Analysis of Behavioral Anchored Rating Scales on Civil Servants’ Motivation in the Department of Tourism, Kenya

Abstract

The success of every organization, public or private, depends largely on the availability and quality of well-motivated human capital. On this regard, strategic planners and human resources professionals need to develop collaborative efforts to design strategies and frameworks that are fruitful and creative in a bid to develop the capacity of human resource to meet such need. Research has attested to the fact that organizations that adopt intensive and cohesive human resource processes and systems are those that come out successful (Marquardt, 2004).Organizations with best systems of performance appraisal usually show higher growth, higher return per employee, less attrition rate and stable platform for new challenges. The purpose of this study will be to assess the influence of the performance appraisal techniques on civil servants’ motivation in the department of Tourism in Kenya. The study specifically; established the effect of human resource accounting method on civil servants’ motivation, determined the influence of behaviorally anchored rating scales on civil servants’ motivation, examine the influence of 360 Degree Performance Appraisals on civil servants’ motivation and assessed the effect of Management by objectives on civil servants’ motivation. The study will benefit the, academicians, policymakers and community members. The study was guided by the Expectancy Theory. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design with a target population of 174 staffs of Job Group H and above. A sample size of 123 persons was utilized after being determined using Krejcie & Morgan table (1970). The study adopted a stratified random sampling technique to identify the respondents of the instruments. The study used structured questionnaires as the main tool of data collections. The instrument was validated by the supervisors. Reliability of the instrument was determined through a pilot study. Thereafter, Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.788, Behaviorally Anchored Rating scales on civil servants’ motivation respectively was obtained from the instrument. This indicated that the instrument was reliable. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics and presented in tables. The study established that Behaviorally Anchored Rating scales (p=0.000), significantly influence civil servants’ motivation. It is concluded that the techniques of performance appraisal (BARS) influence civil servants’ motivation. The study recommended that the policy makers and other stakeholders adopt mixed models of performance appraisal to achieve desired objectives in the tourism industry.

Keywords: Behaviorally anchored rating scales, civil servants’ motivation in the department of Tourism, Kenya.