INCENTIVES/WELFARE SCHEME AND WORKERS PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT OF MINISTRY OF LANDS AND TOWN PLANNING OF AKWA IBOM STATE CIVIL SERVICE
ABSTRACT
Most Directors’ perennial question is: “How do I get an employee to do what I want?” The psychology of motivation is very complex, and what has been unraveled with any degree of assurance is small indeed. To motivate people successfully, management must focus on the question, “How do we meet both individual and Ministry of Lands and Town Planning of Akwa Ibom State Civil Service requirements?” When we make assumptions about individual motivations and increase pressure based on them, we ignore the fact that people work to meet their own psychological needs. Commitment must derive from the individual’s wishes to support the Ministry of Lands and Town Planning goals. This project gave a clear assessment of the fact that staff motivation in work places has a direct relationship with employees’ performance and productivity. This study was restricted to the staff of Ministry of Lands and Town Planning of Akwa Ibom State Civil Service. The survey was carried out using stratified sampling technique, and 50 staffs of the Ministry of Lands and Town Planning of Akwa Ibom State Civil Service was selected. And the strata were divided equally. The results obtained with the aid of questionnaires indicate that motivation of employees in work place should be taken seriously by employers in order to obtain maximum satisfaction in their employees’ performance which will enable the Ministry of Lands and Town Planning achieve its stated objectives and goals. A summary of the study and conclusion was given in the last chapter of the study, while recommendations were made on the conclusion for further study.
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 INTRODUCTION
In most establishments, the desire to achieve optimal level of productivity is very central to managerial objectives. To attain this level, management of Ministry of Lands and Town Planning of Akwa Ibom State Civil Service needs to look in wards as to how best the staff’s morale can be boosted through a number of incentives. Researchers have over the years looked into how best workers can be motivated and how the employees were expected to behave and conduct themselves for the purpose of Ministry of Lands and Town Planning effectiveness and a high level of productivity. Therefore, the continued existence and function of Ministry of Lands and Town Planning of Akwa Ibom State Civil Service according to Adebisi (2000) depends largely on the extent to which such Ministry is effective and efficient. In this research, ‘Ministry of Lands and Town Planning of Akwa Ibom State Civil Service effectiveness’ is the degree to which Ministry of Lands and Town Planning realizes its goals and objectives. In the Limit Hotel in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, apart from staff salary, every week feeding allowance is given. In every December bonus equivalent to monthly salary is given for Christmas celebration to every staff to enable them make use before 25th December. Also, December salary is paid promptly at the end of the month. This means that management of the Limit hotel understands employee motivation and how to motivate employees to perform their work to the fullest of their capabilities.
1.2 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Ministry of Lands and Town Planning of Akwa Ibom State Civil Service is made up of humble, articulate industrious and committed workforce with the passion for effective service delivery.
Management is simply defined as a process of getting things accomplished through people by directing the efforts of individuals towards common goals or objectives. Directing is another word for motivating, influencing or leading.
The employees of Ministry of Lands and Town Planning of Akwa Ibom State Civil Service have vested interest in the operations of the Ministry of Lands and Town Planning. Such interest is informed by their stake in the revenue of Ministry of Lands and Town Planning because their salaries and allowances come from there. The other areas of employees’ interest in the Ministry of Lands and Town Planning of Akwa Ibom State include their morale and commitment to service, which are often reflected in the degree of their self motivation level of performance and productivity and above all, the quality of their service delivery.
The employees of Ministry of Lands and Town Planning of Akwa Ibom State Civil Service are also interested in maintaining their job in order to sustain their personal and family lives, their self-esteem and regular receipt of their salaries and allowances as at when due.
WHAT IS MOTIVATION?
Motivation is creating good condition for employee to work. Motivating is in working with people in order to create conditions that encourage employees to do well.
The term “Motivation” started to receive attention in the beginning of the 20th century, when rationalistic views of human behavior raised more questions rather than explanations about man’s actions. The rationalist had viewed people as free moral beings who choose either the good or the bad among courses of action, with each person’s choice depending upon his intelligence and education. They assumed that if the good choice were known, it would be automatically selected and acted upon. It is unlikely to find one who would still hold this view of people. The complexity of human behavior certainly does not lend itself very easily to such neat ‘reasonable’ explanations.
Motivation in the current usage is, however, one of the most complex aspects in the management process that came to the force in the early 1950s under the aegis of the behavioral science (Comprising anthropology, Psychology and sociology) school of management. The school shifted emphasis more and more to the nature of the work itself and the degree to which it could fulfill man’s needs to use his skills and abilities. Of the three behavioral sciences, psychology has probably played the biggest role in influencing management thought and practice and in showing that people have a great variety of needs, which they attempt to satisfy at work. People have attitudes, values, and sentiments, all of which significantly influence their behavioral on the job. The feelings that people have towards their supervisors, their job numerous other factors are often difficult to ascertain, yet they have a tremendous impact upon employee, motivation is a very perplexing one, in that it is not at all easy for a person to know for certain what actually motivates another person or cause him to behave the way he does. Furthermore, the individual may not even understand what really makes him behave the way he does. An aspect of this complex and perplexing nature of motivation is that what motivates one person may not necessarily motivate another person by the same degree even within the same time period and environment. And what motivated a person in the past may not necessarily motivate him later. They very uniqueness of the human individual, with many complex influences that interact in determining what he is and becomes, make it rather difficult to measure motivational level in people.
What one person considers an important reward, another person might consider useless. For example, a glass of cold juice would probably be a lot more ‘motivating’ to a person who has just spent two hours or more in traffic jam in the host sun, than it would be to someone who had just drank three cold bottle of beer. And even holding out a reward that is important to someone is certainly no guarantee that it will motivate him. The reason is that the reward itself will not motivate him unless he feels that effort on his part will probably lead to his obtaining that reward. People differ greatly in how they size up their chance for success on different jobs. So one can see that a task which one person might feel would lead to rewards might be viewed by another as impossible.
What is motivation? A man or woman is motivated when he or she wants to do something. A motive is not quite the same as an incentive. Whereas a person may be inspired or made enthusiastic by an incentive, his or her main motive for wanting to do something may be fear of punishment. Motivation covers all the reasons which underline the way in which a person acts.
1.3 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
The workers of the State Ministry of Lands and Town Planning are complaining of insensitivity of the management on their welfare.
These altitude make the workers inconsistent in their service to the ministry because they are not motivated to work.
What will really motivate them to give their best in the work place as incentive and allowances is not provided thereby living the workers to depend solely on their salary.
Attempt is not made to ensure if motivation will enhance performance of their staff.
That, the ministry of lands and towns planning does not know what method they should use to motivate their workers for increase performance in service.
There has been series of argument as to what best motivate a staff in other to give his or her best, which may eventually lead to increased productivity and enhanced performance. There has been a great deal of debate over the years regarding the issue of what motivates employee.
Four methods of motivating employee performance have received attention by researchers which include: Money, Goal Setting, Participation and Job enrichment
A more recent technique, behavior modification, has been widely touted, but in practice involves little more than a re-labeling of one or more of the above techniques, especially money and goal setting. It is the desire of this researcher to compare the various techniques listed above and ascertain the technique that best enhances performance.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The research questions that will be answered and used for the design of the questionnaire in the study include:
- Does money serves as motivator to employees in Ministry of Lands and Town Planning?
- Do you consider query as a form of motivation?
- What are the methods by which an employee can be motivated?
- Does motivation have any effect on the productivity of the workers?
- How can motivations of the government rated in your ministry?
- Is it true that the motivator has to be motivated before motivating others?
- Is it obvious that all behavior is motivated at the time regardless of the type of goal involved?
- In what way(s) does Ministry of Lands and Town Planning motivate their employees?
- How often is superior motivating an employee?
- Do you want money to be given to you as incentive in every December bonus equivalent to your monthly salary, apart from your salary?
1.5 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The objective of the study can be expressed in terms of the following:
- To know what to do in order to get an employee do what is actually expected of him.
- To enable government know how to deal with individuals or groups at different motivational levels that vary in different ways.
- To determine what should be done to help people feel enthusiastic and committed, especially in difficult times.
- To ascertain which one(s) of the four method of motivating employee performance and productivity actually motivate them.
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The study on motivation is being viewed in three (3) major ways namely: The traditional view; Human Relation View; and the Human Resources view. It is important to note that a (3) views are trying to achieve a common goal, that is, accomplishment of Ministry of Lands and Town Planning objectives by enabling employees to increase their productivity, and to improve on their performance.
The significance of the study can, be viewed for the fact that it will highlight the effect that motivational tools has on productivity and performance; identify various problems most supervisors encounter during the exercise, motivation; and offer suggestion(s) for the achievement of the desired results through effective motivational system.
1.7 STATEMENT OF THE HYPOTHESIS
Taking into consideration the research question given above, the main theses of this study will be expressed inform of the below hypothesized relationship. There is a strong and positive correction between staff’s belief in motivation and their productivity and performance in the work place. There is a strong relationship between employees understanding of the concept of motivation and their performance in the work place.
The hypothesis testing will now be formulated into null (H0) and alternative (H1) hypothesis and this is stated below:
Ho (Null) There is no correction between employees belief in motivation and employees performance in work place.
H1 (Alternative) There is a correction between employees belief in motivation and employees performance in work place.
H0 (Null) There is no significant relationship between employee’s understanding of the concept of motivation and employees performance in work place.
H1 (Alternative) There is significant relationship between employees understanding of the concept of motivation and employees performance in work place.
1.8. JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY
According to Herzberg (2003), the things that make people satisfied and motivated on the job are different in kind from the things that make them dissatisfied. Ask workers what makes them unhappy at work and you will hear about an uncaring boss, poor salary, unconducive work environment, authoritative rules of director. The unconducive environmental factor makes people miserable and may lead to strike. But, people are motivated instead, by interesting work challenge, and increasing responsibility, depending on the caring attitudes of their boss or director.
In view of this, this study attempts to identify the influence that motivation has on workers performance in order to address problems arising from motivational approaches in Ministry of Lands and Town Planning of Akwa Ibom State Civil Service.
The performance of workers has become important due to the increasing concern level of output obtained from workers due to poor remuneration. All efforts must be geared towards developing workers interest in their job so as to make them happy in giving their best to their work; this will ensure Ministry of Lands and Town Planning of Akwa Ibom State success story.
Motivated individual, according to Ajila (1997) will be committed to his work to the extent to which the job inherently contains tasks that are rewarding to him or her. Good remuneration has been found over the years to be one of the policies the government can adopt to increase their workers performance and thereby increase the Ministry of Lands and Town Planning of Akwa Ibom State Civil Service productivity.
1.9 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
Motivation as it is widely accepted is an important function of management and it is an essential tool most organizations use to counter low productivity and unsatisfactory performance. Therefore, the study will focus mainly on the effect or impact of motivation on the productivity and performance of employees of Ministry of Land and Town Planning. Owning to time constraint and financial inadequacy, the study will only concentrate on Civil Servant in Ministry of Lands and Town Planning of Akwa Ibom State. Data collected from responses of respondents from the questionnaires will form the basis of the analysis, conclusion and recommendation for the study.
