Research Proposal on the Effects of Motivation on Employee Productivity

Introduction

This chapter presents the background of the study, statement of the problem, the purpose of the study, research questions, hypothesis, objectives of the study, the scope of the study, significance of the study and the conceptual framework.

Background of the Study Work related stress has a vital role to play in organizations globally, nationally and even within. Recent statistics confirm that work related stress is wide spread in the UK working population and is not confined to particular sector or high risk jobs or industries.

That is why population wide approach is necessary to tackle it. One such study was on organizational behavior by G. A COLE in African organizations. This study was motivated by the fact that public organizations are losing a significant number of fundamental in agro-economical and scientific development another study by Richard J. B willies (1992) address the issues of work related stress in cracking the stress problem by replacing them in a number of recognizable context. He conducted a stress management program in many countries e. g. Britain, England, Scotland, Ireland.

It examined the innovative ways in which these countries were trying to limit the damages caused by work related stress on employee productivity. Currently the performance of workers in Kenya agricultural research institute has been declining. It is for this reason that researcher’s thought there was a need for a thorough study in order to identify the cause this problem. Work related stress on employees of a given organization cannot be emphasized neither can be looked down upon. It is estimated that almost half of the KARI employees undergo work related stress and their stress needs are not well taken care of.

The huge backlog has caused many employees absentees and hostility derailing the organization target. This therefore calls for immediate action towards attaining a better solution.

The Statement of the research problem Ogolla (2002:13) states that, the organization is a community of various categories of workers bound together by the same vision and mission and hence geared towards achieving a common goal of increased productivity, commercialization and competitiveness of the agricultural sector through generation and promotion of knowledge, information and technologies that respond to client demands and opportunities.

The problem of work related stress is a global one affects both developing and industrial countries (Tetty,2006:11). KARI is well for the role it plays in the welfare of Kenyan farmers by providing agricultural advice on new technology and developments in the agricultural sector. But of late, workers have been complaining of the amount of stress they face at work. This might be because of issues like straining at workplace and travelling to interior hardship areas which has led to poor performance thus compromising their effectiveness and competence. t is therefore quite imperative to identify these problems and if possible provide solutions that can help and end this menace.

The purpose of the study The main purpose of carrying out this study is to find out which are the main stresses faced by workers of KARI and their possible solutions. The research findings will be taken to relevant authority for actions. It will also act as a guideline to the management in finding out how implementations can be made the study also opts to other similar organizations in structuring policies dealing with workers stress. This will improve employees competence at work hence creating harmony at the place of work.

Objectives of the study The study has a number of objectives which include:

1. To present the present state of work related stress.
2. To provide a comprehensive evaluation of work related stress and agricultural issue on KARI
3. To introduce, monitor and validate uniform procedures for recording and analyzing the work related stress data and information.
4. To explore important determinants of physical workload, illness symptoms, intervening and social factors of shift work.
5. To explain health, hygiene, safety issues for sustainable workplace improvement in KARI where physical work is intense but it’s a casual practice.

Research questions

1. What is the general state of working conditions available to employees of the organization?
2. Which are the missing conditions that might be affecting employee productivity?
3. How employees in different departments relate to each other do and what effect does this relationship have to workers.
4. What are the possible appropriate solutions to overcome this shortcomings?

The study will be carried out in western province in Kenya, Kakamega County. The management structure and administration of KARI is basically the same in all KARI centers thus, the number selected will be a fair representation of the total number of employees in KARI as a whole. Under the inclusion exclusion criteria, KARI kakamega has been selected because of its rural setting and its proximity to the researchers. , kakamega also has an agricultural setting

Significance of the study. In an effort to curb work related stress, the significance of the study will enable the organization:

• Ensure that the workload is in line with workers capability and resources.
• Design jobs to provide meaningful stimulation and opportunities for workers to use their skills.
• Clearly define workers role and responsibility.
• Give workers opportunities to participate in decision making and action affecting their jobs.
• Improve communication and reduce uncertainty about career development and future career prospects.
• Provide opportunities for social interaction among workers.

Literature Review

Stress Factor

There are a number of stress factors which influence the performance of employees. These factors can be divided into a number of grouping . nvironmental factors, job and organizational factors and personality factors. G. A Cole, noted that the stress factors that demand attention of the management of any organization: organizational factors, work relationships, job characteristics, External environment, Domestic factors, personal factors . This study is interested in investigating the influence of three stress factors ;External environment ,work relationship, job characteristics.

External Environment

The external environment acts as an important factor that play a great role of stress in workplace especially when the organization is in decline . On the case study of Kenya Agricultural research institute the external factors determine the success of the organization . some of the external factors are: Arrival of new technology, political change. Arrival of new technology may lead to reduction in jobs or the skill requirement or pressure to acquire new knowledge and skill which may lead to stress in the work place . Political changes may affect organization vulnerable to political influence . ie state owned business Kenya Agricultural institute is a good example of state owned business.

Work Relationship

This is the relationship reflected in the workplace. It will either a stress free condition or a stressful environment . All employees whom play part in the running of an organization determine this factors they include: Superiors, colleagues, own staff. Superiors-especially where individuals fail to achieve a reasonable working relationship with their immediate supervisor. Colleagues-an inability to get reasonable terms with fellow team members or collegue from other sections can source of considerable unhappiness. Own staff/other outside people-they can be a source of stress . e especially those dealing with customers all day long.

Job Characteristics

Here the organization focuses on physical conditions . i. e. Role conflict. Role conflict i. e. Where the organization role is lead to confusion or don’t meet the job holders target.

Organizational factors

These factor involve: Management style, Organizational structure, organizational culture .

• Management style. Where the individual finds it difficult to adapt to his superior management style ie . because its too autocratic or too participative
• Organizational structure. The pattern of jobs and the attendant rules and regulation constrain the individual range of choice in how to do the job.
• Organizational. Culture The dominant echoes is one for employee turnover operates in the policy. Culture determines the condition of an employee.

Research Methodology

This chapter describes the research design and the methodology that shall be employed in carrying the study on the effect of work related stress in KARI kakamega implications on employee productivity. It describes the study area, the target population, the sampling procedure, date collection intruments and data analysis processes.

The research design

A descriptive research design will be used since the study will be examining a social issue that exist in KARI kakamega. It will be used to describe the effect of work related stress in the institute and its impact on employee productivity. According to Richard J. B Willis (1992), descriptive data on stress is obtained through the use of questionnaires, interviews and observation methods.

The study Area

KARI kakamega is located within kakamega municipality 1. 5 km south-east of the town Centre. It occupies an area of about 100 hectares and has a sub-Centre at Alupe in Teso district which occupies about 340nhectares. The Centre is located an altitude of 1585bmeters, within a high potential agro-ecological zone, and has an annual rainfall of 1850 mm. The Centre mandate covers currently 26 districts in Nyanza province.

The Target Population

The population of the study will be KARI staff. The study will target a total of 147(one hundred and forty seven) staff i. e. five from each department. A staff according to KARI Act, 2004 refers to a scientist and humanities staff i. e. Centre director and his deputy, head of sections, administrative officer and his assistant, Centre accountant, supplies officer, transport officer, librarian, firm manager, laboratory technologist and technical officer.

Sampling Procedure

Stratified random sampling technique will be used. This approach is considered appropriate because it is to classify the population into designation according to the level of hierarchysample size The sample of this study will consist of five staff drawn from each department.

This will constitute 60% of the population. According to Dr. A Njaili ghenekav(1960)and Gay(1972) 50% and 60% of the population is considered acceptable in descriptive research. Under the inclusion exclusion criteria KARI Kakamega has been selected because of its rural setting and its proximity to the researchers and kakamega has an agricultural setting.

Data collection

The institute administrator will be informed of the purpose and significance of the study and their role in it for permission to be granted for the go ahead with the study. Discussion will be held with personnel administrators to determine the existence of a staff retention policy and how effective it is. Data collection will be based on primary and secondary data. Three enumerators will be engaged to assist in data collection. The questionnaire will be delivered to and collected from the respondents either in person or by the enumerators. The research tool will be a self-completion questionnaire with a mix of closed and a few open ended questions. Closed ended questions will solicit specific responses while open ended question question will solicit respondents own opinion.

According to kinoti (1998), the advantages of a questionnaire include a large coverage of population within a short time and less cost, anonymity of the respondents may enhance honesty in the answer, ensure uniformity and it allows respondents time on questions that would require reflection before answering then to avoid hasty response.

Validity and reliability of the instrument

According to Coolican (1999) reliability refers to a measure’s consistency in producing similar results on different but comparable occasions. Validity refers to the extent to which an instrument measures what it purports to measure.

According to Muganda and Mugenda (1999) the quality of the study demands that the tools or instruments used to collect the data yield the type of data that the researcher can use accurately support the research. To maximize validity and reliability of the data, properly constructed tools, appropriate data collection procedures and sampling techniques that target the right population and accurate data will be used in the study.

Data Analysis

Raw data will be coded and classified before analysis. Statistical package will be used to analyze the data. The data will then be interpreted, conclusions and recommendations made. The typical statics that used are measures of dispersion and central tendency. The variance and standard deviation will be used as measure of dispersion while the mean, median and mode will be used as measures of central tendency. The variable with greater dispersion will indicate disparities within the university and so will be of great interest to the study.

Presentation of findings

This study shall employ the descriptive data analysis and inferential statistics. These will inbolve tables, line graphs and pie charts . Centre director and his deputy , head of science section and their deputy’s administrator officer and their respective section heads. Random interviews and research studies have shown that there is a relationship between work related stress and employee productivity. Work related stress is a major factor in most organization globally, nationally, and even within our country Kenya. During our research we were able to collect secondary sources that were able to enlighten us on work stress globally.

Secondary source include any publication written by an author whom is not the direct participant of the event. (Richard J. B Willis) addresses the issues of work related stress in cracking the stress problem by placing them in a number of recognizable contexts. He conducted stress management programs in many countries. The UK`s health and safety executive tells us that the top seven stressed professions are teachers, nurses, managers, social workers, prison officers and road transport drivers. Did you spot yourself in the list?

Taking longer overtasks employee turnover Work related stress in KARI During our research we used various methods in collecting data from the institute to be able to justify its affects to the organization on the ground. We interviewed an employee from KARI to be able to know if it’s a problem in the institute and yes it affects most employees on the organization. We have noted that it has affected the innovativeness terminal coverage number of clients that are served at the institute. Their moderating variable are working conditions, personal conditions, level of technology, nature of supervision, amount of work given.

As a group we have suggested ways of handling stress:

1. Source of stress job characters Design work: allow job holders to share in positions that affect their work. Ensure clear work goals and targets that do not conflict with those set for others.
2. Work relationship Superiors can develop participative management style that allow for discussions for issues well appropriate, delegation of authority colleagues, accept fellow team members in a corporate spirit, team members support each other
3. Organizational structure Hierarchy of jobs reduced to the minimum (flatter structure) to permit wide use of skills and authority. Decision making process people at every level re able to share in decisions affecting their work and their future prospects results of decisions affecting employees are notified as soon as possible.
4. Organizational culture Attitude towards employees are positive even if customer first priority training, good salaries etc.