Salem, M A (1985) Motivation of national and expatriate construction workers in Jordan. PhD thesis, University of Michigan, USA.
Abstract
Culture influences individual values, attitudes, and perceptions. Applying motivational theories developed in one culture to another without testing them may create problems for managers rather than solving them. The main objective of the study is to explore worker motivation and job satisfaction in the Arab World, with the purpose of determining the applicability of the expectancy theory of worker motivation to the Arab environment. The ultimate goal of the study is to help contractors in the Middle East to design productivity improvement programs. The following specific objectives were taken into account. (1) To determine those variables that influence worker motivation, satisfaction, and locus of control. (2) To determine the relationship that exists among these variables. In addition to these objectives, two hypotheses were tested: (1) Construction workers with high scores in religious practices will score low in internality. (2) The higher the worker's education the lower the degree of externality. A questionnaire was developed to attain these objectives. It tapped workers' satisfaction, workers' needs, locus of control, instrumentality, valence, expectancy, and workers' religious practices. The data was collected during face-to-face interview with 203 male construction workers: 103 Jordanians and 100 Egyptians. The data were analyzed using the OSIRIS statistical package. The analysis proved the applicability of expectancy theory of motivation to the Arab environment represented by Jordan. It revealed that the greater the motivation the better the performance and the greater the satisfaction. Although the analysis did not support the first hypothesis, it did support the second. This report contains five chapters. The first represents introductory information about Jordan and its construction industry. It reviews the expectancy theory of motivation, culture and its influential factors, and the effect of these factors on the expectancy theory's variables. The second chapter provides an overall literature review. The third chapter presents a statement of the problem, the study's objectives, formulations of hypotheses, the need for the study, research methodology, data collection, and data analysis tools. The fourth chapter presents data analysis in eight sections. The last chapter contains recommendations that contractors should undertake to improve worker motivation in the Middle East.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Jordan; Middle East; culture; education; interview; job satisfaction; motivation; productivity |
| Index terms: | questionnaire, influential factor, program, motivation, literature review, face, data analysis, Middle East, manager, interview, testing, construction industry, Jordan, construction worker, research methodology, job satisfaction, productivity, package, satisfaction |
| Subjects: | psychology, contractual arrangements, professional practice, practitioner, physical geography and landforms, Geography, project delivery, data analysis and analytics, research design and methodology, risk assessment, data collection methods, industry analysis, software systems, management |
| Topics: | Engineering Principles, Geographical Context, Project Management, Risk Management, Procurement, Digital Applications, Human Resources, Organizational Design, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Roles and Professions |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here