One of the most outstanding annual problems of organization is how to stimulate their employees effectively to enable the organizational set goals or target come true.
In the Educational ministry (Anambra State Ministry of Education) activities are carried out depending on how workers are best motivated. The ability to understand why people behave the way they do and ability to motivate them in a specific manner so as to produce results are the inter-related roles which are very important for managerial effectiveness.
In an organization, there are some important places where motivation in work force can occur. Against this background, thorough understanding of motivation is based on thorough understanding of human need. Human need as a matter of fact determines the eagerness of employees to face a given job.
According to Wodkowskit (1989), the main criterion for successful motivation planning no matter what the instructional plan may be is that each time phase (beginning, during and ending) of the sequence of instruction for the particular project objective includes significance positive motivation influence on the worker.
Wodkowskit further listed out six basic questions for motivation planning as follows:-
These basic questions for motivation planning according to Wodkowstkit points out important areas that the management of any organization should put into consideration as it concerns motivation of her workforce.
Knoueles (2010) contended that where workers are motivated to work, they work harder, learn more, have source of enjoyment and achievement, and want to continue working. A manager working with motivated workers finds instruction move successful, achieves greater satisfaction and avoids burnout.
Motivation takes people to people skills and time like a good strategy, it is an investment. It pays dividend but often not immediately. Also, because what motivates people is often beyond the inherent structure true of the knowledge or skill they are performing, it means managers have to plan for motivation on its own right, it cannot be rushed.
Brief Historical Background (Of Ministry Of Education)
Ministry of education among other ministries could be said to be exceptional in the sense that it is purely associated with acquiring and imparting knowledge and skills be it formal, non-formal or informal. It could be said to be the bedrock of other employees and employers in other ministries have passed through either one of its arm or another, in the course of acquiring knowledge, so it is a pivot on which other ministries revolves.
Education ministry is as old as civilization. This is because civilization started with exhibiting extra knowledge to better conditions of living. Bringing it home, “the ministry of Education Anambra could be seen to be as old as the advent of the European or Colonial Masters” (Fafunwa A.B 1974). They brought the idea of acquiring and imparting knowledge formally and established a ministry to be solely in charge. It took off when the country was operating under the regional system, where we have directorate of Education to three and later four regions of the country. Directorate of Education later metamorphosed to “Ministries” in 1967 with 12 states in the country.
A key duty of every manager in any field of human endeavor revolves around “motivating others which are possibly under him to put in their efforts towards the achievement of the set goals. It is realized that the attitude to work of every public officer is characterized by a lot of indifferences and poor reaction of management to their subordinates.
Management cannot achieve its aim without putting things in order to the climatic condition of workers as one of the external factors; it will help to motivate them.
Promotion helps to eliminate the extreme selfishness and discriminatory practice and increase work performance, which is the management target.
Welfare of workers is also another avenue for expanding organization performance. This is done by rendering the treatments to the employees such as provision of staff bus to aid fast dissemination of information and also helps pick and drop workers regularly. Establishment of health care unit within the ministry that will take care of health emergencies. Workers put in more efforts when they know that their welfare is taken care of by the management.
Working materials that the ministry requires to operate must be adequately provided to enable workers work with ease and not running from pillar to post in search of one material or the other as a result of tools being shared among workers. Job rotation as a matter of fact is considered appropriate as that creates room to determine efficiently the capacity of an employee in a different job within the ministry. It is to these factors, having chosen the ministry of education, that we should find out how far their staff are motivated and what motivates them.
This study shall cover the departments in Anambra State ministry of Education. In this project, some of the motivational tools are to be shown. Furthermore, the management of the ministry has essential tools for motivating her employees these tools shall be under studied to determine how good or bad it has been over the years.
The beneficiaries of the motivation include the management and workers in both public and private sectors. It constitutes help for researchers who need to know the importance of motivation and how it improves efficiency. For example professors and journalists, also undergraduates in universities, Tertiary Institution and colleges of Education whose discipline could be managements sciences. The household gain their objectives as well.
Motivation is an incentive, which opens a way for improving employee’s performance. Hence there is hope for reward; employee willingly works hard daily and increase productivity so employers obtain his purpose. The common agreement leads to unity between the employee and employer.
Motivation is seen as a force that moves one to behave the way he does. A parent can motivate a child by thanking him and buying him snacks for work well done at home. This child must be pushed to work harder the next day. Also, other children will emulate him and at the end the family will obtain its objective.
Finally, no level of management can effectively function without motivation because it enhances worker’s performance and effectively upgrade efficiency in any organization.
This research work would have been extended to other ministries in Anambra Sate but time and finance wasn’t enough to permit for that.
It is limited to Anambra State ministry of Education only. The researcher’s observance in the ministry of Education Anambra is taken as what is expected from other ministries because ministries operate and management has similar characteristics in some areas.
In view of the observations, it is taken as what will be seen if the investigations go further to other ministries.
Again time waits for no one hence our time is limited to this research.
Oral interview was applied as it helps to investigate whether the management practices this motivation or whether the positive answers given in the questionnaire were just given in the questionnaire.
I discovered that the staff may be afraid of giving correct written information. My observation in this area is that the staff need to be given more incentives for their efficiency.