Identifying the Motivation Orientation of Geny Students in Management Institutes

Abstract

Purpose:

* The primary objective of this study is to identify whether GenY students in a management institute are primarily intrinsically or extrinsically oriented and assess the differences due to gender and year of study.

* Another objective was to identify the three most important intrinsic and extrinsic workplace motivation factors as indicated by GenY MBA students.

Methodology:

* A method of convenient sampling was used for the administration of the questionnaire to a respondent base of 104.The questionnaire comprised questions to capture personal data, 30 questions adapted directly from Amibale's WPI instrument and constant sum scales were used to capture the most important workplace motivation factors.

* Quantitative analysis techniques have been deployed to assess the significance of the results.

Findings and Contribution:

* The results of this paper hold some interesting implications for HR practitioners. Our study shows that GenY members are more intrinsically motivated and carrot and stick approach of traditional organizations may not be successful for the new generation of employees. GenY employees get more engaged in their work when presented with opportunities of "fun and curiosity" rather than challenging opportunities. Others evaluation of their work is more important than the actual goals achieved. However, personal growth hold low importance to them which is evident from the results of the constant sum scale where "training to improve one's competence" did not produce high scores.

* Since it is not possible for organizations to provide everything to their GenY employees, it is important to identify the "trade-offs" that they are ready to make. The constant sum scale captured this phenomenon in our study unlike any other research done previously on GenYs. Linking Herzberg's theory of extrinsic hygiene factors and intrinsic motivating factors to the results obtained, we conclude that employers should ensure high pay, considerate boss and career advancement opportunities to prevent dissatisfaction of GenY employees and ensure an appreciative feedback system, transparent workplace practices and a purposeful work to motivate and retain their best GenY talents.

Key Words:

GenY, motivation orientation, intrinsic, extrinsic, MBA, Amibale's WPI instrument

Introduction:

Workplaces of today are dealing with an influx of Gen Y's at a very high pace. This poses a unique problem to HR Managers in trying to deal with this particular group of its employees. Gen Y's are a unique group who have aspirations, expectations, motivating factors and values, very different from their precedent generations. Also, this fast rate of influx of GenYs leaves them in individual contributor roles with high responsibility. Because of these reasons, HR managers cannot use the same policies, structures and workplace motivation factors which have been used for the precedent generation of employees. GenYs are the next leaders and important role holders, hence motivating and moulding them to shoulder responsibility and accountability is an important task for fast growing organizations of today. At the same time, HR practitioners have many tools at their disposition but the difficult part is to make the choices. Understanding the roots of motivation of GenY MBAs would help in making these choices.

Through this study we would like to explore the motivation orientation of GenY MBA students who are responsible for important roles in the organizations of today and would inevitably direct the efforts of the organization in the future. Workplace motivation is thought to vary as a function of several factors such as rewards, autonomy, performance feedback, and the nature of the work itself. However, not all employees are motivated by the same factors; it has been widely observed that some individuals are driven by a deep passionate interest in their work, whereas others seem to be more motivated by external pressures or rewards. These differences in employee motivation toward work are often categorized into two distinct categories, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation.

Extrinsic motivation is defined as performing an activity in order to obtain an outcome that is separate from the work itself. Extrinsic motivation in the workplace can be reflected in the desire to achieve tangible rewards such as a high salary, praise and acknowledgement from others, as well as a high status position. In contrast to extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation refers to the desire to engage in an activity primarily for its own sake, not because of external forces or incentives. Individuals who are intrinsically motivated will generally engage in work because the work itself is interesting and satisfying. Although external rewards, such as pay, are appreciated for individuals who are intrinsically motivated, they are motivated by a deeper underlying interest such as learning opportunities or by the opportunity to develop their potential and be creative.

The motivational theories of Maslow, Alderfer, and Herzberg include needs based dimensions. Their theories include both extrinsic (external) and intrinsic (internal) sources of needs satisfaction. Maslow described a five-tiered hierarchy of needs which were ordered in precedence from physiological needs to self-actualization (Myers, 1995). Alderfer reduced Maslow's hierarchy from five to three factors, re-conceptualizing needs as related to existence, relatedness, and growth. Herzberg's two-factor approach characterized needs satisfaction as either motivation (intrinsic) or maintenance (extrinsic) factors.

In this paper, we have specifically looked at motivation orientation of GenY students in the MBA schools. GenYs are also known as Millennials, Next generation, Generation me, Echo boomers, Nexters, the Boomlet, Digital generation, Dot com generation, Net Generation, N-Gens, Generation WWW, Digital natives, Ninetendo generation, Sunshine generation (Murphy, 2007), the Do or Die generation, the Wannabes, the Nothing is sacred generation, Cyberkids, the Feel good generation and Non-nuclear family generation. Their birth years range from 1977/79/81/82/84/94/97/2000 and are just beginning to enter the workforce. They are described as self-sufficient, hardworking, hopeful, relaxed gender roles, comfortable with diversity, value networks and groups, highly knowledgeable and comfortable with technology. Key Influences for this generation have been school shootings/violence,