Essay Sample on University of Liverpool

Executive Summary

Motivation is one of the major factors that affect the performance of any institution including the ones in the banking sector. Motivated employees are able to work with greMotivation is one of the major factors that affect the performance of any institution including the ones in the banking sector. Motivated employees are able to work with greater enthusiasm compared to unmotivated employees. It is, therefore, significantly important to create a motivated workforce in the institutions for improved performance and satisfaction of customers. The aim of this study is to investigate the motivation factors that encourage the employees to work toward achieving their goals in banking institutions. The challenges experienced in the workplace are impediments that affect the working of employees. Such hindrances compel the employees to pull the institution down. If motivated, the workforce can perform tremendously well. Across the world, there are banks collapsing and consequently closing their operations. This indicates the need for a solution to sustain the banks in the economy. In this regard, this study will be useful to the banks with low employee productivity linked to lack of employee motivation. The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of rewards on employees' motivation to influence the performance of banking institutions. The focus on banks was because are statistically more pronounced and have greater impact on the growth of the local economy. It further established the influence of good salary on employees' motivation in banking institutions. Besides, the study investigated the influence of a conducive work environment on employees' motivation in banking institutions. Finally, the study determined the influence of motivational factors, conducive environment, good salary pays, and rewards on the performance of banking institutions. To achieve the objective of the research study, the quantitative research design was used where interviews were employed to gather data on the four research questions. The collected data was then analyzed using SPSS Statistical package and mean, standard deviation, regression and correlation of variables established.

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Introduction

Background of the Study

The performance of an organization is dependent on the performance of the employees. This is because an organization is a system composed of employees, stakeholders, and many other players that determine the running of its functions. Employees are the force that drives an organization towards achieving its core mission and goals of service and product delivery to its customers. Employees can be compared to the wheels which facilitate the movement of a vehicle. Without the employees, the organization would not achieve its core mandate just like a vehicle would not move without the wheels. Khan et al.(2017) posit that employees are the primary strength that a business relies upon and the employees must deliver their continuous effort to drive the organization decisions into action and consequently achieve the intended objectives. According to Safiullah (2014), theworkforce forms the sole strategic assets that sustain the life of an organization. However, due to the volatility of the factor that affects the motivation of the employees, it is upon the management to understand that factors behind the motivation of its workers in a bid to perform their assigned roles and responsibilities. Employees form the human resource part of the organization and are hence the most valuable asset that an organization possesses(Safiullah 2014). Elsewhere, Pratheepkanth (2011) posited that corporate employees are the business and the company. Employees possess the power and the drive to deliver services of high-quality standards. Although managers and stakeholders steer the company towards attaining its mission and goals, it is the employees who possess the power to boost or diminish the revenues that the company generates (Pratheepkanth 2011).

It is, therefore, critically important to motivate the employees so that they can become aligned towards driving the company agenda, goals and objectives. An organization can get maximum benefits from its employees through motivation (Ryan 2000). Motivation entails accumulating the various processes that influence and direct individual's behavior towards achieving the set organization and personal goals.

Motivational factors that trigger the employees to perform different tasks in a different way include the working conditions or environment, autonomy, job security, employee recognition, training and development (Safiullah 2014). Researchers have found that rewarding recognizing employees increase their motivation, loyalty to work and their job. Employees feel that their jobs are more secure and their employability is high making them more motivated to work towards attaining the goal of the organization that has employed them (Akhtar et al. 2014). It has also been found that the work environment gives workers comfortability and a conducive place to execute their roles, responsibilities, and mandate that they ate allocated within the company. Having a stress free work environment that favors the nature of work, give workers enthusiasm to work towards achieving the best and achieving the organization's vision (Nanzush, 2015). In this regard, the working environment has to be conducive, friendly and cooperative for the employees to feel motivated and work towards the organization's orientation. The third important motivating factor in the banking sector is good to pay which amounts to a high salary. A high salary is a highly motivating factor to the employees and gives them certainty that they will cater to their lifestyle (Akhtar et al. 2014). Settled employees carry greater power and energy and the output is high. Hence banks should motivate their employees by giving them high salary pay so that they can be able to fund their expenses such as decent and official clothing that they must wear while reporting for work.

According to Sarpong (2016), the desire and the energy in employees to carry out their job or role are stimulated by both the internal and external factors. The motivation of employeesis an internal factor that drives the workers to work diligently towards achieving the best in the organization. Sarpong (2016) posited that a motivated workforce plays a critical role in achieving high levels of satisfaction among the clients. Although different employees are motivated by different factors where one employee may be motivated by salary increment while the other is interested in education advancement, any form of motivation is important in an organization that intends to prosper and perform better. Motivation helps in retaining the employees in an organization and a more serving employee has more experience in dealing with issues in an organization. A short-lived employee may not serve adequately and make a significant contribution that would improve the performance of an organization. In this regard, it is essentially important to motivate employees so that they improve the condition of a company diligently. Khan et al. (2017) stated that motivation enables the employees to select or deselect a job, continue or and work in a proficient manner towards fulfilling the tasks assigned in a company. Employees whose desires and needs are fulfilled are better placed to work for an organization diligently and deliver the best. The effort that an employee puts in his/her workplace is directly proportional to the productivity of the organization. Hence, motivating workers so that they work with great fervor is a step towards higher quality work and increased efficiency. Ahmad et al. (2014) wrote that motivated employees maintain a high level of innovation and further lead to more returns. Elsewhere, Andrew (2004) established that rewarding and recognizing employees for their exemplary performance increases their commitment towards their jobs. This indicates that the way an organization treats its employees plays a critical role in its performance. This was affirmed by Lawler (2003) who posited that the survival rate and the prosperity of employees in an organization are based on how the organization treats its workforce. Besides, the communication of the reward and recognition programs and strategies affect employee retention and prosperity in an organization.

Statement of the Problem

Employees face various challenges in their workplace and such challenges impede their work. Some employees earn little salaries that do not satisfy their needs while others are stressed by the management. Besides, some employees work in unpleasant workplaces which the employer ought to improve and make it enable. Impediments such as the ones stated above, prevent the employees from doing their best and consequently reduce the productivity of an organization. Motivation eliminates the impediments facing the employees but many organizations are not willing to offer them to their workforce. Despite the critical role that employees play in an organization, the public sector still disregards their motivation. Major organizations are faced with the problem of motivating their workforce. Various studies conducted on motivation shows that motivation is low in organizations and this has an effect on the productivity of an organization (Safiullah 2014). As established by Ahmad et al. (2014), the level of motivation in the public sector organizations is extremely low compared to the organizations in the private sector. Despite the heavy loads at the banks compelling the employees to work long hours, they are least motivated. The authors further posited that with a low level of motivation in the public sector organizations, the institutions end up earning low returns....