ABSTRACT
The study aimed at examining nurses’ perception of their unit managers use of job enrichment strategy as a motivator to their subordinates in Enugu State University of Science and Technology Hospital. Descriptive survey research designed was adopted for the study. 235 nurses who were on duty when the research was conducted were used. Data was collected using the researchers’ developed questionnaire with a reliability of 0.716. The findings shows that nurses perceived that their managers do not use job enrichment as a motivator to their subordinates (Mean 3±0.9, P. value = 0.000). It was recommended that hospital should embark on training of nurses to improve their knowledge on the use of job enrichment strategy to enhance the productivity of staff working under them.
Key words: Nurses’ perception, job enrichment, motivator, nurse managers.
Management is the process of reaching organizational goals by working with and through people and other organizational resources (Kapor, 2005). It is the process of directing, co-coordinating and influencing the operation of an organization to obtain desired result and enhance total performance (Amasale, 2005). It is a social discipline which deals with behavior of people and human institution (Drunker, 2005).
A manager has to set objectives, analyze problems, make decisions, organize and motivate workers. Nurse Managers are unit based leaders within health care organization. They are responsible for ensuring that patients receive safe, quality care from nursing staff. As managers they need to understand and utilize strategies that motivate staff (Amasale, 2005).
Motivation is the act or process of providing a motive that cause a person to take some actions. Motivation comes from needs that lead to behavior that result in some types of rewards when the need is fulfilled (Webster, 2008). A manager, who attempts to motivate others, is essentially attempting to increase the individual drive to perform better (Rue,2006).
Different motivational strategies have been identified and each has its own advantages and disadvantages (Brandan 2006). One of these strategies is job enrichment strategy; it is directed at improving the essential nature of the work performed. The idea behind job enrichment is that motivation can be enhanced by making the job so interesting and the worker so responsible that he or she is motivated simply by performing the job (Gale, 2006).
This study aimed at assessing the application of job enrichment strategies, by nurse managers, as a way to enhance the job performance of their subordinates.
A non-experimental descriptive survey design was used for the study of use job enrichment strategy by nurse managers at ESUTH Enugu as perceived by nurses under them. 235 nurses, out of 253 nurses on duty at the time of study and who were willing to participate were used in the study. The instrument used for the study was questionnaire constructed by the researchers on job enrichment strategies. A pilot study was conducted of UNTH Enugu using the instrument. The internal consistency of the instrument using the Cronoch’s alpha co-efficient test was 0.716. Permission was obtained from ESUTH management and individual respondent gave personal consent. The questionnaire was distributed to the nurses as they report on duty and collected back before their duty were over that same day. The data were collected and analyzed using SPSS version 18 to calculate the mean p-values.
Table 1 showed, mean, standard deviation and percentage responses of the perception of nurses on nurse managers’ use of job enrichment as motivator of staff under them. On assessing respondents’ perception on managers use of job enrichment as a motivation strategy, whether managers give challenging task, 50 (21.3%) respondents said that managers always (most of the times) give them challenging tasks requiring higher skill, 50 (21.3%) respondents said managers often give this, 78 (33.2%) respondents said managers sometimes give them challenging task requiring higher skill, while 57 (24.3%) respondents said managers never give with mean 3±1.1, P. value 0.000. Concerning whether nurses are allowed to have control, 29 (12.3%) respondents said subordinates are always allowed to have control over how to perform their jobs. 34 (14.5%) respondents said subordinates are often allowed. 54 (23.0%) respondents said subordinates are sometimes allowed while 118 (50.2%) respondents said subordinates are never allowed to have control over their job performances with mean 3±1.1 P. value 0.000. Concerning whether managers engage nurses on variety of tasks, 42 (17.9%) said managers always engage subordinates in a variety of tasks that involve use of different skills. 53 (2.6%) respondents said managers did this often. 120 (51%) respondents perceived that managers sometimes engage subordinate in a variety of activities that involves different skills while 20 (8.5%) respondents said managers never did this with Mean 3±0.9, P. value 0.000.
Table 1 also shows that, 25 (10.6%) respondents said subordinates are given freedom to decide on how best to their work. 24 (10.2%) respondents said subordinates are often given this, 90 (38.3%) respondents said subordinates are sometimes given freedom to decide on how best to do their work, while 96 (40.9%) respondents said subordinates are never given the freedom with Mean 3±1 P. value 0.000. Concerning responses on whether nurses are allowed to update knowledge, 36 (15.3%) respondents said subordinates are always allowed to update their knowledge/skill in job performance. 18(77%) respondents said subordinates are often allowed. 148 (65.0%) respondents said subordinates are sometimes allowed to update their knowledge/skill on job performance.
While 33 (14.0%) respondents said subordinates are never allowed to update their knowledge/skill in job performance with mean 3+1 P. value 0.000. Concerning respondents response on whether managers ensure feedback from workshop, 29 (12.3%) said managers always ensue that feedback from workshop, seminar are given. 26 (11.1%) respondents said managers ensure that often. 150 (63.8%) respondents said managers sometimes ensure that feedback from workshops, seminar are given, while 30 (12.8%) respondents said manager never encourage this with mean 3±0.8, P. value 0.000. Concerning delivery of talk on nursing procedure, 24 (10.2%) respondents claimed that subordinates are always allowed to deliver talk on nursing procedure during nurses form. 29 (12.3%) respondents said subordinates are sometimes allowed to deliver talk on nursing procedure. 33 (14.0%) respondents said subordinates are never allowed to deliver talk on nursing procedure during nurses forum.
On the issue of representing managers in formal meetings, 16 (6.8%) respondents said subordinates are always allowed to represent managers in their formal meetings. 22 (9.4%) respondent said nurses are often allowed to do this. 155 (66.0%) respondents said subordinates are sometimes allowed to represent managers in their meetings, while 42 (17.9%) responded that nurses are never allowed to represent managers with Mean 3+0.7, P. value 0.000.
Concerning respondents responses on whether sub-ordinate are allowed to start and finish work, 22 (9.4%) said, subordinate are always (most of the times) allowed to plan, start finish work with visible result, 21 (8.9%) respondents said subordinates are often allowed to do this. 152 (64.7%) respondents said subordinates are sometimes allowed to plan, start and finish work with visible result. While 40 (17.0%) respondents said subordinates are never allowed to plan, start and finish work with visible result with Mean 3+0.8, P. value 0.000.
The study was concerned with strategies expected to provide nurse employees with varieties in their findings of the study revealed that majority of the nurses perceived that subordinates are not allowed to have control over how to perform their job. This may be, due to lack of trust on the subordinates. If the manager does not have trust or confidence on the subordinate he or she is working with, there may be a tendency not to allow the subordinate to have such freedom or control over assigned work (Koper 2010). Another finding of the study is that, subordinates are not given the freedom, independence to decide on how best to implement an assignment entrusted in them, nurses are not allowed to update their knowledge in job performance; subordinates are not engaged in a variety of different activities that involve use of a number of skills. With these observations, one may deduce that nurses perceived their managers as not consistently utilizing this strategy in staff management. This inconsistent or lack of utilization of job enrichment in an institution may likely affect the services of the nurse employees (subordinates) negatively. This observation is supported by a study carried out by Uduji (2007). He stated that managers lacked these strategies that enhance job enrichment and the result was unmotivated workers. He went further to state that these workers may have performed well in the past, but they reach a point where they lost the drive or even the interest in striving for a new goal. This result implies that subordinates may do better if their jobs are enriched (Melkidzek et al., 2008). The fact that Nurse Managers are not using job enrichment means that the advantages highlighted by Organ (2006) in his work cannot be harnessed at ESUTH. Hoppen (2009) was of the opinion that when motivation like Job enrichment are not used that staff feel insecure and the goals of the organizations are neglected. The reason for not using job enrichment by ward managers may be due to the facts the top management of the hospital do not encourage them to do that.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
It can be concluded from this study that managers are not applying job enrichment strategies as a motivator for the staff under them. Seminars and workshops should be organized for nurses to enable them understand the principles underlined in use of job enrichment strategies as motivator to subordinates. Further study should be conducted to identify impeding to the use of job enrichment as a motivator by word managers.
The authors have not declared any conflict of interests.
REFERENCES
|
Amasale C (2005). Introduction to Nursing Services Management Compbell publishers California. P 14.
|
|
|
|
Brandan M (2006). Understanding employee motivation and job satisfaction. J. Harv. Bus. Rev. 21:8-9.
|
|
|
|
|
Drunker PF (2005). Management Task responsibility, practice MIT press, New York.
|
|
|
|
|
Gale (2006). Effective leadership style in health management, Danis Hall publishers Saudi Arabia. P 35.
|
|
|
|
|
Hoppen L (2009). Predictors of job enrichment in management, pearson publishers New Jersey. P 34.
|
|
|
|
|
Koper (2010). Job enrichment.
|
|
|
|
|
Melkidzek K, Leshar L, Eustace E (2008). Seven Motivation Strategies, motivation of Health workers in Tanzania. J. Ext. 36(3).
|
|
|
|
|
Organ DW (2006). Employee motivation. New perspectives of the age-old challenge of work.motivation. Nurs. Forum 31:29-36.
|
|
