Strategies Adopted To Manage Performance Of The Teachers Service Commission In Kenya

Abstract

In Kenya, the public sector have realized the significance of policy formulation and developing detailed plans that act as a guide in assisting these institutions to realize their strategic goals such as provision of quality and efficient services. This study was set out to determine the strategies adopted to manage performance of the Teachers Service Commission in Kenya. The study adopted a case study research design. A case study research design allows the researcher to carry out an in-depth investigation of the object that is under investigation. An interview guide was used for collecting data. Primary data was collated by interviewing five departmental heads who were: the Director of ICT, Director of Finance, Director of Human Resource and Development, Director Teacher Management and Senior Deputy Director Policy Planning Research and Innovation. The study used content analysis. This method of analysis focused on discrete themes that described a wide range of meanings of a phenomenon rather than the statistical relevance of specific concepts. The study concluded that the popular strategies adopted by TSC were use of ICT. service delivery reengineering, customer and employee satisfaction surveys, adoption of ISO: 2008 quality management system, implementation of performance contract, strategic talent management programs, and decentralization of services to the county level. The study further concluded that the adoption of strategies contributed towards improved efficiency in service delivery, reduction of communication and supervision costs and information sharing which led to improved performance. The study recommends that TSC should increase its budgetary allocation to invest in information communication technology infrastructure. This will increase sharing of information and communication in the organisation that will result into reduced communication costs and efficiency in decision making processes and procedures. The study was limited to a case study research design which uses open-ended questions only. This kind of a research design cannot be utilized to establish the relationship that exists between strategies and performance which is essential for hypothesis testing and making comparisons with empirical studies and theories. Future researchers should consider carrying out a replica of the same study in the public sector for instance, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. This will enable the researchers to establish the strategies used by the ministry and to choose the most effective ones. This would form a basis for comparison of findings upon which a more reliable conclusion can be drawn. A comparative study should be carried out using both primary and secondary sources of data so that the researchers can establish existing relationship between strategies and performance and to find out the most appropriate measures of performance using financial measures such as Return on Assets, Sales growth and Return on Equity.