FACTORS THAT MOTIVATE PEOPLE FOR BETTER PERFORMANCE

After establishing the fact that it is necessary and in fact a priority function of all enterprises to motivate staff, a task that behavioural scientist have engaged in since 1990, attention has been geared towards the various factors that would motivate people to better performance (Lawler and Suttle (1972). Machungiva (1981) on his study on work motivation using 341 respondents in two different organizations and five different occupational groups have the content analysis yielding some major set of items to be motivational items;
1.        Items dealing with the nature of the work.
2.        Growth and advancement opportunity e.g. promotion, proper placement.
3.        Material and physical provision elements.
Smithy (1977) investigated the economic basis of human motivation. He believed that people worked primarily for money, and they are unconcerned about social feeling and are motivated to do only that which provides them with the greatest reward. Incentives are often given in the form of money as pay, increased earning, bonuses and other allowances. The concept of the economic native of workers is also made popular by Taylor (1956) in his model; he made many assumptions  such as;
1.      Workers are motivated primarily by money.
2.      They are inherently shiftless and lazy. They will respond only when bribed by financial rewards.
            As a corrective approach, barker (1966) emphasized that those innovations like financial rewards, use of new tools e.t.c, did not always achieve visualized target which led to the belief that money was not everything to workers. He further said that in order to get the desired productive behaviour from staff, incentive, other than wages can be used. He stressed that when employees are in the limelight they felt important and felt a sense of belonging to   the   organization   where   their   opinions   proposed   useful   motivational contingencies. He observed that workers would respond better if the following conditions were present.
1.       A network of supportive relations
2.        A high task involvement.
3.       A generous flow of mutual confidence and trust.
            He stressed that in cases where the foregoing were present worker responded and performed better than when they were motivated with money. Onyejiaku (1977) rightly observed in his study on motivational factors for better performance the following:
1.      Job status and salary, that is pay opportunities of getting more pay prestige from the job.
2.      The intrinsic nature of the job referred to specific task elements.
3.      Involvement in the goal enterprises.
            According to Ojo (1979), the best way to retain qualified workers and make them more effective in the performance of their work function should be to motivate them through a harmonization of the conditions of service, through fringe benefits, in-service training and promotion.
            Ukeje (1978) blamed the problem associated with job satisfaction among teachers as shortage of teaching materials, class accommodation and general welfare. He added that the above problems contributed immensely to teachers' poor performance in the classroom. Osuala (1984) noted that fringe benefits are made available to workers in order to increase their productivity and provide more job security. Ross (1988) found that motivational factors like; high salary adequate instructional materials promoted high productivity. She observed that before a business education teacher can be interested in teaching, especially in the acquisition of skills he must be provided with the above, facilities to make demonstrations easier. Luther (1981) suggested a number of motivational factors such as; working out comprehensive job description, training workers to communicate effectively and encouraging the workers to play their roles in the absence of seniors. He emphasized that fringe benefits, such as car basic allowance, building loans, medical services for self and family will enhance job satisfaction and high productivity of the Nigeria workers. However, he conducted that motivational factors cannot be traced to one fixed factor because
it varies from one worker to another.
            Ndu (1979) further observed that the greatest motivational force on an individual work behaviour comes within him in the form of desires and needs. Ndu suggested job enrichment as a method of motivating teachers. Through challenging units of work whose end products can easily be assessed by the teacher in terms of his performance and good feedback system. Also she noted that adequate freedom and authority, accountabilities though general supervision and task assignment on the basis of expertise while at the same time encouraging initiative and involvement or commitment to study may induce an enhance personal growth and advancement through adequate reward systems. System reward and individual rewards though she preferred system rewards which are good morale boosters and bind people in good organization which they fund attractive while individual rewards are however more directly related to productivity and equity so as to compensate the individual.
            Finally, participation as a motivational factor is becoming increasingly powerful. People are perhaps greatly motivated when they are consulted on actions affecting them and by taking decisions on task that they would be performing. Participation creates room for more recognition and acceptance.
            This mode of motivation also treats each individual uniquely and can create portunities, recognize quality performance, encourage growth and sponsor individual expression in the manner required for producing the type of goal diverted behaviour necessary to build a stable and efficient organization. Young (1961).
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