HRPYC81 Assignment 42 – Research Report Portfolio.

HRPYC81 Assignment 42 – Research Report Portfolio. Introduction Helping other people can be a cure not just for those who are in need but for your soul as well. People in a volunteer capacity perform various roles that fit their talent, interest and or the need of the organisation. A volunteer is defined as a person willingly performing a service without monetary pay (Unger, 1990). For the purpose of this research we define volunteerism according to US History Encyclopaedia as “…contributing one’s time or talents for charitable, educational, social, political or other worthwhile purposes, usually in one’s community, freely and without regard for compensation” these acts are carried out by a volunteer who is “someone who contributes time to helping others with no expectation of pay or other material benefit to herself’ (Wilson & Musick, 1999, p 141). Within South Africa, as a result of limited resources, volunteers are critical - without their services sustainment of non-governmental organisation would often not be possible. Volunteering connects people from different backgrounds and help people to relate to others whose socio-economic environments are completely different from their own. As volunteerism plays a crucial role in the development of South Africa, it is imperative to conduct a study on what motivates people to become a volunteer and what challenges they face, in order to assist in the recruitment, selection, placement, support and sustainment of volunteers and to improve the sustainment of volunteers’ commitment on an ongoing basis. The primary aim of this research focuses on the in-depth understanding of what motivates people to do volunteer work and how these factors affect the outcomes of voluntary work. The secondary aim of the study is to investigate the altruistic, egoistic, or combined motives behind volunteerism, and to investigate what challenges may negatively impact the volunteer’s initial motivations. Motivation is an important area of study because were it not for motivation, mankind would not have achieved all that it has today. Motivational theory has sought to provide explanations for what induces action in people, what guides people in their actions, and what maintains these behaviours (Grant, 2008). The basis for motivational reasons has either been grounded in intrinsic or extrinsic motivational factors, but some researchers make a clear distinction between intrinsic motivation and prosocial motivation as it is believed to be prompted by different things. Intrinsic motivation has been described as having gratifying rewards, whereas prosocial motivation produces happiness and well-being, giving meaning and purpose have been identified as key motivators (Kahn, 1990; Waterman, 1993; Little & McGregor, 1998; Deci, Koestner & Ryan, 2001). Extrinsic motivation is described as effort being motivated by things that are external to the work itself, like compensation and recognition (Amabile, 1993). It can thus be said that intrinsic and prosocial motivation are grounded in altruism, and extrinsic motivation is based on egoism. A substantial proportional of non-profit groups rely on volunteers in pursing their objectives [ CITATION You01 l 7177 ]. The outcome of this study aims to gain insight into the relationship between the volunteer and a host organisation. No matter what motivates the person to be a volunteer it should not only be the organization that benefits from a volunteer, but it should be mutually beneficial. The research objectives are to answer the research question, ‘What motivates people to volunteer,’ will include the researcher interviewing three volunteers who are volunteering at a children’s home in the Northern suburbs of Cape Town, Western Cape. This will be a qualitative study and will utilise one-on-one interviews using open ended questions and will focus on the motivation, challenges and satisfaction of being a volunteer in South Africa. The interviews will be transcribed and a thematic analysis will be conducted to code, classify and analyse the interview data and identify the overarching themes Page 4 of 13 An Explorative study on the motivations and challenges of volunteering within a South African context. Assignment 42 () HRPYC and sub-themes for the study. The results will be analysed in relation to the research aims and compared with the literature review to establish any similarities and differences between the findings. Page 5 of 13 An Explorative study on the motivations and challenges of volunteering within a South African context. Assignment 42 () HRPYC 1.1 Motivations for Volunteerism. 1.1.1Altruism vs Egoism 1.1.2Theories and models 1.1.3Context of Volunteering in South Africa. 1.1.4Challenges and Constraint of Volunteerism. 1.1.5Volunteer Retention 1.2 Research Rationale 2 Research Methodology 2.1 Research aims Based on existing literature from previous studies conducted, it seems as though in most cases people engage in volunteer work for reasons that are not self-serving, though there are cases where people engage in volunteer work for self-serving purposes, as well as cases where people volunteer for a combination of both of the aforementioned. The main aim of this study is to establish what the motivations behind volunteering are. The research questions derived from this aim are “What initiated the volunteer’s interest in volunteering and what maintained the volunteers interest in volunteering?”, “Are these motivations mainly egotistic or altruistic?”, and “What feelings does volunteering elicit in the volunteer?”. This paper departs from the hypothesis that most people are motivated to initiate and continue volunteer work for reasons that are altruistic in nature. The researcher will focus and concentrate on what motivate people to do voluntary work. Hence, the Primary aim of this study is to explore the reasons of doing voluntary work. The Secondary aim is to identify challenges and constraints of volunteerism. The importance of this research varies from shifting the focus of understanding that volunteering is about helping the people who need our voluntary services. It’s also to show that when we volunteer for the right ambitions it also results in the best services provided because we do not lose focus of the actual reason why we volunteer. It will also explain what motivates people to volunteer without getting compensation.