Performance Target Setting and Employee Service Delivery at Kirinyaga University, Kenya

Abstract

Organizations are eager to monitor and increase the productivity of their employees. One such means with the potential of increasing service performance and delivery is performance contracting. Performance contracting through performance target setting has seen accelerated effort in research as a new concept of management in Kenya. Most studies have focused on performance management, performance measurement, commitment, and target meeting. The objective of this research is to understand how much of target setting, target implementation and monitoring and evaluation influences positive service delivery. The research was done at Kirinyaga University, a public university in Kenya. The study adopted descriptive cross-sectional research design with a population of 272 staff members. Primary data was collected using a structured questionnaire that included both closed and open-ended questions. Secondary data was collected from journals. Pilot study was conducted in order to determine validity and reliability of research instruments. The Statistical Package for Social Science package was used in the data analysis. Descriptive statistical tools including the mean, mode standard deviation, and variance were used to analyze qualitative data. Inferential statistics was done by use of correlation and multiple linear regression analysis in order to establish the relationship between independent variable and the dependent variable. The results revealed that performance contacting parameters significantly (t = 3.407, p < 0.05) affected service delivery of the University. It was also revealed that target implementation significantly (t = 2.633, p < 0.05) influenced service delivery. However, it was established that target setting (t = -1.816, p < 0.05), monitoring and evaluation (t = 0.617, p < 0.05) did not significantly influence service delivery at Kirinyaga University. In conclusion, proper target setting, monitoring and evaluation, and target implementation are necessary in achieving employees and organizations’ goals as well as satisfactory delivery of services to customers.