Abstract:
The study examines the motivation, values and work reactions of mana-
gerial job holders in manufacturing companies in a state of contrac-
tion.
The empirical investigation is in two parts. The first part, or pilot
study, examines, through interviews, middle and junior managers in 3
manufacturing organisations in a state of contraction. The second
part, or main study, again looks at middle and junior managers, in
this case in 2 manufacturing organisations, but using repertory grid
technique in addition to interviews.
Despite the amount of research that has been done on motivation at
work, the thesis is seen as an exploratory study of the work motiva-
tion of managers. Because of the inadequacies of the literature, the
study has taken a relook at motivation and broadly investigates the
possible reasons for managers working hard or not, in contracting
organisations.
The study emphasises the notion of work values. Work values are seen
as a way of combining the broader explanations of work behaviour, par-
ticularly those of the Work Orientation school, with narrower psycho-
logical explanations, especially cognitive process theories.
Particularly emphasised in the study are those values that may be tied
in with an individual's self concept, and repertory grid is used to
investigate these work values.
The main conclusion of the research is that a major factor which helps
explain managerial motivation in a contracting environment is a
manager's self image or self concept. Although self image is
acknowledged in many motivation models, this study indicates that the
notion is of central importance and should play a more dominant role
in explanations of motivation.
