| dc.description.abstract | The discipline of employee empowerment has gained prominence among key
functions of the human resource management functions in the last decade and has
undergone tremendous transformation with both negative and positive outcomes.
Empowerment programs determine an organization health in terms of success or
failure, profitability or loss, growth or stagnation, survival or demise and superior or
inferior performance. Where it has been used correctly, it has resulted in growth,
competitiveness, profitability, superior performance, effectiveness, commitment,
innovation and high levels of positive efforts and identification with the organization
goals and objectives. Where applied haphazardly, it has resulted to increased loses,
failure, decline, and non-competitiveness and inferior performance. This study sought
to examine the influence of empowerment programs on employee performance among
public sector corporations in Kenya. The study was conducted at the Kenya Pipeline
Corporation (KPC) limited and concentrated at the corporation’s headquarters situated
in Nairobi. The empowerment programs selected for the study comprised of employee
participation programs, employee training and development programs, employee
reward programs and employee information and communication programs. The study
was guided by the following objectives; to determine how employee participation
programs influence workforce performance, to examine how employee training
programs influence workforce performance, to establish how employee reward and
compensation programs influence workforce performance, and to assess how
employee information and communication programs influence workforce
performance at KPC. The study adopted descriptive design approach to research. The
target population for the study was two hundred and forty nine (249) employees of
KPC stationed at the headquarters. The sample size for the study was seventy four
(74) employees. Simple random sampling and stratified random sampling techniques
were used in sampling its population. Data obtained was from secondary and primary
sources. The instruments used in the collection of data comprised of interviews,
questionnaires and observation for primary data and scrutiny of existing records for
the secondary data. The data obtained was analysed through the application of
descriptive statistics tools with the outcomes presented using tables and values
indicated in percentages. It was established that KPC mostly uses partial participation
program (54.7%) and this had general negative influences on employee performance
(49.1%). The partial participation program contributed to decrease in employee
performance (52.8%) and it influenced the performance in more dysfunctional ways
(71.7%). KPC mostly uses tactical training system that is rigid and periodic in nature
(50.9%) and resulted in negative influences on the employees’ performance (45.3%).
Tactical training used at the KPC contributed to decrease in performance (60%). KPC
mostly uses the all financial reward system (52.8%), the reward program had negative
influences on the employees’ performance (50.9%) and that it contributed to reduced
success in employees’ performance (50%). KPC mostly uses the closed (one way)
communication program (60%) and the program had negative influences on the
employees’ performance (50.9%). The current empowerment programs being
practiced at the Kenya pipeline corporation has had negative influences on employee
performance. The Training program had most influences on employee performance,
followed by reward, participation with the program of communication having least
influences. The study recommends that further research be conducted on the effects of
strategy training and development programs on employee productivity among the
public corporation in Kenya | en_US |
