Receipt date: 25/01/2023 / Revision date: 18/04/2023 / Acceptance date: 05/07/2023

Introduction

The complexity of work in organizations, their multiple and varied demands, the new production environments and the growing competitiveness in the business world have as a corollary the need to value employees and create favorable conditions to maximize their performance and job satisfaction (Tamayo & Paschoal, 2003). This motivation at work is manifested by the employee's drive to perform their tasks with dynamism and precision, persisting in their execution until they achieve the expected or anticipated result.

A good working environment, training, knowledge, the qualities required to perform a particular task and the availability of the necessary tools do not guarantee that the employee will be able to carry out their task productively (Fraga, 2011). The same author (2011), quoting Glasser (1994), states that the failure of most companies is not due to a lack of technical knowledge, but to the way they deal with people.

According to Perez and Marques (2014), employee satisfaction in the workplace is an indispensable factor in organizations, but they have great difficulty in meeting their needs. For Tamayo and Paschoal (2003), motivation is considered to be the area of human resources research and management, permanently oriented by a positive and humanizing approach to the work environment, seeking to find ways to help workers satisfy their needs at work and achieve professional fulfillment in it.

The subject of employee motivation and satisfaction is currently being discussed with great relevance. According to Júnior (2016), this issue is discussed in order to find better ways to improve productivity at work, by managers of companies, organizations and even social groups, and yet various positions are taken on this situation, with regard to the factors that stimulate motivation at work and, to a certain extent, contrasting positions.

In line with Chiavenato's (2009) thoughts, we are currently living in a dynamic world, where organizations and companies are experiencing constant and complex changes in their organizational context, in order to acquire innovative, flexible and agile ways of working that value human relationships. On this path of change, the issue of motivation comes to the fore, and motivation is a major challenge for any personnel management organization. According to Baptista et al. (2005), motivation has been considered an important factor, and here specifically at work.

The same authors (2005) add that, since ancient times, literature has shown a certain concern with the reasons why people act or why they decide what to do (Baptista et al. 2005).

At the level of the General Command, the entity that manages the PRM's personnel, there is no qualifier for the positions of Command, Direction, Leadership, Trust, Professional Careers of the PRM and the Personnel Framework set out in article 51 of Decree 58/2019 of July 1, which approves the Organic Statute of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique. Allied to this, there is a lack of progression and promotion, low salaries, social benefits, inappropriate working conditions (lack of meals during the shift, lack of a place to rest and medical assistance), working hours above those recommended by the WTO (World Labor Organization) in Article 427 of the Treaty of Versailles, precarious communication between subordinates and superiors, relations between employees, which creates demotivation among PRM agents. For this reason, this research was concerned with studying the factors behind motivation in relation to the working environment of the officers of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique in the Manica Provincial Command from 2016 to 2019.

Based on the guiding question, the research seeks to bring an approach to motivation in relation to the work environment based on identifying the type of motivation, the strategies implemented by management in motivating agents and the analysis of motivation factors, since it constitutes one of the major processes that account for the efforts expended by the employee and their persistence in carrying out their tasks in order to achieve the objectives previously set.

From concepts to theories of motivation

According to Pina et al. (2014), motivation is the set of energetic forces that originate both within and outside the individual and that give rise to work behavior, determining its form, direction, intensity and duration.

According to Júnior (2016), four essential elements are added to the concept proposed by Pina et al. (2014), to make a difference between the various other definitions: (i) stimulation - the energetic forces responsible for triggering the behavior; (ii) action and effort - the observed behavior; (iii) movement and persistence - the prolongation over time of the motivated behavior; and (iv) reward - the reinforcement of previous actions. 

But Montserrat (2004) conceptualizes motivation in three different areas of study, namely: 1. In the area of consumption, it concerns the psychological factors that explain the purchase of a product, its order or refusal; 2. In economics, it translates the set of factors that determine the behavior of an economic agent; 3. In psychology, it corresponds to the physiological and psychological process responsible for the beginning, continuation or end of a behavior.

For Madureira (1990), motivation is a force that resides in the person and stimulates them to direct their behavior towards achieving certain goals. The same author (1990) adds that motivation for work is a positive state of mind, which allows the individual to carry out tasks and give their full potential.

According to Vries (1993), there are many theories of motivation, including the needs theories of Maslow, McClelland, Alderfer, the Two Factor Theory of Herzberg, Mausner, Snyderman, the Expectations or Instrumentality Theory of Vroom[1], the Reinforcement Theory of Skinner, Connellan, the Goals Theory of Locke, Bryan, the Equity Theory of Homans and Adams, Theory X and Y - Douglas McGregor.

According to Teixeira (1998), McClelland's theory of needs, motivation, which the author called the motivational cycle, begins with a stimulus to satisfy a certain need that manifests itself, generating tension that translates into a state of imbalance in the organism. Thus, the imbalance will be reached as soon as this need is met.

Maslow, quoted by Teixeira (1998), with his theory, called Maslow's Theory of Needs, bases it on three assumptions, namely: a) unsatisfied needs motivate people or influence their behavior. As long as one basic need is not satisfied, the others generally have no influence on the individual's behavior. The author called this the "dominance principle"; b) needs are grouped according to a hierarchy; and c) the needs of any one level of the hierarchy emerge as significant motivators only when the needs of the levels below them in the hierarchy have already been reasonably satisfied, the emergence principle.

In Maslow's 1954 hierarchy of needs theory, human behavior is motivated by basic needs, which are reflected in terms of deficiency, and in terms of growth. The hierarchy of needs ranges in priority from physiological and safety needs to social, esteem and self-fulfillment needs, aimed at exploiting their potential.

Despite Frederick Herzberg's 1966 two-factor theory, which advocates intrinsic motivation, emphasizing the limitations of extrinsic rewards and punishments, his proposition is motivation by the work itself, to be achieved by enriching the job. According to Vieira (2003), promotion or job enrichment is the way to increase employee satisfaction, as it offers the opportunity for psychological growth. It's a proposition that shouldn't be implemented all at once, but on an ongoing basis, with the initial changes having to last for a fairly long period of time and, as a result, drive the job upwards, right to the top. As you rise through the ranks, you gain skills that will enable you to be promoted to higher positions.

On the other hand, the expectations theory first proposed by Vroom (1964) goes beyond the assumptions of the theories listed above. It recognizes individual differences and argues that motivation is the product of the expected value attributed to a goal and the probability of achieving that goal. 

According to Pina et al. (2014), in a cognitive approach, which considers that "behavior and performance are the result of a conscious choice. The behavior chosen is, as a rule, the one that leads to the greatest gains for the person." This theory is essentially based around the concepts of expectation, valence and instrumentalization.

Finally, Adams' Equity Theory (1960) is based on the idea that employees compare their contributions to the organization or company with what they receive as a reward. As you can see, the term equity refers to justice, righteousness. In other words, fairness only manifests itself when a worker, for example, is rewarded with values that justify his or her commitment to the job. There is fairness when two workers are rewarded according to their efforts, merit, commitment and skills (Pina et al. 2014). In summary, we can see from this point of view that, for example, it would not be fair if two workers earning the same salary received an equal pay rise if one of them was more committed to the job than the other.

Types and strategies of motivation

According to Universia (2017), there are several types of motivation (intrinsic or extrinsic), each of which influences behavior in different ways. None of them works for everyone. People's personalities can vary according to the type of motivation that is most effective in inspiring their behavior. These are incentives (involving rewards, monetary or otherwise. Many people are driven by the certainty that they will be rewarded for achieving a certain goal or target. Promotions and raises are a good example of the type of incentive used for motivation), fear, achievement, growth, power and social.

Fear involves consequences. This type of motivation is usually used when incentives fail. In a model of motivation called "carrot and stick", incentive is the carrot and fear is the stick. Punishment or negative consequences is a form of fear motivation. This type of motivation is commonly used to motivate students in the education system and also in professional environments. If you break the rules or don't achieve your goals, you'll be penalized in some way.

Achievement is commonly thought of as a drive for competence. You move to achieve goals and get what you want. This kind of motivation comes from the desire to improve your skills and prove your competence to yourself and others. However, in certain circumstances achievement motivations can involve a desire for external recognition. It's normal to want positive feedback from your colleagues and friends. This can include anything from an award to a small compliment.

Growth, this type of motivation involves the need to improve oneself, it's really an internal motivation. A burning desire to increase your knowledge of yourself and the world around you can be a strong source of motivation. Everyone wants to learn and grow as an individual. Growth motivation can be seen as a desire for change. Many of us are conditioned by our personality or upbringing to constantly seek change. This makes you see stagnation as negative and undesirable.

Power can be as much about the desire for autonomy as it is about controlling the people around you. You want to have options and control over your own life. It's a way of trying to direct the way you live now and in the future. This can also translate into a desire to control those around us. The desire for control is stronger in some people than in others. In some cases, this desire for power can translate into wrong attitudes. But in others, it's just a desire to affect the behavior of others.

Social motivation is seen in most people as a result of social factors. This may be a desire to be part of something and to be accepted by a specific group or a larger sphere in the world. Everyone has an innate desire to feel connected to others, as well as a desire for affiliation and acceptance. Another form of social motivation is the desire to contribute and make a difference to other people's lives. Those who are motivated to contribute to the world are usually motivated by social factors.

According to Chiavenato (2009b) on motivation, the essential motivational strategies for organizations are: a good job and salary plan; professional recognition; social gatherings, thus improving relationships between employees; in decision-making, the opinions of all employees are heard; the work environment is comfortable and ideal for the best convenience of its employees; the existence of openness for employees to expose their dissatisfactions in relation to their work, and these are reflected and improved.

According to Gil (2001), the challenges for motivational strategies are becoming ever greater, because in order to match the desires of organizations with the needs, at least the basic ones, of their employees, it is worth highlighting two fundamental strategies: a good job and salary plan and a comfortable environment that is conducive to employee well-being, because even if the company is small and going through times of economic crisis, it needs to adapt to all the inconstant changes in the market and the different personalities and objectives of each employee.

However, Sousa and Anjos (2015) point out that satisfying people in the corporate sphere goes much further than just salary issues, but rather good relationships with colleagues, a harmonious work environment, with harmony and professional recognition, valuing areas of training and good team performance.

The same authors point out that organizing activities or moments for integration between employees is essential for them to feel at home in their work environment: "Because I'm pushed to hit targets every day"; and, "Compared to other companies I've worked for, this is where people work, people are respected, employees respect and help each other and God is above all" (Sousa and Anjos, 2015).

Method

The methodology comprises the presentation of the methods used to carry out the research, in which the research design is presented, starting by defining the nature of the research, its approach, objective, procedures and methods for collecting and presenting data.

The Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) is headed by a General Commander, subordinate to the Minister of the Interior. Since its creation, it has chosen to be organized militarily[1], even though the police organization that existed in Mozambique at the time as a colony of Portugal was the civilian Public Security Police. In hierarchical terms, it is organized at all levels of its structure, respecting the differentiation between police and non-police functions, with the former obeying the hierarchy of command and the latter the rules of public administration hierarchy.

According to Article 1(1) of Law No. 16/2013, of August 12, which partially repeals Law No. 5/88, of August 27 and Law No. 19/92, of December 31, the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) is a non-partisan public service, paramilitary in nature, integrated into the Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the area of public order and security. And paragraph 2 of the same article states that the existence of the PRM does not exclude the creation of other specialized bodies integrated into other public institutions.

The Provincial Command of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique in Manica is located in the City of Chimoio 601, in the streets of Barué and Mossurize.

 

Figure 1

Front view of the Manica PRM Provincial Command Building.

 

In order to carry out this research, a mixed research approach (qualitative and quantitative) was adopted. According to Dalfovo (2008), quantitative research is a method characterized by the use of quantification, both in the way information is collected and in the way it is processed using statistical techniques, from the simplest to the most complex.

The same author (2008) considers qualitative research to be research that works predominantly with qualitative data, i.e. the information collected by the researcher is not expressed in numbers, or the numbers and the conclusions based on them play a minor role in the analysis. And qualitative research was used to help interpret and attribute basic meanings to phenomena, where it was necessary to use statistical methods and techniques, (Dalfovo, 2008).

For data collection, which took place between May and October 2019, various combinations of techniques were used in order to obtain credible information, namely bibliographic research (used to gather information in various works, such as scientific articles, monographs, theses and dissertations that address the topic in question), a questionnaire survey (in which a form of questions was drawn up with closed questions and put to PRM members, with the aim of analyzing their motivation in carrying out their activities in relation to the work environment) and direct observation, in order to understand the members' state of mind, using materials such as an observation script, notepad and camera to store the information.

Results

In order to analyze the factors that influence the motivation of the Republic of Mozambique Police (PRM) officers in Manica Province in relation to the work environment, a survey was carried out at the Manica Provincial Command using a questionnaire that was issued to 67 officers who were carrying out their activities there. 

This section presents the analysis and discussion of the results of the survey through the answers collected by the questionnaire. Firstly, the general data of the respondents is presented. Secondly, the responses on the factors that affect the motivation of the staff of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique in Manica Province in relation to the working environment, according to the respondents, are presented and analyzed.

Characteristics of respondents 

A total of 75 PRM agents were contacted and 67 filled in the questionnaires, which represented around 90%, of which 38 were male and the remaining 29 female, corresponding to 57% and 43% respectively, as can be seen in the graph in Figure 2 below.

 

Figure 2

Graph of the distribution of PRM agents surveyed by gender

 

Of the 67 agents surveyed, the majority have been working as PRM agents for 7 years with 12, followed by agents with more than 10 years' service, with 10 years' service, with 4 years, 5 years, 9 years, 3 years, 8 years, and 6 years, with 10 agents, 9 agents, 7 agents, 6 agents, 5 agents and 3 agents each, respectively, as can be seen in Table 1 below.

 

Table 1

Distribution of respondents by length of service 

Length of service	Sex		Total	%
	Male	Female
3 years	4	2	06	8,96
4 years	3	4	07	10,45
5 years	4	3	07	10,45
6 years	2	1	03	4,48
7 years	5	7	12	17,91
8 years	4	1	05	7,46
9 years	5	3	07	11,94
10 years	5	4	09	13,43
10+ years	6	4	10	14,93
Total	38	29	67	100 %
	57 %	43 %

With regard to level of education, of the 67 respondents, 21 have a basic level of education, which corresponds to 31.34% and the remaining 46 agents are subdivided into 27 with a secondary level of education and 19 with a 1st cycle degree, corresponding to 40.30% and 28.36% each, respectively, as can be seen in the graph in Figure 3.

 

Figure 3

Graph of the distribution of PRM agents surveyed by Academic Level

Type of motivation present in officers of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique of the Manica Provincial Command

In order to answer this objective, regarding the type of motivation in the PRM officers of the Provincial Command, three questions were asked: whether the officers, since joining the Police, continue to occupy the same job; whether the work they do, they have carried out with pleasure and whether of all the work they do, they need to be rewarded, where the results indicate that the majority of respondents (37 officers), answered that they carry out their activities with pleasure and the remaining 30 officers, divided into 17 answered that the work they do needs reward and the 13 continue to occupy the same job since they were admitted to the Police, as can be seen in the graph in Figure 4.

 

Figure 4

Graph of the distribution of the type of motivation in the PRM agents surveyed.

In percentage terms, 55% of respondents answered positively to the question that the work they do is a pleasure, and the remaining 25% and 20% each. This type of motivation is considered intrinsic, as mentioned by Texeira (1998), Amabile (1999) and Vromm (2000), whose motivation is based on the satisfaction of needs, i.e. motivation that has to do with self-realization.

The members of the PRM assigned to the Manica Provincial Command are intrinsically motivated, due to the gratification they feel from carrying out their tasks effectively, regardless of the rewards they receive, getting involved in the work for the challenge or the pleasure itself, in other words, they are motivated by interest in the satisfaction it provides.

With regard to the question of whether the respondents do the work, need the reward and continue to occupy the same job, this is extrinsic motivation, which is defended by Steiner (1964), who understands it as being the stimuli or incentives that the environment offers in a given institution, or objectives that the person pursues because they satisfy a need, in a way arousing a feeling of interest because they represent the reward to be achieved.

Extrinsic motivation requires an instrumentality between the activity and some separable consequences, such as tangible or verbal rewards. Satisfaction comes not from the activity itself, but from the extrinsic consequences produced by the activity.

 

Figure 5

Graph of the percentage distribution of the type of motivation in the PRM agents surveyed

 

 

Strategies implemented by the management of the Manica Provincial Command to motivate agents

In terms of strategies for motivating officers, we tried to find out whether officers know their rights and duties as a state employee, whether there is a promotion and progression plan in the sector where they work (if there is, it would be known to all staff) and whether there have been any meetings or get-togethers between colleagues and the sector at Command level, and whether they have taken part.

The results show that of the 67 respondents, corresponding to 100%, answered that the Provincial Command's management has publicized the rights and duties of its members, as for the existence of a promotion and progression plan, 91% said that it exists and has been publicized and the remaining 9% are unaware of the existence of this plan.

Figure 6

Graph of the percentage distribution of the motivational strategy (disclosure of the rights and duties of PRM agents) and motivational strategy (existence of a promotion and progression plan for PRM agents).

With regard to the promotion of get-togethers and get-together parties, everyone was unanimous in saying that the management of the Command has promoted get-togethers and get-together parties as a way of motivating the officers, but on the other hand only 21% of them have taken part, clearly demonstrating that the get-togethers do not bring any value to the officers, since these meetings are not compulsory and are subject to a contribution, taken from their salaries to make them happen, and this plan is known to all staff and management has promoted meetings and parties for colleagues to get together, as can be seen in the graph in Figure 7.

Figure 7

Graph of the percentage distribution of participation in meetings and get-togethers

 

 

Motivational factors for the number of Mozambique Republic Police officers assigned to the Manica Provincial Command

In order to understand and assess what factors influence the motivation of the police officers assigned to the Manica Provincial Command, a range of factors were listed, such as: whether police work is heavy or light, whether they have all the material they need to carry out their activities, whether there is no incentive at work, whether the working environment is not the best, whether there is a lack of relationships between colleagues, whether police work is poorly rewarded, whether they don't feel famous and whether they can't achieve their individual plans. Thus, the reward factor was seen as the crucial factor, with 67 respondents saying that this factor greatly affects motivation.

This is also supported by Chiavenato (2009), who argues that no one works for free, expecting to receive adequate and fair compensation in return for their work, dedication and personal effort. In turn, employers or organizations are interested in rewarding these people as their goals are achieved. However, Zimpeck (1999) points out that determining salary and using it as an instrument to stimulate the individual's well-being is not simple, as it depends on certain external elements, such as those related to the financial policy adopted by the government, which are beyond the control of the organizational context.

In contrast, Taylor's scientific management theories and Henry Fayol's Classical Management tended to consider remuneration to be, at least at the time, an important motivational factor or strongly linked to the motivation process. This way of thinking extends to the present day, where concern for workers' well-being is fundamental due to their psychophysical needs.

The statistical analysis of variance with a p-value (0.05) showed that there were differences between the means of the factors studied, although these were statistically significant, as the p-value was greater than the 5% significance level (see table below).

 

Table 2

Analysis of statistical significance for motivational factors in PRM agents of the Manica Provincial Command

Source of variation	SQ	gl	MQ	F			p-value		Critical F
Between groups	41.6875	23	13.8958333		1.889518414	0.185198		3.490295
Within groups	88.25	44	7.35416667
Total	129.9375	67

The statistical significance test showed that although there were no statistically significant differences between the factors, the means and variance differed, with only one value with a larger variance of 5.9 for the variable Poorly paid/rewarded police work compared to the factors Lack of fulfillment of dreams and goals, Lack of complete material and Heavy police work with 2.9, 2.9 and 0.6 respectively, as can be seen in table 3.

 

Table 3

Significance test of motivational factors in PRM agents of the Manica Provincial Command

Groups	Counting	Sum	Average	Variance
Heavy police work	1	2	2	0.66666667
Lack of complete material	1	3	3	2.91666667
Lack of fulfillment of dreams and goals	1	3	3	2.91666667
Poorly paid/rewarded police work	1	4	4	5.91666667

 

Discussion and conclusions

The aim of this research was to analyze the factors influencing the motivation of the staff of the Republic of Mozambique Police in the Manica Provincial Command in relation to the work environment, by identifying the type of motivation present in the officers, the strategy implemented by management to motivate them and examining the factors that motivate the staff in the performance of their duties, it was possible to see that intrinsic and extrinsic motivations are evident, driven by the dissemination of their rights and duties, the existence and dissemination of the promotion and advancement plan, as well as the promotion of meetings and fraternization parties, despite the fact that they cost the participants.

The study shows that the reward factor is the main motivational cause for PRM agents assigned to the Manica Provincial Command. In addition to this primary cause, the heavy police workload, the lack of complete equipment to fully perform their duties and the lack of personal fulfillment of their dreams and objectives were other factors that influence motivation, which statistically did not differ significantly.

A major limitation in this study was the fear on the part of the PRM agents of filling in the questionnaires in detail and getting an effective picture of their motivational condition in the performance of their duties.

In line with the above limitations and recognizing that not everything was perfect in this research, for future studies we recommend analyzing the causes of dissatisfaction in the workplace; studying motivation as a determining factor in achieving individual goals and its importance in the workplace; and understanding how material resources and the physical environment can influence the achievement of goals.

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