LITERATURE REVIEW

WORK MOTIVATION
At one time, employees were considered just another input into the production of goods and
services. What perhaps changed this way of thinking about employees was research, referred to
as the Hawthorne Studies, conducted by Elton Mayo from 1924 to 1932 (Dickson, 1973). This
study found employees are not motivated solely by money and employee behavior is linked to
their attitudes (Dickson, 1973). The Hawthorne Studies began the human relations approach to
management, whereby the needs and motivation of employees become the primary focus of
managers (Bedeian, 1993).

Understanding what motivated employees and how they were motivated was the focus of many
researchers following the publication of the Hawthorne Study results (Terpstra, 1979). Five
major approaches that have led to our understanding of motivation are Maslow's need-hierarchy
theory, Herzberg's two- factor theory, Vroom's expectancy theory, Adams' equity theory, and
Skinner's reinforcement theory.

According to Maslow, employees have five levels of needs (Maslow, 1943): physiological,
safety, social, ego, and self- actualizing. Maslow argued that lower level needs had to be satisfied
before the next higher level need would motivate employees. Herzberg's work categorized
motivation into two factors: motivators and hygienes (Herzberg, Mausner, & Snyderman, 1959).
Motivator or intrinsic factors, such as achievement and recognition, produce job satisfaction.
Hygiene or extrinsic factors, such as pay and job security, produce job dissatisfaction.

Vroom's theory is based on the belief that employee effort will lead to performance and
performance will lead to rewards (Vroom, 1964). Rewards may be either positive or negative.
The more positive the reward the more likely the employee will be highly motivated.
Conversely, the more negative the reward the less likely the employee will be motivated.

Adams' theory states that employees strive for equity between themselves and other workers.
Equity is achieved when the ratio of employee outcomes over inputs is equal to other employee
outcomes over inputs (Adams, 1965).

Skinner's theory simply states those employees' behaviors that lead to positive outcomes will be
repeated and behaviors that lead to negative outcomes will not be repeated (Skinner, 1953).
Managers should positively reinforce employee behaviors that lead to positive outcomes.
Managers should negatively reinforce employee behavior that leads to negative outcomes.
Many contemporary authors have also defined the concept of motivation. Motivation has been
defined as: the psychological process that gives behavior purpose and direction (Kreitner, 1995);
a predisposition to behave in a purposive manner to achieve specific, unmet needs (Buford,
Bedeian, & Lindner, 1995); an internal drive to satisfy an unsatisfied need (Higgins, 1994); and
the will to achieve (Bedeian, 1993). For this paper, motivation is operationally defined as the
inner force that drives individuals to accomplish personal and organizational goals.

Dimensions Definition:

Task Significance:

Extent to which an identifiable piece of work (job) affects, or is important to, others within or
outside the organization. An employee's knowledge of other people's dependence on the work he
or she is doing is an important factor in his or her job satisfaction.

Autonomy:

Degree or level of freedom and discretion allowed to an employee over his or her job. As a
general rule, jobs with high degree of autonomy engender a sense of responsibility and greater
job satisfaction in the employee(s). Not every employee, however, prefers a job with high degree
of responsibility

Feedback:

Process in which the effect or output of an action is 'returned' (fed-back) to modify the next
action. Feedback is essential to the working and survival of all regulatory mechanisms found
throughout living and non-living nature, and in man-made systems such as education system and
economy. As a two-way flow, feedback is inherent to all interactions, whether human-to-human,
human-to-machine, or machine-to-machine. In an organizational context, feedback is the
information sent to an entity (individual or a group) about its prior behavior so that the entity
may adjust its current and future behavior to achieve the desired result. Feedback occurs when an
environment reacts to an action or behavior.
ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT

Bateman and Strasser (1983) state that organizational commitment has been operationally
defined as” multidimensional in nature, involving an employee’s loyalty to the organization,
willingness to exert effort on behalf of the organization, degree of goal and value congruency
with the organization, and desire to maintain membership”

According to Meyer and Allen's (1991) three-component model of commitment and (Removed),
prior research indicated that there are three "mind sets" which can characterize an employee's
commitment to the organization one of which is;

Affective Commitment is defined as the employee's positive emotional attachment to the

organization. An employee who is affectively committed strongly identifies with the goals of the
organization and desires to remain a part of the organization. This employee commits to the
organization because he/she "wants to". In developing this concept, Meyer and Allen drew
largely on Mowday, Porter, and Steers's (1982) concept of commitment, which in turn drew on
earlier work by Kanter (1968).

Ouchi (1981) in his article explains that an approach to managing employees in American
organizations that advocates the adoption of aspects of Japanese management practice and
techniques, such as long-term employment, consensual decision-making, and a holistic concern.
The concept was devised by organization theorist William Ouchi as a way of suggesting how US
organizations might adapt to changing competitive circumstances that seemed to require a fresh
approach to managing, based more on developing organizational commitment through building a
strong organizational culture. The label of theory Z was used by Ouchi to emphasize that this
would constitute a new approach to management which lay between traditional US methods
(especially Fordism) and management practices in Japan.
Ouchi, Theory Z focused on increasing employee loyalty to the company by providing a job for
life with a strong focus on the well-being of the employee, both on and off the job. According
to Ouchi, Theory Z management tends to promote stable employment, high productivity, and
high employee morale and satisfaction.
EMPOWERMENT

Empowerment is defined as the process of providing employees with the necessary guidance and
skills, to enable autonomous decision making including accountability and the responsibility for
making these decisions within acceptable parameters that are part of an organizational culture.
(Geroy, Wright, Andreson, 1998) Empowerment is also defined as the act of giving people the
opportunity to make workplace decisions by expanding their autonomy in decision making. (Vogt
1997) The concept has spanned cultures and industrial sectors. (Morales, 1997)
The strategic performance empowerment model was proposed by Gary D. Geroy,

Phillip C. Wright and Joan Anderson in 1998 in their model suggests that three key variables (1.
coaching or mentoring; 2. peer and supervisor modeling; 3. career path development and
strategies), must be present to provide employees with the guidance and the skills necessary to
become empowered employees.

The concept of coaching is linked directly to empowerment. Coaches setup environments where
individuals feel able to make decisions for them by developing self-confidence and beliefs in one
and in others (Oncken, 1997). This practice leads to higher quality performance, and ultimately,
to the “empowered organization” (Willard, 1995).

Behavior modeling can be defined as the study of personal excellence, as employees tend to
emulate those whom they admire and respect (Alder, 1992). Behavior modeling has been
considered to be one of the most effective forms of employee development. Indeed, Pescuric &
Byham (1996), suggest that modeling is the most effective means of developing skills and
changing behavior.

Through proper selection techniques, placement and nurturing, defined career paths can be
developed. The recognition of accomplishments increases in the level of responsibility and
opportunities for advancement foster a sense of commitment and job satisfaction (Miller, 1997).
Similarly, Charter-Scott (1997) found that managers, who earned the highest respect from their
employees, were concerned with goals, career paths and growth, a position supported by
Crouch’s (1997), work on successful management styles.

Theories of empowerment include both processes and outcomes, suggesting that actions,
activities, or structures may be empowering, and that the

outcome of such processes result in a level of being empowered (Swift & Levin, 1987).
Both empowerment processes and outcomes vary in their outward form because no single
standard can fully capture its meaning in all contexts or populations (Zimmerman, 1993). A
distinction between empowering processes and outcomes is critical in order to clearly define
empowerment theory. (Perkins, 1995)
Dynamic Structural framework emphasizes goals, specialized roles, and formal relationships. It
includes structures (organization charts) fit organization’s environment and technology and is
linked with responsibilities, rules, policies, procedures. (Bolman & Deal 1997)

Information System is a combination of people, hardware, software, communication devices,

network and data resources that processes (can be storing, retrieving, transforming information)
data and information for a specific purpose. The operation theory is just similar to any other
system, which needs inputs from user (key in instructions and commands, typing, scanning). The
inputted data then will be processed (calculating, reporting) using technology devices such as
computers, and produce output (printing reports, displaying results) that will be sent to another
user or other system via a network and a feedback method that controls the operation.
(YouthForHumanRights.org)

Corporate values are often used interchangeably with the concept of corporate culture. The usual
paradigm is that corporations with strong positive cultures have institutionalized a set of
corporate values. These values help employees identify with the organization and develop a
commitment to its goals as well as provide a common language for aligning an organization's
leadership and its employees (Hass, Strauss, 1990). The clarity and nature of corporate values
toward ethical issues ultimately influences managers' attitudes to ethical decision making (Vitell
and Hidalgo, 2006)
THEORATICAL FRAMEWORK

INDEPENDENT DEPENDENT
VARIABLE VARIABLES

ORGANIZATIONAL
COMMITMENT
EMPLOYEE Dimensions:
EMPOWERMENT 1. Affective org.
commitment

WORK
MOTIVATION
Dimension:

1. Task significance
2. Autonomy
3. feedback
HYPOTHESES

Hypothesis # 01 (Effect of Empowerment on Work Motivation)

Ha: Empowerment affects work motivation of employees.

Ho: Empowerment does not affect work motivation of employees

Ha (1): Empowerment positively affects work motivation of employees.

Ha (2): Empowerment negatively affects work motivation of employees.

Hypothesis # 02 (Effect of Empowerment on Organizational Commitment)

Ha: Empowerment affects organizational commitment.

Ho: Empowerment does not affect organizational commitment.

Ha (1): Empowerment positively affects organizational commitment.

Ha (2): Empowerment negatively affects organizational commitment.

Hypothesis # 03 (Dynamic Structural Framework)

Task Significance

Autonomy
Dynamic Structural
Framework

Feedback

Affective
Organizational
Commitment
Hypothesis # 04 (Control of Work Decision Making)
Task Significance

Autonomy

Control of Work Decision

Making
Feedback

Affective
Organizational
Commitment

Hypothesis # 05 (Fluditity in Information Sharing)

Task Significance

Autonomy

Fluditity in Information
Sharing Feedback

Affective
Organizational
Commitment
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bateman, T. & Strasser, S. (1984). “A longitudinal analysis of the antecedents of organizational commitment”,
Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 21, 95-112

Stephen J. Jaros (1995), “An Assessment of Meyer and Allen's (1991) Three-Component Model
of Organizational Commitment and Turnover Intentions.”, Department of Management, College
of Business Administration, Southern University

http://www.jrank.org/business/pages/1651/theory-Z.html.

Ouchi, William G. (1981). Theory Z. New York: Avon Books.

James R. Lindner, June 1998 // Volume 36 // Number 3. Understanding Employee Motivation

[Available at: www.joe.org/joe/1998june/rb3.php [Accessed 20th December 2010].

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/task-significance.html#ixzz18ldGquHz

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/autonomy.html#ixzz18ldjfOTk

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/feedback.html#ixzz18ldzMVj5

http://www.springerlink.com/content/21470j6508x000qw/

http://www.scribd.com/doc/20353352/Strategic-Performance-Empowerment-Model