Effects of Motivation On Employee Performance in GES

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This article is a thesis writing or review on the topic, “Motivational Packages And Their Effects On Employee Performance In The Ghana Education Service (GES): A Case Study Of Asante Akyem Senior High Schools.”

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Researcher: A. P.

1. Introduction

Motivation plays a significant role in teaching and learning in the Ghana Education Service. Governments have initiated a lot of incentive packages for teacher’s benefit in order to increase performance. For instance, teachers have been given the opportunity to study with pay, also special incentive packages are given to teachers who have been posted to rural areas.

Two motives are directly involved in the prediction of behavior, implicit and explicit. Implicit motives are spontaneous impulses to act. They are also known as task performances, and are aroused through incentives inherent to the task. Many theorists therefore still cannot agree whether achievement is based on mastering one's skills or striving to promote a better self-image (Brunstein & Maier, 2005). Most researchers are still unable to determine whether these different types of motivation would result in different behaviors in the same environment. On the other hand, explicit motives are expressed through deliberate choices and more often stimulated for extrinsic reasons. These two motives often work together to determine the behavior of the individual in terms of direction and passion (Brunstein & Maier, 2005).

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Explicit and implicit motivations have a compelling impact on behavior. A person with a strong implicit drive will feel pleasure from achieving a goal in the most efficient way because of their results-driven nature and the need to set higher standards.
However, explicit motives are built around a person's self-image. This type of motivation shapes a person’s behavior based on their own self-view and can influence their choices and responses from outside cues. The primary agent for this type of motivation is a perception or perceived ability.

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In the working environment, either public or private, one of the key elements that increase performance is motivation. Motivation is a basic psychological process, akin to perception and learning. It interacts with and acts in conjunction with other psychological processes and personality. All that can be seen is behaviour. The study of motivation can be traced back to the writing of the ancient Greek Philosophers (Kamali, Kan, Khan and Khan, 2008).

Motivation alone does not dictate all of a person’s behaviour. According to Kamali et al, (2008), a person’s ability clearly also matters, and so do factors like the resources a person is given to do his or her job. Successful work performance can arise from a variety of motives. Two people doing similar jobs may both be successful but for very different motives.

In most workplaces, incentive and performance management systems reward some aspects of work behaviour more than others. Also, different behaviours may be rewarded in different ways, and certain particular ways may suit some people better than others.

According to a number of authorities, the proper approach to work motivation lies in a careful distinction between extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. Herzberg (1968) distinguishes between extrinsic rewards surrounding a job (such as salaries, fringe benefits, and job security) and intrinsic reward of the job itself (such as self-respect, sense of accomplishment, and personal growth).

According to Johnson (1986:55) there are three theories of motivation and productivity that the teacher motivation is based on. These are:

Expectancy theory: It is probable for a person to struggle for work if there is an expected reward such as a bonus or a promotion that is worth working.
Equity theory: Unfair treatment for their efforts and achievements makes individuals displeased
Job enrichment: The more varied and challenging their work is, the more productive the employee becomes.

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According to Moorhead (2004), managers strive to motivate people in the organization to perform at high level. This means getting them to work hard, to come to work regularly and to make valuable contribution to the organization’s mission. But job performance depends on the ability and environment as well as motivation. To reach a high level of performance:

An employee must do the job well (motivation),
Must be able to do the job effectively (ability), and;
Must have the materials, resources, equipment and the information to do the job (environment).

Deficiency of any one of these areas hurts employee performance. A manager should thus, strive to ensure that all the three conditions are met.

In Ghana Education Service (GES), teacher motivation is inadequate for instance; there is no motivation for teachers apart from their meager salary. There is no accommodation for teachers as compared to other sectors or institutions; they have to struggle for their accommodation especially after completing school. Teachers have to commute long distances to work. Also, basic teaching and learning materials to work with are not available. These situations led to the general strike action by teachers in February to March of 2011.

2. Objectives

The general objective of the study is to determine the effects of motivation (as elicited by motivational packages) on performance of teachers in Ghana Education Service (GES) at Asante–Akyem senior high schools. Specifically, the study sought to identify the main motivational packages in GES; to assess the extent to which the current motivational packages are able to motivate teachers in GES; and to determine the causes of poor performance of teachers in GES.

3. Key Findings

It was found out that, the following motivational packages are available in Ghana Education Service: monetary incentives, opportunity for further studies, flexibility in job design and empowerment. It was realized that 35.9% of the respondents said opportunity for further studies is the most important motivational factor, while 31.7% of the respondents were with the view that monetary incentives was next to opportunity for further studies. Also, 22.8% and 9.6% respondents were in favour of flexibility in job design and empowerment respectively. It was also found out that, although the above incentives are available in GES, teachers do not enjoy them.

[Motivational Packages Available in GES]

When the teachers were asked how job security and good working conditions affect their performance, half of the teachers, that is 50% agreed that job security and good working conditions are somehow strong factors that affect their output as teachers.

Also when the teachers were asked how opportunities for advancement affect their performance, almost half of the teachers, that is 45.8% were of the view that opportunity for advancement is not a strong factors that affects their output as teachers.

It was found out that the following are the causes of poor performance of teachers in Ghana Education Service: there is no accommodation for teachers, teachers absent themselves from school, there is no teaching and learning materials in the schools, heads of schools do not supervise teachers work, teachers have no means of transport to their work places and therefore are not committed to the work. From the results of the regression analysis, there was a positive correlation between motivational factors and teacher performance (r = 0.54) which implied that there is a strong relationship between the predictor variables (promotion to higher rank, recognition by others, job security and good working condition, pay and fringe benefits and opportunities for advancement) and teacher performance.

Almost half (45%) of the respondent said that authority and independence are somehow strong factors that determine their output. This means that teachers will work better if they have authority and independence to operate.

4. Some Recommendations
The study revealed that about 39.5% of the teachers in the municipality see opportunity for further studies as the highest motivational factor to enhance their performance. It is therefore recommended that the Government should give teachers more opportunity to further their studies in order to up-grade themselves. This will encourage other people to join teaching service bearing in mind that they can have the chance to further their studies.

The study also revealed that 31.7% of the respondents are of the view that monetary incentives play a vital role in motivating teachers to give off of their best. This was evident in the strike action embarked upon by NAGRAT and GNAT in February, 2011, when the Government promised 20% increment in teachers’ salary, which did not materialize. It is therefore recommended that the Government should give teachers adequate salary so that strikes which retard academic work will be stopped.

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5. Summary

Motivation has been a problem with organizations, institutions and their employees since time immemorial. This study investigates the effects of motivation on employee performance in Ghana Education Service. The study was conducted in Asante Akyem Senior High Schools and six schools were selected for the study, from October 2010 to September 2011.

The research design used for the study was cross-sectional study. A set of questionnaire consisting of both closed and open ended questions were used to collect data from 120 teachers as respondents. The data collected was based on the available motivational packages in Ghana Education service. Also the extents to which motivational packages influence teachers at Asante Akyem Senior High Schools were captured. The relationship between motivation and teacher performance at Asante Akyem Senior High Schools and the causes of poor performance of teachers were also captured by the study. The data collected was analysed using SPSS version 12 and the results were presented using tables, percentages, frequencies, pie charts and bar graphs.

The results were discussed extensively and the findings of the study indicated that opportunity for further studies, flexibility in job design, promotion to higher rank and empowerment are available in Ghana Education Service but there is no realistic policy implementation in Ghana Education Service. So it behoves the Ghana Education Service to design or come out with guidelines that are so transparent or clearer in terms of promoting teachers to higher ranks. Though the study revealed that some intrinsic motivation such as, job security and good working conditions, authority and independence are somehow strong motivational factors that affect teacher performance, extrinsic motivation like lack of accommodation, inadequate teaching and learning materials, poor supervision by heads of Senior High Schools are the main causes of poor performance of teachers.

It was recommended that the Ghana Education Service (GES) should have realistic policy and implementation motivational packages such as: opportunity for further studies, opportunity for promotion to higher rank and accommodation facility like Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Housing Scheme for teachers to enhance their performance and increase productivity.

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