Task

- Provide feedback to your colleague below with additional ideas about the examples they have posted, adding further insights or expanding on their recommendations for alternative ways of displaying or summarising the data in their example.

- Comment on ways of summarising and displaying research results in the clearest and least biased manner possible.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY REVIEW: MOTIVATION TO IMPROVE SALESFORCE PERFORMANCE: A CASE STUDY OF WEMA BANK PLC

As posited by Fred et al (2007) in "The Impact of Salesperson motivation on Role Perception & Job Performance-A Cognitive and Affective Perspective" which attempts to define and measure job performance from role perspective and leveraging on the impact of cognitive and affective representation.

It was further argued that role conflict and ambiguity are distinct attributes relational to one another in measuring job performance. The quantitative approach of data collected from a list of 600 sales managers through questionnaires survey randomly distributed to the sales managers (Fred et al, 2007:94).

Conceptual model and Hypotheses of the research figured that salesperson's motivation might serve to manage role stress, which in turn affects job performance.

Items from the data survey were assessed using a seven-point Likert scale (1=strongly disagree; 7=strongly agree).

Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) tested the data using a two-stage approach however, the data did not meet normality assumption hence, and the researcher adopted Bentler's (1995) suggestion "Elliptical Reweighted Least Square" (ERLS) to estimate the overall CFA measurement model.

A rival Model was further used to test whether intrinsic / extrinsic motivations does reliably influence role perceptions. The Rival model has only direct paths from motivation and role perception to job performance.

The study does illustrate the multidimensional nature of motivation in the sales context and its complex ramifications, it was therefore submitted that cognitive and affective motivations have different effects on role conflict and role ambiguity.

My concern sufficiently put that, the research work does not seem to justify the direct link in global intrinsic motivation in reducing salespeople's role stress, which dovetails to job performance from the data analyzed.

The data for this survey was obtained from a list of 600 sales managers, where 106 managers representing 97 companies provided 396 salespeople for the study. Only a total of 175 responses were returned from the nomination representing 44.2% with a mean of 6.2 on the seven-point Likert scale.

The managers' beliefs could have affected the way their nominations were made hence, I would have preferred a random sampling method embedded in the approach used to give fair and equal representation to all qualified respondent.

Reference:

- Bentler, Peter M. (1995), EQSStructural Equations Program Manual, Los Angeles: Multivariate Software

- Easterby-Smith, M., R. Thorpe, & P. Jackson, (2012) Management Research, 4th edition, London: SAGE Publication

- Fred C. Miao and Kenneth R. Evans (2007), The Impact Of Salesperson Motivation On Role Perceptions And Job Performance- A Cognitive & Affective Perspective, Journal of personal Selling & Sales management vol27, 1 pp.89-101