A Malaysian research study has investigated job satisfaction among faculty members in two leading Malaysian universities. Using Herzberg’s two‐factor theory, ten key factors contributing to job satisfaction were investigated. The study showed that salary and policy and administration were most important in creating job satisfaction. This was surprising as Herzberg’s theory presents these factors as hygiene factors (conditions that create job dissatisfaction). In addition, it was found that all of Herzberg’s motivators such as achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility, advancement and growth were related to dissatisfaction.

Similar findings from a 2015 study at PT. Dada, a medium‐sized exporting business in Indonesia, show that although work discipline, motivation and job satisfaction have a positive effect on organisational commitment, they are closely associated with Herzberg’s hygiene factors, such as work conditions and salary. The study reveals that although work discipline is high, absenteeism low and self‐motivation moderately good, the researchers found that job satisfaction would be higher if working conditions and salary, such as providing adequate overtime pay, were improved — that is, by recognising the hygiene factors as motivators.

Nonconformity with the contemporary Herzberg model may suggest that the job satisfaction is dependent upon cultural sensitivities and the concept may not necessarily be applied beyond Western cultural settings. This has significant ramifications for human resources operations in global corporations.

QUESTION

Why should global corporations pay attention to local cultures in designing job rewards? What are the key motivators that would satisfy you most in the workplace? How would this differ from the South‐East Asian examples above?