Table of Contents

ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
LIST OF FIGURES:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6
LIST OF TABLES: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 7
CHAPTER 1 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 8
INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 8
BACKGROUND OF THE TOPIC …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9
BACKGROUND OF THE RESEARCHER……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 10
LEARNING STYLE ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11
RESEARCH QUESTION …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 12
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 12
RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 13
THESIS DISPOSITION …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 13
RECIPIENTS OF THE RESEARCH …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 14
CHAPTER 2 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 15
LITERATURE REVIEW ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 15
FOREWORD …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 15
2.1. DEFINITIONS ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 16
2.1.1. Generation ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 16
2.1.2. Generation Gap ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 17
2.2. BABY BOOMERS – CHARACTERISTICS ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 18
2.3. GENERATION X – CHARACTERISTICS …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 19
2.4. GEN Y – CHARACTERISTICS ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 20
2.5. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF MOTIVATION ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 22
2.5.1. Motivation – definitions ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 22
2.5.2. What motivates employees? ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 23
2.6. REVIEW OF EXISTING STUDIES ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 24
CHAPTER 3 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 33
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 33
3. INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 33
3.1. DEFINITIONS ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 33
3.1.1 Research ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 33
3.1.2. Methodology ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 34
3.2. RESEARCH DESIGN…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 35
3.3. CHOSEN METHODOLOGY ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 35
3.4. THE RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY – POSITIVISM. ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 36
3.5. THE RESEARCH APPROACH: DEDUCTIVE APPROACH: TESTING THEORY………………………………………………… 37
3.6. RESEARCH STRATEGY: SURVEY …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 38
3.7. THE RESEARCH CHOICE: QUANTITATIVE MONO-METHOD APPROACH………………………………… 40
3.8. TIME HORIZON: CROSS-SECTIONAL …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 42
3.9. RESPONDENTS: POPULATION & SAMPLE ……………………………………………………………………………………. 43
3.9.1. Population ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 43
3.9.2. Sample …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 43
3.10. DATA ANALYSIS …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 45
3.11. DATA COLLECTION, EDITING & CODING ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 45
3.11.1. Data Collection ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 45
3.11.2. Data editing …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 47
3.11.3. Data coding …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 48
3.12. ETHICAL ISSUES IN THE RESEARCH ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 48
3.13. THE LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH ………………………………………………………………………………………. 49
3.14. QUALITY STANDARDS: VALIDITY & RELIABILITY ……………………………………………………………………………. 49
CHAPTER 4 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 51
DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 51
4. QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH THROUGH SURVEYS ……………………………………………………. 51
4.1. RESPONDENTS PROFILE ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 52
4.1.1. Question 1: Out of the following three time periods, which one were you born in? ……………………. 52
4.1.2. Question 2: What is your gender? ………………………………………………………………………………………. 52
4.1.3. Question 3: What is your job classification? ………………………………………………………………………….. 54
4.1.4. Question 4: What is the highest level of education you have completed? …………………………………. 55
4.1.5. Question 5: Which one of the following would make you feel most motivated at work? …………….. 57
4.1.6. Question 6: Please rank below factors according to importance for you in the workplace with 5
being the most important, and 1 being least important. ………………………………………………………………………… 61
CHAPTER 5 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 69
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ………………………………………………………………………… 69
5.1. CONCLUSION ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 69
5.2. IMPLICATIONS AND ADVICE FOR FUTURE RESEARCH ………………………………………………………. 71
5.3. RECOMMENDATION FOR MANAGERS ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 72
CHAPTER 6 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 73
REFLECTION ON LEARNING AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT ……………………………………………………………………………. 73
6.1. LEARNING STYLE …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 73
6.2. SKILL AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT …………………………………………………………………………………………. 77
APPENDICES……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 79
BIBLIOGRAPHY ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 85