Motivation In The Ministry Of Business: Exploring Factors For High Performance In Public Sector

Discuss about the Motivation in the Ministry of Business.

Motivation refers to the inner drive, which influences the behavior of a person concerning achievement of set goals. Numerous researchers have studied the role motivation plays in the success of the company. They have verified that corporations that have a high level of motivation tend to perform better than firmswhose workers have a low motivational level. The human resource management plays a key role in boosting the motivational levels in the organization, which results in improved performance and productivity. The low-performancedegree in the public sector is a growing concern since themajority of the staff members remain unmotivated (Buelens, 2007, p67). Motivation is necessary in the public sector organizations since it would act as a major role in enhancing the productivity and efficiency of the entire organization.

The level of morale of public sector employees in Guyana is considerably low. Thus, themajority of the staff members are unable to meet the needs of the consumers to satisfacton. This contributes to the inability of the public firms to achieve the set goals and objectives. Motivation is, therefore,essential for the accomplishment of tasks and objectives. It plays a central role in the performance of organizations in the public sector. It offers a means of improving performance without any necessary monitoring or pushing of the involved individuals to meet the set objectives and goals. As a result, it is an efficient means of improving output without any wastage of resources or workforce.

The goal of organizations is to deliver services that meet the demand of the clients. The understanding of the concept of motivation is central to the meeting of these set goals. As such, through the application of the methods and strategies of motivation, the employees can be oriented towards aligning their objectives with those of the organization. The motivation is particularly essential for organizations in the public sector where service delivery involves multitudes of interactions between customer care and the clients. The motivation of these employees in the public sector will boost the organization’s efficiency and output while increasing customer satisfaction. The management should, therefore, embrace strategies of improving the motivational level of the employees in the public sector so that they can enhance their level of competition.

What are factors lead to high performance in public sector, case in point, Ministry of Business, Guyana.

1. To explore the concept of motivation in the public sector.

Research Questions and Objectives

2. To identify any faults or weaknesses and strengths in the current motivation methods used in the public sector.

3. To provide modifications for mitigating the weaknesses while enhancing the strengths of the current methods of motivation.

4. To investigate the applicability of the common motivational theories and the accompanying approaches in the public sector.

5. To assess the associated impact of theapplication of the different theories and methodologies as a motivational method.

According to Dur and Zoutenbier (2014, p1), the rate of employee laziness in the public sector is very high. Although most of the employees in the public sector are altruistic in nature, their level of laziness increases as they gain more experience at their jobs. The methods of motivation used in the public sector are therefore treated differently. Buelens (2007, p65) supports this view by pointing out that employees in the public sector are more focused on serving others.

However, Burton (2012, p25) contrasts the views of the two writers by stating that regardless of the sector that employees work, they all need motivation which may vary depending on the personal preferences of the employees. The manager of organizations in the public sectors should, therefore, work to ensure that they identify the motivators of their employees so asto keep them motivated in order to realise productivity. The method of motivation, therefore, varies depending on the personal traits of the employees but not the type of the firm. O’Riordan (2013, p11) supports Burton’s ideologyby pointing out that people in the same field are often motivated by the same factors regardless of whether they serve in the public sector or not. She further points out that the difference between employees in the public sectors is thatthey are focused on the wellbeing of every member of the public while those in the other sector are focused on the well-being of the individuals they serve. 

Controversy exists as to whether employees in the public sector should be motivated through monetary or non-monetary methods. Non-financial motivational methods involve the recognition, job security, job description, self-esteem, and self-actualization. They fall under both the intrinsic and extrinsic motivational methods. Intrinsic motivation applies where employees pushing themselves to give their best at work so as to get satisfied with their jobs for their ability to complete assigned tasks as expected. Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, involves employees being pushed by the leaders at the place of work. The financial motivational methods mainly lie under the extrinsic type since it involves salary increase and monetary incentives.

Key Debates on Motivation in the Public Sector

According to Dur and Zoutenbier (2014, p16), intrinsic motivational methods are the most effective methods in the public sector. The writers support their argument by pointing out that the employees in the public sector are altruists. They, therefore, do not require to be given incentives such as monetary rewards to motivate them. Being given an opportunity to serve the public more is important to them than receiving incentives. They, however, contradict their point of view by stating that the employees in the public sector are lazy. They, therefore, have to be pushed around to complete assigned tasks.

O’Riordan (2013, p11) on the other hand holds a different outlook regarding the subject. She states that the persons that prefer working in the public sector do so because of the advantages its offers. These include factors such as job permanence, pensions and the belief that public sector jobs are easy to balance than when engaged in other jobs. Thus, the public sector employees are motivated through extrinsic methods. Other researchers such as Burton (2012, p25) argue that both intrinsic and extrinsic methods could be used in the public sector depending on the interests and personal traits of the individuals. Persons that are interested in incentives should be motivated through theuse of extrinsic motivation. Those that seek job satisfaction should, however,be motivated through intrinsic motivational strategies.

Different motivational theories have been developed over the years to guide managers on how to motivate employees in the public sector. The theories can be clustered into three categories namely: need theories, cognitive theories and public service motivation (Karic, 2014, p25). The categories differ on their focus in motivating employees.

Need theories are motivational theories that focus on identifying the needs of the employees and seeking to satisfy them with the aim of motivating them. One of the need theories is Maslow’s Hierarchy Theory. In this theory, employees’ needs are grouped into stages or levels. The management in all sectors has to identify the level that their employees are in so that they can strategize to motivate them to work hard through meeting their needs (Karic, 2014, p26).

Need theories further include McGregor’s Theory X and Y. These are two theories that hold contradicting information regarding employees’ needs. They are both based on assumptions. Theory X argues that everyone be lazy and prefers not to work. Thus, they only work to gain money. Managers in public service, therefore, should motivate employees by giving them incentives. Managers that believe employees are motivated by the success of their work should, however, use Theory Y. In this case, the managers should motivate their employees through acts such as giving them more responsibilities (Karic, 2014, p27).

Motivational Theories

Cognitive theories, on the other hand, identify the behavioral processes that are used to determine the appropriate motivational method. One of the cognitive theories is Vroom VIE Theory. It divides thebehavioral process into three categories namely: valence, expectancy, and instrumentality. His theory determines the appropriate motivation strategy by assessing the expectations of the employees, their needs and the difference of rewards for different performances (Karic, 2014, p29).

Goal Setting Theory is also another cognitive theory. The goals of an organization should be clear, difficult but achievable (Karic, 2014, p30). Consequently, it helps motivate employees to work hard towards the goals. This is unlike situations where the employees are told to give their best. Such instructions cause employees to relax and thereby low-level output. The theory further recommends the managers to include employees in the goal-setting process. As such, it initiates employees to make theirown goals and thereby willingly participate in their fulfillment.

The Public Service Motivation Theory, in contrast, focuses on public sector employees only. This theory claims that employees in the public sector are different from those in other sectors (Rynes, Colbert and Brown,2002, p149–174) it also futher explains that efforts to manage the employee behavior around government departments or the public sector by focusing on the financial aspect may not have the positive desired outcome and could result in rather a negative impact. The motivational strategies for employees in the public sector is therefore different depending on the area that an individual works. The theory states that public sector employees are motivated through intrinsic methods as opposed to the extrinsic methods (Karic, 2014, p31).

The literature acts as a foundation for development of both the hypothesis and the conceptual framework. Through the research, one can investigate the hypothetical propositions; hence determine their relevance in a real world situation.

1. The motivational level among the employees in the public sector is lower than 50%

2. The introduction of monetary motivators to the employees would raise the motivation level, and thus the performance and productivity level.

3. The introduction of non-financial motivators to the employees would raise the motivation level, and thus the performance and productivity level.

4. Non-monetary incentives tend to yield higher results than the financial rewards and benefits.

Philosphy of Research

The research process refers to the systematic, empirical, and controlled investigation of propositions about an assumed relationship between phenomena (Walter & Andersen, 2013, p45). This research targets at evaluation of the relationship between the motivational levels of staff members in the public sector and the monetary and non-monetary motivation factors.The research methodology will focus on thecollection of quantitative data, which will aid in theevaluation of the set hypothesis.The verified concepts can then be applied by managers in the public sectors for improving performance and productivity through raising the level of employee motivation. During the research, the independent variable will be the level of motivation. Thus, after identification of the present level of motivation, there will be anassessment of the impact of the dependent variables on the motivation of employees. The dependent variables will be monetary motivators and non-monetary motivators. The monetary motivators under consideration will be incentives and salary rise while the non-monetary motivators will include supervision, recognition, self-actualization, responsibilities, job design, and job security.

Data Analysis

The population under study is the organizations that fall under the ministry of business public sector. Due to thelimitation of time and funds, the research will only involve a representative sample. To eliminate biases, both stratified and random sampling will be employed in the selection of five organizations. Stratified sampling will ensure that the selected organizationsare not located within the same region. Thus, one organization will be randomly chosen within the ministry of business. However, since the Ministry of Business is large, two organizations will be randomly selected from each district. For each selected organization, the target respondents will be 15. The management will be instructed randomly to choose one high-level manager, two middle-level managers, three supervisors, and nine workers to participate in the data collection process.

Data will be collected through administration of questionnaires to the selected sample. The questions will be structured and close-ended. There will be theelimination of open-ended questions to eliminate ambiguity due to instances of answering out of context. The questions will entail rating the variables with 1, 3 or 5, where one will refer to the lowest source of amotivator, 3 will refer to the moderate motivator, while 5 will refer to the primary sources of motivation. The respondents will also have to rate the level of employee motivation between 1 to 5, where 1 is the lowest level while five will be the highest. Evidently, there will be minimal writing since the resource person will be expected to mark the given choices. The questions will target at thecollection of data that focuses on the identified variables. A collection of personal data, such as the name of therespondent, age, salary, and gender orientation will be irrelevant for this study.

From the listed organizations in the ministry of business public sector, five organizations will be selected at random. An email and a phone call will be placed to the manager of the organization to ask for the interest and time to participate in the research. After receiving the approval and confirmation, the questionnaires and instructions on how to administer them will be sent to the organization through the Email. The time each organization will be given to send the data will be one week since itwill aid in the determination of the number of respondents, and analysis based on the response rate. For organizations that turn down the request, they will be replaced with others, which will be willing. After the data is collected, it will be tabulated for easier analysis. The instrument to be used will be SPSS since it helps in grouping data with specified characteristics. For every organization, there will be acalculationof the ratings of the various motivators. For example, if 9 out of 15 stated rated pay rise as 5, then the analysis would reflect that 60% of the members of the organization claim that it is a primary source of motivation. By the use of Pearson correlation, there will be anevaluation of the various dependent variables on the motivation level. Consequently, there will either be validation or nullification of the set hypothesis.

To ensure validity, the research work will use a research method and data analysis strategies that have been tested and approved. Numerous credited research works have incorporated these methods. Moreover, the administered questions will be short and precise.As such, it will eliminate instances of persons developing different perspectives from those intended.To increase the reliability level, there will be communication of the objectives of the study to the participants. This will promote the level of issuing accurate and precise data. Thus, there will be reduced theerror of operation. Also, elimination of bias will aid in increasing the level of reliability. Moreover, reducing the level of writing in the questionnaires through issuing close-ended questions will reduce the probability of collecting erroneous data due to incomprehensible handwriting.

From data gathered, the results issued will generalize the topic of the motivation level and factors that would help increase the employee motivation in the ministry of business public sector. The generalization will be precise since the sample selected will be free from bias. This is because the sampling process, which entails both stratification and random selection, eliminate biases that may arise from location or size of the firm (Walter & Andersen, 2013, p78). The stratified selection also ensures that the organization is not only selected from all regions, but also takes into deliberation the size of the four countries in the ministry of business. Although either of the districts, may not be chosen for the research, the results of the study will be applicable to the whole of ministry of business since the persons tend to exhibit similar traits in the workplace.Managers of various organizations within the public sector in various parts of the world can apply the results in their respective organizations to raise the level of motivation, hence increased performance and productivity.

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