Motivating Employees: A Research Study on the Impact of Motivation on Performance - Essay Sample

Introduction

Conducting this research has been a great fascination to me. Throughout this period, I got the opportunity to gain practical knowledge and skills different from the theoretical knowledge that I previously gained in class. Ideally, it was an opportunity for me to apply the skills acquired in class to a natural and practical setting. My research focused on the impacts of motivation as a means of enhancing the performance of employees within an organizational context. Specifically, I intended to understand how various elements of motivation could improve the performance, productivity and objectives of the individual employees and company. Preparing for the research involved getting the necessary learning resources, doing library and internet search and visiting the company (Virgin Atlantic Company) for data collection.

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I must acknowledge the fact that my interaction with the participants in various aspects of the study was critical. Our interaction during sample selection, data collection interview and questionnaire administration made me understand the kind of people that I was dealing with. In a more general sense, the employees demonstrated a willingness to participate in every aspect of the study, with a majority of them accepting my invitation to them to participate in this critical study. While several ethical issues were presented during this course, I used the knowledge that I gained in class to address the ethical issues that emerged during the research. Specifically, I ensured that the participants had informed consent to voluntary participation in the research. I also demonstrated a high level of confidentiality and anonymity as this protected the personal information of the participants.

How the Topic Informed my Thinking

The topic was vital in informing my thinking, an overall view of the impacts of motivation on the employees. I had not imagined that financial intensive could have such a tremendous impact on workers, who are dedicated to achieving the set objectives. I was greatly intrigued by the role of financial incentives on employees. Broadly, I learnt that the use of financial incentives to enhance people’s motivation fits the principle of positive reinforcement. Ideally, a suitable policy of using the financial incentives to motivate workers at all the level to investigate are most appealing to given groups of individual. In this way, it is evident that many workers are extrinsically motivated by salaries and benefits. On the other hand, others are intrinsically motivated by recognition and rewards or better health benefits.

The results of the study suggested to me that the importance of financial incentives are productive when linked to excellent performance. A primary principle is that for the managers to provide a clear explanation about the relationship between performance and pay. As such, unethical behaviour will always not be tolerated, and individual behaviour will always determine the choice of selection. This increasing effort of managers and compensation specialists to relate the pay with performance highly supports many business strategies. As part of my case study, I learned that the utilization of the pay-for-performance is on the increase in recent times, particularly in Virgin Atlantic Company. Additionally, there is a trend to generate increasing variable pay as a percentage of total remuneration. The compensation is, therefore, one of the physical needs that greatly influences motivation, which, in turn, will affect the performance of the employees.

Challenges Faced While Working on the Project

Challenges and limitations form the common elements of any study. Recognizably, I came across various challenges that partly hindered the achievement of the expected outcomes. Firstly, there was inadequate literature about Virgin Atlantic Company, UK. While it is evident that numerous research about the companies found within the transport or aviation sector have been conducted, those that were explicitly done for the Virgin Atlantic were less available. In this sense, I had to rely on the data collected from the company employees as well as the periodicals reports and plans from the company. Secondly, Time limitation for both the researcher and members of the target group reduced the interactive participation to the bare minimum.

Finally, financial constraints reduced the quantity of the information required. Regarding the financial constraints, it is evident that this research involved a lot of movements from one place to another in search of the target participants. Specifically, I had to travel to the company’s headquarters in Crawley, England. Additionally, some of the participants were not willing to participate in the questionnaire survey unless given some compensation in terms of money. Not only did this reduce the quantity of the expected data but also the quality, because it was believed that the few who demanded compensation could end up giving information based on that factor. However, only those who were willing to participate voluntarily were allowed to complete the questionnaires.

My Philosophical School

Conducting this research gave me tremendous insight regarding my philosophical school, which is mainly constructivism. As a constructivist, I see and perceive the world as something that is socially constructed. Concerning my current research, this school of thought makes me believe that behavioural motivation is mostly extrinsic and intrinsic. It is extrinsic in the sense that it consists of the reaction to positive and negative reinforcements. On the other hand, it is intrinsic based on the employee’s internal drive. As a social constructivist, I view motivation as both extrinsic and intrinsic. Based on the fact that performance is primarily a social phenomenon, workers are partially motivated by rewards provided by their management. However, performance and productivity are actively constructed by the employee, as all these are determined by a significant extent on the employee’s innate drive to understand and promote productivity. Relating this to the experience and the findings in my research, it is evident that money is the most significant fundamental factor used in the motivation of industrial workers to attain higher productivity. Present organizations must think critically regarding the remuneration packages that they provide to their employees. As such, the financial incentives promote the employment relationship because it establishes the foundation for a high level of positivity and commitment.

Therefore, the organization must develop appropriate strategies that include the financial incentives and rewards, such as promotion, bonus, and profit-sharing or gain sharing, and employees’ stock ownership, among others. Many researchers have linked the financial incentives and intrinsic motivation tremendously by mentioning that incentives play a vital role in extrinsic motivation. Such motivation occurs when employees’ needs are satisfied indirectly through means of pay and bonuses. A more natural approach to motivate workers at any level is to provide financial incentives to them and to link pay to productivity. This kind of relationship works by improving the motivation value of money.

Management of Ethical Considerations

Primary ethical considerations that emerged in this research were the informed consent and voluntary participation in the research. Ethically, the personal information of the respondents must always be protected. As part of this research, I ensured that questionnaires were administered anonymously. The participants were therefore needed to complete the survey without the required to write include their names and other personal information such as age and ethnic background. Additionally, those who were willing to participate in research voluntarily without being coaxed, pressured or given monetary compensation were the only one who was included. Implementation of these measures was critical in enhancing the validity of the data collected.