6.2.1 Conclusions based on literature study
Employee motivation is a crucial factor in today’s organisations. Human capital is an important key element for a company’s success, because human capital provides an opportunity for a competitive advantage. In the end a company will be only successful on a long-term basis if it is able to inspire its employees and meet their emotional needs. Of course, to a certain extent individuals have to work to make a living and there might be always some employees who work to rule.
The following questions can be asked: are employees driven by remuneration and control (extrinsic motivation) or are they driven by internal factors such as job satisfaction and identification with common values (intrinsic motivation)? Furthermore, must management choose between the two approaches? (Frey & Osterloh, 2002).
Motivation and rewards: organisations use rewards to motivate their employees. Rewards are very often offered for the purpose of making people
do what does not happen naturally: for example, working long hours, neglecting interests and relationships or behaving in a manner meaningless to a person (Ryan & Deci, 2000). To forge this kind of behaviour, rewards are promised, requests made, objectives recommended, performance assessed, or feedback given. These interventions, communication, and encouragements are examples of extrinsic interferences that might be able to influence the intrinsic motivation that follows (Harackiewicz & Sansone, 2000). The extrinsic reward approach (extrinsic motivation) is successful on a short-term basis, but not on a long-term one because the individual would only complete the task in exchange for a reward (Thomas, 2009). This is an example of the crowding- out effect. In this context, intrinsic motivation must have been there from the outset, otherwise there would be nothing to undermine (Pink, 2009).
For this reason it turns out that the power of extrinsic rewards generates an even more serious and longer-lasting problem: by using arbitrary reward contingencies, intrinsic motivation could be destabilised, and the inherent tendencies which form the structural basis for the self-regulation of actions, could force individuals to act against their nature. Contingent rewards, which undermine self-regulatory tendencies, lead individuals to ignore their basic needs, and disturb attentiveness and choice, all to the disadvantage of healthy development (Ryan & Deci, 2000). According to Pink (2009) a successful strategy in connection with money and motivation is that employers should pay their employees so much that their needs are satisfied and that they are not interested in money anymore and then focus on intrinsic motivators.
In case people have adequate extrinsic (incentive) and intrinsic (interest) motives to perform in a certain way, they will neglect the intrinsic motivation and focus their behaviour on the extrinsic reward. Accordingly, when the extrinsic reward is taken away, the person loses the intrinsic reasons to participate in the behaviour (Sansone & Harackiewicz, 2000). Over years, research has discovered that a potential reward is not the only extrinsic limitation that can undermine intrinsic job motivation and in turn, a creative approach to work. A number of environmental factors can even result in a
decrease in intrinsic motivation. An estimated reward, an expected assessment, a limited choice, rivalry, surveillance, and time restrictions all have been known to reduce intrinsic interest and creativity (Hennessey, 2000).
Intrinsic motivation reveals an individual’s core aspiration for meeting internal needs, and it originates from emotions (Qayyum & Sukirno, 2012). According to Nica et al. (2011) recognition is recognized as the greatest global motivator. One of the biggest assets of any company are the employees who work there, for this reason there is a need to apply the new total motivational process. Organisations have chosen the one-dimensional reward for a long time (Pink, 2009). In order to attract, retain and motivate employees for now and in the future it is important to include intrinsic factors in their strategies. Loyal long- term employees offer knowledge, experience, and approaches, which are the reason for the success of the organisation.
Even though every employee can have an impact on the success of an organisation, managers have a key function, which is to motivate subordinates. However, the effectiveness of a manager will depend on his personality and, in particular, on his ability to motivate himself (Pouchová, 2011). Superiors should allow employees’ authority, promote decision making participation and support self-initiation (Stone et al., 2009). Osterloh and Frost (2002) claim that the management of intrinsic motivation has been neglected. Present management concepts have also failed to cover this matter. Instead they have concentrated on extrinsic financial remuneration systems and have indicated strongly that there is no connection between variable management pay and corporate performance. The manager’s regular feedback, praise and delegation of important tasks is encouraging for the worker, who feels valued by the company. Occasionally the relationship among team members can be more inspiring and motivating than a minor increase in pay (Ciorbagiu-Naon, 2010).
Pink (2009) recommends “now that” rewards instead of “if then” rewards for creative, right brain, exploratory tasks. These rewards should offer praise,
positive criticism, and helpful information. Consequently, if the empowerment and the recognition of employees in an organisation are improved, their motivation to work will increase as well (Manzoor, 2012).
The literature review aimed to provide an overview of past and current motivational research regarding extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. It was intended to help to integrate the research results in the actual discussion about motivation. In conclusion, intrinsic motivators become more and more important for the long-term success of companies.
6.2.2. Conclusions based on empirical study
In the empirical section good reliability and validity could be presented. Cronbach’s coefficient alphas for the overall study are all above 0.8, which indicates good reliability. The comparison between the Cronbach’s coefficient alpha from this research and the previous research shows similarities and only small differences. The overall Cronbach’s alpha varies by 0.01, the Cronbach’s alphas for extrinsic and intrinsic motivation vary each by 0.02. Consequently, it can be concluded that the results of the research are reliable and measured what they are intended to do. A pilot study, which was conducted in advance of the study, helped to test the instrument for the specific research context and to discover and eliminate possible flaws. The results were promising, and in agreement with her supervisor, the researcher proceeded with the study.
The researcher managed to achieve and sample a balanced distribution. Nationality and gender were spread in almost even parts. Regarding age the highest proportion of the participants was in the age groups between 30 and 39. The highest percentage of the sample in relation to income was also the highest income group, but the majority of the highest income group were Germans. The distribution of the sample was satisfying as it was equalised regarding the demographics and gave insights into the participants of the survey.
The frequency distribution reveals some insights about extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Unfortunately the factor analysis failed to produce consistent factors. The factors do not load in the way the researcher had grouped them. An exploratory factor analysis did not bring satisfying results as well, because the loading of these factors is too small as well. In general, the participants perceive the questions as rather positive and give mostly the answer “mostly” motivating. Differences between intrinsic and extrinsic motivators can be found, while intrinsic motivators are rated higher than extrinsic motivators. “Being successful in the job” is the most motivating topic. “Free utilities” and “retirement from the same organisation” are the least motivating.
Further differences in the following categories can be observed. According to this study, mastery, authority and purpose are main motivators. Purpose as a motivator receives the highest scores overall. Key extrinsic motivating categories are compensation and people. Procedures are rather perceived as hygiene factors, while quality of life, work itself and opportunities are important categories to consider for organisations in order to motivate their employees.
The more abstract or broader the topic becomes, the less motivating it is perceived to be by the participants of this research. While being successful in the job receives the highest motivation, the knowledge that a job is valuable is less motivating and the importance for the organisation even less. The process of motivation can be possibly seen as steps of a ladder: for example the first step would be to make decisions freely, after that to take over responsibility and lastly having complete authority.
The results reveal a higher motivation in intrinsic factors than in extrinsic factors for both countries, while South Africans are more highly motivated than German participants. In particular, the factors “mastery”, “opportunities”, “quality of life” and “compensation” stand out for South African participants. In addition, fewer differences between genders are discovered than between cultures. Regarding “age”, the results in intrinsic motivation show a stronger
correlation between the same age groups than between cultures. Finally, participants show a higher interest in intrinsic motivators than in extrinsic motivators independent of the income group.