Factors Influencing Employee Perception of Empowerment: a Case Study of the Staff of the University of Nairobi

Abstract

The objective for this study was to determine the factors that influence employee perception of empowerment at the University of Nairobi. The University being an agent of change is also looked at as an environment where empowerment of employees should be greatly fostered. Empowerment consists of sharing power and authority. Empowerment means letting go of the authority to make certain decisions. For the University to achieve its key objective of becoming a worldclass institution of higher learning, it has become necessary to seriously involve members of staff at all levels. This calls for staff members to be fully empowered to take the initiative, make decisions and solve problems promptly. Presently there is a discrepancy between the management and employee perception of empowerment of University of Nairobi staff. The literature herein has looked at various issues relating to empowerment such as the concept, need, context, benefits and limitations of empowerment, empowerment as a management tool, empowerment policies and perception. The study used survey research design. A sample size of 312 respondents were drawn from a target population of 3917 staff members of the University of Nairobi through stratified random sampling procedure. The primary data was collected using a questionnaire and analyzed using tables, means, percentages and factor analysis. The major findings indicated that the following were the factors that influence perception of employee empowerment at the University of Nairobi: requisite competence/capabilities, management, peer, technology support, organizational culture, the meaningfulness of the job, self-determination, impact and participation in decision-making. The University of Nairobi indicated that they are highly empowered with a mean score of 60%. They further stated that they would feel more comfortable if they were allowed to make decisions regarding their work (76.7%). The lowest rated aspect was with regard to involvement in decisions that affect one‟s job (49%).

The study recommends more training for staff to gain mastery of skills, involvement in decision-making, institutionalisation of physical and emotional fulfilment strategies, development of an empowered organizational culture with an aim of achieving worldclass status.