Abstract:
The purpose of the study was to examine effects of career development on employees’ motivation, in
case of Ethiopian electric utility Oromia region Ambo district. The specific objectives of the study
were to assess the implementation of career development, to identify the effect of training on
employee motivation, to identify the effect of salary increment on employee motivation, to identify
the effect of promotion on employee motivation and to develop recommendations to the challenges
thereof. Thus, mixed research designs (descriptive and explanatory) were used. The study adopted
stratified random sampling after which 184 respondents were identified. A Five Point Liker Type
Scale questionnaire was used to collect primary data for the study. Out of the 184 respondents,
90.1% have filled out and returned the questionnaires. The questionnaires were then coded and
responses analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Correlation Coefficient
was used to determine the relationship between career development practices and employee
motivation. The study found out that Career development has a significant influence on employee
motivation in Ethiopian electric utility Oromia region Ambo district showing a strong, What is more,
the study established that career development has a significant influence on employee motivation
and it also represented a strong, positive relationship between career development and employee
motivation. The study has also found out that in Ethiopian electric utility Oromia region Ambo
district there are organizational challenges (e.g. lack of interesting career opportunities, lack of
short and long term training, lack of frequent and sufficient salary increment, lack of conducive
working environment, (lack of planned, attractive as well as fair promotional opportunities), lack of
good and frequent communication among management and the employee of the organization, and
etc. are among the main constraints that contribute on lack of motivation in case of Ethiopian
electric utility Oromia region Ambo district. The study recommends that the organization should
provide adequate career advisory services to employee, good communication and frequent
discussion culture ought to be practiced among employee and management of the organization,
management should recognize career development in general, and promotion in particular, the
managements of the office need to motivate and encourage their staffs so as to advance
their performance, the organization needs to have proper performance appraisal system that can be
used to determine attainment of set goals, and providing incentive for more productive workers.
