Incentives that efficiently motivate employees are crucial to any successful organization.The aims of this research are to find out the most frequently used incentives as well as the most motivating ones for projects team members working within high uncertainty context. The following paper is composed of four main parts. First, the theoretical framework explores the different theories on incentives such as the agency and self-determination theories, as well as the different types of incentives. Also, it covers theories on uncertainty and its implications on projects.Then the thesis quantitative methodology has been developed. Thereafter, a quantitative study has been conducted using a web-based questionnaire and addressed to 89 project team members working in the IT sector, in France. Finally, a discussion part includes our findings in relation to the theory.The results from our study have shown different tendencies in terms of incentives’ frequency of use and their motivational impact. “Autonomy at work”, “Flexible hours” and “Participation in decision making” are the three most frequently used. In terms of motivation, “Participation in decision making”, “Group training program” and “Autonomy at work” are the most impactfulfor project team members working within high uncertainty context.

Magister Commercii (Industrial Psychology) - MCom(IPS) / Robbins and Judge (2013, p. 13) define an organisation as a “consciously coordinated social unit, composed of two or more people, that functions on a relatively continuous basis to achieve a common goal or set of goals.” Since an organisation’s effectiveness is the result of the level of individual and collective employee performance (i.e. teams and organisational units) and their success in attaining these shared goals, organisations have realised the potential of people as a source of competitive advantage (Pfeffer, 1994). The financial services industry has become fiercely competitive and is largely dependent on the collection of individuals working together to create the services that clients demand and are willing to pay for. South Africa has one of the best-developed financial sectors in the world and competition between the four major banks and insurance providers is fierce (Bhorat, Hirsch, Kanbur & Ncube, 2014). Since companies in the financial sector provide more or less the same services, they depend on their workers to transform scarce resources into valued services that clients demand.

Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2019 / The delivery of exceptional services is vital to organisations’ sustained competitive advantage in today’s setting. When organisations are able to provide high quality services, they are able to meet customer expectations and satisfy them. Employees employed at service-orientated organisations frequently interact with consumers during which they represent both the organisation and the service provided. Satisfied consumers and motivated employees are of great importance in ensuring that government departments and municipalities meet their obligations. The objective of the study was to determine how employee motivation influences service delivery. The study found a positive association between employee motivation and service quality, leading to the conclusion that motivated employees deliver quality services. Thus, it is important for executives of organisations to ensure that employees are continuously motivated. The findings and conclusion lead to recommendations towards improving employee motivation to ensure improved service delivery.

The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift towards remote working, an area that was exponentially expanding pre-pandemic. As the working conditions shift, the previous reliance on face-to-face interactions becomes obsolete. Furthermore, the importance of this issue becomes significant as global companies have expressed their interest in adopting a hybrid way of working post-pandemic. Therefore, understanding how to manage and motivate employees while working remotely becomes crucial in order to operate in highly competitive markets successfully.  This study aims to investigate how the experience and motivation of managers and their subordinates have been influenced following the shift to remote work. A qualitative design is employed in this study where literature, theories, and empirical data in the form of semi-structured interviews are utilized. The findings were analyzed according to a thematic analysis approach. Following an abductive approach, the researchers build upon exiting management theories.  The authors identify the different elements that influence experience and motivation in a remote work setting, as follows: Experiential Knowledge, Drivers of Motivation, Organizational Structure, Tasks and Roles, Formal Communication, Informal communication, Productivity, and Flexibility. Derived from the empirical data, a dimension of motivation was integrated into Cook’s (2019) view on Managing Remotely. The results display both hinders and motivators, which could be mitigated and incorporated, respectively, in future remote work strategies.

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This study investigated the relationship between management style and the personality variable "locus of control" on subordinate job satisfaction among employees of a Communications Center for a large municipal law enforcement agency. Unlike many of the past studies that investigated the relationship between employee internality and job satisfaction, this current study found that Internals and Externals did not differ in general satisfaction when both had perceptions of high considerate supervisory behavior. It was also hypothesized that locus of control would have a high negative correlation with general satisfaction. This hypothesis was not supported. The last hypothesis of this study involved the degree to which Internal and External subordinates would differ from one another when they perceived their supervisor to be high or low on both supervisory dimensions (considerations and initiating structure). A t-test for independent samples showed that the difference (on satisfaction) between those individuals with an Internal locus of control and those with and External locus of control was not significantly different when they perceived their supervisor to be high on both the consideration and initiating structure dimensions.

No description available.

Recent research in organizational psychology has recognized the value of exploring the person-situation interactional perspective as a determinant of work outcomes. The present field study investigated the interaction between a dispositional characteristic (self-leadership) and two situational characteristics (job autonomy and supervisory structure) in determining job satisfaction and employee performance. The situational characteristics accounted for a significant amount of variance for both job satisfaction and performance; however, self-leadership only accounted for significant unique variance in employee performance. Results showed significant effects for the hypothesized interaction for job satisfaction; however, the proposed interaction for performance was not supported. Implications of the current results and suggestions for future research are discussed. / Master of Science

Three valence versions of the model of work motivation described in 1964 by Victor Vroom in Work and Motivation were examined with respect to their relative abilities to predict work effort. The examination was carried out under both the across-subjects and within-subject theoretical assumptions. Previous across-subjects studies had failed to indicate diffrential predictive abilities among the versions of the model with (1) positive and negative valences, (2) only positive valences, and {3) no valences. While previous prediction comparisons had used only across-subjects analysis, this study utilized both across-subjects and within-subject analysis for model comparisons. The sample consisted of 31 employees of a small Virginia manufacturer. Nine model predictions each for overall job effort and effort on each subject's most import.ant task were obtained by the across-subjects analysis. Only one of these 18 predictions was statistically significant. In contrast, six of nine within-subject task effort rank predictions demonstrated statistical significance. The patterns of these findings were generally compatible with the results of previous research. Neither the across-subjects analysis nor the within-subject analysis indicated statistically significant differences among the abilities of the various valence versions of the model to predict effort. The results of the cross-subjects analysis, combined with the findings of earlier studies, yielded the tentative conclusion that the across-subjects theoretical assumption may not be appropriate for tests of the ability of the Vroom force model to predict effort. Three conclusions were tentatively indicated by the results of the within-subject analysis. First, the Vroom force model is a significant, though moderate, predictor of effort. Second, the use of the within-subject theoretical assumption appears appropriate for testing the ability of the Vroom force model to predict effort. Third, the use of valence weights has no effect on the ability of the model to predict effort. / Ph. D.

Incentive pay systems are of interest to both researchers and practitioners as a way to improve employee productivity and efficiency. Past research has considered the design of incentive systems, the effects of systems and costs/benefits to employers. Little consideration has been given to another issue: what characteristics are associated with high incentive pay performers? Research that has considered the effect of personal variables on incentive-rewarded performance has failed to provide a theoretical framework in which findings could be considered, and thus lacks the underlying unity and cohesiveness that a theoretical model could provide. In order to investigate the relationship between an individual's characteristics and incentive-rewarded performance, a questionnaire was administered to 453 employees of a major garment manufacturer. Employees responded to questions about their background, their interests and their attitudes toward their work. Performance was measured using employee production data from a nine week period collected by the company. This study proposed and investigated a theoretical model of piecework performance which postulates that motivation, within a piecework setting, is a function of the valences of pay and workgroup affiliation. This model proposes that this measure of motivation, in combination with an ability measure, is related to performance. Quantitative results indicate that this model is useful in understanding piecework performance. Both the valence of pay and ability were found to be predictive of performance. Moreover, the valence of pay was related to age and Protestant ethic while previous findings that employees high in affiliation need were susceptible to rate restriction were not supported. Findings from this study hold promise for more effective selection of piecework employees and add insight into the use of incentive pay to increase individual performance. / Ph. D.