DISSERTATION PROPOSAL
Brief Description
The progress of the information society of the twenty first century is largely determined by the activity of computer design organizations. They develop a system to effectively collect, store, organize and process a variety of information, as well as creating software systems that provide coordinated work of a large number of industrial production, financial, economic, socio-political and other processes, which provide tremendous cost savings efforts of many thousands of professionals.
Motivation of professionals, who automate the work of other people, is extremely important for the success of any modern organization, especially for computer design firms and companies (Digital Advisor, 2016). This can be explained by the complexity of motivation of specialists in the sphere of information technologies (IT), the peculiarities of their work. This creative work associated with the creation of a new product and therefore requires maximum mobilization of intellectual resources. It is difficult to measure, plan and manage it. The results of labor and, above all, its quality, depend on the motivation algorithms of professional work in IT field.
The transition has moved from mainly custom-made software to its mass production at the present stage of market development of information technologies (Lavigna, 2016). The share of the contribution of the individual performer decreases in the overall labor costs on the project. This leads to a reduction in the importance of individual experts to support the overall success and, as a result, to the weakening of a sense of personal involvement in the collective results. However, the consequences of the single errors can be quite noticeable for the entire software project.
The successful implementation of such a project is only possible with the maximum return on each project member of the organization and his high motivation. The lack of an adequate system of motivation leads to burnout syndrome of IT staff and reduce its effectiveness.
A weak organizational motivation of IT specialists is a widespread phenomenon in majority of European countries. This is evident, for example, in the growth of staff turnover in the IT field. The aggravation of the real motivational problems is largely connected with the hope of the company’s management only on financial incentives and a clear underestimation of the importance of non-material motivation.
The main issue of this study is to develop an optimal model system of motivation of IT staff in the European computer design organizations. There several objectives, which must be solved in order to achieve the goal of the research:
Key Stakeholders
It should be noted that despite the routine, the work of IT professionals is creative enough. Only very enthusiastic people can achieve real success in IT industry. In general, IT professionals pay a great attention to comfort working conditions. The main criterion is their psychological comfort. The majority of IT professionals do not throw from initiated projects, if they feel it to their “offspring” (Fernet, 2013). Most of the companies are hostages of great IT experts and are forced to trust them in conditions of shortage of well-qualified specialists. In this case, the main stakeholders are directly IT professionals and senior management of the company. Indirect stakeholder can be society as a whole or a particular sector of economics that needs new software or other related solutions.
Literature Review
Nowadays, there are not enough special researches of motivation of IT staff in modern European computer design organizations. At the same time, existing researches in the field of software project management operate mainly by set of needs and appropriate incentives to them, which are taken from the classic studies on motivational management (Schultz, Kirsi, Ke-Ler, Vroom, Locke, Lewin, McGregor, Herz-Berg, Maslow and others). Such researches usually do not take into account the specifics of IT professionals (Stahl, 2016).
Until recently, the literature on computer subjects, covered only the technical aspects of the production, does not describe the management challenges of IT professionals. Knowledge of teamwork in computer projects could only be obtained through the experience or specialized foreign sources. Nowadays, many of the most popular foreign works in the field of management of IT staff become available to HR managers. However, such works do not take into account the specificity and conditions for the organization of professional activities and the labor market in particular countries (for example, UK).
Research Design
There are two main parts of the research methods, which can be used in this study: general scientific and special ones. The first group includes such methods as analysis and synthesis, comparison, generalization method. The second group is based on the qualitative methods and some qualitative tools, which are more suitable for the chosen issue. Let’s analyze, which methods and tools will be used in this study.
For example, the first tool is surveys. They are used to assess the degree of employee satisfaction. The survey form can be different (interview, questionnaire). Typically, the respondent is asked to choose and evaluate those motivations, interests and needs from the proposed list, which most accurately describe him. Also, it is possible to ask respondent related questions: how an employee like his work, its conditions, relations with the team, management style and others (Research Methods Knowledge Base, 2016).
Another method, diagnostic interview requires a significant investment of time and effort, so it is used to assess the level of motivation of IT team leads and representatives of senior management. In addition, based on the opinion of the heads of departments it is possible to make a generalized characteristic of each department, assessing the overall level of employee motivation. Despite the obvious availability of the method, it has some drawbacks:
not all motives are conscious as deep understanding of the complex incentive structures requires advanced reflection;
answers are often insincere by virtue of the factor “social desirability” (the desire to look from the good side, meet certain social “norms” and “standards”.
Nevertheless, surveys allow quite collect a massive data; help to learn how people perceive their actions and the actions that he declares to the world (Business Collective, 2014).
The next research method includes psychological tests. The questionnaire contains a series of questions, the answers to which express the psychological qualities of respondents. Test assignment can be considered as a special kind of experiment, on the basis of which it is possible to determine the presence or absence and the level of some character traits (personality traits), for example – focus on success. The standardized tests provide quantitative estimates, based on which one can compare the severity of the psychological characteristics of the individual and their expression in the popularization. The main disadvantage of standardized tests is the respondent’s possibility to influence on the test results, using the desirable character traits of personality. These capabilities increase if the respondent knows the content of the test or criteria for evaluating behavior and personality traits, which are studied (Advancing Employee Productivity, 2016).
Projective techniques are also important in this study. The main focus is on the diagnosis of hidden motivation of employees. Projective methods often include a combination of various methods – case studies (situations), specific assignments, interviews, including different questions. It is assumed that the respondent will identify the key indicators for him (Laurentia, 2014).
The information obtained by such methods is less structured and standardized, it is more difficult to handle. These methods require skilled interpretation of the data collected. At the same time, knowledge of motivational components allows the manager to create a “motivational card” of employees, which is quite useful for further company’s activity. The information on identifying driving motives and needs of employees is used in the development of a set of measures to motivate IT employees.
However, motivational programs in organizations often lead only to short-term changes and almost do not effect on production and financial performance. The reason is that the generalized motives must be detailed. In this case, the current study is quite difficult and require above mentioned set of tools and methods.
Data Analysis
Despite the fact that the analysis of the information process is rather a technical term, its content is connected with the human activities by 90%.
As a rule, the target group for surveys is limited, as well as the final results, which the program gives. A variety of difficulties (the so-called “bottlenecks”) can often arise in the processing of final results. Even a simple collection of disparate data from secondary and primary sources may require knowledge and experience, which the company does not have. At the same time, data collection is not only an important part of the study. Time and resources are needed to conduct a detailed analysis of the data collected and to prepare informative and well-developed presentation, which will be quite useful for people, who are responsible for making decisions.
Difficulties during the analytical task performance within the data analysis cycle can be described using a standard triangle of project management. In other words, it needs to perform a task and give the result of the three major constraints: budget, schedule and scope of work. In many cases, these three constraints compete with each other: an increase in the work volumes in the standard task of data analysis will require more time and budget. At the same time, the rigid restriction on the timing, likely, will mean a budget increase and the simultaneous reduction in the amount of work. The limited budget means to limit the scope of work and reduce the time to implement the project.
The presentation of findings must include different aspects of IT professionals’ motivation and activities, which can improve it. The outline of findings can consist of following points. Firstly, the non-material needs are the most significant for IT professionals (including, the recognition; professional development and training; professional dialogue; the existence of the high-tech tools for the job).
Secondly, the motivation system of IT specialists for successful implementation of computer projects must combine their needs and the needs of the company. The system of motivation of IT staff in computer projects should be based on the following principles:
the knowledge of the leading needs and values of the employees,
maximization of the rewards;
optimization of the “hygiene” factors;
a direct correlation between well-being of the organization and every employee in it;
continuous development and improvement of the organization’s staff, as well as motivational methods;
high awareness of each employee of the current state of the organization and its activities.
Proposed Time Schedule for Research
Developing purpose, strategy and objectives:
Analysis of the literary sources (review of secondary sources);
Conducting the Study (data collection);
Data analysis;
Writing the paper and its presentation.
References
Advancing Employee Productivity, 2016. Employee motivation. Motivation in the workplace- theory and practice. [online] Accel-team.com. Available at: http://www.accel-team.com/motivation/ [Accessed 13 Jun. 2016].
Business Collective, 2014. 37 Ideas for Motivating Your Employees. [online] BusinessCollective. Available at: https://businesscollective.com/37-ideas-for-motivating-your-employees/ [Accessed 13 Jun. 2016].
Digital Advisor, 2016. Research Schedules. [online] Msu.edu. Available at: https://msu.edu/user/mkennedy/digitaladvisor/Research/schedulingresearch.htm [Accessed 13 Jun. 2016].
Fernet, C. 2013. The role of work motivation in psychological health. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne, 54(1), pp.72-74.
Laurentiu, H. 2014. Work Motivation in Organizational Behavior. Economics, Management and Financial Markets, 9(4).
Lavigna, R. 2016. Engaging Government Employees: Motivate and Inspire Your People to Achieve Superior Performance by Robert J. Lavigna, 2013 | Online Research Library: Questia. [online] Questia.com. Available at: https://www.questia.com/library/120082206/engaging-government-employees-motivate-and-inspire [Accessed 13 Jun. 2016].
Research Methods Knowledge Base, 2016. Qualitative Approaches. [online] Socialresearchmethods.net. Available at: http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/qualapp.php [Accessed 13 Jun. 2016].
Stahl, M. 2016. Managerial and Technical Motivation: Assessing Needs for Achievement, Power, and Affiliation by Michael J. Stahl, 1986 | Online Research Library: Questia. [online] Questia.com. Available at: https://www.questia.com/library/3547535/managerial-and-technical-motivation-assessing-needs [Accessed 13 Jun. 2016].
