| dc.description.abstract | The performance of the public service in Kenya has been perceived as wanting since
independence. The Kenya government has tried to resolve this problem through
implementation of performance contracts (PCs). In countries where PCs have been
implemented, implementing nations have attested to their success in improving
employee performance, autonomy of government agencies, transparency and
accountability (Ammons 2002), development of legal framework, creation of
performance related bodies (PCSC2005), and dialogue between governments and their
agencies (Shirley & Xu 1997). It therefore became necessary to assess the effects of
performance contracts on employees at the Kenya Institute of Education, which is a semi
autonomous government agency under the ministry of education. An ex-post facto
research design was used. Forty two curriculum developers at KIE who had been under
performance contract since 2006 to the time of the study constituted the respondents.
The study revealed that performance contracting has improved the performance of core
activities by curriculum developers at the institute. Despite the improvements in
performance, the study also revealed that there are various performance related
challenges that need to be addressed. These include need for training on performance
improvement, team building, provision of adequate performance related resources and
incentives. These findings are important as they may aid the KIE management to
understand the effects of performance contracts on employees. This may guide the
institute in performance management process to improve the employee’s performance. It
will also help policy makers in design of guidelines that promote desired corporate
governance practices by providing an insight into the effects of the current performance
contracts in KIE. | en |
