Factors Influencing Employee Motivation and Its Impact on Employee Performance: A Case of AMREF Health Africa in Kenya

A Research Project Report Submitted to Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters in Business Administration (MBA)The purpose of the study was to determine the factors that influence employee motivation in Kenyan Organizations. The study was guided by the following research questions:(i) What are the extrinsic factors that influence the level of employee motivation in AMREF Health Africa in Kenya? (ii) What are the intrinsic factors that influence the level of employee motivation in Amref Health Africa in Kenya? (iii) What impact does employee motivation have on the level of employee performance at Amref Health Africa in Kenya? A descriptive research design was adopted, with Amref Health Africa in Kenya being the focus organization. The populations for the study were employees of Amref Health Africa in Kenya since this is the organization under study. The study population comprised a total of 412 employees from various functions. Stratified random sampling technique was used to draw a sample size of 96 respondents. The data collection instrument was a tailor-made structured questionnaire developed by the researcher, specifically for this study. A set of descriptive statistics including bar graphs and frequency tables were used to present the results of the study. Correlations among the variables were calculated using Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) version 21. The key findings of the study were that the extrinsic factors affect the achievement aspects of employee motivation and the affiliation motivation as well as the competence motivation. These extrinsic factors include, work condition, pay, fringe benefits and the work environment among others. Furthermore, the extrinsic factors are fundamental in influencing the employee to strive at achieving the set goals by efficiently performing the necessary tasks. The study also identified several intrinsic factors that influence employee motivation. These included employee achievements, recognition, work itself, responsibility and advancement, salary structure, the level to which the employees feel appreciated, and the employee perception of their jobs among other factors. The study also found that motivation of employee‟s impacts on the employee performance in the organization which performs a psychological function as well as an instrumental function for the organization. The study also found that motivated workers have the potential to establish a positive work environment which further inspires the level employee commitment to the organization and ultimately enhances productivity. The major conclusions are that employee motivation is a highly sensitive concept which is affected by a multiplicity of factors. Some of these factors are extrinsic in that they emerge from within the organization and are an external imposition on the employee. The study also asserts that the issue of motivation as personal or inherent factor in an employee predisposes and employee to develop a certain mind set regarding their jobs. The study recommended that the organization should acknowledge and exploit the extrinsic factors in their human resource management practices particularly in the strategic human resource management to ensure that the employees are well motivated to perform their tasks. In addition, the organization should include such extrinsic factors as encouraging employee involvement in the decision making and innovation, and increase the opportunities for the personal growth for the employees among other practices that can positively influence the intrinsic factors and facilitate the establishment of high levels of employee motivation. Furthermore, the organization and the general management should consider implementing policies and practices that positively affect employee motivation. And lastly, that the future researchers should conduct more study on the issue of employee motivation in order to facilitate the understanding of this intricate concep