SUMMARY
The present investigation was aimed at evaluating, relying on a battery of psychological tests previously applied by a group of experts to carry out profiles of psychological characterization, the behavior of work motivation in a Cuban company and determine the type of motivation that predominates.
Our study constitutes a non-experimental cross-sectional design with descriptive characteristics and the sample was made up of 105 professionals whose referred motivations were grouped into various categories called by us subtypes of motivation, which in turn regrouped into two types of motivation; extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation. The results achieved show a predominance of extrinsic motivation with equal values for intrinsic motivation and the mixture of both types. No significant differences were found between the types of motivation and the sociodemographic variables collected.
1. INTRODUCTION
Work motivation is derived from motivation in general, which constitutes a complex integration of psychic processes, aimed at satisfying man's needs and consequently regulates the direction and intensity or activation of behavior.
The emergence of work motivation dates back to 1700 in Europe. The transformation of artisan workshops into factories brings out the need for more people, production associated with the operation of machines, and greater complexity in relations between workers and between workers and supervisors. This amalgamation of elements brings with it the appearance of a decrease in productivity, disinterest in work, the appearance of interpersonal and intergroup conflicts and lack of motivation (Cortés, 2005).
We can also point out as a favorable element for the deepening of the study and the emphasis placed on motivation, the growing interest in human resources in companies. Since the beginning of the 70s in the 20th century, the traditional structure of organizations begins to be replaced by a new model. The pyramid structure, where the functions are highly specialized, there are rigid limits, a strict control by the supervision and those who occupy the top of the pyramid plan and think while those who are at the base are the ones who do the work. a circular approach. From the circular perspective, the organization has a set of coordinated groups or teams working towards the same objective.In the center of the circle is the client and in the periphery the groups that share abilities, authority, responsibility; People manage themselves with a focus on the client and authority is linked more to leadership, in its ability to influence others than to hierarchy or power by decree (Cifuentes and Jorgelina, 1997).
Today, management activity is not conceived without managing motivation, which does not mean in any way that other variables related to production or the operation of the company in general are ignored. Management by authority is giving way to management by motivation, by objectives and work team but to work in this direction it is necessary to start from the knowledge of the organization, nobody knows it better than its workers, it is they who will facilitate the reach of the organization. mission of the organization and who will do better to the extent that their personal needs and motivations are integrated with those of their organization.
This study aims to study the motivations in a Cuban company, of which no details are offered for ethical reasons, but the results are presented in order to stimulate further study of this variable and that these results can be compared with those found by Other authors.
2. METHODOLOGICAL DESIGN OF THE STUDY.
As a theoretical starting point we embraced the concept of motivation offered by González and Mitjans (1989) who conceive it as: “an aspect that is not reduced to a state of mind that immediately stimulates behavior based on the experience of need. The dynamic potential of motivation is associated with content relevant to the subject that is structured in concept, reflections, evaluations, and which in turn bears an emotional charge ”.
This concept seems much more comprehensive to us since most of the scientific literature focuses on motivation as an element that gives strength and directionality to behavior, the one previously offered by the authors addresses motivation in its great complexity where they are present the reflections, valuations of the human being and where there is also a certain emotional charge.
For the classification of needs, we start from the motivation classification in intrinsic and extrinsic derived from the two-factor model proposed by Frederick Herzberg around the 1950s. (Arana, 2005). The intrinsic and extrinsic motivations correspond to the factors that Herzberg calls hygienic and motivating.
Hygienic or maintenance factors are aimed at avoiding dissatisfaction and "in the best of cases it provides workers with a neutral environment" (Hirschfeldt, 2003: 2). These factors are found in the environment that surrounds the worker and in the conditions in which we carry out work, so the control that we can exercise over them is minimal, for example, salary, interpersonal relationships between the work team and with bosses and subordinates, administrative policies, quality of supervision, personal life, general working conditions and status.
The motivating factors, also called intrinsic, are those that take care of increasing satisfaction and with it, productivity. They have to do with the content of the position and with the nature of the task that is carried out, among them we have the achievement, the recognition, the responsibility, the promotion, the possibility of development and the work itself.
Traditionally, hygienic factors have been associated with motivation for work, however, today there is enough data to support the conclusion that when optimal, they can avoid dissatisfaction but cannot sustain it for long. In the cases in which the hygienic factors are precarious, they do lead to dissatisfaction, that is, although they manage to avoid dissatisfaction, they are not capable of achieving satisfaction. Such findings have favored taking into account other elements to promote work motivation and thereby achieve organizational objectives. "Motivating factors" are already widely used as a basis in programs developed by management to increase the motivation of their workers by enriching jobs.The philosophy of job enrichment is aimed at increasing the degree to which an employee controls, plans, executes and evaluates his job.
The bifactorial theory is criticized that when relating the motivating or hygienic factors to satisfaction tends to semantic confusion, with which we agree. There is also controversy about which of the factors is more relevant, however this classification impresses us very useful and has been used in other studies carried out in the context of our country.
In the company that we carried out the research there was no history of previous studies.
Starting from these basic theoretical considerations, we ask ourselves the following research question: how does motivation behave in the professionals of a Cuban company?
To give you an answer we plan to fulfill the objectives:
Overall objective:
- Know the presence and characteristics of motivation in the professionals of a Cuban security company.
Specific objectives:
- Evaluate, based on a battery of psychological tests carried out by experts, the behavior of work motivation in a Cuban company. Determine the type of motivation that prevails.
2.1 The sample.
The selection of the sample was made based on the study carried out in the company to establish profiles of psychological characterization in its professionals as a requirement of the direction of the Ministry to which they belong. The profiles were made by experts hired for such purposes. The inclusion criterion for the study was to have a university level.
2.2 Variables used.
Conceptual definition
Motivation: conceptual definition indicated by the set of reasons that explain the actions of an individual or the explanation of the motive or motives for which an action is made.
Extrinsic motivation: conceptual definition that reflects motivators of an external nature to the content and nature of the work. As well as the motivators of internal character in the person.
Intrinsic motivation: conceptual definition that indicates as a work motivator, the pleasure experienced when carrying out the activity due to its content and nature.
The motivations expressed by the professionals are expressed in the following categories, which we refer to in the course of the investigation as motivational subtypes.
Motivation for accomplishment and achievement: it is the inclination to obtain a significant result, the concern to improve and perfect the tasks that are carried out.
Motivation for the institution's policies: it is the orientation towards the principles by which the company is governed, especially the policies of attention to man.
Motivation for the establishment of effective human relations: it is the inclination towards satisfactory human relations established in the work team and in the company in general.
Economic motivations : motivation aimed at obtaining economic benefits either through salary and / or extra-salary stimulation.
Motivation for the content and nature of the activity that is carried out: inclination towards pleasure provided by the type of activity that is carried out and the actions involved in it.
Motivation for working conditions: motivation that guides behavior towards the physical-material conditions in which the activity is carried out, such as having computers, working in air conditioning, the characteristics of work places and having means of transport.
Motivation for the prestige of the company: orientation towards the recognition achieved by the organization among others of its kind and in the country in general.
Motivation to maintain job stability: it is the internal motivation to stay in the company to satisfy internal security needs.
Motivation to work near the place of residence: orientation towards the fact that the place of work is close to the place where one resides.
Motivation for the degree of autonomy granted: motivation to maintain the margins of freedom that the company offers to carry out its position or activity.
Motivation for the recognition received: inclination towards obtaining samples of social admiration and respect for the performance performed.
Motivation for personal commitment: motivation to maintain responsibility and duties with the organization and involvement with its strategies and results.
Motivation for personal growth: it is the orientation of behavior towards the development of new skills and personal enrichment in the course of the activity carried out and the challenges it poses.
Motivation for the management style: motivation for the way in which the strategies and objectives of the company are drawn up and implemented.
Operational definition:
For the definition of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, a grouping of the various motivations for the work that were pointed out by the professionals was carried out. The results of the grouping are shown below:
|
Type of motivation |
Motivations |
| Extrinsic motivation |
|
| Intrinsic motivation |
|
Finally, we will define the sociodemographic variables collected in the study and that we use to enrich the results.
Age: operational definition indicated by the years the subject reported having.
Gender: operational definition indicated by the subject's response to male or female.
Relationships of couples: operational definition resulting from the responses of the subjects to their marital status. We consider with married relationships the responses of married and others; and without relationships, single, divorced and widowed.
Presence of children: indicates the presence of children regardless of their number; it is expressed as with children and without children.
Workplace: operational definition that groups the professionals studied according to whether they work in the headquarters of Havana City or in the different branches of the country.
Position: operational definition that identifies the subjects evaluated based on the activity they carry out. It includes the categories: president and vice-presidents, managers, commercial activities, transportation activities, computing and computerization activities, imports and exports, technical positions, brigade leader, fitter, diver, electrical protection activities, extinguishing activities, security and protection, electronics, reception, legal activities, quality-related activities, human resources, installation, designers and workshop manager.
2.3 Assessment instrument.
The evaluation test of the five needs was used, which consists of referring in hierarchical order to the five most important needs that keep the person working in your company. This test is part of the battery of psychological tests for the characterization of its professionals prepared by the Ministry to which the company belongs and was applied individually by the experts in charge of the evaluation. The date of application of the battery of tests was based on a work schedule prepared by the company's human resources management and the contracted specialists, who report having previously carried out systematic consultations with the ministry that would facilitate the work and lead to the expected results.
2.4 Type of research.
Our study constitutes a non-experimental cross-sectional design with descriptive characteristics, since it meets the following conditions:
- Observation of a phenomenon as presented in its context was carried out. No manipulation of variables occurred, nor was treatment administered to the subjects. No differential situations were created. Absence of randomization. Passive nature of the observations. Data collection in a single moment.
Both the sociodemographic and test application data were stored and processed in the SPSS / PC version 10.0 package and included:
- Frequency analysis x 2 for cross tabulation tables. “T” test for group comparison.
3. DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS
3.1 Descriptive analysis of the study population
105 professionals participated, whose ages were between 24 and 71 years old, the average age is 40 years. 19% of the sample studied are women and the rest (81%) are men.
77.1% reported having a partner and 79% had children.
55.2% reside in Havana and Havana and 44.8% in the rest of the country's provinces where there are branches such as Pinar del Río, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, Ciego de Ávila, Camaguey and Santiago de Cuba.
Most of the professionals are engineers, representing 70.5%, the rest are graduates of other professions such as law, education, chemical processes, physical culture, economics and accounting.
The highest percentage of people studied carry out commercial activities.
3.2 Behavior of subtypes and types of motivation in the sample studied.
Graph 1 shows the distribution of the type of motivation in the sample studied. It is worth noting that to speak of intrinsic or extrinsic motivation, the prevailing criterion was used, the type of motivation whose subtypes equaled or exceeded 60%, that is, if in one of the subjects the motivational subtypes related to extrinsic motivation were the same or greater than this value, it was defined as predominantly extrinsic and thus in the same way for the intrinsic, whereas in cases where the subtypes had the same weight for both motivations, it was decided to establish the category of “both motivations”.
When looking at the graph, extrinsic motivation is appreciated with higher values, while intrinsic motivation as well as the number of people where the two types mix represent almost half of their percentage. Today it is controversial, which of the two types of motivation has greater advantages, some authors point out that the predominance of intrinsic motivation is not entirely positive because the person can leave the organization if they find another company where they carry out a similar activity but have Better work conditions. On the other hand, it is stated that external motivations, in some cases, need to be systematically renewed and increased in order to maintain their motivational value (Leonor, 1997).Investigations carried out in the own context of our country on both aspects refer to the priority presence of extrinsic motivation as a trend and the fact of the changes in the own conceptions of the worker of our times, who is no longer enough, is offered as an explanatory hypothesis. the moral stimulus and the pleasure for what he does (De la Torres, 1997). In one way or another, this study gives us a clear vision of the behavior of motivation in the company studied as a starting point for any organizational strategy.This study gives us a clear vision of the behavior of motivation in the company studied as a starting point for any organizational strategy.This study gives us a clear vision of the behavior of motivation in the company studied as a starting point for any organizational strategy.
The table below breaks down the behavior of motivation into the subtypes that were used as the basis for establishing the two basic types of motivations.
| Motivation explored | Percentage |
| 1. Motivation for accomplishment and achievement | 42.9% |
| 2. Motivation for company policies | 2.4% |
| 3.Motivation for human relations | 48.6% |
| 4. Economic motivations | 34.3% |
| 5. Motivation for the content of the activity carried out | 67.6% |
| 6. Motivation for working conditions | 53.3% |
| 7. Motivation for the prestige achieved by the company | 27.6% |
| 8. Motivation to maintain stability and security | 11.4% |
| 9. Motivation for proximity to the place of residence | 5.7% |
| 10. Motivation for the level of autonomy | 4.8% |
| 11. Motivation for the recognition offered | 3.8% |
| 12. Motivation for commitment to the organization | 2.9% |
| 13. Motivation for personal growth | one % |
| 14.Motivation for management style | 6.7% |
LEGEND:
- Motivation whose values are between 0 and 25% Motivation whose values are between 26 and 50% Motivation whose values exceed 50%
Table no.2: Frequency of the motivation subtypes in the sample.
By extracting the frequencies of the motivation subtypes that constitute intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, the spectrum of alternatives with which the company can work opens up. You can reinforce the motivations of greater weight at the same time that the most deficient are converted into true motivating levers as Hirschfeldt (2003) points out, in the latter case we have the motivation for autonomy, commitment and personal growth that would be favored by the job analysis and job enrichment and recognition of performance, company policies and management style that can also be improved by rethinking strategies for the organization's managers.
3.3 Relationship between the types of motivation and the demographic variables studied.
3.3.1 According to the activity that is carried out.
| Professional position | Extrinsic Motivation | Intrinsic motivation | Both mixed |
| President and vice presidents | 33.3% | 16.6% | fifty% |
| Managers | 42.8% | 35.7% | 21.5% |
| Commercial activities | 40% | 25.% 7 | 34.3% |
| Transportation area | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Economic activities, accounting and finance | 63.6% | 18.2% | 18. 2% |
| Computer and computerization activities | 66.6% | 33. 3% | 0% |
| Imports and exports | 66.6% | 0% | 33.3% |
| Technical positions | 33.3% | 66.6% | 0% |
| Brigade chief | fifty% | fifty% | 0% |
| Diver | 0% | 100% | 0% |
| Fitter | fifty% | 0% | fifty% |
| Electric protections | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Extinction | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Protection and security | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| electronics | fifty% | 0% | fifty% |
| Reception | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Legal | 0% | 0% | 100% |
| Quality activities | 0% | 0% | 100% |
| Human Resources | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Installer | fifty% | fifty% | 0% |
| Designer | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Foreman | 0% | 0% | 100% |
Table no.3: Behavior of the motivation subtypes according to the activity carried out.
Despite the semantic confusion that is pointed out to Herzberg's two-factor theory, it is widely used as an explanatory model of work motivation and in particular of the motivation-position relationship that is dealt with. The stimulating nature of the activity performed is considered a strong positive motivator (Genovese, 1997).
When relating the motivation to the position or activity that is carried out, no statistically significant differences were observed, but when observing Table 3, it is distinguished that in the groups of managers, commercial activities, economic activities, accounting and extrinsic motivation predominates in finance, computing and computerization, imports and exports, as well as in the area of human resources. This type of motivation is also preponderant in the areas made up of a single subject such as transportation, electrical protections, extinction, security, reception and in the case of the designer.
Intrinsic motivation dominates the group of those who work in technical positions where the activity to be carried out is characterized by a predominance of purely technical actions that rarely include administrative activities or the need for social skills.
The group made up of the president and the vice-presidents shows a preponderance of the mixture of both motivations and an exhaustive analysis of these findings found that in addition to the internal incentives that they may have due to the status occupied in the organization, the motivations for the commitment are highlighted with the company, personal growth and recognition.
In the rest of the groups, the distribution in two of the variants is equated, for example, the same percentage in intrinsic motivation as extrinsic or extrinsic and both.
3.3.2 According to gender.
No statistically significant differences were found in men and women according to the type of motivation, which is illustrated through the graph. The intrinsic motivation in men and the mixture of both motivations in women are only slightly increased. In similar studies aimed at exploring the most important factors for people in the work context and their association with sociodemographic variables, no differences were found between the work motivations of men and women. Arana (2005) refers to an Argentine study where the main motivations for both genders were the same: professional development and the acquisition of technical skills, social recognition and intellectual stimulation.For both men and women, the content and nature of the activity carried out predominate as intrinsic motivation and the working conditions as extrinsic motivation.
Men report less motivation for personal commitment, personal growth, social recognition, management style and the fact of working close to home. In this same sense, women mention less the motivation for the degree of autonomy granted.
We did not find in the scientific literature, investigations in which motivation was related to variables such as couple relationships and the presence of children, but we considered it appropriate to relate them because, as reiterated, motivation is a ptd value = »top» width = »115 ″ Td valign = »top» width = »115 ″ complex process that can be modified in a person both at different stages of the life cycle and in different circumstances and events (Arana 2005).
3.3.3 According to couple relationships.
The differences between the subjects with a partner and those without a partner do not reach statistical significance either, but the graph illustrates a moderate elevation of extrinsic motivation in professionals who do not report having a partner and this could be related to the value reached by the motivation to establish relationships. significant human beings, which in some way can constitute a compensatory mechanism for lack in this area of life.
3.3.4 In relation to the presence of children.
From the statistical point of view, there are no significant differences in motivation for those who have children and those who do not, but for practical purposes, an observation of the frequencies illustrates that for the group without children, the frequencies of their motivation intrinsic is less by almost 20% and their extrinsic motivation is increased by 20.2%. When delving into the contribution of the subtypes of motivations to these results, we found that internal motivations such as commitment to organization and social recognition are not expressed in this group (without children).
Motivation for the content of the activity carried out is expressed above 50% in both groups, however, for those who do not have children, motivation for working conditions attains higher values and in the same way as for those without couple, they are motivated to establish significant human relationships in the workplace.
3.3.5 In relation to the place where you work
In the extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation categories, no statistically significant differences appear, however, when analyzing the motivation subtypes for those who work at the headquarters and those who work in the country's branches, the motivation subtype for working near the place of residence Statistical tests show a significant difference. This seems to be an element of relevance for those who work in the country's provinces.
3.3.6 In relation to age.
Research carried out at the University of Havana has been aimed at describing the motivational contents in relation to different age groups, based on the assumption that the motivations have a dynamic and changing character during the life cycle.
In this work, when comparing the means of ages with the types of motivation, no statistically significant differences appeared.
The small difference shown between the types of motivations is due to the fact that they are within the category of adults and the existing differences seem to be linked to other elements such as the existence of couple and child relationships as explained above. The findings of the studies carried out have shown a trend towards a social orientation of motivation in adulthood. (González, 1982).
4. CONCLUSIONS and RECOMMENDATIONS
1. 47.6% of the studied sample showed a predominance of extrinsic motivation while intrinsic motivation was present in 25.6% of professionals and the mixture of both types of motivations behaved similarly (26.7%).
2. Within the extrinsic motivations, the motivation for the working conditions was the one that reached higher values (53.3% of the sample).
3. In the case of intrinsic motivations, the content and nature of the activity carried out was most frequently highlighted, being present in 67.6% of the subjects studied.
4. The results of the types of motivation were related to the sociodemographic variables to enrich the results and showed the following statistical results:
- There are no significant differences between the types of motivation and the position held.
- There are no significant differences between types of motivation and gender.
- There are no significant differences between the types of motivation and partner relationships.
- There are no significant differences between the types of motivation and the possession of children.
- There are no significant differences between the types of motivation and the place where one works except for the motivation, proximity to the place of residence that predominates in the branches of the country.
- There are no significant differences between the types of motivation and age.
Evaluating the findings, we consider it appropriate to emphasize that motivation is not a closed issue for the scientific community and that it is a variable with important repercussions for the business world as well as a useful tool for the effective performance of management management. Both descriptive and explanatory research must continue.
Studies like this can be replicated in other companies in the country or abroad for comparative purposes.
Our results will be discussed with the top management of the company and the contents that emerge from the discussion will be a decisive qualitative contribution to the numerical results referred to. However, it can already be proposed to management • to rely on informal groups with those who do not have a partner and / or without children for some tasks whose success depends on teamwork, trying to maintain the most suitable working conditions Possible as extrinsic motivation of high presence, analyze with the Human Resources Department the jobs to be enriched according to new approaches, which replace the traditional profesiograms.Use this enrichment to develop intrinsic motivations with low percentages such as commitment and autonomy, and finally review business policies, especially those related to caring for men.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Arana W. (2005), “Motivation in business management” at www.gestiopolis.com extracted in February 2005. Cifuentes A. and Jorgelina A. (1997), “Empowerment” at www.monografias.com extracted in March 2005. Cortés A. (1997), “Work motivation in a service company” at www.monografias.com, extracted in March 2005. De la Torre Y. (1997), “An approach to work motivation in Cuba de hoy ”in www.monografias.com taken in January 2005. Genoese C. (1997),“ Human Resources Management in new scenarios ”in www.monografias.com taken in January 2005. González D. (1982), "Motivation an orientation for your study", Scientific Editorial Technical Havana.González F and Mitjans A. (1989) "Personality its Education and Development", Editorial Pueblo Education Havana.Hirschfeldt M. (2003), " Motivation ”at www.oilproduction.net extracted in March 2005. Leonor A. (1997), “Types of motivation” at www.monografias.com extracted in February 2005.
