Motivational component in the context of professionalization of civil servants

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National Academy for Public Administration under the President of Ukraine

Department of Public Management

Motivational component in the context of professionalization of civil servants

Doctor of Sciences in Public Administration, Professor

Svitlana Khadzhyradieva

PhD Student

Oleksandr Shkvarivskyi

Annotation

The article is devoted to an important problem; namely it gives a qualified definition of the level of motivation of civil servants for their professional activity. Different views of domestic and foreign scholars on the theoretical and practical aspects of motivation, the problems of motivation and stimulation of the personnel, study and further management of the motivation-need sphere of the personality of employees, the psychological problems of motivation of human behavior, etc have been researched. The motivational component of the readiness of civil servants for professional activity has been analyzed; the essence of the concepts “motivation” and “readiness of civil servants for professional activity” has been clarified. The socio-psychological determinants of the motivational component of the readiness of civil servants for professional activity have been scientifically grounded and identified. This component shows a variety of approaches and conclusions, which in turn provides an opportunity for a more thorough understanding of the essence and importance of such component as the motivational one. The main directions and prospects of professional development of civil servants, their professional mobility in the sphere of public administration have been formulated.

Key words: motivation, motivational component, professionalization, readiness of civil servants for professional activity.

Анотація

Стаття присвячена важливій проблемі - кваліфікованого визначення рівня вмотивованості державних службовців до професійної діяльності. Досліджено різні погляди вітчизняних та зарубіжних авторів на теоретичні та практичні аспекти мотивації, проблеми мотивації та стимулювання персоналу, вивчення та подальше управління мотиваційно-потребнісною сферою особистості працівників, психологічні проблеми мотивації поведінки людини тощо. Проаналізовано мотиваційний компонент готовності державних службовців до професійної діяльності, з'ясовано сутності понять «мотивація» і «готовність державних службовців до професійної діяльності». Науково обґрунтовано та визначено соціально-психологічні детермінанти мотиваційного компоненту готовності державних службовців до професійної діяльності, який показує різноманітність підходів та висновків, що в свою чергу дає можливість більш ґрунтовного розуміння сутності та важливості такого компоненту як мотиваційний. Сформульовано основні напрями і перспективи професійного розвитку державних службовців, їхньої професійної мобільності в галузі державного управління.

Ключові слова: мотивація, мотиваційний компонент, професіоналізація, готовність державних службовців до професійної діяльності.

Problem Statement. Personnel turnover in the civil service system is the most important problem of public administration which is of top priority nowadays. There are contradictions between the state personnel policy and the reality of the civil service, the need for highly qualified specialists who are practitioners and the preparation of mainly academic specialists (masters), etc. In our opinion, it is important to create a service of social and psychological support for the career advancement of civil servants which could qualitatively determine the level of motivation of civil servants for their professional activity.

Analysis of Recent Research. The problem of motivation in a wide variety of contexts is presented in the research of many scientists; in particular, H. Heckhausen (general statement concerning the psychology of motivation), V. Chyrkov (problems of motivation of learning activity), Ph. Whiteley (various practical and procedural aspects of motivation), E. Kirchler, C. Rodler (problems of motivation and stimulation of the personnel), L. Vereshchahina, I. Karelina (study and further management of the motivation-need sphere of the personality of employees), V. Leontiev (motivational sphere of personality), S. Rubinstein, P. Jacobson (psychological problems of motivating human behavior) expose its different aspects. In the studies of the scientists who work in the field of public administration (V. Bakumenko, O. Husak, Ye. Kurasova, V. Luhovyi, O. Obolenskyi, S. Khadzhyradieva, I. Khozhylo, O. Yakubovskyi, etc.) the problem of motivation of civil servants has repeatedly been the subject of the scientific discussions. However, the most aspects of this problem still remain unsolved.

Research Goals. The purpose of this article is to substantiate scientifically and determine the socio-psychological determinants of the motivational component of the readiness of civil servants for professional activity.

Results. To analyze the motivational component of the readiness of civil servants for professional activity, first of all, it is necessary to clarify the essence of the concepts “motivation” and “readiness of civil servants for professional activity”.

Following the provisions that the readiness of civil servants for professional activity is, first of all, their active and effective state, the orientation to behave in a certain way, the mobilization of forces to carry out the assignment, it should be pointed out that these processes have been sufficiently presented by the scientists (H. Hahaieva, O. Imedadze, S. Kubitskyi, V. Krutenkyi, O. Leontiev, L. Nersesian, Yu. Povarenkov, O. Pranhishvili, L. Razborova, D.Uznadze and others) within the framework of personal and functional approaches concerning studying the issue of readiness for professional activity. According to the results of the analysis, it can be stated that, firstly, the readiness of civil servants to work is an integral entity that characterizes their emotional and cognitive, volitional mobilization at the moment of engaging in an activity of a particular direction. Secondly, the readiness of civil servants is not innate, but arises from a certain experience of a person, which is based on his/her positive attitude to this activity, awareness of motives and needs in it, objectification of its subject and the ways of dealing with it. At the same time, emotional, intellectual and volitional qualities are a definite evidence of readiness at the level of actions. It has been scientifically proven that two functionally interrelated sides are determined in human behavior: incentive and regulatory ones. If the regulatory side ensures flexibility and sustainability of behavior in different conditions, then the incentive side is responsible for the activity and direction of behavior. And it is the characteristics of the incentive side of behavior that is associated with the concept of motivation.

Usually the concept of motivation is used in two meanings:

Ш in the first meaning, motivation is considered from structural positions. It is viewed as a system of factors that cause the person's activity and determine the direction of human behavior. Motivation factors include, first of all, needs, motives, intentions, goals, interests, ambitions. In this case, needs are internal and goals are the external aspect of motivation;

Ш in the second meaning, motivation is considered not as a static but as a dynamic entity; it is viewed as a characteristic of the process that ensures behavioral activity at a certain level, in other words, motivation.

According to V. Leontiev's interpretation, the motive is integral, that is, a holistic way of organizing human activity. It arises as a result of motivation, which is a complex psychological process [5, p. 14]. The scientist concludes that the motive and motivation are the highest form of activity stimulation and regulation, the interaction of a person with the surrounding environment. The motivational sphere of personality is represented by the scientist as a hierarchical dynamic motivational system in which the needs, motives and goals are subordinated, interrelated and interdependent in a specific way [5, p. 3].

The scholars (H. Dmytrenko, K. Sharapova, T. Maksymenko, etc.) determine the needs, motives, and goals as the main components of the motivational sphere of the personality. In the scientific literature, the needs are understood as dynamically active states of the personality that express his/her dependence on specific conditions of existence and cause activity aimed at removing this dependence [9, p. 386]; they are also interpreted as the state of deviation from the inner balance which leads to stress and induces the behavior aimed at restoring this balance [3, p. 36]. K. Obukhovskyi writes that the needs are something that is necessary for a person to exist as an organism, develop as a person and be mentally free [8, p. 13].

Considering different approaches concerning the essence of the need, Ye. Ilin defines the need of the individual, combining various rational moments expressed by different authors: the need is the reflection of the shortage of something in the mind of a person (of necessity, something desirable at that moment), which is often experienced as an internal tension and induces the mental activity associated with goal-setting. Specifying his definition, the scientist points out that the shortage is understood not only as a deficit of something, but also as a desire to have an attractive, necessary object that is essential for the goal achievement or as a desire to eliminate unpleasant feelings or experiences [4, p. 38].

Therefore, the need is a motivating factor for mental activity, rather than a direct induction of activity, actions or deeds. Mental activity is aimed at understanding the essence of the need that arose, its realization. It is on this basis that civil servants form the goal of actions, activities, deeds that can lead to the satisfaction of a certain need. The need through the psychological process of motivation manifests itself psychologically in the form of a motive of behavior. If the need, according to the scientists (H. Dmytrenko, K. Sharapova, T. Maksymenko, T. Kudrina, etc.), is a state of shortage in something definite, then the motive is an object, a means of satisfying the needs. That is the motive is the result of motivation and represents the internal psychological activity of civil servants that organizes and plans their activities and behavior, the basis of which constitutes the necessity to satisfy the need. The motives for the activities of civil servants are related to their goals. In reference books the goal is defined as something they strive for, what they are trying to achieve [7, p. 738]; it is also determined as a realized, planned result of the activity, a subjective image, the model of the future product of the activity [3, p. 13]. In this context it should be pointed out that the correlation of motives and objectives of the activity is that the motive for civil servants can be the motivation for setting one or another goal; that is, in order to set a goal, they need an appropriate motive (self-affirmation, self-realization, material incentive, interest in the content of the activity, etc.).

Thus, every need can be realized in many motives, and any motive can be satisfied by different set of goals. Most scholars consider the need to be the basis of any action; psychologically this need proves to be the motive that can be realized in a number of psychological variables: interests, aspirations, beliefs and attitudes. professional motivation civil public

So, an interest is considered as emotionally colored intellectual selectivity (T. Kudrina, etc.) [9]; it is also viewed as an increased attention paid to some object by giving it an advantage among other objects for material, aesthetic, emotional, cognitive and other qualities, properties (V. Spivak) [11]. The interest is also understood as a cognitive and motivational state of cognitive nature, which is associated with one central need (H. Dmytrenko, K. Sharapova, T. Maksymenko) [2]. Aspirations are considered as motives, in which the needs of the individual are revealed in the conditions of his/her specially organized activity. Moreover, this activity may be dominant over a long period of life of the individual [9, p. 391]. According to the scientists, in particular T. Kudrina, beliefs are the basis of sociogenic motives; they embody the conscious needs of the individual to act in accordance with his/her internal position, views, theoretical principles [9, p. 395]. An attitude is a spontaneous inclination of the individual to a certain form of response, through which one or another need can be satisfied [9, p. 398]. It should be noted that it is the attitude that motivates civil servants to orient their professional activity in a certain direction and act consistently with regard to all objects and situations that it is related to.

S. Rubinstein's statement that the motives of human activity are extremely diverse is true. These motives stem from the various needs and interests that a person forms in the process of social life. As S. Rubinstein points out, in their topmost forms they are based on the person's awareness of his/her moral obligation, the tasks that the social life sets for him/her [10, p. 467].

In determining the motivational component of the readiness of civil servants for professional activity, one should also be aware of the specificity of their motivation, which should be based on basic theories, in particular, such ones as: the Theory of Hierarchy of the Needs (A. Maslow); Clayton P. Alderfer's ERG Theory (theory of existence needs (E), social needs (relatedness needs) (R) and growth needs(G)); F. Herzberg's Two-Factor Model of Behavior; D. McClelland's Acquired Needs Model; Heckhausen's “Rubicon Model”; Porter-Lawler's complex procedural theory of motivation; Porter and Lawler's model of motivation; the theory of 12 factors developed by Ritchie and Martin; Vroom's Expectancy Theory (Valence, Instrumentality, Expectancy); Locke's Theory of Goal-Setting; J. Adams' Theory of Justice; the Theory of Labor Motivation developed by D. Atkinson, etc. There are theories that are of particular importance in this sense, namely the ones that are based on the specific pattern of the employee (these theories are based on a certain image of the employee, his/her needs and motives), for example, Douglas McGregor's “X-Y Theory”, Ouchi's Theory “Z”, etc.

According to the results of the analysis, it can be stated that most scholars consider it appropriate to follow two approaches to the study of theories of motivation, the first of which is based on the study of the content of the theory of motivation, and the second approach is based on procedural theories. Contextual theories of motivation are based on the needs and related factors that determine the behavior of people, that is, contextual theories explain the behavior of a person with motives, the substantive basis of which constitute the person's needs. The studies of A. Maslow, D. McClelland, F. Herzberg are the most important in this case. In contextual theories the main attention is paid to the analysis of the factors underlying motivation and the analysis of the process of motivation is not practically taken into account; in procedural theories attention focuses on how a person distributes efforts to achieve different goals and chooses a particular type of behavior. The largest contribution to the development of the procedural concept was made by V. Vroom, J. Adams, L. Porter, E. Lawler.

Modern studies of motivation have encouraged the scientists (S. Zaniuk, etc.) to distinguish external (extrinsic) and internal (intrinsic) motivation. External motivation was defined as the determination of behavior by the physiological needs and the stimulation of the surrounding. Internal (procedural) motivation was defined as the dependence of the behavior on the factors that are not directly related to the influence of the surrounding and the physiological needs of the organism. As S. Zaniuk explains, procedurally motivated behavior is carried out for the sake of itself, that is, the process itself and the content of activity is of interest in this case, and not what is outside the activity. The external motivation is not directly related to the activity itself, that is, it is not the activity itself which stimulates the action, but something which is outside this activity, something external to it [3, p. 98-100]. The researcher comes to the conclusion that an important indicator of internal motivation is experiencing his/her own autonomy and personal involvement of the subject, feeling like the source of changes in the world around him/her. An important factor in any activity that characterizes the internal motivation is the feeling of one's own competence, one's own capabilities [3, p. 103].

As H. Heckhausen points out, it is obvious that behavior is described as motivated either “from within” (intrinsically) or “from the outside” (extrinsically). V. Chyrkov identifies five manifestations of the internal motivation of activity: the desire for novelty; the desire for motor activity; the desire for effective, skilful, efficient exploration of the world; the desire for self-determination; self-realization, self-actualization, self-fulfillment [14, p. 27-31]. Therefore, both internal and external motivation can be used to encourage a person to do something; however, internal motivation can reduce external one.

In our opinion, one of the conditions for the professionalization of the individual is the stabilization of professional motivation, its development, and improvement. Ye. Ilin divides the motives associated with the work of a person into three groups: the motives of work, the motives for choosing a profession, the motives for choosing a place of work. In his opinion, a definite activity is determined by all these motives (the motives of work lead to the formation of the motives for choosing a profession, and the latter leads to choosing the place of work) [4, p. 270]. Speaking about the motivation of professional activity, it is necessary to address the problem of self-development and self-realization, as the urgent need for self-development, the desire for self-improvement and self-fulfillment is an indicator of personal maturity and at the same time a condition for achieving it.

Along with other social and spiritual needs, considering the problems of motivation of communication, the scientists point out that through the process of communication, a person satisfies not only the needs for proper communication, but also the needs for impressions, recognition and support, cognitive need and many other spiritual needs. Therefore, there is no coincidence that in foreign psychology such collective concept as “the affiliation motive” has been singled out, the content of which is by no means uniform. It includes the needs to contact people, be a member of a group, interact with others, provide and receive help [3; 5; 13, etc.]. In other words, it is the desire to establish or maintain relationships with other people, the desire to contact and communicate with them. In S. Zaniuk's view, affiliative communication is the type of communication that brings pleasure, captures, the person likes it [3, p. 28]. According to H. Heckhausen, it is a certain class of social interactions that have a daily and at the same time fundamental character, the meaning of which is to communicate with other people and provide such support that brings pleasure, attracts and enriches both sides [14, p. 550].

In practical work civil servants often encounter “classical stereotypes” based on motives and antimotives of subordinates or members of the team in which they work. Here are some examples.

Stereotype 1. “I know their motives and antimotives very well”

In this case, you should ask yourself the question: “What sources do I find out the information about the motivation and anti-motivation of my subordinates from?”; “Are not these sources of random character?”; “Are not the people from whom I receive such information trying to exaggerate it (somehow) for a more pleasant (negative) perception?”

Stereotype 2. “If I do not have some information about motives and antimotives, it does not mean that I am not well-informed about it”

The employer believes that he has “dominant information”, and the other one does not matter for him. However, the problem is that motivation and antimotivation are very individual and to miss something means not to have a complete picture of each particular person.

Stereotype 3. “Knowledge of motives and antimotives does not imply improvement of motivation in practice”

If civil servants really think so, then who should professionally deal with the problems of getting rid of antimotives?

We believe that civil servants (especially those ones in managerial positions) should have an appropriate level of competence in these matters. We can provide some recommendations for this.

To study the motivation of civil servants, using the method “Identifying the Opposing Motivation of the Personnel”, it is necessary to prepare a questionnaire or offer the respondents to make it themselves. To do this, the standard sheet of paper (A4) is divided into two parts: the heading “Motives” is located on the left, and the heading “Antimotives” is located on the right. A civil servant should fill in this form (see Table 1) and determine what motives and antimotives affect significantly the success, efficiency, and effectiveness of his/her professional activity.

The management processes the received information and in future uses it in the work with the personnel. When processing information, it is necessary to determine the ratio of the corresponding groups of motives and antimotives that are relevant for this institution.

Table 1. Questionnaire

It is also possible to use the following questionnaire to study the motivation and antimotivation of civil servants. This questionnaire consists of two parts: the motives for each group are mentioned on the left and the antimotives are mentioned on the right. In the column “Points”, a civil servant should indicate the significance of each motive or antimotive personally for him/her, using the five-point grading scale (see Table 2). For example, in the five-point grading scale (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), number 1 is marked by the main (dominant) motive and antimotive. The received evaluation data is processed and summed to get the full picture.

Table 2. Questionnaire for Studying Motivation and Antimotivation

To assess the orientation of the personnel of civil servants to quality work, one can use the Job Satisfaction Assessment Card developed by O. Ksenchuk, M. Kyianova [12, p. 53-60]. The Job Satisfaction Assessment Card was adapted by us to analyze the motivation of civil servants. It has the following objectives: a) to assess the satisfaction of employees with various aspects of the social and productive situation; b) to identify trends in improving or worsening the assessments of team members (in a group); c) to identify the most significant aspects of professional activity for civil servants; d) to compare the state of the various divisions. It should be noted that it is advisable to make the assessment not more often than once a year.

In the process of determining the state of motivation of civil servants in their professional activity, it is proposed to use two questionnaires; the methodology for using them is given below.

Methodology for Using Questionnaire # 1

As a manager, you fill it in yourself. Then it is filled in by the employees, and you process all the questionnaires in order to obtain information about your colleagues. Then you compare your view of the motivational situation with the position of your colleagues. The discrepancies found are the subject of your analysis and the basis for the appropriate managerial decisions.

Questionnaire # 1 “Assessment of Job Satisfaction”

Key to the questionnaire: 5 points mean completely satisfied; 4 points mean generally satisfied;

3 points mean satisfied on average; 2 points mean rather dissatisfied; 1 point means completely dissatisfied.

Methodology for Using Questionnaire # 2

This questionnaire gives an opportunity to analyze the main motives of the employment behavior of an individual employee and assign it to a certain type, which will be useful in individual work with each member of the team members.

Questionnaire # 2 “Analysis of the Employment Behavior of Team Members”

Key to the questionnaire: 5 points mean a very strong influence; 4 points mean a great influence;

3 points mean an average impact; 2 points mean low influence; 1 point means it does not matter.

After processing the information from the questionnaires, it is possible to summarize the information obtained, on the basis of which one can build a motivation map for civil servants and divide them into certain types (see Table 3). The coefficient Кs is determined by the formula: Кs = (Кr + Кt): 2, where Кr = К1fact. : K1.max.; Кt = К2fact. : K2 max. Kr is determined by the manager according to the first questionnaire, and Kt is determined according to the second questionnaire.

Table 3. Motivation Map for Civil Servants in their Professional Activity

Therefore, in determining the readiness of civil servants for professional activity, it is important to analyze such component of readiness as a motivational one. Within this component, we can talk about strategies and prospects for professional development of civil servants and their professional mobility in public administration. It is here where the stability and reliability of the mechanism of moral and ethical regulation of the behavior of civil servants is ensured, which is extremely important in the current conditions of the development of Ukrainian society.

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