THE IMPACT OF MOTIVATION ON STAFF PERFORMANCE IN THE BANKING INDUSTRY IN NIGERIA

THE IMPACT OF MOTIVATION ON STAFF PERFORMANCE IN THE BANKING INDUSTRY IN NIGERIA

(A CASE STUDY OF UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC NASARAWA STATE)

ABSTRACT

This study looked into the impact of motivation on staff performance in the banking industry in Nigeria. In carrying out this work, important research questions were asked. Relevant literatures were reviewed with the aim of authordictating the issue under study. The researcher used descriptive designing for the project layout for responding of data on the respondents response analysed using simple table, one of the finding showed that staffs join the organizations for the purpose of promotion and gratuity and ensuring the organizational growth. Based on this findings, certain recommendation were made which include that the management should strive hard to provide promotion to the staffs when due and again salary of the staff should be upgraded so as to motivates the performance of staffs in the banking industry.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1. Background of the Study

Motivation, as a process, started with a need in human being which creates a vacuum in a person. In an attempt to fill the vacuum an internal driving force is generated which starts and sustains a chain of action and reaction. It is at that point that the vacuum is also filled. With this background information, Nnabuife (2019), define motivation as the internal or external driving force that produces the willingness to perform an act to a conclusive end. This first aspect of motivation is described as internal motivation because the driving force comes from within an individual. The second aspect is external motivation, is applied by the organization. This is because employees are motivated to identify with organization in order to satisfy their varied and variegates needs and desires. Until they have been identified and properly satisfied, they will never cease to impede smooth running of the organizations.

One of the biggest problems facing manager in the banking sector is how best to get employees committed to their work and put in their best towards the accomplishment of organization’s objectives. Motivation is concerned with why people do what they do. It answers such questions as why do managers or worker go to work and do a good job. This tries to explain what motivates people to act the way they do, with primary focus on the work place. It is the primary task of the manager to create and maintain an environment in which employees can work efficiently and realize the objectives of the organization.

The motivation of employees depends on the strength of their motives. Motives are need, wants, desire, or impulses within the individual and these determine human behaviour. Therefore, motivation is the process of arousing behaviour, sustaining behaviour progress, and channeling behaviour into a specific curse of action. Thus, motives (needs, desire) induce employees to act. Motivation therefore is the inner state that energies people, channels and sustains human behaviour. Since it has been established that all behavior except involving responses are goals directed, manager can apply motivational theories of management in their attempt to direct the job behaviour of employees towards the goal of their establishment. Every organization and business wants to be successful and have desire to get consent progress.

For achieving prosperity, organizations design different strategies to compete with the competitors and for increasing the performance of the organizations. A very few organization believe that the human personnel and employees of any organization have its main assets to which can lead them to success or if not focused well to decline. Unless and until, the employees of any organization are satisfied with it, are motivated for the tasks fulfillment and goals achievements and encouraged, none of the organization can progress or achieve success. Employee motivation is one of the policies of managers to increase effectual job management amongst employees in organization (shadier, 2019). A motivated employee is responsive of the definite goals and objectives he/she must achieve, therefore in that direction. Rutherford (1990) reported that motivation formulates an organization more successful because provoked employee are constantly looking for improved practices to do a work, so it is essential for organizations to persuade motivation of their employees (Kalimullah, 2017).

However, the performance of an organization is jointly determined by the employees’ capacity and their willingness to put in their best (William, 2016). 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. Statement of the Problem

The current era is highly competitive and organizations regardless of size, technology and market focus are facing employee retention challenges. Workers’ performance could be of low standard, in condition of inadequate motivation. Most employees leave there place of work, because of insufficient motivation. Some are willing to stay, because they know that what they benefit in terms of welfare packages (salaries, bonuses, free expense paid trips and some other tips) are not often available somewhere else. The major problem is how to motivate employees to achieving higher performance in the Nigerian banking industry, thus the need to increase productivity and efficiency in the work place or any organization has led to increasing academic interest in the area of motivation over the years. Scholars have been keenly  interested in knowing what factors are responsible for stimulating the will to work. Thus motivation has become an issue of concern for both scholars and practitioners of personnel management. Employees in both public and private sector organization are becoming increasingly aware that motivation increases productivity. Lack of proper motivation may result in losses which may eventually lead to low staff turnover, poor attitude towards work, low output level and low profitability. It is in the light of these that the study intends to look into the impact of motivation on staff performance in the banking industry in Nigeria.

1. Objective of the Study

The main objective of this study is to examine the impact of motivation on staff performance in the banking industry in Nigeria with a particular interest in United Bank for Africa. Other specific objectives are:

1. To investigate the motivational techniques adopted by the United Bank for Africa Nasarawa Branch.
2. To examine the response of the staff to motivational techniques adopted by United Bank for Africa Nasarawa Branch.
3. To find out the problem hindering the success of the employees motivation in the organization
4. To ascertain if motivation lead to higher staff performance and productivity.

1.4     Research Questions

1. What are the motivational techniques adopted by United Bank for Africa Nasarawa Branch to retain her employees?
2. How responsive is the employees to motivational reward adopted by the bank?
3. What are the factors hindering the success of employee’s motivation in the company?
4. Which of the incentives given to the staff lead them to higher performance and productivity?

1.5     Statement of Hypotheses

Ho1: The motivational techniques adopted by manufacturing firms do not significantly lead to retention of the employees.

Ho2: The employees do not significantly respond to the motivational rewards adopted by the company

 Ho3:The factor hindering the success of employees motivation has no significant to the employees performance and productivity.

Ho4: The incentives given to the employees do not significantly lead to higher performance and productivity

1.      Significance of the Study

The study will be vital in so many ways. The findings from this study were beneficial not only to the workers of the bank but also the financial sector as a whole. That is, this study was useful at three levels namely, the individual level that is the workers of United Bank for Africa were informed as to the incentive programmes available to them and how best to utilize them for personal development and improved performance. Also, at the institutional level, it helped the bank review their employee motivational policies and strategies which increased staff productivity and enhanced growth and productivity.

Finally, at the national level it helped in the retention of workers and essential for all financial institution especially banks. At the end of this study, the researcher’s aim was to bring to bear the plight of the employees at UBA. To make recommendations that will aid policy makers in decision. The result of the study was also added to the existing body of knowledge on the issue of motivation and productivity in the banking sector.

1.  Scope of the Study

The scope of the study was limited to United Bank for Africa (UBA) Nasarawa Branch and the study targeted only on full-time workers. The respondents were the Board of Directors, the management team and the entire permanent workers of United Bank for Africa Nasarawa Branch. The study focused on the various motivational packages for the staff of UBA and how it influenced their performance, the challenges that UBA faced in its attempt to motivate staff and employee perception of motivational strategies in UBA.

1.     Limitation of the Study

Notwithstanding the areas covered by this research work, the study was greatly affected by certain constraints. The following limitations were inherent in the study.

Time Factor: This research was constrained by time limit. Time posed a threat to the successful coverage intended in the course of this study.

Cost Constraint: It is not unusual to state that the prevailing economic predicament posed a limitation to the researcher in procuring the whole material information and other relevant data needed to make this research a thorough work.

Confidentiality: The frequent rescheduling of interviews by management staff and their unwillingness to disclose some relevant information on staff motivation and training which they consider very confidential to the organization constitute one of the major limitations to this study.

1.9     Operational Definition of Terms

Motivation: Motivation refers to the forces within or beyond a person that arouse and sustain their commitment to a course of action (Boddy, 2018). The process people go through to need their needs is need-motive-behaviour-satisfaction or dissatisfaction (Lussier, 2015).

Incentive: Incentive is an act or promise for greater action; it means additional remuneration or benefit to an employee in recognition of achievement or better work. Incentives provide a spur or zeal in the employees for better performance. It is a natural thing that nobody acts without a purpose behind.

Performance: This indicates how well or satisfactory a person is fulfilling the requirement of his position on the basis of result achieved and his/her action on the job. The researcher looked at performance as the assessment of output in a giver task or work with a view of achieving result.

Productivity: Melli(2017) defined productivity as the measure of how well resources are brought together in an organization and utilized for accomplishing a set of result. The researcher sees productivity as reaching the highest level of performance with less expenditure of resources.

Job Satisfaction: According to Locke (2016) defined Job satisfaction as a situation in which a worker’s job fulfills what he values.

Intrinsic Motivation: According to Fritz Heider (2015) said intrinsic motivation comes from rewards inherent to a task or activity itself. Hertzberg (1959) “said” intrinsic motivation, develop internally and comes from, something the workers want to do.

Extrinsic Motivation: Fritz Heider(2011) said that this motivation comes from outside of the performers money is the most obvious example but coercion and threat of punishment are common extrinsic motivation.

Salaries / Wages: These are refers to as financial compensation for work done. Salaries are financial compensation for work done by standing professional or clerical personnel whose salaries are paid monthly.

Incentive and Fringe Benefits: These are defines as additional incomes that accrue to a worker in addition to his salaries and wages. They are used to induce people to contribute their efforts towards achieving organizational goals.