Research on employee motivation effect on employee performance

This research focuses on the impact of employee motivation on employee performance in the retail industry, specifically at Marks and Spencer. It covers the factors that increase motivation, methods of employee motivation, and the accessibility, reliability, validity, and ethics of the research.

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE..............................................................................................................................................3
CH-1................................................................................................................................................3
Aim:.................................................................................................................................................3
Objectives:.......................................................................................................................................3
CH-2 Rationale................................................................................................................................4
CH-3 Background to research.........................................................................................................5
CH-4 Research Questions and Methodology..................................................................................9
CH-5 Data required and data collection methods..........................................................................10
CH-6 Accessibility, reliability, validity and ethics........................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12
APPENDIX....................................................................................................................................14

TITLE:
Research on employee motivation effect on employee performance
CH-1
Aim:
To study the impact of employee motivation on employee performance in retail industry (Marks
and Spencer).
Objectives:
 To study the performance increase due to motivation in organisation.
 To identify the factors which increase motivation.
 To assess the methods of employee motivation followed in organisation.

CH-2 Rationale
This topic has been chosen because employees are the assets of organisation and their morale
affects their performance for achieving the organisation’s objectives. The organisations are
moving towards employee engagement as they realise the growing importance of HR function
and its contribution towards developing the training needs which build on employee potential for
high performance.

CH-3 Background to research
The research has been on retail industry and covers the frame of employee motivation being
prevalent in the industry. In retail sector, as per author, there are various sections to be seen to
for instance, customer being attended at floor, customer grievance addressal, store charge to
employees, billing operations etc. These all require coordination amongst each other, there are
times when there is seasonal sale going on and there is heavy work load with customers to be
attended to, billing to be done and orders to be delivered. At times, employee may feel
demotivated by these activities. Thus, as indicated by Cassell, Cunliffe and Grandy (2017), the
need for motivation arrives here to infuse enthusiasm in employees and achieve coordination and
cooperation among them for smooth functioning of different departments. This is realised by HR
and they take measures which can bring the motivation level up for better performance. These
measures are for instance, taking sessions at morning and evening hours to motivate people at the
beginning and in the end for the work level achieved. This recognises effort of employees and
stays them motivated to achieve the targets.
As per Chu and Ke (2017), when a new employee joins a firm and is unfamiliar with the culture,
induction helps them learn about the organisation, its goals, functions, as well as their coworkers
and superiors. This lays the groundwork for the employee to get to know own coworkers and
own function within the team. This gives him assurance and predictability about who he should
report to and what duties he should perform. HR also outlines the company's procedures, which
include leave policies, travel arrangements, and the evaluation of KPIs for incentive purposes,
among other things. This provides answers to a number of queries that employees may have
when they first start working for the company. This provides motivation from initial start.
Employees are able to form bond with their coworkers and have a basic understanding of how
things work at this phase, as mentioned by Liamputtong (2020). Employee training programs
would not only enhance morale, but they would also teach them technical aspects of the job that
are currently required. Developing the employee's personal attributes, strengthening public
speaking skills, removing communication barriers through group exercises, and other topics are
covered in the training sessions. Employees receiving both professional and personal training are
encouraged to put their new talents to good use, resulting in improved performance. Installing
high-performance technologies also aids successful staff participation in enhancing performance.

Using technology to ease out work conditions by using high performance systems is also the
norm which is currently being practised in retail sector, as mentioned by Dźwigoł (2019). New
technology like bringing automated computation software of AI have been implemented to ease
workload and fasten the system of operations. This has reduced customer waiting time in queues
also. If employee is motivated the customer also feels the vibe and is influenced to make a
purchase. Incentive structures being revised also help in employee motivation and employee put
in extra efforts for sale of products. It has been observed that employees who have been paid
well put in extra hours for work completion thus benefitting the organisation.
Employee behaviour with each other is also a necessary component in determining motivation
for working as a team. This has been highlighted by Chu and Ke (2017). Employees coming
from different regions and from different cultures working together are bound to face some
issues. These issues are sorted by line managers and the HR function keeping some fun activities
and induction which helps the employees know each other well, form a bonding and work as
supportive colleagues to each other in the organisation. Fun activities help break the ice between
employees and resolve the issues which may have cropped up. This also gives them experience
of working with people of multi cultures in a synchronised manner and increases motivation and
team cooperation. Team cooperation, as mentioned by Liamputtong (2020), is a prominent
aspect in any organisation’s success. Here freshers work with experienced and benefit from their
experience in avoiding mistakes and bettering performance. Experienced also get to task the
freshers which makes them feel their role being enhanced in the organisation. This increases
motivation for both. HR meets with departmental and project managers, as well as workers, to
assess and map out the employees’ and team's objectives. Employee priorities are aligned with
those of the organisation, and a timeline for achieving these goals is set. Employees are given a
timeline and are assured of whatever assistance and support they may require in order to achieve
their goals by employing mentors. Helping people lay out their goals successfully boosts their
performance, as highlighted by Liamputtong (2020).
This aids in providing direction and help to employees throughout the performance plan's life
cycle. The productivity of employees is evaluated in terms of where they excel and where they
need to improve. Employees are given regular feedback to assist them understand where they
stand and how they may progress. By providing proper feedback and planning, managers attempt

to improve the areas where they are deficient. Employees get motivated by this and performance
increases.
Hygiene factors at the time of joining motivates a new employee and employee is able to adjust
to new environment. These factors comprise of salary, working conditions, work culture,
behaviour of superiors etc. As these factors get fulfilled, employee gets motivated to work in the
new environment with enthusiasm. Ambience of the work place has also cast a positive effect on
employee performance as it gives motivation to work in an environment of world class.
Next comes the secondary factors in retail industry, which are recognition of efforts, being
awarded, being promoted etc. If these conditions are fulfilled then as per Bridger (2018),
employee would like to form a long-term relation with the organisation and would work out of
the way for the organisation.
Performance measures taken by Management and HR such as performance appraisal and
recognition ceremonies of awards are yet another factor which promote employee motivation. In
performance appraisal, the employee and the manager sitting together for discussing the targets
to be achieved by the employee gives a pathway to the employee to follow and the intervention
of assistance by manager when employee needs it also boosts motivation, as said by al Habibi
(2019). If employee is able to meet them, the ratings go high for the employee and thus, further
motivates the employee to do better. Employee if performed very well, then gets promotion also.
These measures are for employee motivation and motivates them to keep the momentum going.
Recognition awards being given to employees and they being recognised for their efforts give
satisfaction for work done. This forms a memory everlasting in the minds of employees, as said
by Cassell, Cunliffe and Grandy (2017). It is a human factor to get recognised and is a big
motivator. A performance evaluation measure being examined and awards presented to qualified
candidates is the organisation conducting a recognition ceremony in which the entire team
gathers, for example, on the office lawn. Employees who have excelled in their jobs, as well as
those who have made a strong start, are given congratulations and awarded by the executive
manager, who awards them a certificate or a prize. The ceremony instils confidence and
enthusiasm in the employee, inspiring him or her to keep the momentum going and improve
results for the next goal. Appreciation increases enthusiasm, which not only improves employee
morale but also establishes a long-term relationship in which excellent performance fulfils
organisational goals, as said by Dźwigoł (2019).

Employees being given autonomy has seen a remarkable improvement in performance as they
were free to take decisions and they were not hampered by any superior, as emphasised by al
Habibi (2019). The decisions taken by employees on own have proved to be effective with they
become self-conscious and achieving deadlines with team effort on own. This strategy has
proved to be a motivational one and has led to the growth in performance of employees.
The data been collected has been from primary and secondary sources. For primary sources, 30
employees have been questioned of Marks and Spencer organisation. The method used here is
simple random sampling where employees have been asked questions randomly. The secondary
sources have been identified as internet and books of authenticated authors.
The data collected being analysed reveals that majority of the employees think that motivation
affects employee behaviour and increases performance. Also, majority were of the view that
motivational methods should be increased and performance measures should be more transparent
which take the suggestions of employees and incorporates them.

CH-4 Research Questions and Methodology
The research questions have been made by using simple random sampling where randomly
questions have been asked to employees of organisation. The approach been used here is
positivist, interpretivist and the approach has been used in the questions asked as it is the most
appropriate form for getting the correct response and their interpretation from research
(Cypress, , 2018).
The questions been asked are on these lines:
 The question has been on whether employees agree with the statement that motivation
increases performance at organisation.
 The motivation methods been used are enough or need to be increased.
 Views have been taken on incentivised structure influence on performance.
 The transparency level of performance measures have been asked.

CH-5 Data required and data collection methods
The data required has been collected through qualitative methods and doing primary and
secondary research. The target population is the employees of retail industry of the organisation
Marks and Spencer. Sampling method used is simple random method where randomly questions
are asked to employees (Cypress, 2018). These methods have been found suitable for research as
they have been set with a validity design suiting the research, the methodology used has been
reliable and the questions asked in primary research have followed principles of confidentiality
and anonymity to get the correct responses.

CH-6 Accessibility, reliability, validity and ethics
The research conducted is in two ways:
Qualitative: In qualitative research, data which is non-numerical data is analysed for thought
comprehension and experiences. Quantitative data uses numerical data for analysis.
Data Collection: Primary and Secondary data has been gathered in questionnaire form about
behaviour of employee being influenced by motivation.
Research Sampling: Sampling has been done by conducting survey on the employees with
simple random sampling.
Ethical considerations: The conduct of study has been done with validity principle and reliability
of the methods. The confidentiality and anonymity of individuals have been kept and the
questions have been made with a validity design (Litosseliti, 2018).

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Chu, H. and Ke, Q., 2017. Research methods: What's in the name?. Library & Information
Science Research, 39(4), pp.284-294.
Liamputtong, P., 2020. Qualitative research methods.
Dźwigoł, H., 2019. Research methods and techniques in new management trends: research
results. Virtual Economics, 2(1), pp.31-48.
Cypress, B., 2018. Qualitative research methods: A phenomenological focus. Dimensions of
Critical Care Nursing, 37(6), pp.302-309.
Cassell, C., Cunliffe, A.L. and Grandy, G. eds., 2017. The SAGE handbook of qualitative
business and management research methods. Sage.
Litosseliti, L. ed., 2018. Research methods in linguistics. Bloomsbury Publishing.
al Habibi, B., 2019. HR practices of Marks & Spencer, Selfridges, Primark, and
Sainsbury’s (Doctoral dissertation, University of Science & Technology).
Bridger, E., 2018. Employee engagement: a practical introduction. Kogan Page Publishers.

APPENDIX
Q1.Do you think motivation at organisation increases performance?
Yes-70%
No-30%
Q2.Do you think motivation methods used are sufficient?
Yes-65%
No-35%
Q3.Do you believe that incentivised structure increases performance level?
Yes-60%
No-40%
Q4.Do you think performance measures are transparent enough?
Yes-45%
No-55%

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