Human Motivation And Workers Productivity
[A CASE STUDY OF BETA GLASS PLC UGHELLI, DELTA STATE, NIGERIA]

The employees are motivated by four rules of the game:
•    We want to give up to our end of the employment bargain.
•    We want to do away with job. The idea is for people not to get caught up psychologically in a do – the-same-job routine but to seek challenge by thinking about where they want go in their work and what they want to do with their lives.
•    We want to get rid of the “employee” mentality. Each person thinks and acts like an owner.
•    We want to create and distribute wealth. Productivity will improve as the Springfield team work’s to create an organization that continuously improves and where people do more to help one another.
The new owners “take a traditional factory with most processes based on Taylor’s scientific management and give it new life with a new focus”. The owners know what motivate them, strive to succeed, their team spirit, the company and society. Therefore, participating management and confidence at Springfield remanufacturing impacted positively on job satisfaction, performance and productivity.
LIMITATIONS OF THE PROCESS THEORIES OF MOTIVATION
The process theories focus almost exclusively on the cognitive process underlying choice rather than other part of motivational process. For example, “calculating the expectancy (subjective probability) of various outcome (eg. Good or bad quality of a certain work behaviour), the instrumentality (subjective correlation) of these outcomes for subsequent outcomes (e.g reduction of income because of slower or high quality worker positive feedback from supervisors for fewer inaccuracies and errors) and finally, the valence (subjective value) of these second order outcomes in terms of Vroom’s VIE model”.
From the VIE model, one cannot predict actual behaviour or the most probable choice for a certain effort.
Work motivation theories are met to predict job behaviour and job performance. In view of the above, the content and process theories are ‘distal’, i.e distant from action.
2.5    MOTIVATION: FROM CONCEPT, TO APPLICATION OF EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT CONCEPT
Robbin and Judge (2009:225) defines employee involvement as “A participative process that uses the input of employees and is intended to increase employee commitment to an organizational success.”
This entails involving workers in the decisions that affect them and increase their autonomy and control over their work lives. Employees will become more motivated, more committed to the organization, more productive and more satisfied with their jobs.
EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT PROGRAMS
i.    Participative Management
This is the use of joint decision making. The sharing of decision making power between superiors and subordinate.
Research has so far shown that it has only a moderate influence on variables. Such as employee productivity, motivation and job satisfaction. In any case, its general objective is the motivation of employees to improve morale and productivity subject to employee interest, competence and knowledge to make useful contribution. There must also be trust and confidence from all parties for it to translate to improve productivity and service delivery.
ii.    Representative Participation
This involves a representative of workers involve in decision-making and this has been acclaimed as “the most widely legislated form of employee involvement around the world”.
The main goal is to redistribute power within an organization, putting labour on a more equal footing with management interest and stockholders. The forms are:
(a)    Work Councils: They are nominated or elected employees who must be consulted when management make decision about personnel.
(b)    Board Representative: They are employees who sit on company board of directors and represent the interests of the firm’s employees.
Representative participation might increase the motivation and satisfaction, particularly of the representatives but may not transform into change in employee attitudes or in improving organizational performance.
iii.    Quality Circles:
A quality circle is defined as “a work group of 8 to 10 employees and supervisors who have a shared area of responsibilities and who meet regularly, typically once a week on a company time and on company premises – to discuss their quality problems, investigate causes of the problems, recommend solution and take corrective action.
Many studies so far indicate positive result from quality circles on productivity but with little or no effect on employee satisfaction.
LINKING EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT PROGRAMS AND MOTIVATION THEORIES
Theory Y is consistent with participative management. Theory X aligns with autocratic style of management.
Two – Factors theory provide intrinsic motivation by increasing opportunity for growth, responsibility and involvement in the work itself.
Furthermore, the opportunity to make and implement decision- and then seeing them work out – can help satisfy an employee needs for responsibility, achievement, recognition, growth and enhance self – esteem.
It is therefore, compatible with ERG theory and efforts to stimulate the achievement need.
2.8    MOTIVATION BY DESIGN
Gomez – Mejia et al (2005:525) postulated that “Job design is the structure of work such that performance and worker satisfaction are maximized.”
JOB DESIGNS THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH MOTIVATION
JOB ENLARGEMENT
This is the making of a job to be more varied and interesting by expanding the scope of the job. It is motivating, if the enlargement makes a meaningful whole.
JOB ROTATION
This is a deliberate design to reduce boredom and monotony. It increases overall complicity and variety of the job. For example, General Electric in the United States, rotation program for entry-level human resource management staff, shifting from labour relations, to compensation to staff, auditing and finance. It gives “broading understanding of the business as well as building connections across the organization”.
It removes boredom and fatigue thereby “lowering accident and injury rate” with the variety and changing of workers activities.
JOB ENRICHMENT
Job enrichment involves giving employees “greater opportunity to plan, organize and control portions of their jobs”. It gives “greater responsibility and more work that require a higher level of knowledge and skill”.
APPLICATION FOR THE MANAGER
The long-term effectiveness requires managers to consider the needs and perceptions of workers as well as characteristics of the work environment.