The Empirical Research on Civil Servants' Motivation: Evidence from Romania Ana-Maria Bercu Alexandru loan Cuza University ofIasi, Romania bercu@uaic.ro Mihaela Onofrei Alexandru loan Cuza University ofIasi, Romania onofrei@uaic.ro The purpose of this article is to identify the most important factors with impact on civil servants motivation. The factors affecting motivation are examined and their effects on job satisfaction are explained. In order to achieve the aforementioned objective of the research, we will employ the Maslow-Herzberg combined model. The study was conducted in 21 Town Halls from the Iasi County, Romania. Pearson's correlation and regression analyses were used to establish whether the selected motivational factors were related to civil servants' job satisfaction. The civil servants who feel that they are important for their organization will pursue goals actively and will increase the efforts to be more competitive at work and perform better. The limits of our research depend on the organizations analysed. The framework provides an explanation of why some factors enhance the civil servants' motivation, while others not so much. Key Words: motivation, intrinsic/extrinsic factors, job satisfaction, civil servants, Maslow-Herzberg model jel Classification: M12, H83 https://doi.org/10.26493/1854-6935.15.399-417 Introduction To understand how an organization works, managers often address a series of questions about human behaviour: What makes a person act one way or another? Why do some people cease to be someone the organization needs? Are there any particular reasons that sometimes trigger different attitudes and behaviours? (Micle and Saucan 2009). The above-mentioned questions must be the reason for an action or the cause of an action or determination. The reason is actually that the cause of action is often inducing an action whose outcome is motivation. Etymologically speaking, the term motivation is rooted in the Latin movere that means Managing Global Transitions 15 (4): 399-417 400 Ana-Maria Bercu and Mihaela Onofrei to set in motion, move. Usually, the term refers to stating the reasons required to direct the body to meet the behaviour, and therefore remove it. The literature defines motivation as 'the sum of forces (both internal and external) leading human behaviour to achieve a certain goal and then determine concern for other needs' (Prodan 2006). Motivation is defined as 'action taken to achieve a goal, in the presence of a stimulus - known or not' (Clegg and Birch 2002). In the narrow sense, motivation is 'the interdependence of the needs, aspirations and interests of staff within an organization and the fulfilment of the objectives, tasks and responsibilities within an organization' (Nico-lescu and Verboncu 2007). Broadly speaking, motivation is 'the result of decisions and actions taken by the whole staff of an organization to contribute (directly or indirectly) to the realization of functionality and superior performance, based on the correlation interests in achieving the organization's objectives' (Gellerman 1963). The main aspect of motivation is that it determines the action. The essence of motivation is to identify ways in which employees (with varying needs and personalities) can be encouraged to participate as effective as they are able in achieving the objectives. Motivating employees to achieve the best results is determined by a combination of factors that can be grouped into: • internal factors/individual, as attitudes, needs, interests, value systems, perceptions of tasks; • external factors/organizational, such as payment system, incentive system, specifying tasks, control system, feedback. These two sets of factors interact, resulting in the staff behaviour at workplace. Summarizing, we can say that motivation: it is understandable (understanding how different components of motivation are working is essential to determine and influence the motivation of staff); it is a process (a series of steps/stages lead to motivation, the lack of a step results in the failure of the process); it is a long-term problem (requires continuous monitoring, diagnosing and error correction);it is logical (the underlying principles are logical and understandable); it could be managed (this follows from the previous feature); it is working (they can choose what is working, the effort for each task and the time allocated to this effort); it means collaboration (between the organization and employee: the orga- Managing Global Transitions The Empirical Research on Civil Servants' Motivation 401 nization provides payment and benefits in return for the time and energy of the employees); it could be maximized (using intrinsic or extrinsic motivational factors, as well as increasing the action of factors with positive impact and adjusting the negative impact of others). The feedback value is well-known (Steelman and Rutkowski 2004) and has a direct effect on motivating employees and reinforcing their behaviour. The importance of feedback on job performance is confirmed by a series of studies (Kluger and DeNisi 1996). Recent studies (Andrews 2016) show motivation as a part of the wave of administrative reforms inspired in the New Public Management Model (npm) (Pollit and Bouckaert 2011), namely the Public Service Motivation (psm). psm has been one of the concepts peculiar to the field of public administration (Perry and Vandenabeele 2015), which swung back to public values, which, once again, is seen as the moving force within the public organizations (O'Flynn 2007). psm is characterized as a reliance on intrinsic rewards (e.g. a sense of accomplishment, reputation for serving public interest, or duty of a public employee) over extrinsic rewards (e.g., a pay rise, opportunity for advancement, or job security) (Park and Rainey 2007). psm expresses a preference for 'helping others', 'benefiting society' or 'engaging in an interesting public service' (Steijn 2008). Correlated with the psm theoryis the self-determination theory (sdt), one of the leading motivation theories in the field of social psychology, which states that all the humans need to satisfy three basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence and relatedness (Ryan and Deci 2000). Correlating these assumptions on motivation in public administration, the literature (Andrews 2016) reveals that there are two basic strategies: controlled motivation, sustained by the putative efficacy of external means to regulate public servants' behaviour, leading to the reward and punishment approach, and self-motivation, which can emerge from an individual's set of values and from the satisfaction of the three basic psychological needs (Ryan and Deci 2000). Background of the Issue: Motivational Factors and Job Satisfaction In public administration, motivation has become an important issue (Behn 1995) even though, for a long time, the accent was on motivation of employees from the private sector (Kanfer 1994). In the case of the private sector management, the research of motivation and job satisfaction are common issues; as such, in the public administration sector Volume 15 • Number 4 • Winter 2017 402 Ana-Maria Bercu and Mihaela Onofrei the research is based on the theories and knowledge offered by the private sector. The theories applied in the private sector are not correlated all the time with the public administration practices, so we should apply and test these theoretical frameworks with care. The literature suggests that the civil servants are less motivated by private sector incentives, like payment and promotion (Wittmer 1991). Some studies reflected that the intrinsic motivators are more related to the motivation and psm, while the extrinsic work motivators are either not related to psm or are related to a lesser extent. Although the circulated idea that motivation and employee satisfaction are directly proportional to the proper functioning and performance of the organization (Micle and Saucan 2009), there is no unanimous agreement on these two concepts (due to the complexity of the two concepts). Job satisfaction represents the projection of the extent to which an individual is positively oriented toward his or her job (Cramer 1996). In literature, job satisfaction can be seen as containing three components: an affective component, a cognitive component and a behavioural component (Jex 2002). Subsequently, there are highlighted some approaches of the issue: • Motivation and satisfaction are two independent phenomena (Geller-man 1963). In this sense, motivation is an influence that causes the individual to act in a certain way; the action would not have occurred if there were no influence. On the other hand, satisfaction is the event originating in a subjective feeling of pleasure that can be described or expressed by the individual, but cannot be seen from the outside. Events may produce the effect of satisfaction when we do not change the behaviour, or may lead to motivation - when the behaviour changes. • The relationship between motivation and satisfaction is perceived unilaterally (Aubert 2003). According to this perspective, motivation is the force impulse, whose aim is to achieve satisfaction. Only motivation can influence satisfaction and not vice versa. There is a relationship between motivation and satisfaction. Satisfaction is determined indirectly by reward. In this respect, there were a few statements: satisfaction/dissatisfaction is an indicator of effective operation/ineffective motivation; satisfaction and motivation have double capacity - cause and effect; motivation is the cause and the effect of satisfaction. Managing Global Transitions The Empirical Research on Civil Servants' Motivation 403 A synthetic model of the relationship between motivation and job performance could be explained through a link in several steps among motivation, performance and job satisfaction: the value of reward (tangible and intangible) provided by the organization and the perceived probability of being rewarded as expected determine the effort (primarily the extent and quality of the motivation); the effort supports skills, abilities and attitudes, and the achievement of performance; the quality of the obtained reward and the perception of fairness, in their turn, will influence the effort that will be made and also, the structure of motivation; as such, it is starting a new motivational loop. The literature considers that satisfaction is an indicator of motivation, not a cause. People can be satisfied without being motivated (Aubert 2003). The relationship between the performance and the working staff's motivation is that the performance depends on work environment (working conditions); staff skills (talent, skill, experience); motivation to perform a certain thing. Job satisfaction focuses on the responses of employees to their experiences at the workplace and, from a psychological perspective, job satisfaction is a positive emotional state resulting from an assessment made by the workers about their work at the present moment (Riba and Ballart 2016). Public employees were reported to be particularly pleased when their work helped other individuals or contributed to the greater good. Characteristics of Romanian Civil Servants' Motivation Addressing civil servants' motivation derives from the interest you show in them. In public administration, the effort of civil servants is oriented towards satisfying the public interest, so, in this regard, they are able to make an effort for people and hence derive job satisfaction from fulfilling their proactive motivation oriented to the needs of society. It was confirmed that the motivation of civil servants affects job satisfaction and job performance if the perceived link between individual motivation and the work environment is tight (Wright and Pandey 2008). The relationship between motivation and job satisfaction in public administration depends on an experienced comparability between individual needs and motivation to serve the public interest and the environment of their job/organizations which is akin to results found in scientific research (Bright 2008; Wright and Pandey 2008). Competitiveness and the performance at work should be rewarded accordingly. Trying to explain human behaviour in the organization, many researchers have concluded Volume 15 • Number 4 • Winter 2017 404 Ana-Maria Bercu and Mihaela Onofrei that it is extremely difficult as there are numerous explicit or less explicit factors that determine the motivation and satisfaction at work. An ensemble of motivational factors described in the previous paragraphs can highlight the importance of knowing the impulses, forces, aspirations, the needs that determine an individual action, as far as explaining their behaviour. Motivation at work of civil servants/employees in the public administration sector (we consider civil servant an employee in an institution/public authority subject to the regulations in force under the Romanian Civil Service Regulations, Law no. 188/1999 with subsequent amendments introduced by Law no. 161/2003 on measures to ensure transparency in the exercise of public dignities, public functions and business environment, the prevention and punishment of corruption) is determined by the internal and external factors that are exert on them and lead to positive or negative actions in performing work tasks. The Romanian public officers have the tasks to find the best way to motivate their employees, considering the law provisions and rules. They decide the proper forms of motivation to stimulate initiative, creativity and performance of the civil servants. Successful completion of missions largely depends on government forces that determine the action in motivating the civil servants. One of the main causes for failures of administrative system in Romania is the scarcity of personnel policy. Personnel policy does not stimulate enough the officials. They are tempted to perform tasks at an acceptable level. These manners of incentives lead to lower quality of public services. The provisions refer to the motivational factors in term of granting a higher salary, advancement on the post or function, promoting a system of performance indicators. Quantifying the quality of activities in the public administration is difficult. Civil servants receive financial rights in relation to working hours. The question is how to make differentiation in relation to the quality of work. Classes' salary for each position and function cannot meet all the requirements of reality. To prevent the mobility, the various forms of incentives are wage increases; annual awards in the form of bonuses to be distributed among public officials (to create a climate conducive to teamwork, collaboration and mutual control); advancing in the post or function. Promoting a system of performance indicators is a recent step in the personnel policy of the administrative system in Romania. The performance indicators have a dual role: to stimulate the officials to obtain the best results and to allow an evaluation of each result. Managing Global Transitions The Empirical Research on Civil Servants' Motivation 405 There are several methods to assess a civil servant: • the coordinator (there is an alternative assessment that consists of completing two reports - one, by the coordinator, and the second, a self-assessment form, by the civil servant. The results imply a negotiation process to establish the final score of the evaluation process; • of peer (through collective analysis and evaluation, the consequences are more easily accepted for promotion and salary increases). The evaluation is important to career development, making training plans, motivating employees and creating an atmosphere conducive to performance. If it is defective, tensions can arise within the team and may ultimately lead to decrease in performance. Annual assessment should not be a description but an analysis of performance objectives and personal traits. Using questionnaires can increase the accuracy of the analysis. Typically, these assessments are made once a year. In accordance with Law no. 188/1999 on the status of civil servants and gd no. 611/2008 on the development of civil servants' career, the assessment of civil servants is conducted in order to correlate the objective of the work of civil servants and public service requirements, to achieve an objective appraisal of individual professional performance of public officials by comparing the achievement of individual goals set by the actual results, providing a motivational system to increase individual professional performance, identifying training needs of civil servants to improve the results of the work in order to achieve objectives. The evaluation results in the promotion of civil servants in a permanent or temporary function, depending on the grade and salary advancement. Evaluation of the public servant is based on an essay prepared by the supervisor, an internship report prepared by junior civil servant and the evaluation report prepared by the evaluator. Evaluation criteria of civil servants are: knowledge of industry-specific regulations; knowledge of the principles of public administration; capacity to fulfil their duties; adaptability and flexibility in carrying these out; reasoning and the ability to make a rational choice between a number of possible options; communication, ease of transmission of ideas, both written and verbal; conduct on the job. The importance of assessment of civil servants lies in the fact that the quantification of results can reveal whether their work is in line with organizational goals, and the work performance, as well as whether the human resource is professionally compliant with the position they occupy. It is a major concern for the current government to find all the factors shaping Volume 15 • Number 4 • Winter 2017 406 Ana-Maria Bercu and Mihaela Onofrei human behaviour by focusing on completing an efficient work. In this regard, the motivation and job satisfaction becomes the issues to be developed by the researchers and the findings should be presented to the public administration decision makers. Research Methodology the state of knowledge in the field Researches on employee motivation include approaches that consider this process as essential to organizational behaviour. The need for understanding and explaining organizational behaviours' motivation stems from the consequences it has on all aspects of human life. Human resource is one of the most important assets of an organization. In other words, the success of an organization in achieving its objectives largely depends on the performance of its employees. It is therefore important to focus on factors affecting employee's performance. The literature has a great extent of studying the role of reward and merits recognition programs to motivate and satisfy employees (Nadeem, Majed, and Adnan 2011). The results obtained from analysis of data collected through questionnaires distributed among respondents indicate that there is a positive relationship between rewards and recognition programs and employee motivation and satisfaction. This study found that employees are not motivated solely by money and employee behaviour is linked to their attitude. Hawthorne Studies began the human relations approach to management, whereby the needs and motivation of employees become the primary concern of managers. Research has shown that when employees feel supported by their organization will return to support the behaviours preferred by the organization. Keirsey (1998) argue that what motivates people is appreciation. A motivated employee is one who feels appreciated. Most people will spend more time (after work and on weekends) to work without payment, and often working harder than they do in their job, to do something that will be appreciated. If an employee feels appreciated already, a bonus or incentive is an ideal way to prove that it is appreciated. There are a number of competing ideas about what motivates workers. Most of these ideas focus on the types of rewards offered to employees at the workplace and, in particular, intrinsic versus extrinsic benefits. Intrinsic rewards are those that come from performing the work itself. Managing Global Transitions The Empirical Research on Civil Servants' Motivation 407 These may include, among others, the feeling of success, learning abilities, the results of work completed. On the other hand, extrinsic rewards are accompanying the work, as direct part of it. The most common are the financial compensation and benefits such as health insurance and paid time off. Many modern theories of employee motivation emphasizes that intrinsic rewards are essential to the process of reasoning, while extrinsic rewards are often regarded as necessary, but not sufficient. Intrinsically motivated behaviour is neither a reward, nor a task itself. Reward and recognition programs approach extrinsic motivational behaviour. Other studies reflect the relationship between motivation at work and performance being positively correlated with organizational identification, task performance and contextual performance (Knippenberg 2000). purpose, objectives and research hypotheses The research purposes revolve around determining the motivating factors among civil servants in the twenty-one Town Halls from the Iasi County (a major city with outstanding academic tradition since 1865, situated in the Eastern part of Romania) and to identify their effects on job satisfaction. The aim is to identify those mechanisms motivating and de-motivating among employees of the organizations analysed. This will be achieved by identifying the current level of motivation of civil servants and by identifying their needs and wishes. In addition, research will contain a number of solutions and proposals to increase the current level of motivation of civil servants. The research is based on the following general question: What are the factors underlying the motivation of employees in the twenty-one Town Halls from Iasi County and in what proportion? Based on the theory presented in the first part, the main objective in conducting the research is revealing the motivating factor for civil servants in the twenty-one Town Halls in Iasi County, given Maslow-Herzberg combined model, as follows: extrinsic factors (primary needs, hygienic factors) as working conditions, safety/stability of employment, labour organization, material rewards and intrinsic factors (higher needs/ motivators): feasibility, recognition, ability to learn new things, the work itself, the responsibilities, interpersonal relationships (with colleagues and superiors). The specific objectives formulated to achieve the research are o1. Obtaining relevant information on intrinsic motivational factors that char- Volume 15 • Number 4 • Winter 2017 408 Ana-Maria Bercu and Mihaela Onofrei acterize the work of civil servants; o 2. Determination of extrinsic motivational factors that characterize the work of civil servants; 03. Identifying and selecting the most effective motivators for civil servants and explain results; 04. Identifying new motivators factors for use in subsequent reasoning strategies. The research hypotheses are formulated as follows: hi The civil servants which are mainly motivated by the intrinsic factors will be more satisfied with their work hi.i The civil servants are motivated by the responsibility and autonomy in post, comfort at work, the prospect of advancement, professional development, the attractiveness of work performed, recognition, the ability to learn new things, the work itself, the responsibilities, interpersonal relationships. H2 The civil servants are motivated by the extrinsic factors. H2.1 The main motivators factors for civil servants are working conditions, safety and stability of employment, salary and authority. CONDUCTING RESEARCH The study was carried out through a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based survey. Data collection was conducted between 30 August 2015 and 30 November 2015 through self-administered questionnaires (person to person or by email) for employees, required to express themselves fully, concerning what they do, and the way they do it. The method/tool used is the survey research and the research instrument is the questionnaire of opinion, employed because it is a useful tool, available to all and relatively less expensive. However, it should be noted that the use of opinion questionnaire is possible only if the expressed opinions and the actual behaviour are in a consistent relationship, which is the limit of our research. In terms of methodology, the questionnaire included 25 closed questions as follows: simple questions (dichotomous), simple questions (trichotomy) -with answers to yes/no/so-so; questions that require a unique choice of subjects from a set of proposed alternatives; questions that require a multiple choice of several possible variants. The questionnaire begins with a series of simple questions, while general difficult questions (sensitive) are placed among these, in order not to tire/bore respondents and not to risk abandonment or random answering, base. At the end of the questionnaire there are questions designed to shape the socio-economic profile of respondents. Random sampling is simple. The selection was arbitrary Managing Global Transitions The Empirical Research on Civil Servants' Motivation 409 (convenience samples); the sample was composed of individuals chosen arbitrarily. The sample was based on the specific formula applied to the population of 197 employees of public organizations analysed as follows: where n is the sample size, t is the accepted theoretical probability (1.96), p is the percentage of the population has the feature sampling (0.5), and e is the error of representativeness permissible limit (0.05). Therefore, 2 1 - 0.5 , N n = 1.96 x 0.5 x-, (2) 0.052 where n = 3.8416 x 0.5 x 0.5 ^ 0.0025 = 1.9208 x 200 = n = 384.16. After applying this formula, the sample is obtained, corrected for total population size, as follows: where n1 is corrected sample size and N is total population considered (number of employees in analysed organizations in 2015, i.e. 197). So: n1 = 384.16 ^ (1 + 383.16 ^ 197) = 384.16 ^ (1 + 1.9500) = 130.489. Therefore, for a population of 197 employees of organizations analysed, a maximum permissible error of 5% and a confidence interval of 95%, the sample size is 130 people (where 69.23% are women and 30.77% are men). Data processing was performed using spss 19.0 software, which ensures accuracy of results. Analysis and Interpretation of Data Each individual has a unique motivational profile with values, concepts, prejudices, and different ideas about what is reasonable. The analysis of recorded data from the application questionnaires revealed a number of positive aspects, but also some negative aspects about motivating employees in the organizations analysed. After analysing the data, the profile of the average respondent is: originates mainly from rural areas; is feminine (69.23%); is between 24 and 60; has higher education and gross income of between 1500 and 2500 ron; working into organization about 5 years; holds an executive position for 3 years. Considering the extrinsic motivational factors, all the 130 respondents said that they have the necessary equipment (logistic, administrative, and (1) n (3) Ml " i+Cn-i) ' N Volume 15 • Number 4 • Winter 2017 410 Ana-Maria Bercu and Mihaela Onofrei managerial) to perform their duties. However, a significant percentage, 73.1% say that they feel better at work, while 25.3% say that there is too much noise at the workplace, and 0.8% stated that there are too many people in a space too small. The work environment in the company is regarded as pleasant by 77.7% of respondents, while 22.3% of them considered it unpleasant. Thus, 28.5% are very satisfied with their current job, 45.4% are somewhat satisfied, while 26.1% are unhappy with the location-addressed. Workplace stability is a very important factor for 72.3% of respondents. In addition, 18.5% consider it an important factor, and only 9.2% said 'so and so'. 52.3% of civil servants met the organizational goals for the next year, while the rest, 47.7% do not know. We consider this result as worrisome, as the knowledge of the one's organization's objectives is essential. Respondents' opinion on the material reward offered (or not) within organizations is analysed as follows: 72.3% of respondents considered transparent the salary system of the organizations analysed, 36.9% considered it advantageous; 45.4% are satisfied with the current level of wages, 25.4% responded 'so and so', while 29.20% are not satisfied with the salary received. In this regard, 23.1% of respondents say they are paid according to the effort, 40.8% say they are paid correctly, while 36.2% believe that they should receive more money. Considering intrinsic motivational factors, 25.4% of respondents believe in their chances of promotion, while 74.6% believe that these opportunities do not exist. Half of the respondents believe that their work is appreciated, while 71.5% stating that their work benefits visibility and 28.5% that the results fail to appear. Respondents' opinion about the opportunity to learn new things show that 62.3% believe that they do not have the opportunity to learn new things, while 37.7% believe that there are such opportunities. Civil servants from the analysed organizations consider that working within the organization is particularly interesting (33.8%), while 28.5% see it is as less demanding, furthermore, 25.5% state that it is challenging, and 12.3% consider themselves overloaded. However, the staff believes that the occupied position offers the opportunity to use their skills properly (43.1% said yes and 30.8% answered partially true, the remaining 26.2% disagreeing with this statement). To make a first step towards identifying an initial list of positive aspects about doing the job, respondents were asked to answer affirmatively or negatively to a series of statements. The analysis revealed that responses were positive following: 9.2% of respondents say they are trying to extend the breaks as Managing Global Transitions The Empirical Research on Civil Servants' Motivation 411 much as possible; 80% of employees with analysis tasks know what they have achieved; all 130 subjects state that they respect deadlines, follow the given instructions, and never say I have no time. The analysis revealed, however, some negative aspects, such as 64.6% of respondents perform overtime; only 11.5% are required to express their ideas; only a 38.5% believe that their views are heard in the company. Civil servants' opinion on the responsibilities they have within the organization in carrying out their work registered as follows: 29.2% believe that there is a satisfactory level, 77.7% state that what they do is important to the organization. In addition, all 130 respondents are liable if wrong. When asked how they are working with colleagues/peers, the respondents considered 100% of they well trained, while 71.5% considered them competent. The same is true when it comes to the relationship with the boss, which is characterized by respondents as a fair man when giving praise or criticism (by 93.1% of them), which makes good decisions often (86.2%) which clearly assigns tasks (80%) and closely monitors their performance (76.2%), he/she considers employees at their fair value (75.4%), he/she trust in employees (73.8%) and he/she defers to them (66.9%). Only 11.2% believe that their boss does not know what is happening in the organization. Thus, they benefit from salary increases periodically based on seniority, receive performance bonuses, advancement (only 80.8% consider that this incentive exists), or a short training. The reasons that determine the staff of the organizations analysed to work harder are a greater appreciation from the hierarchic superior; a greater interest from colleagues; a pleasant workplace environment in the company; a delegation of authority and greater autonomy. In addition, when asked what displeases them, the employees assert that the most disturbing are the salary for 50% of them; the conditions, for 47.7%; the attitude of superiors, for 38.5%; incompatibility with job requirements, for 25.4%; the attitude of colleagues, for 24.6%; the organization level, for 18.5%. Respondents stated that they would like to have a special merit award (46.9%), to receive respect for employees (35.4%), the birthday celebration of employees (34.6%), the superior to see them as a person, not an employed (31.5%), peer relationships (20%) and respect between employees (22.3%). Data analysis (table 1) was performed using the command Analyse ^ Descriptive. Therefore, the most important factor for the functioning of the organizations analysed is job stability, the average gaining 4.63. Next, in order, authority, responsibility and autonomy in post (4.06), comfort at work (4.02), the prospect of advancement (3.55), benefits package (3.49), Volume 15 • Number 4 • Winter 2017 412 Ana-Maria Bercu and Mihaela Onofrei table 1 Descriptive Statistics: The Importance of Motivational Factors Factor (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Job stability 130 3 5 4-63 0-649 Salary 130 2 5 3-25 0-791 The prospect of advancement 130 1 5 3-55 1-028 Attractive package of benefits 130 1 5 3-49 1-058 Ensure appropriate logistical support 130 1 5 2-43 1-251 Premiums, bonuses 130 1 5 2-91 1-527 Attractiveness of work performed 130 1 5 3-26 1-279 Professional Development 130 1 5 3-32 1-148 Comfort at work 130 3 5 4-02 0-726 Authority, responsibility and autonomy in post 130 3 5 4-06 0-723 notes Column headings are as follows: (1) N, (2) minimum, (3) maximum, (4) mean, (5) standard deviation. Valid N (listwise) = 130. professional development (3.32), the attractiveness of work performed (3.26), salary (3.25), the bonuses (2.91), ensuring proper logistics transport (2.43). Validation of Assumptions For validation or invalidation of hypothesis proposed, we used the command Analyse ^ Descriptive ^ Cross-Tabs (table 2). The cross-tabulation aim is to show the relationship (or lack thereof) between two variables. The cells of the table show the number of cases for each combination of common values. For example, for four people attractive salary and work performed are very important factors in personal motivation. In addition, for answers from 'very important', factor attractiveness of work performed are barely visible that it increases with the increasing importance of factor salary. However, although it seems that the two variables are related, is there any reason to believe that these results are not random? In order to determine whether the relationship between the two variables is significant the Chi square test was used, which has the advantage that it is suitable for almost any type of data (table 3). The first row of the table, Pearson Chi-Square tests the hypothesis that the variables attractiveness of work performed and salary are independent. The value of significance (asymptotic) is providing the information requested. Thus, the lower value is, the more unlikely that the two variables Managing Global Transitions The Empirical Research on Civil Servants' Motivation 413 table 2 Importance of Factors Salary vs. Attractiveness of Work Performed: Cross Tabulation Factor Attractiveness of work performed Total (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Salary (2) (a) 4 1 5 3 1 14 (b) 28.6% 7.1% 35-7% 21.4% 7.1% 100.0% (3) (a) 10 7 25 28 13 83 (b) 12.0% 8.4% 30.1% 33-7% 15.7% 100.0% (4) (a) 4 0 6 5 4 19 (b) 21.1% 0.0% 31.6% 26.3% 21.1% 100.0% (5) (a) 3 0 3 4 4 14 (b) 21.4% 0.0% 21.4% 28.6% 28.6% 100.0% Total (a) 21 8 39 40 22 130 notes Column/row headings are as follows: (1) not important, (2) less important, (3) so and so, (4) important, (4) very important, (a) count, (b) percentage within salary. table 3 Salary vs. Attractiveness of Work Performed: Chi Square Item (1) (2) (3) Pearson Chi-Square 8.953a 12 0.707 Likelihood Ratio 10.788 12 0.547 Linear-by-Linear Association 1.160 1 0.282 notes Column headings are as follows: (1) value, (2) degrees of freedom, (3) asymptotic significance (2-sided).a 13 cells (65.0%) have expected count less than 5; the minimum expected count is 0.86. N of valid cases = 130. are independent. Therefore, the value of significance is 0.707, so, we can affirm that the two variables are independent, between salary and attractiveness of work performed is a relationship of interdependence. Underlying the process of motivating civil servants of the organizations analysed is mainly for intrinsic nature and constituted the first research hypothesis (hi). The amount of media provided by extrinsic factors respondent is 16.71, as opposed to intrinsic factor, which are 18.21. Therefore, the hypothesis H1 and the subsequent H1.2 are confirmed, the civil servants from the analysed organizations have been more satisfied by the responsibility and autonomy in post, comfort at work, the prospect of advancement, professional development, the attractiveness of work performed, recognition, the ability to learn new things, work itself, the responsibilities, interpersonal relationships. Volume 15 • Number 4 • Winter 2017 414 Ana-Maria Bercu and Mihaela Onofrei The hypothesis H2 and the subsequent H2.1 which consider that the main motivators factor for civil servants are mainly the extrinsic factors is partially confirmed. Analysing the data obtained it can be seen that the salary ranks eight in importance in motivating employees, with an average of 3.25. Therefore, the civil servants consider the job stability as the most important motivator. Working conditions are the motivating factor for the functioning of the organizations analysed. This factor has obtained an average of 4.2 in terms of importance. Responses of subjects revealed that 73.1% feel well at work, while 25.3% say that the work is too much noise, and 0.8% that are too many people into a very small space. Meanwhile, the majority (77.7%) considers the atmosphere as a pleasant in organization. Conclusions Human resource is one of the most important assets of an organization. In other words, the success of an organization in achieving its objectives largely depends on the performance of its employees. It is therefore important to focus on factors affecting employee's performance. The study results revealed that the intrinsic factors are prioritized by the employees of the analysed organizations. Employees who feel valued by their organization will actively pursue the goals of the organization, the job involvement will increase, absenteeism will be reduced, and there will be less fluctuation at the workplace, facts evidenced by the results obtained in the study conducted. Civil servants are motivated mainly by job stability. If we consider the extremely fragile labour market today, the result appears to be quite normal and expected. Next, in order, line the following motivators: authority, responsibility and autonomy on the job, workplace comfort, perspective advancement, benefits package, professional development, and attractive work performed wages, premiums and bonuses, providing logistic transport accordingly. The demotivating factors were highlighted, in order: performance overtime (64.6% of respondents perform overtime, however, only 11.5% required express hours to work overtime). This has serious consequences for employees who may feel tired, as the yield decreases also for the experienced employees; also, only 38.5% of civil servants believe that their views are heard in the company. This demotivates employees, since they may come to believe that they are not important for the organization, their work is not important, and therefore their satisfaction may decrease. Managing Global Transitions The Empirical Research on Civil Servants' Motivation 415 Analysing the results of the study it can be concluded that the motivation of employees in organizations is considered high, but the management level of organizations should pay particular importance to factors declared unsatisfactory for employees and try to improve, increasing the level of motivation of employees. These findings are sustained by the previous studies (Bercu 2009), which reflect the importance of motivation at work as one of the determinants of the professional career of civil servants. Therefore, a number of recommendations are drawn: a special poli-cymaking concerning employee motivation, based on studies on their mood, the factors that it activates and the most effective ways to stimulate them. A first step has been achieved by conducting this study, the management is already having an insight into what motivates and demotivates employees; a clear exposure of the organization's objectives and reasons. In most cases, the lack of information leads to failure to meet the employee's job expectations and to employee demotivation. It is essential to explain to the employees which are the company's objectives to be achieved and why; to attain the people's involvement in finding solutions. The study has a special value because it is the first research conducted in the analysed organizations and motivation can be a first step in detecting certain weaknesses that affect the job satisfaction. We conclude by reiterating the wish that human resource managers in the analysed organizations should review the study, since the motivation of human resources is a major issue for an organization. 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This paper is published under the terms of the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (cc by-nc-nd 4.0) License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4-0/). Volume 15 • Number 4 • Winter 2017