Case Study: Motivation and Profitability at Barclays, UK Analysis

This case study investigates the impact of employee motivation on the profitability of Barclays, a British multinational financial service and investment bank. It begins with an introduction to the research topic, highlighting the importance of motivated employees in achieving organizational success. The study then outlines research questions and objectives focused on understanding the concept of motivation, analyzing factors affecting motivation at Barclays, assessing the relationship between motivation and profitability, and providing recommendations for improvement. The research methodology employs an objective ontological stance, positivism philosophy, and a deductive approach, utilizing an explanatory research design and simple random probability sampling to collect primary data from 100 Barclays employees. The study ensures reliability and validity by considering the entire employee population and collecting recent, updated data. The literature review delves into motivation theories, factors affecting motivation, and the concept of organizational profitability. It aims to identify gaps in existing research and provide a comprehensive analysis of the link between motivation and financial performance within Barclays.

Running head: IMPACT OF MOTIVATION ON PROFITABILITY OF A COMPANY
Impact of Motivation on Profitability of a Company: Case Study of Barclays
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1IMPACT OF MOTIVATION ON PROFITABILITY OF A COMPANY
Table of Contents
Submission 1.....................................................................................................................4
Chapter 1: Introduction......................................................................................................4
1.0 Research title and Introduction............................................................................4
1.1 Research question...................................................................................................5
1.2 Research objectives and framework........................................................................5
Chapter 2: Research methodology....................................................................................6
2.0 Research philosophy............................................................................................6
2.1 Research approach..................................................................................................6
2.2 Research design......................................................................................................7
2.3 Sampling technique and size...................................................................................8
2.4 Data collection process............................................................................................8
2.5 Reliability and validity...............................................................................................9
2.6 Gantt chart...............................................................................................................9
Chapter 3: Data analysis.................................................................................................12
Chapter 4: Ethics and values...........................................................................................12
Submission 2: Literature review......................................................................................13
Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................13
Chapter 2: Motivation and organizational profitability.....................................................14
2.0 Conceptual framework...........................................................................................14
2.1 Concept of motivation............................................................................................14
2.2 Factors affecting motivation...................................................................................15
2.2.1 Intrinsic factors................................................................................................15
2.2.2 Extrinsic factors...............................................................................................15

2IMPACT OF MOTIVATION ON PROFITABILITY OF A COMPANY
2.3 Theories of motivation............................................................................................16
2.3.1 Maslow’s theory of motivation.........................................................................16
2.3.2 Herzberg’s two-factor theory of motivation.....................................................17
2.4 Concept of organizational profitability....................................................................18
2.5 Factors affecting organizational profitability..........................................................18
2.6 Benefits of motivating employees..........................................................................19
2.7 Challenges in motivating employees.....................................................................19
2.8 Impact of employee motivation on organizational profitability...............................20
2.9 Literature gap.........................................................................................................20
Chapter 3: Conclusion.....................................................................................................20
References.......................................................................................................................22

3IMPACT OF MOTIVATION ON PROFITABILITY OF A COMPANY
List of Figures
Figure 1: Explanatory research question...........................................................................5
Table 1: Timeline.............................................................................................................11
Figure 2: Gantt chart........................................................................................................11
Figure 3: Conceptual framework.....................................................................................14
Figure 4: Maslow’s theory of motivation..........................................................................17
Figure 5: Herzberg’s two-factor theory of motivation......................................................18

4IMPACT OF MOTIVATION ON PROFITABILITY OF A COMPANY
Submission 1
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.0 Research title and Introduction
The title of the research is “Impact of motivation on the profitability of the company:
Case Study of Barclays, UK.”
Employees are the key pillars that shape the organizations and determine the
success by giving their best for the company. As mentioned by Lazaroiu (2015), the
employees work hard, shows increased commitment and dedication towards their job
roles and responsibilities thereby, ensuring organizational profitability and success.
However, lack of motivation is often noticed that distracts and hampers the performance
of the employees. Employee demotivation is a common problem that business
organizations encounter at regular interval. Demotivation among the employees can
occur due to varied reasons such as work pressure, working environment, culture,
monotonous nature of the work and restricted learning and professional growth.
According to Ahmad et al. (2014), as the employees fail to fulfill their job roles and
responsibilities, the organization is unable to achieve their goals thereby, hampering the
success of the organization. Successful motivation helps in developing a highly
energized, dedicated and committed workforce that ensures organizational profitability.
Completion of individual roles and responsibilities increases productivity thereby,
ensuring organizational profitability. Having a motivated workforce is beneficial for the
business organizations, as the employees work hard, encourages innovation and put in
additional effort for organizational profitability (Njoroge and Yazdanifard 2014).
For this study, the impact of motivation on the organizational profitability will be
studied by taking into account Barclays Bank, UK. Barclays is a British multinational
financial service and investment bank and is headquartered in London with employee
strength of 79,000. Barclays offers personal banking, wealth management, corporate
banking and investment management (Home.barclays 2019).

5IMPACT OF MOTIVATION ON PROFITABILITY OF A COMPANY
Successful motivation (x)
Ensures profitability of a company
The research is significant, as this will help in investigating the impact of motivation
on profitability of the business organization. Additionally, the conduction of the research
will provide an opportunity to analyze the different motivational factors for the
employees on the banking sector and aligning it to the reason of lack of employee
motivation of Barclays. Furthermore, the research will help in assessing the relationship
between motivation and organizational profitability and its impact on the profitability of
Barclays.
1.1 Research question
The questions of the research are:
 What do you mean by motivation?
 What are the factors affecting motivation in Barclays?
 What is the relationship between motivation and profitability of Barclays?
 What are the suitable recommendations for improving motivation in Barclays?
The research question is explanatory type, as it is trying to investigate whether
motivation and profitability are related. Thus, (x) is termed as independent factor and (y)
is termed as dependent factor.
Figure 1: Explanatory research question
(Source: Created by Author)
1.2 Research objectives and framework
The objectives of the research are:
 To understand the concept of motivation
 To critically analyze the factors affecting motivation Barclays
 To assess the relationship between motivation and profitability of Barclays
 To provide suitable recommendations for improving motivation in Barclays

6IMPACT OF MOTIVATION ON PROFITABILITY OF A COMPANY
The objectives of the research were selected to test hypothesis that successful
motivation ensures organizational profitability for Barclays. The research objectives
and the hypothesis outlined follow the SMART framework.
Chapter 2: Research methodology
2.0 Research philosophy
For this study, an objective ontological stance will be used that will help on regarding
the social entity as the independent one signifying that it can be observed and
measured by making quantifiable observations. This will help in making inferences
based on the lack of motivation that has hampered the profitability of Barclays. The
employees of Barclays used for this study are subjected to the same working
environment that are explained in a collective agreement including both intrinsic and
extrinsic factors of motivation such as pay, rewards, promotion, recognition,
appreciation, career career, opportunity to learn new things and positive relationship
and working environment (Mackey and Gass 2015).
In accordance with epistemology, positivism philosophy will be used that is
justified with the philosophical stance of being a natural scientist, as it is the only
observable and tangible facts and data that are considered to be credible. The use of
positivism philosophy will help in proving the null or alternative hypothesis based on the
obtained p-value results. Additionally, the use of positivism philosophy will allow using
factual knowledge about the independent and dependent variables and will help in using
statistical approach for analyzing the data. This means profitability measurements will
be independent of the influence of the researcher and will be used for testing hypothesis
formulated in section 1.2 (Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault 2015).
2.1 Research approach
Two types of research approaches are used while conducting research that
includes inductive and deductive approaches. As mentioned by Lewis (2015), inductive
approach is defined as the approach of inducing new theories and concepts based on
the observations made. On the other hand, the concept of deductive approach
highlights making observations based on the previously existing theories and concepts

7IMPACT OF MOTIVATION ON PROFITABILITY OF A COMPANY
of the identified independent and dependent variables. For this study, deductive
approach will be used.
The use of deductive approach is favored for this research because this will allow
the researcher to refer to theories and concepts of motivation. Referring to previously
existing theories, concepts and pieces of literatures will help in developing a clear idea
and understanding about motivation and its impact on determining profitability for the
business organization. In addition to, the use of deductive approach will help in referring
to theories and models of motivation that act as guideline for the study as well as the
business organizations (Vaioleti 2016). Furthermore, the use of deductive approach will
help in analyzing the impact of each of the factors of motivation by critically analyzing
them from the past researches. As a result, correct observations will be made along
with supporting the observations with relevant information from past researches. The
use of deductive approach will ensure that the aim of the research remains in analyzing
the impact of motivation on profitability and does not shift towards formulating new
theories and models (Silverman 2016).
2.2 Research design
There are three types of research design that can be availed while conducting a
research. The research designs are explanatory, exploratory and descriptive research
designs. According to Flick (2015), descriptive research design consists the dual
characteristics of exploratory and explanatory research design allows exploring as well
as explaining the issues. On the other hand, exploratory research design allows
exploring the potential issue whereas explanatory research design allows explaining the
reason of the issues along with explaining the concepts and the impacts of the factors.
For this study, explanatory research design will used applied. The application of
explanatory research design will help in explaining whether motivation has an impact on
the profitability of the organization thereby, justifying whether motivation and
organizational profitability are related or not. The application of explanatory research
design will help in explaining the concept of motivation and profitability. In addition to,
explanatory research design will help in explaining both the intrinsic and extrinsic factors
of motivation along with highlighting their positives as well as negatives. Explanatory

8IMPACT OF MOTIVATION ON PROFITABILITY OF A COMPANY
research design will also help in comparing and contrasting the findings of the study by
explaining it with the information of the past researches (Smith 2015).
2.3 Sampling technique and size
Selection and implementation of appropriate sampling method is necessary, as
the samples are the main sources for collecting data that will help in fulfilling the
research aim and objectives and accept or reject the null hypothesis. Out of the several
sampling techniques, simple random probability sampling technique and non-probability
sampling technique are most commonly used. According to Bresler and Stake (2017),
simple random probability sampling technique provides equal chances for each of the
individuals within a selected population to be a part of the data collection process. On
the other hand, for non-probability sampling technique, the samples are selected by the
researcher, as this includes communicating personally.
For this study, simple random probability sampling technique will be used. The
use of simple random probability sampling technique is justified, as this will allow the
entire employee population of Barclays to participate in the data collection process. Out
of the entire employee population of Barclays, 100 employees will be selected randomly
whose data will be considered for analyzing the impact of motivation on the
organizational profitability of Barclays (Bauer 2014). The opinions and perspectives of
the employees of Barclays will be collected using the simple random probability
sampling technique that will help in understanding the current motivational issues and
its impact on their work efficiency that is affecting the profitability of the company
(Ledford and Gast 2018).
2.4 Data collection process
The only two data collection processes that are used while conducting research
are primary and secondary data collection processes. According to Choy (2014),
secondary data collection process highlights collection of data from various secondary
sources such as articles, journals, online newspapers, websites and other internet
facilities. On the other hand, primary data collection process highlights collection of
recent data from a selected population that are facing the problem mentioned in the
research.

9IMPACT OF MOTIVATION ON PROFITABILITY OF A COMPANY
As a result, primary data collection process will be used for this study, as this will
facilitate collection of data directly from the employees of Barclays those are suffering
motivational issues currently (Reynolds et al. 2014). Collecting data from the employees
of Barclays will ensure recent and updated data collection that will help in knowing the
current reasons that has resulted in the development of demotivated workforce and how
it is affecting their dedication, willingness and commitment towards their job roles and
responsibilities that is affecting the profitability of the company negatively. Additionally,
gathering primary data will also help in identifying the major factors that has resulted in
employee demotivation at Barclays so that the banking institution can develop
strategies for mitigating the motivational issues (Jamshed 2014).
2.5 Reliability and validity
Validity in the study is ensured by using the entire employee population of
Barclays. This will prevent the researcher from making generalized comments regarding
the impact of motivation on organizational profitability. Using the entire employee
population of Barclays will help the researcher in knowing from the employees itself the
current reason of demotivation for the employees at Barclays. As a result, the
researcher will be able to make suitable recommendations on improving motivation for
the employees of Barclays in accordance with the findings of the study. On the other
hand, reliability is not an issue, as the selected methodologies will restrict biasness and
error to the minimum (Dang and Pheng 2015).
2.6 Gantt chart
In order to increase the reliability and validity of the research, the proposed time
of the research is one year. This is important, as this will help in analyzing the constant
factors that are required for motivating the employees. Additionally, one year is also
considered, as it takes time for obtaining consent from the University, employees and
the selected business organization.

10IMPACT OF MOTIVATION ON PROFITABILITY OF A COMPANY
Timeline
Task Name Duration Start Finish
Project Research
proposal
365 days Fri
1/18/19
Thu
6/11/20
Selection of the
Research Topic
2 days Fri
1/18/19
Mon
1/21/19
Sending it to the
professor for
approval
1 day Tue
1/22/19
Tue
1/22/19
Approval of the
research topic
5 days Wed
1/23/19
Tue
1/29/19
Gathering a good
idea of the topic
40 days Wed
1/23/19
Tue
3/19/19
Reviewing of the
topic
60 days Wed
3/20/19
Tue
6/11/19
Assembling the first
draft
40 days Wed
6/12/19
Tue 8/6/19
Submission of the
first draft
1 day Wed
8/7/19
Wed
8/7/19
Approval of the
first draft
10 days Thu
8/8/19
Wed
8/21/19
Selection of the
research Process
5 days Thu
8/22/19
Wed
8/28/19
Marking out the
research participants
40 days Thu
8/29/19
Wed
10/23/19
Performing the
Primary Research
40 days Thu
10/24/19
Wed
12/18/19
Analysis of the data
obtained from the
primary research
50 days Thu
12/19/19
Wed
2/26/20
Thorough research 50 days Thu Wed

11IMPACT OF MOTIVATION ON PROFITABILITY OF A COMPANY
to discuss the data 2/27/20 5/6/20
Assembling the
final research copy
25 days Thu
5/7/20
Wed
6/10/20
Submission of the
final research
1 day Thu
6/11/20
Thu
6/11/20
Table 1: Timeline
Gantt chart
Figure 2: Gantt chart