| The rapidly expanding global economy has led to an increasingly international workforce worldwide, creating a need to design equitable reward systems that motivate and satisfy diverse needs. This requires knowledge of how individual employees from various cultures are motivated in the workplace.;This dissertation addresses relationships between work motivation and national culture, employing Wheeler's (2002) model of equity sensitivity and Hofstede's (1980, 1983) categories of national culture. It explores how the degrees of equity sensitivity and cultural factors relate in a for-profit healthcare setting. The equity sensitivity theory of work motivation (Huseman, Hatfield, and Miles, 1987) posits that individuals are differentially sensitive to effort versus reward ratios or outcome versus input ratios as they compare themselves to their peers in the workplace. National culture, on the other hand, shapes beliefs, values, and perceptions suggesting that people of different cultures should not be expected to exhibit similar behavior patterns, react to stimuli similarly, or have similar perceptions of reward in an organizational context.;Benevolence denotes less demand for organizational rewards, equity sensitivity shows average interest in organizational rewards, while entitlement reflects higher demand of organizational rewards. It tests the model in a United States organization employing an international workforce, rather than in a college setting, as in previous empirical studies.;The fact that most individuals in this sample have similar degrees of sensitivity towards effort versus rewards demonstrates that professions, in this case health care clinicians, may override other characteristics. Finally, this is a global environment and this sample represents several nationalities who have worked in the US for an average of 10 years, a fact that may explain a relatively similar attitude towards rewards. There were some interesting findings. First, females were more benevolent or less interested in rewards than males were. Second, Filipinos and Indians were more entitled, showing more interest in rewards. Third, age and income were not related to sensitivities towards rewards. These findings may indicate that degrees of equity sensitivity may not only vary between individuals (gender) but also among cultures (nationalities). Thus, this study provokes further research about degrees of equity sensitivity based upon gender and/or national cultures. |
