| dc.description.abstract | Prior to the introduction of the current performance contracting and appraisal system in
the public service in Kenya in 2006, employee’s appraisal was unidirectional; staffs were
appraised by their bosses without their participation and without any feedback. It was
regarded by the staff as a punitive action. The promotion policy in public service was
based on non objectives criteria, and was characterized by nepotism and tribalism. The
appraisal form was often filled to satisfy the employer or merely to comply with the
employment law. The current performance appraisal system was introduced to with the
aim of reversing the above trends and to give back to the appraisal its real meaning and
objective (GOK, 2008). This study intends to examine the effects of performance
incentive on records management in the public sector. The specific objectives include
identifying the types of performance incentive contracts adopted by the government
ministries in Kenya; to establish the effects of performance incentive contracts on the
records management by the government ministries in Kenya; to determine the problems
related to the implementation of the performance incentive system and to establish
measures to enhance effectiveness of performance incentive contacting. This study is
important to the Government of Kenya, public sector employees and the academia. This
research problem was studied through the use of a descriptive research design. The
population of interest of this study was the civil service where a questionnaire was used
as a research instrument and targeted 10 respondents in each of the 18 government
ministries. The study used a descriptive survey design and a case study strategy, with the
civil service as my reference for the case study. Data were analyzed using Statistical
Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and the results presented by use of figures and tables.
The study found that the performance contracting and appraisal system needed to be
understood for it to be effective. There was lack of orientation of line managers and
staffs on the appraisal system. There was also lack of consistency in the communication
of the feedback, arbitrary allocation of ratings and resistance to performance appraisal.
The study recommended that the performance contracting system be integrated in the
orientation package for new officers and ensure that all new officers are properly oriented
on the system by the human resource department not later than 3 months after they have
joined the different government ministries. Everyone in the organization needs to
understand why performance contracts are being introduced and how the system operates.
The appraisal reports should be made mandatory: they should be prepared by the line
managers and should contain the comment on the rating allocated to the employee and
the comparison with the rating for the previous appraisal, the new targets agreed upon
with the employee and the training necessary for future improvement and the promotion | en |
