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Employee Motivation, Job Reengineering, and 
Perceived Job Satisfaction: A Quantitative 
Correlational Approach  
Yomi Martin | Columbia Southern University, Orange Beach, Alabama 

Robert Goldwasser | Columbia Southern University, Orange Beach, Alabama 

Contact: martinsyomi@gmail.com  

Abstract 
This quantitative research investigated the correlation between employee motivation, job 
reengineering, and the perception of job satisfaction among the civilian employees of the 
Department of Defense located in Washington, D.C., United States. The theoretical foundation for 
the study was rooted in Deci and Ryan's (1985; 2000) self-determination theory of motivation. The 
researcher utilized a non-experimental correlational research design and an appropriate non-
probability convenience sampling method to collect data from fifty-five (55) participants. The 
multidimensional work motivation, job diagnostic, and the job satisfaction scales were used to 
measure the variables. Non-parametric tests were used to measure the correlation between the 
variables and three hypotheses were tested. The results showed a strong and positive relationship 
exists between employee motivation, job reengineering, and the perception of job satisfaction. 
These findings suggest that business leaders and human capital managers of private and 
government enterprises may use the study as a focal point to understand a person-job fit, establish 
lean organizational efficiencies, and formulate strategies to improve motivation and reduce 
turnover.  

Keywords:  Emotional Intelligence, Employee Motivation, Job Design, Job Reengineering, Job 
Redesign, Job Satisfaction, Metacognitive Abilities, Perception, Perception of Job Satisfaction, 
And Self-Determination Theory 

  

mailto:martinsyomi@gmail.com


 

 

61 January 2022 | Volume 1, Number 1 

Introduction 
Human capital management plays a pivotal role in the success or failure of an organization, and 
the execution of human capital strategies is essential to the effectiveness of the workforce. Human 
capital strategists and business managers consider employee motivation as a central issue to 
achieving organizational goals. The study of motivation and the theoretical contribution to the 
field of business management is evident in the formulation of short and long-term strategies poised 
to boost productivity, job design, job satisfaction, and workplace engagement (Deci & Ryan, 1985; 
2000). Additionally, motivation plays a significant role in understanding human behavior poised to 
influence organizational performance, effectiveness, and job satisfaction (Alam et al., 2020; Chen 
et al., 2020; Rakhi & Kumar, 2015). 

Deci and Ryan (1985, 2000) and Ryan and Deci's (2017, 2020) self-determination theory (SDT) 
present a broad framework for understanding factors influencing intrinsic motivation, job 
satisfaction, psychological wellness, and all issues of direct relevance to individual growth. The 
SDT, developed as a traditional empirical approach to understanding motivation and personality, 
employs an organismic meta-theory that highlights the role of intrinsic motivation in personality 
development and behavioral self-regulation (Deci & Ryan, 1985). Employees' satisfaction is 
highly influenced by individuals' beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions (Barnyak & Paquette, 2010) 
and the quantitative study of Kumedzro (2018) revealed that motivation and perceptions are 
significant predictors of job satisfaction. Since conception, however, the SDT has been re-
evaluated, modified, and enhanced to incorporate extrinsic motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2017, 2020). 

Antecedent studies have investigated the question of whether motivation influences job 
satisfaction and job design in the workplace (Breaugh et al., 2018; Bruning & Campion, 2018; Earl 
et al., 2019; Kumedzro, 2018; Olafsen & Bentzen, 2020). Breaugh et al. (2018) discussed the 
significance of the factors influencing job satisfaction and the impact on employee motivation and 
found intrinsic and extrinsic motivation positively correlate with job satisfaction. The findings 
from the study contribute to the consideration for a study to examine the influence of employee 
motivation on job reengineering and the perception of job satisfaction in the workplace. Olafsen 
and Bentzen (2020) examined the relationship between psychological detachment and motivation 
and found a positive correlation exists between satisfaction, job recovery, and motivation. 

Bruning and Campion (2018) examined the role of job redesign and the impact on performance. 
The study, which identified the factors influencing the job design process, addressed the question 
of whether job redesign is influenced by intrinsic or extrinsic motivation. Additionally, several 
researchers that have examined similar constructs found a positive correlation exists between job 
design, job satisfaction, and motivation (Mortimer & O'Connor, 2014; Singh & Tiwari, 2011; 
Taylor, 2014) in the workplace. Therefore, it is apparent that motivation, job design, and job 
satisfaction studies have been significant in understanding organizational behavior in the 
workplace. Several studies have examined these topics separately; however, limited studies have 
made the connection between employee motivation, job reengineering, and the perception of job 
satisfaction in the workplace. 

This research study focused on the use of quantitative research method and a non-experimental 
correlational design to investigate the correlation between employee motivation, a dependent 



 
62 Business Management Research & Applications: A Cross-Disciplinary Journal 

variable, job reengineering, and the perception of job satisfaction (independent variables) among 
civilian employees of the Department of Defense (DOD) located in Washington, D.C., United 
States. The correlational design employed the use of a 15-item questionnaire measured on a 6-
point Likert scale (Balasubramanian, 2012; Zaman et al., 2020) to collect data from participants. 
The sample size was determined through the use of two distinct determinants in G*Power; the 
correlation point biserial model with Cohen's effect size, and the fixed model R² with Fisher's 
effect size (𝑓𝑓²). The researcher estimated a priori decision effect size (p), Fisher's effect size (𝑓𝑓²), 
and established the appropriate Type I and Type II errors with a given α, and Power (1-β err prob) 
for a two-tailed test (Faul et al., 2009). 

Prior to data collection and dissemination of questionnaires to participants, the researcher obtained 
approval from Columbia Southern University Institutional Review Board (IRB). The researcher 
adhered to the social behavior research standards identified by the Belmont Report of the U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services (2018). The Belmont Report delineates ethical 
principles and guidelines for the protection of human subjects of research. The researcher ensured 
there were no harm or health risks to participants. 

The research data analysis consisted of four essential steps namely, (a) descriptive analysis, (b) 
reliability analysis, (c) exploratory data analysis, and (d) hypotheses testing. To limit Type I error 
in hypotheses testing, a standard inferential testing α of .05 was established (Lieberman & 
Cunningham, 2009), while a Power level of .95 was established to avoid a Type II error (Cohen, 
1992). The researcher considered the use of non-parametric tests for hypotheses testing based on 
the results from the test or normality. Based on the non-linear results from the tests of normality, 
the researcher used the non-parametric Spearman correlation coefficient (rₛ), Kendall's Tau 
correlation (τb), Somers' delta (d), or the Goodman and Kruskal's gamma (G) to measure the 
correlation between the variables. The research study concluded with a summary of findings and 
conclusion, theoretical and managerial implications, and recommendations for future research. The 
background of the study, problem and purpose statements, research questions and hypotheses, 
advancing theoretical knowledge, application to business administration, and definition of terms 
are discussed in the introduction to the study. 

Background of the Study 
Employees play an integral role in influencing organizational behavior, culture, and workplace 
dimensions, such as workflow processes, the tone at the top, teamwork, collaboration, decision-
making, and performance, in the course of advancing organizational goals, and achieving 
outcomes (Berdicchia et al., 2016; Hassoo & Akbay, 2020). The research study examined the role 
of employee motivation in understanding the interplay between job reengineering and the 
perception of job satisfaction. As such, the researcher assessed that the antecedent study of 
employee motivation may explain this relationship, in the same manner, that basic psychological 
needs, metacognitive abilities, emotional intelligence, and job redesign characteristics may explain 
the relationship between the variables under consideration. The examination of the relationship 
between employee motivation and job reengineering will provide private and public organizations 
with the ability to increase competitive advantage and maximize efficiencies. 



 

 

63 January 2022 | Volume 1, Number 1 

Based on the SDT (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000; Ryan & Deci, 2017; 2020), the researcher 
investigated the correlation between employee motivation, job reengineering, and the perception 
of employee satisfaction among civilian employees of the DOD. The SDT provides a framework 
for investigating the role of employee motivation, and the correlational relationship with job 
reengineering, and perceived employee satisfaction. Moreover, this research study used job 
reengineering and job redesign interchangeably. Job reengineering represents an adaptive, 
proactive, and collaborative effort between employees, supervisors, and the organization, and 
provides firms with the opportunity to change job functions, job characteristics, improve 
organizational efficiency, and enhance a person-job fit (Berdicchia et al., 2016; Holman & Axtell, 
2016). 

This research study follows the recommendations for future research proposed by Olafsen and 
Bentzen (2020) "as this is the first known study to examine the interplay between autonomous 
work motivation and psychological detachment, it is, of course, necessary for the study to be 
replicated with other samples" (p. 9). Similarly, this study follows the recommendations of Earl et 
al. (2019) that "leaves open avenues for future research to replicate the study with other jobs, 
industries, and cultures" (p. 43). Furthermore, this study incorporates Bruning and Campion 
(2018) recommendation that "future research should consider specific occupations to reduce the 
error associated with different work requirements and conditions" (p. 519). Moreover, the findings 
from this research may serve as a focal point in developing human capital strategies to boost 
productivity, increase efficiencies, and improve employee performance. 

Problem Statement 
This research study focused on investigating the correlation between employee motivation, job 
reengineering, and the perception of job satisfaction among the civilian employees of the DOD 
located in Washington, D.C., United States. Several studies have examined these topics separately; 
however, limited studies have made the connection between employee motivation, job 
reengineering, and the perception of job satisfaction. In a study to examine the relationship 
between psychological detachment and motivation among employees at intensive firms (n = 239), 
Olafsen and Bentzen (2020) found a strong relationship exists between satisfaction, job recovery, 
and motivation. In a study to examine the relationship between work satisfaction and job 
characteristics among sales engineers from a U.S.‐based workplace (n = 111,421), Earl et al. 
(2019) found a moderate relationship exists between job satisfaction and job design. In a study to 
examine the role of job crafting, enrichment, engagement, and performance among working adults 
in the United States (n = 323), Bruning and Campion (2018) found a strong relationship exists 
between job design and job performance. In a study to examine the role of motivation on job 
satisfaction (n = 677), Breaugh et al. (2018) found a strong relationship exists between intrinsic 
and extrinsic motivation and job satisfaction. This research study follows the recommendations for 
future research proposed by Olafsen and Bentzen (2020) "as this is the first known study to 
examine the interplay between autonomous work motivation and psychological detachment, it is, 
of course, necessary for the study to be replicated with other samples" (p. 9). Similarly, this study 
follows the recommendations of Earl et al. (2019) that "leaves open avenues for future research to 
replicate the study with other jobs, industries, and cultures" (p. 43). Furthermore, this study 
incorporates Bruning and Campion (2018) recommendation that "future research should consider 
specific occupations to reduce the error associated with different work requirements and 



 
64 Business Management Research & Applications: A Cross-Disciplinary Journal 

conditions" (p. 519). These antecedent gaps in research led to the basis for the study. The problem 
under consideration is relevant because it will enhance human resource managers' understanding 
of the impact of employee motivation on job design, planning, training, and the development of 
programs poised to improve skills utilization, efficiency, and productivity. The problem under 
consideration is significant because the study of motivation plays a pivotal role in managing 
human capital and understanding organizational behavior in the workplace. No current research 
that has examined the impact of employee motivation on job reengineering and the perception of 
job satisfaction could be located, and it is not known if and to what extent employee motivation 
influences job reengineering and the perception of job satisfaction in the workplace. 

Purpose Statement 
The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between employee motivation, job 
reengineering, and the perception of job satisfaction among the civilian employees of the DOD 
located in Washington, D.C., United States. The research study focused on the use of quantitative, 
correlational research design to investigate employee motivation, job reengineering, and the 
perception of job satisfaction. This research study may provide senior executives, human resources 
professionals, and business managers with competitive advantage on understanding the framework 
surrounding motivation, and the factors influencing job redesign, and the perception of job 
satisfaction in the workplace. The findings may provide empirical support for understanding the 
significance of employee behavior and provide new insights into skills utilization, talent, and 
performance management. The study may provide a competitive advantage to senior executives, 
human resources professionals, and business managers on ways to further integrate the framework 
surrounding motivation, and assess the factors influencing job redesign, and the perception of job 
satisfaction in the workplace. Furthermore, the findings may offer empirical support for the 
understanding of employee behavior and provide new insights into the management of skills 
utilization, talent acquisition, and performance enhancement. 

Research Questions and Hypotheses 
The three research questions and hypotheses that guided the study were as follows: 

RQ1: What is the relationship between employee motivation and job reengineering among 
civilian employees of the DOD? 

H1o: There is no significant relationship between employee motivation and job 
reengineering among civilian employees of the DOD. 

H1a: There is a significant relationship between employee motivation and job 
reengineering among civilian employees of the DOD. 

RQ2: What is the relationship between employee motivation and the perception of job 
satisfaction among civilian employees of the DOD? 



 

 

65 January 2022 | Volume 1, Number 1 

H2o: There is no significant relationship between employee motivation and the perception 
of job satisfaction among civilian employees of the DOD. 

H2a: There is a significant relationship between employee motivation and the perception of 
job satisfaction among civilian employees of the DOD. 

RQ3: What is the relationship between job reengineering and the perception of job 
satisfaction among civilian employees of the DOD? 

H3o: There is no significant relationship between job reengineering and the perception of 
job satisfaction among civilian employees of the DOD. 

H3a: There is a significant relationship between job reengineering and the perception of 
job satisfaction among civilian employees of the DOD. 

Advancing Theoretical Knowledge 
This research study advances and contributes to the SDT of motivation. Deci and Ryan (1985) 
developed to provide a broad framework for understanding factors influencing intrinsic 
motivation, job satisfaction, psychological wellness, and all issues of direct relevance to individual 
growth. Prior studies that have used the SDT to examine the role of motivation, job satisfaction, 
job redesign, and job performance assessed that motivation plays a significant role in 
understanding organizational behavior, the utilization of employee skills, and the achievement of 
organizational goals (Abós et al., 2019; Alwerthan et al., 2018; Breaugh et al., 2018; Sheeran et 
al., 2020). This research study contributes to the current understanding of the role of motivation in 
the workplace and provides support for mitigating organizational challenges relating to job 
reengineering and the perception of employees' job satisfaction. The empirical study of Ryan and 
Deci (2020), which examined intrinsic and extrinsic motivation poised that the comparative study 
of motivation provides researchers the ability to identify the eudaimonia to motivation. This 
research study contributes to the use of the SDT and responds to the lack of research into the role 
of job reengineering and the perception of job satisfaction (Al-Musadieqet al., 2019). 

While existing researches have demonstrated that intrinsic motivation can increase task 
performance, Shin and Grant (2019) examined the role of intrinsic motivation on job redesign task. 
The study, which utilized the SDT, surmised that high intrinsic motivation in one task reduces 
performance on less intrinsically motivating tasks. This research study relates to the work of Shin 
and Grant (2019) and focuses on providing support for the use of skills utilization in job 
reengineering, assessing employee-job fit, and efficiency in the workplace. The meta-analysis of 
Steingut et al. (2017), which utilized the SDT to examine the effects of autonomous motivation 
and performance outcomes (perceived competence, satisfaction, and perceived relatedness) 
suggested that motivation affects the level of desired output in productivity, performance, and 
satisfaction level. This research relates to the work of Steingut et al. (2017) and may be used to 
explore areas of theoretical interest in the meta-analysis of intrinsic motivation. This research 
study may provide further empirical support relevant to the use of the SDT in investigating the 
influence of employee motivation on job reengineering and the perception of job satisfaction in the 
workplace. 



 
66 Business Management Research & Applications: A Cross-Disciplinary Journal 

Application to Business Administration 
Business managers, policy development officer, business strategists, and human resources 
managers may benefit from the investigation of the influence of employee motivation on job 
reengineering and the perception of job satisfaction in the workplace. Human resources and 
business strategists may be able to use the research findings as a pivotal point in developing 
organizational, and management strategies for talent acquisition, retention, training, turnover 
reduction, and productivity maximization. Business managers of corporations and government 
agencies may use the research findings in formulating strategies for improving policies for 
employee development and retention performance, workflow processes, and work design. 

Organizational leaders within government agencies, corporations, and small businesses may use 
the findings to formulate strategies to improve performance, job redesign processes, and 
efficiencies. The findings may be used as a focal point for establishing lean organizational 
efficiencies, understanding a person-job fit, and formulating strategies poised to enhance 
competitive advantage and dynamic workforce. 

Definition of Terms 
The following terms were used throughout the study: 

Cognitive Ability. The mental acuity involved in the acquisition and application of knowledge, 
including understanding, processing, and learning that represents an individual's ability to acquire 
and sort through various information from the environment (Alcover & Topa, 2018). 

Emotional Intelligence. The ability to perceive one's emotion, and that of others, and the ability to 
understand the meaning of these emotions, and regulate emotions (Kidwell et al., 2020; Neil, 
2019). 

Employee Motivation. The level of energy, commitment, persistence, and creativity employee 
demonstrate on the job (van Tuin et al., 2020). 

Extrinsic Motivation. Feeling of being controlled with a sense of pressure (Gagné & Deci, 2005). 

Intrinsic Motivation. Endorsing one's actions at the highest level of reflection, acting with a sense 
of volition, and having the experience of choice (Lynch et al., 2020). 

Job Design. Actions employees take to change the task, relation, or cognitive boundaries of a job 
(Wang et al., 2020). 

Job Reengineering or Job Redesign. An organizational or individual initiative that is poised to 
modify the level of available demands and resources to improve a person-job fit (Berdicchia et al., 
2016). 



 

 

67 January 2022 | Volume 1, Number 1 

Job Satisfaction. The pleasurable or positive attitude resulting from the overall positive evaluation 
of one's job or work experiences (Tziner et al., 2012). 

Perception. The process by which things, events, and relationships become phenomenally present 
and real (Hochberg, 1956; Koen et al., 2020; Zhang, et al., 2020). 

Perception of Job Satisfaction. The degree to which an employee believes in a positive feeling 
about his or her job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics(Cullen et al., 2014). 

Physical Abilities. The degree to which an individual performs a physical act involving the use of 
the body and includes the use of strength, stamina, flexibility, coordination, and psychomotor 
abilities such as control precision, and finger dexterity (Dodig et al., 2020; Georgiev, 2019). 

Self-determination Theory. A theoretical framework that offers the assumption that human beings 
are active social agents that take in life experiences in social contexts and integrate these with their 
sense of self, thus making meaning and developing a more unified sense of self-identity (Deci and 
Ryan, 1985, 2000; Ryan & Deci, 2017, 2020). 

Literature Review 
The study of motivation has been significant in understanding the dimensions of workflow 
processes, the tone at the top, team dynamics, decision-making, performance measurement, and in 
advancing organizational goals (Berdicchia et al., 2016; Hassoo & Akbay, 2020). The 
investigation of the correlation between employee motivation and job reengineering may provide 
private and public organizations with the opportunity to increase competitive advantage and 
maximize efficiencies. 

Theoretical Foundations 
The theoretical foundation for this study is rooted in the self-determination theory (SDT) of Deci 
and Ryan (1985). The SDT presents a broad framework for understanding factors influencing 
intrinsic motivation, job satisfaction, psychological wellness, and all issues of direct relevance to 
individual growth. The SDT, developed as a traditional empirical approach to understanding 
motivation and personality, employs an organismic meta-theory that highlights the role of intrinsic 
motivation in personality development and behavioral self-regulation (Deci & Ryan, 1985). Since 
conception, however, the SDT has been re-evaluated, modified, and enhanced to incorporate 
extrinsic motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2017, 2020). 

The Self-determination Theory of Motivation 

The SDT conceptualizes that motivation is based on the pursuit and satisfaction of psychological 
needs, autonomy, competence, relatedness (Deci & Ryan, 1985). The initial application of the 
SDT suggested that working toward maximal self-determination should be a central organizing 
principle for members of the workforce, and the results of the initial application indicated that self-



 
68 Business Management Research & Applications: A Cross-Disciplinary Journal 

determination constructs, autonomy, competencies, and relatedness enhance organizational 
effectiveness and employee growth (Deci & Ryan, 1985). 

The SDT purports that three physiological attributes, (a) autonomy, (b) competences, and (c) 
relatedness are distinct human needs influencing human and organizational behavior, employee 
well-being, growth, productivity, and development in the workplace (Alwerthan et al., 2018; Deci 
& Ryan 2000; Ryan & Deci, 2017, 2020). Therefore, intrinsic motivation within the context of the 
SDT can be achieved through the satisfaction of three basic psychological needs (Deci & Ryan, 
2000). This study focuses on utilizing the physiological constructs of the SDT to investigate the 
correlation between employee motivation (intrinsic), job reengineering, and the perception of job 
satisfaction among the civilian employees of the DOD. The study of employee motivation 
(intrinsic) may contribute to how the constructs of the SDT applies to metacognitive abilities, and 
job redesign characteristics. 

This study assessed that the desire for autonomy, which provides employees with the flexibility of 
addressing specific aspects of job-related objectives relates to performance or expected outcomes 
(the nature of job design or job reengineering). Competency provides employees with the ability to 
project an outcome leading to scalable job satisfaction level (perceived job satisfaction and 
metacognitive abilities). Relatedness, which pertains to the ability of an employee to integrate 
within the workforce and build sustainable relationships, leads to a higher satisfaction level 
(motivation). The SDT applies to the study under consideration, aligns with the research question 
and hypotheses, and provides a theoretical construct for investigating the research problem. 

Review of the Literature 
The researcher examined the contributions of current empirical research to employee motivation 
(intrinsic motivation), and extrinsic motivation, job reengineering (job redesign), and the 
perception of job satisfaction in the workplace. The researcher extended the focus of recent 
empirical research to include sub-themes, such as the characteristics of job reengineering (job 
rotation, job enrichment, and job enlargement), metacognitive aspects of job reengineering 
(cognitive abilities, emotional intelligence, physical abilities, and psychomotor abilities), job 
design, and the perception of job satisfaction. Additionally, the review of literature includes the 
research methodology, design, and instrumentation. 

Employee Motivation 
Employee motivation is the level of energy, commitment, persistence, and creativity demonstrated 
on the job by an employee (van Tuin et al., 2020). Chen et al. (2020) expanded on the definition of 
employee motivation and defined it as undertaking an activity due to its alignment with one's 
values, goals, or identities. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations are pivotal central milestones to the 
SDT (Gagne & Deci, 2005). The SDT introduces a continuum of motivational orientations and 
incorporates intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (Gagne & Deci, 2005; Ryan & Deci, 2017; 2020). 



 

 

69 January 2022 | Volume 1, Number 1 

Intrinsic Motivation  

Intrinsic employee motivation is promising in the workplace as it is relatively consistent with an 
individual's psychological need for autonomy (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Intrinsic motivation serves as 
a function of an individual's value and goal influenced by an organization's objectives. Intrinsic 
motivation involves endorsing one's actions at the highest level of reflection, acting with a sense of 
volition, and having the experience of choice or the perception of satisfaction (Chen, et al., 2020). 
The identification of intrinsic motivation can provide firms with the ability to mitigate agency 
problems, reducing the need for monitoring while yielding higher satisfaction and productivity 
(Daud, 2020; Shakil, 2020). 

Grounded in the SDT, Lynch et al. (2020) investigated the factors influencing motivation and 
psychological needs (n = 115) and found that intrinsic motivation is influenced by need 
satisfaction when needs are fulfilled in a particular context. Grounded in the SDT, the empirical 
research of Chen et al. (2020) investigated the role of employee intrinsic motivation on 
management control system design (n = 468). The results of the analysis of variance r² = .25, p < 
.001, Cronbach α = .91 were statistically significant and showed employee motivation is positively 
associated with effort, individual performance, and creativity and negatively associated with 
turnover intentions. Çirak and Erol (2020) investigated the factors influencing motivation (n = 
336) and found that intrinsic motivation is affected by need satisfaction when needs are fulfilled in 
a particular context. The results of the multivariate analysis of variance were statistically 
significant, F(6.323) = 4.882, r² =.083, p < .05. 

Extrinsic Motivation 

Contrast to intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation involves a feeling of being controlled with a 
sense of pressure (Gagné & Deci, 2005). Extrinsic rewards refer to financial and non-financial 
rewards offered by organizations to their employees to promote a specific behavior (Malik et al., 
2019). The antecedent studies of extrinsic rewards induce extrinsic motivation (Deci & Ryan 
2000; Ryan & Deci, 2017, 2020). Following its conception, the intrinsic construct of the SDT has 
been modified to incorporate extrinsic motivation across multiple domains (Çirak & Erol, 2020; 
Gagné & Deci, 2005, Ryan & Deci, 2020). 

Job Reengineering or Job Redesign 

Reengineering is a fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes, leading to a 
dramatic improvement according to the critical contemporary measures of achieving results (Rab 
& Rab, 2016). Reengineering as an essential aspect of business architecture and the business 
modeling process aims to improve the performance of an organization by introducing technical 
reorganization of job and task function (Hackman & Oldman, 1975). 

Reengineering is realized primarily by integrating new information technologies that conceptualize 
the orgasmic construct of the job characteristics model, while replacing the traditional forms of 
workplace processes within the organization (Okolo et al., 2018). Additionally, reengineering 
serves as a way of economizing the productivity and efficiency, which may result in a high level of 



 
70 Business Management Research & Applications: A Cross-Disciplinary Journal 

job satisfaction, autonomy, and employee engagement, or if not carefully restructured, may result 
in unemployment (Kalinina et al., 2020). 

Job reengineering is an organizational or individual initiative poised to modify the level of 
available demands and resources to improve an employee-job fit (Berdicchia et al., 2016). Tims 
and Bakker (2010) extended the definition to include an organizational or employee-driven 
process through which job functions or job characteristics are changed to enhance individual 
needs, workflow processes, productivity, and efficiency. Job reengineering is designed to fit, size, 
or resize employees by increasing task diversity and job responsibility to motivate employees, 
increase job satisfaction, and productivity, organizational citizenship, and efficiency (Cote, 2019). 

Job reengineering is linked to the self-determination theory based on the increase in the intrinsic 
factors such as increased job responsibility (autonomy), a feeling of accomplishment or 
achievement (relatedness), and ability to grow with the job tasks related to jobs (competence). 
These factors help increase motivation, the perception of job satisfaction, improved work 
performance, and reduced attrition. Job reengineering based on the JCM (Hackman & Oldham, 
1975) is intrinsically related to the need for autonomy construct in the SDT (Ryan & Deci, 2017). 
The implementation of the five essential job characteristics constructs in the job reengineering 
process, job rotation, job enlargement, and job enrichment (Cote, 2019) provide an opportunity to 
motivate employees. 

Pila-Ngarm and Siengthai (2016) assert that job reengineering, motivation, and teamwork are 
positively related to productivity. The findings of Guo et al. (2014) showed that a strong 
relationship exists between job satisfaction and high-involvement work practices, and employee 
satisfaction can increase participation in high-involvement practices. Additionally, the study 
indicated that job satisfaction was positively associated with work design involvement, which 
required high problem-solving skill levels for job rotation plans. 

Job reengineering provides an avenue to innovation and it creates a different job within the context 
of defined jobs, redefines job duties through tasks, and presents relational boundaries of the job, 
job identities, and the meaning of the work (Okolo et al., 2018; Rab & Rab, 2016; Tullar, 1998). 
Job reengineering alters physical task boundaries by changing the form, scope, or quantity of 
tasks, modifies cognitive task boundaries, and adjusts relational boundaries to change the quality 
and/or the frequency of interactions with persons at the job. This research study assesses that job 
reengineering conceptualizes the job design model (Hackman & Oldham, 1975) and the SDT, 
meta-cognitive demand, competence, skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and 
feedback. 

Metacognitive Aspects to Job Reengineering 
Cognitive, emotional, and physical abilities influence the manner of redesigning jobs to fit and 
accommodate employees without relevant skill sets to perform job functions as assigned. 
Cognitive, emotional, and physical abilities play a significant role in ensuring that a person-job fit 
improves workplace productivity, and organizational effectiveness (Hernaus et al., 2019). These 
abilities allow the job redesign process to reduce job complexities, increase employees' autonomy, 
job perception, job knowledge, and job skills (Fisher et al., 2014). 



 

 

71 January 2022 | Volume 1, Number 1 

Emotions are important in understanding the behavior, attitudes, and actions in organizations. The 
display of motions can result in physiological and behavioral impacts in the workplace (Chen et 
al., 2020), and can take the form of positive or negative emotions. Positive and negative aspects of 
emotions have the propensity to influence organizational behavior, culture, and dimensions such as 
employees, workflow processes, the tone at the top, teamwork, collaboration, decision-making, 
and performance. Overall, this subsection supports the discussion that cognitive, emotional, and 
physical abilities relating to accommodating employees without relevant abilities to improve a 
person-job fit, enhance workplace productivity, effectiveness, skill-building, performance, job 
redesign, and job satisfaction. 

Cognitive Abilities or Emotional Intelligence 

Emotional ability or emotional intelligence refers to the human ability that affects the perception, 
interpretation, and understanding of social functioning, and the skills for processing emotion-laden 
information (Kidwell et al., 2020). Neil (2019) extended the definition and described emotional 
ability as a mental ability relating to an individual's emotional experience. The emotional ability or 
intelligence represents an individual's ability to recognize behaviors, impulses, reactions, and 
moods in a situation. 

Emotional ability creates a state of readiness for action by prompting distinct behavioral responses 
within the individual's environment. Within the workplace, employees with high emotional 
abilities utilize norms with more developed feelings in communication, while employees with 
lower emotional abilities utilize norms with less expressive feelings to communicate. Beyond 
individual choices, emotional ability plays a significant role in relational interaction within the 
workplace and promotes success in job redesign. Lopes (2016) noted that emotional ability or 
intelligence enables an organization to reduce the negative effects such as anxiety, depression, 
stress, and mood swing associated with job redesign to improve job performance and productivity. 

Within the job redesign process, the components of emotional ability; emotional perception, 
emotional understanding, emotional facilitation, and emotion management (Neil, 2019), provide 
the ability to accommodate employees without relevant abilities. In redesigning jobs, these four 
areas of emotional ability within employees are assessed to match job rotation, job enrichment, 
and job enlargement process, and facilitate a person-job fit. 

Physical Abilities 

Physical ability describes the degree to which an individual performs a physical act involving the 
use of the body and includes the use of strength, stamina, flexibility, coordination (Georgiev, 
2019), and psychomotor abilities such as control precision, and finger dexterity (Dodig et al., 
2020). Physical abilities play a significant role in redesigning jobs to fit employees with specific 
disabilities, mobility or health issues, physical impairments, older population, and employees with 
a higher rate of cognitive decline within the workforce (Fisher et al., 2014). Job redesign processes 
may incorporate the dimension of physical abilities by designing activity-based workspaces and 
remote work (Candido et al., 2019), reengineering jobs to eliminate certain physical requirements 
such as weight restriction, providing reasonable accommodation for the use of electric scooters for 
employees with mobility or physical challenges. 



 
72 Business Management Research & Applications: A Cross-Disciplinary Journal 

Emotions 

Emotion refers to the overt reactions of the state of mind that express feelings about events or 
situations, or a physiological and cognitive state that results from stimulation (Ihtiyaroglu, 2019; 
Şchiopu, 2015). Eketu and Ayondu (2017) describe the emotion as a strong feeling of distinctive 
thoughts, psychological and biological states, with a range of propensity to act. Emotion is a state 
of mind that allows an individual to react positively or negatively to situations, events, or in a 
decision-making process. Positive emotions stem from a range of workplace fulfillment such as 
job security, promotion, high level of performance, and achievement (Demirbag et al., 2016; 
Ihtiyaroglu, 2019). However, negative emotions stem from a range of workplace issues such as 
interpersonal conflict, work overload, burnout, and emotional exhaustion (Jaramillo et al., 2011). 

The display of motions relates to the relatedness construct of the SDT (Ryan & Deci, 2020), which 
may result in physiological and behavioral impacts in the workplace (Chen et al., 2020), and can 
take the form of positive or negative emotions. Positive emotions serve as a strategic tool for 
improving goal attainment in social interaction, (Wong et al., 2013), lowering attrition, 
encouraging employee's intent to continue working (Şchiopu, 2015), and fostering a great working 
environment. 

Perception of Job Satisfaction 
Employee satisfaction is highly influenced by the individual's beliefs, attitude, and perception of 
the job (Kumedzro, 2018). Perception is the process by which things, events, and relationships 
become phenomenally present and real (Hochberg, 1956; Koen et al., 2020; Zhang, et al., 2020), 
and the perception of job satisfaction refers to the degree to which an employee believes in a 
positive feeling about his or her job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics (Cullen et 
al., 2014). Tziner et al. (2019) argued that the perception of job satisfaction culminates from an 
employee's positive or negative feeling because of the overall positive evaluation of job role, job 
duties, work experiences, and work environment. Ryan and Deci (2017, 2020) poised that job 
satisfaction can be linked to intrinsic factors of motivation deriving from internally mediated 
rewards related to the essence of the job. 

Similarly, this research study assessed that the perception of job satisfaction arising from intrinsic 
motivational qualities such as seriousness in work, rate of interest to the job, job importance, 
responsibility, self-esteem, and self-control may be linked to how jobs are redesigned in the 
workplace. Tziner et al. (2019) investigated the factors influencing emotional intelligence, work 
motivation, and job satisfaction in the workplace motivation and found that a strong relationship 
exists between job satisfaction and motivation to work. The results of the study were statistically 
significant n = 3,293, α = 0.96, p < 0.05. Kumedzro (2018) investigated the perception of job 
satisfaction and retention among employees in the workplace and found that a strong relationship 
exists between the perception of job satisfaction and employee retention. The results of the study, 
which utilized the one-way analysis of variance to compare the perceptions of the three different 
groups were statistically significant n = 140, F(2, 137) = 0.353, p > 0.05. 

The SDT asserts that employee satisfaction is an important source of employee motivation, and the 
motivational factors constructs such as autonomy, competence, and relatedness are related to the 



 

 

73 January 2022 | Volume 1, Number 1 

perception of job satisfaction (Deci & Ryan 1985, 2000). Kumedzro (2018) argued that the 
perception of job satisfaction reflects how content an employee feels in his or her job role, which 
is an indicator of work-related well-being. Furthermore, the perception of job satisfaction plays a 
critical role in employee retention and maintaining a sustainable level of attrition in the workplace. 
Chi-Sum Wong et al. (1998) opined that the evaluation of perceived job satisfaction from the 
employee's perspective fosters positive behavioral and attitudinal outcomes that promote 
professional commitment, organizational citizenship, and job involvement. 

Oldman and Hackman (2010) argued that overall job attitudes, of which job satisfaction is one, 
will initiate a rationalizing process through which employees understand their roles by cognitively 
constructing characteristics of their job that are consistent with the workplace objectives. Job 
perception is the effect of job satisfaction rather than the cause. According to James et al. (1978), 
James and Jones (1980), and James and Tetrick (1986), employees form job perception by 
assigning unique meanings to work situations based on their jobs and other relevant situational 
attributes. Attitudes are formulated based on these perceptions and employees adjust the 
assignment of meanings if inconsistencies exist between their perception of the job and attitudes. 
This process is an interactive social learning adjustment process poised to maintain consistencies 
between perception and attitudes (James & Tetrick 1986). Based on this analogy, this research 
argues that job perception and job satisfaction may be reciprocally related. 

Methodology 
This research study focused on the use of a quantitative research method to investigate the 
correlation between motivation (dependent variable), job reengineering, and the perception of job 
satisfaction (independent variables) among civilian employees of the DOD. The quantitative 
research method refers to a scientific approach, emphasizes, and focuses on quantification, 
collection, and analysis of data by testing theories, hypotheses, and making accurate inferences 
and generalizability of the study under investigation (Yue & Xu, 2019). The quantitative research 
method uses a deductive approach that relies on statistical techniques and systematic 
measurements to test hypotheses, determine the correlation between variables, draw scientific 
conclusions, and generalize findings to a larger population (Yue & Xu, 2019). 

In contrast, the qualitative research method is an inductive approach that focuses on phenomena 
and utilizes unstructured or semi-structured techniques, such as observation, notetaking, document 
review, audio, and visual materials, and interviews to interact with participants, explore human 
behavior and understand social phenomena in a naturally occurring environment (Creswell & 
Creswell, 2018; Koutiva et al., 2017). Lenger (2019) explained the qualitative research method as 
a phenomenological approach that observes patterns and participants, studies human and social 
behavior, collects and documents evidence, and examines the social phenomenon in a naturally 
occurring setting. The qualitative research method serves as a phenomenological approach that 
observes patterns, documents evidence, and examines the social phenomenon in a naturally 
occurring setting. As such, the use of the qualitative method is outside the scope of this study and 
was not an appropriate research method for consideration for the study. 

The quantitative method aligns with the study's research purpose, research questions, hypotheses, 
and variables, and it is a proper research method for investigating the relationship between the 



 
74 Business Management Research & Applications: A Cross-Disciplinary Journal 

dependent and independent variables (Zhang et al., 2019). The quantitative method examines the 
narrowly defined research questions by utilizing a scientific method to select samples and collect 
data from a population, and a statistical method to analyze data, and generalize findings to a larger 
population (Borrego et al., 2009). Additionally, previous researchers have demonstrated that a 
quantitative method is appropriate in investigating the relationship between motivation, job 
satisfaction, and job design (Al-Musadieq et al., 2019; Edinger & Edinger, 2018; Nowlin et al., 
2018; Tao & Campbell, 2020; Westover et al., 2020). As such, a quantitative method was an 
appropriate method for the study. 

Research Design 
This quantitative research study focused on the use of non-experimental correlational research 
design to investigate the dependent (employee motivation) and independent variables (job 
reengineering and perceived job satisfaction). The correlational design employed the use of a 15-
item questionnaire measured on a 6-point Likert scale to collect data from participants 
(Balasubramanian, 2012; Zaman et al., 2020). According to Kamarposhti and Bagheri (2015), a 
questionnaire is a standard method to collect field data and test hypotheses in quantitative 
research. A questionnaire is a common data collection method used in examining motivation, job 
design, and job satisfaction (Bruning & Campion, 2018; Olafsen & Bentzen, 2020; Pila-Ngarm & 
Siengthai, 2017). 

The 6-point Likert scale, which ranged from disagree very much, disagree moderately, disagree 
slightly, to agree slightly, agree moderately, and agree very much, were assessed on a Cronbach's 
α scale to ensure consistency with an acceptable Cronbach's α value (Alwerthan et al., 2018; 
Breaugh et al., 2018; Chen et al., 2020; Cronbach, 1951). The effect size of the correlation 
statistic, which represents the strength of the relationship between two variables was measured 
using the G*Power. Effect sizes of .10, .30, and .50 indicate a weak, moderate, or strong 
relationship respectively (Cohen, 1988, 1992). 

Population and Sample Selection 
In this quantitative, correlational study, the population consisted of civilian employees of the DOD 
located in Washington D.C., United States, and the sample, a sub-set and representative of the total 
population required a sample size between forty-two and forty-eight (42 > n ≤ 48) based on effect 
size p and Fisher's effect size 𝑓𝑓² in G*Power (Figures 1 and 2). The DOD is a leading employer of 
civilians in the United States. Conducting a study within the organization would provide the 
opportunity to provide a greater understanding of the impact of intrinsic motivation on 
productivity and effectiveness. 

The researcher obtained approval from Columbia Southern University institutional review board 
(IRB) before data collection occurs and disseminated the questionnaire to participants through 
electronic means while adhering to the social behavior research standards identified by the 
Belmont Report of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2018). The Belmont 
Report delineates ethical principles and guidelines for the protection of human subjects of 
research. The researcher ensured there are no harm or health risks to participants, and all ethical 



 

 

75 January 2022 | Volume 1, Number 1 

standards addressing informed consent, transparency, harm to participants, and confidentiality 
were observed and followed. Additionally, the participants were required to read, acknowledge, 
and sign the informed consent form electronically before taking the survey. 

Sampling Method and Sample Size 
Determination 
Sampling Method 
The two types of sampling methods for selecting participants in a scientific inquiry are probability 
and non-probability sampling methods (Setia, 2016).Probability sampling is based on chance, 
while non-probability sampling is based on the researcher's choice, accessibility, and availability 
of the population. In scientific inquiries, probability and non-probability sampling methods have 
been used to select participants from the total population (Setia, 2016). Probability sampling 
methods include random, systematic, cluster, and stratified sampling methods, while non-
probability sampling methods include purposive sampling, convenience sampling, or quota 
sampling (Valerio et al., 2016). This research study adopts the use of non-probability convenience 
sampling. 

This study adopted the use of non-probability convenience sampling method, and the participants 
selected will be representative of the entire population. The non-probability convenience sampling 
is the easiest method of sampling because participants will be selected based on availability and 
willingness to take part in the survey (Daneshjoovash & Hosseini, 2019; Gerlich et al., 2018; 
Valerio et al., 2016). Furthermore, the results of non-probability convenience sampling may be 
prone to bias because the number of voluntary participants and sample size may be different from 
non-participants. This can lead to volunteer bias and the sample may be viewed as non-
representative of population characteristics, such as age, marital status, income, or gender 
(Daneshjoovash & Hosseini, 2019). 

The researcher acknowledged volunteer bias based on the number of participants and the unknown 
number non-participants within the same population. Volunteer bias occurs when the population 
characteristics of non-participants such as age, race, marital status, gender, or income, which may 
adversely influence the outcome of a study are not included in a survey (Daneshjoovash & 
Hosseini, 2019). However, this study did not consider the use of moderating variables or 
population characteristics, such as age, race, marital status, income, or gender, and as such, the 
researcher purported that volunteer-bias did not influence the study. 

Sample Size Determination 
Sample sizes ranging between forty-two and forty-eight (Figures 1 and 2) were determined 
through the use of two distinct determinants in G*Power; the correlation point biserial model to 
determine the Cohen's effect size and the fixed model R² to determine the Fisher's effect size (𝑓𝑓²). 
The researcher estimated a priori decision effect size (p), Fisher's effect size (𝑓𝑓²), and established 



 
76 Business Management Research & Applications: A Cross-Disciplinary Journal 

the appropriate Type I and Type II errors with a given α, and Power (1-β err prob) for a two-tailed 
test (Faul et al., 2009). 

According to Lieberman and Cunningham (2009), a Type I error occurs in statistical analysis 
when the alternative hypothesis (false positive) is accepted with no true effect, while a Type II 
error relates to rejecting the null hypothesis when a true effect occurs. To limit Type I error, a 
standard inferential testing α of .05 is established (Lieberman & Cunningham, 2009), while a 
Power level of .95 was established to avoid a Type II error (Cohen, 1992). 

Large Effect Size 
Using a large priori decision effect size 𝑓𝑓² = .5, α = .05, a Power (1-β err prob) = .95, and a large 
Fisher's priori effect size 𝑓𝑓² = .35, α = .05, a Power (1-β err prob) = .95 with two predictors, 
sample sizes ranging from forty-two and forty-eight were determined (Figures 1 and 2).  

Figure 1 

A two-tailed priori sample size calculation, correlation point biserial model using G*Power (Large 
effect size p = .5) 

 

  



 

 

77 January 2022 | Volume 1, Number 1 

Figure 2 

A two-tailed priori sample size calculation, fixed model R2 using G*Power (Large effect size f2 = 
0.35) 

 

Data Analysis and Results 
This quantitative, correlational research study focused on investigating the correlation between 
employee motivation, job reengineering, and the perception of job satisfaction among civilian 
employees of the DOD located in Washington D.C., United States. The researcher used a non-
experimental correlational design to develop a 15-item questionnaire for data collection. A total of 
sixty-three (63) participants completed the survey; however, eight (8) surveys were found to be 
incomplete and not analyzed. A total of fifty-five (55) completed surveys were analyzed for the 
study. Additionally, the survey did not consider the impact of moderating variables such as age, 
marital status, income, or race but highlights gender proportion during survey completion. 

The three research questions and hypotheses that guided this study were as follows: 



 
78 Business Management Research & Applications: A Cross-Disciplinary Journal 

RQ1: What is the relationship between employee motivation and job 
reengineering among civilian employees of the DOD? 

H1o: There is no significant relationship between employee motivation and job 
reengineering among civilian employees of the DOD. 

H1a: There is a significant relationship between employee motivation and job 
reengineering among civilian employees of the DOD. 

RQ2: What is the relationship between employee motivation and the perception 
of job satisfaction among civilian employees of the DOD? 

H2o: There is no significant relationship between employee motivation and the 
perception of job satisfaction among civilian employees of the DOD. 

H2a: There is a significant relationship between employee motivation and the 
perception of job satisfaction among civilian employees of the DOD. 

RQ3: What is the relationship between job reengineering and the perception of 
job satisfaction among civilian employees of the DOD? 

H3o: There is no significant relationship between job reengineering and the 
perception of job satisfaction among civilian employees of the DOD. 

H3a: There is a significant relationship between job reengineering and the 
perception of job satisfaction among civilian employees of the DOD. 

Furthermore, this section outlines the data analysis procedures and presents statistical results in 
written, tabulated, and graphic formats. The data analysis procedure consisted of four steps namely 
(a) descriptive analysis (mean and standard deviation), (b) reliability analysis (Cronbach's α 
assessment), (c) exploratory data analysis (outlier detection and normality tests), and (d) 
hypotheses testing for RQ1, RQ2, and RQ3. 

Data Analysis Procedures 
The data analysis procedures included four essential steps, (a) descriptive analysis, (b) reliability 
analysis, (c) exploratory data analysis, and (d) hypotheses testing for RQ1, RQ2, and RQ3. The 
sample size was determined through the use of two distinct determinants in G*Power; the 
correlation point biserial model for the Cohen's effect size and the fixed model R2 for the Fisher's 
effect size (𝑓𝑓²) for a two-tailed test. 

The researcher estimated a priori decision effect size (p), Fisher's effect size (𝑓𝑓²), established a 
standard inferential testing α = .05 to limit Type I error (Lieberman & Cunningham, 2009) and 
Power (1-β err prob) = .95 to avoid a Type II error for a two-tailed test (Faul et al., 2009). Using a 
large priori decision effect size 𝑓𝑓² = .5, α = .05, a Power (1-β err prob) = .95, and a large Fisher's 



 

 

79 January 2022 | Volume 1, Number 1 

priori effect size 𝑓𝑓² = .35, α = .05, a Power (1-β err prob) = .95 with two predictors, sample sizes 
ranging from forty-two (42) to forty-eight (48) were determined (figures 1 and 2). 

Descriptive Analysis 
A total of sixty-three (63) participants completed the survey between March 2021; however, eight 
(8) surveys were found to be incomplete. A total of fifty-five (55) completed surveys were 
analyzed for the study. The researcher did not consider the impact of moderating variables such as 
age, marital status, race, or income. The use of descriptive analysis tables and figures allow the 
researcher to present relevant information such as mean, median, mode, standard deviation, 
skewness, and kurtosis of the distribution, and the total number of participants. Descriptive 
analysis for participants and scales are shown in tables 1 and 2, and figures 3 through 5. 

Table 1 

Descriptive statistics for participants 

Scale 

 

N 

 

% 

 

Mean 

 

Median 

 

Mode 

  

Std Dev 

 

Skewness/Kurtosis 

 Male 20 36 1.64  2.00 2 .485 (.583) / (1.724) 
Female 35 64 1.87 2.00 2 .496 (.571) / (1.624) 

n = 55 

 

Table 2 

Descriptive statistics for scales 

Scale 

 

Mean 

 

Std Dev 

 

Skewness 

 

Skewness Std 
Error 

Kurtosis 

 

Kurtosis Std 
Error 

Emp Motiv 5.346 .329  -.007 .322 -.391  .634 
Job Rengin 4.796 .424 .677 .322 .852 .634 
Per Job Sat 5.087 .409 -1.35  .322 .054 .634  

n = 55 

Exploratory Data Analysis 
Exploratory data analysis (EDA) provides a variety of visual and numerical summaries of the data 
for the dependent and independent variables as a group or individually. The data from the EDA 
identifies outlier, checks assumptions, and characterizes differences between variables. Following 
reliability analysis assessment, the scales for the variables were formed by collapsing items 
following a priori dimension (Buys et al., 2007; Guay et al., 2000; Hmieleski & Corbett, 2008; 



 
80 Business Management Research & Applications: A Cross-Disciplinary Journal 

Hackman & Oldman, 1975; Spector, 1985, 1997; Tremblay et al., 2009), outliers were assessed, 
and the test of normality was performed. 

Outlier Detection and Analysis  

Outliers are single data points within the data that fail to follow a usual pattern. Univariateor 
multivariate outliers influence the placement of the mean and the distribution of the variables and 
the use of a statistical tool such as scatterplots provide the ability to assess outliers in a data set 
(Osborne & Waters, 2002). Additionally, no outlier ware found in the data set following the test 
for outlier (Figures 3-5), which further showed that monotonic relationships exist between the 
variables indicating that as one variable increased or decreased, the other increased or decreased. 
Furthermore, this showed conclusive evidence that the data set was non-linear and met the 
monotonicity assumption of non-parametric correlation. 

Figure 3 

Scatterplot of employee motivation 

 

 

  



 

 

81 January 2022 | Volume 1, Number 1 

Figure 4 

Scatterplot of job reengineering 

 

 

Figure 5 

Scatterplot of perception of job satisfaction 

 

 

  



 
82 Business Management Research & Applications: A Cross-Disciplinary Journal 

Figure 6 

Boxplot of all scales 

  

Tests of Normality 

The test of normality for the data set was conducted using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (Lilliefors, 
1967; Steinskog et al., 2007) and the Shapiro-Wilk (Aldor-Noiman, 2013) tests. According to 
Hanusz and Tarasińska (2015), the Kolmogorov–Smirnov statistic for test of normality belongs to 
the subclass of goodness-of-fit statistics or the empirical distribution function statistics, which are 
based on comparison of the population cumulative distribution function Fₙ(x) with the empirical 
cumulative distribution function Fₙ(x). 

Since the p-values from Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk tests were less than .05, the 
scales did not show a pattern of normal distribution (Tables 15). Logarithmic and exponential 
transformations were performed to transform each variable; however, the variables could be 
statistically transformed to follow a normal distribution. As such, the original data was used for 
hypotheses testing. 

  



 

 

83 January 2022 | Volume 1, Number 1 

Table 3 

Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk tests of normality  

Scale df K-S Sig Shapiro-Wilk p-value 
Employee Motivation 55 <.001 .001 .042 

Job Reengineering 55 <.001 .001 .005 
Perception Job Satisfaction 55 .021 .001 .024 

n = 55 

Hypotheses Testing 

Following the non-linearity of the data set, the researcher considered the use of non-parametric 
tests for hypotheses testing. As previously discussed, parametric or nonparametric tests may be 
used for hypotheses testing based on the results of the tests of normality and data transformation. 
The Pearson correlation may be used to predict the correlation between the dependent and 
independent variables if the data set for H1, H2, and H3 are normally distributed. However, if one 
of the data sets was non-linear, the researcher may use non-parametric Spearman correlation 
coefficient (rₛ), Kendall's Tau correlation (τb), Somers' delta (d), or the Goodman and Kruskal's 
gamma (G) to measure the correlation between the variables. 

Based on the tests of normality, the data set showed the variables for H1, H2, and H3 were non-
linear and met the assumptions of non-parametric tests. As such, the use of non-parametric tests, 
such as the Spearman correlation (Astivia & Zumbo, 2017), Kendall's Tau correlation (Blest, 
1999), Somers' delta (Nelson, 1984; Newson, 2002), and the Goodman and Kruskal's gamma 
(Gans & Robertson, 1981; Kvålseth, 2018) were appropriate for the study. Table 4 shows the p-
values and non-parametric test results (rₛ, τb, d, and G) for the variables. 

  



 
84 Business Management Research & Applications: A Cross-Disciplinary Journal 

Table 4 

Non-parametric test results for all variables 

       Scale 

 

 

Spearman 

 

 

Kendall 

 

 

Somers   

 

 

 

Goodman Kruskal 

 

 
 rs p- value 

 

 

τb p-value d p-value G p-value 

Employee Motivation &  

Job Reengineering 

 

 

 

 

.644** .003 .609 .002 .738 <.001 .513 <.001 

Employee Motivation & Per-
ceived Job Satisfaction 

.523 .001 .541 .001 .547 <.001 .597 <.001 

Job Reengineering & Perceived 
Job Satisfaction  

.599** .003 .519** .002 .757 <.001 .692 <.001 

n = 55 

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). 

Results 

RQ1: Employee motivation and job reengineering 

Spearman correlation was used to determine the correlation between employee motivation and job 
reengineering among the civilian employees of the DOD. The results showed a strong and positive 
correlation exists between employee motivation and job reengineering, which is statistically 
significant rₛ (53) = .644, p = .003, 95% CI [5.256, 5.435], (Table 4). 

Overall, there is a strong and positive correlation between employee motivation and job 
reengineering, and since the data set shows no missing values or presence of outliers, it is inferred 
that increases in employee motivation are correlated with job reengineering. Therefore, the null 
hypothesis is rejected in favor of the alternative hypothesis. 

Kendall's correlation was used to determine the correlation between employee motivation and job 
reengineering among the civilian employees of the DOD. The results showed a strong and positive 
correlation exists between employee motivation and job reengineering, which is statistically 
significant τb = .609, p = .002, 95% CI [5.256, 5.435], (Table 4). Overall, there is a strong and 
positive correlation between employee motivation and job reengineering, and since the data set 



 

 

85 January 2022 | Volume 1, Number 1 

shows no missing values or presence of outliers, it is inferred that increases in employee 
motivation are correlated with job reengineering. Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected in favor 
of the alternative hypothesis. 

Somers' d test was used to determine the correlation between employee motivation and job 
reengineering among the civilian employees of the DOD. The results showed a strong and positive 
correlation exists between employee motivation and job reengineering, which is statistically 
significant d = .738, p < .001, 95% CI [5.256, 5.435], (Table 4). Overall, there is a strong and 
positive correlation between employee motivation and job reengineering, and since the data set 
shows no missing values or presence of outliers, it is inferred that increases in employee 
motivation are correlated with job reengineering. Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected in favor 
of the alternative hypothesis. 

Goodman Kruskal's gamma test was used to determine the correlation between employee 
motivation and job reengineering among the civilian employees of the DOD. The results showed a 
strong and positive correlation exists between employee motivation and job reengineering, which 
is statistically significant G = .513, p < .001, 95% CI [5.256, 5.435], (Table 4). Therefore, the 
correlation between employee motivation and job reengineering is statistically significant. Overall, 
a strong and positive correlation exists between employee motivation, job reengineering, and since 
the data set shows no missing values or presence of outliers, it is inferred that increases in 
employee motivation are correlated with job reengineering. Therefore, the null hypothesis is 
rejected in favor of the alternative hypothesis. 

RQ2: Employee motivation and perception of job satisfaction 

Spearman's correlation was used to determine the correlation between employee motivation and 
the perception of job satisfaction among the civilian employees of the DOD. The results showed a 
strong and positive correlation exists between employee motivation and job reengineering, which 
is statistically significant rₛ (53) = .523, p = .001, 95% CI [4.682, 4.911], (Table 4). Overall, there 
is a strong and positive correlation between employee motivation and the perception of job 
satisfaction, and since the data set shows no missing values or presence of outliers; it is inferred 
that increases in employee motivation are correlated with the perception of job satisfaction. 
Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected in favor of the alternative hypothesis. 

Kendall's correlation was used to determine the correlation between employee motivation and the 
perception of job satisfaction among the civilian employees of the DOD. The results showed a 
strong and positive correlation exists between employee motivation and job reengineering, which 
is statistically significant τb = .541, p = .001, 95% CI [4.682, 4.911], (Table 4). Overall, there is a 
strong and positive correlation between employee motivation and the perception of job 
satisfaction, and since the data set shows no missing values or presence of outliers, it is inferred 
that increases in employee motivation are correlated with the perception of job satisfaction. 
Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected in favor of the alternative hypothesis. 

Somers' d test was used to determine the correlation between correlation employee motivation and 
the perception of job satisfaction among the civilian employees of the DOD. The results showed a 
strong and positive correlation exists between employee motivation and job reengineering, which 



 
86 Business Management Research & Applications: A Cross-Disciplinary Journal 

is statistically significant d = .547, p < .001, 95% CI [4.682, 4.911], (Table 4). Overall, there is a 
strong and positive correlation between employee motivation and the perception of job 
satisfaction, and since the data set shows no missing values or presence of outliers, it is inferred 
that increases in employee motivation are correlated with the perception of job satisfaction. 
Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected in favor of the alternative hypothesis. 

Goodman Kruskal's gamma test was used to determine the correlation between employee 
motivation and the perception of job satisfaction among the civilian employees of the DOD. The 
results showed a strong and positive correlation exists between employee motivation and job 
reengineering, which is statistically significant G = .597, p < .001, 95% CI [4.682, 4.911], (Table 
4). Overall, there is a strong and positive correlation between employee motivation and the 
perception of job satisfaction, and since the data set shows no missing values or presence of 
outliers, it is inferred that increases in employee motivation are correlated with the perception of 
job satisfaction. Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected in favor of the alternative hypothesis. 

RQ3: Job reengineering and perception of job satisfaction 

Spearman's correlation was used to determine the correlation between job reengineering and the 
perception of job satisfaction among the civilian employees of the DOD. The results showed a 
strong and positive correlation exists between job reengineering and the perception of job 
satisfaction, which is statistically significant rₛ (53) = .599, p = .003, 95% CI [4.977, 5.198], 
(Table 4). Overall, there is a strong and positive correlation between job reengineering and the 
perception of job satisfaction, and since the data set shows no missing values or presence of 
outliers, it is inferred that increases in job reengineering are correlated with the perception of job 
satisfaction. Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected in favor of the alternative hypothesis. 

Kendall's correlation was used to determine the correlation between job reengineering and the 
perception of job satisfaction among the civilian employees of the DOD. The results showed a 
strong and positive correlation exists between employee motivation and job reengineering, which 
is statistically significant τb = .519, p = .002, 95% CI [4.977, 5.198], (Table 16). Overall, there is a 
strong and positive correlation between job reengineering and the perception of job satisfaction, 
and since the data set shows no missing values or presence of outliers, it is inferred that increases 
in job reengineering are correlated with the perception of job satisfaction. Therefore, the null 
hypothesis is rejected in favor of the alternative hypothesis. 

Somers' d test was used to determine the correlation between job reengineering and the perception 
of job satisfaction among the civilian employees of the DOD. The results showed a strong and 
positive correlation exists between employee motivation and job reengineering, which is 
statistically significant d = .757, p < .001, 95% CI [4.977, 5.198], (Table 4). Overall, there is a 
strong and positive correlation between job reengineering and the perception of job satisfaction 
and since the data set shows no missing values or presence of outliers, it is inferred that increases 
in job reengineering are correlated with the perception of job satisfaction. Therefore, the null 
hypothesis is rejected in favor of the alternative hypothesis. 

Goodman Kruskal's gamma test was used to determine the correlation between job reengineering 
and the perception of job satisfaction among the civilian employees of the DOD. The results 



 

 

87 January 2022 | Volume 1, Number 1 

showed a strong and positive correlation exists between employee motivation and job 
reengineering, which is statistically significant G = .692, p < .001, 95% CI [4.977, 5.198], (Table 
4). Overall, there is a strong and positive correlation between job reengineering and the perception 
of job satisfaction and since the data set shows no missing values or presence of outliers, it is 
inferred that increases in job reengineering are correlated with the perception of job satisfaction. 
Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected in favor of the alternative hypothesis. 

Summary, Conclusions, and 
Recommendations 
This study is significant in its practical and theoretical implications to public and private 
organizations, particularly within government agencies. Business managers, policy development 
officer, business strategists, and human resources managers of private and government enterprises 
may benefit from the investigation of the correlation between employee motivation, job 
reengineering, and the perception of job satisfaction in the workplace, and use the findings to 
improve efficiencies and develop strategies to foster and maintain effective collaboration and 
reduce turnover. Organizational leaders, business managers, executives, decision-makers, and 
human resources professionals may use the findings as a focal point in developing human capital 
strategies to enhance output levels, job autonomy, improve job specialization, organizational 
commitment, and increase organizational citizenship. 

Business leaders and human capital strategists may use the findings from this research to improve 
the job redesign process, enhance skill variety, task significance, and workplace collaboration, and 
employee commitment. Additionally, human resources and business strategists may be able to use 
the research findings as a pivotal point in developing organizational, and management strategies 
for talent acquisition, retention, training, turnover reduction, and productivity maximization. 

Business managers of corporations and government agencies may use the research findings in 
formulating strategies for improving policies for employee development and retention 
performance, workflow processes, and work design. The study may provide a competitive 
advantage to senior executives, human resources professionals, and business managers on ways to 
further integrate the framework surrounding motivation, and assess the factors influencing job 
redesign, and the perception of job satisfaction in the workplace. The findings may offer empirical 
support for the understanding of employee behavior and provide new insights into the 
management of skills utilization, talent acquisition, and performance enhancement. 

This section contains a discussion and interpretation of the results relating to the existing body of 
knowledge discussed in the literature review and extends the research of Olafsen and Bentzen 
(2020), Earl et al. (2019), Bruning and Campion (2018), and Breaugh et al. (2018). In particular, 
this section includes the following: (a) summary of the study, (b) summary of the findings and 
conclusion, (c) implications including theoretical and practical applications, (d) recommendations 
for future research and practice, and (e) concluding remarks. 



 
88 Business Management Research & Applications: A Cross-Disciplinary Journal 

Summary of the Study and Findings 
In this quantitative, correlational study, the researcher focused on extending the research of 
Olafsen and Bentzen (2020), Earl et al. (2019), Bruning and Campion (2018), and Breaugh et al. 
(2018) by investigating the correlation between employee motivation, job reengineering, and the 
perception of job satisfaction among civilian employees of the DOD located in Washington, D.C., 
United States. The researcher employed the use of a non-experimental correlational design and a 
15-item questionnaire measured on a 6-point Likert scale to collect data from participants. A total 
of fifty-five (55) participants completed the survey. 

The researcher performed an EDA to identify outlier, checked assumptions, and characterized 
differences between variables. Following reliability analysis assessment, the scales for the 
variables were formed by collapsing items following a priori dimension, outliers were assessed, 
and the test of normality was performed. No outlier was found and based on the tests of normality, 
the data set showed the variables for H1, H2, and H3 were non-linear, and met the assumptions of 
the Spearman, Kendall, Somers' delta, and Goodman and Kruskal's non-parametric tests. 

Following data collection, the data analysis procedures consisted of descriptive analysis, reliability 
analysis, exploratory data analysis, and hypotheses testing for RQ1, RQ2, and RQ3. The results of 
the finding are presented statistically in written, tabulated, and graphic formats; the two research 
hypotheses, H1 and H2 relating to job reengineering and the perception of job satisfaction are 
positively correlated with employee motivation, while research hypothesis H3 showed a positive 
correlation between job reengineering and the perception of job satisfaction. 

The findings showed a strong and positive correlation between the variables, contribute to the 
theoretical concept of the SDT, and provide strategic insights to organizational leaders and human 
capital managers. This research study may be used as a reference for developing human capital 
strategies involving the relationship between intrinsic motivation, job reengineering or redesign, 
and the perception of job satisfaction. 

RQ1: Employee Motivation and Job Reengineering 
The first research question examined the correlation between employee motivation and job 
reengineering among civilian employees within the DOD. The intrinsic dimension of employee 
motivation was strongly and positively related to the dimensions of job reengineering (skills 
variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback), and an increase in employee 
motivation correlated with an increase in job reengineering. The researcher did not consider the 
impact of moderating variables such as age, gender, income, marital status, or race. 

The finding from RQ1 is similar to the empirical study of Gagné et al. (2015), and Oldham and 
Hackman (2010) in which employee motivation was positively associated with job reengineering. 
Oldham and Hackman (2010) poised that jobs are designed by the organization equally for all 
employees, regardless of individual preferences or differences. However, this approach has not 
always been sufficient to serve the purpose of organizational outcomes relating to tasks and 



 

 

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working conditions. As such, intrinsic motivation provides an advantage in eliminating the one-
size-fits-all approach of job reengineering. 

Job reengineering based on the JCM (Hackman & Oldham, 1975) is intrinsically related to the 
need for autonomy construct in the SDT (Ryan & Deci, 2017). The implementation of the five 
essential job characteristics constructs in the job reengineering process, job rotation, job 
enlargement, and job enrichment (Cote, 2019) provide an opportunity to motivate employees. 
Intrinsic motivation enhances creativity by increasing positive affect, job satisfaction, autonomous 
job redesign, cognitive flexibility, and persistence (Kadous & Zhou, 2019), and the meta-analysis 
of Patall et al. (2008) found that improving job reengineering increases intrinsic motivation. 

The recent empirical study of Zhang et al. (2019) assessed that employee motivation has a strong 
impact on job design and employees' perceptions of supervisors. Pila-Ngarm and Siengthai (2016) 
assert that job reengineering, motivation, and teamwork are positively related to productivity. A 
well-designed and implemented job reengineering process can lead to increased employee well-
being (Liu et al., 2018), as such, job redesign is poised to be an alternative approach to reduce job 
dissatisfaction and enhance the motivational potential of a job. Job reengineering can solve 
problems related to skills utilization, work overload, attrition, redundancy, and an increase in 
working hours (Rai, 2018). 

The boxplot (Figure 6) indicated that as job reengineering increased, the variability, mean, and 
standard deviation of employee motivation increased significantly, which implied that a good and 
strong relationship exists between employee motivation and job reengineering. Spearman 
correlation (rₛ (53) = .644, p = .003), Kendall (τb = .609, p = .002), Somers' (d = .738, p < .001), 
and Goodman Kruskal (G = .513, p < .001) were statistically significant and the data set showed 
no missing values or pattern of disinterest in the outlier. This research study contributes to the 
meta-analysis of intrinsic motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2017, 2020) and extends the applicability of 
the job characteristics model (Hackman & Oldham, 1975, 2010). 

RQ2: Employee Motivation and Perception of Job 
Satisfaction 
The second research question examined the correlation between employee motivation and the 
perception of job satisfaction. The researcher did not consider the impact of moderating variables 
such as age, gender, income, marital status, or race. The intrinsic dimension of employee 
motivation was strongly and positively related to the dimensions of the perception of job 
satisfaction (pay, supervision, benefits, nature of work, and promotion), and increase in employee 
motivation correlated with an increase in the perception of job satisfaction. 

The finding from RQ2 is similar to the work of Abós et al. (2019) in which employee motivation 
was positively and strongly related to job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion (r² = .63, F(15, 
275.13) = 34.64, p <; 0.001, n = 107), which implied that 63% of the variation in overall 
autonomous motivation related to job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion. The finding is similar 
to the empirical study of Alwerthan et al. (2018) in which job satisfaction is strongly related 



 
90 Business Management Research & Applications: A Cross-Disciplinary Journal 

intrinsic motivation (r² = .54, F( 1, 1073) = 215.6, p < .001, Fisher's 𝑓𝑓² = .89, n = 1088), which 
implied that 90% of the variation in overall job satisfaction related to employee motivation. 

Overall, the results provide empirical evidence that employee motivation positively relates to the 
perception of job satisfaction and may also improve the relationship between the variables. This 
study also contributes empirical support to the research of Breaugh et al. (2018) regarding the 
relationship between motivation and job satisfaction. Breaugh et al.'s (2018) results suggested that 
a strong relationship exists between intrinsic workplace motivation and job satisfaction (r² = 29, F 
= 26.91, I = .29, p < .01, Fisher's 𝑓𝑓² = .79, n = 677), which implied that 79% of the variation in 
overall intrinsic motivation related to job satisfaction. 

The boxplot (Figure 6) indicated that as the perception of job satisfaction increased, the variability, 
mean, and standard deviation of employee motivation increased significantly, which implied that a 
good and strong relationship exists between employee motivation and the perception of job 
satisfaction. Spearman correlation (rₛ (53) = .523, p = .001), Kendall (τb = .541, p = .001), Somers' 
(d = .547, p < .001), and Goodman Kruskal (G = .597, p < .001) were statistically significant and 
the data set showed no missing values or pattern of disinterest in the outlier. 

RQ3: Job Reengineering and Perception of Job 
Satisfaction 
The third research question examined the correlation between job reengineering and the perception 
of job satisfaction. The researcher did not consider the impact of moderating variables such as age, 
gender, income, marital status, or race. The dimensions of job reengineering (skills variety, task 
identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback) were strongly and positively related to the 
perception of job satisfaction (pay, supervision, benefits, nature of work, and promotion), and an 
increase in job reengineering correlated with an increase in the perception of job satisfaction. 

This finding from RQ3 is similar to the empirical study of Oerlemans and Bakker (2018) in which 
job reengineering and job characteristics were strongly related to job satisfaction ( r² = .241, p < 
.001, Fisher's 𝑓𝑓² = .79, n = 121), which implied that 80% of the variation in overall job 
reengineering related to job satisfaction. Similarly, the empirical study of Tziner et al. (2019) 
found that that a strong relationship exists between job redesign (n = 3,293, α = 0.96, p < 0.05, 
Fisher's 𝑓𝑓² = .63), which implied that 63% of the variation in overall job design related to job 
satisfaction. 

Overall, the results provide empirical evidence that job reengineering positively relates to the 
perception of job satisfaction, and this study may be used to boost the job redesign process and 
improve employees' perception of job satisfaction. This research further contributes to the 
empirical study of Kumedzro (2018), in which the perception of job satisfaction was strongly 
related to job redesign and retention (n = 140, F(2, 137) = 0.353, p > 0.05, Fisher's 𝑓𝑓² = .52). This 
implied that 52% of the variation in overall job reengineering related to the perception of job 
satisfaction. Windon (2019) concluded that job redesign was positively correlated to job 
satisfaction (n = 149, F(8, 135) = 1484.7, r²= 0.989, p = < .001, Cohen's 𝑓𝑓² = 89.9), which implied 



 

 

91 January 2022 | Volume 1, Number 1 

that 98% of the variation in overall job satisfaction related to job reengineering (promotions and 
rewards). 

The boxplot (Figure 6) indicated that as job reengineering increased, the variability, mean, and 
standard deviation of the perception of job satisfaction increased significantly, which implied that 
a good and strong relationship exists between job reengineering and the perception of job 
satisfaction. Spearman correlation rₛ (53) = .599, p = .003), Kendall (τb = .519, p = .002), Somers' 
(d = .757, p < .001), and Goodman Kruskal (G = .692, p < .001) were statistically significant and 
the data set shows no missing values or pattern of disinterest in the outlier. 

This research question extended the significance of the five core dimensions of job characteristics 
in reengineering and redesigning jobs and provides business managers and human resources 
professionals with the ability to recognize the influence of perception within the job satisfaction 
domain. Furthermore, Tziner et al. (2019) argued that the perception of job satisfaction culminates 
from an employee's positive or negative feeling because of the overall positive evaluation of job 
role, job duties, work experiences, and work environment. 

Conclusions 
The findings from this quantitative, correlational study showed that employee motivation is 
strongly and positively related to job reengineering and the perception of job satisfaction. 
Similarly, the finding from the study showed that job reengineering is strongly and positively 
correlated to the perception of job satisfaction. The researcher did not consider the impact of 
moderating variables such as age, gender, income, marital status, or race. Overall, the study 
extends the self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 1985) in three ways. First, the study provides 
empirical support for the findings of Olafsen and Bentzen (2020) which relates to the relationship 
between intrinsic motivation and the perception of job satisfaction. 

Second, the study offered support to the empirical research of Earl et al. (2019) which relates to 
the relationship that exists between job satisfaction and job reengineering. Third, this study 
provided further support to the empirical study of Bruning and Campion (2018), and Breaugh et al. 
(2018) which relates to the relationship between job reengineering, intrinsic motivation, and job 
satisfaction. Finally, this study relates to the empirical research of Shin and Grant (2019) and 
focused on providing support for skill utilization in job reengineering, while assessing employee-
job fit, and improving efficiency in the workplace. 

Implications 
This quantitative, correlational study discussed two types of research implications namely (a) 
theoretical implications, and (b) implications for practice. 



 
92 Business Management Research & Applications: A Cross-Disciplinary Journal 

Theoretical Implications 
The findings from the quantitative, correlational study showed a strong and positive relationship 
between employee motivation, job reengineering, and the perception of job satisfaction, and a 
strong relationship between job reengineering and the perception of job satisfaction in the 
workplace. These findings implied that employees who perceive job reengineering as enhancing 
the workplace have higher intrinsic motivation, gain mastery of tasks and learn different skills 
(competence), experience a sense of belonging (relatedness), and feel in control of their behavior 
(autonomy). These characteristics align closely with the theoretical framework of the study, the 
SDT of Ryan and Deci (1985). 

Strengths of the study  

This study provided further empirical evidence to support antecedent research which have 
investigated the question of whether motivation influences job satisfaction and job reengineering 
in the workplace (Breaugh et al., 2018; Bruning & Campion, 2018; Earl et al., 2019; Kumedzro, 
2018; Olafsen & Bentzen, 2020). Breaugh et al. (2018) discussed the significance of the factors 
influencing job satisfaction and the impact on employee motivation and found intrinsic positively 
correlate with job satisfaction. The researcher assessed that employee (intrinsic) motivation 
influences the five core dimensions of job characteristics (skills variety, task identity, task 
significance, autonomy, and feedback), as well as job diagnostic dimensions of job satisfaction 
(pay, supervision, benefits, nature of work, and promotion). 

The findings from this study contributed to the consideration for the use of the SDT framework in 
assessing behavior-specific aspects of intrinsic motivation for understanding practices that sustain 
and job reengineering and the perception of job satisfaction in the workplace. The researcher 
utilized a quantitative, correlational method and designed a 15-item survey that contained no direct 
benefits to the participants to minimize bias. This study adopted the use of the non-probability 
convenience sampling method, and the participants selected were representative of the entire 
population. The non-probability convenience sampling provides the ability to select participants 
based on availability and willingness to take part in the survey (Daneshjoovash & Hosseini, 2019; 
Gerlich et al., 2018; Valerio et al., 2016), which may enhance the generalizability of the findings. 

Weaknesses of the study 

The results of this quantitative, correlational study may not be generalizable to cultures and 
geographical regions outside of the continental United States because the research centered on 
population sample within the DOD. The researcher did not consider the impact of moderating 
variables such as age, gender, income, marital status, or race. The use of moderating variables may 
strengthen, diminish, negate, or otherwise alter the correlation between independent and dependent 
variables. Moderating variables can influence or change the direction of this relationship (Mihalas 
et al., 2012; Sung, 2016). 



 

 

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Significance of the Self-Determination Theory 

The results of the study contributed to Ryan and Deci's SDT of motivation (1985), originally 
developed to provide a broad framework for understanding factors influencing intrinsic 
motivation, job satisfaction, psychological wellness, and all issues of direct relevance to individual 
growth. This study advances the SDT using the intrinsic motivation construct to examine the 
influence of employee motivation on reengineering and job satisfaction. This relationship plays a 
significant role in understanding organizational behavior, the utilization of employee skills, and 
the achievement of organizational goals (Abós et al., 2019; Alwerthan et al., 2018; Breaugh et al., 
2018; Sheeran et al., 2020). 

This research study contributed to the current understanding of the role of motivation in the 
workplace and provided support for mitigating organizational challenges relating to job 
reengineering and the perception of job satisfaction among employees. This study specifically 
contributes to the examination of intrinsic motivation; identified the eudaimonia of motivation by 
responding to the lack of research into the role of job reengineering, and the perception of job 
satisfaction; and supports the future direction in the use of SDT in advancing research and practice 
and improving proximal influences on workplace engagements and learning. 

Implications for Practice 
In the study, 94.5% of the respondents selected option 5 and 6 towards motivation anchor point in 
the survey, 73.7% of respondents selected option 5 and 6 towards reengineering on the job 
reengineering in the survey, while 83.6% of respondents selected option 5 and 6 towards 
perception in the perception of job satisfaction survey. These figures suggested that over half of 
the respondents acknowledged that intrinsic motivation enhances job reengineering and the 
perception of job satisfaction in the workplace. The main findings also suggest that organizations 
and government enterprises can improve efficiencies by enhancing the eudaimonia of intrinsic 
motivation. 

Furthermore, this study offered empirical evidence that incorporating more autonomous forms of 
motivation in the workplace will lead to an enhancement of employees' engagement, learning, 
wellness, and basic psychological need support for supervisors and subordinates. The findings 
from this study supported and extended the discussion that higher motivation and perception of job 
satisfaction led to higher productivity, organizational commitment, and citizenship. Business 
leaders may be able to use the findings as a focal point in developing human capital strategies to 
enhance output levels, job autonomy, improve job specialization, organizational commitment, and 
increase organizational citizenship. 

Private and public organizations may use this study to improve the job redesign processes, 
enhance skill variety, task significance, workplace collaboration, and employee commitment. The 
findings from this study further extend the SDT of motivation by assessing that the self-directed 
human cognitive process culminates with employees' diverse intrinsic needs to meet job 
expectations, improve satisfaction levels, and organizational citizenship (Ryan & Deci, 2020). 



 
94 Business Management Research & Applications: A Cross-Disciplinary Journal 

Recommendations 
This quantitative, correlational study discussed two types of recommendations namely (a) 
recommendations for future research, and (b) recommendation for practice. These 
recommendations offered a number of opportunities in terms of theory development and concept 
validation. 

Recommendations for Future Research 
A few suggestions for future research spring forward from evaluating the present study and its 
limitations. The researcher thus proposes four recommendations for future research. First, future 
research can widen the scope of this study by assessing the effects of moderating variables such as 
age, gender, income level, ethnicity, or race. This recommendation can broaden the scope of this 
study and offer new insights into the effects of moderating variables on job reengineering and the 
perception of job satisfaction. 

Second, this research study may contribute to the current understanding of the role of motivation 
in the workplace and provide support for mitigating organizational challenges relating to job 
reengineering and the perception of employees' job satisfaction, future research could expand on 
the present outcomes, and study the effects of turnover intentions and organizational citizenship. 

Third, intrinsic motivation is closely related closely to emotional intelligence; the ability to 
perceive one's emotion, and that of others, and the ability to understand the meaning of these 
emotions, and regulate emotions (Kidwell et al., 2020; Neil, 2019). Most recently, emotional 
ability has played a significant role in redesigning specific job tasks within the healthcare industry, 
while facilitating medical professionals' response to the COVID-19; as such, future studies may 
expand the focus of this research and assess the role of emotional intelligence in workplace 
engagement and retention. 

Finally, this study did not consider the role of extrinsic motivation; the study provides an 
opportunity for future research to explore extrinsic motivation from a self-determination 
theoretical perspective. This may assist researchers to further understanding the relationship 
between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and provide a better assessment of how organizational 
leaders and human resources professionals can further implement strategies to improve 
organizational behavior in the workplace. 

Recommendations for Practice 
A few suggestions for future practice spring forward from the results and findings of this study. 
Public and private organizations, especially government agencies may benefit from the 
examination of employee motivation, job reengineering, and the perception of job satisfaction in 
the workplace. The main findings suggest that employee motivation improves organizational 
behavior and enhances the ability to re-engineer jobs with a high perception of satisfaction. As 
such highly intrinsically motivated employees can integrate job reengineering while improving 



 

 

95 January 2022 | Volume 1, Number 1 

productivity and efficiency. Hence, this study recommends and assesses that business leaders may 
be able to use the findings as a focal point in developing human capital strategies to enhance 
output levels, job autonomy, improve job specialization, organizational commitment, and increase 
organizational citizenship. 

Second, organizational leaders, business managers, executives, decision-makers, and human 
resources professionals of corporations and government agencies may use the research findings in 
formulating strategies for improving policies for employee development and retention 
performance, workflow processes, and work design. The findings may be used as a focal point for 
establishing lean organizational efficiencies, understanding a person-job fit, and formulating 
strategies poised to enhance competitive advantage and dynamic workforce. 

Third, findings from this research may provide a roadmap to business leaders and human resource 
managers on understanding the role and influence of motivating through need, job redesign, 
intrinsic rewards, and leading others through intrinsic motivation. This study may provide business 
managers with the framework to understand the factors to consider when changing the concept and 
or process of a specific job to increase performance, efficiency, and job satisfaction. Collectively, 
the findings from this study may allow managers to focus on the factors influencing employee-job-
fit and the relationship between management, enlarge, rotate, and enrich jobs, and develop a better 
understanding of core job characteristics, critical psychological states, outputs, and the 
motivational factors leading to job satisfaction. 

  



 
96 Business Management Research & Applications: A Cross-Disciplinary Journal 

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	Employee Motivation, Job Reengineering, and Perceived Job Satisfaction: A Quantitative Correlational Approach
	Abstract
	Introduction
	Background of the Study
	Problem Statement
	Purpose Statement
	Research Questions and Hypotheses
	Advancing Theoretical Knowledge
	Application to Business Administration
	Definition of Terms
	Literature Review
	Theoretical Foundations
	The Self-determination Theory of Motivation


	Review of the Literature
	Employee Motivation
	Intrinsic Motivation
	Extrinsic Motivation
	Job Reengineering or Job Redesign

	Metacognitive Aspects to Job Reengineering
	Cognitive Abilities or Emotional Intelligence
	Physical Abilities
	Emotions

	Perception of Job Satisfaction

	Methodology
	Research Design
	Population and Sample Selection

	Sampling Method and Sample Size Determination
	Sampling Method
	Sample Size Determination
	Large Effect Size

	Data Analysis and Results
	Data Analysis Procedures
	Descriptive Analysis
	Exploratory Data Analysis
	Outlier Detection and Analysis
	Tests of Normality
	Hypotheses Testing

	Results
	RQ1: Employee motivation and job reengineering
	RQ2: Employee motivation and perception of job satisfaction
	RQ3: Job reengineering and perception of job satisfaction


	Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations
	Summary of the Study and Findings
	RQ1: Employee Motivation and Job Reengineering
	RQ2: Employee Motivation and Perception of Job Satisfaction
	RQ3: Job Reengineering and Perception of Job Satisfaction

	Conclusions
	Implications
	Theoretical Implications
	Strengths of the study
	Weaknesses of the study
	Significance of the Self-Determination Theory

	Implications for Practice

	Recommendations
	Recommendations for Future Research
	Recommendations for Practice

	References


