The Role of Motivation on Employee Performance in Public Organization. A Case of Ministry of National Development Planning Hargeisa, Somaliland

TABLE OF CONTENTS

One INTRODUCTION OF THE STUDY
Background of the Study
Statement of the Problem
Research Objectives
Research Questions
Scope
Significance of the Study
Organizational Profile
Operational Definitions of Key Terms

Two REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Introduction
Concepts, Ideas, Opinions from Authors/Experts
Theoretical Review
Empirical Studies

Three METHODOLOGY
Research Design
Research Population
Sample Size
Sampling Procedure
Research Instrument
Validity and Reliability of the Instrument
Data Gathering Procedures
Data Analysis
Ethical Considerations

Four RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Introduction
Profile of the respondents
Motivation practices by the MoNDP
Extrinsic Motivation and Employee Performance
Intrinsic Motivation and Employee Performance
Relationship between Motivation and Work Performance

Five SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
Conclusions
Recommendations
Limitations of the Study
Areas for further research

References

Appendices
Appendix A - Introductory Letter
Appendix B - Questionnaire
Appendix C - Interview
Appendix D - Time Frame
Appendix E- Budget frame

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1. Sampling Frame

Table 4.1. Profile of the respondents

Table 4.2. Motivation practices by the Ministry Of NPD

Table 4.3. Extrinsic Motivation and Employee Performance

Table 4.4. Intrinsic Motivation and Employee Performance

Table 4.5. Interpretation Guide (Numerical Guide)

Table 4.6. Relationship between Motivation and Work Performance

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of motivation on employee performance in public organization: a case of ministry of national development planning Hargeisa, Somaliland. This study guided by the following research questions. To determine the methods used by employers to motivate employees in the MoNDP, to know the extent that extrinsic motivation affects employees’ performance in the MoNDP, To examine how intrinsic motivation affect employees’ performance in the MoNDP, To identify how motivation link with employee work performance.

This study adopted a descriptive research design. The population of the study was 90 employees’ of the MoNDP. A census sampling was done and so the 90 employees constituted the sample size. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. The questionnaire was to administer by the researcher. The completed questionnaires were edited for completeness. The data were analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) computer package. The data were interpreted using descriptive statistics through frequencies, percentages and correlation analysis. The findings were presented in the form of tables and figures.

The study found out that the ministry uses many different tools to motivate its employees. These include; payments on time, employee rotation within the ministry and salary provision. However, the study also found out that NDP does not use provide fringe benefits to its employees. It was also found out that ministry doesn’t pay its workers according to the amount of work they have done also when employees meet targets ministry doesn’t provide bonuses the ministry does not carry out training of its employees. The study also found out that the organization does not make sure that that employee's work is challenging or involve them in decision making as a way of motivating them.

The research results indicated that there is a positive correlation between motivation and work performance. This means that changes in one variable is strongly correlated with changes in the second variable. Pearson’s r is .440**. This number is very close to one. For this reason, we can conclude that there is a strong relationship between motivation and employee performance variables

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION OF THE STUDY

Introduction

This chapter presents Background of study, statement of the problems, research objectives, research questions, significance of study, Research of scope, description of the study and Organizational Profile.

Background of the study

The role of motivation on employees work performance in public organization has been developed throughout the world during the era of human resource management as a tool, which proposed to promote the organization’s efficiency and performance. Motivation plays a key role in employees’ job performance in any organization (Calder, 2006). The employee’s motivation has been a long concept in human resource management and has drawn more attentions as a central research topic for scholars and practitioners (Calder, 2006). As a result, a lot of theories and approaches have developed in order to explain the nature of employees’ motivation in the private and the public sector. However, most of the previous studies on the role of motivation on employees’ job performance descend little of practical application or offer it only for the private sector. The problem is that with the effects of the latest financial crisis and mismanagement in public sector governments need today, more than ever before, practical ways that can help motivate public employees to be productive and get “more for less” (Robbins, et al., 2007).

In this era of globalization and competition, employee motivation and performance are considered to be the key factors for organizations success (Sakovska, 2012). The employees of an organization are vital for the organizational performance (Bennet, 2002). This is also emphasized by (Harvey and Brown, 2006) who argues that people are the foundation of every organization. Also, it is commonly said that people working for an organization, are the most valuable, the most costly, and the most volatile of all the resources that it can use to enhance the organizational performance. Organizations need motivated people to get things done (Bennet, 2002; Khan, Farooq and Ullah, 2010).

Human Resource Managers most often fulfill their organizational goals through the work of employees. Therefore, managers need to have highly efficient and productive staff members. Although many factors contribute to productivity, job performance is viewed to be the most influential one. Job performance itself is a function of four variables: ability, understanding of the task, environment, and motivation (Mitchell, 2000). The human resources and their management staffs are the source of competitive advantage for the business, rather than access to capital or use of technology. It is therefore logical to suggest that, attention needs to be paid to the nature of this resource and how the management assures staff performance through motivation schemes because motivation affects human resource behavior and performance and consequently the performance of the organization.

While most organizations see a clear need to improve employees’ performance, many have yet to motive their employees to achieve this goal. However, a number of companies are gaining competitive advantage through establishing effective motivation practices on overall business performance (Sakovska, 2012). In most organizations, the current leaders are aware that there is much to be done to ensure that they have a focused and highly competitive workforce (Pratheepkanth, 2011). Encouraging the employees to perform highly requires considerable effort and top management focus to a large degree in motivating the employees to give their best (Pınar Gungor, 2011). In order for the organization to compete effectively, managers need to motivate the employees to give their best as part of the valuable resource unavailable in the company (Sakovska, 2012). The motivation of the employees is the best tool in the company’s efforts to gain competitive advantages and stay competitive.

However, (Torrington, et al. 2009) warn that there is no one reward system either intrinsic and extrinsic reward system that can achieve all the above mentioned features for all employees to perform well in an organization at the same time since human being do not perceive things in a uniform manner. (Torrington et al. 2009) recommend that managers are required to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of each reward system and decide where to put the emphasis on employee performance. On the other hand, the incentive system which includes extrinsic and intrinsic reward system describes an incentive strategy that brings components such as learning and development together with aspects of the work environment into the benefits package (Khan, Farooq and Ullah, 2010). Hence, for organizations faced with many fluctuations and pressures in today's world in order to meet their goals. They have to take employees’ motivation and performance into their development processes and with understanding that effective changes that will give them desired performance to accomplish organization goals (Khan, Farooq and Ullah, 2010).

Somaliland is a country which has gained its independent from Britain in 1960, and joined voluntarily with other Italian protectorate in southern ethnic groups of Somalia. After some decades of political riots and unrest, Somaliland regained it is political wisdom from the south in 1991 after severe battles against former regime of Siad Barre. (Samater 1995) On the other hand, Somaliland constructed it is peace from the grassroots with the help of clan elders, scholars and civilians without getting any political support from pro-democratic states. In fact, this was facilitated by the same ethnicity that most of the people share together. Some few problems resulted from political struggle has caused problems in 1994-1996. Fortunately, the country has gone referendum through democratic chose where people can vote and may not vote without state coercion. This has brought legitimate constitutions voted by local civilians (Jamhuuriya report 2003)

Moreover, since 1994 the central problem arose from the politico-administrative structure in Somaliland, where mostly public sector organizations is affected by mismanagement and corruption (Jamhuuriya report 2003). One of the major functions of human resource manager is to enhance and maintain employees’ work motivation. Human resource management’s function is to assist the general manager or line management in keeping the employees satisfied with their jobs by providing motivation of different kinds to enhance their performance.

There is need to understand the type of reward systems that employees perceive to be the most motivating in enhancing their performance and how the reward systems can be developed to boost the organization performance. This is because a motivated work force exhibits lots of enthusiasm at the workplace with the potential of accomplishing the organization’s goals through exceptional performance (Armstrong, 2001). Cheng (2005) states that the biggest challenge for the management of public sectors today is motivating the employees for enhanced performance by offering better services to meet the customers’ expectations. One of the major functions of human resource manager is to enhance and maintain employees’ work motivation. Human resource management’s function is to assist the general manager or line management in keeping the employees satisfied with their jobs by providing motivation of different kinds to enhance their performance.

This study was focused on Somaliland public sector organizations and particularly the Ministry of national planning and development the vision of the ministry is to have vital strategic role of leading, facilitating and coordinating national vision and development The issue now that the ministry is facing is motivating the employees for enhanced performance by offering better services to meet the customers’ expectations.

Problem Statement

This study was required due to the need of human resources management in public Organizations, as the organizations have to be managed effectively and efficiently. The rapid increase of the number of public organizations, degree of competition and the required increase in employee’s turnover and costs of employee’s replacement have forced public organizations to aggressively compete for employees. These issues and problems demand that public organizations continually assess their internal processes and capabilities if it is to remain competitive. According to Armstrong (2007), human resources management can positively contribute to public organization performance. However in Somaliland there are few studies which investigated about this topic, on other hand to assess the role of motivation on employee’s work performance has been an interested topic for both private and public sectors. Ghafoor (2011) argued that employee’s motivation is the most important practice in any organization. On additional to that Lather and Jain, (2005) proposed that motivated employees are the basis of any organization performance, because they possess an awareness of specific goals that must be achieved in particular ways and they therefore direct their efforts towards achieving such goals.

Many organizations especially public organizations have for a long time been blamed for having poor staff motivation schemes resulting to poor corporate performance and hence failure to reach such organizations’ business objectives. The problem is that motivating public employees is easier said than done. Public workers have a reputation for being lazy and lethargic (Wilson, 1994,& Wright, 2001) and mangers’ room for maneuver is apparently very little, due to rigid civil service laws.

To assess the role of motivation on employees’ work performance in the Ministry of National Planning and Development in Somaliland, the role of motivation should be critically elaborated in this study. However, the assessment of the role of motivation on employees work performance in Somaliland has not cited by many researchers though have attempted to discover the causes of employee job satisfactions to human resource management. Therefore, to assess the gap that exist to the role of motivation on employees work performance in public organization is the need of this study.

General Objectives

The general objective of this study was to assess the role of motivation on employees work performance in Public organization, with reference of the Ministry of National Planning and Development in Somaliland

Specific Objectives

The following research questions guided this study

1. To determine the methods used to motivate employee in the Ministry Of National Planning and Development Hargeisa, Somaliland
2. To know the extent to which extrinsic motivation affect employees’ performance in the Ministry Of National Planning and Development Hargeisa, Somaliland
3. To examine how intrinsic motivation affect employees’ performance in the Ministry Of National Planning and Development Hargeisa, Somaliland
4 To identify how motivation link with employee work performance

Research Questions

Based on the research topic, the objectives stated above this research shall be guided by the following vital questions;

1. What are the methods used by employer to motivate employees in the Ministry Of National Planning and Development Hargeisa, Somaliland?
2. To what extent does extrinsic motivation affect employees’ performance in the Ministry Of National Planning and Development Hargeisa, Somaliland?
3. To What extent does intrinsic motivation affect employees’ performance in the Ministry Of National Planning and Development Hargeisa, Somaliland?
4. What is the relationship between motivation and work performance?

The Scope of the Study

Content Scope

The study determined the role of motivation on employees’ performance in public sector organizations.

Geographical Scope

The study was conducted using a population of 90 employees of the ministry of national planning and development in Hargeisa, Somaliland from the following departments: Admin, planning, statistics, development and coordination department

Time Scope

The study was conducted for a period of three months starting from July to September

Theoretical Scope

This study was limited to these different motivation theories in relation to motivation effect on employee performance The Maslow and Herzberg theories formed the basis for this study

Motivational theories can be classified under three broad categories according to Stoner and Freedman (1989). These are content theories, process theories and reinforcement theories. Each of these perspectives sheds light on how motivation influences work performance.

Significance of the Study

This study will make a number of contributions to different organizations, policy makers, Human Resource Managers, present employees and the future ones. The study will help local top management to understand motivation drives that influence employees perform better in their jobs. Also this study will be very important to bring out the information on the effective, motivations at the ministry of National planning and Development in Somaliland as well as different organizations. Criteria used in Motivating Staff, Importance of motivations in relation to the performances will be analyzed

Furthermore, the study will help the organization to restructure the motivations criteria, and flourish the motivations environments and be able to consider important factors in motivating employees. In addition, this study will help the managers/administrators to understand the needs of their employees and, hence maximize employee effectiveness and efficiency in order for the institutions/companies to gain a competitive advantage.

In addition, the study hopes to provide a concrete context for discussion about what can be done to ensure regeneration of employee’s capability in delivering public services. The study will also help the researcher for practical fulfillment for Master’s degree and wide the knowledge of motivation matters to employees in working areas hence increase effectiveness and efficiency.

Organization Profile

The research was conducted at Ministry of National Planning and Development. Hargeisa national main office was chosen because it is the main office where all information lies on and also one among the public institution that can be accessed easily by the researcher. Also it is because there is allegation that the ministry is not performing better because employees are not motivated.

Vision

Ministry of National Planning and Development has vital strategic role of leading, facilitating and coordinating national vision and development.

Mission

To take a leading role in the achievement of a rapid sustainable development, in order to improve the quality of life of the people of Somaliland.

Functions

- Provide data that is accurate, relevant and timely about the nation's people and economy
- Prepare and facilitate national and regional development plans
- Formulate and provide policy guidelines
- Mobilize domestic and external resources
- Register local and international non-governmental organizations
- Coordinate development activities
- Ensure efficient allocation of resources
- Focal point of international development partners

Operational Definitions of Key Terms

In this study Motivation is the psychological processes that cause the arousal, direction, and persistence of voluntary action that is goal oriented

In this study Motives provide direction to human behavior as they are directed towards certain conscious or subconscious goals

In this study Employee performance involves quality and quantity of output, presence at work, accommodative and helpful nature and timeliness of output.

In this study Extrinsic motivation means that the individual's motivational stimuli are coming from outside

In this study intrinsic motivation means that the individual's motivational stimuli are coming from within.

CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

This chapter presents the literature review according to the research questions of the study. It discusses the extent to which extrinsic motivation affects employees’ performance in public sector, the extent to which intrinsic motivation affects employees’ performance in the public sector and the extent to which other factors affect employees’ performance in the Public sector. The chapter ends with a summary of the discussions.

Concepts, Ideas, Opinions from Authors/ Experts

The Concept of Motivation

The word motivation has been derived from motive which means any idea, need or emotion that prompt a man into action. Whatever may be the behavior of man, there is some stimulus behind it. Stimulus is dependent upon the motive of the person concern. Motive can be known by studying a person’s needs and desires.

There is no universal theory that can explain the factors influencing motives which control man’s behavior at any particular point in time. In general, the different motives operate at different times among different people and influence their behaviors. The process of motivation studies the motives of individuals which cause different type of behavior.

Kreitner(1995), Buford, Bedeian and Linder(1995),Higgins (19940 cited in Linder(1998) defined motivation as “the psychological process that gives behavior purpose and direction , a predisposition to behave in a purposive manner to achieve specific unmet needs, an unsatisfied need and the will to achieve, respectively.

Young (2000) also defined motivation as the force within an individual that account for the level, direction, persistence of effort at work. Halepota (2005) definition of motivation is “a person’s active participation and commitment to achieve the prescribed results”. Halepota further presents that the concept of motivation is abstract because different strategies produce different results at different times and there is no single strategy that can produce guaranteed favorable results at all times.”

According to Antonioni (1999), “the amount of effort people are willing to put in their work depends on the degree to which they feel their motivational needs will be satisfied. On the other hand, individuals become de-motivated if they feel something in the organization prevents them from attaining good outcomes. It can be observed from the above definitions that, motivation in general, is more or less basically concern with factors or events that leads and drives certain human action or inaction over a given period of time given the prevailing conditions.

Furthermore, the definitions suggest that there is the need to be an “invisible force “to push people to do something in return. It could also be deduced from the definition that having a motivated workforce or creating an environment in which high levels of motivation is maintained for the challenge for management today. Its challenge may emanate from the simple fact that motivation is not a fixed trait as it could change with changes in personal, psychological, financial or social factors.

For this research, the definition of motivation by Greenberg and Baron (2003) is adopted, as it is more realistic and simple as it considers the individuals and his performance.

Greenberg and Baron defined motivation as “the set of processes that arouse, direct, and maintain human behavior towards attaining goals.

Jones (1955) argues that “motivation is concerned with how behavior gets started, is energized, is sustained, is directed, and is stopped and what kind of subjective reaction is Present in the organization while all this is going on.

Extrinsic Motivation and Employees’ Performance

Extrinsic motivation refers to someone doing something because it leads to a separable outcome (Mullin, 2010). Extrinsic rewards may play an important role in boosting the employee’s performance as Pierce and Gardner (2004) point out that an individual’s self-esteem, formed around work and organizational experiences, plays a significant role in determining employee motivation. There are various components of extrinsic motivational factors and they include: pay, bonus programs, profit sharing and stock options (Mullin, 2010).

A. Pay

Pay refers to the amount of money provided to workers for the accomplishment of organization goals (Koch, 2008). Kreitner and Kinicki (2007) suggests that the effectiveness of pay as a motivator depends on a number of circumstances, including the value and needs of individuals and their preference for different types of financial or nonfinancial rewards. Armstrong and Murlis (2004) further commented that pay is important to people because it is instrumental in satisfying a number of their most pressing needs. It is significant not only because of what they can buy but also a highly tangible method of recognizing their worth, thus, improving their self-esteem and gaining esteem of others (Khan, Farooq & Ullah, 2010). Armstrong and Murlis (2004) reflecting on intrinsic motivation pointed out that pay in itself has no intrinsic meaning and acquires significant motivating power only when it comes to symbolize intangible goals.

Yin and Yang (2012) found that the employee incentive of pay, distinctively impacted on their performance. Pay was significantly correlated with job performance (Yin and Yang, 2012).

B. Bonus

Programs Bonus programs are usually rewards provided to individuals for their accomplishment in a particular task (Mullin, 2010). The bonus program has been used in different organizations for some time now. Bonuses are frequently used in sales organizations to encourage salespersons to generate additional business or higher profits. They can also be used, however, to recognize group accomplishments. Indeed, increasing numbers of businesses have switched from individual bonus programs to one which rewards contributions to corporate performance at group, departmental, or company-wide levels (Odell, 2005).

According to Yin and Yang (2012), small businesses interested in long-term benefits should probably consider another type of reward. Bonuses are generally short-term motivators. By rewarding an employee's performance for the previous year, they encourage a short-term perspective rather than future-oriented accomplishments. In addition, these programs need to be carefully structured to ensure they are rewarding accomplishments above and beyond an individual or group's basic functions. Otherwise, they run the risk of being perceived of as entitlements or regular merit pay, rather than a reward for outstanding work. Proponents, however, contend that bonuses are a perfectly legitimate means of rewarding outstanding performance, and they argue that such reward system can actually be a powerful tool to encourage future top-level efforts (Odell, 2005). Profit sharing incentives may also play a role in boosting employees’ performance.

C. Profit Sharing

Profit sharing refers to the strategy of creating a pool of monies to be disbursed to employees by taking a stated percentage of a company’s profits (Yin & Yang, 2012). The amount given to an employee is usually equal to a percentage of the employee's salary and is disbursed after a business closes its books for the year (Rajapaksa and Rothstein, 2009). The benefits can be provided either in actual cash or via contributions to employee's retirement plans. A benefit for a company offering this type of reward is that it can keep fixed costs low (Ramey, Ardella and Carl, 2011).

The idea behind profit sharing is to reward employees for their contributions to a company's achieved profit goal. It encourages employees to stay put because it is usually structured to reward employees who stay with the company (Mullin, 2010). Most profit sharing programs require an employee to be vested in the program over a number of years before receiving any money (Pratheepkanth, 2011). Unless well managed, profit sharing may not properly motivate individuals if all receive the share anyway. A team spirit (everyone pulling together to achieve that profit) can counter this especially if it arises from the employees and is not just management propaganda (Luthans, 2005). . Stock options may also play a role in boosting employees’ performance.

D. Stock Options

A stock option refers to a contract between two parties in which the stock option buyer (holder) purchases the right (but not the obligation) to buy or sell 100 shares of an underlying stock at a predetermined price to the option seller (writer) within a fixed period of time (Khan, Farooq and Ullah, 2010). Stock options have become an increasingly popular method in recent years of rewarding middle management and other employees in both mature companies and start-ups. Employee stock-option programs give employees the right to buy a specified number of a company's shares at a fixed price for a specified period of time (usually around ten years). They are generally authorized by a company's board of directors and approved by its shareholders. The number of options a company can award to employees is usually equal to a certain percentage of the company's shares outstanding (Parker and Liz, 2001).

Stock options usually reward employees for sticking around, serving as a long-term motivator. Once an employee has been with a company for a certain period of time (usually around four years), he or she is fully vested in the program. If the employee leaves the company prior to being fully vested, those options are canceled (Torrington et. al., 2009). After an employee becomes fully vested in the program, he or she can purchase from the company an allotted number of shares at the strike price (or the fixed price originally agreed to). This purchase is known as "exercising" stock options. After purchasing the stock, the employee can either retain it or sell it on the open market with the difference in strike price and market price being the employee's gain in the value of the shares (Rajapaksa and Rothstein, 2009).

Intrinsic Motivation and Employees’ Performance

Intrinsic motivation refers to doing something because it is inherently interesting or enjoyable (Yin and Yang, 2012). Intrinsically motivated agents do not only care about extrinsic rewards (like monetary payments), but their motivation to worker harder depends also on factors such as their self-esteem or self confidence in succeeding in a task (Pierce and Gardner, 2004). There are various components of intrinsic motivational factors and they include: job autonomy, professional growth, leadership, workload and work contentment (Yin and Yang, 2012).

Such experiences are for examples signals by the organizational environment and significant others (Pierce and Gardner, 2004). Other determinants of an employee's self-confidence are job characteristics, such as task difficulty and complexity, the environment in which the task is performed, work quality, quantity and routine, as well as creativity and meaningfulness of the work, or identification with the job (Gardner, 2004).

As such, the management therefore needs to understand what reward system are involved to get employees give of their best and stretch towards their potential. Hatcher, Bleich, Connolly, Davis, Hewlett, and Hill (2006) conducted a study to identify best practices for motivating and retention of the older nursing workforce (ages 45-64). The authors conducted a literature review to examine characteristics of the older employee, define human resource policies affecting production, and discover work environment designs that foster recruitment of older employees. The authors identified 25 individuals as experts in hospital employee retention as well as experts in the retention of older workers. Of the 25 experts, 13 participated in telephone interviews (Hatcher et al., 2006). Ultimately, these 13 experts identified either the same or very similar variables to increase organizational commitment as those identified in the literature (Hatcher et al., 2006). Job autonomy may also play a role in boosting employees’ performance.

A. Job Autonomy

Job autonomy refers to the way a job provides the freedom to expand on the job duties and responsibilities to any individual who was hired to perform it independent judgment and discretion required to do the work. In addition to telephone interviews, Hatcher et al. (2006) conducted a survey as a means of identifying best practices for enhancing performance of older employees. A pilot web-based employee survey was made available to more than 2,000 employees in a Presbyterian New Mexico healthcare system composed of seven different hospitals, 26 ambulatory care clinics, home health care and hospices services. The survey response rate was 200% (N=377) and did not concentrate solely on older employees (Hatcher et al., 2006). The authors recommended autonomy as a solution to the motivation of older employees in the overall findings to enhance their performance. A literature review by Moseley, Jeffers, and Paterson (2008) examining the same identified empowerment or autonomy as a solution to increasing workers performance.

B. Professional Growth

Professional growth refers to the fulfilment career responsibilities as part of the employee learning and skill building overtime (Mullin, 2010). Hatcher et al. (2006) found that professional growth, such as provision of challenges, increases performance among older employees. To further support professional growth and continuing education as indicators for boosting the workers’ performance, Tourangeau et al. (2010) found that provisions of challenges and support from the organization for professional development of the employee practice are important to employees. The authors reported that opportunities for new challenges are a motivator for boosting their performance. It was also reported that opportunities for professional development, such as educational offerings, have the potential to increase employees’ performance (Tourangeau et al., 2010). Many managers and consultants tend to agree that professional growth is the best incentives in the long run as an intrinsic reward (Pascerella, 2007). Professional growth tends to sustain employees’ performance in the long term (Gross, 2005). In a further study by Shaw and Schneier (2005), professional growth was found to be a more effective way to motivate a team as compared to monetary rewards. Yin and Yang (2012) found that a positive correlation between professional growth and job performance. Moseley, Jeffers and Paterson (2008) recommended professional growth should be enhanced as a means of continually fostering increased performance (Moseley et al., 2008). Such interventions would promote employee motivation to give the best of their performance. Leadership may also play a role in boosting employees’ performance.

C. Leadership

Leadership is defined as an individual who has the ability to bring about change by looking for potential motives in followers, by seeking to satisfy higher need and fully engage the followers through a mutual relationship to inspire the followers towards the achievement of the group goals (Ma, Lee, Yang and Change, 2009). Tourangeau, Cummings, Cranley, Ferron and Harvey (2006) suggested establishing leadership that shares common interest in his or her vision, work group goals and objectives. In a later study, Tourangeau et al. (2010) further supported the previous findings by suggesting that leadership support, as well as relationships with the manager, are motivators for increased employee performance. The authors also found that flexible scheduling is an equally important variable. Based on the finding of this study, participants felt leaders who provided flexible scheduling had a positive impact on employee performance. In most focus groups, the leader’s capabilities, motives, and relationship with the employees affected the employee’s performance (Tourangeau et al., 2010).

In 2009, Ma, Lee, Yang, and Chang conducted a cross-sectional study in Taiwan. This study involved four acute care hospitals and examined employees’ performance and its correlation with leadership characteristics. Upon approval from the institutional ethical committees, self-reported surveys, developed by the research team, were administered to the employees, with reminders that the questionnaires were voluntary and anonymous (Ma et al., 2009). Ma et al. (2009) found that good leadership was the most significant predictor of intent to improve performance. The authors recommended that organizations implement a good leadership program to improve on employees’ performance. Also, performance of the employees should be assessed on a regular basis and the leaders take actions to enhance the employees’ performance (Ma et al., 2009). Work load may also play a role in boosting employees’ performance.

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