MOTIVATION AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IN AKWA IBOM CIVIL SERVICE

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MOTIVATION AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IN AKWA IBOM CIVIL SERVICE

ABSTRACT

This study examined motivation and employee performance in the civil service using Akwa Ibom State civil service as case study. As specific objectives, the study examined the relationship between employee performance and pay reward, employee recognition, conducive work environment and staff development. As a survey design, an item structured instrument developed by the researcher to reflect such  options as strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree popularly referred to as the modified  four(4) points Likert Scale, was used to elicit information from the   respondents. 109 respondents were selected from the ministry of Internal Revenue Civil Service Board in Uyo. Data collected were presented in tables of frequencies and simple percentages. Pearson Product Moment Correlation coefficient and student’s t – test were used to test the four hypotheses that guided the study.  Findings from the study shows that pay reward and some non-financial rewards of employee recognition, conducive work environment and staff development are positively and significantly related to employee performance in civil service. The study recommended among others that the government at all levels should endeavor to provide  employees with adequate pay incentives to facilitate the achievement of desired high level productivity in the  service as obtains in the private sector of the economy

CHAPTER ONE

Introduction

1.1       Background to the study

Organizations are set up to achieve some set goals. In order to achieve these goals and objectives, the human factor is of utmost importance. Thus, the human factor through the leadership or management mobilizes and utilizes all other factors such as performance appraisals, employee motivation, employee satisfaction, compensation, training and development, job security, organizational structure and others, to bring about desired performance of the organization. But the area of this study will be focused on employee motivation as a factor that can enhance employee performance. This is because no organization can hope to achieve high level of performance without a well-motivated workforce. It is generally believed that when employees are adequately motivated, they tend to work better. In contrast, when they are inadequately motivated, their performance tends to be impaired (Ejere, 2010).    This explains why scholars have spent considerable time and resources in research, in an attempt to discover the secrets or techniques of motivating employees for optimum performance.

However, lack of motivation among employees in an organization contributes for the failure in the accomplishment of desired goals and objectives. In order to avert these failures experienced by most organizations, employee motivation is an absolute necessity and the manager’s realization of the type of motivation that will enhance the employees to perform their jobs optimally will lead to the achievement of a high level of advancement of the organization. Therefore, the total organisational performance depends on efficient and effective performance of individual employees of the organisation. It is important to note though, that different employees in different organisations are motivated differently with various type of motivation (which could be intrinsic or extrinsic) by leaders, managers or administrators who inspire them to act in different ways towards job performance in the organisation.

Motivation is simply that set of processes that arouse, direct and maintain human behaviour towards some goals (Greenberg and Baron, 2003); while employee performance shows individual behaviours that contribute to achieve organisational objectives. A number of studies that have examined the relationship between employee motivation and performance indicate that there is a relationship that exists between the two (Nelson and Quick, 2003; Ololube, 2006; Abejirinde, 2009; Baibata, 2010; and Sharma and Chaudhary, 2012). The most obvious incentive for increasing employee performance is often thought to be based on salary and promotions, classified as extrinsic motivation and has yielded contrary result as demonstrated by myriad of studies. On the other hand, in today’s demanding workplace there is a shift from extrinsic motivation to intrinsic motivation. This comes in form of employees engaging in activities based on the satisfaction they will derive, a sense of achievement, the work itself and not necessarily the rewards, which could be external or financial in nature or fear of being sanctioned (Cole 1996; Drucker, 2002; and Olusola, 2011).

Employee reward can either be financial or non-financial or both. What is important is that an employee is adequately compensated for his efforts and such practice actually induces him for greater performance (Gunu,  2005). However, reward that motivates employees may not be the same for everybody. In fact, Fery (1997)  argues that once pay exceeds a subsistence level, intrinsic factors are stronger motivators and staff motivation  requires intrinsic rewards such as satisfaction at doing a good job and sense of doing something worthwhile.  There are mixed findings in the literature to determine which type of reward is more effective in increasing employees’ performance. According to Perry (2006), financial rewards is not the most motivating factors as it  sometimes show some de-motivating effects among high level employees. 

On the other hand, although Perry (2006) found that financial reward is not the most motivating factor and that financial incentives have de-motivating effect among employees, Lotta (2012) insists that financial incentives are indeed very effective in motivating employee. Also, Ojokuku and Sajuyigbe (2009) lent their own support to the finding when they found in their own study that financial incentives (pay satisfaction dimensions) have significant effect on employee’s performance. However, good as these findings appear, it is important to note that in applying financial and non-financial rewards to workers, effective manager must as a matter of necessity realize that different motivators are appropriate for different staff and that different staff will demonstrate differing inherent levels of motivation in setting their own targets and striving to achieve them (Kida, Mahmud  and Nuhu, 2015). 

1.2       Statement of the Problem

The inefficiency and low output that characterizes civil service in Nigeria has occupied public discourse for more than two decades now. It must be noted, however, that civil servants face a lot of difficulties in the discharge of their duties in Nigeria (Ejumudo, 2014). Also, Behn (2003) notes that problems of civil servants in Nigeria ranges from poor and  irregular pay to lack of rewards to motivate them and enhance their performance. Hence, this study seeks to investigate this claim and provide measures for job motivation and satisfaction towards optimum employee performance in Akwa Ibom State civil service.

MOTIVATION AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IN AKWA IBOM CIVIL SERVICE

MOTIVATION AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IN AKWA IBOM CIVIL SERVICE