Employee Motivation in Vodafone

Problem Statement

The diversity of present time's workforce puts forth challenges of considerable magnitude for the managers. Vast differences among people in every work community and corporation implies that there is no best means to deal with this. An approach which encourages certain people to perform nicely may not be suitable for others. Hence, this presents a major challenge in front of modern day's managers. The main problem that arises amidst all of this is that “why is money not an adequate motivator for good performance in an organization?”

Rationale of the research

Organizational success cannot be achieved when motivation is utilized to control and manipulate people. Though the subject of motivation has been widely studied but it still stays at the core of modern teaching, parenting and invigorating efforts on the job. Majority of the research works done on motivation have been carried out in American organizations centered on Maslow's need hierarchy and goal setting theory. These premises are more appropriate for US firms as the theories were developed and propagated there. Motivation is still a very vast area and there is no lucid answer as to why some people get motivated differently. Based on this discussion it is evident that there is lot of scope on this front and hence the present study attempts to do that.

Aims and Objectives

Aim - “To evaluate the employee motivation level in Vodafone”

Objectives -

• To review the literature to identify factors driving employee motivation.
• To understand how motivation helps in enhancing performance.
• To identify the factors which actually drive high performance in Vodafone.

Research Questions -

• What are the factors that trigger employee motivation and high performance in Vodafone?
• How motivation helps in enhancing performance?

Literature Review

Introduction

The common perception is that everyone can be easily motivated. Nonetheless, individuals do not get motivated by the same factors, for the same reasons, at the same time or with the same extent. Due to this reason, it is crucial that both supervisors and managers comprehend the aspects that encourage people. The theories of motivation offer managers with a structure for understanding and encouraging their staff members by emphasizing the impact some factors have on motivation. Every theory offers definite suggestions to better manage the human capital. As per Lauby, (2005) managers cannot take just one of the motivational theories and employ it word by word because of the dynamics within the workplace that intervene while applying them in their purest form. Podmoroff, (2005) further explains that though all these premises try to explain why individuals work and what will augment their inclination to work more effectively and efficiently, not all theories see this process in similar manner. It for all such reasons that the topic of motivation has been chosen for providing an analytical view of some of the prominently used motivational theories to garner proper comprehension related to their commonalities and determine the factors which enhance employee motivation.

Defining motivation

In the words of Fargus, (2000) motivation can be defined as directional and intentional. The term directional signifies the existence of a triggering force targeted at achieving a particular goal. The term intention signifies an individual's own preference and determination of action. According to Thomas, (2009) the concept of motivation pertains to the drive within a person that stimulates, directs and sustains his behavior. Another definition from Müller, (2011) suggests that motivation is a set of drivers which stimulates individuals to engage in one behavior instead of some other behavior.

Theories of motivation

A number of theories have been propagated over all these years with the view of capturing the essence of motivation. Every theory determines those elements that they contend are crucial in explaining how people get motivated. There are two basic categories of these theories i.e. process theories and content theories.

Content theories of motivation

As per Grenway (2008) content theories are focused on the internal factors which provoke, direct and maintain or restrict behavior. Some of the most renowned and famous among these content theories are Maslow's need hierarchy theory, Herzberg's two factor theory, Alderfer's ERG theory and finally McClelland's needs theory.

Maslow's need hierarchy theory

This is one of the most well known and widely applied theories of motivation developed and advocated by Abraham Maslow. As per this theory, individuals always need and desire for more and what they need is dependent on what is already with them. Maslow suggested that needs of human beings can be segregated into five major areas, organized in a particular sequence as per their significance for the individual and this is what is known as the hierarchy. These needs are explained below -

Physiological needs - The most basic or the lowest level needs are physiological needs. In a company, such needs comprise of normal work conditions, pay, cafeteria to eat etc. As per Maslow theory, the actions of employees will be directed towards satiating such desires. As soon as such wants are fulfilled they will not influence behavior of employees any longer ().

Safety needs - On the fulfillment of the physiological needs of the employees, the next level of the ladder becomes prominent. Safety needs in the company consist of medical aid, provident fund, pension, health and safety together with job security and stability. The existence of such benefits will satiate the safety needs of the employees (Long, 2012).

Social needs - Social needs comprise of the desire for love, affection, friendship, acceptance and understanding. By means of team work, the managers can promote adequate interaction among workers to make sure that the social needs of employees are met.

Esteem needs - The requirement for recognition and self respect by colleagues and juniors come under this level (Frey and Jegen, 2002).

Self actualization needs - This is the top most level of the hierarchy. This refers to the complete development of a person's potential and is in fact the most difficult need to be met in a corporate context.

Chiang, (2006) mentioned that in spite of the fact that existing research works do not openly advocate Maslow theory, there exists one crucial managerial implication of this theory which is noteworthy; a need which is satisfied might lose its potential to motivate and hence it is vital for the managers to design programs intended to meeting the new needs which are unfulfilled. The management can employ this theory by offering physiological and security needs of their workers through fair pay, compensation and benefits.

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Through the review of the literature, following factors of motivation as seen in Maslow's need hierarchy theory have been identified -

Motivation factors which satiate the basic level needs are good salary, compensation and benefits, healthy working conditions and job safety and security. Motivation factors which satiate the higher level needs entail recognition, high achievements, appreciation challenging jobs, autonomy of work, challenging work, opportunities to display creativity and promotion prospects.

ERG theory of motivation

ERG theory is also a very significant theory of motivation which was proposed by Clayton Alderfer. It is considered as an extension as well as improved version of Maslow's need hierarchy theory with some substantial distinctions between the two. E, R and G signify existence, relatedness and growth (Fargus, 2000).

Existence needs are concerned with satisfying the basic existence and survival requirements of human beings. Relatedness needs aspect covers human needs to maintain interpersonal relations which enable them to feel a sense of standing and recognition in the society. Growth need deals with human's intrinsic desire to achieve growth at personal level. These needs are closely in alignment with Maslow's psychological and safety needs, social needs and actualization needs (Thomas, 2009).

Employees might have multiple needs to be satisfied simultaneously. Therefore managers need to ensure that they not only concentrate on fulfilling employees exclusive needs at one time. Rather, they should focus on employee's diversified requirement at the same time. It is crucial for managers to understand the impact of employees frustration within the workplace and therefore take sincere efforts to overcome such kind of environment within the organization to pursue growth again (Hodgetts and Hegar, 2008).The theory given by Alderfer, being an extension of Maslow's theory focuses on ongoing communication with employees to understand the 23 needs and ascertain which level of needs they are willing to satisfy so that positive efforts can be made to fulfill those frustrated needs.

Herzberg's two factor theory

Fox, (2007) contends that Frederick Herzberg who developed this theory made use of the critical incident technique for identifying elements which made workers feel extremely bad or extremely good about their jobs. The findings of the research done by Herzberg revealed that the elements that made workers feel nice about their work were considerably different from the elements making them feel bad about their work. His research highlighted that workers who had a good feeling about their work, contributed it to the internal aspects while the workers who did not have good feelings about their work attributed it to some external factors. Herzberg coined the sources of job satisfaction as the motivator factors. These are otherwise called growth factors and are connected to the content as well as nature of the job done. Examples of such entail recognition, opportunities, responsibility and have positive feelings regarding their job. It was further elaborated that when existent in a job, such factors can evidently result in motivation and satisfaction; and when not present then can lead to feelings of no satisfaction instead of dissatisfaction.

For the purpose of using Herzberg's two factors theory in practical application a two stage process is recommended. Firstly the manager must attempt at eliminating factors that result in dissatisfaction, which Herzberg presumed to be more essential of the two dimensions. As per this theory, once the state of no dissatisfaction persists, trying to further enhance motivation by means of hygiene factors is wastage of time. This is the juncture when the motivation element creeps into the scene (Grenway, 2008).

It has been identified from the review of literature that the factors improving motivation entails achievement, prospects for growth, job enrichment, higher responsibility and positive feedback. He classified elements like salary, benefits, and working conditions as factors not contributing to motivation.

Process theories of motivation

The process based theories are related to identifying how motivation takes places. Instead of trying to determine the motivational force, these theories are focused on identifying why individuals select specific behavioral alternative for meeting their needs and how they analyze their satisfaction once they have achieved their objectives. Some of the most famous and oldest process theories include Vroom's Expectancy theory, Adam's Equity theory and Latham's goal setting theory (Ather, Khan and Hoque, 2011).

Adam's Equity theory

This theory presents a framework of motivation which elucidates how individuals strive for justice and fairness in professional and social interactions. It explains the social comparison made by people when they weigh their inputs against the outcomes they get. Ahmad, Gilkar and Darzi, (2008) stated that equity theory is crucial as it emphasizes the fact that individuals especially employees are highly concerned with not just the absolute amount of rewards they get but also with the awards they get relative to the awards received by other people.

It has been identified from the literature review that factors of motivation according to Equity theory include rewarding workers as per their performance, fair performance evaluation system, sharing information regarding remuneration in a transparent manner etc.

Latham's Goal Setting theory

Latham proposed that intention of working for the achievement of an objective is the main source of job motivation. This implies that objectives and targets inform workers about what is required to be done and what extent of efforts will need to be made. Goals and targets dictate employees' direction and purpose. The theory states that goals which are difficult to achieve result in higher performance. In addition to this, feedback helps in enhancing the impact of difficult and specific goals. Commitment towards goals and financial incentives influence the goal setting outcomes (Long, 2012).

As identified from the review of literature, motivating factors according to Goal setting theory include establishing goals which are SMART, giving development by means of training, handing out suitable rewards linked with the attainment of goals and encouraging by means of management leadership.

Conclusion

Both the process and content theories of motivation carry elements of truth. The reality that maximum of such theories are supported by many researchers only makes the matter more complex. The motivational theories outlined in this study do not compete with one another and because one seems to be authentic does not make the other ones automatically invalid. In fact the opposite is actually true and all these premises complement one another. A range of factors impacting employee motivation have been determined for the purpose of constructing meaningful measurement tool, competent enough to correctly evaluate the level of employee motivation.

Data Analysis

For the purpose of analyzing the data so collected from the employees of Vodafone, quantitative technique of data analysis will be used. SPSS method will be used to analyze descriptive and inferential statistics. This proposed method of analysis is relevant as it relates back to the literature review and research questions. The main of the research is to identify the motivational level of employees with Tesco. In order to find out accurate findings and fulfill the objectives of the research, statistical tool is the most appropriate method. The main intention behind statistically analyzing the data is to identify the patterns, commonalities and distinctions that might be present for the purpose of sufficiently meeting the objectives of the study.

Research methodology

The section of research methodology must be undertaken into painstaking manner. With the perspective of achieving the objectives of the study there is requirement of giving adequate amount of consideration to the section of research methodology. The structure of the proposal is accurate as per the nature of the study. In the proposal the section of introduction has been taken into special account (Chapman, 2011). It is to acknowledge that it might be helpful for the purpose of explaining the aims and objectives of the study, with the help of aims and objectives the reason behind the selection current topic could be understandable and most importantly the researcher might move into the right direction. Further the section of introduction states about the topic of the stud. Here in this report also the background section comprises of the brief description about the employee motivation and all the related aspects has also discussed into the proper and effective way. Ahead into this proposal the researcher has included the section of literature review as well. With the help of literature review one can easily dig out the content can collect the knowledge about the employee motivation (Bell, 2010). In the section of literature review the researcher has freedom to search the previous studies which are generally based on the employee motivation and research gap could be identified properly.

Other than this the section of research methodology may describe about the selected research trajectories that could be beneficial for the purpose of dealing with intricacies of the research process. Further it is also clear that with the help of this section the researcher will be in position to justify the research process. In this study all the relevant section has been included. Like the section of data analysis along with the section of ethical consideration has been mentioned into the study. Every section is related to each another and provides the clear understanding about the research process (Quantitative and Qualitative Evaluation Methods, 2007). The selected research methodologies within the study are given below:

Research approach: In current study the researcher will include the inductive approach which is more suitable as per the nature of report. With the help of inductive approach the researcher can identify the role of employee motivation within the company and most importantly the contribution of employee motivation within the organization can also identified. Further the role of employee motivation in the employee performance can also identified with the help of inductive approach. It allows the researcher to observe the things within the organization and then confirmation could be provided accordingly (Sreedharan, 2007). Thus using the inductive approach could be helpful for the purpose of providing the new theories as well.

Research philosophy: It is another research trajectory that could be treated as highly significant in the report conducting process. Here in current scenario the researcher has utilized the Interpretivism research philosophy. The entire study is based on the Vodafone and with the help of cited philosophy the feedbacks and viewpoints of various respondents could be gathered in effective manner. Through Interpretivism research philosophy the researcher can definitely focus upon the various aspects of the employee motivation and its impact and consequences in different scenarios could be identified properly (Suri and Clarke, 2009).

Research type: The research type could lie into two categories first is qualitative research type and other one is quantitative research type. In quantitative research type the data type is generally objective or numerical in nature whereas in qualitative research the data type is mostly subjective and wide in nature. Here the report is qualitative in nature and the data is subjective in nature. The employee motivation is very wide in nature as it is affected through various factors, it can provide the benefits in different ways etc. so the study of all these attributes make it subjective and the report is qualitative in nature. The data type is also wide and subjective and whole information will be supported by theories and facts rather than figures and numeric aspects. The research design is exploratory in nature as it is highly belongs to the subjective data (Tracy, 2012). Through exploratory research design the researcher can explore the content and search over the internet as well. The nature of exploratory research design is highly suitable with the above mentioned research trajectories.

Sampling: For the purpose of gaining the relevant and valid outcomes the researcher is supposed to focus upon the ethical sampling techniques. The relevancy of sampling techniques is very high with the quality and standard of the research report. If the selection of respondents is wrong then the responses will also wrong and it will affect the entire study. Then it won't be wrong to say that for the purpose of increasing the reliability and validity of the study the researcher is required to concentrate on the sampling technique at very large scale. Here in this report the sample size of 30 employees will be taken into special consideration. All the respondents are current employees of the Vodafone and understand the organizational culture of the company. The employees can provide the actual result that increment in their motivation can affect their performance in proper way (Suri and Clarke, 2009). Further it can also identify that how cited organization can improve the level of motivation through different practices. The researcher will rely on non probabilistic sampling procedure into the current report. Thus the sampling technique is accurate and effective for the purpose of providing the better research outcomes.

The employees have been identified on the basis of their experience level and most importantly their understanding on the ground of motivational level has also taken into special consideration. The employee that has high level of work experience has been taken into account. Through proper sampling the researcher will be in position to connect all the dots and relevancy on various attributes could be measured. Further benefit of non probabilistic sampling technique is that it includes only those participants those who meet out the research criteria. Thus in this way the sampling procedure has been undertake into the study.

Data collection: Once the researcher is clear with the sampling size and the nature of respondents then the researcher has to collect the data in very effective way. Here in this report the researcher will collect the data from both the sources. The two sources of data collection are primary sources and secondary sources of data collection (Quantitative and Qualitative Evaluation Methods, 2007). The primary sources of data collection are questionnaire, interview sessions, focused group and observation techniques etc. The main expediency of primary technique is that current scenario of business and environment could be assessed properly. On the other hand the main benefit of secondary sources is to gain deep knowledge about the content or subject matter of the study. The secondary sources are online journal articles, books, previous studies etc. Here in this report the researcher will make extensive usage of questionnaire as the primary sources of data collection and secondary data will be collected through online journal articles and previous studies. Therefore it is a complete research trajectory that will be used into the study.

References

• Ahmad, F.S., Gilkar, N.H., Darzi, J.A., 2008. Organisational behaviour. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers and Distributors.
• Ather, M., Khan, A. M. and Hoque, N., 2011. Motivation as conceptualised in traditional and Islamic management. Humanomics.
• Bell, J. 2010. Doing Your Research Project. 5th ed. McGraw-Hill International.
• Chapman, J. R. 2011. Simple Tools and Techniques for Enterprise Risk Management. John Wiley & Sons.
• Chiang, F.C., 2006. An Expectancy Theory Model for Hotel Employee Motivation: The Moderating Role of Communication Satisfaction. ProQuest.
• Fargus, P., 2000. Measuring and Improving Employee Motivation. Financial Times Prentice Hall.
• Fox, W., 2007. Managing Organisational Behaviour. Cape Town: Juta & Co.Ltd.

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