M.Comm. / Although "work" is one of the most familiar words in the vocabulary it can be used in many different ways. For the purpose of this dissertation the definition of "work" is taken from the Oxford dictionary as "action involving effort or exertion directed to a definite end; what a person does to earn a living" (Oxford, 1994: 926). Earning one's living does not necessarily mean working for money. Housewives receive no salary for the job they do. Housework does, however, fall within the definition, since it involves considerable effort directed towards family living and creating and maintaining a home. The most obvious feature of work is the vast range of activities by which people can earn their living. Equally vast are the personality and temperament differences between workers that determine their needs and expectations. This radically influences people's perceptions. To an intellectual, the task of working on a production line, the monotony, noise and other discomforts would be almost an unbearable penance. To the person doing the job it is a way of earning a living and it is acceptable as such. The person may not enjoy the task, but at least it is something that he/she knows they can do. When Adam had eaten from the forbidden tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden, the Lord said to him: Gen. 3:17-19 "...all the days of your life; ... by the sweat of your brow you will eat bread" (Bible, 1998: 4). Work is a life sentence; it absorbs the major portion of each day; for most of one's life. 1 Workers are not alike; they are not cast from the same mould. They come in assorted shapes, sizes, colours, education and experience, attitudes and ambitions. Some work for a living; for others working is a living. Some think of work as their central purpose in life; others think of work as a way of providing the necessities and look at time away from work as the real joy of living. Thus, there are many different reasons why people work. Since the beginning of this century, employers and social scientists have started looking at the role that work fulfils in satisfying man's needs and in the utilisation and development of his abilities. Emphasis has been placed primarily on the psychological and sociological aspects of work. Management have been interested in these developments primarily for increasing productivity. From this research into man's needs, a number of theories have evolved relating to work motivation. In today's competitive world and market it is essential that a company have positively motivated employees to improve productivity and efficiency. Motivation is one of the factors that influence performance. The purpose of this study is to do a study on motivation of employees within a technical division of Telkom SA. The aim is to establish the causes for the level of motivation and to present to management a proposal on improving the level of motivation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:10345 |
| Date | 13 September 2012 |
| Creators | Menyennett, Calvin |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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