Chapter 1: Introduction

Describe about the Case Study of a Nigerian Bus Company?

1.1 Introduction

According to Dysvik and Kuvaas (2010) employee motivation is a way of directing the employees in the positive direction for the better productivity as well as better efficiency in the workplace. It is essential to provide motivation to the employees since, it helps them to build up their morals and dignity that further assist them to work productively. Fernandez and Pitts (2011) had an opinion that motivation of the employees is a key to improve the performance. This research proposal will be dealing with the improvement of employee motivation in ABC Transport Plc which is a Nigerian bus company.

This research proposal aims in improvement of the employee’s effectiveness and efficiency in their work. This can be done through positive motivation among the workforce. This proposal will be discussing the ways that the employees will be motivated for higher productivity in their work.

In this highly spirited service industry each and every company are working hard to retain the customers as well as provide maximum satisfaction to the customers. For that the employees need to be retained as they are the persons who are providing the customers the satisfaction with their services. The researcher will be doing a vivid explanation regarding the research aim that describes the necessity and requirement of employee motivation. Along with this, the ways of motivating the employees are also discussed for the ease of the reader.

ABC Transport Plc came into existence in 1993 that provides luxury bus services for road transportation. The company was so made in order to provide services to the travelers who are using this service as a substitute of air service. It operates both inside as well as outside Nigeria and the trademark of the company is Reindeer.

• To understand the necessity of motivation in the workplace
• To analyze and discuss the ways of motivation in order to improve the productivity of the employees
• To understand how motivation affects the workplace culture

With the expansion of the service industry, the companies sometimes carelessly overlook the employee satisfaction. This is because; the employees are the integral part of the organization and it is necessary for the company to motivate the employees for retaining them as well as increasing their effectiveness and efficiency. It is seen now days that the employees are unsatisfied either due to extreme customer’s pressure or due to company’s norms. So, the organization apart from pressurizing them to work also needs to motivate them for good working environment or culture. 

• What in your opinion is the main reason behind employee motivation?
• What according to your view motivation helps in employee retention and increase in employee satisfaction?
• What according to your views the ways of increasing motivation among employees and improving the working culture in the workplace?

1^st Chapter: Introduction- This subdivision will be disusing on the employee motivation, research objectives, research questions, problem statement, background of the research as well as background of the company.

2^nd Chapter: Literature Review- This section deals with the requirement of motivating the employees and the ways of motivating them. Moreover, it also discussed about how the motivation of employees increase productivity, efficiency as well as a positive working culture that is the benefits of motivating the employees.

3^rd Chapter: Research Methodology- This section will be focusing on the research work conducted by the researcher by taking into account the research design and research approach. Moreover, the data collection methods will also be discussed that will assist the researcher in gaining an in-depth knowledge regarding this topic.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Graves and Luciano (2010) commented on the fact that the success of a company lies in the whole hearted participation of the employees in the workplace. The employees being a fundamental part within an organization need to be motivated in the positive direction for better results. Even this helps in employee satisfaction, retention, building a good culture within the organization along with success. According to Plantinga et al. (2009) there are several ways in employee motivation that need to be recognized by the organization and motivate them accordingly for higher achievements of the company. This section will be dealing with the essentiality of employee motivation, techniques used for motivating the employees and their benefits.

Korzynski (2013) had an opinion that as the employees is the important part of the organization, so motivation of the employees is essential in order to retain them and inspire them to be more productive in nature. This is also to be remembered that motivating the employees is an important key for improving the performance. Cadwallader et al. (2009) had a view regarding this that the organization always aims at reducing the gaps between the works and it can be done through proper co-ordination and co-operation. This can be done through motivating the employees so that they will co-ordinate with other employees thereby reducing the gaps and enhancing the productivity.

In addition this, Facer et al. (2014) had commented that the motivation is required within an organization in order to charge ups the employees in the positive way for achieving the goals. An employee also gets motivated by learning about new things. Motivation is essential within an organization to use the resources and raw materials to the maximum extent and within the stipulated time. Apart from this, according to the opinion of Manolopoulos (2007) the employees also get bored while doing the same thing daily so, for uplifting their spirits, the organization need to motivate them.

Eskildsen et al. (2004) commented on the fact that as the employees work for the organization, it is the responsibility of the organization to look after the interests of the employees. For that reason, motivation of the employes is essential. There are several techniques that the organization has adopted for motivating the employees for a higher productivity and for satisfying the employees are discussed below-

Creation of friendly working atmosphere- Zhang and Bartol (2010) had commented that the organization needs to create a good office culture as well as atmosphere within the organization. This is because, most of the time in a day the employees spend their time in office. So, necessarily the organization needs to create a friendly environment. For that, according to Safiullah (2014) good spaces within the organization need to be given, temperature also need to be kept moderate, the chairs and rooms need to relaxing and fresh for providing inspiration to work more.

Fair salary and incentive Structure- Each and every employee wants a fair salary and a fair incentive structure for the delivery of their services. Zafar et al. (2014) had an opinion that it is the responsibility of the HR department to maintain a good salary structure as per employment rules. The fair salary system will make the employees feel that they have a secured culture over there and they start believing and trusting on the company.  According to Subrahmanian and Abhilasha (2014) the employees trust can also be enhanced through timely salary and through fairly incentives. More the employees will be having trust and belief on the organization; the more they will be motivated to work effectively and efficiently with higher productivity.

2.1 Introduction

Rewards and recognition- According to the human psychology, people love to get rewards and recognition for the work they are performing. Shultz (2013) had commented that it is sign of higher prestige to the employees as they feel proud to receive rewards as well as recognition from the seniors. From the opinion of Tracy (2013) this makes the employees feel proud as well as they feel like their contribution to the organization is bringing colors to the organization. This also helps in recognition of the efforts of the employees and this motivates the employees to the maximum extent. Moreover, according to Fargus (2000) this can also be done through effective communication of the employee’s achievement within the workplace. Emails, updates, etc. all can be sent to the employees that will increase their spirit of work.

Good working conditions and maintaining hygiene factors- Whiteley (2002) commented on the fact that for satisfying the employees, the good working conditions as well as hygiene is maintained. The better the employees will be having a feeling of safety in the workplace, the more the employees will be motivated in working in the safe environment. According to Zhang and Bartol (2010) the employees having a feeling of safety can be freer to work in the organization. It works like a miracle if the employees see that the working environment is quite soothing rather than monotonous and boring.

Training systems- In the organization, frequent trainings need to be given that helps in brushing up the knowledge and skills of the employees occasionally. From the opinion of Korzynski, (2013) trainings help in communication of the necessary changes that are made within the organization and upgrading the skills of the employees. This motivates the employees to the maxi um extent in gaining more knowledge from the training sessions and using it for further growth.

Enhancing good relationship within the workplace- Another major technique to motivate the employees is enhancing the relationship of the employees. For that frequent get together and parties need to be held where employees have the place to interact with each other. According to Shultz (2013) the more the employees will be interacting with each other, the better will be the relationship and hence the better will be the employee retention. More the employees will be retained, the more the employees will be working productively and better will be the efficiency. In addition to this, Zafar et al. (2014) also commented that social events need to be organized where it will facilitate the interaction between the co-workers and employees. This will motivate the employees to a great extent and also will help in making the work more productive and methodical that will improve employee retention.

Employee motivation is essential within each and every organization that wants to sore high up in the competitive business environment. Zhang and Bartol (2010) commented on the fact that employee motivation is essential in order to increase the productivity as well as increase the revenue of the organization. There are several benefits regarding the employee motivation that is discussed below-

2.2 Employee Motivation and its requirement

Increases the level of trust as well as commitment – It is commented by Safiullah (2014) that more the employees will be motivated, the better the level of commitment will be. A good and an effective communication help in improving the level of trust and commitment within the organization among the employees. According to Manolopoulos (2007) through motivation, trust is increased that also helps in motivating the employees to the maximum extent. The more the employees will be relying on other employees; the better will be the level of communication and commitment towards the work. It is the responsibility of the organization to see the commitment and trust among each other.

Increase the communication- According to Tan and Abu Mansor (2014) motivation also helps in increasing the communication between the employees as well as it proves to be a benefit to the employees. The better the communication will be the better will be the working culture since this reduces the misunderstanding to a great extent.

Improving the quality of work as well as generation of new ideas- Shultz (2013) commented on the fact that motivation improves the quality of work among the employees through a good co-ordination. Apart from this, this also helps in generation of new ideas as the employees are motivated and they improve both the quality of work as well as enhances the idea generation.

2.5 Conclusion

This section deals with the benefits of the requirement of motivation among the employees, the different techniques such as effective communication, training, rewards and recognition etc, are also discussed. Apart from this, the benefits of motivating the employees such as increasing the communication, improving the working quality as well as increasing the trust all is discussed vividly.

Tracy (2013) commented on the fact that research methodology is a process that assists the employees in carrying out the work methodically. This is the blueprint that depicts how to conduct the research work. This section deals with the research approach, research design, and data collection methods that the researcher has adopted for the conduction of the research.

According to Whiteley (2002) research approach helps in a vivid analysis of the collected data. The researcher has adopted deductive approach that moves from a much broader aspect to a specific aspect. This assists the researcher in drawing the conclusions from the available facts.

Fargus (2000) commented on the fact that the researcher has adopted descriptive research design that helps in exploring the topic in a whole structure. It contains the data analysis as well as surveys that contain the facts as well as findings of the researcher. 

Based on the opinion of Tan and Abu Mansor (2014) the data are so collected by using both primary and secondary sources. The primary data are collected through questionnaires to the employees and managers. The secondary sources are the books, journals and websites that assist the researcher in accomplishment of the research work.

The section discussed about the descriptive research design and deductive research approach. Moreover, the data methods that are used are both primary and secondary methods.

References

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