Orientation: Adapting traditional reward systems to focus on employee preferences has become a necessity as companies strive to attract, motivate and retain a skilled and high performing workforce.Research purpose: The aim of the study was to identify certain categories of rewards that employees consider to be most important, including base pay, contingency pay, benefits, performance and career management, quality work environment, and work-home integration. The impact of these reward categories on an organisation's ability to attract, motivate and retain employees was explored, together with the influence of demographic variables on reward preferences.Motivation for the study: There is much debate over whether reward packages should be tailor-made to suit individual employees. It has been argued that a 'one-size-fits-all' approach with regard to rewards is no longer effective.Research design, approach and method: A structured questionnaire, based on the total rewards model, was used to achieve the objectives of the study. A sample of 250 employees from 11 medium-sized to large-sized organisations participated in the study. Main findings:The results showed that base pay is deemed to be the most preferred reward component amongst respondents; however, they are most dissatisfied with the level at which this reward is provided by their current employers. Base pay is also the most important reward when attracting and retaining employees. Differences between reward preferences and demographic variables, including age, gender and job level, were found. Practical/managerial implications:Organisations should design their reward systems according to the preferences of their employees by focusing on base pay and contingency or variable pay. These rewards will also serve to retain them; although, to motivate employees, non-cash awards and recognition should be emphasised. Contribution/value-add:This study contributes to literature on reward preferences, which is lacking in a South African context. It also provides support for segmentation of rewards based on certain demographic variables.

Orientation: There is a lack of South African research relating to the provision of intrinsic rewards to retail employees.Research purpose: The purpose of this research was to determine whether there is a relationship between intrinsic rewards and work engagement in the South African retail industry. Furthermore, it sought to validate an instrument to measure intrinsic rewards within the South African context.Motivation for the study: There is currently a paucity of research exploring intrinsic rewards, specifically their importance for work engagement. Furthermore, there is a lack of instruments validated in South Africa that can be used to measure intrinsic rewards.Research approach, design and method: This quantitative study was conducted using a cross-sectional design and non-probability sampling of 181 employees from a South African retail organisation. The questionnaire included a demographic section, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale and the Work Engagement Profile.Main findings: Statistically significant, positive relationships were found between all subscales of the two instruments. There were significant differences in the means for intrinsic rewards and work engagement for gender and age. Notably, the exploratory factor analysis for both instruments did not support the factor structure indicated in the literature.Practical/managerial implications: South African retail organisations should create work environments that provide intrinsic rewards as part of their reward package, to encourage work engagement.Contribution/value-add: These findings add to the current body of literature regarding intrinsic rewards and work engagement and provide insight into variables that promote work engagement within the South African retail context.

Orientation: The relationship between authentic leadership, psychological capital, psychological climate and team commitment in a manufacturing organisation could have a significant impact on employee intention to quit.Research purpose: To determine the relationship between five positive organisational behaviour variables (authentic leadership, psychological capital, psychological climate and team commitment) and their ultimate influence on an individual’s intention to quit. Thus, it is preceded by the determination of the structural invariance of the measurement instruments when applied to a South African sample.Justification for the study: The study sought to fill the gap in the literature in relation to understanding the effect of the relationship between psychological capital, authentic leadership, psychological climate and team commitment on the behaviour of employees in a manufacturing organisation and how this influences their decision to quit. Such a study has not previously been conducted in the South African manufacturing sector.Research design, approach and method: Utilising a non-experimental correlational approach, a self-administered composite questionnaire consisting of five psychological scales was distributed to 204 employees in the junior to senior management level at a global tyre manufacturing organisation in South Africa. Multivariate data analysis included the structural equation modelling.Main findings: There is a significantly strong positive relationship between authentic leadership, psychological capital, psychological climate and team commitment. Authentic leadership has a significant influence on psychological capital and psychological climate. This results in a positive impact on organisational commitment, leading to employees’ intention to quit.Practical/managerial implications: Manufacturing organisations need to develop and implement collaborative leadership intervention strategies aimed at improving psychological capital and psychological climate.Contribution/value-add: The findings inform researchers and management from manufacturing organisations to understand the correlation between organisational behaviour variables. This relationship informs the development and implementation of strategies aimed at furnishing psychological capital and psychological climate.

Orientation: Intrinsic rewards are personal, psychological responses to the work thatemployees perform, which stem from the manner in which their work is designed.Research purpose: This study sought to discover in what ways non-profit employees arepsychologically rewarded by the nature of their work tasks. The use of a qualitative approachto data collection and analysis ensured that in-depth responses from participants were gained.Motivation for the study: Intrinsic rewards are of particular importance to non-profitemployees, who tend to earn below-market salaries. This implies that their motivationoriginates predominantly from intrinsic as opposed to extrinsic rewards; yet, research into thisarea of rewards is lacking.Research approach, design and method: In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conductedusing a sample of 15 extrinsically rewarded non-profit employees working within South Africa.Thematic analysis was utilised in order to generate codes which led to the formation of fiveintrinsic rewards categories.Main findings: Intrinsic rewards were classified into five categories, namely (1) MeaningfulWork, (2) Flexible Work, (3) Challenging Work, (4) Varied Work and (5) Enjoyable Work.These rewards each comprise of various subcategories, which provide insight into why suchwork is rewarding to non-profit employees.Practical/managerial implications: Traditional performance management systems shouldbe re-evaluated in the non-profit sector to shift focus towards intrinsic rewards, asopposed to focusing only on the use of extrinsic rewards such as incentives to motivateemployees.Contribution/value-add: The study provides a qualitative understanding of how extrinsicallyrewarded non-profit employees perceive their work to be intrinsically rewarding, whichbridges the empirical gap pertaining to intrinsic rewards within this sector.

Background: Various researchers have identified a trend of individuals shifting their preference from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation. The authors aimed to research this phenomenon specifically within the context of two different cultures as to date, this had not been done. This research explored the differing levels of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation in Germans and South Africans.Aim: The main objective of this study was to investigate similarities and differences concerning extrinsic and intrinsic motivation in the workplace between German and South African cultures by examining individuals with working experience and tertiary education specifically. In addition, the research investigated differences in the motivation of respondents with regard to demographics such as gender, age and income.Setting: The setting took place in South Africa and Germany.Methods: In the study, exploratory factor analysis was utilised to prove validity of Cinar, Bektas and Aslan’s two-dimensional measure of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Moreover, analysis of variance and t-tests were used to show differences among demographic variables. Descriptive statistics such as means, central tendency and Cronbach’s alpha were also utilised.Results: The results revealed preferences for intrinsic motivational factors for the whole sample with higher levels of intrinsic motivation for the South African respondents compared to German respondents. Demographic characteristics played a minor role in determining levels of intrinsic motivation within individuals. Culture, however, played the biggest role in determining one’s levels of intrinsic or extrinsic motivation.Conclusion: These findings play an important role in explaining differences in motivation between the two countries Germany and South Africa. It highlights the important role that cultural differences play in shaping one’s form of motivation.