THE IMPACT OF MOTIVATION ON EMPLOYEE’S ATTITUDE

CHAPTER ONE

1.0       INTRODUCTION

1.1       BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

            Although there is a general agreement among psychologist that man experience a variety of needs, there is considerable disagreement as to what these needs are and their relative importance. There have been a number of attempts to present models of motivation which list a specific number of motivation needs, with the implication that these list are all-inclusive and represent the total picture of needs.

Unfortunately, each of these models has weaknesses and lapses, and we are still without a general theory of motivation. All organizations are concerned with what should be done to achieve sustainable high levels of performance through people. Consequently, the subject of adequate motivation of workers as derived from so many attempts made by management practitioners is to look for the best way to manage so as to accomplish an objective or mission with the least inputs of materials and human resources available.

A lot of theoretical concept, principles and techniques of management have provided responses to these challenges. In general management, authors have intended to view motivation as a key component of the managerial function of leading or directing. In any serious and competitive society workers are one of the tools for economic progress in which their welfare must be taken into serious consideration because without a dedicated workforce, an organization crumbles.

The term “work attitude” refers to effective orientation on the part of individuals towards work roles, which perform in their respective work places. Work attitude could also be referred to as the way an individual feels about his/her work and organization as an entity. It is either the job is pleasant, good and satisfying or the job is unpleasant and brings no satisfaction.

In a moral sense, attitudes are characteristic and usually a long lasting way of feeling and thinking. Infact, behaviour of an individual is a reflection of his or her attitude towards a given object.

In an organization, employees develop a favourable or positive work attitude when their desires are fulfilled. They equally develop an unfavourable or negative work attitude whenever their desire are not fulfilled. Such situation which includes poor job performance, hostility, non-chalant attitude in work situation, lack of commitment, inefficiency, strike and other unpleasant behaviors constitute reasons for developing negative attitude towards their jobs.

The nation (Nigeria) reward system is probably the poorest in the entire globe were an average take home of worker is put at $35 per month. Workers are used and abused, harassed, threatened, offended and discarded without any appreciation for their contribution to their organization and to the society at large.

If workers are discontented or dissatisfied with their job, this would cause an overall decline in their effectiveness as workers, which will lead to low productivity and ineffectiveness of the organization. It is therefore apparent that the issue of adequate motivation of workers has relevance in managerial function and activities that are aimed at directing the productive effort of the workforce towards achieving organizational goals.

How can we create situation in which employees can satisfy their individual needs while at the same time working towards the goals of the organization? Various kinds of devices have been adopted to answer this question and make people work hard, but they do not seem to be very satisfactory unless forms of motivation are afforded as well.

According to Nwachukwu (1988) motivation is those energizing forces that induce or compel and maintain behaviour. Also, Appleby (1994) defined motivation as an urge aspiration, drivers and need which human being direct or control to explain their behaviour. Motivation is an internal psychological process whose presence or absence is inferred from observed performances. Motivation involves a three stage cycle consisting of need(s), a drive and goal.

Furthermore, it is impossible to understand motivation considering what people or workers want and expect from their job. This is because people view work differently and this is reflected in their job satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Therefore, management can achieve its goals by motivating people to work for achievement of organization objectives.

Motivation is a complex motion that manifest itself in different ways in different people. Whether satisfaction is high or low depends on a number of persons’ needs and wants through work, working conditions, the extend to which an individual defend himself through work (such as pay, supervision and benefits) or to the work itself. The importance of motivation on employee’s attitude to work serves as an inducement to arouse researchers’ interest in the study. 

1.2       STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The management of most organizations have often emphasized on motivation as the main determinant of employer’s work attitude. For example, why do people behave the way they do in work situation? What do employees want in tier work? What gives job satisfaction? What induce workers to give their best? Question such as these are concerned with the motivation of people at work and this has for long fascinated researcher today, they are pressing concerns of managers. It is against this background that this study is set out to assess the impact of motivation on employees’ work attitude.

1.3       PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

            It is true that numerous factors account for employees’ work attitude. It is however not enough for intending managers to know these factors, it is also necessary to actually understand the relationship between these factors as they influence employees’ work attitude.

The specific objective to this includes;

To examine the impact of motivation on employees attitude to work;

To provide an insight into the causal factors responsible for differences in employees work behaviour and performance in organization;

To determine how these factors actually influence or shape work attitudes;

To determine the relationship between motivation and high productivity or performance;

To suggest measures for achieving positive attitude to work among employees in an organization.