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Influence of Recognition Schemes on Employee Performance in Large Commercial Banks in Nairobi City County in Kenya
No full textRecognizing excellent performance openly builds motivation within the entire organization. It is acknowledged that employee recognition has contagious effects. When an employee witnesses others being rewarded for good performance, it becomes a chain reaction. The study sought to determine the effect of recognition schemes on employee performance. Cognitive Evaluation Theory on Recognition Schemes was used to inform the study. The study adopted a descriptive research design. Descriptive statistics was chosen since it utilizes data collection and analysis techniques that yield reports concerning the measures of central tendency, variation, and correlation. The combination of its characteristic summary and correlation statistics, along with its focus on specific types of research questions, methods, and outcomes necessitated the choice of this design. The study adopted a positivism philosophy. The target population was 22,856 employees working in the six selected Commercial Banks in Nairobi City County composed of both clericals and Management staff. Krejcie and Morgan sample size determination table was used to derive a sample of 377 respondents. Primary data was collected using structured questionnaires that had both close ended and open-ended questionnaires. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS. The study conducted various tests including normality test, multicollinearity, stationarity, heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation tests. Factor analysis was carried out among corresponding questions to allow formation of factors with the highest Eigen values. Test of hypothesis was done at 95% confidence interval. The study established a positive and significant relationship between recognition schemes and employee performance (r=0.666, p=0.000), the alternate hypotheses was not rejected. Based on the findings, the study concluded that recognition has a positive and significant effect on employee performance. The researcher recommends that management Commercial Banks should embrace recognition schemes as recognition schemes develops a strongly enthusiastic team and critical source of inspiration for others. Continuous recognition of exemplary employee creates a culture of recognition tied to accomplishment and employee growth. To grow and nurture culture of recognition clear criteria for recognizing employee is required. Recognition creates a deep-rooted and long-term ownership among the employees for the organization.
Keywords; Recognition Schemes, Employee Performance, Commercial Banks & Nairobi City County, Kenya
Influence of Employee Relations on Organizational Performance: The Case of Nyamasheke District, Rwanda
No full textEmployees are among an organization's most important resources and coined as most valuable assets. It involves maintaining a work environment that satisfies the needs of individual employees and management. An effective employee relation involves creating and cultivating a motivated and productive workforce. Happy employees are the Potentials employees and happy employees are always productive employees. The Study was confined within the district of Nyamasheke one of districts of Rwanda. The study employed a descriptive research design. The target population for this study was employees of Nyamasheke district. As local government, they are in a position to give reliable information on Influence of employee relations on organization performance. The sample was 63 respondents all employees of district's office. Data was collected mainly by use of questionnaires. The data was analyzed using quantitative research techniques with the help of SPSS, was presented into frequency distributions, pie chart, tables, means and percentages. Further, inferential analysis such as Pearson's correlation was performed to establish relationships among study variables, while regression analysis was done to establish the effect of independent variables on the dependent variable. The study revealed that there was a relationship between the independent variables: employee communication, employee health and safety, employee bargaining, and conflict resolution and the dependent variable organisation performance. The study concludes that there is a relationship between independent variables and dependent variable. The study recommends that all employers have to develop effective communication to provide frequent pertinent information and create avenues for suggestions, opinions, and feedback from staff. Conflicts have both negative and positive effects, the employer and the employees should work towards achieving the positive effects rather than the negative. Another recommendation is that all employees take responsibility to perform at work for organisation satisfaction.
Keywords: Employee Relations, Communication, Collective Bargaining, Employees Health and Safety, Employee Conflict and Organisational Performance.  
Information System Security Mechanisms in Financial Management
No full textOrganizations and people that use computers can describe their needs for information security and trust in systems in terms of three major requirements which are confidentiality, integrity and availability. Payroll and general ledger were among the first processes to become automated. However, organizations have continuously experienced targeted attacks and on an increasingly frequent basis. Security risk is increasing due to increased internal and external threats. Subsequently, security is getting harder to manage. In this climate, organizations must employ strategies to direct their security efforts and should optimize their limited resources. The study endeared to analyze and evaluate security strategies utilized in the financial management systems with the sole aim of driving innovation and generating competitive advantage. The researcher utilized desktop literature review, this type of review critiques and summarizes a body of literature and draws conclusions about the topic in question. The study found that many organizations operate in large-scale network environments with numerous servers, fixed terminals and portable wireless devices including laptops and smart phones. In addition, there are employees with complex access profiles to masses of information at varying levels of sensitivity. The strategies focused on security risk management include prevention, deterrence, surveillance, detection, response, deception, perimeter defense and layering. Of importance is the loss prevention which focuses on what critical assets are and how they can be protected. Attacks can be prevented by employing these strategies and the improvement of system efficiency. The study recommended that strategies should be devised to contend with risk exposure in financial security environments which requires a systematic and comprehensive approach with a view to learning and developing situational awareness especially from security incidents.
Keywords: Security, Strategy, Information system, Financial Management and Organizatio
Effect of Asset Tangibility on Financial Performance of Listed Firms in the Nairobi Securities Exchange
No full textThe Kenya Government, together with companies and individuals in the private sectors, has put concerted efforts in ensuring the existence of a favorable environment for doing business in the country. Consequently, while some firms listed in the NSE have improved in performance, there are others that have experienced declining fortunes and some have even been delisted from the NSE over the last decade. Significant efforts to turn around such companies or even liquidate them have focused mainly on restructuring of firm level factors. However, managers and practitioners still lack adequate guidance for attaining optimal decision on firm level factors. The specific objectives of the study was to determine the effect of asset tangibility on financial performance of listed firms in the Nairobi securities exchange. The study employed panel research design that is non-experimental in nature. This study targeted all the 64 firms listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. A census of all the 64 firms listed in Nairobi Securities Exchange was used as a unit of analysis. Secondary data extracted from the financial statements was used to compute the relevant ratios and encompassed panel data. The study employed a dynamic panel data regression model while ANOVA was used to test the relationship between the variables across the sectors. Test of hypothesis was done at 95% confidence interval. The study found out that there was a positive and significant relationship between asset tangibility and financial performance of financial and non-financial firms. The study concluded that asset tangibility has a positive and significant effect on financial performance of Listed Firms in the Nairobi Securities Exchange. A firm is highly competitive when as its managers are able to mix tangible and intangible assets in the most effective and efficient manner. Therefore, a firm can get the same score of competitiveness by using a different combination of assets and by giving different importance coefficients to the tangible and intangible assets.
Keywords: Asset Tangibility, Financial Performance & Nairobi Securities Exchang
Relationship between Proactiveness and Growth of Top 100 Enterprises in Kenya
No full textSmall and medium size enterprises continues to play an important role in the economic growth of most countries. Notably they have become imperative as a source of job creation; wealth creation and capital creation. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) also act as supplier of goods and services for large organizations. While SMEs play a significant role in the economy, managers of successful organizations are faced with rapidly changing and fast paced environments. The disruptive and turbulent environment forces the managers to be entrepreneurial as they fulfills the demanding role of enhancing performance contingent on the ever changing environment. Similarly, many SMEs have failed to appreciate the role of industry experience and thus a slow growth hence lacking competitive advantage in the ever changing business environment. The study endeavored to determine relationship between proactiveness and the growth of Top 100 Enterprises in Kenya. Descriptive approach was adopted in order to describe the data and characteristics about the population. The target population comprised of 287 middle-sized companies who were the Top 100 KPMG feted enterprises in Kenya in the year 2010 - 2015. Stratified random sampling was used to select the 164 managers who formed the sample size for the study. Questionnaires were used to collect the data and analysed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis. Findings indicated that proactiveness had a positive and significant effect on growth. This was supported by a significance level of (B=0.18, p=0.000). The study concluded that proactiveness leads antedate imminent prospects, both in terms of products or technologies as well as in markets and consumer demand. It brings about change in an environment by predicting trends through the exploration of opportunities, hence the introduction of new products and services.
Keywords: Proactiveness, Growth, Top 100 Enterprise and Small and Medium Enterprises
Determinants of Successful Implementation of Donor Funded Projects in Kenya: A Case of Pathfinder International
No full textThe very low rate on successful implementation of the projects within Non-Governmental Organizations [NGOs] which has resulted to noticeable problems of economic waste, loss of the public funds, and end user displeasure motivated this study to investigate the determinants used to ensure successful implementation of donor funded projects in Kenya by focusing on the Pathfinder International project. The specific determinants examined were resource allocation, project planning tools, teamwork and monitoring & evaluation. The study adopted an empirical approach using a quantitative design that ensured accuracy and better understanding of the issues raised about the problem of the study. The sample size of this study was therefore 100 respondents. The choice of population census was because it leads to collection of unbiased data that represents the opinions of all the respondents regarding a characteristic of the population. The study adopted Likert scale close ended questionnaire to collect primary data. The study used both descriptive and inferential statistics for analysis. Inferential techniques of correlation and regression analysis adopted at 5% significance level determined the magnitude and direction of the relationship of the variables under study. The findings of the study revealed that the four determinants positively and significantly influenced implementation of the Pathfinder International projects in Kenya. The study concluded that an improvement in the indicators of all the determinants examined will lead to a significant improvement in implementation of donor funded projects in Kenya. The study recommended that in order to enhance significant improvement in implementation of donor funded projects in Kenya, there is need for improvement in various indicators of resource allocation, project planning tools, teamwork and monitoring & evaluation.
Key Words: Resource allocation, Project planning tools, Teamwork, Monitoring & evaluation, NGOs
 
Influence of Personal and Social Characteristics on Innovation Culture of Medium Enterprises in Nairobi Central Business District, Kenya
No full textMedium enterprises (MEs) play a key role in the Kenyan economic development particularly in creation of ideas which are implemented into reality through innovations. The statistics show that a total of 2.2 million Micro Small and Medium Enterprises were closed in the last five years, where 46 percent of them died in their first year of establishment. MEs are also grappling with cut-throat competition, poor infrastructure, lack of access to markets and credit. The aim of this study was to establish the relationship between personal and social characteristics and innovation culture of MEs in Nairobi, Central Business District Kenya. A survey research design was followed, and the study targeted the owner managers of the MEs where a systematic random sampling technique was used to pick 147 respondents. Findings show that personal and social characteristics have a significant influence on innovation culture. The study recommends that the government should focus on training the young people if they are to be innovative and start enterprises. Young people should be encouraged to venture into entrepreneurial innovation given their innovative culture. The government should establish more financial institutions to facilitate innovations of entrepreneurs.
Keywords: Innovation culture, Personal and social characteristics and Medium enterprise
Influence of Transparency on Policy Implementation in Public Sector in Kenya
No full textPublic policy is seen as the broad framework of ideas and values within which decisions are taken and actions, or inactions, are pursued by governments in addressing a given set of problems. Inherent in the public policy is the desire by the government to address specific problems. However, passing policies does not guarantee success on the ground if policies are not implemented well. Problems associated with policy implementation occur when the desired result on the target or beneficiaries are not achieved. The study sought to establish whether transparency has an influence on policy implementation in public sector in Kenya. A descriptive correlation research design was adopted and the target population included 20 ministries, 153 parastatals and government agencies. The study adopted a census technique with respect to the unit of analysis which is the public sector. Questionnaires were used as the main data collection instruments and were pretested and for validity and reliability. Data analysis was performed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings indicated that there was a linear positive relationship between Transparency and Public Policy Implementation which means that an increase in Transparency would lead to a linear increase in Public Policy Implementation. It was concluded that Transparency has a significant influence on Public Policy Implementation and that it governance factor that affected effective implementation of public policy in public institutions in Kenya. The study recommended that public sector should adopt good governance practices in order to improve on policy implementation.
Keywords: Transparency, Governance, Public policy and Implementatio
Influence of Employee Participation on Performance of Public Servants in Vihiga County, Kenya
No full textThe purpose of this study was to determine the influence of employee participation on performance of public servants in Vihiga County, Kenya. The study adopted descriptive and explanatory survey design. This study targeted 359 heads of sections, 25 ward administrators and 8 members of the public service board. To ensure equal representation of individuals in the study stratified Random Sampling that involves dividing the population into two subgroups and then taking a simple random sample in each subgroup was used. To this regard, the study used a sample size of 183 heads of sections and 13 ward administrators. Further, purposive sampling was used to select the eight members of the public service board as key informants for the study, since they were expected to provide in-depth information relevant to the study. After data collection, the filled-in and returned questionnaires were edited for completeness, coded and entries made into SPSS. The descriptive analysis involving frequencies, percentage, mean and standard deviations were used as measures of central tendencies and dispersion respectively. A simple regression was also used to test the combined effect of all independent variables. The findings were presented in forms of Tables and charts. The study found out that there was positive and significant relationship between employee participation and performance of public servants (β=0.431, p=0.000). The study concluded that employee participation has a positive and significant effect on performance of public servants. The study concluded that the county government has used employee participation to a small extent. By allowing employee participation through the trade union, the management of the County may make popular decisions with regard to promotions and internal appointment of employees, among others. The study recommended that for purposes of ensuring that employee participation influence performance of public servants to a large extent, team based participation should be embraced in order to provide employee voice alongside the trade unions.
Keywords: Employee Participation, Performance of Public Servants and Vihiga County, Keny
Influence of Commitment as a Transformational Leadership Outcome on Staff Performance of Kenya Microfinance Institutions
No full textKenya has a very elaborate and expansive financial market and microfinance sector has become a key player in economic growth. This is mainly because it targets the unbanked and marginalized people especially in the rural areas and thus has direct impact on poverty eradication. As a concept, microfinance has been accepted across the globe as a forum within which poverty can be eradicated and financial inclusion extended. However various challenges define microfinance today and present a leadership challenge that needs to be tackled for the sector to improve and deliver its mandate. The study specifically looked at influence of commitment outcome on transformational leadership. This research is key to Kenyan government as it supports to come up with a clear framework for regulation of microfinance sector and offer leadership in the entire financial sector. The study targeted institutions that were engaged in retail microfinance and that are members of Kenyan Firm of Microfinance Institutions (AMFI). Primary data was gathered from the respondents whereas secondary data was obtained from AMFI on performance of institutions. Analysis of unit was staff in microfinance institutions that were categorized in to three: the senior management with whom an in-depth interview was conducted, middle level manager and the other staff who participated in daily activities of microfinance who were involved in a self-administered questionnaire. Performance was assessed through the load that microfinance officers carry in terms of the outstanding loan balance, the number of customers that individuals in the organization have as well as the portfolio quality and turnover rates within the organizations. Stratified sampling technique was used to obtain sample and sample size determined using the Cochran's formula to be 385 which was large enough to allow generalization. Descriptive approach used the pragmatic approach. A pilot study was carried out in Embu County to test data reliability of the data gathering tools. Data analysis was done using SPSS. A simple linear regression model that reflects relationship between the variables was estimated to establish the relationship.. The findings revealed that commitment has a positive and significant relationship with staff performance in microfinance institution. The study rejected the null hypothesis and concluded that commitment influenced performance in micro-finance institutions in Kenya. The study concluded that staff commitment as an outcome of transformational leadership had a positive and significant relationship on staff performance in micro-finance institutions in Kenya. The study recommends that organization should focus on changing the motives, believes and values that bring about new capabilities of the staff of the organization. Staff should be engaged in decision making and thus improve the decision making abilities of the organization and enhance competitive advantage. There is need for organizations to embrace the convention of commitment as a leadership development practice.
Keywords: Staff commitment, Transformational Leadership, Staff Performance, Microfinance Institutions in Kenya