CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
Organizations are established to perform certain tasks and use different cadre of staff to achieve their
objectives. To maintain standards and anticipated outputs organizations have to keep abreast with both
new knowledge and technological advances. This fast growing challenge requires that organisations
engage or update their staff so that they can cope with the rate of generation of new changes in these
areas. Some of the coping mechanisms applied by organizations are recruitment of trainable staff,
reproofing of present staff, in service training in certain disciplines and on the job training including
exchange programmes.

11.1 Background to the Study

Employee performance as defined by Ibeogu and Ozturen (2015) is a goal-oriented process to ensure
that the employee, team and organizational objectives are met. Most organization consider maximizing
performance as critical priority and hence it is important to achieve that through the employees. Jalal
and Putri (2015) places emphasis on the people if an organization needs to have sustainable competitive
advantage. Improvement of the workforce value on a continuous basis is therefore important.
Performance is a combination of both effectiveness and efficiency and for the case of employee
performance, it is how well they perform on the job measured against accepted organizational
standards. This means that every organization has general expectations from employees in relation to
their performance (Ibeogu & Ozturen, 2015).

In the United Kingdom, a number of HRM practices have impacted significantly on employee
performance as well as job satisfaction in the public sector and the range of these practices include
human capital management, knowledge management, organization development, resourcing (human
resource planning, recruitment and selection, and talent management), performance management,
learning and development, reward management, employee relations and employee well-being
(Armstrong 2010). In china, HRM practices such as appraisal are among the factors that influence
employee performance, job satisfaction and organizational commitment (Huang 2000). The 2
institutions have viewed HRM practices as crucial assets that are geared towards creating and
maintaining skillful and committed workforce for achieving organizational goals. Steijn (2004) found that
HRM practices had positive influence on job satisfaction and employee performance in the Dutch public
sector, whereas individual characteristics, such as age, gender, and education, had insignificant
influence on the same. In South Africa, the need for the HRM policy, strategy and systems to underpin
the business strategy as well as well as improve employee performance has never been greater (Lee &
Wu, 2010).

In Nigeria, the public service has undergone radical transformation in the management of human
resource, beginning with the human resource managers themselves (Agoi 2017). They are critical, not
only because they manage the most important resource (public servants), but also because they are at
the vanguard of shaping the leadership capabilities, professionalism, ethics and integrity in the Public
Service. According to Balozi (2011), six dimensions of HR practices, namely, career development,
staffing, training and development, performance appraisal, incentives and employee relations, were
positively related to employee performance. Saeed (2013) indicated that the use of performance
appraisal grew systematically from the USA military in the 19th century where the pressure for
promotions in the military ranks was growing. This called for performance appraisal where techniques
such as trait rating scales and peer ranking were developed and used. This method was however
unpopular until after World War One after which it has assumed an exponential growth in the years to
follow (Dessler, 2013). Rollison (2015) argued that sometimes back, 3 performance appraisal was spared
for the high reaches only. Bakotic and Babic (2013) contends that the approach was done by
inspectorate system. To maintain an organization’s vitality, performance appraisal should be
approached as a participative method and not command like procedure (Ibeogu & Ozturen, 2015). The
African Union (AU) came up with a system called New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) to
be used by the respective governments of the member states to improve their governance through
democracy, political, economic and corporate governance. This method was adopted in the year 2003
by Kenya (Wanjiru, Abaja & Ochieng, 2013) and other member states such as Nigeria, Gambia and
Ghana are also implementing the method. So has Rwanda adopted the method to streamline the
performance of employees in both local and ministerial levels (Mwema & Gachunga, 2014). An
interrogation by Owor (2016) demonstrated that in Uganda, there is management of employees in a
continuous process which emphasizes collective identification, development and implementation of
both individual and team goals. Mwema and Gachunga (2014) on the other hand felt that performance
appraisal was not a significant determinant of performance in schools in Kenya. However, inadequacy of
instructional materials was. Nguata (2013) emphasized the importance of having timely and regular
feedback so as to enhance corrective action. Despite its importance, performance appraisal as argued by
Harvard Business School Press (2013) has been implemented quite differently depending on the
purpose, process and effects. Focusing on Kenyan schools, Gichuhi (2008) 4 documented the importance
of performance appraisal in ensuring that the teachers performed and met their targets. However,
Mwema and Gachunga (2014) felt that there lacks an elaborate performance appraisal system in the
Kenyan education sector and in cases where it existed, it had not played a significant role in creating
teacher motivation. Kelemba, Chepkilot and Zakayo (2017) observe that performance appraisal
especially in the Kenyan education system is not only an expensive exercise but also lacks a clear
purpose. Employee performance is a key element of the Social Pillar component of Kenya Vision 2030,
the blue print guide to economic growth from 2008 to 2030. Optimal utilization of human resource is
crucial in efficiency and effectiveness in quality service delivery to citizens hence, realization of the
vision. According to Lee and Chen (2013), limited knowledge and competence building within the
workforce compromised quality and limited access to information on program-based budgeting have
hindered employee performance in public service leading to poor service delivery. The contribution by
these authors although limited to capacity building and budgeting has contributed significantly to the
current research. Unfocused leadership, limited funds, poor evaluation and reporting system, lack of
employee involvement in decision making and weak legal framework to hinder employee performance.
Employee involvement, training on performance contracting, employee participation, autonomy and
investment into new technology were proposed as ways of improving employee performance.

1.1.1 Employee Performance Employee performance as defined by Ibeogu and Ozturen (2015) is a goal-
oriented process to ensure that the employee, team and organizational objectives are met. Most 5
organization consider maximizing performance as critical priority and hence it is important to achieve
that through the employees. Bond and Fox (2007) observed that some measures of performance of
employees include organization outcome i.e. collecting feedback about performance of employees
through multiple feedback and self-assessments, taking note of the knowledge, skills and behavior of
the staff that help in the achievement of those goals and achievement of organizational objectives.
Rudman (2003) stated that measuring employees’ performance covers evaluation of the tasks
completed and the accomplishments in a given period with the goals set at the beginning of the period.
The need for a comprehensive measure of performance is important and organizations can use them to
evaluate employees’ performance. Satisfactory performance is therefore not easy to come by unless
performance management measures have been put in place. Performance is therefore at the center
stage of any organization in ensuring that the resources have been used efficiently in realizing the
targets. It is therefore a hard task for the managers to ensure that they reap more benefits given a
certain level of resources (Asfaw, Argaw & Bayissa, 2015). The employees are said to have performed in
cases where they have surpassed their expectations required of them. Kariuki and Murimi (2015) argued
that employee management is a topic involving the employee and employer creating a shared vision and
objectives with the employees having understood what is required of them in terms of contribution to
the organization. It is argued that when people understand what is expected of them, then they will put
in effort to achieve it. 6 Some of the employee performance systems to be used are training, appraisal,
and rewards which are incorporated as HR functions with a common goal of having competent and
performing employees (Kariuki & Murimi, 2015).

1.1.2 Performance Appraisal A performance appraisal refers to the comparison of an employee’s actual
delivery against the expectations in order to determine their contribution to the organization’s overall
performance as well as make administrative decisions regarding promotions, remunerations and job
rotations. Previously it was being conducted annually but in the modern era, it is a practice being
conducted frequently (Karuja & Mukuru, 2013). In the modern era, the managers are providing
employees with continuous real time feedback in order to improve their skill development and job
performance. Some of the information used to rate an employee are job incidents, sales reports and
ratings. According to Karuja and Mukuru (2013) most organizations are considering the evaluative
aspects of performance appraisal which overlooks tits role of facilitative employee development,
training and salary administration. Kelemba, Chepkilot and Zakayo (2017) places performance
management as a crucial task for not only the managers, but also individuals in the modern labor
setting. It is a common practice among companies especially at the management level. In the process,
there has however been conflicts between the evaluative role and development role of the approach. A
good performance appraisal approach should therefore be able to relate to the strategic goals of the
organization, focus on organizational output as well as provide a basis for feedback for improvement. 7
Performance appraisal systems is supposed to be job related, have a rationale where employees and the
management collectively discus improvement and encourage employees to participate in the process. If
not well planned, this process can be a negative process of mere form filling where the managers only
receive negative feedback and hence don’t spent time giving the employees feedback and in other
cases, managers discrediting the process. The process is also supposed to be seen as a partnership
where the HR professionals, managers and the employees work together to ensure that the process is
fair and important. Lastly, the system needs to be aligned to the organizational goals to ensure that the
employees are able to build on and share their knowledge (Khuong & Tien, 2013). Lee and Chen (2013)
further posit that performance appraisal can take many different forms depending on the organization’s
culture and it can vary from a periodic interview (annual or semi-annual) or 360. In a periodic review,
the employee’s work performance is examined and discussed with an aim of identifying the strength,
weaknesses and opportunities for improvement. The use of results from the process varies from
organization to organization whereas some partly use the information to reward, others don’t fully use
the information (Lee & Chen, 2013).

1.1.3 Kibabii University Kibabii University located in the western side of Kenya, is an institution for higher
learning, fully chartered and accredited by the commission for higher education of Kenya to offer both
under and graduate degrees. According to the university report of 2019, the university is headed by the
vice chancellor chairing both senate and management boards 8 and is the one reporting to the
university council. The VC is assisted by the DVC academic affairs and Director of finance and
administration (DFA) (Kibabii University, 2019). The university currently has 5 faculties of graduate
studies, computing and informatics, education and sciences, business and economies as well as sciences.
In the institution, there are both permanent and part time employees where the permanent employees
have their jobs described, analyzed and targets set by the HR department. The policy stipulates that it’s
only the permanent employees who are appraised and its done after half a year while the others are
evaluated by the students at the end of each semester (Kibabii University, 2019).

1.2 Statement of the Problem At Kibabii University, performance appraisal linked to employee
performance is not effectively adopted thereby among the less practiced HR functions. The activity is
mostly conducted as a mere exercise with no relevance to the journey of individual career growth and
improvement as well as reward, training nor job transfer (Kibabii, 2020). The increasing higher education
demands have placed Kibabii University in a challenging situation with a high number of poorly
maintained learning and research facilities. It is reported that Kibabii University has a weakened system
installed to assess and give feedback on employees’ performance to inform and guide their future
behavior. 9 The appraisers lack exposure on the exercise especially in regard to linking it to other HR
functions. Basically, this has forced the process to look like a mere normal process in the institution
where feedback is hardly considered in decision making. Performance appraisal should be an ongoing
process where the feedback is well utilized in order to realize its benefits (Ngari & Ndirangu, 2014).
While this is the case, other interrogations have called for a complete abolishment of performance
appraisals system citing shortcomings in the process. Most managers felt that the process was not
beneficial to the organization and didn’t add any value to it. In as much as it is being adopted by most
organizations locally, the assessment of its effectiveness has not been done which motivates this study.
Of the studies which have linked it to performance, few have focused on higher learning institutions
thus presenting a contextual research gap. Kinyanjui and Juma (2014) interrogated the influence of
implementing strategic plans on employee performance but the study was limited to strategic plan
implementation; Cheboi (2011) interrogated the perception of management on the importance of
performance appraisal system at Kabarak University thus presenting a contextual research gap since it
focused on a different context other than this study. This study focused on a public university while
Cheboi (2011) focused on a private organization. There were also methodological gaps in other studies
such as Matunge (2013) which focused on employee perception on the effectiveness of performance
appraisal systems at the Teachers Service Commission which purely adopted a descriptive approach
while this study also tested for relationships through inferential statistics of correlation and regression.
The study by Odimo (2006) on 10 the factors necessary for implementation of an effective performance
appraisal in private higher learning institutions in Kenya presented a conceptual /empirical research gap
since it did not link performance appraisal to employee performance as this study. Therefore, this study
sought to fill these gaps by investigating the influence of performance appraisal on employee
performance at Kibabii University in Bungoma County.

1.3 Objectives of the Study This study was guided by general and specific objectives.

1.3.1 General Objectives The general objective of the study was to establish the influence of
performance appraisal on employee performance at Kibabii University in Bungoma County.

1.3.2 Specific Objectives The specific objectives that guided the study included: i. To establish the
influence of evaluation on employee performance at Kibabii University in Bungoma county. ii. To
determine the influence of management by objectives on employee performance at Kibabii University in
Bungoma county. iii. To examine the influence of performance appraisal design on employee
performance at Kibabii University in Bungoma county. iv. To assess the influence of 360 degrees’
appraisal method on employee performance at Kibabii University in Bungoma county. 11

1.4 Research Questions The study was guided by the following questions: i. What is the influence of
evaluation on employee performance at Kibabii University in Bungoma county? ii. What is the influence
of management by objectives on employee performance at Kibabii University in Bungoma county? iii.
What is the influence of performance appraisal design on employee performance at Kibabii University in
Bungoma county? iv. What is the influence of 360 degrees’ appraisal method on employee performance
at Kibabii University in Bungoma county?

1.5 Significance of the Study Employee performance is a critical concept in most organizations and
hence the findings of this study are critical not only to institutions of higher learning in Kenya such as
Kibabii University, but also other organizations in both private and public sector. The university may
benefit from the recommendations of the study regarding the best approaches of performance
appraisal which can bring about higher productivity. Other institutions can similarly benefit from the
findings of the study in a similar manner. Human Resource practitioners may also find the
recommendations of the study useful in their pursuit of employee productivity. They may be able to
follow up on the recommendations to achieve high employee productivity given various performance
appraisal techniques as discussed by the study. 12 The topic of performance appraisal remains
important in the modern world and hence it is vital to the academic fraternity to build more on the
research gaps by this study. Considering that this study may have limitations, other researchers can
build more on it and focus more on an in-depth analysis of the subject matter.

1.6 Scope of the Study The study was based in Bungoma County, where it was limited to studying the
influence of performance appraisal on employee performance at Kibabii University in Bungoma County.
The target population was 400 employees working in various job groups in Kibabii University. As a way
of establishing the study population, the study targeted the management team (comprising of senior
management, middle management and lower level management) as well as other personnel involved in
administration, governance, teaching and nonteaching positions. The four major variables that were
covered under the study include evaluation, management by objectives, performance appraisal design
and 360 degrees’ appraisal method. The time span was between November 2019 and 2020. The study
adopted a descriptive survey design.

1.7 Limitations of the Study One of the major limiting factors was unwillingness of the respondents in
supplying the right responses as required by the researcher due to their perceived sensitive nature.
Secondly, some of the respondents were not honest enough in giving the right and truthful answers that
would aid in reliable findings. Failure by some respondents to 13 enumerate detailed responses to
questions raised posed a negative scholarly impact on the subject matter under study. The third
limitation facing the researcher and the research process was limited access to relevant data from the
targeted management levels in regard to the topic under study. For instance, the management levels
lack a centralized system where all information on project identification approaches and sustainability is
stored and can easily be retrieved. To counter the above limitations, the researcher guaranteed all
participants total confidentiality and privacy of every piece of information, as a measure to facilitate
participants to give only accurate and honest answers. In addition, the researcher obtained a letter from
Kenyatta University and a research permit from NACOSTI; these two documents enabled the researcher
to allay their fears. Most importantly, the researcher assured the respondents that the information
collected was purely for academic purposes. This automatically built and restored the confidence of the
targeted respondents into the researcher.

1.8 Organization of the Study

The organization of the project starts with the first chapter which discussed the background of key
concepts regarding performance appraisal and employee performance as well as the context of the
study. The chapter also presents the problem which motivated the study, objectives as well as
significance, scope and limitations.