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EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION.

Research design to measure effects of praise on workers in four small companies.

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Introduction
The purpose of the proposed study is to examine for the effects of reward (praise and recognition for a job well done) on the employee motivation (the will to accomplish work tasks) of individuals working in four small companies of 50 or less employees. According to Timm and Peterson (1995), all motivation is directed toward some desired payoff or reward. As to rewards, Vecchio (1992) informs that they can be either extrinsic or intrinsic.
Extrinsic rewards are external to the worker and commonly consist of such things as pay, promotion, or fringe benefits. Intrinsic rewards, on the other hand, are experienced internally; examples of intrinsic rewards include feelings of accomplishment, competence, responsibility, or personal growth. As noted by

7 to. Following the termination of treatment(treatment will be delivered for an eight week period), all employees'motivational levels will be posttested using the same test instrument.Instrumentation Employee motivation will be measured using The Worker MotivationScale developed by Wherry and South (1977). Ofthe companies agreeing to participate, four organizations will be randomlyselected. Executive Excellence,13(6), p. Production, 1 7(7), p. Journal of VocationalBehavior, 22(2), 127-135. MethodsResearch Design The study will consist of a two-factor (between-within) pretest-posttest design in which the first independent factor is the TreatmentVariable with two levels (Received Praise and Did Not Receive Praise) andthe second factor is the Testing variable with two levels (Pretest andPosttest). (1975). The authors found that as a reward, praise wasmaximally effective only under certain conditions. Moreover, most of the conducted studies are relativelyolder studies; thus, newer research in the area is definitely needed. However, there have been some studies which have specifically focusedon determining the effects of praise/recognition on employee motivation.To add context and focus to the proposed research, these studies can bereviewed here. & Gallo, P.S., Jr. For example, Shouksmith (1989) administered theWork Motivation Scale, along with an activity analysis of subjects' jobs,to 384 professional veterinarians. (1983). Increasing achievement motivation and workproductivity in a chronic psychiatric population. Thus, there arerelatively few studies that have specifically examined only for the effectsof praise/recognition---this despite the fact that several authorsconstantly advocate praise as an effective means of enhancing workermotivation (e.g., Caudron, 1995; Daly & Kleiner, 1995; Pollock, 1995;Rigsbee, 1996). More recent research has offered support for the psychometricsoundness of the scale. Rigsbee, E.R. Specifically, Rigsbee states that manager or supervisorshould embody that which he/she chooses to praise and reward. Employee motivation. Praise should be given when it is deserved, not just on specialoccasions, or when it seems to build the image of the praiser to some thirdparty. Feldman and Arnold (199 ) reported that in the first year, the systemof praise was found to have saved the company almost one million dollarspreviously lost to it due to incorrect packaging. 3. Moreover, measures takenof employee motivation showed a strong increase in both worker motivationand job satisfaction. NY: Harper andRow. Factor analyses were said to confirm the construct validity of theWork Motivation Scale. Paul: West. For example, Charleyshould not simply be told that he did a good job but should also beinformed as to why the job was good, e.g., "The reason I think it was sucha good job is because you acted interested, asked questions, wrote down thefacts, asked the customer what she thought we should do to make it right."This type of job analysis, according to Morrison and O'Hearne (199 ,permits the employee to internalize the learning experience. 5 will rise no higher than . This psychologicalresearch prospectus provides the design for such a study. Another important aspect of praise/recognition has been discussed byRigsbee (1996). Incentive, 17 (1 ), 4-9. Doing so should work to strengthen the study'soperationalization of the praise variable. As noted by Vecchio (1992), a company can enhance extrinsic orintrinsic rewards. & O'Hearne, J.J. Review of the Literature Unfortunately, most research on employee motivation and systems ofreward has investigated for the effects of reward systems that combine bothextrinsic and intrinsic components (Davis, 1996). These conditions can bedelineated as follows: 1. (1996). Subjects were randomly assigned to one ofthree groups: work sample with praise, work sample without praise, and no-treatment control. (1989). (199 ). Extrinsic rewards are external to the worker and commonly consist ofsuch things as pay, promotion, or fringe benefits. Morrison, J.H. Praise is maximal in impact when given for better than expectedresults, e.g., for coming in over quota, for exceeding the target, or forputting out extra effort. Finally, it can be noted that all testing of motivational data willutilize the conventional . The instrument consists of a7 -item questionnaire developed based on value/expectancy theories ofmotivation and factor analytic studies. The top 2 ways to motivate employees. A Worker Motivation Scale.Personnel Psychology, 3 (4), 613-636.----------------------- 6 Motivating people. In other words, ifprocedures or data violate any of the assumptions justifying the use of theanalysis of variance, its overall alpha level remains relatively stable.Indeed, according to Linton and Gallo (1975), even where there are extremeviolations of the underlying assumptions of the assumptions of normality orheterogeneity, an alpha level set at . Feldman, D.C. Because of the extensive research conducted on the effects of praise,the techniques of Morrison and O'Hearne (199 ) will be used in this studyin the form of training managers and supervisors on how to effectivelydeliver praise to those workers whose motivational levels they areattempting to build. Thus, iffindings are statistically significant, Eta Squared can be used todetermine the amount of variance in motivation attributable to Treatment;this, in turn, will allow for an assessment of the practical significanceof the findings. & Arnold, H.J. Organizational behavior (2nd ed.) Chicago: TheDryden Press. To the extent that the managerhim- or herself models these behaviors, learning is increased. (1995). Prior to the beginning of the study, all employees at all selectedcompanies will be required to complete a test instrument measuring theirlevels of work motivation. Morrison and O'Hearne (199 ), conducted extensive research on theeffects of both praise and criticism--most of which was accomplished in the197 s and early 198 s. (1995). First, thestatistic is sensitive (Lapin, 198 ) which is to say that it can be used todetect even small differences between groups. Factor analysis of responses yielded a hierarchicalstructure of motivation and eight reliable subscales. (5th ed.) St. What is important about the program at Emery Air-Freight is that itprovides a cost-effective means which the smaller company may be able touse as a way of increasing employee motivation and performance. In one fairly unusual study of the effects of praise on motivation,Eisenstein (1983) conducted a study designed to examine whether socialreinforcement for on-task behavior in a simulated work activity wouldincrease achievement motivation, work interest, and simulated work activityproduction in a psychiatric population; the presumption here was that ifsocial reward (praise) could increase work motivation in this setting, itcould clearly increase it in a regular work setting. 9. 19. The employees working at those companies electing to participatein the study will consist of the subject sample.Data Collection Procedures At each of the four companies, one half of the employees will beassigned to supervisors/managers who are given training in praise delivery. As noted in the literature review these techniques include applyingpraise for specific tasks, for better than expected results, for commendingand recognizing the employee, an so forth. The analysis of varianceis selected as the data analysis tool for several reasons. How to motivate problem employees.Work Study, 44(2), 5-7. & South, J.C. Shouksmith, G. A consultant was hired who had mangers and supervisors watchemployees packing and whenever they used the proper size box, the managerwould walk over and say something such as, "You're doing a great job," orsimply "Good job." The consultant also asked managers to stop criticizingemployees when they packaged incorrectly and, instead, only to focus ondelivering praise when the job task was correctly accomplished. Praise should be delivered without accompanying criticism.According to Morrison and O'Hearne (199 ), authentic relationships developbetter when people talk "straight." When positive conditional recognitionis in order, it should be given and not be mixed with criticism because itbecomes less believable to the employee who then believes the praise wasdelivered only to "soften the blow" of the message's real intent which wasthe criticism. (1977). Test development involved having 24 employed adults complete thetest instrument. One answer to the foregoing question may be to increase theeffectiveness with which managers/supervisors deliver praise to workers.In this regard, Feldman and Arnold (199 ) discussed the situation of EmeryAir-Freight which enhanced both employee motivation and company profits bytraining managers in praise delivery. Practical transactionalanalysis in management (4th ed.) Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. The practical statistican:Simplified handbook of statistics. As to rewards, Vecchio (1992) informs that they can be eitherextrinsic or intrinsic. This training will consist of working with managers to get them to deliverpraise using the techniques developed by Morrison and O'Hearne (199 ). Since smaller companies have considerably lessrevenue to put into their reward systems, this leads to the question howthe smaller company (a company of 5 employees or less) might enhanceemployee motivation in a cost-effective manner? 12. References Caudron, S. (199 ). 2. Daly, D. Lapin, L. Based on the findings of the reviewed studies of praise, thefollowing research hypotheses can be formulated: Research Hypothesis 1: Those employees exposed to praise (Treatment)will evidence significant gains in motivation on their posttest over theirpretest. Wherry, R.J. (1996). Davis, S. The study's dependent measure will consist of employeemotivation as measured by subjects' responses to the Work Motivation Scaledeveloped by Wherry and South (1977). Linton, M. Theactivities selected for recognition and praise, according to Rigsbee arethose which will most likely be repeated. It seemsreasonable therefore to conduct research that examines for the influence ofpraise on worker motivation in a small company. Praise should be supported with reasoning. However, in thisregard, Timm and Peterson (1995) report that such reward systems, whileoften effective in terms of fostering high levels of motivation, can alsobe relatively costly. Support for the criteria was found andpromising validities were indicated. A construct validation of a scale formeasuring work motivation. The remaining employees will continue on with their regularsupervisors/managers who have received no praise training. Direct and indirect criterion measures were also obtained and wereused to validate the subscales. IndustryWeek, 244(7), 12-18. Praise must be specifically applied such as when the managerstates, "Charlie you did a great job handling that unpleasant customer witha complaint this afternoon." Such specificity communicates to the receivethat the supervisor or manager has actually observed or heard about theaction that is being praised. Timm, P.R. In the larger companies, reward systems tend to be fairly complex andto incorporate both extrinsic and intrinsic rewards. The research design can be graphically depicted as follows:_________________________________________________________________ TREATMENTTESTING Received Praise Control Pretest Posttest_________________________________________________________________Sample Subjects will be drawn by first contacting several local companies of5 employees or less and asking for their participation in the company. According to Feldman and Arnold (199 ), this air-freight company dida lot of packaging and employees tended to be imprecise about choosingpackaging materials, especially the boxes. Eisenstein, H.H. New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 18(2), 76-81. A third reason for selecting the analysis of variance is that it hasavailable to it the strength of association measure, Eta Squared. Results were said to indicate that praise could be astrong motivator in non-psychiatric environments such as in businesssettings. Also, results identified certain jobcharacteristics that have motivational properties related to growth or self-development.Data Analysis Plan The two-way, mixed analysis of variance will be used to examinewhether subjects' levels of work motivation significantly differed inrelation to the Treatment and Testing variables. (1995). Managing individual and groupbehavior in organizations (4th ed.) NY: McGraw-Hill. Introduction The purpose of the proposed study is to examine for the effects ofreward (praise and recognition for a job well done) on the employeemotivation (the will to accomplish work tasks) of individuals working infour small companies of 5 or less employees. People performance. The second reason for selecting the analysis of variance is tat it isrobust with respect to its underlying assumptions. Statistics: Meaning and methods. Pollock, T. 6. Eisenstein (1983) found that an analysis of variance conducted onachievement imagery, work interests, and simulated work production revealeda significant interaction between Trials and Treatment on each dependentmeasure. For example, small items wouldoften be packaged in the larger boxes; since the monies paid for boxesincreased with the size of the box, using a larger box for the smaller itemwas costing the company money. (1992). According to Timm andPeterson (1995), all motivation is directed toward some desired payoff orreward. The next section of this proposal delineates all of the methods andprocedures that will be used to collect data and test these hypotheses. Further, the training willentail making sure that the manager delivers praise when employeescorrectly accomplish job tasks while refraining from criticism when jobtasks are not correctly accomplished. & Peterson, B.D. In other words,this control group will experience normal work conditions andsupervisory/managerial interaction. Intrinsic rewards, onthe other hand, are experienced internally; examples of intrinsic rewardsinclude feelings of accomplishment, competence, responsibility, or personalgrowth. Specifically, it was found that the praise group showed asignificant improvement on each dependent measure, as well as significantlygreater improvement than the no-treatment control group and the work samplewithout praise group. Praise should be given primarily to commend and recognize; itshould never be used as a sort of "carrot" dangling before the worker as ameans of encouraging him or her to work even harder in the future. 4. People at work: Human relationsin organizations. (198 ). Vecchio, R.P. Subjects in the study consisted of 45 male chronic psychiatricpatients (mean age 43 years). 5. Research Hypothesis 2: When compared to the control group, thoseemployees exposed to praise (Treatment) will evidence significantly greaterlevels of motivation. & Kleiner, B.H. 5 significance level which is to say thatfindings will not be termed significant unless only five out of one hundredtimes or less they could have been obtained on the basis of chance alone.The conventional significance level is selected because review of theexisting research did not provide reason to select an unconventional level. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole. In thisstudy, an attempt will be made, to the extent possible, to have mangersmodel those behaviors for which they are most likely to delivery praise toemployees. (1995).

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