Abstract

Performance improvement in service organizations is of major concern to managers as one way of enhancing organizational growth. This proposition in turn leads to the suggestion that performance improvement gains can be realized for service organizations by expanding conventional motivation and having a good job design policy.

The study examined the effects of job design and employee motivation on job performance of employees at NFC bank Buea who were purposively and conveniently selected. A cross-sectional survey and a case study were employed. A sample size of twelve (12) respondents from amongst the bank’s employees were selected to partake in the study.

The study made use of both primary and secondary sources of data collection. The results of the study confirmed that job design tends to affect motivation and job performance significantly. The study also revealed that workers’ performance does not depend on the behavior of other workers in the company but on the motivation policies available in the company.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

To trace the beginning of job design is mostly associated with Federick Winslow Taylor’s research of time and motion and scientific management (Brian Francis R., Work attitudes and job motivation, 2014). During the postindustrial era, Taylor noticed that most jobs of this time were fairly simple such as assembly lines and factory jobs. In this work settings, an employee complains of having such a boring job which led to high absentee rate and high turnover rate. Managers thought the best way to increase motivation was with money but did not think about job content at all.

Taylor’s contribution to redesigning jobs and tasks to motivate workers and increase productivity in an organization is indisputable. Today it is clearly seen that the nature and characteristics of employees’ work have a great impact on worker motivation and the way they perform at work. Well-designed jobs have a positive influence on employee motivation and performance, leading to improved individual and group organizational performance outcomes such as their membership (joining/leaving an organization), reliable role behavior (how well the worker does their job), and innovative/spontaneous action (going above and beyond the normal job) (Ugboro, 2006).

Theories behind work design traditionally focus on creating or changing the nature of employee’s jobs to improve their psychological state and therefore increase their performance outcomes. This study seeks to provide insight into the concept of work design and how optimizing work design can be utilized to influence employee motivation and performance outcomes.

Work design refers to a spectrum of job factors, ranging from internal and external organizational factors to the way tasks are organized, that affect what people do at work and how effectively they can do it. The concept has roots in psychological research and theories of work motivation to improve employee satisfaction and performance and therefore increase organizational productivity and efficiency (Campion, Mumford, Morgeson & Nahrgang, 2005).

Much of the research centers on employee perceptions of tasks, the relationships between those perceptions, and the behavioral outcomes as a result of those relationships (Griffin, Welsh & Moorhead, 1981).

The first conceptualization of motivational directed performance is based on Herzberg’s Two Factor theory which hypothesized a causal relationship between external or internal work factors and performance (Herzberg, 1966). He defined two types of factors—extrinsic hygiene factors (i.e., management, working conditions, salary, etc.) and intrinsic motivators (i.e., recognition, responsibility, achievement, etc.).

The theory emphasizes attention has to be given to both employees’ intrinsic and extrinsic needs in order to motivate them and create contentment and job satisfaction, Hackman and Oldham (1976).  Job Characteristic Model (JCM) is also the basis for many work design theories and extends the notion of meeting employees’ human/mental needs to improve performance processes (Hackman & Oldham, 1976).

They depicted positive work structure in the form of five job characteristics (skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, feedback) which promoted higher intrinsic psychological factors (meaningfulness, responsibility, knowledge of results) and thus improve motivation and work performance. An employee with knowledge of results of their work, a sense of responsibility, and an understanding of the meaningfulness of their work will ultimately have greater satisfaction on the job

1.2 Problem Statement

Most jobs of today are fairly simple and repetitive in their content. In such work settings, employees often complain of having such a boring job which leads to a high absenteeism rate and a high job turnover rate.

Most managers think the best way to increase motivation and job performance is with money without thinking of job content at all.(Lawler, 2006) Thus the underlying basis or purpose of this research is about how employees tend to view and enjoy their work and its impact on their performance.

The major problems organizations face are whether organizations’ staff are motivated to perform their jobs and whether employees find their work interesting and meaningful. (Vroom, 1964) While there are contributions in the area of job design and its effect on employee motivation and job performance (Lawler, 2006), relatively few studies attempt to combine the two relationships into a larger relational flow between job design, employee motivation, and job performance.

Vroom, (1964) proposed that people are motivated by how much they want something and how likely they are to get it. He suggested that motivation leads to effort and the efforts combined with employee’s ability together with environmental factors which interplay shall result in performance. It is in furtherance of this that this study reviews literature from a number of studies that attempt to outline how the design of a job can affect employee motivation and job performance.

1.3 Research questions

This study seeks to throw more light on the following questions;

1. What is the relationship between job design and performance in NFC bank Buea?
2. Does motivation influence the performance of staff in NFC bank Buea?

1.4 Objective of the study

The main objective of this study is to investigate the effects of job design on employee’s productivity in NFC bank Buea.

Specifically, this study has sought to;

1. Examine how job design affects employee job performance in NFC bank Buea.
2. Establish the relationship between job design, employee achievement, and performance in NFC Buea

1.5 Research hypothesis

H0: Job design does not have a significant effect on workers’ productivity in NFC bank Buea