Unit 11 Research project Assignment Marks & Spencer

Program	Diploma in Business
Unit Number and Title	Unit 11 Research project
QFC Level	Level 5

Task 1

Introduction

In the present scenario, the employees are considered to be the valuable asset for the companies. They are the important element in the establishment of the position of company in the market. In the present research project, a company named as Marks & Spencer situated at UK has been chosen to conduct the study. For holding the valuable employees in the company and avoid the situation of retention, the company is required to practice motivational factors to attract the workers towards the organization. This  research project  Marks & Spencer assignment research report has been conducted to provide study on the motivational factors that are practiced in Marks & Spencer that affect the efficiency of the employees.

1.1.1 Research Title: -

"Motivation at work place - A case study on Marks & Spencer in UK"

1.1.2 Research Aims

Motivation plays pivotal role in the establishment of the position of the company. The aim of research is to focus on the impact of the motivational factors on the employees and their performance towards the achievement of the organizational goals and objectives. The research will help to understand the importance of the extrinsic and the intrinsic motivation for the betterment of the company.

1.1.3 Limitations

The hurdles or barriers that affect the processing of the research study is termed as limitations. Some of the major limitations are non-availability of the adequate resources such as tools, finance, etc., lesser time period available for data collection as well as for data analysis. These are the limitations which are associated with the research study that divert or damage the progress of the research study (Chakrabarti, 2010).

1.1.4 Research Objectives

The objective of the research work is to study the motivation at workplace.

• To identify the importance of motivation in workplace.
• To determine the factors of motivation in an organization.
• To explain the impacts of motivation on the employees in organization.

1.1.5 Research questions

The questions covered in the research project are;

• What the factors which affect the motivation at workplace?
• What are the types of motivation at workplace?
• What are the impacts of motivation on employees?

1.2.1 Rational

The rationale for the selection of this topic for conducting the research program is that the success of the organization is directly related to the performance of the employees. Various other factors which are related to the high performance of the employees are the customer satisfaction through better customer service, quality in the productivity of the organization, better management, stakeholders’ satisfaction. The topic is selected because of the fact that the research can be conducted and authentic data can be collected easily (Massenberg, et. al., 2015).

1.2.2 Research problem

With the changing needs of the employees, it is important to keep them motivated through various tangible and intangible motivations. There are employees who feel less motivated in the organization due to less interest in the job assigned, no expectation of future growth and fear of getting failed in trying new innovations in the work.

1.3 Literature review

Background
In the competitive environment of the market in which the company operates its business have demands for continuous development for the growth of business. In the present scenario, the employees are considered to be the valuable asset for the companies. They are the important element in the establishment of the position of company in the market. For holding the valuable employees in the company and avoid the situation of retention, the company is required to practice motivational factors to attract the workers towards the organization. This research report has been conducted to provide study on the motivational factors that affect the efficiency of the employees and the importance of motivational practices to increase the productivity in the organization. For the purpose of this study a company that is Marks & Spencer, has been selected for conducting the research work. The company is situated at UK and deals in the retail industry. The research will show the factors that the company practices for motivating its employees and how the company gains the competitive advantage as a result of this practice (Taylor & Westover, 2011).

Employee motivation in today’s world has become the basic need for the organization for achieving success in the cut throat completion in the market. It is a process of getting the work done from the employees in an efficient manner to make the organization move in the direction of growth. For the current report, Marks & Spencer, a company situated at U.K. and deals in the retail industry has been selected for the purpose of the study of motivation. The factors that are practiced in the Marks & Spencer will be discussed in the present report (Taylor & Westover, 2011).
According to Quratul-Ain, 2012 the theories of motivation includes, Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs by Abraham Maslow, explains the different needs of individual by depicting the category of needs in a form of a pyramid (Quratul-Ain, 2012).

As per the theory, the employee firstly focus on the need which is shown at the bottom that is the physiological needs consist of food, shelter and home. And then he moves to the other higher levels of the pyramid as soon as the present needs of the employees are fulfilled. The need s go in the upper direction of the pyramid (Quratul-Ain, 2012).

Another theory which was mentioned by Quratul-Ain is the theory of Herzberg’s two factor theory. He explained four important factors of motivation which are extrinsic, intrinsic, identified and interjected motivation (Quratul-Ain, 2012).

As per this theory, there are certain factors in the organization which are responsible for the motivation of employees and some factors cause the dissatisfaction of employees. It focuses on the motivational factors and the hygiene factors in the organization (Quratul-Ain, 2012).  

According to Jason, 2015 in an article named employee motivations for workplace learning. He focused on the importance of motivation for the company in competitive  business environment . The study of Jason focused that there is a requirement of continuous improvement in the capabilities and skills of the employees and which can be possible with motivation (Jason, 2015).

Types of motivation at work place:

Intrinsic motivation: Intrinsic motivation is the intangible motivation given to the employees in the form of power, status, promotions. This kind of motivation is provided to the employees on higher position to gain the benefits of their experience for the growth of business (Jason, 2015).

Extrinsic motivation: Extrinsic motivation is the tangible form of motivation given to the employees such as bonus, incentives, hike in salary etc. these are the financial benefits to the employees to motivate them to perform in order to increase productivity (Jason, 2015).

Importance of motivation at workplace

• High performance of the employees depends on the level of motivation they gets in the organization to complete the assigned task.
• The quality of the product and the productivity of the organization increases.
• With the increased productivity and better quality of service, the customers also get satisfied with the company.
• The important benefit of motivation at workplace is to eliminate resistance to change in employees.
• If employees are motivated in an appropriate manner then they are satisfied and disputes and strikes can be avoided (Jason, 2015).

Factors affecting motivation

The factors that affect motivation at workplace are;

• Leadership style is one the major factors that affect the motivation of employees. In Marks & Spencer, the leaders adopt the mix style of leadership which motivate the employees in a way that they inspire the employees in order to work to achieve the goals.
• Rewards influence the performance of the employees and they get motivated to work. In Marks & Spencer, to eliminate the retention of the employees, rewards are provided to the employees. The rewards which are provided in Marks & Spencer consist of financial as well as non-financial benefits (Jason, 2015).
• Work environment plays an important role in order to motivate the employees to work in that organization. Marks & Spencer maintains the ethical work environment to provide the workers safe and secured feeling. Hence it motivates the employees to perform better (Jason, 2015).

1.4 Research Methodology

• Introduction: The research methodology is the procedure to collect the data for the purpose of the research study. In this research report, data has been collected from primary and secondary sources. The collection of data will provide the results and the analysis of the data will help to provide recommendations on motivation (Genemo, et. al., 2016).
• Research design: The qualitative and the quantitative methods have been used for collection of data. Qualitative data is the information which is not in numerical form and the quantitative method of collection of data is the information is in numerical form such as graphs and charts (Genemo, et. al., 2016).
• Data collection: The data for the research report has been collected from primary as well as secondary sources.

Primary data is the data collected through interviews, questionnaires directly asked from the targeted group. The primary data is the raw data collected for any research work.
Secondary data is the data which is already published. The secondary data can be collected from journals, publications, newspapers and magazines (Kuada, 2012).
For the study of the motivation at workplace, a survey is conducted at Marks & Spencer in which interviews were held and questionnaires were given to the employees and the managers of the company to ask questions regarding the factors and types of motivation in the company.

• Data presentation: For providing better understanding of the data and the results of the data collected from primary and secondary sources, the charts and the graphs will be used to present the data (Kuada, 2012).

1.5 Time frame

The time taken in the completion of the research study is shown as

Activities	Tasks Performed	Start date	Duration	End date
Preparation of plan	Plan will be formulated.	27/10/2016	3 days	29/10/2016
Implementation of plan	Formulated plan will be implemented.	30/10/2016	5 days	03/11/2016
Collection of data	Relevant data from different sources will be collected.	04/11/2016	4 days	07/11/2016
Analysis of data	Evaluation of data will take place.	08/11/2016	3 days	10/11/2016
Result and recommendation	From the analysis of data collected, recommendation will be provided.	11/11/2016	2 days	12/11/2016

Gantt chart

Task 2

2.1 Hypothesis

Below are the two hypothesis such as: -

H1: - Motivation results into increase in the production level.

With the effect of the motivation rendered by the employer employees become efficient enough to process their activities in significant manner. There is adequate level of increment should be noted down within their overall production level with the effect of the motivation.

H0: - There is no change is noted down among the employee's performance with the effect of the motivation.

Employer motivate their employees or not there will be no change noted down within their performance as the level of production remain same (Mabin & Randall, 2014).

2.2 Methods of data collection

There are significant methods are available for the purpose of gathering data and some of them get discussed below such as: -

• Secondary data: In order to get the data various journals, reports, articles, etc. get utilised in order to extract the useful information related to the research title. There are various articles or journals made over the motivation that need to be reviewed to get useful set of information (Juuti & Lavonen, 2012).
• Survey-Questionnaire: For the purpose of getting current trend information survey is conducted with the use of questionnaire as it helps in getting quality information. This set of information is effectively utilised for the purpose of analysing and meeting the requirements of the research study.
• Interviews: Interviews are also conducted with some set questions as it helps in getting the relevant information related to the topic. It helps in getting the expert view over the topic and adequate level of information which get utilised for answering the set research questions and meeting the objectives of research study (Juuti & Lavonen, 2012).

2.3 Questionnaires

Questionnaire for employees:

• Are you an employee in Marks & Spencer?
• Yes
• No
• Are you satisfied with the working environment in the organization?
• Yes
• No
• What type of incentives you prefer?
• Intrinsic
• Extrinsic

Questionnaires for managers:

• What impact you see in employees of motivation?
• High performance
• Average performance
• No impact
• Is management is interested in applying motivational practices?
• Yes
• No
• What type of incentives is provided in your company?
• Salary hike
• Bonus
• Promotion
• Leadership skills

Task 3

3.1 Analysis of data

The interviews and the questionnaires that were presented before the employees and the managers of Marks & Spencer are analyses and results have been presented in the tabular as well as graphs format foe better presentation and understanding.

Question 1

Are you an employee in Marks & Spencer?

Questions	Responses in %
Yes	86%
No	14%

Analysis: The people were asked whether they are the employees of Marks & Spencer. 86% of people said that they are the part of the company as they are employees in the company on different posts. 14% of the people said that they are not the employees of the company (Karanika-Murray & Michaelides, 2015).

Question 2

Are you satisfied with the working environment in the organization?

Question	Responses in %
Yes	60%
No	40%

Analysis: The employees were asked about their satisfaction with the working environment in Marks & Spencer, 60% of the employees were satisfied with the working environment while other 40% were no satisfied with the environment at workplace (Karanika-Murray & Michaelides, 2015).

Question 3

What type of incentives you prefer?

Questions	Responses in %
Intrinsic	25%
Extrinsic	75%

Analysis: The employees were asked about the type of motivation they prefer and most of the employees were seemed interested in the financial benefits rather than non-financial benefits (Karanika-Murray & Michaelides, 2015).

Question 4

What impact you see in employees of motivation?

Questions	Responses in %
High performance	64%
Average performance	25%
No impact	11%

Analysis: In this question, the managers of Marks & Spencer were asked about the performance level of the employees which has impacted with the motivation provided to them. 64% of the managers were in the opinion that the impact of motivation very high, 25% of the managers said that there is average impact on the employees and only 11% of the managers had the opinion that there is no impact of motivation on the employees (Vanthournout, et. al., 2014).

Question 5

Is management is interested in applying motivational practices?

Questions	Responses in %
Yes	80%
No	20%

Analysis: 80% of the managers agreed that Marks & Spencer follow the motivational practices in the organization and 20% of the managers declined the fact (Vanthournout, et. al., 2014).

Question 6

What type of incentives is provided in your company?

Questions	Responses in %
Salary	35%
Bonus	15%
Promotion	20%
Leadership skills	25%

Analysis: The managers were asked about type of motivation which is provided in the company and 35% of managers chose salary, 15% said bonus, 20% said promotion and 25% of the managers said leadership skills are adopted by the company for motivation (Vanthournout, et. al., 2014).

3.2 Conclusion

The research report is the study on the motivation at workplace. In the present report, the importance of motivation at workplace has been explained. In reference to the topic of the research, a company of UK, named as Marks & Spencer, has been chosen for conducting the survey for the research topic. The factors that affect the motivation in an organization and the types of motivation are discussed.  The research has been conducted with the help of data from primary and secondary sources, the method used in the current study is the sampling method and convenience sampling technique has been used for the purpose of research work. Questionnaire were presented to the employees and the managers of Marks & Spencer, and based on their responses, analysis was done and on the basis of these analysis recommendations were provided to the company.

3.3 Recommendations

The results of the data which have been collected and presented in the form of charts are analyzed to understand the research study. The data collected in the form of questionnaire depicts the scenario of Marks & Spencer; in context of the motivational practices prevail in the organization. The employees should have  employability Skills  and the managers were asked about their perceptions regarding motivation in Marks & Spencer, and according to their responses it can be said that the motivation factors in the company do have an impact on the employees of the company. The employees of the Marks & Spencer, prefer extrinsic type of motivation over the intrinsic motivation. The management of the company is also interested in the application of the motivational practices for the enhancing the performance of the employees (Fowler, 2015).

With the above discussion it can be recommended to the company that;

• The management of the company need to focus more on the financial benefits for the employees as the major portion of the employees are interested in the extrinsic motivation.
• The company can have a promotional appraisal from time to time to measure the level of performance of the employees to see the impact of motivation on the employees.

Task 4

Presentation

References

Arthur, J. 2012, Research methods and methodologies in education, SAGE, London.
Caudill, Jason G. (2015) "Employee Motivations for Workplace Learning and the Role of Elearning in the Workplace," Internet Learning: Vol. 4: Iss. 2, Article 4. 
Chakrabarti, A. 2010, "A course for teaching design research methodology", AI EDAM, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 317-334.
Fowler, S. 2015, "Motivation done right: motivation science provides alternatives to outdated approaches to workplace motivation", TD Magazine, vol. 69, no. 12, pp. 76.
Genemo, H., Miah, S.J. & McAndrew, A. 2016, "A design science research methodology for developing a computer-aided assessment approach using method marking concept", Education and Information Technologies, vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 1769-1784.
Jetnikoff, A. 2015, "Design based research methodology for yeaching with technology in English", English in Australia, vol. 50, no. 3, pp. 56-60.