General Background
1.1 Introduction
In the traditional African economy the necessity to study the motivation of workers would not have existed. This is because , in the traditional set up , a family group consisted a self-sustaining unit appropriating any surplus for their own use. The workers owned the means of production as well as the products of their labour.
But in the modern industrial capitalist economy, a worker trades his labour power and skill and gets as reward only an infinitesimal bit of the huge profit derived from his labour. He is isolated for making decisions as to the products of his labour are utilized or disposed of.
How them does the workers keep going on knowing full well, that all his efforts are geared towards increasing the profit of his capitalist employer?. This bring up the issue of motivation.
As pointed out by Hicks (1972), people do not work in organizations for the sake of work itself but rather with the ultimate hope that they will achieve their individual objectives by hoping their organizations accomplish their objectives; in this sense , the degree of commitment of members to actively participate and contribute through collective efforts is based on their perception that the organization would enhance their aspirations. Expectations of workers and what is obtainable in the work-place, made mark, (1884), to assets that the gap between the expectations of workers and the realities of work results to deprivation and alienation.
The state is the greatest employers of labour like the private sector. The choice of the state owned establish like the Delta STATE WATER Corporation is founded on the reason stated above, that is to say the state is one of the highest employer of labour.
State and public enterprises are set up or establishged the sole aim of the maki9ng profits. In other worda, they are non-profit making organization, but established to provide services that would not have benne taken adequate care of the private establishment is to make profit, relate d to the profit that is operation make so that it contains an incentive element depending on profit. It may not be outrageous to say that any motivational measure taken by these enterprise may not necessary arise from a genuine desire to improve the working conditions and quality of services but rather would be predicated on the one-sided wished to increase the profits of the capitalist employers.
Motivation is state-owned corporations therefore is a function which management performs to stimulate employers, effective and efficient contribution to the achievement or organizational goals and quality production.
1.2 Statement of Problem
A common accusation against modern industrial society is that it has made work dull and spiritless especially for the workers.
The environment, the average workers performs his job is seen to be unfavourable and inimical to his or her maximum contribution.
Hoe to get members of an organization to work willingly for the attainment of its objective and goals has been a major problem.
Managers of labour make a lot of assumptions about what motivates or should motivate their workers without taking time to find out whether these assumptions are valid or not.
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