Motivating the Global Workforce

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INTRODUCTION

The introductory chapter sets out the background to the problem and the issues the research study attempts to examine. It also discusses the objectives and significance of the study. In addition, this section gives a brief description of the Ghanaian and Nigerian Banking Sector being investigated and the organizations used as case studies. Lastly, the scope and limitations of the study are discussed.

1.0 Background of the study

Motivating employees is crucial for any organization wishing to succeed. It is indeed one of the key components in employee performance and productivity. Even when employees are given clear work objectives, armed with the right skills and a supporting environment, they still will not get the job done without sufficient motivation to achieve those work objectives. However, due to the diversity of individual needs and expectations, the process of motivating is not clear-cut. Motivating employees still poses a big challenge in organizations. Methods of employee motivation change over time and depend on the employee's personal life values, beliefs, expectations, experiences and the resulting needs.

Thus to be successful, managers have a fundamental responsibility to recognize what motivates employees within the various framework of roles they perform and make use of those motivational factors. Various motivating techniques can be implemented by organizations in order to motivate employees. However, the efficacies of theses techniques vary, owing to the fact that personalized needs have altered in recent times.

In today's extremely competitive global business milieu, motivating employees from diverse cultures, has become a key strategic challenge for most multinational organizations. The diversity of individual employee's needs, expectations, values and beliefs across cultures has made the process of motivating complex in multinational organizations. Therefore, the recognition of cultural differences between employees from different cultural backgrounds in multinational organizations is crucial in helping managers understand the motives and behaviours of employees under them. This will no doubt help managers develop appropriate motivational strategies for various employees across culture.

1.1 Statement of the Problem

The banking Industry in Ghana has undergone phenomenal growth in the past few years. This growth can be attributed to the political stability, attainment of micro and macro economic stability and the government's desire to make Ghana the "financial hub" of the West- African region. The industry has grown by over 25% between 2002 to 2009.

Ghana's financial sector based on a report by the Bank of Ghana has become well-capitalized, very liquid, profitable and recording strong asset growth. As a result of this impressive growth, the sector has attracted substantial investments in banking from both indigenes and non- indigenes.

It is against this background that many foreign investors have been encouraged and attracted to invest in the banking industry in Ghana.

Leading the new wave of foreign investors, are the Nigerian banks, which have increased in number, from one in 2004 to five by 2009.

Known for their aggressive and competitive posture the Nigerian banks entered the market with innovative products, forceful marketing and much higher remuneration than their Ghanaian counterparts did.

This led to increased competition, not only for market share but also for competent banking staff. The resultant staff poaching that followed galvanized various banks, both local and foreign, to device, various motivational techniques to retain their existing staff and attract new ones.

Some of the common forms of motivational techniques adopted by the banks are training and development, welfare packages such as mortgage loans, car loans, and additional pension contribution beyond the statutory stipulated limits.

Although these practices have offered some solutions to the