Motivation and learning in manufacturing industries

Problems of motivation and job satisfaction have continued to plague developing countries like Malaysia. The driving factors to motivate employees have frequently been studied, but no correlation between motivation and job satisfaction has been found. The study described here focuses on work motivation, satisfaction and performance together with their relationships with learning behaviours. The research consisted of an industrial study of 356 employees from manufacturing industries in Malaysia. Unskilled employees preferred group working on complex tasks whereas skilled employees preferred to work individually, in both cases increasing motivation, satisfaction and performance. Task complexity was found to be an important factor in job design and learning. Learning in groups was a significant factor in workplace learning for both unskilled and skilled employees. Knowledge of the relationships between motivation and learning is expected to be useful for employers and policy makers in organisations especially in manufacturing industries in Malaysia.

[1]  Charles B. Handy.  Understanding organizations : Charles B. Handy , 1986 .

[2]  Richard Bent,et al.  Staff motivation in small food manufacturing enterprises , 1999 .

[3]  V. Marsick.  Learning in the workplace , 1987 .

[4]  S. Bolhuis,et al.  Toward self-directed learning in secondary schools: what do teachers do? , 2001 .

[5]  Edwin A. Locke,et al.  Job Satisfaction and Role Clarity Among University and College Faculty , 2017 .

[6]  Elizabeth Hicks,et al.  Canadian accountants: examining workplace learning , 2007 .

[7]  Toon W. Taris,et al.  Bricks without clay: On urban myths in occupational health psychology , 2006 .

[8]  V. Vroom.  Work and motivation , 1964 .

[9]  E. A. Locke,et al.  Goal Setting: A Motivational Technique That Works! , 1984 .

[10]  S. Jex,et al.  Organizational Psychology: A Scientist-Practitioner Approach , 2002 .

[11]  Philip E. T. Lewis,et al.  Research Methods for Business Students , 2006 .

[12]  W. Bodmer.  Principles of Scientific Management , 1993, FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

[13]  Judith Bell,et al.  教育与社科研究入门指南(第三版) = Doing Your Research Project , 1999 .

[14]  Robert D. Tortora,et al.  INFLUENCE OF PLAIN VS. FANCY DESIGN ON RESPONSE RATES FOR WEB SURVEYS , 1999 .

[15]  Walter C. Borman,et al.  The Concept of Organizational Citizenship , 2004 .

[16]  P. Tynjälä.  Perspectives into learning at the workplace , 2008 .

[17]  R. Poell,et al.  On‐the‐job learning in the nursing profession: Developing and validating a classification of learning activities and learning themes , 2008 .

[18]  T. Thrall.  Work redesign. , 2003, Hospitals & health networks.

[19]  P. Simons,et al.  Modeling Work-Related Learning on the Basis of Intentionality and Developmental Relatedness: A Noneducational Perspective , 2004 .