MOTIVATION IN THE BANKING INDUSTRY

(A CASE STUDY OF ECOBANK NIGERIA LIMITED, SOKOTO BRANCH)

BY

NASSARAWA, UMMU MAMMAN

ADM NO. 12120905042

BEING A PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS

ADMINISTRATION, FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCESUSMAN
DANFODIYO UNIVERSITY, SOKOTO.

IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF

POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA IN MANAGEMENT (PGDM)

JULY, 2014

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 APPROVAL PAGE

This research project by Nassarawa, Ummu Mamman has been read and approved as

meeting the requirements for the award of Postgraduate Diplomat in Management of

Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto and is approved for its contribution to knowledge.

________________________ ____________________
Project Supervisor Date

Dr. Mairo Abdullahi

________________________ ____________________
Head of Department Date
Dr. M. S. Umar

____________________ _________________
External Examiner Date

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 ABSTRACT

The introduction of universal banking law has brought changes over the years, with it

stiff competition in the banking industry. Commercial banks are no exception to the

modern changes in ensuring staff motivation towards their organizational goals. The

study seeks to assess the motivation in the banking industry at Ecobank Nigeria. The

survey research design was used for the study. The study revealed that, management can

make use of different strategies and policies to motivate employees in the banking

environment. Employees are interested in enhanced salaries, fringed benefits, promotion,

and car loans as motivating elements sufficient to push employees of the bank to give out

their best. The research also revealed that the core duty of the bank is normally carried

out by branch Staff who as such motivational packages should be geared towards them to

ensure that they delight the customers. Promotion has been a worry to most staff;

measures should be put in place by management to ensure that there is continuity in the

promotion of staff to avoid low productivity in terms of deposit mobilization. The study

revealed that if management withdrew motivational packages it will have serious

repercussions on employees‟ performance. There was a positive relation between

employee performance and corporate performance since employees were able to achieve

the bank’s performance indicators in terms of deposits, loan recovery, profitability and

also ensuring the liquidity of the banks. The conduciveness of the office environment has

first time impression on the customers and the welfare of the employees.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My gratitude goes to Dr. Mairo Abdullahi for her valuable comments throughout the

course of writing this research work

I am equally grateful to my Parent for their effort in making me to be what I am today.

May Allah’s blessings and protection continue be with them

I will not forget to mention my colleagues of Ecobank Nigeria Limited, Sokoto for their

tremendous contributions towards the successful completion of this project.

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 DEDICATION

This piece of academic work is dedicated to the Almighty God for his guidance and

protection throughout the undertaken of this project work.

It is also dedicated to my parents and loved ones for their morale support and prayers.

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 TABLE OF CONTENT

Content page

Abstract iii

Acknowledgement iv

Dedication v

Table of content vi

List of tables ix

List of figures ix

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study 1

1.2 Statement of problem 4

1.3 Research Questions 5

1.4 Objectives of the study 5

1.5 Significance of the study 6

1.6 Scope of the study 6

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1.7 limitation of the study 7

1.8 Organization of the study

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK

2.1 Introduction 9

2.2 The Concept of Motivation 9

2.2.1 Advantages of Motivation 12

2.2.2 Importance of Motivation 12

2.3 Forms of Motivation 14

2.3.1 Reward and Reinforcement 14

2.3.2 Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation 15

2.3.3 Coercion 16

2.3.4 Self-control 17

2.4 Theories of Motivation 18

2.4.1 Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy Theory 18

2.4.2 Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory 20

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2.4.3 Vroom’s Valence x Expectancy theory 22

2.4.4 Goal-Setting Theory 26

2.4.5 Theory of “X” and Theory of “Y” 26

2.4.6 Reinforcement Theory 27

2.4.7 Equity theory 28

2.4.8 Acquired-Needs Theory of David McClelland’s Acquired Needs Theory 28

2.5 Motivations in the Nigerian Banking Industry 30

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE

3.1 Introduction 32

3.2 Research Design 32

3.3 Population, Sample Size and Sampling Techniques for the Study 33

3.4 Data for the Study 33

3.5 Data Analysis and Presentation 34

3.6 Organizational Structure of Ecobank Nigeria Limited 34

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CHAPTER FOUR

ANALYSIS, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION OF DATA

4.1 Introduction 36

4.2 Profile of Respondents 37

4.2.1: Gender of Respondents 37

4.2.2 The Designation of employees of Ecobank Nigeria Limited, Sokoto 38

4.2.3: The Core Duties of respondents at Ecobank Nigeria Limited, Sokoto 39

4.2.4: Years Respondents have been working Ecobank Nigeria Limited, Sokoto 40

4.3 Motivational Packages for Staff at Ecobank Nigeria Limited 42

4.3.1 Kinds of Motivational Packages for respondents of Ecobank Nigeria Limited 43

4.3.2 Conducive of Office Environment to enhance Work Output 46

4.4 Effects of Motivational Package on Employee Performance 48

4.5 Effect of packages on Ecobank Nigeria Limited Performance 50

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 Introduction 52

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5.2 Summary 52

5.3 Conclusion 53

5.4 Recommendations 54

REFERENCE 55

APPENDIX I

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 LIST OF MODELS

Model page

1 Maslow’s Need Hierarchy 18

2 Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory 21

3 Expectancy theory 25

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 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

4.1: Gender of respondents 38

4.2: Designation of respondents within Ecobank Nigeria Limited, Sokoto 39

4.3 Importance of motivational package to respondents 45

4.4 Are packages enough to motivate you give your best 46

4.5 Conduciveness of Office Environment to enhance work output 47

4.6 Influence of motivational package on employee performance 50

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 CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Even with the best strategy in place and appropriate organizational architecture, an

organization will be effective only if it members are motivated to perform at a high level.

The types of motivation are intrinsic and extrinsic. “Intrinsic motivation is a

psychological force that determines the direction of a person’s behaviour as a result of

challenging or interesting work, giving autonomy to work, designed scope to develop

skills, abilities, opportunity to develop and grow, etc. Extrinsic is also psychological

force that determines behavioral change as a result of tangible and intangible benefit such

as salary, fringe benefit and special awards” (Jones and George, 2003).

It is a fact that success in every organization depends on the quality of its human

resources both skilled and unskilled labour which is perhaps the most intangible aspect of

the organization, hence the most important. All these things plants, machinery and

financing cannot generate income without manpower. Studies have shown that in today’s

competitive business environment, success is increasingly a function of effective human

resources management (Ahindo, 2008). It is therefore necessary to have a workforce that

is motivated to yield high performance and productivity towards achieving the

organizational goals and objectives.

Irrespective of the industry within which an organization operates, the concept of

motivationcannot be looked down upon. With this regard banking being a service

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industry and therefore having direct contact with customers, the presence or absence of

employees’ motivation can have immediate telling effect on the customer (thus either

delighting the customer or otherwise) which eventually results in customer retention and

profitability .

It is one of the driving forces that have direct impact on the business productivity. The

critical workforce management challenges of the immediate future driven by corporate

reengineering and restructuring efforts, loyalty concerns and fierce competition for key

talents are closely linked to the emerging issues of employees’ commitment and

productivity.

The role of management therefore in all these is paramount. A transparent style of

administration is what is required since it is one of the surest ways to motivate staff. This

is because management plays significant and unique role in terms of leadership drive and

direction. This role can be considerably a kind of catalyst, able to tap and awaken each

employee’s unique talents and convert them to performance. However, it is only through

varied organizational strategies that a manager will be able to trigger his/ her employee’s

hidden talents which are highly important in the productivity and performance of the

organization. These strategies can be external and internal to employees and one of these

strategies employed by managers is motivation.

Motivation approaches definitely satisfy the needs of the employees and in return, the

employee repays it through their hard work. Identifying the needs and answering it is the

most basic approach of every organization to earn the commitment of the employees

(Chughtai, 2008). With a well-motivated workforce, an employee’s performance can be

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manifested on the organizational effectiveness, which allows the individuals to focus on

the development of their work, in terms of behaviour, skills and knowledge, ethics and

effectiveness. It has been noted that motivation tends to energize the workforce which

can result in their expected job performance (Byham and Moyer, 2005).

Again, the motivational process increases or influence the job performance and other

work outcomes of an individual that can reach to the employees’ outmost performance

and even their jobs satisfaction (Strain, 1995 and Chughtai, 2008). Many organizations

are seeking for a suitable means to motivate their staff in order to helpincrease the total

output of their employees. In today’s increasing competitive marketplace, organizations

need to have well planned and expected processes for managing and enhancing the

performance of their employees. However, the system used to motivate employees may

have potentially negative effect on their morale if not properly used or applied. This has

become a big challenge to most organization, particularly the service industry or

organization. The service industry is one of the major contributors of Gross Domestic

Product (GDP) and the socio-economic development of the country. Quality service

delivery is very important and this has called for measures to ensure that services

delivered to customers are of good standard.

A well-motivated staff will deliver satisfactorily to exceed the expectation of customers

and this will intend to attract and retain customers so as to meet the ultimate objective

(profitability). However, this is not the case in most organization including the Banking

sector. Arguably , it can be said that no employees would resist higher pay or an increase

in salary since it would offer him /her an opportunity to do a lot of things such as paying

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his/her utility bills, paying school fees, buying clothes, cars, land and so forth. Because

salaries are generally low in Nigeria, some of the employers erroneously feel that once

their staffs are given higher salaries, every other thing would naturally follow.

Abraham Maslow the father of motivation (1943) holds the view that “unsatisfied needs

serve as a motivation for individual or group of people”. He identified five (5) hierarchy

of needs which are physiological need, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs and self-

actualization. And when a need is satisfied, he says it does not serve as motivation again

it is the next need that matters.

1.2 Statement of Problem

In recent times employees move from one organization to another due to lack / low level

of motivation. Some employers try to give high salaries or wages to their employees just

to motivate them to give up their best so as to increase productivity. Others also give rent

and transportation allowances to their employees so that the employees can put up their

best to enhance their performance, yet the whole thing seem to be a mirage.

This tells us that motivation is subjective, that is to say that what motivate someone to put

up his best will also de-motivate the other person. Human needs are insatiable for this

reason they always struggle for new things in life so that we can live a comfortable life. If

someone receives huge salaries, allowances in terms of rent, transportation and yet does

not get motivated, it means motivation does not base on extrinsic reward but also on

intrinsic reward as well. According to Maslow, individuals attain the next hierarchy of

needs after the first one has been achieved. Senior managers are not much motivated

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extrinsically by money and other physiological needs but are well motivated intrinsically

through self-esteem and actualization needs and by so doing if their ideas are well

transformed into performance , they feel well motivated. The concern in this research

addresses the various motivations that can push employees in the banking industry raise

the service delivery standard of their bank. In other words, how can Ecobank Nigeria

Limited push the existing employees so that performance targets can be achieved? The

question then is what must top management do to ensure that employees perform well in

the bank?

1.3 Research Questions

1. What factors motivate and de-motivate the employees at Ecobank Nigeria Limited.

2. Does motivation affect productivity at Ecobank Nigeria Limited?

3. What are the sources of factors of motivation for employees at Ecobank Nigeria

Limited?

1.4 Objectives of the Study

The general objective of the study is to investigate the effects of motivation in the

banking industry at Ecobank Nigeria Limited. The specific objectives include:

1. To identify the factors that motivates and de-motivates employees at Ecobank Nigeria

Limited.

2. To determine the extent to which motivation affect productivity

3. To make appropriate recommendations for motivating staff to improve productivity at

Ecobank Nigeria Limited.

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1.5 Significance of the Study

The aim of every organization is to outweigh its competitors in terms of rendering

betterservice to its customers to enable the company sustain in the market. The company

cannot do without having well motivated employees who can help the organization to

achieve its aims and objectives. The company gaining more knowledge about motivation

and its effect on the performance will device concrete strategies to keep their employees

and also make them happy both at home and at work. This research is going to help the

employees to render good and quality service to their valued customers. The customers

will remain loyal to the company since they render good and quality service to them. This

is also going to help management by way of getting a good image and increasing

productivity at Ecobank Nigeria Limited. It is also anticipated that the findings of the

study will pave way for the authorities of Ecobank Nigeria Limited, Sokoto branch to

accept the factors that influence managerial behaviour and its impact on employees

towards organizational performance. Finally, the results of the study will throw more

light on factors that serve as satisfiers or dissatisfies to employees. It will serve as a blue

print for determining what actually motivates and boosts morale of workers and

managerial behaviors required to yield optimum performance.

1.6 Scope of the Study

The scope of the study was limited to Sokoto State branches of Ecobank Nigeria

Limited. The state has Five (5) branches and One (1) area office. All the Six branches

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including the area office were covered. Their target market is retail especially market

people in order to grant them loans to expand their business.

Ecobank Nigeria Limited began operations in 1986, it operates as a universal bank

providing wholesale, retail, corporate, investment and transaction banking services to its

customers in the Nigerian market, the bank divides its operations into three major

divisions: (a) Retail Banking (b) Whole sale banking (c) Treasury & Financial

Institutions, the bank also offers capital markets and investment banking services. During

the fourth quarter of 2011, Ecobank Nigeria acquired 100% of shareholding in Oceanic

Bank, creating the expanded Ecobank Nigeria Plc. As of December 2011 expanded

Ecobank Nigeria controlled total assets valued at approximately US$8.1 billion (NGN

1.32 trillion), making it one of the five largest bank in Nigeria at that time. At that time

the bank had 610 free standing branches, making it the second-largest bank in the country

by branch network.

1.7 Limitation of the Study

Ecobank Nigeria Limited was not willing to provide us with the necessary information

needed for this research. Another challenge was time constraint on the part of the

researchers which made it impossible to use a larger sample size.

1.8 Organisation of the Study

This study is made up of five chapters and is grouped as follows: Chapter one covers the

introduction which includes the background to the study, statement of the problem,

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objectives of the study, research questions, significance of the study, scope and the

organization of the study, Chapter two deals with the review of existing literature which

covers the This chapter reviews literature for the study. It discusses the concepts of

motivation as well as motivational concepts, types and importance of motivation, the

conceptual framework of existing theories of motivation and motivation in the banking

industry, Chapter three deals with the methodology adopted for the study. The issues to

be covered includes the research design, population and sample size, sample techniques,

instrumentation, mode of data collection, method of data analysis, Chapter four focused

on the analysis of data and discussion of findings and Chapter five provides a summary

of the findings, conclusions and recommendations of the study.

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 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK

2.1 Introduction

This chapter reviews literature for the study. It discusses the concepts of motivation as

well as motivational concepts, types and importance of motivation, the conceptual

framework of existing theories of motivation and motivation in the banking industry.

2.2 The Concept of Motivation

Rajput (2011), contends that the word motivation is derived from a Latin word “Movere”

which literally means “to move”. They defined motivation as “the individual’s desire to

demonstrate the behaviour and reflects willingness to expend effort”. Motivation can be

divided into extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. The word motivation has been derived

from motive which means any idea, need or emotion that prompt a man into action.

Whatever may be the behaviour of man, there is some stimulus behind it. Stimulus is

dependent upon the motive of the person concern. Motive can be known by studying a

person’s needs and desires. There is no universal theory that can explain the factors

influencing motives which control man’s behaviour at any particular point in time. In

general, the different motives operate at different times among different people and

influence their behaviors. The process of motivation studies the motives of individuals

which cause different type of behaviour. Young (2000) also defined motivation as the

force within an individual that account for the level, direction, persistence of effort at

work. Halepota (2005) definition of motivation is “a person’s active participation and

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commitment to achieve the prescribed results”. Halepota further presents that the concept

of motivation is abstract because different strategies produce different results at different

times and there is no single strategy that can produce guaranteed favorable results at all

times.” Butkus& Green (1999), motivation is derived from the word “motivate”, means

to move push or persuade to act for satisfying a need.

According to Antonioni (1999), “the amount of effort people are willing to put in their

work depends on the degree to which they feel their motivational needs will be satisfied.

On the other hand, individuals become de-motivated if they feel something in the

organization prevents them from attaining good outcomes. It can be observed from the

above definitions that, motivation in general, is more or less basically concern with

factors or events that leads and drives certain human action or inaction over a given

period of time given the prevailing conditions. Furthermore, the definitions suggest that

there is the need to be an “invisible force “to push people to do something in return. It

could also be deduced from the definition that having a motivated workforce or creating

an environment in which high levels of motivation is maintained for the challenge for

management today. Its challenge may emanate from the simple fact that motivation is not

a fixed trait as it could change with changes in personal, psychological, financial or social

factors. For this research, the definition of motivation by Greenberg and Baron (2003) is

adopted, as it is more realistic and simple as it considers the individuals and his

performance. Greenberg and Baron defined motivation as “the set of processes that

arouse, direct, and maintain human behaviour towards attaining goals.

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Motivation is the energy to do something. Each person has motives, needs, and reservoirs

of energy that represent potential motivators. As a manager, according to MSH (2002),

your task is to discover your employees‟ motivations and help unleash their energy. Then

you can direct their energy into productive work. It is also critically important for you to

understand more about your own sources of motivation. Mullins (2006) indicates that, the

study of motivation is concerned, basically, with why people behave in a certain way.

The basic underlying question is „why do people do what they do?‟ In general terms,

motivation can be described as the direction and persistence of action. It is concerned

with why people choose a particular course of action in preference to others, and why

they continue with a chosen action, often over a long period, and in the face of difficulties

and problems. Motivation is one of the key ingredients in employee performance and

productivity. Even when people have clear work objectives, the right skills, and a

supportive work environment, they would not get the job done without sufficient

motivation to achieve those work objectives (Mullins, 2006). Motivation refers to the

forces within a person that affect his or her direction, intensity and persistence of

voluntary behaviour. He added that motivated employees are willing to exert a particular

level of effort (intensity), for a certain amount of time (persistence), toward a particular

goal or direction (Mullins, 2006). According to Hoy and Miskel (1987), employee

motivation is the complex forces, drivers, needs, tension states, or other mechanisms that

start and maintain voluntary activity directed towards the achievement of personal goals.

In short, Dessler (2001) defines motivation as the intensity of a person’s desire to engage

in some activity. From the above definitions some issues are brought to mind that deal

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with what starts and energizes human behaviour, how those forces are directed and

sustained as well as the outcomes they bring about (performance).

The basic motivation model

Stimulus→ Appropriate Behaviour → Goal/Desired Output

Source: C. Dorman and P. Gaudiano: Motivation

2.2.1 Advantages of Motivation

A positive motivation philosophy and practice should improve "productivity, quality and

service." Motivation helps people to:

i. gain a positive perspective

ii. achieve goals

iii. create the power to change

iv. build self-esteem and capability

v. manage their own development and help others with theirs

2.2.2 Importance of Motivation

The achievements of individuals and organizational goals are independent process linked

by employee work motivation. Individuals motivates themselves to satisfy their personal

goals, therefore they invest and direct their efforts for the achievements of organizational

objectives to meet with their personal goals also. It means that organizational goals are

directly proportion to the personal goals of individuals. Robert (2005), reported that the

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manager’s job is to ensure the work done through employees are satisfied and the

employees are self-motivated towards their work rather than just being directed. The

managers‟ involvement is not so much important in the motivation of employees. The

employees should motivate themselves to work hard. The major issue in all services

organizations is the motivation of employees whether they are skilled or unskilled or

professionals. Employee motivation is also a major issue for the commercial banks. It is a

today’s challenge for the management in this competitive world to motivate employees to

offer efficient and good services that customers expect so for. The employees‟

motivation, their enthusiastic and energetic behaviour towards task fulfilment play key

role in successes of an organization to benefit (Cheng, 1995). According to Petcharak

(2002), one of the functions of human resource manager is related to ensure employees‟

workplace motivation. The human resource manager’s function should be to assist the

general manager in keeping the employees satisfied with their jobs. Another goal in

organization is the goal for the services manager is to develop motivated employees and

encourage their morale regarding their respective works. The employee work morale,

such as supervisors, peers, organization, and work environment can be defined in a sense

that the employee has the feeling and be conscious about all aspects of the job. The

performance is poor if the employee is not satisfied and happy. Workplace dissatisfaction

often leads organization and its employees‟ poor performance.

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2.3 Forms of Motivation

Motivation is generally defined as the force that compels us to action. It drives us to work

hard and pushes us to succeed. Motivation influences our behavior and our ability to

accomplish goals.

There are many different forms of motivation. Each one influences behavior in its own

unique way. No single type of motivation works for everyone. People’s personalities vary

and so accordingly does the type of motivation, that is most effective at inspiring their

conduct.

2.3.1 Reward and Reinforcement

A reward is that which follows an occurrence of a specific behavior with the intention of

acknowledging the behavior in a positive way. A reward often has the intent of

encouraging the behavior to happen again.

There are two kinds of rewards, extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic rewards are external to,

or outside of, the individual; for example, praise or money. Intrinsic rewards are internal

to, or within, the individual; for example, satisfaction or accomplishment.

Some authors distinguish between two forms of intrinsic motivation: one based on

enjoyment, the other on obligation. In this context, obligation refers to motivation based

on what an individual thinks ought to be done. For instance, a feeling of responsibility

for a mission may lead to helping others beyond what is easily observable, rewarded, or

fun. Reinforcement is different from reward, in that it is intended to create a measured

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increase in the rate of a desirable behavior following the addition of something to the

environment.

2.3.2 Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic motivation is evident when people engage in an activity for its own sake,

without some obvious external incentive present. A hobby is a typical example.

Intrinsic motivation has been intensely studied by educational psychologists since the

1970s, and numerous studies have found it to be associated with high educational

achievement and enjoyment by students.

There is currently no "grand unified theory" to explain the origin or elements of intrinsic

motivation. Most explanations combine elements of Bernard Weiner's attribution theory,

Bandura's work on self-efficacy and other studies relating to locus of control and goal

orientation. Thus it is thought that students are more likely to experience intrinsic

motivation if they:

1. Attribute their educational results to internal factors that they can control (e.g. the

amount of effort they put in, not 'fixed ability').

2. Believe they can be effective agents in reaching desired goals (e.g. the results are not

determined by dumb luck.)

3. Are motivated towards deep 'mastery' of a topic, instead of just rote-learning

'performance' to get good grades.

In knowledge-sharing communities and organizations, people often cite altruistic

reasons for their participation, including contributing to a common good, a moral

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obligation to the group, mentorship or 'giving back'. This model of intrinsic motivation

has emerged from three decades of research by hundreds of educationalists and is still

evolving. (See also Goal Theory.)

Extrinsic Motivation, this stems from work environment external to the task

itself and is usually applied by someone other than the person being motivated.

Pay, fringe benefits, favored company policies and various forms of supervision

are examples of extrinsic motivation.

2.3.3 Coercion

The most obvious form of motivation is coercion, where the avoidance of pain or other

negative consequences has an immediate effect. Extreme use of coercion is considered

slavery. While coercion is considered morally reprehensible in many philosophies, it is

widely practiced on prisoners, students in mandatory schooling, within the nuclear

family unit (on children), and in the form of conscription. Critics of modern capitalism

charge that without social safety networks, wage slavery is inevitable. However, many

capitalists such as Ayn Rand have been very vocal against coercion. Successful coercion

sometimes can take priority over other types of motivation. Self-coercion is rarely

substantially negative (typically only negative in the sense that it avoids a positive, such

as undergoing an expensive dinner or a period of relaxation), however it is interesting in

that it illustrates how lower levels of motivation may be sometimes tweaked to satisfy

higher ones.

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2.3.4 Self-control

The self-control of motivation is increasingly understood as a subset of emotional

intelligence; a person may be highly intelligent according to a more conservative

definition (as measured by many intelligence tests), yet unmotivated to dedicate this

intelligence to certain tasks. Yale School of Management Professor Victor Vroom's

"expectancy theory" provides an account of when people will decide whether to exert

self-control to pursue a particular goal.

Drives and desires can be described as a deficiency or need that activates behaviour that

is aimed at a goal or an incentive. These are thought to originate within the individual

and may not require external stimuli to encourage the behaviour. Basic drives could be

sparked by deficiencies such as hunger, which motivates a person to seek food; whereas

more subtle drives might be the desire for praise and approval, which motivates a person

to behave in a manner pleasing to others.

By contrast, the role of extrinsic rewards and stimuli can be seen in the example of

training animals by giving them treats when they perform a trick correctly. The treat

motivates the animals to perform the trick consistently, even later when the treat is

removed from the process.

2.4 Theories of Motivation

Although, there are dozens of different theories of motivation, four according to Kreitner

(1992) have emerged as the most influential: Maslow’s needs hierarchy theory,

Herzberg’s two-factor theory, expectancy theory, and goal-setting theory. It is these four

29
that are discussed. Each approaches the motivation process from a different angle and

teaches important lessons about motivation to work

2.4.1 Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy Theory

This is one of the most widely mentioned theories of motivation. In 1943, psychologist,

Abraham Maslow proposed that people are motivated by a predictable five-step hierarchy

of needs. Maslow’s theory has strongly influenced those interested in work behaviour.

Maslow’s message was simply this: people always have needs, and when one need is

relatively fulfilled, others emerge in a predictable sequence to take its place. From bottom

to top, Maslow’s needs hierarchy includes physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-

actualization needs. According to Maslow, most individuals are not consciously aware of

these needs, yet we all supposed to proceed up the hierarchy needs, one level at a time.

That is lower needs have to be satisfied before the next higher level need would motivate

employees.

Figure 1:

Mullins, 2010

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As per his theory these needs are:

(i) Physiological needs:

These are important needs for sustaining the human life. Food, water, warmth, shelter,

sleep, medicine and education are the basic physiological needs which fall in the primary

list of need satisfaction. Maslow was of an opinion that until these needs were satisfied to

a degree to maintain life, no other motivating factors can work.

(ii) Safety needs:

These are the needs to be free of physical danger and of the fear of losing a job, property,

food or shelter. It also includes protection against any emotional harm, a desire for

security, stability, dependency, protection, freedom from fear and anxiety, and a need for

structure, order and law. In the workplace this needs translates into a need for at least a

minimal degree of employment security; the knowledge that we cannot be fired on a

whim and that appropriate levels of effort and productivity will ensure continued

employment.

(iii) Social needs:

Since people are social beings, they need to belong and be accepted by others. People try

to satisfy their need for affection, acceptance and friendship. Generally, as gregarious

creatures, human have a need to belong. In the workplace, this need may be satisfied by

an ability to interact with one's coworkers and perhaps to be able to work collaboratively

with these colleagues

(iv) Esteem needs:

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According to Maslow, once people begin to satisfy their need to belong, they tend to

want to be held in esteem both by themselves and by others. This kind of need produces

such satisfaction as power, prestige status and self-confidence... Esteem needs include the

desire for self-respect, self-esteem, and the esteem of others. When focused externally,

these needs also include the desire for reputation, prestige, status, fame, glory,

dominance, recognition, attention, importance, and appreciation.

(v) Need for self-actualization:

Maslow regards this as the highest need in his hierarchy. It is the drive to become what

one is capable of becoming; it includes growth, achieving one’s potential and self-

fulfillment. It is to maximize one’s potential and to accomplish something.

2.4.2 Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory

During the 1950s, Frederick Herzberg according to Kreitner(1992), proposed a theory of

employee motivation based on satisfaction. Frederick theory implied that a satisfied

employee is motivated from within to work harder and that a dissatisfied employee is not

self-motivated. Herzberg’s research uncovered two classes of factors associated with

employee satisfaction and dissatisfaction. As a result, his concept has to be called

Herzberg’s two-factor theory. The point here is that Herzberg’s work categorized

motivation into two factors: motivators and hygiene’s. Motivator or intrinsic factors, such

as achievement and recognition, produce job satisfaction. Hygiene or extrinsic factors,

such as pay and job security, produce job dissatisfaction. The key point about hygiene

factors is that it is their absence, particularly when they are suddenly removed, that

causes dissatisfaction at work. Providing them doesn’t motivate employees to work

32
harder, except perhaps for a short period of time, after which they are taken for granted

and people want new improvements. The reason that providing or improving hygiene

factors fails to motivate employees is that they are not dependent on how hard employees

work. The distinguishing feature of motivation factors is that employees can only get

them by the way they work, unlike hygiene factors are just there regardless of how hard

anyone works. This set of factors includes recognition, bonuses, a sense of achievement

and intrinsic enjoyment of the work itself. Being given extra responsibility and career

advancement are also motivation factors in Herzberg’s theory. Presumably these factors

motivate employees to work harder because they can see a direct connection between

their efforts and an outcome that they feel is worth striving for. Hygiene factors, say a

bigger office, that are provided if an employee achieves a certain target or performance

level, would then become motivation factors because getting them is a direct result of the

employee’s efforts.

Figure 2:

33
Examples of Hygiene factors are:

Security, status, relationship with subordinates, personal life, salary, work conditions,

relationship with supervisor and company policy and administration.

Examples of Motivational factors are:

Growth prospectus job advancement, responsibility, challenges, recognition and

achievements.

2.4.3 Vroom’s Valence x Expectancy theory

In recent years, probably the most popular motivational theory has been the Expectancy

Theory (also known as the Valence-Instrumentality- Expectancy Theory). Although there

are a number of theories found with this general title, they all have their roots in Victor

Vroom's 1964 work on motivation.

Alternatives and choices: Vroom's theory assumes that behavior results from conscious

choices among alternatives whose purpose it is to maximize pleasure and minimize pain.

The key elements to this theory are referred to as Expectancy (E), Instrumentality (I), and

Valence (V). Critical to the understanding of the theory is the understanding that each of

these factors represents a belief. Vroom's theory suggests that the individual will consider

the outcomes associated with various levels of performance (from an entire spectrum of

performance possibilities), and elect to pursue the level that generates the greatest reward

for him or her.

34
Expectancy: "What's the probability that, if I work very hard, I'll be able to do a good

job?"

Expectancy refers to the strength of a person's belief about whether or not a particular job

performance is attainable. Assuming all other things are equal, an employee will be

motivated to try a task, if he or she believes that it can be done. This expectancy of

performance may be thought of in terms of probabilities ranging from zero (a case of "I

can't do it!") to 1.0 ("I have no doubt whatsoever that I can do this job!")

A number of factors can contribute to an employee's expectancy perceptions:

i. The level of confidence in the skills required for the task

ii. The amount of support that may be expected from superiors and subordinates

iii. The quality of the materials and equipment

iv. The availability of pertinent information

Previous success at the task has also been shown to strengthen expectancy beliefs.

Instrumentality: "What's the probability that, if I do a good job, that there will be some

kind of outcome in it for me?"

If an employee believes that a high level of performance will be instrumental for the

acquisition of outcomes which may be gratifying, then the employee will place a high

value on performing well. Vroom defines Instrumentality as a probability belief linking

one outcome (a high level of performance, for example) to another outcome (a reward).

35
Instrumentality may range from a probability of 1.0 (meaning that the attainment of the

second outcome -- the reward -- is certain if the first outcome -- excellent job

performance -- is attained) through zero (meaning there is no likely relationship between

the first outcome and the second). An example of zero instrumentality would be exam

grades that were distributed randomly (as opposed to be awarded on the basis of excellent

exam performance). Commission pay schemes are designed to make employees perceive

that performance is positively instrumental for the acquisition of money.

For management to ensure high levels of performance, it must tie desired outcomes

(positive valence) to high performance, and ensure that the connection is communicated

to employees.

The VIE theory holds that people have preferences among various outcomes. These

preferences tend to reflect a person's underlying need state.

Valence: "Is the outcome I get of any value to me?"

The term Valence refers to the emotional orientations people hold with respect to

outcomes (rewards). An outcome is positively valent if an employee would prefer having

it to not having it. An outcome that the employee would rather avoid (fatigue, stress,

noise, layoffs) is negatively valent. Outcomes towards which the employee appears

indifferent are said to have zero valence.

Valences refer to the level of satisfaction people expect to get from the outcome (as

opposed to the actual satisfaction they get once they have attained the reward).

36
Vroom suggests that an employee's beliefs about Expectancy, Instrumentality, and

Valence interact psychologically to create a motivational force such that the employee

acts in ways that bring pleasure and avoid pain.

People elect to pursue levels of job performance that they believe will maximize their

overall best interests (their subjective expected utility).`

There will be no motivational forces acting on an employee if any of these three

conditions hold:

(1) The person does not believe that he/she can successfully perform the required task

(2) The person believes that successful task performance will not be associated with

positively valent outcomes

(3) The person believes that outcomes associated with successful task completion will be

negatively valent (have no value for that person)

Figure 3:

37
2.4.4 Goal-Setting Theory

The goal setting theory states that when the goals to be achieved are set at a higher

standard than in that case employees are motivated to perform better and put in maximum

effort. It revolves around the concept of “Self-efficacy” i.e. individual’s belief that he or

she is capable of performing a hard task.

Think of the three or four most successful people one know personally in view of

Kreitner(1992), their success may come via business or professional achievement,

politics, athletics, or community service. Chances are they got where they are today by

being goal-oriented. In other words, they committed themselves to (and achieved)

progressively more challenging goals in their professional and personal affairs.

Biographies and autobiographies of successful people in all walks of life generally attest

to the virtues of goal setting. Accordingly, goal setting is acknowledged today as a

respected and useful motivation theory. Within an organizational context, goal setting is

the process of improving individual or group job performance with formally stated

objectives, deadlines, or quality standards.

Other theories of Motivation include:

2.4.5 Theory of “X” and Theory of “Y”: Douglas McGregor observed two

diametrically opposing viewpoints of managers about their employees, one is negative

called “Theory of X” and one is positive called “Theory of Y”

38
a) Theory of X: Following are the assumptions of managers who believe in the “Theory

of X” in regard to their employees.

1. Employees dislike work; if possible avoid the same

2. Employees must be coerced, controlled or threatened to do the work

3. Employees avoid responsibilities and seek formal direction

4. Most employees consider security of job, most important of all other factors in the job

and have very little ambition

b) Theory of Y: Following are the assumptions of managers who believe in the “Theory

of Y” in regard to their employees.

1. Employees love work as play or rest

2. Employees are self-directed and self-controlled and committed to the organizational

objectives

3. Employees accept and seek responsibilities

4. Innovative spirit is not confined to managers alone, some employees also possess it.

Theory of X assumes Maslow’s lower level needs dominate in employees. Whereas

Theory of Y, assumes Maslow’s higher level needs dominate in employees.

2.4.6 Reinforcement Theory: This theory focuses its attention as to what controls

behaviour. In contrast to goal setting theory, which is cognitive approach focus attention

39
on what initiates0 behaviour. Behaviour, as per cognitive approach is initiated by internal

events. Reinforcement theory argues that behaviour is reinforced and controlled by

external events. The classical conditioning proposed by Pavlov which we have already

studied in our earlier lessons explains this in a better way.

2.4.7 Equity theory: This theory of motivation centers around the principle of balance or

equity. According to this theory level of motivation in an individual is related to his or

her perception of equity and farness practiced by management. Greater the fairness

perceived higher the motivation and vice versa. In this assessment of fairness, employee

makes comparison of input in the job (in terms of contribution) with that of outcome (in

terms of compensation) and compares the same with that of another colleague of

equivalent cadre.

2.4.8 Acquired-Needs Theory of David McClelland’s AcquiredNeeds Theory is also

known as the Three-Need Theory or Learned Need Theory. According to acquired-needs

theory individuals acquire three types of needs as a result of their life experiences. These

are need for achievement, need for affiliation and need for power. These reflect that

managers in the bank should be recognized and not motivated by money and as such

motivated with the necessary power to carry out the bank duty. There is the need to

encourage good relationship among staff. All individuals possess a combination of these

needs and the dominant needs are thought to drive employee behaviour. Heller, J.,

Goulet, L., Mohr, E., (2004).

40
In summary, one can deduce from all the above theories of motivation, that

motivation directs individual behaviour. Motivation is an important area of study for

managers because it helps them to better understand the most valuable resource, people.

That is, it is the interests of an employer to know how to motivate employees‟ behaviour

for the employer’s benefit. That is the study of motivation is concerned with why people

behave in a certain way or choose a particular course of action in preference to others.

The underlying concept of motivation is some driving force within us by which we

attempt to achieve some goal in order to fulfill some needs or expectations. People

manifest a variety of economic, social and intrinsic needs and expectations in the

workplace.

Motivated employees are needed in our rapidly changing workplaces. Motivated

employees help organizations survive. Motivated employees are productive. To be

effective, managers need to understand what motivates employees within the context of

the roles they perform. It must be noted that motivation is the result of the interaction of

the individual and the situation. Certainly individuals differ in their basic motivational

drive. So, work motivation is the set of internal and external forces that cause an

employee to choose a course of action and engage in certain behaviors which will be

directed at the achievement of an organizational goal. Motivation is still the one thing

that makes people productive in their jobs.

41
2.5 Motivations in the Nigerian Banking Industry

Different types of motivation are shown in the Annual Reports and Accounts of the 21

commercial banks in Nigeria. One interesting thing here is that all the banks in Nigeria

have similar motivations designed for their employees as written in their Annual Reports

and Accounts. For instance, most of the Nigerian banks placed their employee motivation

under the following heading- “Health, Safety at Work and Welfare of Employees”. We

also have other headings. There are however slight variations in the ways these are

written in the banks‟ books. These are shown as follow:

Some of the Nigerian Banks indicate that, they provide comprehensive medical, dental

and optical cover for all employees and their nuclear dependents. Some of these banks

stated it as- when an employee acting within the scope of his /her employment

accidentally injures a third party, the banks within acceptable limits, defray such party’s

medical expenses.

To some of these banks, it is stated that health and safety regulations are in force within

the banks‟ premises and employees are aware of existing regulations. The banks provide

subsidies to all levels of employees for medical expenses, transportation, housing, lunch,

etc.

It is also written by some banks as, employees are assisted to maintain good health by

providing adequate medical facilities for staff and their families locally and overseas.

Health Insurance Scheme is also run through a Health Management Organization (HMO).

This covers the employee, his/her spouse and maximum of four children. There is also

42
existence of a sick bay as well as a gymnasium sited at corporate head office of a

particular bank.

While some of the banks simply stated that, employees are motivated through

promotions, institution of hassle-free health management plan, and training and career

development programs.

Some of the banks demonstrated their faith in their human capital in a variety of ways

including- prompt promotions, granting of staff loans (car, house, share purchase, land

purchase loans, amongst others), massive in-service training, according recognition to

dedicated and loyal staff through long-service awards, motivating of staff by

continuously reviewing their remuneration package to make them not only competitive in

the industry but also to keep abreast of cost of living trends.

At this juncture, one need to note ,that, there are other motivations that appeal to

employees in the Nigerian banking industry that are not noted, some of which were not

documented in books of the banks. That is factors that motivated employees were not

captured or recognized by the banks. Also, the banks appeared to have copied one

another. In that, in most cases they used word for word. Meaning, it look like the banks

do not accord much importance to the motivation issue.

43
 CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND PROFILE OF STUDY AREA

3.1 Introduction

This chapter describes the methodology used for the study. The main issues discussed

here are the research design, research population, sample and sampling technique, source

of data and data collection methods, and method of data analysis.

3.2 Research Design

Saunders et al. (2007), defines research design as the general plan of how the research

questions would be answered. It is the conceptual structure within which research is

conducted. It constitutes a blue print for the collection, measurement and analysis of data.

A survey is a method of collecting data in which people are asked to answer a number of

questions (usually in the form of a questionnaire). The reliability of a survey’s results

depends on whether the sample of people from which the information has been collected

is free from bias and sufficiently large (Encarta, 2009).

The research design for this study was the survey research design to assess the

relationship between the effect of motivational packages and staff performance. This is

therefore qualitative and quantitative in outlook.

44
Research tools are the methods of data collection (e.g. questionnaire, observation,

document analysis). The research tools used for the study were questionnaires and

interviews.

3.3 Population, Sample Size and Sampling Techniques for the Study

All the items under consideration in any field of inquiry constitute a population. It can be

presumed that in such an inquiry when all the items are covered no element of chance is

left and highest accuracy is obtained. Sekeran, (1990) reported that population refers to

the entire group of people, events or things of interest that the researcher wishes to

investigate. Quite often we select only a few items from the population for our study

purposes. The items so selected constitute what is technically called a sample.

Sekeran, (1990) defines a sample as a portion of the population that has attributes as the

entire population. The target population for the study consists of all staff of Ecobank

Nigeria Limited working in the 6 branches in Sokoto State. The total number of people

forming the population is about one hundred and fifty-three (153). Thus, all the 153

employees were given questionnaires and 95 responded representing about (62%). That

is, all were offered the chance to participate in the study but some about (38%) inevitably

partially declined.

3.4 Data for the Study

The study depended on primary data collected from the staff and some secondary data.

The primary data was collected from the field survey using questionnaires and interview

45
schedules. The questionnaires comprised both close-ended and open ended questions.

These formed the basis of the analysis of the study. The researcher went to the various

Ecobank Nigeria Limited in Sokoto State and handed the questionnaires to the various

respondents. The researcher then explained how the questionnaires were to be filled and

two days later he went back to collect the filled copies. The secondary data was sourced

from the files of the Human Resource Department.

3.5 Data Analysis and Presentation

The data collected was processed using the statistical package for social science

(SPSS).The results of the study are shown in tables, percentage charts and graphs. Both

qualitative and quantitative methods of data analysis were used for the study. The

variables of interest to the researcher were motivation and job satisfaction and these were

analyzed after analyzing the demographic description of respondents.

3.6 Organizational Structure of Ecobank Nigeria Limited

Ecobank Nigeria Limited is a member of Ecobank, the leading independent pan-African

bank, headhunted in Lome, Togo with affiliates in West, Central and East Africa.

Ecobank, which was established in 1985, has grown to network of over 1,000 branches,

employing over 10,000 people, with offices in 35 Countries including Faso, Burundi,

Cameroon, Cape Verde, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of Congo, the

Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau,

Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome, Senegal, Sierra

46
Leone, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Ecobank also maintains a banking

subsidiary in Paris and representative offices in Johannesburg, Dubai and London.

Management structure of Ecobank Nigeria Limited

The Bank has since been managed by Board of Directors, management committee, senior

officers and employees union. The head office of the bank is situated at No. 21 Ahmadu

Bello way, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Mission & Vision of Ecobank Nigeria Limited

Mission: To provide our retail and wholesale customers with convenient, accessible and

reliable financial products and services.

Vision: To build a world class Pan-African bank, and to contribute to the economic

development of Africa

47
 CHAPTER FOUR

ANALYSIS, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION OF DATA

4.1 Introduction

The previous chapters of the study addressed the contextual, theatrical and descriptive

aspects of the study. The focus of this present chapter is to analyse the field data and

examine the findings in the light of the objectives of the study. The quantitative data

collected under the survey was coded for the analysis. SPSS was used to analyse the

quantitative data. The qualitative data was also thoroughly discussed in relation to the

objectives of the study. Analyses of the field data and the discussion of the findings

therein have been presented in the following structure:

4.2 Profile of Respondents;

4.3 Motivational packages for staff;

4.4 Effects of motivational packages on employees‟ performance;

4.5 Effects of motivational packages on corporate performance.

The analysis and discussions of the study will now proceed accordingly.

48
4.2 Profile of Respondents

Perry (2000) contends that, personal attributes like gender, education, family life status

and age had significant effect on motivation at the workplace. The socio-demographic

description of respondents, presented for analysis included

a. Gender of respondent,

b. Core duties of respondent,

C. Department and various branches and number of year’s respondents have been

working, and designation of respondent over the years.

4.2.1: Gender of Respondents

The sample size of this study was unique because the 95 respondents were more of

volunteers for the study and is interestingly made up of 49% male and 51% female which

coincidently is the national population gender representation of Nigeria (figure 4.1). This

is true and supported by the assertion founded by Naff and Crum (1999), studied

employees from the public sector and found that the level of motivation for women was

higher than for men in the public sector thus suggesting the role of gender in motivation.

Whatever the motivation women appreciate it more than men. Women are easily

motivated and therefore give up their best with any little motivation given them. The

study tried to give equal gender balance to both males and females.

49
Figure 4.1: Gender of respondents

Source: Field Survey, 2014

4.2.2 The Designation of employees of Ecobank Nigeria Limited, Sokoto

Ideally, and a holistic view of the designation of employees of Ecobank Nigeria Limited,

Sokotorevealed three different titles and they are Admin staff (Drivers, Dispatch Riders

and Security officers, branch Staff (tellers, customer service officers, and relationship

manager- marketers), resident internal controls (local auditors) and

managers/manageress. The respondents of the study consist of 10% managers, 31%

Admin staff, 6% resident internal controls, and the remaining majority of being branch

staff.

50
Figure 4.2: Designation of respondents within Ecobank Nigeria Limited, Sokoto

6%

33%

RIC
49%
BRANCH STAFF
12%
MANAGERS

ADMIN

Source: Field Survey, 2014

4.2.3: The Core Duties of respondents at Ecobank Nigeria Limited, Sokoto

Realistically, a comparative view (of figure 4.2 and 4.1) revealed that the core duties of

employees of the bank are dependent on employees‟ designation. Nevertheless, (33%) of

the employees perform customer service duties and this is equivalent to the frequency

and its corresponding percentage value for the Admin staff title. Also, (49%) of the

employees perform duties as loan officers and system administrators and this is directly

equal to the frequency and its percentage value for the Branch staff title. Consequently,

(18%) employees perform managerial and auditing duties and this also to the equivalent

frequency and its corresponding value for the managerial title. Most of the core duties are

performed by the branch staff to ensure the employees achieve the goals of the bank. The

employees ensure that the customers are satisfied and most of the customers interrupt

with employees in every working day and so if the employees are de-motivated it would

51
have repercussion on the performance of the bank. The manager’s role is to achieve the

target for the bank, and so that makes the manager achievable. This confirms what Heller,

J., Goulet, L., Mohr, E., (2004), in their research on Acquired-Needs Theory of David

McClelland. According to the acquired-needs theory, individuals acquire types of needs

as a result of their life experiences. Some needs could be learned; the achiever seeks to

appreciate frequent recognition of how well they are doing rather than money being paid

to them. A branch manager would be happy to realize his bank’s targets before the year

ends. To achieve these they ensure that every employee delivers delight service to

customers and also perform the role of human resource management at each branch. This

confirms what Cheng (1995), views that the biggest challenge for banks management

today is to motivate employees for lack of proficient offer and better services according

to customers‟ expectations. One of the major functions of a human resource manager is

to enhance and maintain employees‟ work motivation. Human resource management’s

function is to assist the general manager or line management in keeping the employees

satisfied with their jobs by providing motivation of different kinds. Branch managers thus

double as both human resource and general managers to propel job satisfaction through

motivation so as to generate high performance (Petcharak, 2004).

4.2.4: Years Respondents have been working Ecobank Nigeria Limited, Sokoto

Majority of the respondents that is, (54.7%) have worked with the bank for 11 years and

above. The remaining few (4.2%) have worked between the year ranges of 1-7 years.

This means in any case that majority of the employees are entitled to and have received

52
motivational packages in one way or the other if only it is awarded on the basis of time

scale. Those admin staff must have received car loan by now since they worked for more

than 9 years and above. The managers may be heading toward retirement would be

expecting housing loan. The problem is that these staff might not have received the

housing loan or car loan which is a source of extrinsic motivation for them to stay on the

job. The numbers of years an employee remain in the employment of the bank enhance

his/her chances of getting motivated in way one or the other. The goodwill nature of the

bank ensuring that employee stay in the job for long years before motivated with a

package must be a thing of the past. The educational qualification of the employees and

their responsibilities should be considered in the course of promoting employees in taking

up higher responsibility an also granting them extrinsic motivational packages.

The new staffs who have worked for 1-7 years the bank should help them settle on their

bank needs so as to give them peaceful mind to stay on the job with satisfaction. Those

who have worked for 11 years and above mostly require housing loan and car loan as

their extrinsic motivation component. Most of the employees who qualify for this long

term packages are given it and they intend normally give up their best in the discharge of

their schedule tasks in the bank. Long serving employees exhibit a higher degree of self-

motivation. This can de-motivate the employees who did not work in the bank for more

than 5 years and can therefore affect their performance. Whereas Ecobank Nigeria

Limited policy is for employees to stay on the job for more than five (5) years which is

demotivating for a young fresh graduate employed. Some staff has stayed on their grade

53
for more than seven to ten years which did not promote succession plan for the bank and

some do not have access to training programmes organized by the bank. Even though

there is a policy for review every two years, most staff do not get it on time since others

had not received yet. The system would be running alright but deep down most of the

staff were demotivated and also could not give their best.

4.3 Motivational Packages for Staff at Ecobank Nigeria Limited

Motivation can generally be looked at as being extrinsic or intrinsic. For the purpose of

these analyses the motivations of Ecobank to its staff would be considered in both

categories.

The extrinsic elements of motivation encapsulate all economic benefits made available to

compensate staff for their services, effort and/or achievements. Some of these elements

according to Khan et al. (2009) include salary, promotion, retirement and other working

reward benefits. Ecobank’s range of extrinsic motivational packages for its employees

like most organizations in Nigeria covers periodic enhanced salaries to employees, fringe

benefits, promotions and many others. These motivational packages, as a matter of

policy, are reviewed every two years by employees union, management and board of

directors. Ecobank range of intrinsic motivational packages for its employees like most

organizations in Nigeria covers training and development, job satisfaction, responsibility,

freedom to act, scope to use and develop skills and abilities and challenging work and

opportunities for growth. The intrinsic factor seeks to achieve the long term goals for the

bank whiles the extrinsic achieved a shorter time goal for the bank. The consequence of

54
the extrinsic is that in the short run, it entices the employees to deliver and to augment in

achieving the long term goal of the bank. The employees who want enhanced salary has

the tendency to move to a new bank where the enhance salary is much higher than the

existing once. Managers should be interested in employees who are achievers and try to

ensure that all employees work to their full potential, so as to move the bank forward.

4.3.1 Kinds of Motivational Packages for respondents of Ecobank Nigeria Limited

i. Enhanced salaries to employees

ii. Employee car loan scheme

iii. Employee housing loan scheme

iv. Fringe benefits

v. Promotion

vi. Recognition

When employees were asked to choose from a range of motivational packages, the most

important one to each of them, majority of the respondents, 34.7% recognized

enhancement of salaries to employees as the most important to them. The next was fringe

benefits (15.8%) and then the third most preferred was promotions. Thus all the

categories of staff in the bank are clerical, supervisors and managers‟ chose enhance

salaries as their first priority. Well paid employees are normally committed to their jobs

55
and hardly indulge in fraud as against leanly paid employees. The choice of enhanced

salary by employees raises some basic concerns on the bankers‟ needs in the company.

The said choice is necessary so as to enable them finance their physiological needs which

are fundamental in humans as identified by Maslow in his hierarchy of needs model. The

research, to this extend, is concern with the relativity of satisfying employees needs to

their working to achieve corporate objectives. The second best package for employees

was fringe benefit. The fringe benefits constitute food allowance, fuel and maintenance

allowance, rent allowance, risk allowance and responsibility allowance. As per figure 4.3

below, employees received fringe benefits on monthly or quarterly basis. These benefits

are easily earned by all employees than the other benefits such as car and housing loans

that are only given to long serving employees. These benefits go a long way to support

the salaries paid to employees. These packages are given to employees based on the

education qualification and responsibilities aside how long the person has been working

with the bank. This is in line with goal theory where equity types are given to employees

based on fair pay for equal work.

The third is promotion which ensures that employees advance in their career development

as a banker. Promotion is technically the enrichment of one’s job and its associated

remuneration. Thus, when employees are promoted, they are given higher pay to

compensate for the increased or higher responsibilities assigned them to carry out the

bank mandates. Since each branch has limit has to who manages it and responsibilities

assign to it. The bank policy for promotion is every four years and depends on the

56
number of vacancy available at each position. The employees would like to be promoted

in the bank to ensure continuity and survival of the operations. This is consistent with a

similar study in Pakistan by KalimUllah Khan (2009). The study looked at rewards and

motivation of employees in commercial bank. In the study, majority of the employees

selected payment as the first motivation package which can affect their performance in

the bank in Pakistan. This is true as in case of Ecobank. Promotion was third in this study

but was second in the Pakistan commercial bank’s case. This implies that there is a strong

relation between motivation packages and employees performance. This is also in support

of Fredrick Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory. The motivational factors are factors that are

intrinsic to the job, such as achievement, recognition, interesting work, increased

responsibilities, advancement, and growth opportunities.

Figure 4.3 Importance of motivational package to respondents

Source: Field Survey, 2014

57
Figure 4.4 Are packages enough to motivate you give your best?

Source: Field Survey, 2014

4.3.2 Conducive of Office Environment to enhance Work Output

More than half (84.2%) of the employees gave their views that their office environment is

conducive enough to enhance their work output, leaving the very few (15.8%) to suggest

that their office environment is not conducive due to uncomfortable swivel chairs,

branches not build up to the ultra-modern standard, not much floor space to satisfy

customers, fluctuating lightening system and air conditions not in good shape. This is

shown in figure (4.3 diagram). Hameed et al (2009) investigated the relationship between

office design and productivity using subjective productivity measurement method. The

performance of an employee is measured by the output that the individual produces and it

is related to productivity. Productivity is defined variously as (i) that which people can

produce with the least effort (ii) output per employee hour, quality considered (iii) the

increased functional and organizational performance, including quality (iii) a ratio which

58
measures how well an organization (or individual, industry, country) converts input

resources (labor, materials, machines etc.) into goods and services. This is confirmed by

the (84.2%) respondent and it is in agreement with Hameed et al. (2009) research that

there is a relation between office design and employees productivity. Once the office

environment is conducive for business more customers would be willing to do business

with the bank. The long run effect is that employees would be healthy and profitability

would be high, the rate of sick leaves would be down and it boosts the image of the bank.

The ambience of the bank premises must be the best and should portray the bank

organizational culture. The environment of the bank must in the relaxed mood, attractive

and business like.

Figure 4.5 Conduciveness of Office Environment to enhance work output

Source: Field Survey, 2014

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4.4 Effects of Motivational Package on Employee Performance

it is certain that the motivational packages, irrespective of the type or kind has a positive

influence on the employees in one way or the other. Effective motivation influences

loyalty, job satisfaction and the many associated working novelties. The study revealed

that an even despairing of motivation influence in employee. It ranges from (20%), for

employees loyalty to (14.7%) being punctuality at work. Inner satisfaction is the second

most influenced work characteristics represented by (17.9%) of respondents. Staying on

the job, delight to customers and respect among colleagues each attracted (15.8%) of

respondent. The theory of Abraham Maslow is agreed with the inner satisfaction of the

employees because at each point of respondent’s years with the bank a need is met per

the policy of the bank. The loyalty (20%) of the employees is most appreciated since

most of the employees have worked in the bank for more than sixteen years and above.

This indicates that there is a good relation between motivation and employees

performance for the bank. This supports Daschler and Ninemeier (1989), findings that

employees are working to satisfy their basic needs, for survival, be economically secured,

get self-fulfilling among others. Their discussion reviews some of employee-related

concerns that can be found in the venue of strategies to employees‟ motivation.

(a) An employee wants to satisfy its basic needs, linked to survival and security

concerns and a desire to belong, to generate positive feelings from within and from

others, and to be Self-fulfilled.

60
 (b) Most employees want (1) fair and consistent company policies in matters affecting

them; (2) management they can respect and trust; (3) adequate working

relationships with Managers and co-workers; (4) acceptable salaries and working

environment; (5) Appropriate job security assurance; (6) favorable job status. The

respect amongst colleagues always promotes the employee co-existing in the

office and this promotes cordial relationship with customers. In the long run,

customers continue to do business with the bank and the employees performing

the bank mandates achieve the bank targets. However, irrespective of the direction

of the impact or influence of the packages on the employees, it positively affects

all staff and their work output (Figure 4.4) confirms that more of the staffs would

have been able to achieve his/her current performance level if current motivational

packages were not available to him /her.

This shows that if Ecobank withdraws its motivational packages it steed a negative

impact on the bank performance. The employees would be lackadaisical towards their

work even though their core remuneration will be paid.

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Figure 4.6: Influence of motivational package on employee performance

4.5 Effect of packages on Ecobank Nigeria Limited Performance.

They also believe that the packages have also impacted positively on GCB limited in the

area of efficiency (29.5%), deposit mobilization (22.1%) and many others through them

as a result of the influence on them (Table 4.5). As this package trigger the branch to

achieve its goals in the long run the bank as a group perform well and lead to the

attainment of the corporate performance target. The assets of the bank has increased, the

profitability is high, deposit level good and loan/advance also repayable. Among the four

selected listed banks (thus Zenith Bank, Guarantee Trust Bank, First Bank Nigeria, and

Fidelity bank) Ecobank Nigeria Ltd tops all in terms of customer deposits, bank assets

and loan and advances given out to populace and institution.

(www.thisdaylive.com/articles/nigeria-s-top-banks). The performance indicator is good

but there is still room for improvement. This can be done by introducing more new

products, train and retrain employees to be up to the task. The shareholders’ value has

62
increased and the capital gain of the share is high compare to the banks in the industry

thus from 2009-2013 the Earnings per share EPS increased by 60 percent to 112k from

70k in HY 2012and gains as the share price has risen by 25 percent in the past year.The

dividend declared by Ecobank Transnational bank is N0.63k which tops Fidelity bank

and Guaranty Trust bank paid N0.21k and N1.30k respectively but Zenith bank AND

FBN Holding Plc tops Ecobank in terms of the dividend declared for the year 2013

(N1.60k and N1.00 respectively) . (www.businessdayonline.com/-company -analysis-

ecobank- transnational- incorporated-promoting-shareholder-value)

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 CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Introduction

This chapter is divided into four sections. Section one is the introduction, section two

summarizes the study, section three concludes the study while section four gives

recommendations.

5.2 Summary

The two categories of motivational packages which were identified in Ecobank Nigeria

limited are namely extrinsic and intrinsic motivational packages. The elements identified

under the extrinsic motivational package were enhanced salary, fringe benefit (various

allowances), car loan, housing loan and that of the intrinsic were promotion, recognition,

roles and responsibility, training and development, growth and opportunity. The Clericals

are interested in extrinsic motivation particularly enhance salary and fringe benefits. This

shows that clerical staff desire short term rewards to meet their physiological needs and

are satisfied when rewarded to steed on achieving their targets. The managers on the

other hand are interested in intrinsic motivation such as recognition and promotion. This

is in conformity to Macllend Theories of achievement, power and affiliation. The

managers ensured that the clerical staff achieved their routine scheduled targets which

consolidate to the banks‟ targets and finally the corporate conglomerate goal of the

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group. At the end of the day, these managers are appreciated by and rewarded

accordingly by the Board of Directors. There was greater number of employees who have

worked with the organization for than sixteen and above, which call for the attention of

management to put succession plan in place for new employees to be recruited.

Management had policy in place to ensure that disciplinary actions are taken against

anyone who caused financial loss to the bank. Management policy is in conformity to

Frederick Herzberg’s two factor theories by making sure that staffs and managers comply

with the bank policy. They reward employees when they performed and punished them

when they commit fraud or offence.

5.3 Conclusion

It could therefore be concluded that Ecobank staff enjoys both the intrinsic and the

extrinsic motivational packages. The clericals prefer more of the extrinsic motivational

packages which the bank should provide and the managers prefer intrinsic types of

motivation packages. Also management had to put in place both the Maslow theories and

Macllend theories and ensure that employees and managers are well to give out their best

to achieve the bank targets. The quantity of the packages should be increased by

management.

It could be said that the employees (especially those who perform the core duty) of the

service have spent more number of years with the organization which means that workers

had acquired the necessary skills to carry out the routine work of the bank and this has

65
the tendency to affect performance positively. Macllend theory is in support of the view

that, at certain point, money is not all but rather than recognition to managers

isparamount. The goal theory is relevant and appreciated in the bank since the bank

works with targets and the drive and effort of employees must be sustained to achieve the

goal of the bank.

5.4 Recommendations

The following recommendations have been made based on the summary:

There should be more recruitment to replace old experience staff in the bank to ensure

continuity since most of the employees have spent more than sixteen years in the service.

The clerical employees should be motivated with meritorious promotions, job rotation

and job enrichment to reduce boredom and challenged to be innovative. Supervisors and

managerial staff should be trained to develop sharper skills so that employees can be up

to the task when given the opportunity. Training and development of employees must not

be down play. The period for extrinsic motivational packages to long serving staff could

be reviewed down or reduced so that meritorious staff with lesser period of service may

also benefit from it. This can help to maintain some staff from leaving Ecobank to other

banks and the quantum of the level must increase to meet the levels in bank industry.

66
REFERENCE

Wilson, T. B. (1994). Innovative reward systems for the changing workplace. United
States of America: R.R. Donnelley& Sons Company.

Winston and Creamer, (1997).Performance Appraisal. Available from:

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/dgc2/staffinghandbook/performanceappraisalsingleunit

K.U, Zaheer.B&Sufwan .N (2007).A Study Measuring the Effect of Pay, Promotion and
Training on Job Satisfaction in Pakistani Service Industry.European Journal of Social
Sciences volume 5, Number 3

Frimpong, S. K. and Fan, L. (2009).“Comparative Study on the Relationship Between

Employee Motivation and Team Performance of the Banks

Greenberg J & Baron A.R (2003) “Behaviour in Organisations”, USA, Prentice Hall,
Vol. 8, pp.188-215.

Kovach, K.A (1987) “What motivates Employees” Workers and Supervisors give
different answers”, Business Horizons, Sept/Oct, Vol.30 , No. 6, pp. 58-65

HR Magazine (2010) Motivation in today’s Workplace: the link to performance

Guide to Motivating Employees, University of Colorado Boulder, Developed by the

Department of Human Resources, Updated July 2012

Theories of Motivation (Ken Shah & Prof. Param J. Shah)

Theories and principles motivation, sandra Graham& Bernaed Weiner-University of

Carlifonia, Los angeles

A theory of Human Motivation by A.H Maslow

Katz, R. (2005). “Motivating Technical Professionals Today”, Journal of Research-

Technology Management, Nov –Dec, Vol. 48, Issue 8, pp. 21-30

Shrestha, Shruti. (2007). Improving employee performance appraisal method through

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An Appraisal of Employee Motivation in the Nigerian Banking Industry, ISIAKA Sulu

Babaita

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Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered)-Department of Business Administration,
Faculty of Business and Social Sciences, University of Ilorin, P.M.B. 1515, Ilorin. Kwara
State, Nigeria

Linder, J.R.(1998), Understanding Employee Motivation. Journal of Extension, June

1998, 36(3)

Sanusi, L. S. (2010), ‘Consolidation in the Nigerian banking industry-the journey so far’,

Thisday
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(www.eajournals.org)

Annual Reports and Accounts of the twenty-four Commercial Banks in Nigeria-

Annual Reports of Ecobank Nigeria-2009-2013

www.academia.edu/.../Employees_Motivation_in_Public_and_Private_Commercial_Ban
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 APPENDIX I
Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto
Department of Business Administration
Questionnaires for Ecobank Nigeria Limited Staff

This research is to find your opinion on motivation in the banking industry at Ecobank
Nigeria Limited, Sokoto. The information provided will be used for academic purpose
and as such going to be confidential.

Thank you.

In all questions, please tick [√] only unless otherwise indicated.

1. Sex: (a) Male [ ] (b) Female [ ]

2. Age of respondent (a) 20-30 [ ] (b) 31-40 [ ] (c) 41-50 [ ] (d) 51-60 [ ]

3. Level of education: (a) Diploma [ ] (b) HND [ ] (c) Degree [ ] (d) Masters [ ]
(e) Professionals [ ] (f) others (please specify) …………………………………

4. For how long have you been working with your present organization?
(a) 1-3 years[ ] (b) 4-7 years[ ] (c) 8-15years [ ]

5. Department/Branch ……………………………………………………………..

6. Position. (a) Junior level [ ] (b) Senior level [ ] (c) Management level [ ] (d) Others
(Please specify) …………………………………………

7. If you were considering leaving Ecobank Nigeria Limited, which of the following
would be your reason(s)
(a) Poor remuneration and fringe benefits [ ]

(d) Others (please specify) …………………………………………………………

8. Do you feel motivated enough to go extra mile in delighting your customers (both
internal and external? (a) Yes [ ] (b) No [ ]

9. How would you rate your level of enthusiasm and morale towards your job and the
organization? (a) Very low [ ] (b) low [ ] (c) average [ ] (d) high [ ] (e) very high [ ]

69
10. Having experienced the working environment, given the opportunity would you have
considered working with Ecobank Nigeria Limited if you had a foreknowledge? (a) Yes [
] (b) No [ ]

11. How would you describe the general zeal and attitude of staff in your department
towards work, with regards to reporting time, involvement in organizational activities
etc? (a) Very high [ ] (b) High [ ] (c) average [ ] (d) low [ ]

12. To what extent do you agree with this statement” Ecobank Nigeria Limited deserve
every little sacrifice and am prepared to give the very best of myself to ensure it
succeeds’’.(a) I strongly agree [ ] (b) I agree [ ] (c)I disagree [ ] (d)I strongly disagree[ ]

13. Would there be an increase in your current level of performance if you felt well
motivated to work? (a) Yes [ ] (b) No [ ]

14. Which of the following motivates you most to be effective and productive at work?
(a) Higher salary [ ] (b) sense of achievement [ ] (c) Recognition [ ] (d) career
advancement [ ]

15. Which of the following de-motivates you most from being effective and productive at
work?
a) Inadequate reward system [ ]
b) Uninteresting and routine job schedule [ ]
c) Lack of requisite training for employees [ ]
d) Poor working conditions [ ]

16. Have you ever been praised or given recognition for good job done by your
superiors? (a) Yes [ ] (b) No [ ]

17. If ‘Yes’, how did it affect your performance?

(a) Encourage working harder [ ]
(b) Indifferent [ ]
(c) Others (please specify) ………………..……

18. If ‘No’, how did it affect your performance?

(a) Felt discourage to work harder [ ]
(b) Indifferent [ ]
c) Others (please specify)………………………………………………………….

19. How do you rate the reward and compensation systems of Ecobank Nigeria Limited
against others in the same industry?
a) Very poor [ ] (b) poor [ ] (c) good [ ] (d) very good [ ] (d)excellent [ ]

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20. Is the reward system fair and equitable to encourage high performance?
(a) Yes [ ] (b) No [ ]

21. Which factor in your opinion contributes to high staff turnover and employee apathy
atEcobank Nigeria Limited?
(a) Lack of career advancement [ ]
(b) Poor reward system [ ]
(c) Uninteresting and routine job schedule [ ]
(d) Lack of requisite training for employees [ ]
(e) Others (please Specify) ……………………………………...

22. In your opinion, what can be done to motivate staff at Ecobank Nigeria Limited?
(a) Appropriate remuneration to reward high performance
(b) Introduction of challenging but interesting job schedule
(c) Career path- goal should be well defined and vigorously pursued
(d) Specify if anyother………………………………………………

24. How do you think the current motivational system at Ecobank Nigeria Limited can be
improved?
……………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………

25. Kindly indicate by circling the corresponding number against each factor of
motivationyou consider the most important that would influence performance at work.
1- Below average 2- average 3- above average 4- credit and 5- excellent
MOTIVATIONAL FACTORS RANKS
(a) Job Satisfaction 12345
(b) Recognition 12345
(c) Sense of Achievement 12345
(d) Good Salary 12345
(e) Training &DevelopmentOpportunities 12345

71