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).