Dr. C. Subathra
Assistant
Professor of Commerce, Pioneer Kumaraswamy College, Nagercoil.
_____________________________________________________________________________
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to identify
the motivational profiles of the College principals in Kanyakumari District as
well as to examine if a statistically significant relationship existed between
the motivational profiles of college principals in Kanyakumari District and
their Gender, Age, Teaching experience, Administrative experience and Type of
College. This study employed a survey
questionnaire. The questionnaire included two parts, Demographic Questions and
Motivation Profile Questions based on David McClelland’s theory of Needs-
Power, Affiliation and Achievement Motivation. 130 sets of questionnaires were
sent to all 130 College principals in Kanyakumari District using Drop-off and
Mail-survey method. Analysed data using
SPSS and Applied Pearson Correlation, ANOVA , t-test to test hypothesis. The
findings of the study reveals that most of the college principals in
Kanyakumari District are Achievement Motivators. And it also revealed that
there is no relationship between the Motivation profile of college principal
with their Demographic profile in most cases. The study findings give an
implication for Leadership Training.
Keywords: Achievement, Affiliation, Motivation, Power
INTRODUCTION
The external changes which take place in
the real world have somehow affected the academic landscape of institutions of
higher education all around the globe (Wolverton et al., 2001). This situation
has brought a great impact on the roles and responsibilities of managers cum
leaders at all levels in Institutions of Higher Education including principals.
Initially, principals were much regarded as a motivator in academic institutions
and their duties focused mainly on motivating teachers as well as students.
However, with the impact of modernization, the roles and responsibilities of
principals are far more challenging as they are regarded to act as both
managers and leaders of change. Hence, a synergy between these two roles: as a
manager and a leader, requires principals to make numerous efforts to build effective
academic organization with good achievement.
MOTIVATION
Motivation iѕ dеfinеd аѕ “аn intеrnаl
ѕtаtе οr сοnditiοn (ѕοmеtimеѕ dеѕсribеd аѕ а nееd, dеѕirе, οr wаnt) thаt ѕеrvеѕ
tο асtivаtе οr еnеrgizе bеhаviοr аnd givе it dirесtiοn”. In аdditiοn, it is “аn
intеrnаl ѕtаtе οr сοnditiοn thаt асtivаtеѕ bеhаviοr аnd givеѕ it dirесtiοn;
dеѕirе οr wаnt thаt еnеrgizеѕ аnd dirесtѕ gοаl- οriеntеd bеhаviοr; influеnсе οf
nееdѕ аnd dеѕirеѕ οn thе intеnѕity аnd dirесtiοn οf bеhаviοr”
MOTIVATION
THEORIES
There
are several theories of (different kinds) of motivation.
Maslow proposed that employees have five
levels of needs (Maslow, 1943):
physiological, safety, social, ego, and self- actualizing. Maslow argued that
lower level needs had to be satisfied before the next higher level need would
motivate employees.
Herzberg's
work categorized motivation into two factors: motivators and hygienes (Herzberg, Mausner, & Snyderman, 1959).
Frederick has tried to modify Maslow’s need Hierarchy theory. His theory is
also known as Two-Factor Theory or HygieneTheory. He stated that there are
certain satisfiers and dissatisfiers for employees at work.
Vroom's
theory is based on the belief that employee effort will lead to performance and
performance will lead to rewards (Vroom,
1964). Rewards may be either positive or negative. The more positive the
reward, the more likely the employee will be highly motivated. Conversely, the
more negative the reward, the less likely the employee will be motivated.
One of David McClelland’s most well known theories is that human
motivation is dominated by three needs. McClelland's theory, sometimes referred
to as the three need theory or as the learned needs theory, categorizes the
needs as follows;
The
importance of each of these needs will vary from one person to another. If you
can determine the importance of each of these needs to an individual, it will
help you decide how to influence that individual. McClelland
asserted that a person’s needs are influenced by their cultural background and
life experiences. He also asserted that the majority of these needs can be
classified as the needs for affiliation, achievement or power. A person’s
motivation and effectiveness can be increased through an environment, which
provides them with their ideal mix of each of the three needs (N-Ach, N-Pow
and/or N-Affil).
NEED FOR POWER
Basically
people for high need for power are inclined towards influence and control. They
like to be at the centre and are good orators. They are demanding in nature,
forceful in manners and ambitious in life. They can be motivated to perform if
they are given key positions or power positions.
NEED FOR AFFILIATION
In
the second category are the people who are social in nature. They try to
affiliate themselves with individuals and groups. They are driven by love and
faith. They like to build a friendly environment around themselves. Social
recognition and affiliation with others provides them motivation.
NEED FOR ACHIEVEMENT
People
in the third area are driven by the challenge of success. A
person with this type of need will set goals that are challenging but
realistic. The goals have to be challenging so that the person can feel a sense
of achievement. However the goals also have to be realistic as the person
believes that when a goal is unrealistic, its achievement is dependent on
chance rather than personal skill or contribution. This type of person prefers
to work alone or with other high achievers. They do not need praise or
recognition, achievement of the task is their reward. A person with a “need for
achievement” (N-Ach) needs regular job-related feedback so that they can review
their progress and achievement. Feedback includes advancement in the person’s
position in the organization. Salary scale will also be viewed as measure of
progress. The amount of salary is not about increasing wealth for a person with
a high need for achievement. Instead this type of person is focusing on how
their level of salary symbolizes their progress and achievement.
McClelland believed that people with a
strong need for achievement (N-Ach), make the best leaders for a variety of
reasons including setting goals, reviewing progress and continuously looking at
how things can be done better. However they may “expect too much” from their
team as they believe that others have the same “need for achievement” which is
often not the case. McClelland
observed that with the advancement in hierarchy, the need for achievement
increased rather than Power and Affiliation. He also observed that people who
were at the top, later ceased to be motivated by these drives.
OBJECTIVES
OF THE STUDY
Following are the
objectives of the present study:
·
To analyse the Demographic profile of the
College principals in Kanyakumari District.
·
To examine the Motivation profile of the
College principals in Kanyakumari District.
·
To study the relationship between the
Motivation profile of College principals in Kanyakumari District and their
demographic profiles.
·
To provide suggestions based on the
findings and conclusion of the study.
HYPOTHESES
On the basis of the predefined objectives of the present
study and literature reviewed the following null hypothesis is formulated:
Ho. There is no
relationship between the Motivation Profile of college principals in
Kanyakumari District and their Gender, Age, Teaching experience, Administrative
experience and Type of college
METHODOLOGY
The main aim of this study was to investigate
the Motivation profile of 130 college principals in Kanyakumari District. This
study employed a survey questionnaire. The questionnaire included two parts, Demographic
Questions are the first part of the questionnaire which includes Age, Gender, Type
of college, Teaching experience and Administrative experience of the college
principal. Second part of the questionnaire includes Motivation Profile
Questions, developed by Junker. K (2001) based on David McClelland’s theory of
Needs. It states that human behavior is affected by three needs Power,
Affiliation and Achievement. The questions aim at testing the preferences
towards Principals’ Motivational needs. 130 sets of questionnaires were sent to
all 130 College principals in Kanyakumari District using Drop-off and
Mail-survey method. The population
sample consisted of Arts
& Sciences (n=24), Engineering Colleges (n=31), Polytechnic Colleges
(n=21), Nursing College (n=20), and Education Colleges (n=34)
college principals. The whole colleges under the target group had been selected
as the population of the study as a Census survey. To explore the Motivation
profile of College Principals in Kanyakumari District and to determine the
relationship between Motivation profile and Demographic, applied Pearson
Product Moment Correlation (PPMC), Chi-Square, ANOVA and t-test using SPSS.
CONCEPTUAL
FRAMEWORK
Figure.1.Conceptual
Framework of the study
This study explored the Motivation
profile of college principals in Kanyakumari District and determined the
relationship between the dependent variable Viz., Motivation profile and the
five independent variables: Gender, Age, Teaching experience, Administrative
experience and Type of college. The following figure shows the model of the
study.
RESULTS
AND DISCUSSIONS
DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF THE COLLEGE
PRINCIPALS
Table.1.Demographic profile of the
College principals (Frequency and percentage)
|
Variables
|
Frequency
|
Percentage
|
|
|
Gender
|
Male
|
51
|
39.2
|
|
Female
|
79
|
60.8
|
|
|
Age
Group
|
Below 40
|
10
|
7.7
|
|
41-45
|
17
|
13.1
|
|
|
46-50
|
32
|
24.6
|
|
|
51-55
|
47
|
36.2
|
|
|
56 &
Above
|
24
|
18.5
|
|
|
Type of College
|
Arts &
Science
|
24
|
18.5
|
|
Engineering
|
31
|
23.8
|
|
|
Polytechnic
|
21
|
16.2
|
|
|
Nursing
|
20
|
15.4
|
|
|
Education
|
34
|
26.2
|
|
|
Teaching
Experience Group
|
Less than
10
|
5
|
3.8
|
|
Between
10-15
|
8
|
6.2
|
|
|
Between
16-20
|
19
|
14.6
|
|
|
Between
21-25
|
32
|
24.6
|
|
|
Between
26-30
|
44
|
33.8
|
|
|
Above 30
|
22
|
16.9
|
|
|
Administrative Experience
Group
|
Less than
2
|
13
|
10.0
|
|
Between
2-3
|
17
|
13.1
|
|
|
Between
4-5
|
34
|
26.2
|
|
|
Between
6-7
|
27
|
20.8
|
|
|
Above 8
|
39
|
30.0
|
|
Source : Primary data
The frequency and percentage analysis of
the college principals demographic profile viz., Age, Teaching experience,
Administrative experience Type of College and Gender reveals that most
respondents were in the age range of 51-55, followed by the age range of 46-50,
33.8% of the respondents were having teaching experience between 26-30 years
followed by 24.6 % of respondent who has teaching experience between 21-25
years, 30.0% of the respondents have above 8 years of administrative experience
followed by 26.2 % of the respondent who have administrative experience between
4-5 years, most respondents were from education n=34 (26.2%) followed by
engineering colleges n= 31(23.8%) and the data showed that out of 130 valid
responses, 51 Principals were male and 79 Principals were female. (See Table.
1)
MOTIVATION
PROFILE OF THE COLLEGE PRINCIPALS
Table 2: Motivation Profile of the College
principals (frequency
and percentage)
|
MOTIVATION PROFILE
|
LEAST PREFERRED
|
BACKUP
|
DOMINANT
|
VERY DOMINANT
|
TOTAL
|
|
POWER
|
n
96
(73.8%) |
n
2
(1.5%) |
n
11
(8.5%) |
n
21
(16.2%) |
130
(100%) |
|
AFFILIATION
|
n
72
(55.4%) |
n
23
(17.7%) |
n
11
(8.5%) |
n
24
(18.5%) |
130
(100%) |
|
ACHIEVEMENT
|
n
47
(36.2%) |
n
20
(15.4%) |
n
23
(17.7%) |
n
40
(30.8%) |
130
(100%) |
Source :
Primary data
Figure. 2. Motivation Profile of the
college principal
Frequency and percentage of the
respondents Motivation style is shown in Table.2 and Figure 3. It shows that
the majority of the respondents 30.8% (n= 40) scored very dominant level of
intensity for the Achievement motivation followed by 18.5% (n=24) for the
Affiliation motivation.
HYPOTHESIS
TESTING
The hypothesis was tested using SPSS
(Software package for Statistical Analysis). Applied Pearson Product Moment
Correlation (PPMC) to determine and report the relationships between the
Motivation profile and Principals’ Age, Teaching Experience and Administrative
Experience. To confirm the result, applied Chi-Square cross tabulation and
Cluster Bar chart and interpreted. Descriptive analysis in ANOVA was applied to
test the significant differences between the Motivation profile and Type of
College. The t-test for quality of means was employed to test the significant
differences between the Male Principal and Female Principal. The consolidated
findings from hypothesis is given in Table.3
|
Table.3.Hypothesis findings
|
||
|
DEMOGRAPHIC
PROFILE
|
LEVEL
OF SIGNIFICANCE
|
|
|
AGE
|
INSIGNIFICANT
|
|
|
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
|
INSIGNIFICANT
|
|
|
ADMINISTRATIVE EXPERIENCE
|
INSIGNIFICANT
|
|
|
TYPE OF COLLEGE
|
SIGNIFICANT
|
|
|
GENDER
|
SIGNIFICANT
|
|
|
Source: primary data
|
|
|
The result reveals that there was no
significant relationship between the Principals’ age, Teaching and
administrative experience and Motivation Profile of the College Principals in
Kanyakumari District. Whereas there was statistically significant relationship
existed in between Motivation Profile of the College Principal and Type of
College and Gender.
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
The predominant Motivation profile of the College
Principals in Kanyakumari Districts as perceived by the Principal was discussed
based on the scores reported by them for each one of the three Motivations
profile (Power, Affiliation and Achievement Motivation) is as follows.
· Power
motivation - 96 College Principals in Kanyakumari District rarely use this
Motivation profile that is least preferred, while only 2 Principals use it
occasionally. It was also found that 11 respondents use this decision style
frequently and 21 respondents scored very dominant level of intensity for this
profile and use it compulsively.
· Affiliation
motivation - In this particular Motivation profile, most Principal n=72 (55.4%)
of College Principals in Kanyakumari District scored in the least-preferred
level of intensity, while 23 use this motivation occasionally. 11 Principals
reported that they use this profile often and 24 Principals use this motivation
compulsively.
· Achievement
motivation- The majority of College Principals in Kanyakumari District, n= 40
(30.8%), used the Achievement Motivation compulsively, scoring in very dominant
levels of intensity for this motivation. 47 respondents considered this
Motivation as the least preferred and 20 respondents use this particular
Motivation occasionally, which is as a back-up Motivation Profile, while 23
Principals use it frequently. McClelland
believed that people with a strong need for achievement, make the best leaders for
a variety of reasons including setting goals, reviewing progress and
continuously looking at how things can be done better. The mean score result
also proves that the predominant Motivation profile among the College
Principals in Kanyakumari District is the Achievement Motivation.
· There
is no significant relationship between the Principals’ age, Teaching and
administrative experience and Motivation Profile of the College Principals in
Kanyakumari District. Whereas there was statistically significant relationship
existed in between Motivation Profile of the College Principal and Type of
College and Gender.
CONCLUSION
From the study it is clear that the College Principals in
Kanyakumari District are not alike in the adoption of their Motivation profile.
Each Principal has his or her own style. Some of them have more than one
dominant style; some have more than one back-up style, while others use some of
the styles rarely. Sternberg (2001), states that according to Webster's
Dictionary (1967), ''A style is a distinctive or characteristic manner, or
method of acting or performing." It means that the Principals use
different methods for leading, Motivating and make decisions. In addition each
style has its strength and weaknesses, so knowing more about each leadership
style, Decision making style and Motivation profile, will lead the College
Principal to be more able to use the strengths of other modes and to balance
against the weaknesses of their own approaches and therefore enhance their
ultimate effectiveness.
SUGGESTIONS
Based
on the findings and conclusion of the study the following implications were
pointed out and provided as suggestions:
·
The
researcher suggests that college principals must be aware of different Motivational
aspect, so that they switch in to the particular style in order to overcome the
situation. Mech (1993) stated that when
the managers are aware of their styles and orientation, they are more able to
balance between the strength and weaknesses of their own and others’ modes. While
there are preferred styles and a predominant orientation among Principals, some
may not be the most effective in all situations or environments; therefore it
is suggested that Principals to find ways to take advantage of the benefits
provided by the other styles.
· As
exist in the higher education, the newly appointed Principal should be given
compulsory orientation programme that enable them to face the new challenges in
the field of education effectively. This will also ultimately generate in them
ideal Leadership qualities including motivation profile.
·
The study reveals that less than 50 percent of the college
principals are in very high range of intensity Achievement Motivation. That
shows that the remaining 50% or more than 50% of principals are having a very
low level of intensity for Achievement Motivation. Thus it is suggested that
effective leadership training should be given to the college principals in Kanyakumari
District focusing on Motivation aspects.
· From the study, it is evident that there is no significant
relationship between the Principals’ age and Motivation Profile of the College
Principals in Kanyakumari District, thus the researcher suggests that younger
teacher can also be given a priority to become the college principal. A study conducted at the University of Bremen in
Germany examined the relationship between leadership and age; found that
younger leaders were more likely to use the transformational or transactional
styles of leadership, both of which can be effective at motivating employees.
Older leaders were more likely to use the ineffective passive-avoidant style.
The study suggested that younger leaders were motivated by career ambition and
that many older leaders were not. The general notion/opinion/feeling of
people that a principal older in age is a good principal/effective principal
stands nullified. It was thus concluded that, Motivation profile is not age
dependent. Thus it is suggested that young and energetic cum ambitious teachers
may be given an opportunities be a college principal, who can be a good
motivator in academic achievement.
· Motivation
profile of the College Principal has no significant relationship with their
Teaching and Administrative experience. Thus from the finding of the past and
present study the researcher suggest that, teachers with minimum teaching
experience may be given an opportunity to lead an educational institution in
taking good decision and motivate the students for academic achievement which
creates a good and favorable climate.
· Motivation
show statistically significant relationship with the type of College The
Principals in Arts & Science Colleges are very dominant towards Achievement
motivation whereas, the Principals in Nursing Colleges are dominant towards
Affiliation Motivation. It is because of the difference in the private and
aided and also it is because of the difference in the management. Thus the
researcher suggests that the rights, duties, power and responsibilities of any
type of college principal should be the same in order to create favorable
climate for students and teachers.
· As
there is a statistically significant relationship existed between Gender and
Motivation, Gender played a role in the adoption of Motivation profile of the
College Principals in Kanyakumari District. Thus, it was inferred that
Motivation emerges from within the person based on gender. Male or female principal had to abide by the
rules and regulations of the management whether private or public in order to
take decision. Thus it is recommended to the college principal to be aware of
different decision style, in order to switch into the needed style according to
the situation.
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· Subathra.
C, "The Relationship between Motivation Profile and Demographic Profile of the
College Principals” SELP
Publications, Publications in a Book with ISBN No. 978-93-80509-74-7, Pg
no. 167-173, on 19th Oct 2015.
· Subathra.
C, “A Study on Principals’ Decision
Making Style” Published in Book with
ISBN No. 978-93-84743-41-3 , Pg no. 156- 160 on 21st Feb 2015.
· Subathra.
C, “Analysing the Leadership Behaviour of
College Principals” International Journal
for Studies in Management and Planning, e-ISSN: 2395-0463, Impact Factor 3.512, Volume
01, Issue 11, December 2015, Pg.112-122. Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org.
· Subathra.
C, “Decision making style of college
principals in Kanyakumari district” Article published in the “International
Research Journal of Management and Humanities” Volume 2, Issue 1, June 2014,
ISSN No.2347-3274, Pg no.103-113 – Siddharaja Publications.
· Subathra.
C, “Leadership style of college
principals in Kanyakumari district – A study” Article submitted in “The
International Journal for Economics and Business Management” ISSN No.2250-2750,
June 2015, Volume 4, Issue 2, and Pg.No.61-68.
· Subathra.
C, “Motivation Profile of the College
Principals in Kanyakumari District” Article published in PRIMAX-IJCMR - International Journal of Commerce &
Management Research, Print ISSN:
2321-3604, Online ISSN: 2321-3612, Impact Factor 2.532, Volume III,
Issue 3, Oct-Dec 2015, Pg 25-30.
· Subathra.
C, “The relationship between principals’
Leadership style and Demographic profile” publications in B-Digest,
Contemporary Business Conundrum, Oct 2014, ISBN No.:978-93-84734-04-6, Pg
65-69.
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