1.1. Background
Motivation (Atkinson, 1964) can be defined as the will to do, the urge to achieve goals, the drive to excel. There are many way to the study of motivation, but the most studied are ”Content” and “Process” theories emphasizing respectively the what and how of motivation. These factors are also critical component to increase the employee morale (Baehr & Renck, 1958) during the recession period. During recession period, one of the way that the company practice is to downsizing the organization. This kind of downsizing can affect the employee morale.
1.2. Objectives, Research Questions and Research Hypotheses
The research objectives for the study are as follow:
i. To study and evaluate the factors for employee motivation. ii. To examine the relationship between these factors and employee morale
Hereby, based on the objectives mentioned above, we are able to conclude the following research questions:
i. What are the factors for employee motivation? ii. What are the correlation relationships between these factors and employee morale?
Therefore, with the base of the above research questions, we can develop the following hypotheses:
a. Ho: These key motivational factors negatively and insignificantly influence employee morale.
b. Ha: These key motivational factors positively and significantly influence employee morale.
2. Literature Review
2.1 Motivation theories
Content Theories:
Content theories are sometimes known as “need”
Theories and focus on the needs served by work.
This simplified model depicts motivation as prompting a person to take action to satisfy a state of needs or desires by achieving a perceived goal.
The best-known work in this area is that of Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy (Maslow, 1943) and Herzberg’s two-factor theory (Herzberg, 2005).
Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory
Abraham Maslow created the Hierarchy of Needs theory (Maslow, 1943) in 1943. According to Marslow, different human beings