IMPACT OF MOTIVATION ON WORKERS PRODUCTIVITY IN THE POWER SECTOR(A CASE STUDY OF PHCN LAGOS STATE)

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1. 1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Motives are drivers to human behaviour. It plays important role in the performance, productivity and other activities and as such the managers should know what motivation is and how subordinates can be motivated toward improving performance. Motivation is the reason why people act in a particular manner. Motivation is not a simple concept; it pertains to various needs, drives, desires, wishes and other forces of all individuals tendency. Human motives are based on needs which are consciously or subconsciously sensed. Some needs are basic, while some are secondary; such needs include water, air, shelter, food, sleep, self-esteem, status, affiliation, affection, accomplishment and self- assertion (Weihrich, Cannice & Koontz, 2008). According to Maslow, individuals attain the next hierarchy of needs after the first one has been achieved. Senior managers are not much motivated extrinsically by money and other physiological needs, but are well motivated intrinsically through self-esteem and self actualization and by so doing if their ideas are well transformed into performance, they feel motivated (Muogbo, 2013). In the Power Holding Sector however, there are still cries of poor performance despite its privatization and the image of the employees has not changed from the old public PHCN (Ohimain, 2014). In the world today, it is generally accepted that the success of any business organization depends on the effective utilization of the effort of all workers in the organization. Managers are responsible for creating an environment that is conducive for improved performance, so as to induce the right behaviour from employees in the organization. For employees to be highly motivated, the manager must ensure that working conditions is adequate and welfare package is attractive to the employees (Akanbi, 2002). However, the productivity of an organization is jointly determined by the employee’s capacity and their willingness to put in their best (Feldman & Arnold, 1983; William, 2010). Willingness and ability are important, since it implies that beyond a certain level, lack of ability cannot be compensated for willingness to high motivation and conversely lack of willingness cannot be compensated for employee’s ability to high level performance. Willingness and ability are necessary components of effective performance in every organization.

1. 1. STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The growth and development of any economy cannot be meaningful and complete if the power sector is not well footed in terms of productivity, growth and profitability. Over the years, the poor performance of the power sector in Nigeria has been a matter of concern and debate among academics, writers, government officials and members of the public. The reason for this trend as well as the apportionment of the blame has formed the basis for a controversy. It is increasingly being realized by workers, economists and government as well as customers that the problems plaguing the country’s power sector lies in the negative attitude to work, lack of dedication and indolence among employees. It has been observed that the Nigerian employee lacks a feeling of responsibility to his job and pride in doing his work well. The work situation in the power sector like Power Holding Company of Nigeria is characterized by low productivity and lack of dedication. This has adversely affected the power sector in the country, the results of such negative orientations are the indiscriminate loss of vital records that could have been stored, and poor decision made due to lack of accurate information which goes a long way to affect the workers negatively. The major problem is how to motivate workers to achieve higher productivity in Power Holding Company of Nigeria. The study is set out to depict the impact of motivation on workers’ productivity in Power Holding Company of Nigeria.

1.3 AIMS OF THE STUDY

The major purpose of this study is to examine the impact of motivation on workers’ productivity in Power Holding Company of Nigeria. Other general objectives of the study are:

1. To examine the impact of motivation on workers’ productivity.

2. To examine the status of workers productivity in Power Holding Company of Nigeria.

3. To examine the extent in which workers in Power Holding Company of Nigeria are motivated.

4. To examine the relationship between motivation and workers productivity.

5. To recommend ways of enhancing motivation and workers productivity in Power Holding of Nigeria.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. What are the impacts of motivation on workers’ productivity?

2. What is the status of workers productivity in Power Holding Company of Nigeria?

3. What is the extent in which workers in Power Holding Company of Nigeria are motivated?

4. What is the relationship between motivation and workers productivity?

5. What are the ways of enhancing motivation and workers productivity in Power Holding of Nigeria?

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

Hypothesis 1

H0: There is no impact of motivation on workers’ productivity in Power Holding Company of Nigeria.

H1: There is a significant impact of motivation on workers’ productivity in Power Holding Company of Nigeria.

Hypothesis 2

H0: There is no significant relationship between motivation and workers productivity.

H1: There is a significant relationship between motivation and workers productivity.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The findings would enable effective management of workers towards achieving organizational goals. The study will enable managers of Power Holding Company of Nigeria to identity how productivity can be improved through effective and efficient motivation. It will also be of benefit for policy makers in various forms of business organization. It will be of immense guide to future researchers who intends to exploit and understand further concepts of motivation as a managerial tool to enhance productivity in an organization like Power Holding Company of Nigeria.

1.7    SCOPE OF THE STUDY 

The study is based on the impact of motivation of workers productivity in the Power Holding Company of Nigeria.

1.8 LIMITATION OF STUDY

Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Motivation: Internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy in people to be continually interested and committed to a job, role or subject, or to make an effort to attain a goal.

Worker: A person that works especially at manual or industrial labour or with a particular material.

Productivity: A measure of the efficiency of a person, machine, factory, system, etc., in converting inputs into useful outputs.