I. INTRODUCTION

Job satisfaction may be explained as the pleasant feeling an individual has towards a required remunerative responsibility or assignment. According to Alsharah (2014) job satisfaction refers to both the external and internal circumstances/factors that affects employee feelings towards their remunerative duties which is influenced by one's ability to accomplish the tasks required, the level of communication within an organization, and how management treats employees. Mandani, et al, (2016) posit the factors mentioned above improve and enhance employees' performance and productivity in attaining organizational goals. In view of this, it becomes imperative for management of organizations to ensure that employees are provided with both internal and external incentives that will boost their work done as they have a role to play in determining the total efficiency, productivity and sustainability of an organization.

Employee empowerment in terms of shared power and control is receiving attention in management circles as a fundamental element in organizational governance and efficiency (Ergeneli et al., 2007). Employee empowerment is a process of giving employees' authority to be able to make the necessary important decisions on their own about their day to day activities. Empowered employees are expected to perform their work more effectively and efficiently than non-empowered employees (Hass, 2010). Motivation impacts job satisfaction and increases the productivity of employees.

a) Problem Statement

An efficient and effective utilization of human resources in an organization is very important to improve its overall effectiveness and efficiency. Literature reveals that job satisfaction can be influenced by various organization behavioural factors such as employee training (Bhat, 2013), employee empowerment, and teamwork. An organization that is capable to design an environment which emphasizes on training and empowerment that can be valued by its employees will have better chances to obtain greater commitment (Hanif & Abdullah, 2013).

Previous studies (Colquitt et al, 2009; Azar & Shafighi, 2013) have emphasized that motivation positively affect employee performance and job satisfaction and hence described job performance as the value of the set of employee behaviors that contributes to achieve organizational targets. To these researchers, motivation will encourage the employees of an organization to seriously pursue their line of duties.

Enhancing employee satisfaction and productivity is one of the main concerns for management in any organization. It should be noted however, that, inspite of the limited studies so far examining the effects of employee motivation and employee empowerment on employee job satisfaction, there is no such study in the Ghanaian context. This study therefore aims to fill this gap by examining the effect of employee motivation and empowerment on employee job satisfaction in Ghana using the GES as a case. The education industry was selected as a case due to the lack of empirical research on employee job satisfaction in this sector.

b) Research Questions

The researchers would like to answer the underlisted questions in pursuing the aim of this article.

c) Research Objectives

1. Is there any link between motivation and employee satisfaction in the Ghana Education Service?

2. Is there any relationship between empowerment and job satisfaction of employees in the Ghana Education Service?

3. What is the impact of employee empowerment on motivation in the Ghana Education Service?

To achieve the overall aim and purpose of the study, at the end of the study, the researchers will achieve the following.

1. Assess the impact of employee empowerment and motivation in the Ghana Education Service.

2. To examine the link between motivation and employee satisfaction in the Ghana Education Service.

3. To examine the relationship between empowerment and job satisfaction of employees in the Ghana Education Service.

II. LITERACTURE REVIEW

a) Job Satisfaction

Weihrich and Koontz (1999) in explaining the genesis of job satisfaction argue that, the debate on job satisfaction started with Maslow's Hierarchy of needs theory (1943) but the whole story about the phenomena emanates from Taylorism or Scientific Movement by Frederick Winslow Taylor (1911) which considers human being as economic man with money believing to be the biggest reason for job satisfaction. However, this idea was criticized by the Hawthorne Studies (1924-1933) by Elton Mayo and Associates about the nature of human being. They argued that apart from money, there are other important elements such as personal morale, positive interrelationships, management understanding of individual employee and group behaviour as other factors that contribute to employee satisfaction.

Studies show that certain conditions can either bring about job satisfaction or dissatisfaction, and the burgeoning literature on the theories of job satisfaction propose that theories are usually classified according to their nature or chronological arrangement (Saifuddin et al., 2012).

b) Motivation and Employee Satisfaction

Studies conducted point out that motivation brings about employee satisfaction (Ampofo, 2012; Kabir & Parvin, 2011; Khalid, Salim & Loke, 2011).

Ahmed, Nawaz, Iqbal et al (2010) emphasise that, the factors of motivation play a major role in increasing employee satisfaction. In a study by Khalid, Salim and Loke (2011) to examine the impacts of rewards and motivation on job satisfaction between public and private water utility organisation in Malaysia, they found that motivation influence employee job satisfaction positively.

Surveys conducted also show that treating employees with respect, providing regular employee recognition, empowering employees, offering above industry average benefits, compensation (Deshpande, Arekar, Sharma & Somaiya, 2012), job security, opportunity for advancement, comfortable working conditions, good personal relations with colleagues and supervisors, achievement and promotion (Lather & Jain, 2005) are some of the factors that lead to employee satisfaction. When these factors are critically examined, one will notice that they are all factors of motivation, found to motivate workers in various studies by researchers.

c) Relationship between Employee Empowerment and Job Satisfaction

Empowerment has now become an imperative for the organizations, especially for those who want to win external pressures with the help of their workforce support. Until the employees do not feel empowered, they are not satisfied with their jobs. Empirical studies have depicted the empowerment as a significant predictor of job satisfaction. Empowered employees are more satisfied with their jobs (Spreitzer, Kizilos & Nason, 1997).

A number of researchers have focused on the study of relationship of empowerment and job satisfaction (Fuller, 1999). Empowerment can affect job satisfaction to a particular extent (Bakker and Schaufeli, 2008; Laage, 2003). The study conducted by Dickson and Lorenz, (2009) concluded that meaning, impact and self-determination cognitions of empowerment were positively associated with job satisfaction while competence cognition was not; nevertheless, an overall empowerment was found positively associated with job satisfaction. Researchers have come across the relationship of four cognitions of empowerment with different outcomes, but results have varied from one study to another (Carless, 2004; Liden, Wayne & Sparrowe, 2000).

Rana and Singh, (2016); Choong and Lau (2011); and Ning, Zhong, Libo and Qiujie (2009) stated significant and positive relationship between employee empowerment and job satisfaction in their research studies.

d) Relationship between Empowerment and Employee Motivation

Enormous organizations are built on the inherent value of their employees as motivated and committed employees almost always allow an organization to grow faster than similar competitive organizations. Motivated and Empowered employees with high levels of commitment are considered to be the most important asset for any organization (Richard et al., 1996) and keeping the employee motivation, and empowerment up is always rewarding to an industry as motivated and committed employees are more productive and higher productivity usually results in higher profits (Denton, 1987). Employees' organizational factors of motivation and empowerment are intimately associated with employees' identification, commitment, performance and productivity (Manzoor, 2012). Researchers have suggested that employee empowerment and motivation are positively associated with employees' participation, job satisfaction, organizational commitment and higher productivity (Kuo Ho Lin & Lai, 2009; Iqbal et al., 2013).

III. METHODOLOGY

a) Sample and Sampling Technique

A non-probability sampling technique were employed in selecting the respondents. Purposive sampling technique was used to separate the teachers according to their work experiences while convenience sampling was used to select the respondents for the study. Based on the recommendations of Krejcie and Morgan (1970) for determining sample size, a total of 200 questionnaires are considered acceptable for the sample size based on the population of the present study. The sample size was determined using Krejcie and Morgan (1970) formulae:

$n=N1+N(e^{\wedge }2)$, where: $n=$ sample size; $N=$ population size; and $e=$ level of precision or margin of error. Based on the formulae given and an expected precision level of $95\mathrm{\%}$, the sample size was: $(n)=321/(1+371({0.05}^{\wedge }2))=178$. The sample of 200 teachers was utilized in this study drawn from all the JHS in the District. The sampling plan describes the sampling unit, sampling frame, sampling procedures and the sample size for the study. The sampling frame describes the list of all population units from which the sample was be selected (Cooper & Schindler, 2003). Based on this, a sample of 200 respondents ( $62\mathrm{\%}$ of the target population) was drawn from the possible 321 target population.

A simple regression model was applied to determine the effects of employee empowerment and motivation on job satisfaction. Regression is concerned with describing and evaluating the relationship between a given variable and one or more other variables. More specifically, regression is an attempt to explain movements in a variable by reference to movements in one or more other variables.

Two models was adopted for the study

Model One

Model Two

Where MOT= Motivation

SAT=Job Satisfaction

EMP = Empowerment

= error term

b) Methods of Data Collection

Data are values of qualitative or quantitative variables, belonging to a set of items. To meet the objectives of the study, the researcher used a primary data which were collected directly from the respondents on the ground. They are data collected for the need at hand. According to Ghauri and Gronhaug (2005), primary data is the first-hand data since it is collected primarily for the current research's purpose. They further explained that this type of data often helps to obtain suitable responses to current research's objectives.

A comprehensive questionnaire designed to cover the objectives of the problem was used to collect the data. The study made use of quantitative methods to achieve the objective. It also made use of primary data and hence uses a questionnaire in the collection of data from the respondents. Structured questionnaires were adopted for the study.

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

a) Correlation Analysis

The importance of correlation analysis is to ensure that independent variables are not correlated with each other to avoid multicollinearity. Correlation also provides information regarding the linear association between the dependent variable and each of the independent variables. Correlation refers to the strength of linear associations between two or more Variables (Albright et al., 2011). The outcome of the correlation analysis (Table 4.2) is represented in Pearson Correlation by calculating the correction of the variables with each other.

It was found that the variables have weak to moderate correlation and therefore do not pose any problem of multicollinearity. Interestingly, all the variables access are positively correlated to each other. The analysis also found a significant correlation between employee empowerment and job satisfaction. Also, there was a positive correlation between employee empowerment and employee motivation.

i. Correlation Analysis

The importance of correlation analysis is to ensure that independent variables are not correlated with each other to avoid multicollinearity. Correlation also provides information regarding the linear association between the dependent variable and each of the independent variables. Correlation refers to the strength of linear associations between two or more Variables (Albright et al., 2011). The outcome of the correlation analysis (Table 4.2) is represented in Pearson Correlation by calculating the correction of the variables with each other.

It was found that the variables have weak to moderate correlation and therefore do not pose any problem of multicollinearity. Interestingly, all the variables access are positively correlated to each other. The analysis also found a significant correlation between employee empowerment and job satisfaction. Also there was a positive correlation between employee empowerment and employee motivation.

Table 4.2: Correlations Analysis

The Impact of Employee Empowerment on Motivation in the Ghana Education Service

The first objective of the study sought to assess the impact empowering (EMP) teachers in the Ghana Education Service have on their motivation (MOT). This section of the analysis presents results of data estimation on this objective. The results are based on Ordinary Least Square (OLS) estimation technique and are reported on Table 4.3. Evidence from the results indicates that employee empowerment has positive effect on motivation. EMP had a coefficient of 0.082 in the regression model with a p-value of 0.052 at $5\mathrm{\%}$ level of significance. The result indicates that all other things remaining constant, an increase in the empowerment of teachers leads to teacher motivation however the magnitude of the impact is minimal.

Enormous organizations are built on the inherent value of their employees as motivated and committed employees almost always allow an organization to grow faster than similar competitive organizations. Motivated and Empowered employees with high levels of commitment are the most important asset for any organization and keeping the employee motivation, and empowerment up is always rewarding to an industry as motivated and committed employees are more productive and higher productivity usually results in higher profits.

Researchers have suggested that employee empowerment and motivation are positively associated with employees' participation, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and higher productivity (Iqbal et al., 2013). Swarnalatha and Prasanna (2012) studies on employee empowerment to motivate the employees in health care industry in a private multispecialty organization. Tutar et al. (2011) studied on the effects of employee empowerment on achievement motivation and the contextual performance of employees. The authors have discussed about the perceived employee empowerment on achievement motivation and performance of employees. The study has mentioned that the perceived employee empowerment has a positive impact on the achievement motivation and contextual performance of employees in the organisation.

Table 4.3: OLS Estimate of the Impact of Employee Empowerment on Motivation

ii. The Link between Motivation and Employee' Job Satisfaction in the Ghana Education Service

The second objective of the study sought to examine the link between motivation and employee satisfaction in the Ghana Education Service. This section of the analysis presents results of data estimation on this objective. The results are based on the ordinary least square (OLS) technique and are reported on Table 4.3. The results of data processed suggested that employee motivation significantly affect employee satisfaction. Motivation significantly had a positive and significant relationship at $1\mathrm{\%}$ level of significance with employee motivation. Evidence from the table suggests that employee motivation has a coefficient of 0.137396 in the regression model with a p-value of 0.0003 at $1\mathrm{\%}$ level of significance. The result indicates that all other things remaining constant, an increase in the employee motivation will stimulate 0.137396 increase in the satisfaction of teachers in the Ghana Education service.

The results are an indication that when teachers are motivated in their work it influences their level of satisfaction in delivering their service and desire to continue servicing in the Ghana Education Service. In the teaching profession, teachers' performance depends on what they perceive as important to them in their teaching or professional career. These factors are much dear to the hearts of teachers and hence determine their level of satisfaction and will make them happy to put up their best at work.

The finding of the study is consistent with Seniwoliba (2013) who assessed teacher motivation and job satisfaction in senior high schools in the Tamale metropolis of Ghana and found that teacher motivation leads to job satisfaction of teacher. Similarly, in the study by Khalid, Salim and Loke (2011) to examine the impacts of rewards and motivation on job satisfaction between public and private water utility organization in Malaysia, the study found that motivation influence employee job satisfaction positively.

b) The Relationship

The third objective of the study was meant to examine the effect of employee empowerment (EMP) on satisfaction of their job. Employee empowerment (EMP) had a positive effect on job satisfaction. Employee empowerment (EMP) had a positive unstandardised coefficient of 0.284 and a probability of 0.011 at 5 percent significant level. This is an indication that teacher empowerment has a significant impact on satisfaction of their job. The result indicates that all other things being equal, an increase in teacher empowerment will engender their satisfaction in their job by 0.284.

Empowerment has now become an imperative for the organizations, especially for those who want to win external pressures with the help of their workforce support. Until the employees do feel empowered, they are not satisfied with their jobs. The findings were also supported by other previous studies, which confirmed a significant relationship between empowerment and job satisfaction (Hechanova et al., 2006; Patah et al., 2009; Pelit et al., 2011).

c) Recommendations

Based on the findings, discussions and the conclusions drawn, the following recommendations are submitted:

• Given that salaries, incentives, job security, and working conditions are the most important determinants of teachers' satisfaction and increased performance, the government should collaborate with the GES to make these issues policy priorities. In this respect, salary parity analysis could be conducted to ensure that conditions of service of teachers and other sectors of the economy are equitable.
• Since teachers have low self-esteem and feel they are not respected by communities and society in general, teacher's social status could be enhanced through a two-prong approach: (a) By providing teachers with effective training, decent working conditions and enhanced remuneration; and
• sensitizing all educational stakeholders aimed at improving, restoring the dignity and status of the teaching profession.
• The government should re-look, design a single-spine salary structure for all civil and public servants to ensure that people in different establishments with equal qualifications, knowledge, skills and experience with similar job responsibilities are placed on the same scale to avoid disparity and eliminate the perception of inequity
• Any improvement in education should seek the interest of teachers and so part of the GETFUND could be used to improve the lot of teachers to ensure that they remain to give off their best
• Teachers' problems with accommodation and medical allowance need to be addressed since they are critical factors for attrition; and
• Recruitment, postings, transfers and promotions should be based on performance and not seniority. The absence of a mechanism to recognize the achievement of teachers' means there is less motivation among them. Therefore an amicable solution should be sorted to address this issue.

d) Conclusions

• The first objective of study sought to assess the impact of employee empowerment on motivation in the Ghana Education Service. The analysis revealed

that teacher empowerment has positive effect on motivation at $5\mathrm{\%}$ level of significance. This is an indication that when teachers are empowered with the necessary skills, knowledge, and logistics it motivates them to deliver better services to the Ghana Education Services and the people of Ghana at large.

• The second objective of the study examined the link between motivation and teachers' job satisfaction in the Ghana Education Service. The results of data processed suggested that employee motivation positively and significantly affect their satisfaction on the job. The results implies that when teachers are motivated either intrinsically or extrinsically it positively impacts their satisfaction. Motivation is particularly useful because, teacher's performance depends on what they perceive as important to them in their teaching or professional career. These factors are much dear to the hearts of teachers and hence determine their level of satisfaction and will make them happy to put up their best at work.
• The third objective also examined the relationship between teacher empowerment and job satisfaction in the Ghana Education Service. The results indicated that teacher empowerment had a positive unstandardised coefficient of 0.284 and a probability of 0.011 at 5 percent significant level, an indication of a positive relationship. When teachers are given the necessary empowerment that they need it will boost the satisfaction at work. According to (2013), empowerment and its dimensions, access to information, reward systems, self-determination and competence had a significant positive relationship on job satisfaction