Journal of Chinese Pharmaceutical Sciences http://www.jcps.ac.cn 235
Factors influencing job satisfaction of medical representatives in Pakistan
Mahmood Ahmad, Naveed Akhtar, Muhammad Bin Ibrahim, Ghulam Murtaza
*
Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy and Alternative Medicines, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur,
Bahawalpur 63100, Pakistan
Abstract: The objective of this extensive study was to analyze the motivational problems of medical representatives (MRs) and
to examine the effects of environment, job characteristics and personality variables on job satisfaction. The statistical analysis has
revealed that MRs have a variety of different responses for working harder which is strictly required. An interesting job and
satisfaction with various aspects of their work especially their position, task area and pay induce them to exert extra efforts. Over
all, this study has provided evidence that in order to understand the factors influencing employer’s satisfaction, researcher must
examine the combined effects of above mentioned factors.
Keywords: Medical representatives; Motivation; Nonmonetary factors; Monetary factors
CLC number: R95 Document code:A Article ID: 1003–1057(2010)3–235–04
Received date: 20100119.
*
Corresponding author. Faculty of Pharmacy and Alternative Medicine,
the Islamia University of Bahawalpur.
Tel.: (+) 92629255243; Mob: (+) 923009682258;
fax: (+) 92629255565; email: gmdogar356@gmail.com
1. Introduction
Motivation is a set of forces that cause people to
behave, with tendency to persist in a favorable manner
to achieve a goal or reward. The behavior of an indi
vidual is a gauge for his motivation. Motivation
takes place when people expect that a course of
action is likely to lead to the attainment of a goal
and a valued reward
[1]
. Some pharmaceutical organi
zations are more competitive than others because
their employees exert extra efforts beyond the level
required to keep their jobs and get promotions. The
management of pharmaceutical organization is con
cerned with what should be done to achieve sustained
high levels of performance through people
[2]
. The
individual can be best motivated through such means
as incentives, rewards, leadership, and importantly,
the work they do and the organization context within
which they carry that work. The aim, of course, is to
develop motivation processes and a work environ
ment, which will help to ensure that individuals
deliver results in accordance with the expectations of
the management
[3]
. Motivation occupies an important
place in individual behavior patterns. We can under
stand and predict better what a person will do and with
what intensity by applying motivational insights.
What complicates the whole issue of explaining
human behavior is that the reason behind an action
usually cannot be observed directly. These reasons
or purposes are described as motives
[4]
. Now the
purpose of conducting present study is to know about
the present needs of medical representatives (MRs)
in Pakistan and to analyze what type of motivational
tools may be used to motivate them for employer’s
satisfaction.
2. Experimental
Following variables have been used as materials
to analyze the motivational problems of MRs:
Nonmonetary factors, monetary factors, skill variety,
tenure, need differences, age, gender, marital status,
educational level, social background, religious back
ground, empowerment, communicational channel,
leadership, predefined objectives, flexibility, confi
dence and job environment. The research methodology
that has been used during this study is as follows:
n=Z
2
Pq/β
2
Z = 1.96
Allowable error (β) = 0.05 (5%)
MRs who preferred monetary benefits = P = 0.90
MRs who preferred nonmonetary benefits = q = 0.10
Thus the calculated sample size (n) is “138”.
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