moderating effects of social contexts.

2.2. Main Effect

2.2.1. individuals’ competence and work motivation.

Competence is “the collective learning in the organization, especially how to coordinate diverse production skills and integrate multiple streams of technologies” [ 38 ]. The study of Hernández-March et al. (2009) [ 39 ] argued that a stronger competence was commonly found in university graduates rather than those without higher education. Competence has been considered a significant factor of work motivation that enhances productivity and profits. Harter’s (1983) [ 40 ] model of motivation proposed that competence enhances motivation because competence promotes flexibility for individuals [ 41 ]. Likewise, Patall et al. (2014) [ 42 ] indirectly argued that competence positively affects work motivation. Individuals become more engaged in activities that demonstrate their competence [ 6 ]. When people perceive that they are competent enough to attain goals, they generally feel confident and concentrate their efforts on achieving their objectives as soon as possible for their self-fulfillment.

Individuals’ competence positively relates to their work motivation.

2.2.2. Individuals’ Autonomy and Work Motivation

Autonomy is viewed as “self-determination, self-rule, liberty of rights, freedom of will and being one’s own person” [ 43 ]. Reeve (2006) [ 44 ] argued that autonomy is a primary theoretical approach in the study of human motivation and emotion. Autonomy denotes that certain conduct is performed with a sense of willingness [ 30 ]. Several researchers (e.g., [ 45 ]) investigated the positive relationship between individuals’ autonomy and work motivation. When humans are involved in actions because of their interest, they fully perform those activities volitionally [ 36 ]. Dickinson (1995) [ 46 ] also proposed that autonomous individuals are more highly motivated, and autonomy breeds more effective outcomes. Moreover, when individuals have a right to make their own decisions, they tend to be more considerate and responsible for those decisions, as they need to take accountability for their actions. Bandura (1991) [ 47 ] has argued that humans’ ability to reflect, react, and direct their actions motivates them for future purposes. Therefore, autonomy motivates individuals to work harder and overcome difficulties to achieve their objectives.

Individuals’ autonomy positively relates to their work motivation.

2.2.3. Individuals’ Social Relatedness and Work Motivation

The psychological need for social relatedness occurs when an individual has a sense of being secure, related to, or understood by others in the social environment [ 48 ]. The relatedness need is fulfilled when humans experience the feeling of close relationships with others [ 49 ]. Researchers (e.g., [ 34 ]) have postulated that the need for relatedness reflects humans’ natural tendency to feel associated with others, such as being a member of any social groups, or to love and care as well as be loved and cared for. Prior studies have shown that social relatedness strongly impacts motivation [ 50 , 51 , 52 ]. Social relatedness offers people many opportunities to communicate with others, making them more motivated at the workplace, aligning them with the group’s shared objectives. Marks (1974) [ 53 ] suggested that social relatedness encourages individuals to focus on community welfare as a reference for their behavior, resulting in enhanced work motivation. Moreover, when individuals feel that they relate to and are cared for by others, their motivation can be maximized since their relatedness need is fulfilled [ 54 ]. Therefore, establishing close relationships with others plays a vital role in promoting human motivation [ 55 ]. When people perceive that they are cared for and loved by others, they tend to create positive outcomes for common benefits to deserve the kindness received, thereby motivating them to work harder.

Individuals’ social relatedness positively relates to their work motivation.

Aside from exploring the influence of psychological needs on work motivation, this paper also considers country-level factors. Previous research (e.g., [ 56 ]) has examined the influence of social institutions and national cultures on work motivation. However, the moderating effects of country-level factors have to be investigated, given the contextual impacts on individual needs, attitudes, and behavior. Although social conditions provide the most common interpretation for nation-level variance in individual work behaviors [ 57 ], few cross-national studies examine social conditions and individual work behaviors [ 56 ]. Hence, this paper investigates the moderating effects, including religious affiliation, political participation, humane orientation, and in-group collectivism, on the psychological needs-work motivation association.

A notable theory to explain the importance of contextual factors in work motivation that is customarily linked with SDT is the concept of prosocial motivation. Prosocial motivation suggests that individuals have the desire to expend efforts in safeguarding and promoting others’ well-being [ 58 , 59 ]. It is proposed that prosocial motivation strengthens endurance, performance, and productivity, as well as generates creativity that encourages individuals to develop valuable and novel ideas [ 21 , 60 ]. Prosocial motivation is found to interact with intrinsic motivation in influencing positive work outcomes [ 21 , 61 ]. However, there are few studies examining the effects of prosocial motivation on work motivation [ 62 ].

Utilizing the concept of prosocial motivation and examining it on a country-level, this paper suggests that prosocial factors promote basic psychological needs satisfaction that reinforces motivational processes at work. Therefore, prosocial behaviors and values may enhance the positive impact of individuals’ basic psychological needs, including competence, autonomy, and social relatedness, on work motivation.

2.3. Moderating Effects

2.3.1. religious affiliation.

Religions manifest values that are usually employed as grounds to investigate what is right and wrong [ 63 ]. Religious affiliation is considered prosocial because it satisfies the need for belongingness and upholds collective well-being through gatherings to worship, seek assistance, and offer comfort within religious communities. Hence, religious affiliation promotes the satisfaction of individuals’ psychological needs, which directs motivation at work and life in general. Research (e.g., [ 64 ]) has argued that religious affiliation is an essential motivational component given its impact on psychological processes. The study of Simon and Primavera (1972) [ 65 ] investigated the relationship between religious affiliation and work motivation. To humans characterized by competence, autonomy, and social relatedness, attachment to religious principles increases their motivation to accomplish organizational goals. Religious membership will increase the influence of psychological needs on work motivation. The tendency of individuals affiliated with any religion to be demotivated is lower compared to those who are not. Individuals with religious affiliations also tend to work harder as the virtue of hard work is aligned with religious principles. Accordingly, religious affiliation may enhance the positive association between individuals’ psychological needs and work motivation.

2.3.2. Political Participation

Political participation, indicated by people’s voting habits, plays a crucial role in ensuring citizens’ well-being and security [ 66 ]. Political participation encourages shared beliefs and collective goals among individuals [ 67 ]. The communication and interaction among people help them grasp the government’s developmental strategies, motivating them to work harder. Political participation is a collective pursuit that makes societal members feel more confident, socially related, and motivated at work to achieve communal targets. Increased political participation reinforces effective public policy to enhance its members’ welfare, congruent with the perspectives of prosocial motivation. The prosocial values and behaviors derived from political participation satisfy human needs and interact positively with intrinsic motivation. Therefore, political participation may strengthen the positive influence of individuals’ competence, autonomy, and social relatedness on work motivation. Conversely, poor political participation is perceived as a separation from the society that may lead to demotivation. In a society with poor political participation, an individualistic mentality is encouraged, thereby decreasing the desire to pursue cooperative endeavors.

2.3.3. Humane Orientation

GLOBE characterizes humane orientation as “the degree to which an organization or society encourages and rewards individuals for being fair, altruistic, generous, caring, and kind to others” [ 68 ]. Research (e.g., [ 69 , 70 ]) has argued that a high humane orientation encourages members to develop a strong sense of belonging, commit to fair treatment, and manifest benevolence. The desire to help others or enhance others’ well-being indicates prosocial values and behaviors [ 71 , 72 ]. Since humane orientation is correlated with philanthropy and promotes good relations, this cultural value may enhance work motivation. Fairness, which is derived from a humane-oriented society, is one of the most vital influences on work motivation [ 1 ]. Moreover, altruism, promoted by humane-oriented societies, encourages individuals to sacrifice individual interests for shared benefits. Altruism then encourages attachment to others’ welfare and increases resources needed for prosocial behaviors such as work [ 73 , 74 ]. Members of humane-oriented countries view work in a positive light—it is an opportunity for them to perform altruistic behaviors and engage in collective actions. Therefore, people are more likely to work harder for common interests in humane-oriented societies. In such conditions, individuals with competence, autonomy, and social relatedness will be more motivated to work. By contrast, a less humane-oriented society gives prominence to material wealth and personal enjoyment [ 75 ]. Although this may be perceived as a positive influence on the association between psychological needs and work motivation, such an individualistic mindset works against the prosocial factors that further motivate individuals.

2.3.4. In-Group Collectivism

House et al. (2004) [ 68 ] defined in-group collectivism as “the degree to which individuals express pride, loyalty, and cohesiveness in their organizations or families”. Collectivistic cultures indicate the need for individuals to rely on group membership for identification [ 76 ]. High collectivism enhances equity, solidarity, loyalty, and encouragement [ 77 , 78 ]. Humans living in a collectivist culture are interdependent and recognize their responsibilities towards each other [ 79 ]. In-group collectivism transfers the concepts of social engagement, interdependence with others, and care for the group over the self (e.g., [ 79 , 80 , 81 ], thereby motivating individuals to work harder for the common interests. Oyserman et al. (2002) [ 82 ] have further argued that individualistic values encourage an independent personality, whereas collectivistic values form an interdependent one. Therefore, in-group collectivism is a prosocial value that emphasizes the importance of reciprocal relationships and encourages people to work harder to benefit the group. By contrast, low collectivism promotes individual interests and personal well-being while neglecting the value of having strong relations with others [ 70 ]. Considering that in-group collectivism promotes individuals’ prosocial behaviors of individuals, people who are competent, autonomous, and socially related to collective societies are less likely to be demotivated at the workplace. Consequently, in-group collectivism may intensify the positive influence of individuals’ competence, autonomy, and social relatedness on their work motivation.

(a–d): The positive relationship between individuals’ competence and their work motivation is enhanced as religious affiliation (a), political participation (b), humane orientation (c), and in-group collectivism (d) increase.

(a–d): The positive relationship between individuals’ autonomy and their work motivation is enhanced as religious affiliation (a), political participation (b), humane orientation (c), and in-group collectivism (d) increase.

(a–d): The positive relationship between individuals’ social relatedness and their work motivation is enhanced as religious affiliation (a), political participation (b), humane orientation (c), and in-group collectivism (d) increase.

3.1. Sample

The data came from the seventh wave (2017–2021) of the World Values Survey (WVS) [ 83 ], which examines humans’ beliefs and values. This survey is performed every five years to explore changes in people’s values and perceptions. Face-to-face interviews, or phone interviews for remote areas, were conducted by local organizations. Almost 90 percent of the world’s population is represented in the WVS. At least 1000 individuals were selected as respondents to exhibit each nation’s population. Further information regarding the WVS can be reached at the WVS website ( http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org , accessed on 14 October 2021).

The samples of this study were based on the availability of national-level data for the moderators and individual-level data for the measures of independent and dependent variables. Respondents without answers on the individual measures and corresponding country-level data were excluded from the analysis. The final data included 32,614 respondents in 25 countries aged 18 and above. The 25 countries included Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and the USA.

3.2. Dependent Variable

Consistent with previous researchers (e.g., [ 84 ]), the authors used four items to gauge individual work motivation, namely “Indicate how important work is in your life”, “People who do not work turn lazy”, “Work is a duty towards society”, and “Work should always come first, even if it means less spare”. The first item was measured on a scale from 1 to 4, in which lower scores indicate a higher level of work importance. The other three items were gauged on a scale from 1 to 5 (1 indicating strongly agree and 5 indicating strongly disagree). The scores for each item were reverse coded, and the mean scores were computed so that higher scores indicate greater work motivation.

3.3. Independent Variables

The independent variables of this study include individuals’ competence, autonomy, and social relatedness. First, people’s competence was measured by the item “What is the highest educational level that you attained” on a scale from 0 to 8, in which higher scores indicate a higher level of educational attainment. The authors used the item to gauge individual competence, as a capacity for learning is highlighted in the examination of competence [ 39 ]. Second, a scale from 1 to 10 was utilized to measure the item “How much freedom of choice and control”, which represented individual autonomy (1 indicating no choice at all and 10 indicating a great deal of choice). The authors used the item to gauge people’s autonomy as this item indicates the degree to which individual can make their own decisions. Finally, the individual’s social relatedness was gauged by twelve items, representing twelve types of organizations where individuals are active/inactive members or do not belong. The twelve items were measured on a scale from 0 to 2 (0 indicating do not belong, 1 indicating inactive member, and 2 indicating active member). The mean score of the twelve items represents the individual’s social relatedness. The membership in organizations represents social relatedness, as this indicates the reciprocal relationship between the individual and the organization through their mutual rights, responsibilities, and obligations towards each other [ 85 ].

3.4. Moderators

The four country-level moderators in this study were religious affiliation, political participation, humane orientation, and in-group collectivism. Similar to prior research (e.g., [ 86 ]), the authors used the percentage of the country’s population with religious affiliation obtained from Pew Research Center 2015 [ 87 ]. Secondly, the index of voter turnout collected from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance [ 88 ] was utilized to gauge political participation. Voting habits are an indicator of an individual’s presence in their country’s life, and a nation with a high index of voter turnout illustrates its substantial degree of political participation [ 89 ]. Finally, two cultural values, including humane orientation and in-group collectivism, were obtained from the GLOBE study [ 68 ]. The authors used scores on cultural practices as the moderators for this study because they indicate the actual behaviors as “the way things are done in this culture” [ 68 ].

3.5. Control Variables

Several individual-level and country-level elements related to the dependent variable were considered control variables. The effects of gender, marital status, age, and income level were accounted for, as these four variables are basic personal factors that may impact individual’s motivation [ 90 ]. Gender (1 indicating male and 0 indicating female) and marital status (1 indicating married and 0 indicating other status) were dummy coded. Moreover, age was measured in years, while income level was gauged using a scale from 1 representing the lowest group to 10 representing the highest group. Along with the above individual-level controls, education and family strength were treated as country-level control variables. Education and family are primary institutions that shape individuals’ motivation [ 91 , 92 ]. Similar to prior researchers (e.g., [ 93 ]), education was computed as two-thirds of the adult literacy rate attained from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics 2020 [ 94 ] and one-third of the mean years of schooling obtained from the Human Development Report 2020 [ 95 ]. This score is commonly approved as representing access to education in a country [ 42 ]. Regarding family strength, the score was quantified by the ratio of divorces to marriages per 1000 members of the population consistent with previous researchers (e.g., [ 93 ]). The data was obtained from the United Nations Demographic Yearbook [ 96 ].

3.6. Measurement and Analysis

To perform the descriptive statistics, cross-level correlations, scale reliability, confirmatory factor analysis, convergent validity, and discriminant validity, the authors utilized SPSS software.

The framework of this study considers independent variables, dependent variables, and moderators at different levels. Thus, the authors used a hierarchical linear model (HLM) [ 97 ] to test the hypotheses. HLM was defined as a “complex form of ordinary least squares (OLS) regression that is used to analyze variance in the outcome variables when the predictor variables are at varying hierarchical levels” [ 98 ]. This technique evaluates the impacts of higher-level outcomes on lower-level ones while preserving an appropriate degree of analysis [ 99 ]. HLM has been employed in several cross-level studies (e.g., [ 100 , 101 ]).

Table 2 presents a matrix of correlations and sample statistics from the individual-level to country-level variables. Table 3 and Table 4 report convergent and discriminant validity test results, respectively. Finally, Table 5 illustrates results for hypotheses testing using HLM. Three models are presented in the table: those of individual-level main effects and control variables (Model 1), those of country-level main effects (Model 2), and country-level moderating effects (Model 3).

Descriptive statistics, cross-level correlations and scale reliability a,b,c .

a   n = 32,614 level 1; n = 25, level 2. b * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01. c The reliability found in the parentheses is expressed as Cronbach’s alpha for scales with ≥four items.

Convergent validity.

Discriminant validity—Fornell and Larcker’s criterion.

* p < 0.05.

HLM results: (The DV is work motivation) a,b .

a , n = 32,614 level 1; n = 25, level 2. b , †, p < 0.10, * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.

For the confirmatory factor analysis, previous research (e.g., [ 102 , 103 , 104 ]) suggested that analysis of each variable requires at least three items. Factor analysis using statistical software will provide imprecise results if there are fewer than three items per variable [ 105 ]. Therefore, the authors only performed Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) for social relatedness and work motivation.

To assess the measurement, convergent and discriminant validity were tested. Composite Reliability (CR) and Average Variance Extracted (AVE) were performed to illustrate convergent validity. The study of Hair et al. (2019) [ 106 ] suggested that CR is required to be above a threshold of 0.7. On the other hand, the AVE value should be higher than a threshold of 0.5 [ 107 ]. As shown in Table 3 , CR is acceptable while AVE is slightly lower than a threshold of 0.5. Despite the limitation of AVE, the acceptable result of the discriminant validity is achieved. The discriminant validity was tested using Fornell and Larcker (1981)’s criterion [ 107 ]. This proposes that the square root of the AVE of any latent variable should be higher than its correlation with any other construct. The result of the discriminant validity test indicates that all the two latent constructs have a square root of AVE higher than its correlation with the other construct, as presented in Table 4 .

The authors argued that individuals’ competence (H1), autonomy (H2), and social relatedness (H3) positively relate to their work motivation. However, the findings only supported H2 (β2 = 0.036, p < 0.001) and H3 (β3 = 0.042, p < 0.001). In contrast, the findings presented that H1 was also significant, but in the opposite direction compared with our original prediction. The result suggests that individuals’ competence negatively relates to their work motivation.

In Hypotheses 4a–d, we proposed that higher levels of religious affiliation (4a), political participation (4b), humane orientation (4c), and in-group collectivism (4d) strengthen the relationship described in H1. However, the results only demonstrated support for the two hypotheses, H4c (γ13 = 0.032, p < 0.001) and H4d (γ14 = 0.042, p < 0.001). In contrast, the findings presented that H4a was also significant, but opposite our initial prediction. This different result proposes that a higher level of religious affiliation weakens the association between individuals’ competence and work motivation.

In Hypotheses 5a–d, the authors argued that the higher levels of religious affiliation (5a), political participation (5b), humane orientation (5c), and in-group collectivism (5d) enhance the positive relationship between individuals’ autonomy and their work motivation. However, the results only supported the two hypotheses H5b (γ22 = 0.012, p < 0.05) and H5c (γ23 = 0.012, p < 0.1), while H5a and H5d were not significant.

In Hypotheses 6a–d, the authors argued that the higher levels of religious affiliation (6a), political participation (6b), humane orientation (6c), and in-group collectivism (6d) enhance the positive relationship between individuals’ social relatedness and their work motivation. However, the results only supported H6c (γ33 = 0.019, p < 0.01). In contrast, the findings indicated that H6d was also significant, but in the opposite direction compared to our initial hypothesis. The different result suggests that higher in-group collectivism weakens the positive association between individuals’ social relatedness and work motivation. Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 5 represent the significant moderators of the associations examined.

The association between competence and work motivation at different levels of humane orientation.

The association between competence and work motivation at different levels of in-group collectivism.

The association between autonomy and work motivation at different levels of political participation.

The association between autonomy and work motivation at different levels of humane orientation.

The association between social relatedness and work motivation at different levels of humane orientation.

Regarding the statistical results of the control variables, gender, marital status, and age consistently indicated significant positive relationships with work motivation across three models. On the other hand, family strength indicated a significant negative association to work motivation only in Model 1.

5. Discussion

The study’s objective was to examine the influence of individuals’ competence, autonomy, and social relatedness on their work motivation, as well as the impact of country-level moderators, including religious affiliation, political participation, humane orientation, and in-group collectivism on their relationships. Seven primary findings are crucial in this research. First, people’s autonomy and social relatedness positively relate to their work motivation. This result is in line with the findings of prior researchers (e.g., [ 45 , 52 ]), postulating that humans’ autonomy and social relatedness breeds work motivation. The study of Theurer et al. (2018) [ 108 ] argued that, among motivational elements, autonomy had been found to greatly predict positive work motivation. When people feel they have enough control over their activities, they are more confident and motivated to work. Along with autonomy, humans’ social relatedness promotes communal benefits, thereby motivating people to work harder for their organization. Second, the association between individual competence and work motivation is moderated by cultural values, including humane orientation and in-group collectivism. The findings are consistent with the viewpoints of prior researchers (e.g., [ 69 , 70 , 77 , 78 ]), namely that a society with higher levels of humane orientation and in-group collectivism strengthens altruism, solidarity, loyalty, and the encouragement of individuals, which results in work motivation. Consequently, there will be an increase in the differences in individuals’ competence and work motivation if they live in a society with greater humane orientation and in-group collectivism. Third, political participation and humane orientation moderate the relationship between individual autonomy and work motivation. These results are in line with the investigations of prior researchers (e.g., [18,45), which found that social circumstances and cultural practices promote people’s motivation. Accordingly, the differences in individuals’ autonomy based on their work motivation will be enhanced if they belong to nations with higher political participation and humane orientation. Fourth, the association between social relatedness and work motivation is moderated by humane orientation. Accordingly, in a humane-oriented society, the differences in individuals’ social relatedness based on their work motivation will be strengthened.

The remaining findings were contrary to the original propositions. Pinder (2014) [ 20 ] argued that it is possible to find that contextual practices can influence variables at the individual level in the opposite prediction in motivation research. Fifth, individuals’ competence negatively influences their work motivation. This finding proposes that more competent individuals are less motivated at work. One possible interpretation of this opposite result is that, when the majority of the organization members recognize individuals’ competence, these individuals may perceive that it is not necessary to devote most of their time and energy to work anymore. These individuals may believe that no matter how unwillingly they perform, they are still competent enough because of their prior achievements. Additionally, competent individuals recognize that they have already sacrificed their enjoyment of life for their previous successes; therefore, they tend to offset this by investing their valuable time in other aspects. This is consistent with other researchers’ investigations (e.g., [ 109 ]), which found that low-skilled individuals are more often compelled to engage in regular work activities and are more easily motivated than others. By contrast, highly competent individuals tend to be motivated by challenging tasks and improving themselves through further education. Sixth, the relationship between competence and work motivation is negatively moderated by religious affiliation. This finding suggests that religious affiliation weakens the association between individuals’ competence and work motivation. One possible explanation for this finding is that strong religious beliefs are the foundation for virtuous living [ 110 ]. Individuals with religious affiliation usually employ religious principles to guide their behavior, regardless of their competence. In other words, both competent and incompetent individuals tend to be more motivated at the workplace if they are affiliated with any religion, thereby diminishing the influence of competence in work motivation. Seventh, the relationship between social relatedness and work motivation is negatively moderated by in-group collectivism. This result proposes that a higher degree of in-group collectivism weakens the association between individuals’ social relatedness and work motivation. One possible explanation for this is that, under an in-group collective society, people put more weight on mutual relationships and encourage acts that may build up the solidarity of groups. Since in-group collectivism is viewed as a social attachment in which people emphasize the group over the self (e.g., [ 79 , 80 , 81 ]), individuals are fairly conscious of their responsibility to the group regardless of their social relatedness. Both socially related and unrelated individuals belonging to in-group collective cultures tend to work harder for common goals. Accordingly, the influence of individuals’ social relatedness on their work motivation is reduced.

6. Limitations and Future Research

Despite its significant contributions, this study has its limitations. The use of secondary data represents the fact that the data collection process was beyond the authors’ control. However, the collection of cross-national data is time-consuming and costly. The authors used the available data but strove for the efficient use of multilevel data. The secondary data also limited the measurement of individual-level factors based on the available data. Moreover, it is quite complex to gauge an individual’s work motivation appropriately, since personal work motivation may not be one-dimensional. Nevertheless, the authors made efforts to employ the measurements utilized by prior research. Moreover, it is complicated to measure social factors such as political participation. There are challenges in investigating social contexts due to the absence of direct measurements [ 111 ]. This compels the authors to identify substitute measurements for this study. Finally, this study covered 25 samples from 25 countries with different characteristics. Despite the attempt of this study to include the most relevant social conditions in the framework, the influence of other national differences and cultural sensitivities were not considered.

This paper directs further research considering that several frameworks and approaches should be employed to better examine motivation [ 112 ]. First, as some of the results were opposite to the original propositions based on the theoretical foundations employed, combining different concepts and approaches is necessary to enhance perspectives of psychological needs and social issues. For instance, the relationship between competence and work motivation can be further investigated by employing other theories to understand their association better. Similarly, the moderating effects of social contexts such as religious affiliation and in-group collectivism should be further examined to obtain a more in-depth comprehension of the roles of contextual circumstances and cultural values in individual-level relationships. Additionally, self-determination theory and the concept of prosocial motivation may be used to explore motivation towards specific behavior in organizations, such as organizational citizenship and proactive behaviors. Organizational context, such as rewards, training, and culture, can be considered as part of the framework to enhance the conception of work motivation.

7. Conclusions

This study has utilized a multilevel framework to examine the influence of psychological needs and social context on work motivation. Through this research, a deeper understanding of the roles of competence, autonomy, and social relatedness, as well as social situations and cultural values on work motivation, is achieved. The contrary findings call for integrating other concepts and approaches towards a more comprehensive knowledge of work motivation.

Along with the theoretical contribution, the study’s findings offer practical implications. The satisfaction of psychological needs promotes self-motivation, which creates positive outcomes. Hence, organizations can provide programs and activities to promote employees’ autonomy and social relatedness as this will enhance their work motivation. Employee empowerment can be advocated by encouraging them to make their own decisions at the workplace, providing constructive criticisms rather than instilling the fear of failure. Additionally, managers should encourage solidarity, support, and mutual care among employees. Putting more weight on employees’ fulfillment of needs will further increase employees’ motivation, thereby diminishing costs related to stress or turnover [ 50 ]. To establish a novel mechanism towards promoting work motivation in the entire nation, the government should pay attention to the political structure and conditions that encourage citizens’ participation. Additionally, a culture of humane orientation should be promoted in the workplace and society so that solidarity, kind assistance, and altruism among communities as well as among individuals can be strengthened. For instance, teamwork should be encouraged for employees to help each other overcome difficulties at the workplace or share responsibilities with their colleagues. This will motivate people to work harder for collective goals, contributing to the development of organizations.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, T.T.D.V. and K.V.T.; data collection, T.T.D.V.; methodology, T.T.D.V. and K.V.T.; formal analysis, T.T.D.V. and K.V.T.; resources, K.V.T. and C.-W.C.; writing-original draft, T.T.D.V. and K.V.T.; writing-review, editing & proofreading, T.T.D.V., K.V.T. and C.-W.C.; visualization, K.V.T.; supervision, K.V.T. and C.-W.C.; project administration, K.V.T. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

This paper does not receive funding from any individuals or organizations.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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Research: A Little Recognition Can Provide a Big Morale Boost

• Shibeal O'Flaherty,
• Michael T. Sanders,
• Ashley Whillans

A month after receiving short, hand-signed thank you notes, workers reported feeling significantly more valued by their organization.

As organizations large and small face the twin challenges of increasingly strained budgets and burned out workforces, what can managers do to keep employees engaged — without breaking the bank? In this piece, the authors share new research on the power of symbolic awards such as thank you notes, public recognition, and certificates. They find that these simple interventions can significantly improve employee motivation, but clarify that to maximize their effect, it’s essential to customize these rewards to your unique context. Specifically, the authors draw on prior research to highlight five key considerations for managers looking to implement symbolic awards: the most impactful messenger, the best timing, whether to make it private or public, attention to detail, and the importance of starting small. While these interventions are no substitute for fair monetary compensation, especially when cash is limited, symbolic awards can go a long way to demonstrate your appreciation for your employees and keep spirits high.

As we enter into the second year of the Covid-19 pandemic, frontline public sector workers such as healthcare professionals , teachers , and social workers are under more strain than ever. At the same time, organizations in every industry are being forced to downsize and restructure, meaning they’ve got less cash in the bank to support an increasingly burned out workforce. In these trying times, what can managers do to keep their employees motivated?

• SO Shibeal O’Flaherty is a PhD student in Public Policy at King’s College London, and a Researcher at What Works for Children’s Social Care (WWCSC). Her research applies behavioral science to improve public-sector employee well-being, and she is currently co-leading a research program at WWCSC called ‘Happier, Healthier Professionals’ to improve the happiness, productivity and retention of public-sector workforces across England.
• MS Michael T. Sanders is a Reader (Associate Professor) in Public Policy at King’s College London, Chief Executive of What Works for Children’s Social Care, and Academic Lead for the Centre for Transforming Access and Student Outcomes in Higher Education. His research focuses on the use of experimental methods to improve public services and outcomes and equalities for young people.
• Ashley Whillans is an assistant professor in the negotiations, organizations, and markets unit at the Harvard Business School School and teaches the “Negotiations” and “Motivation and Incentives” courses to MBA students and executives. Her research focuses on the role of noncash rewards on engagement and the links between time, money, and happiness. She is the author of Time Smart: How to Reclaim Your Time & Live a Happier Life (Harvard Business Review, 2020).

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• Published: 04 September 2021

Employee motivation and job performance: a study of basic school teachers in Ghana

• Joseph Ato Forson   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5997-5713 1 ,
• Eric Ofosu-Dwamena 2 ,
• Rosemary Afrakomah Opoku 3 &
• Samuel Evergreen Adjavon   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2713-3327 4  

Future Business Journal volume  7 , Article number:  30 ( 2021 ) Cite this article

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Motivation as a meaningful construct is a desire to satisfy a certain want and is a central pillar at the workplace. Thus, motivating employees adequately is a challenge as it has what it takes to define employee satisfaction at the workplace. In this study, we examine the relationship between job motivation factors and performance among teachers of basic schools in Ghana. The study employs a quantitative approach on a sample of 254 teachers from a population of 678 in the Effutu Municipality of Ghana, of which 159 questionnaires were duly answered and returned (representing 62.6% return rate). Using multiple regression and ANOVA, the study finds compensation package, job design and environment and performance management system as significant factors in determining teacher’s motivation in the municipality. Thus, these motivation factors were significant predictors on performance when regressed at a decomposed and aggregated levels. These findings support the self-determination theory, more specifically on the explanations advanced under the controlled and autonomous motivation factors. Significant differences were also observed in teachers’ performance among one of the age cohorts. The study urges the municipal directorate of education to make more room for young teacher trainees and interns who are at the formative stage of their careers to be engaged to augment the experienced staff strength. More should be done to make the profession attain some level of autonomy in the discharge of duty to breed the next genre of innovative educators in the municipality.

Introduction

Motivation as a meaningful construct is a central pillar at the workplace. Thus, motivating employees adequately is a challenge as it has what it takes to define employee satisfaction at the workplace. Quite a number of studies have been devoted to the link between motivation and its constituent factors and employee performance in different organizations [ 7 , 46 ]. Our study draws inspiration from the self-determination theory (SDT) advanced by Deci et al. [ 14 ] as a framework that can be applied to teachers motivation and performance in basic schools in Ghana. It is worth noting that SDT differentiates between controlled motivation and autonomous motivation. The latter is evident when individuals are faced with pressure and control. The former on the other hand emphasizes on the volitional nature of the behavior of individuals. The SDT provides evidence that suggests that motivation fuels performance [ 14 , 57 ].

In Ghana, the subject of motivation has always been at the apex of national agenda and is evident in the number of strike actions in the public service. In the early part of the 2000s, teachers were part of the public servants whose agitation for improved condition of service did not go unnoticed. Forson and Opoku [ 16 ] had stated that teachers’ emolument accounted for less than 35% of the public service wage bill although teachers were perceived to be in the majority in terms of numbers. This phenomenon did spark a wave of attrition of trained teachers to other sectors of the Ghanaian economy. The teaching profession as a matter of fact became a launched pad for the youth. It should be said that the nature of the school setting is basically a function of internal management and leadership. The head teacher or director of education as the Chief Executive needs to appreciate and recognize that results can be obtained through people. In today’s world, organizations are concerned with what should be done to achieve sustained high level of performance through people who are innovative thinkers [ 4 , 17 , 41 ]. These include paying more attention to how individuals can best be motivated and provision of an atmosphere that helps individuals to deliver on their mandates in accordance with the expectations of management [ 25 ]. This means that an educational manager or an individual engaged as a teacher cannot do this job without knowing what motivates people. The building of motivating factors into organizational roles and the entire process of leading people should be contingent on knowledge of motivation. Koontz and Weinrich [ 25 ] agree that the educational managers’ job is not to manipulate people but rather to recognize what motivates people.

A national debate ensued on the significant role played by teachers in nation building and the need to address the shortfall in the condition of service of teachers to motivate them to perform. Wider consultative meetings were held with stakeholders in the teaching fraternity and the outcome and the panacea was the introduction of a uniform pay structure based on qualification. The legislative arm of government passed Act 737 in 2007 that saw the birth of the Fair Wages Salary Commission (FWSC). The mandate of the commission was to ensure a fair and systematic implementation of government pay policy [ 18 ]. Although this has stabilized the teaching profession in terms of the level of attrition, concerns on how this inducement translate into teacher’s performance seem to dominate national discourse especially in the face of fallen standard of education in Ghana. Such concerns have raised questions such as the following: (1) Does pay rise correlate with performance? (2) Are there other factors that ought to be considered in the nexus between motivation and performance? (3) Are there any significant differences in the level of performance among various age cohorts (4) Do educational background motivate teachers to perform better? These and other questions are addressed in this study.

The objective of this paper is to examine the link between job motivation factors and performance among basic school teachers in Ghana. This is against the backdrop that teachers have for some time now complained about condition of service and with the passage of FWSC bill, one would have thought that would have impacted on performance of teachers as it has been proven that motivation leads to satisfaction and ultimately to high performance. The standard of education continues to be a major concern in the educational setup of Ghana.

We organize the paper as follows: section one is the introduction that sets the tone for the paper. The problem is defined in this section, and the necessary questions that warrant redress are asked. We continue with a brief literature review on the concept of motivation, leading to the development of a conceptual framework and hypothesis based on the self-determination theory (SDT). Section two focuses on the method deployed, with emphasis on the aim, design and setting of the study. The theoretical equation for the multiple regression is brought to the fore here. Section three is the results and discussion, and section four concludes with policy implications.

The concept of motivation and self-determination theory (SDT)

Maslow [ 33 ] is credited for being part of the early contributors of human motivation concept. Maslow classifies human needs that motivate them into two: (1) homeostasis and (2) finding that appetites (preferential choices among foods). The former refers to the body’s automatic efforts to maintain a constant, normal state of the blood stream. The latter concept, on the other hand, is of the view that if the body lacks some chemical, the individual will tend (in an imperfect way) to develop a specific appetite or partial hunger for that missing food element. Thus, Maslow was of the view that any of the physiological needs and the consummatory behavior involved with them serve as channels for all sorts of other needs. Relating this assertion to teachers and the need for a salary pay rise, it should be pointed out that a person who thinks he is hungry may actually be seeking more for comfort, or dependence and managers in the educational sector ought to know this. Contemporary researches have expanded on the theory of motivation as advanced by Maslow [ 33 , 34 ]. For an organization to thrive and be efficient, certain conditions ought to be available in order for managers to get the best out of its human resources (workers/employees). Employees of an organization are the greatest asset in a dynamic and competitive environment [ 49 ]. In the words of Martin [ 32 ], if an organization wants to be effective and aims to sustain the success for a longer period of time, it is important for it to have a motivated workforce made up of employees ready to learn. The last three decades have witnessed an avalanche of studies that emphasizes on the point that employee motivation is essential for the success of a business [ 2 ].

In exploring further on this connection, Mifflin [ 35 ] delved into the fundamental meaning of the word “motivation” and pointed out that it is a Latin word which means to move. Therefore, it is near impossible to move peoples’ behavior in an organization unless such move is triggered by certain incentives. Robins and Coulter [ 49 ] explained the term motivation as the desire and willingness to exert high level of inspiration to reach organizational goals, conditioned by the efforts ability to satisfy some individual need. In this study, we define motivation simply as the act of moving people triggered by the provision of some incentives to achieve a desired goal.

In the words of Deci and Ryan [ 13 ], the SDT focuses on human beings inherent desire to bring change and progress as they advance to their fullest potential. Several studies have applied the SDT in various research areas that includes education, medicine and other organizational context. The SDT is of the view that individuals are by nature active entities who will do everything possible to be integrated into the wider social environment in an attempt to be responsive to the behavior consistent with existing self. The theory according to Trépanier et al. [ 57 ] defines social context as the workplace which facilitate or frustrate ones striving toward self-determination.

The SDT theory has two major forms of motivation which may be differentiated on the basis of its nature and quality according to Howard et al. [ 22 ]. When employees engage in interesting activities or in pursuance of their needs, such a form of motivation is ascribed as autonomous motivation. Such a form of motivation facilitates employees’ vitality and energy including satisfaction and well-being [ 14 ]. When employees engage in activities out of pressure as a result of external factors such as attaining rewards including threat of being punished, or even endogenous sources of such pressure as maintaining self-esteem, want of approval, image management or avoiding guilt, such a form of motivation can be ascribed as controlled motivation. Gillet et al. [ 20 ] explain that people with controlled motivational behavior do so out of reason as long as these contingencies exist and thus it predicts maladaptive work outcomes (e.g., exhaustion of personal energy) and turnover intentions.

SDT and job performance

According to Motowildo et al. [ 38 ], job performance is a construct that elicits behavior related to achievement with evaluative components. Most studies on this relationship have emphasized on the role of autonomous and intrinsic motivation on performance with the argument that individuals autonomously motivated have certain inherent values and behaviors and thus give off optimal performance. The theory of self-determination explains that autonomous motivation should be the necessary ingredient for better performance. That is, when individuals are better informed about the purpose of their job and have a sense of ownership and the degree of freedom to operate (autonomy), the possibility of they performing better at work may be high. The source of such motivation according to Deci et al. [ 14 ] may be from one’s interest and values. It is purpose-driven, amplifies energy, enjoyable and provides enough rationalization for tasks to be accomplished effectively. Moreover, the intrinsic component of autonomous motivation has been linked with job performance in related literature and types of performance [ 7 ].

Empirically, there are evidence to suggest that autonomous motivation is linked with performance. Evidence pertaining to controlled motivation is less dispositive. Proponents of the SDT have argued that controlled motivation (e.g., performance management systems) could reduce employee functioning because action derived from personal values and interest may be disconnected, therefore leading to negative effects on performance [ 48 ]. Counter argument posits that controlled motivation may foster employee willingness to complete tasks in an attempt to avoid guilt or punishment or to earn external reward which may come in the form of compensation package [ 27 ]. In this study, we focus on both the controlled and autonomous motivational factors. More specifically, we focus on Herzberg et al. [ 21 ] motivators validated by Harvard Business Review in 2003 which were made up of two motivators: (1) intrinsic factors such as achievement, recognition for achievement, the work itself, growth, responsibility and advancement, and (2) extrinsic factors such as supervision, working conditions, payment, interpersonal relationship, appreciation and company policy. Therefore, the bundle of motivators used in this study are similar to the aforementioned ones and may include performance management systems, external rewards that come in the form of compensation packages, job environment and training and development [ 30 ]. We explain these constructs further with the empirical evidence leading to the development of the conceptual framework.

• Compensation package

Rasheed et al. [ 44 ] posit that package of compensation offered to teachers in institutions of higher learning has to be made based on several factors that may include the experience that underpins the abilities of the teacher, qualifications and perhaps market rates. This is supported by Bohlander et al. [ 6 ] who argued that teachers compensation ought to be the most central concern for managers and administrators of schools in stimulating them. Most of these research studies are premised on the fact that compensation should be designed to meet the needs of teachers and has be fashioned in the form of tangible rewards. In corroborating this assertion, Marlow et al. [ 31 ] observed that low condition of service defined by salary creates stress among teachers in schools. Thus, teachers’ condition of service should be market competitive in order to get higher motivation and to maintain them. Other studies have found that salary levels have been the main challenge for education managers and are the reason for the high attrition and that education planners and managers should pay attention to the design of compensation packages.

Job design and working environment

The needs of teachers on the job ought to be planned properly. The workload on teachers should not be such that it will de-motivate [ 44 ], p. 103. Teachers at all levels should have a learning environment, and educational administrators should make a point to treat existing human resource (teachers) with maximum respect devoid of any discrimination.

Nowadays, job design is the central focus of managers and human resource researchers. Thus, a well-designed job has what it takes in getting interest of employees. On the contrary, poorly designed job breeds boredom among employees. Davidson [ 12 ] makes an important observation and remarked in his research that when teachers are overloaded and burdened with so many non-teaching activities, it portends as a hindrance in the job design. Other scholars such as Clarke and Keating [ 9 ] have argued that the working environment of an educational institution affects teachers’ motivation. Clarke and Keating [ 9 ] found students to be the main reason why teachers are motivated in schools. His emphasis was on talented and hardworking students who boost the morale of teachers. Students who do not produce the desired results, on the other hand, de-motivate teachers. Moreover, class size is another important consideration in motivating teachers. Other variants of the job design and environment are captured in Ofoegbu [ 39 ] research in which he argued that institutions provide support in the form of resources to the teachers in the form of computers with Internet connections. Moreover, other factors such as the provision of e-libraries and research equipment, and other logistics for students may also serve as an effective motivator for teachers.

Performance management system

Management of teachers and educational administrators in all levels of education should focus on implementing basic performance management systems to continually appraise teachers’ accomplishments. For instance, the use of a so-called 360-degree feedback system is important where students’ feedback is attended to with the attention it deserves.

Stafyarakis [ 53 ] corroborated this and asserted that ‘Annual Confidential Reports’ have become obsolete. Yet there has been an emergence of a scientific approach on the field of performance management as time goes on. In discussing this further, Milliman [ 37 ] is of the view that although there are many practices available in this field, but a performance management system based on 360-degree feedback approach is the most effective.

Contrary to the norm that teachers are most motivated by the intrinsic factors and least motivated by the monetary aspects of teaching, Rao [ 43 ] demonstrates that poor appraisal systems, lack of recognition and lack of respect from the head and other co-workers are some common reasons of distress and de-motivation among teachers in educational institutions. The lack of recognition from supervisors is one of the many reasons why teachers would want to leave the teaching profession Stafyarakis [ 53 ].

Moreover, Rasheed et al. [ 45 ] points out that teachers are much concerned about students’ feedback; hence, feedback from the students should be given a proper weightage and in appraising and managing teachers’ performance in the institutions of higher education. Jordan [ 23 ] stressed that the feedback of students is a major issue of that motivates teachers and therefore teachers should be given feedback from their students in scientific manners.

Training and development

It is of significance that educational administrators focus on training activities as an essential means of both motivating employees and sustaining the survival of that organization according to Photanan [ 42 ] and Bohlander et al. [ 6 ]. Leslie [ 28 ] identified professional growth as basic motivator for teachers. He stressed that the professional learning platform available to a teacher is the basic path of his/her career development [ 29 ].

Conceptual framework and hypothesis development

In this section, the study harmonizes the components of the SDT theory into a conceptual framework on motivation and performance connection. The framework developed in this research may be useful as a guide by academicians and practitioners in understanding the mechanisms through which motivational factors affect job performance among teachers in the Effutu Municipality of Ghana. On elucidating on what a framework is, Chinn and Kramer [ 8 ] explained that a framework can be seen as a complex mental formulation of experience. Further clarification was given to distinguish conceptual framework from a theoretical framework. They assert that while theoretical framework is the theory on which the study is based, the conceptual framework deals with the operationalization of the theory. Put in another way, it represents the position of the researcher on the problem at hand and at the same time gives direction to the study. It may be entirely new, or an adoption of, or adaptation of, a model used in previous research with modification to fit the context of the inquiry [ 8 ].

The framework developed in this research has three components: the first component looks at the factors necessary to induce motivation among teachers. The second component focuses on motivation as a concept. The last component which is on job performance looks at the link between the aggregate motivational factors and performance. The extant literature survey on motivational factors and performance provides all the necessary ingredients for the construction of the framework. First, the extant literature shows that motivation as a concept is simply the act of moving people triggered by the provision of some incentives to achieve a desired goal. The triggers of motivation may include such factors such as compensation packages, job design and working environment, performance management system and training and development which are controlled and autonomous factors as crucial elements for motivation.

The second component of the framework is the aggregate motivation, which is the interaction of the controlled and autonomous factors of motivation. Motivation according to Reeve (2001) refers to the excitement level, the determination and the way a person works hard at his work setting. Ricks et al. [ 47 ] explicating on the thesis of motivation was of the view that motivation is an internal aspiration of a man that compels him to reach an objective or the goal set for him.

The third component of the framework is performance. According to Culture IQ [ 11 ] and Motowildo et al. [ 38 ], job performance is the assessment of whether an employee has done their job well. It is an individual evaluation (one measured based on a single person’s effort). In the words of Viswesvaran and Ones [ 58 ], p. 216, the term job performance is used in reference to actions that are scalable, behavior and outcomes that employees engage in or bring about that are linked with and contribute to the goals of an organization. It is linked to both employee- and organizational-level outcomes. A distinctive feature of the framework developed in this research is that it shows the interaction between autonomous and controlled factors and motivation and how it affects the performance of teachers in Fig.  1 .

Source : Created by the authors

A Conceptual model of the relationship between Motivation and Teachers’ Performance.

It can be visibly seen from the framework that teachers motivation may be defined by both controlled and intrinsic motivational factors that may include those that fall under compensation packages, working environment, performance management system and training and development of teachers [ 44 ]. Yet the performance of teachers in itself motivates management and policy makers to institute compensation packages, improved psychological aura through enhanced working environment and job design and implementing appropriate performance management policy for a continued performance enhancement. It should also be emphasized here that these job satisfaction factors may pass as job motivational factors and theorize that a highly motivated teacher may be related to the level of satisfaction.

Scholars such as Thus Milda et al. [ 36 ] and Spector [ 52 ] collectively share the opinion that teachers differ from typical employees in various ways. Therefore, instruments that usually measure such job satisfaction and motivation dimensions as appreciation, communication, coworkers, fringe benefits, job conditions, nature of work, organization itself, organizations’ policies and procedures, pay, personal growth, promotion opportunities, recognition, security, supervision may not always match with teachers’ motivation aspects on the teaching field. However, some of these factors according to some researchers can be used in understanding motivation and performance among teachers. The consensus on these dimensions is especially on supervision, work itself, promotion and recognition being important dimensions of teachers’ motivation at work [ 50 , 51 , 56 ]. In addition, several researchers have used the same measurement or dimension but with different wording (synonym). For instance, Kreitner and Kinici [ 26 ] define job satisfaction with the synonym “motivation” which they argue contains “those psychological processes that cause the arousal, direction and persistence of voluntary actions that are goal directed” Motivation depends on certain intrinsic, as well as extrinsic factors which in collaboration results in fully committed employees. Based on this relationship, we hypothesize that:

Hypothesis 1

Teachers’ compensation package, job environment and design, performance management systems, training and development significantly affect teachers’ motivation.

In a similar manner, Board [ 5 ] asserted that tangible incentives are effective in increasing performance for task not done before, to encourage “thinking smarter” and to support both quality and quantity to achieve goals. Incentives, rewards and recognitions are the prime factors that impact on employee motivation. Aarabi et al. [ 1 ] confirmed this assertion by making use of factors such as payment, job security, promotion, freedom, friendly environment, and training and employee job performance to measure the term organizational motivation with positive relationship found on these factors. On rewards (which comes in various forms, e.g., income/pay, bonus, fringe benefits among others ) and recognition/appreciation, according to other researchers keep high spirit among employees which boost employee’s morale which may have a direct impact on performance and output. The study hypothesizes that:

Hypothesis 2

Teacher’s motivation positively affects their performance.

The aim, design and setting of the study

The paper aims to examine the link between motivation factors and performance among basic school teachers in Ghana. Data for this study were collected from primary. Primary data were sourced from the field of study through questionnaire administration. The researchers sought for permission from the municipal directorate of education to engage with teachers within the municipality. A written permission was granted, and questionnaires were administered to all basic schools’ teachers in the municipality.

At the preparatory stage, the questionnaires designed were tested to make sure participants understood the demands of the questions in the questionnaires. Informal interviews method has been adopted to make sure that additional information that could not have been gathered through the use of questionnaires was captured. The formal interviews using questionnaires ensured that we stayed focused on the background objective that formed the basis of the study.

Sampling technique and data analysis

On the determination of the sample size, different authors have differing views, but in most cases, the recommendation is that it should be large. Stevens [ 54 ] recommends at least 15 participants per predictor for reliable equation in the case of factor analysis. Tabachnick and Fidel [ 55 ] provides a formula for calculating sample size requirements, taking into consideration the number of independent variables that one wish to use: N  > 50 + 8  m (where m  = number of independent variables). In line with these and other requirements like Yamane [ 60 ], the exact sample size will be determined and questionnaires distributed accordingly to the selected public and private schools in the Effutu Municipality.

The human resource unit of the educational directorate of education in the municipality has indicated that there are over 678 teachers teaching at various levels in the municipality [ 15 ]. Thus, the 678 teachers become the population in the municipality. Using Yamane [ 60 ] and validating with other sampling size technique, a sample size of 254 has been adopted with a 0.5 level of precision. Thus, 254 questionnaires were distributed among the various schools, but 159 were filled and returned (representing 62.6% return rate).

Quantitative data are analyzed by means of a software called Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 20). This is necessitated by the fact that the analyzed quantitative data ought to be presented by graphs to give quick visual impression of what it entails.

The scale measurement of the questionnaires included nominal scale, ordinal and intervals. Questionnaires used were segmented to capture the demographic characteristics of the respondents and the constructs that feeds into the multi-level latent variables using a five-point Likert scale (see [ 19 , 24 ]). A verification was done to assess the suitability of the data for factor analysis with the expectation that Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy ( \({\mathrm{i.e}}., {\rm KMo}\ge 0.6)\) and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity value are significant ( p  = 0.05), which was the case for our sample data. In measuring some of the latent variables, the study developed a 9-scale item on compensation package with the following loadings (e.g., how high is your qualification and pay ( \(\alpha =0.72)\) , “is your experience linked to your current pay?” ( \(\alpha =0.80)\) , “are you satisfied with the market premium” ( \(\alpha =0.75)\) etc.). All items were rated on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = “not important” to 5 = “very important.” A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicates that the hypothesized correlated 3-factor structure fits well with the responds of the participants ( \({\chi }^{2}/df = 2.01, {\rm RMR}=0.05,{\rm RMSEA}=0.06,{\rm TLC}=0.94,{\rm CFI}=0.94)\) .

Job design and working environment was measured by a 7-item scale based on questions such as “how do you perceive your workload” ( \(\alpha =0.88)\) , “does your work type offer learning environment?” ( \(\alpha =0.83),\) “Are you inspired by your working environment?” ( \(\alpha =0.87)\) , “Talented student boost morale” ( \(\alpha =0.84)\) etc. Similarly, all items were rated on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = “not important” to 5 = “very important.” A confirmatory factor analysis reveals that the hypothesized one-factor structure fits well with the data ( \({\chi }^{2}/df = 3.06, {\rm RMR}=0.05,{\rm RMSEA}=0.06,{\rm TLC}=0.94,{\rm CFI}=0.94)\) .

Performance management system was assessed using a 9-item scale based on these inferences (e.g., “number of times supervisor visits” ( \(\alpha =0.69)\) , “how often are you visited by the municipal director of education” ( \(\alpha =0.78)\) , “work recognition” ( \(\alpha =0.72)\) , etc.). All constructs were rated as 1 = “not important” to 5 = “very important.” A confirmatory factor analysis reveals that the hypothesized two-factor structure was in line with the data ( \({\chi }^{2}/df=2.86, {\rm RMR}=0.05,{\rm RMSEA}=0.06,{\rm TLC}=0.94,{\rm CFI}=0.94)\) .

The last but not the least concept explored was job performance. It was assessed on a 12-item scale based on the inferences such as (e.g., “are pupils treated with respect?” ( \(\alpha\) =0.77), “do you help pupils work on their social-emotional skills?” ( \(\alpha\) = 0.69), “are you fair and consistent with pupils” ( \(\alpha\) = 0.87), etc.). All items were rated on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = “not important” to 5 = “very important.” A confirmatory factor analysis reveals that the hypothesized two-factor structure was in line with the data ( \({\chi }^{2}/df = 2.06, {\rm RMR} = 0.05,{\rm RMSEA} = 0.06,{\rm TLC} = 0.94,{\rm CFI} = 0.93)\) . The study proceeds to make use of the proposed measurement models to assess the relationship outlined in the conceptual model in Fig.  1 .

Hypothesized theoretical equation

Based on the conceptual model in Fig.  1 , the study makes a number of hypothesis on the relation between motivational factors and motivation itself and subsequently the link between motivation and performance. Consequently, the study model leads to two structural equations as presented below:

where JM = job motivation, CP = compensation package, JDWE = job design and working environment, PMS = performance management system, TD = training and development, JP = job performance.

Results and discussion

The study begins with a frequency distribution and descriptive statistics to capture the responses of teachers regarding the itemized construct identified in the conceptual model. Beginning with these two is borne out of the fact that the data category used in the study included categorical, ordinal and nominal variables which may be difficult to have a summary descriptive statistic.

With the understanding that every statistical approach is guided by certain principles or in most cases what has come to be known as assumptions, a diagnostic check was undertaken. Multicollinearity and singularity, for instance, look at the relationship among the independent variables. Thus, multicollinearity exists when the independent variables are highly correlated (r = 0.5 and above). The study was particular about these assumptions because multiple regression abhors them (singularity and multicollinearity). Issues concerning outliers (i.e., very high and low scores) was dealt with given the fact that multiple regression is sensitive to them. On normality, the results of the Kolmogorov–Smirnov statics were used to assess the distribution of scores. The test result was insignificant (i.e., sig. value of more than 0.05), which pointed to normality. Having done these, the study was sure there were no errors in the data and that the descriptive phase of the data used can begin.

Consistent with the general distribution of gender in the demographic characteristics of Ghana, about 63 of the teachers were female (39.6%) with 59.1% made up of male and 1.3% being transgender. The transgender teachers were foreign teachers who were here on an exchange program. Most of the teachers in the sample taught at the primary level (46.5%), followed by junior high level (43.4%) and kindergarten (8.8%), respectively. About 34.6% of the respondent responded they have taught between 6 and 10 years and 22.0% had spent between 11 and 20 years teaching. In terms of educational background, about 50.3% of the respondent have had first degree, with the remaining 49.7% being holders of teachers Cert. A or Diploma from the training colleges, and master’s degree of the returned samples. The average number of years participants have taught was observed to be 2.34 years with a corresponding standard deviation of 1.010. We present the demographic characteristics of our participants in Table 1 .

As shown in Table 2 , the compensation package scale has good internal consistency, with a Cronbach alpha coefficient reported to be around 0.725. According to Pallant [ 40 ], Cronbach alpha values above 0.7 are considered acceptable; however, values above 0.8 are preferable. Therefore, the threshold value of 0.725 means our scale is internally consistent and acceptable. Similarly, the job design and working environment scale recorded a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.793.

Performance management on the other hand had a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.70, yet training and development recorded a lower Cronbach alpha of 0.53, which meant it lacked internal consistency. The study had to drop training and development as factor for job motivation and proceed with the others. Job performance, however conspicuously recorded a Cronbach alpha of 0.83. In terms of the output from the correlation matrix, it can be visibly seen that the scales computed were not highly correlated and fallen below the threshold of 0.8 as recommended (see [ 40 ], p. 56). Both the assumption of singularity and multicollinearity by extension have not been violated (see Durbin Watson results) and thus the study can proceed to run the regression as per the set objectives and the conceptual model.

We go further to examine the causal effect of the factors identified as triggers of motivation on teachers’ level of motivation using ordinary least square method with multiple regression as the exact approach. Having gained credence from the test of reliability and validity, examining the causal effect becomes imperative. Using the baseline model in Eq. ( 1 ), the study concurrently runs the regression with the output shown in Tables 2 , 3 and 4 .

In model one, the study regresses compensation package with the dependent variable without controlling for other related factors. By implication what the results in model (1) seeks to explain is that, as the value of compensation package for teachers increases by 73 percentage points in the municipality, the mean of job motivation increases by that same margin. The high compensation is evidenced by government of Ghana reform in salary structure and bolstered by the effort of the Member of Parliament (MP) through the sharing of teaching and learning materials (TLMs) in the municipality. By this gesture by the MP, teachers feel appreciated and derive high motivation. Moreover, the presence of a university (University of Education, Winneba) has helped to deepen the level of motivation. The model has cross-variable variance of 52 percentage and with close to about 48 percentage unexplained as inferred from the coefficients of both coefficient of determination ( R 2 ) and adjusted coefficient of determination. Generally, the model is jointly significant ( F  = 170, p  < 0.01) with a corresponding tolerance and variable inflationary factor (VIF) of 1.

In model (2), the study varies the variables used with the inclusion of job design and working environment to examine how well the model can be through it cross-variable variance. Controlling for job design and environment shows a significant drop in the coefficient of compensation package from 0.73 to 0.53 although highly significant. Job design and environment recorded a coefficient of 0.49 which meant this indicator increases teachers’ satisfaction and thus motivation by 49 percentage points. In explaining this phenomenon, one would say that jobs that are rich in positive behavioral essentials such as autonomy, task significance and identity and feedback contribute to employees’ motivation. Government has since the introduction of its flagship program on free senior high education emphasized the significance of education across all the strata. The autonomy of heads of unit was by this directive curtailed. Heads of unit were barred from initiating policies to ease their operations. This finding is supported in the literature [ 7 , 30 , 46 ] and is aligned with the SDT. For example, head teachers who had levied pupils with printing fees were sanctioned for such initiative. Thus, by this gesture, the autonomy of the profession was in doubt and this explains why the level of motivation when this parameter is mentioned is low. With this addition, model (2) marginally sees an improvement of 0.73 in the cross-variable variance which is a significant. Model (2) was jointly significant ( F  = 170, p  < 0.01).

All the identified job motivation variables are concurrently used in model (3) to infer whether there was going to be a significant increase in the coefficient of determination and a drop in the residue. As a confirmation to the priori assumption, there was a marginal improvement of the explanatory strength of the model (R 2  = 0.88). However, the model witnessed significant drop in the coefficients. Thus, compensation package dropped further from 0.53 to 0.42 and job design and environment from 0.49 to 0.34.

It is important to note that the value of Durbin Watson test results when all the identified factors are brought together in model (3) indicate a no autocorrelation in the model which validates the earlier point of having dealt with critical assumptions that borders on autocorrelation. Moreover, both our VIF and tolerance were within the acceptable level. For instance, models (1)–(3) had a VIF score less than or equal to 1, which meant there were no issues concerning a possibility of high multicollinearity. For tolerance, there are no clear-cut cut-off point, but there is a suggestion of a tolerance greater than 0.40 according to Allison [ 3 ]. Yet Weisburd and Britt [ 59 ] are of the view that anything below 0.2 is an indication of serious multicollinearity. Inferring from these, it therefore goes to suggest that the tolerance levels of above 1 meant no multicollinearity.

In examining the relationship between the aggregated motivational factors and performance, the study brings to the fore the following findings as shown in Table 3 . The study presents four (4) different models on the relationship between motivation and performance. Model (1) regresses the aggregate motivational factors on job performance, and the findings are quite interesting to note. The job performance indicator is increased by 46% for every unit increase in motivation. This relationship can further be explained to mean a teacher within the municipality with a sense of satisfaction with his/her teaching job may feel more inclined to be at post no matter what the prevailing circumstances are. The snowball effect of this phenomenon is the reduction in absenteeism with a corresponding curb on teachers’ turnover. Although the coefficient of determination which explains the cross-variable variance is by far lower than expected ( R 2  = 0.214), the model is jointly significant ( F  = 41.44, p  < 0.01). The VIF and tolerance levels are within acceptable threshold with a Durbin Watson of 2.04 that signals a no concern of autocorrelation in the model.

Models (2)–(4) regress the decomposed job motivation factors on performance to ascertain their level of significance, and indeed, as theorized, these factors were positively significant except with lower coefficient of determinations ( R 2 ). To explain the relation in model (2), it is important to note that compensation is the output and the benefit that a teacher within the municipality receives in the form of pay, or even any form of exchanges (in kind or in cash) to increase performance. The Member of Parliament for the area as part of effort to ensure teachers are well compensated shared over 700 laptops to teachers within the municipality for effective teaching and learning. This certainly explains why the attrition rate in the municipality is low vis-à-vis high morale of teachers which largely explains the level of motivation and satisfaction.

Model (3) touches on the psychological state the teacher finds him or herself owed to the nature and state of the job. This may include the job environment and the degree of specialization. Yet in model (4), there is an exponential increase in the coefficient of performance management systems as it increases job performance within the municipality by 51 percentage point. It should be noted that performance management sets expectations for teachers’ performance and thus motivates them to work harder in ways expected by the municipal directorate of education under GES. The results in model (5) confirm earlier ones, but the inclusion of the other variables as control seems to have increased the coefficients of the various motivational factors. This partly explains the performance of the municipality in the central region in successive BECE.

Further investigation is made to understand which of the age groups is responsible for the ensuing level of performance in the municipality. To do this, the study relies on one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Here, the mean scores of more than two groups are compared using a continuous variable as the dependent variable. Having transformed the ordinal variables to continuous, it makes it quite straightforward to do this. Using the categorical independent variable of age which has more than three categories and the job performance variable which we have transformed to be continuous variable, the study undertakes a one-way between groups ANOVA with post hoc tests. Teachers were divided into four groups according to their ages (group 1: 20–30 yrs.; group 2: 31–40 yrs.; group 3: 41–50 yrs.; group 4: above 51 yrs.). There was a statistically significant difference at the \(p<0.10\) level in job performance scores for the four age groups: F (4, 159) = 0.042, p  = 0.10. Despite reaching statistical significance for one of the groups, the actual difference in mean scores between the groups was quite small. The effect size was calculated using eta squared (eta squared = 179.1/8513 = 0.02) which in Cohen’s ([ 10 ], pp. 248–7) terms is considered far too small a size. Note should be taking that Cohen categorizes 0.01 as a small effect, 0.06 as a medium effect and 0.14 as a large effect. Post hoc comparisons using the Tukey HSD test indicated that the mean score for group 1 (56.12, SD = 4.26) is significantly different from the other three groups which were insignificant. The result has theoretical soundness. Group 1 was made up of young teachers who had either returned from training colleges after completion or on internship and thus had cause to perform for a possibility of being retained or given a very good report since internship supervision forms part of the trainees’ assessment.

In this study, we examined among a host of autonomous and controlled motivational factors and their relationship to performance among basic schools’ teachers in the Effutu Municipality of Ghana. A conceptual model was developed with the necessary hypotheses formulated. Using multiple regression and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), the causal effect as shown in the model is tested.

The study finds compensation package, job design and environment and performance management system to be positively significant factors in explaining teacher’s motivation in the municipality. These job motivation factors were significant predictors on job performance. The aggregated job motivation indicator when regressed on job performance reveals a positive and significant effect. Based on the results from the ANOVA, the study recommends the municipal directorate of education to make more room for young teacher trainees who are at the formative stage of their career to be engaged to augment the experienced staff strength. More should be done to make the profession attain some level of autonomy in the discharge of duty to breed the next genre of innovative educators in the municipality. A limitation of the study is its inability to treat job motivation as a mediatory variable as captured in the framework. The study recommends future research to explore this connection.

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Abbreviations

Analysis of variance

Self-determination theory

Single spine salary structure

Fair wages salary commission

Teaching and learning materials

Member of parliament

Job motivation

Job performance

Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin

Confirmatory factor analysis

Standardized root mean square residual

Root mean square error of approximation

Statistical package for social science

Variable inflationary factor

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the Effutu Directorate of Education, particularly the Municipal Director of Education for the support during the data collection stage. We thank all the basic school teachers in the municipality who devoted time to fill and return questionnaires sent to them. We are also grateful to the Directorate for the secondary materials given to the team.

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Forson, J.A., Ofosu-Dwamena, E., Opoku, R.A. et al. Employee motivation and job performance: a study of basic school teachers in Ghana. Futur Bus J 7 , 30 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s43093-021-00077-6

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An Analysis of the Impact of Motivation on Employee Performance:  A Case Study of Selected Private Universities in Lusaka

•  Chipie Phiri
• Jacqueline Siwale
• Mathew Mwewa
• May 15, 2023

 Chipie Phiri 1 , Jacqueline Siwale 1* , Mathew Mwewa 2 1 Department of Business and Management Studies –  Texila American University 2 Potgraudate Student – University of South Wales, UK

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2023.7488

Received: 05 April 2023; Accepted: 14 April 2023; Published: 15 May 2023

The purpose of conducting this research was to analyze the impact of Motivation on employee performance.  One of the major concerns of organizations is its profitability, hence the need for efficiency.  Organizations are in continuous state of competition, and this has increased the need to improve employee’s performance in organizations.  The major focus of the study was in the education sector particularly the selected private universities in Lusaka district. A sample of 143 respondents was used which included Professors, Top Admin staff, Lecturers and supporting staff members of the selected private universities of Lusaka district. Distribution tables, pie charts and percentage tables were used to analyse and simplify the primary data that was collected.  It is vital for any Organization including the education sector to persistently discover different ways of motivating employees.  Retaining their staff is very important for the growth and efficiency of the universities. From the findings it was revealed that, motivation can either increase or decrease performance of employees depending on the form of motivation used. Organisation should understand the motivating need of each employee to improve performance.  The study concluded that employee performance in relation to motivation is a vital aspect influencing this research.

Keywords: Motivation and Performance

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND OF STUDY

It is generally agreed that any organization’s greatest asset, is the human resource, it is therefore widely recognized in the human resource literature that promotion of the motivation of workers in both private and public organization leads to a higher quality of human resources and optimum performance (Albrecht eta al, 2015).

One may ask why there is need for managers to spend time on motivating their employees. The answer is simple, “to extend the organization’s existence”. Employees make up an organization and if they do not have organizational commitment, there is no incentive to excel at their jobs.

This section presents the background to the study, statement of the problem, objectives of the study, significance, and scope of the study, etc. The study will focus on, the analysis of the impact of motivation on performance of employees in the selected Private Universities in Lusaka District.  The universities under research are Cavendish University, Luitebm University and Zambia Open University.

The importance of employee satisfaction and work motivation is growing all the time in the companies. Many researchers have been made to find out what the effect of job satisfaction and motivation has on the performance and productivity of the organization.

Practically all people are concerned with motivation to some extent, and something all employees have in common is that they are people; and people work best when they are motivated (Whiteley, 2002).

For the company to optimize employee’s performance there is need for employees to be sufficiently motivated. Therefore, successful work performance can arise from a variety of motives, for instance two people doing similar jobs may both be successful for different reasons, one salesperson, may be motivated by the commission earned on sales, while the other may be more concerned with meeting sales targets. This creates a nuance in the subject matter because motivation to enhance performance varies from person to person and from company to company (William, 2010).

The above therefore arouses more critical academic thinking within the subject area. William (2010) further states that contemporary research and observations show that well motivated employees are more productive and creative towards achieving company or organizational goals. On the other hand, less, motivated employees perform less and tend to divert from attaining organizational goals.

One of the biggest problems facing managers in the organizations is how best to get      employees committed to their work and put in their best towards the accomplishment of the organization’s objectives. Motivation is concerned with why people do what they do. It answers questions such as why do managers or workers go to work and do a good job. This tries to explain what motivates people to act the way they do, with primary focus on the workplace. It is the primary task of the manager to create and maintain an environment in which employees can work efficiently and realize the objectives of the organization (Maduka & Okafor, 2014).

Statement of the Problem

According to Samsudin (2006: 282), work motivation is something that gives rise to motivation or enthusiasm for work. Motivation moves people to display behavior towards the achievement of a particular goal (Ismet Sulila; 2019).Motivation is the driving force in getting the best out of employees.  Low or Lack of motivation affects employees and organization performance.  Based on the findings from the selected private universities in Lusaka district, there are a lot of problems associated with employee motivation that affects performance.  The problems include lack of resources, low morale, low job satisfaction, lack of recognition and major workload. (Bennell and Akyeampong 2007) Others are low pay, absenteeism, poor quality of leadership, lack of incentives by the said universities, no proper employment contracts, and lack of job security.  Well aligned employee motivation will increase morale and loyalty, reduce conflict, and enhance relationships.  Highly motivated employees will maximize their time and effort into doing the jobs.  Efficient organization goals will be achieved and maximum job satisfaction when employees are highly motivated.

The positive impact of employee motivation on performance includes lower level of absenteeism, low levels of staff turnover, improved performance, and quality of customer service. Having a motivated workforce will enhance productivity. Employees at the selected private universities in Lusaka have different preferences on what motivates them.  Some its money while others its recognition. It is the onus of the Human Resource managers to get the best out of the employees.  Employees contribute to the success of the organization, hence the need for organizations to realize the importance and value of employees.

Low motivation affects employees and organization performance.  Employer should exercise employee motivation through the series of rewards for job well done and better organizational performance (Sevanson 2011). Although some universities have put in place motivation rewards to employees, the gap still need to be bridged.  A lot of motivation challenges still exist. High employee turnover is another problem being experienced at these universities in Lusaka district.  Because there is nothing that motivate them, they tend to leave and look for greener pastures. They are mostly unhappy, frustrated and nothing inspires them.  Nothing challenges them anyone hence the need to leave and find something better.  Lack of promotional opportunities, and uncooperative colleagues in s some cases are also a major contributor of low motivation (Lope 2004)

Aim of study

To analyze the impact of motivation on employee performance, on selected private universities in Lusaka province.

Specific Objectives

• To analyze the impact of motivation on performance, on selected private universities in Lusaka province.
• To examine the effectiveness of the policy on motivation of employees in the selected private universities in Lusaka District.
• To determine whether there is a relationship between motivational factors and improved performance in the selected Private Universities in Lusaka District.

LITERATURE REVIEW

INTRODUCTION

Work is an important event, a fact that is inevitable in the life of an individual in whatever forms it is done, it is an activity and source of satisfaction one needs. Employees try to find satisfaction and motivation in what they do and as a result the manager should be able to understand the problems faced by his employees and find a way of satisfying their needs and aspirations. The general assumption is that an adequately motivated worker will in turn give in his or her best towards the attainment of organizational goals. A good number of employees are adequately paid in their jobs to work hard and maintain a high standard of productivity and performance while some even though they work hard do not receive much material gains to show for it. The issue under consideration is how a worker in an organization with a particular set of does needs achieve the reward he desires?  This chapter covers a detailed presentation of the information obtained from local and foreign publications on, motivation, job satisfaction and the effect of motivation and employee performance in order to broaden the understanding of the researcher on the subject matter being considered in the study. It is structured in such a way that it starts with the theoretical framework, followed by previous studies and then comparative analysis. The source of information covered in this chapter includes both published and unpublished literature.

Theoretical Framework

In the early 20 th century, money was regarded as the most important input into the production of goods and services. However, after a series of researchers, one known to be the “Hawthorne Studies”, conducted by Elton Mayo from 1924-1932 at the Hawthorne Works of the American Western Electric Company in Chicago, it was observed that employees were not motivated solely by money but that employee behavior was linked to their attitudes. The Hawthorn studies began the human relations approach to management, whereby the needs and motivation of employees become the primary focus of managers. This paved way for other theories and definitions on motivation and performance at the work place (Kuranchie-Mensah & Amponsah-Tawiah, 2015).

The Hawthorne studies were the first real attempt at investigating the influences of performance on the job. The researchers discovered that organizations were not merely economic institutions but composed of many social organizations. People within the organizations form lasting relationship that affect the way they behave at work. These relationships can even affect the effectiveness of the organization. It is these studies that set the stage for research in human behavior in the decades that followed. Though the experiments and the theories involved are criticized today for flaws in the methodologies used and statistical inaccuracies, the Hawthorne studies can be credited with turning management theories away from the simplistic “economic man” model to a more humanistic and realistic view, the “social man” model. The studies that followed reviewed that a human being was complex (Hichibala, 2003).

The term “motivation” derives from the Latin word for movement (movere). A motive is a reason for doing something. Rivai (2011: 837) states motivation is a series of attitudes and values that influence individuals to achieve specific things in accordance with individual goals, Robbins (2010: 458) argues that motivation is a willingness to make high-level efforts to achieve organizational goals, required by the ability of the business to satisfy certain individuals. Motivation is an important concept in the study of individual work performance, Winardi (2004).

Havinal (2009, p. 75) states that a manager gets work done through others. Getting the work done depends mainly on whether a person has been motivated to do it. Motivating an employee is to create a need and a desire on the part of the employee to better his performance. This can be done by creating in him a sense of responsibility and feeling of special interest in his work. Motivation concerns itself with “will to work”. It is a behavioral concept by which a manager tries to understand why people behave as they do. Performance of an employee depends on two factors, ability to work and willingness to work. Mathematically:

Performance – Ability × willingness

Motivation is enhancing the willingness to work which improves the performance (Havinal, 2009). Motivation, as a process, started with a need in human beings which creates a vacuum in a person. In an attempt to fill the vacuum an internal driving force is generated which starts and sustains a chain of action and reaction. It is at that point that the vacuum is also filled. With this background, motivation can be defined as the internal or external driving force that produces the willingness to perform an act to a conclusive end (Maduka & Okafor, 2014). This first aspect of motivation we choose to describe as internal motivation because the driving force comes from within an individual. The second aspect is external motivation, is applied by the organization (Maduka & Okafor, 2014).

Motivation has been an issue of concern in the past and has established itself as an integral part in current organizational settings. Motivation is quite complex to comprehend thus placing awareness to the fact that several factors influence employee performance in a particular organization. Reason being that, what motivates one worker will not definitely motivate the other employee within the same organization. Motivation is a factor that exists in an individual which has the potential to affect the way, strength, and eagerness of behaving towards work (William, 2010).

According to Maduka & Okafor (2014), employee motivation is one of the policies of managers to increase effectual job management amongst employees in organizations. A motivated employee is responsive of the definite goals and objectives he/she must achieve, therefore, motivation formulates an organization more successful because provoked employees are constantly looking for improved practices to do a work, so it is essential for organizations to persuade motivation of their employees.

Theories and Models of Motivation

The fields of employee motivation and employee performance are solidly grounded in literature and research, the theories and module of motivation seek to justify why certain employees act or do things in a certain way rather than others.  For the purpose of this research, the following theories and models will be considered to be vital for this study: Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Frederick Herzberg Theory of motivation, and, Porter and Lawler’s Extension of Expectancy Theory.  The literature will expand on some of these theories.

Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Different scholars have put forth different explanations on how motivation can be achieved within an organization. Prominent amongst them is Maslow with the theory of “Maslow’s Hierarch of needs”. Consequently, Maslow in 1943 reasoned that human beings have an internal need pushing them towards self-actualization (fulfillment) and personal superiority. Maslow came up with the view that there are five different levels of needs and once we happen to satisfy a need at one stage or level of the hierarchy it has an influence on our behavior. At each level our behavior tends to diminish, we now put forth a more powerful influence on our behavior for the need at the next level up the hierarchy (William, 2010). Kuranchie-Mensah & Amponsah-Tawiah (2015), state that in Maslow’s conclusion, in order to meet the needs of an employee, the employer has to understand the hierarchy of the need to which the employee belongs. Maslow (1954), listed from the lowest level of needs to the top are categorized as follows:

(i)        Physiological needs: These are needs that focus on sustaining human life such as the need for oxygen, food, water and sex. Maslow stated that until these basic needs are satisfied to a large extent, no other motivating factor can operate (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014).

(ii)       Security or safety needs: These are the next in hierarchy and focus on being free of physical danger and the fear of losing a job, property, food or shelter as well as protection against emotional disappointment.

(iii)      Social needs : These are the needs that deal with the social aspect of man such as the need to belong and be accepted by others. It is the need for love, affection and acceptance as belonging to a group.

(iv)      Esteem needs: Maslow identified that as soon as people satisfy the need to belong and be accepted by others, the next higher level of need is the need to be held in high esteem by themselves and others. It goes on to state that these kinds of need produce satisfaction through power, prestige, status and self-confidence. It includes internal esteem factors such as self-respect, autonomy, achievements, and external factors such as status, recognition and attention.

(v)          Self-fulfillment (self-actu a lization ): This is the highest need in the hierarchy. It is the drive to become what one is cable of becoming, to maximize one’s full potential and to accomplish something. It includes needs such as growth, achieving one’s potential and self-fulfillment.

Maslow believed every person had needs that need to be met; he transferred his idea into a triangle design. The following displays Maslow’s hierarchy of needs:

Source: (Havinal, 2009, p. 76)

Before Maslow, most managers assumed that money primarily motivated people. With Maslow’s work, managers can evaluate their own actions, their companies conduct and their individual philosophies about people. Maslow’s needs theory presented a workable motivation framework for managers (Maduka & Okafor, 2014).

Maslow’s needs of hierarchy have an intuitive appeal and has been very popular.  But it has not been verified by empirical research and it has been criticized for its rigidity; different people may have different priorities and the underpinning assumption that everyone has the same needs is invalid. It is difficult to accept that needs progress steadily up the hierarchy and Maslow himself expressed doubts about the validity of a strictly ordered hierarchy. But he did emphasize that the higher order needs are more significant (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014).

Frederick Herzberg Theory of Motivation (Herzberg’s two-factor model)

The two-factor model of motivation developed by Herzberg (1957, 1966) was based on an investigation into the sources of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction of accountants and engineers who were asked what made them feel exceptionally good or exceptionally bad about their jobs. According to Herzberg, this research established that there were two factors that affected feelings of satisfaction or dissatisfaction (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014).

Basically, the theory divides motivating factors into two categories: Motivator factor, which have something to do with the work itself and hygiene factors, which have something to do with the surrounding context (Ganta, 2014).

In one group of needs are such things as company policy and administration, supervision, working conditions, interpersonal relations, salary, and job security.  These are called dis-satisfiers and not motivators.  If the exist in a work environment, they yield no dissatisfaction.  Their existence does not motivate but their absence results in dissatisfaction.  Herzberg called these factors as hygiene or maintenance factors. The second group he listed certain satisfiers and therefore motivators, which are related to job content. They include achievement, recognition, challenging work, advancement, and growth in the job. The first group of factors (the dissatisfiers) will not motivate in the organization, yet they must be present otherwise dissatisfaction will arise. The second group or the job content factors are real motivators because they have the potential of yielding a sense of satisfaction. It means managers must give considerable attention to upgrading job content (Havinal, 2009).

Source: (Havinal, 2009, p. 77)

Herzberg’s two-factor theory in effect identifies needs but it has been attacked by, for example, Opsahl and Dunnette (1966). The research method has been criticized because no attempt was made to measure the relationship between satisfaction and performance. It has been claimed that the two-factor nature of the theory is an inevitable result of the questioning method used by the interviewers. It has also been suggested that wide and unwarranted inferences have been drawn from small and specialized samples and that there is no evidence to suggest that the satisfiers do improve productivity (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014, p. 206).

Source: (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014, p. 209)

Porter and Lawler’s Extension of Expectancy Theory

This theory was developed by Porter and Lawler (1968) into a model shown below:

The model follows Vroom’s ideas by suggesting that there are two factors determining the effort that people put into their jobs: first, the value of the rewards to individuals in so far as they satisfy their needs for security, social esteem, autonomy, and self-actualization; second the probability that rewards depend on effort as perceived by individuals, in other words, their expectations about the relationships between effort and reward. Thus, the greater the value of a set or awards and the higher the probability that receiving each of these rewards depend upon effort, the greater the effort will be put forth in a given situation. But as Porter and Lawler emphasized, mere effort is not enough, it must be effective effort if it is to produce the desired performance. The two variables additional to effort that affect task achievement are:

• Ability – individual characteristics such as intelligence, knowledge, skills;
• Role perceptions – what the individual wants to do or thinks they are required to do. These are good from the viewpoint of the organization if they correspond with what it thinks the individual ought to be doing. They are poor if the views of the individual and the organization do not coincide.

Types of Motivation

Extrinsic Motivation : It is related to tangible rewards such as salary and fringe benefits, security, promotion, contract of service, the work environment, and conditions of service. These are what need to be done to or for people to motivate them. They are often determined at the organizational level and may be largely outside the control of the individual managers. Extrinsic motivators can have immediate and powerful effect but will not necessarily last long (Forson, 2012, p. 34). According to Armstrong & Taylor (2014, p. 204), extrinsic motivators include rewards such as incentives, increased pay, praise, or promotion; and punishments such as disciplinary action, withholding pay, or criticism.

Intrinsic motivation : This is related to psychological rewards such as the opportunity to use one’s ability. A sense of challenge and achievement, receiving appreciation, positive recognition, and being treated in a caring and considerate manner.

Psychological rewards are those that can usually be determined by the actions and behavior of the individual managers (Forson, 2012, p. 37).

Intrinsic motivation takes place when individuals feel that their work is important, interesting and challenging and that it provides them with a reasonable degree of autonomy (freedom to act), opportunities to achieve and advance, and scope to use and develop their skills and abilities. It can be described as motivation by work itself. It is not created by external incentives (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014, p. 204)

Motivation and Job Satisfaction

Over the years, employee satisfaction has been a key area of research among industrial and organizational psychologists. There are important reasons why companies should be concerned with employee job satisfaction, which can be classified according to the focus on the employee or organization. Some people like to work and they find working an important part of their lives. Some people on the other hand find work unpleasant and work only because they have to. Job satisfaction tells how much people like their jobs. In the worker’s point of view it is obvious that people like to be treated fairly. If workers feel respected and satisfied at work, it could be a reflection of good treatment. Satisfied employees are a precondition for increasing productivity, responsiveness, quality, and customer service (Salanova & Kirmanen, 2010). Job satisfaction can be defined as the attitude and feelings people have about their work. Positive and favorable attitudes towards the job indicate job satisfaction. Negative and unfavorable attitudes towards the job indicate job dissatisfaction (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014, p. 211).

Effects of Motivation on Performance

The performance of employees will make or break a company; this is why it is important to find a variety of methods of motivating employees. Motivation is the willingness to do something; it is conditioned by this actions ability to satisfy some need for the individual. The most obvious form of motivation for an employee is money; however, there are other motivating factors that must be considered. Every employee within a company is different and, therefore, is motivated to perform well for different reasons. Due to the differences within an organization, it is important for a manager to get to know her employees and understand what motivates their performance. If you’re going to be successful in motivating people, you have to begin by accepting and trying to understand individual differences (Forson, 2012, p. 41). Ganta (2014) states that’s there is an old saying “you can take a horse to water, but you can not make it drink”; it will only drink only if it is thirsty, so with people. They will do what they want to do or otherwise motivated to do. Are they born with the self-motivation or drive? Yes and no. If no, they can be motivated, for motivation is a skill which can and must be learnt. This is essential for any business to survive and succeed. Performance is considered to be a function of ability and motivation, thus:

Job performance = f(ability)(motivation)

Ability in turn depends on education, experience and training and its improvement is a slow and long process. On the other hand, motivation can be improved quickly (Ganta, 2014). It is a commonly held and not unreasonable belief that an increase in job satisfaction results in improved performance.

This research is based on the belief that productivity could be increased by making workers more satisfied, primarily through pleasant and supportive supervision and by meeting their social needs (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014, p. 214).

Previous Studies

The research by Akah Ndang William on employee motivation and performance case study of Ultimate Companion Limited concluded that people have different needs, and these needs make them to behave in different ways. As an employee the salaries will form the bond that will keep them closer with the company. When this need is achieved, it will trigger another dimension of thinking to realize their achievement. From the findings and psychological state of the employee has a major influence on their motivation. Within this category are collaborations with other employees and frequent meetings. These attributes create a friendly working environment which gives to higher motivation to work (William, 2010, p. 61). Studies conducted by (Forson, 2012) at GT Bank found that money is the most important motivator for employee performance, but it is important for companies to find other ways to motivate. This involves getting to know their employees and what drives them, then making sure managers utilize appropriate motivational techniques with each employee. When appropriate motivation techniques are used, employee performance will improve.

METHODOLOGY

Research Design

The study employed a mixed approach of both qualitative and quantitative methods to gather information and analyze data. Data was collected using both Primary and secondary. Data was collected using. Questionnaires which enabled the researcher to be consistent in asking questions and the data was easy to analyze.   Both open-ended and closed questions were designed for this purpose.  Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 22. The target population of 200 respondents was earmarked for this research, which constituted of lectures, professors, administrative officers and supporting staff from the selected private Universities in Lusaka.  Permission to conduct the study was obtained beforehand.  A sample size of 143 respondents was used in this research which included professors, top Admin staff, lecturers and supporting staff members of the selected private universities.  The Sampling selection used was both simple random sampling and purposive sampling techniques to select the respondents. The random sampling was used to select the private Universities in Lusaka and it gave an equal chance for these Universities to be chosen as a sample. On the other hand, purposive sampling was used to appropriate for selecting employees in these Universities because they provided a rightful response relevant to this study.

DISCUSSIONS OF FINDINGS

The study sought to identify an Analysis of the impact of motivation on employee performance at some selected Private Universities in Lusaka district under study.  These being Cavendish, Luitebm and Zambia open universities.  The findings are based on the following objectives.

Objective One:  Analysis of the impact of motivation on employee performance at some selected private universities under study.

Based on the research findings, most respondents felt that absenteeism and employee turnover affect motivation on employee performance.  Absenteeism is a very bad vice that slows productivity and organization’s inefficiency. Employees care less about their jobs; they feel withdrawn and have an “I don’t care” type of attitude towards the organization and their work.  Both absenteeism and employee turnover are a detriment to the organization as it breeds low productivity and ineffectiveness.   Absenteeism results from job dissatisfaction emanating from other factors such as stressful work situations. (Anderson, 2004)

The study also revealed the positive side of motivation on employee performance.  These include increased performance, teamwork, and forms of allowances.   Appreciation of work well done also impacts motivation on employee performance.  This is achieved through giving employees more feedback on their tasks, recognizing their efforts towards work, rewards, and promotion of employees.  Money alone cannot motivate employees (Hughes 2003) Good wages, personal loyalty adds to what influences motivation on employee performance.  When employs are motivated, there’s high productivity that is achieved and the growth of the organization. Motivating employees through loyalty can be achieved by sharing information and celebrating success which gives employees a sense of ownership.  This can also improve the relationship among staff and management. Other factors that impact motivation on employees is the accessibility to incentives, opportunities for growth, job security, friendly environment, training, and teamwork spirit among others.

Objective Two:  Investigate the major causes of lack of motivation among employees at the selected Private Universities in Lusaka District under study .

The study findings revealed that most employees lack motivation due to too much workload.  Employees do not know how to plan their daily tasks, and this drains their energy.  This was particularly so, among the junior employees.  Another source of concern for the lack of motivation among employees is that most employees lack confidence in themselves.  Tasks are not completed on time as they doubt their capabilities, lack commitment, and have a bad attitude towards their tasks.  Recognition for work well done is only focused on the same employees year in year out.  This demotivates other employees that have never received any recognition for work well done despite putting in more effort towards their work.  Other findings point to unrealistic workload, short term goals with no career progression, conflict in workplace and poor leadership as factors that causes lack of motivations among employees at the universities under study.

Objective Three:  Effectiveness of policy on motivation on employee performance in the selected Private Universities in Lusaka District.

Motivation policy can be understood as a system of thoroughly defined and agreed priorities, principles and rules, the purpose of which is to contribute systematically to the improvement of motivational atmosphere within the Organization and strengthen the motivation of individuals, group, and entire Organization.  Enacting motivation policy in Organization is very important as it steers up employees to do more and be more committed towards their tasks. Policy on motivation will empower employees and guides employees on the dos and don’ts with regards to motivation.  Motivation policies helps employees to make informed decision more efficiently and creates confidence on how to carry out tasks.  Policies also protects staff from acting in a manner that might endanger their employment. Motivational policies that involve compensation are drafted with the accounting team to determine the compensation schedule the company can afford.  Some respondents indicated that the policy on motivation was incorporated in the employment manual while others indicated that they have never come across any motivational policies.

Objective Four:  Relationship between motivational factors and improved employee performance in the selected private universities under study.

Employees that are motivated are highly needed in rapidly changing workplaces and they help institutions to survive and increase productivity.  It is a fact that there is a relationship between motivational factors and improved employee performance.   Motivation is expected to have a positive effect on quality employee performance and can increase organization productivity by varying inputs needed to attain their expected outputs.

(i)        Job Security and employee performance – investigations have shown that there is a positive relationship between job security as a motivational factor and employee performance (Gabris & Simo, 1995).  The lack of job security will contribute to the higher employee turnover.  Job security gives employees a sense of belonging and ownership hence the extra efforts towards their tasks.  Respondents that have their job secured showed higher performance to the institution. They are happy knowing that their job is secure and they are able to plan ahead.

(ii)       Promotion and employee performance – Opportunities for promotion contributes to employee job satisfaction thereby increase job performance.  (Herzberg 1986) Promotion and training have been found to be the most motivation factors for employees.  Promotion increased employee performance.  Respondents that have been recently promoted dedicated their time towards the job hence increasing employee performance.

(iii)      Payment and employee performance – Employees that are well paid will be motivated to do more hence increase their performance. In this scenario, money is the greatest motivating factor that increases employee performance.

Motivational factors have an influential function on performance as all organizations opt to increase productivity and growth.   Therefore, there is a significant relationship between motivational factors and employee performance.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Regarding the first study objective that sought to analyze the impact of motivation on employee performance on selected private universities in Lusaka district, the findings from the study concludes that there are many factors that impacts motivation on employee performance.  This can be either positive or negative impact. These factors include job security, communication processes, salary, company policy and promotion among others. Payment incentives or commissions payment is another high motivator for employee performance.  Money is the greatest motivator, but this does not mean that it’s the only motivator. It was however noted that a high number of employees that are well paid are highly motivated.

Motivation can increase or decrease performance depending on the type of motivation used.  If the form of motivation used meets the needs of employees their performance will increase.  While on the other hand, if the wrong form of motivation is used, it will demotivate employees and decrease performance.  It was found that high employee turnover and high absenteeism leads to decreased employee performance while performance is increased when employees have high moral, are committed to work, have great communication and can express themselves better with management.  Reduced absenteeism and reduced employee turnover increased employee performance in the selected private universities in Lusaka District.  The selected private universities benefited greatly from the increased employee performance as more is achieved including efficiency.   The case study also discovered that the process of motivating employees is a challenging process, as the selected private universities did not know the right time for motivating the members of staff.  Deciding on the best form of motivation has also been a challenge.

In conclusion, employees that are motivated achieved personal goals, have great employee performance, are satisfied with the job, and showed a lot of zeal to succeed.

Findings on the research study, based on the objective of examining the effectiveness of the policy on motivation of employees in the selected private universities in Lusaka District, concludes that the policy on motivation is not well managed.  Policy on motivation should be an effective tool, but from the findings, the policies are not well managed and there is too much bureaucracy with the procedures. It’s not easy to implement the motivation policies in the selected private universities. Some employees do not even know which type of policies exit.  Regarding the third study objective which sought to determine whether there is a relationship between motivational factors and improved performance in the selected private universities in Lusaka district, the study concludes that Motivation and employee performance are positively related to each other.  Motivation factors such as job security, promotion, training, friendly working environment, salary and recognition for work well done has a positive effect on the quality employee performance.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on this study, the researcher makes the following recommendations:

• The government of the Republic of Zambia should get involved in the requirements of employees as far as motivation is concerned. Amendments of the labor laws must be considered.
• Organizations must have regular inhouse training or workshops for all staff members to improve on communication skills, and effectively manage employees. People management skills must be introduced to managers.
• Basic motivational requirements to employees should be introduced in learning institutions, regardless of the course being pursued.
• It is also recommended that stakeholder meet halfway in making sure that there’s a great balance between employee’s needs and organizational needs.
• Motivation if implemented rightly, has a positive impact on employee performance.
• Unrealistic workloads must to be broken down into manageable sections and the to do list planned daily.
• Universities, just like any other organization should see to it that policies on motivation are well managed and communicated to all employees.
• Armstrong, M., & Taylor, S. (2014). Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. London: Ashford Color Press Ltd.
• Albrecht, S. L., Bakker, A. B., Gruman, J. A., Macey, W. H., & Saks, A. M. (2015). Employee engagement, human resource management practices and competitive advantage: An integrated approach. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance.
• Forson, J. E. (2012). Impact of Motivation on the Productivity of Employees at GTBank Ghana. Lagos: Kwame Nkrumah University.
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• Salanova, A., & Kirmanen, S. (2010). Employee Satisfaction and Work Motivation: Research in Prisma Mikkeli. Mikkeli: Mikkeli University.
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• William, A. N. (2010). Employee Motivation and Performance; Ultimate Companion Limited. Douala- Cameroon: Mikkeli University of Applied Sciences.

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