MOTIVATION AND ORGANIZATIONAL EFFICIENCY IN THE NIGERIA PUBLIC SERVICES

Abstract

The Nigerian State has embarked on series of reforms over the years with the hope of evolving a robust, dynamic, and efficient public service. However, the Nigerian public service have proved incapable of delivering qualitative services as envisioned occasioned partly by employees’ de-motivation and job dissatisfaction. The total population for the study is 200 staff of general hospitals, Akwa State was selected randomly. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made up doctors, nurses, senior staff and junior staff was used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• Background of the study

There are various reasons why people work to earn respect among associates, to earn salaries and wages, to acquire prestige and honor, to achieve excellence in chosen a career, to socialize with others, to dominate with a variety of reasons, but culture is indeed a determining factor. Often what makes the difference between belling and organizations is the workers, healthy organization are known for operating with highly motivated workers. Healthy organization are known for operating  with highly motivate workers, while the sick ones are filled with poorly motivate workers, what govern basic principles human motivation seen not to vary with workers and organization but variables that define workers feeling of satisfaction at work differ. Howell and  Dipboye (1982.160) are of the view that workers satisfaction heavily  depends on the organization’s ability to discover, sustain  and meet worker’s needs. Productivity also to a large extent is influenced by the level of worker’s motivation. Hence the role of workers   satisfaction can be played down. Every human motive is based constantly on needs satisfaction the need may be consciously or unconsciously felt. One of the problems confronting public administrators today is that of motivating workers to perform assigned tasks to meet or surpass predetermined standard. To motivate a subordinate mean doing those things which the subordinate hopes will satisfy this need and desire that an consequently induce him/her to act in a desired name, so it is therefore it responsibility of public Administrators to other opportunities for employees to satisfy their personal need in a way that leads to the accomplishment of organization objective. A satisfied need  does not motivate but an unsatisfied need motivate, management theory practice Nwachukwu (1997:16) A motivate workers are those who see their work as helping them accomplish important goals. But if our targets and expectative are not met through our industries organization then we will be disinterested and less motivated. All organization are concerned with what should be done to achieve a sustained high level of performance through their employees. This means giving close attention to how worker or employees can best be motivated through such means as rewards, incentives, leadership, and importantly the satisfaction they derive from being a part of the organization on the  other have this equally apply  to the customers. That is the satisfaction they derive from consuming the organization products and services. That is why motivation is defined as the willingness to excel high level of effort towards organization goals. It can also be achieve a goals or leeward. Motivation is paramount in any organization, in order to equip, the public services workers with necessary skill  that would  help them function effectively  to achieve a particular  goal of the organization or of public services is been conducted. The social attitude and behavior need to be reformed through some motivation techniques because it is only through the public services and the parastatals that one nations can achieve her goal effectively and efficiency this is why the public services need to be motivated by their employees. Lack of motivation in the organization has resulted to low productively, like warn attitudes on the part of the employees and general derive in the work to be done. Actually with the above many workers in the Nigerian public services have little or no respect and regard for their job. This is based on the fact that even when they work and die in course of their job, nothing is been done to the deceased family. With this notice in mind, public’s services will even compromise their positions only to tech “external monetary income. The above does not only lead to how productively, but also impose delay in the administration of their duties although the federal governments have made some attempt to set new standards for the public services. One of these special measures was great purge of the public services and   provision of watchdogs over the conduct of the public service workers. One the contrary these measures did not lead to increase in productively as executed, rather those that replace the purged workers tend to do likewise. Since motivation is that internal urge or force that drives one to action toward the actualization of personal goals. It is only when workers are motivated by their employers that they will put their best once there are motivational factor in the public services, there will be a educational commitment on the side of the workers another issue to be looked into in the motivation of public services, is the issue of promotion, provision of conducive atmosphere for the improvement of the work setting a clearly defined and modernized communication network should be employed in the public services. The inability of the manager or the Director to make all the above factors available would lead to downfall in the public services performance and as such certain ugly trend needs to be redressed for optimum efficiency.

• STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The fact that the public services is established to provide some essential services to the populace with maximum efficiency the problem they are facing are societal and manmade problems. The research was able to interview a reasonable number of  workers in the public services and strongly believed  inefficiency and ineffectiveness recorded by the  Nigeria public services is due to lack of motivational measures .

Therefore the following are factors leading to the organizational inefficiency

1)    The mobility of the management cadre to promote on motivates their employees, resulted to lack of team work.

2)    Poor infrastructural facilities: The working environment as not conducive for the public services. The buildings is nothing to write here and some of the electrical fitting  are generally bad to the extent that the lives of the employees are in danger

3)    The recruitments of inexperienced and undedicated personal to handle day today activities of the public services.

4)    Inadequate communication: There is a big communication gap between the employees and the employers.  The communication is too poor that even the employees find it difficult to interact with in them.

5)    Selfishness among the leaders: It is the civil services rule that before one is promoted you must pass certain prescribed examination and it should be based on merit, but today the reverse is the case and in public services that is farfetched.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The main objective of this study is motivation and organizational efficiency in the Nigeria public services.  But for the successful completion of the study; the researcher intends to achieve the following sub-objectives;

1. To ascertain the importance of motivation in an organization.
2. To determine ways of motivating staff in achieving enhance performance.
3. To ascertain the effect of lack of motivation on the productivity of staffs in the organization.
4. To ascertain the relationship between motivation and staff productivity
   • RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

For the successful completion of the study, the following research                                                                                                                                                             hypotheses were formulated by the researcher;

H₀: motivation has no significant importance in achieving organizational goal

H₁: motivation has significant importance in achieving organizational goal

H₀²: there is no significant relationship between motivation and staff productivity

H₂: there is a significant relationship between motivation and staff productivity

• SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Employees are valuable profit making particular of business organization. According to A.U. Ohiri (1998) a truly motivated worker or person is one who wants to work. This means that if one is not adequately motivated, one will not discharge his duties well. Management should bear in mind, that if workers are not properly motivated, their level of productivity will drop. Therefore, this study will go along way by providing a frame of work on how to motivate workers adequately using only limited resources of the employees, ascertain the effect of motivation on the working place. The study will recommend and to management of business organization various ways of determining the impact of motivation on their workers so as to actively achieve organization objectives. It will help the workers and management draw a distinction between monetary incentives and other motivational techniques such as fringe benefit and advancement applied as in inducement to staff worker’s work enhancement in order to boat productivity

• SCOPE AND THE LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study covers motivation and organizational efficiency in the Nigeria public services. The researcher encounters some constrain which limited the scope of the study;

1. a) AVAILABILITY OF RESEARCH MATERIAL: The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study
2. b) TIME: The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.
3. c) Organizational privacy: Limited Access to the selected auditing firm makes it difficult to get all the necessary and required information concerning the activities.

• DEFINITION OF TERMS

MOTIVATION: Motivation is the reason for people’s actions, desires, and needs. Motivation is also one’s direction to behavior, or what causes a person to want to repeat a behavior. A motive is what prompts the person to act in a certain way, or at least develop an inclination for specific behavior

ORGANIZATION: An organized group of people with a particular purpose, such as a business or government department.

EFFICIENCY: The state or quality of being efficient.

PUBLIC SERVICE: Public service is a service which is provided by government to people living within its jurisdiction, either directly (through the public sector) or by financing provision of services.

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