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Staff Management and Organisational Performance in Tanzania and Uganda: Public Servant Perspectives
This report was prepared for the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the Danish Institute for International Studies and DEGE Consult in cooperation with the University of Dar es Salaam; Mentor Consult, Kampala; and the University of Copenhagen.
March 2007
STAFF MANAGEMENT AND ORGANISATIONAL PERFORMANCE IN TANZANIA AND UGANDA: PUBLIC SERVANT PERSPECTIVES
Ole Therkildsen Danish Institute for International Studies & Per Tidemand Dege Consultants, Dar es Salaam
With Dr. Benson Bana and Ambrose Kessy, University of Dar es Salaam Dr. John Katongole and Max Bwetunge Ddiba, Mentor Consult, Kampala Morten Nielsen, DIIS/University of Copenhagen
Final report
5-2-2007
Abbreviations
CAO CEO DSA DSC DT EA ESRF FGD GDP GoT GoU HFTP HRD HRM LG LGA LGCDG LGRP LGSC M&E MDA MDG MTEF MoPS NGO O&M OPRA OPRAS PEF/PIF PO-PSM PRSP PSC PSR RALG ROM SASE SPSS TSC Tshs Ushs URT Chief Administrative Officer Chief Executive Officer Daily Subsistence Allowance District Service Commission District Treasurer Executive Agency Economic and Social Research Foundation Focus Group Discussion Gross Domestic Product Government of Tanzania Government of Uganda Hiring, firing, transfers and promotion Human Resource Development Human Resource Management Local government Local Government Authorities Local Government Capital Development Grant Local Government Reform Programme Local Government Service Commission Monitoring and Evaluation Ministries, Departments, Agencies Millennium Development Goal Medium Term Expenditure Framework Ministry of Public Service, Uganda Non Governmental Organisation Operations and Maintenance Open Performance Appraisal Open Performance Appraisal System Performance Improvement Fund/Performance Enhancement Fund Presidents Office Public Service Management, Tanzania Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper Public Service Commission Public Service Reform Regional and Local Government Results Oriented Management Selected Accelerated Salary Enhancement Statistical Package for Social Sciences Teachers Service Commission Tanzanian shillings Ugandan shillings United Republic of Tanzania
Foreword
This report is the result of work carried out by a team of Tanzanian, Ugandan and Danish consultants. The assignment, funded by Danida, started in September 2005. Information was collected in Tanzania and Uganda from December 2005 to March 2006. A draft final report was distributed in May 2006. Comments to this report from the Tanzanian and Ugandan authorities as well as from Danida and various resource persons were in hand by mid-November. This final report incorporates these comments. The team wishes to thank the two anchor institutions for their support in carrying out this work, namely the Presidents Office, Public Service Management, Tanzania and the Ministry of Public Service, Uganda. Thanks, too, to the more than 400 public servants in Tanzania and Uganda who, in one way or the other, provided information for this study. They did so with considerable interest and engagement. Finally, we wish to thank the people who took time to comment on the draft report. We have tried to do justice to their criticisms and suggestions. The views expressed in the report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and assessments of the Tanzania, Ugandan or Danish authorities.
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List of contents
Abbreviations .......................................................................................................................................... ii Foreword................................................................................................................................................. iii List of contents ...................................................................................................................................... iv Executive Summary................................................................................................................................ 1 Concepts..................................................................................................................................... 1 Arguments.................................................................................................................................. 2 Methods...................................................................................................................................... 3 Findings ...................................................................................................................................... 4 Operational implications........................................................................................................13 Issues that need further work................................................................................................15 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................16 2. Staff management practices and organisational performance: a framework ...........................19 2.1 Performance ......................................................................................................................20 2.2 Merit ...................................................................................................................................21 2.3 Motivation..........................................................................................................................22 2.4 Management ......................................................................................................................23 2.5 Context...............................................................................................................................24 2.6 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................26 3. Staff management in the public sector: Tanzania and Uganda..................................................27 3.1 Refocusing public sector functions................................................................................27 3.2 Arrangements for staff management .............................................................................29 3.3 Pay and allowances ...........................................................................................................33 3.4 Performance management in relation to staff ..............................................................36 3.5 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................37 4. Methodology .....................................................................................................................................38 4.1 Selection of organizations and staff ...............................................................................38 4.2 Interviews and statistical analyses...................................................................................40 4.3 Limitations .........................................................................................................................40 5. Findings on Merit .............................................................................................................................41 5.1 HFTP are relatively rare experiences for public servants ...........................................41 5.2 Merit qualities of HFTP practices ..................................................................................43 5.3 Clear association between quality of HFTP-practices and performance .................45 5.4 Concluding remarks .........................................................................................................46 6. Findings on Motivation ...................................................................................................................47 6.1 Monetary and non-monetary incentives are both important .....................................47 6.2 Monetary rewards: Allowances and pay differentials ..................................................48 6.3 Conviction as a motivating factor?.................................................................................51 6.4 Coercion as motivating factor?.......................................................................................52
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6.5 Management style as a motivating factor? ....................................................................52 6.6 Differences in motivation across organisations ...........................................................53 6.7 Staff do not consider private sector employment as a realistic alternative ..............54 6.8 Staff motivation, satisfaction and performance ...........................................................55 6.9 Concluding remarks .........................................................................................................56 7. Findings on Staff Management ......................................................................................................58 7.1 Quality of leadership and supervision appreciated ......................................................58 7.2 Management practices important for organisational performance ...........................60 7.3 No substantial rewards for individual performance ....................................................61 7.4 Individual incentives and organisational performance................................................62 7.5 Concluding remarks .........................................................................................................63 8. Findings on Context ........................................................................................................................64 8.1 Decentralisation of staff management and ambiguities in authority.........................64 8.2 Changing employment policies.......................................................................................66 8.3 Budget constraints ............................................................................................................67 8.4 The importance of donors ..............................................................................................68 8.5 Weak External pressures .................................................................................................68 8.5 The importance of norms and values ............................................................................69 8.6 Concluding remarks .........................................................................................................72 References..............................................................................................................................................73 Appendices ............................................................................................................................................77 (see separate volume also available at www.diis.dk and www.danidadevforum.um.dk) Appendix A: Survey methodology ....................................................................................... 77 Appendix B: Questionnaire ................................................................................................... 77 Appendix C: SPSS Analysis ................................................................................................... 77 Appendix D. Terms of reference.......................................................................................... 77
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List of figures Figure 1. Key HRM-related factors that improve organisational performance........................................... 19 Figure 2. Comparative trends in median salary levels in Public Service 1992-2001 ................................... 35 Figure 3. Quality of recruitment processes in Uganda and Tanzania across organisational types ........... 44 Figure 4. Quality of recruitment and organisational performance ................................................................ 45 Figure 5. Most important motivating factors Tanzania and Uganda ............................................................ 48 Figure 6. Conviction and organisational performance .................................................................................... 51 Figure 7. Disciplinary action against poorly performing staff and organisational performance............... 52
List of tables Table 1. Basic information about the public service, Tanzania and Uganda................................................ 5 Table 2. Central and local government employment, 1986-2006 (x 1000) .................................................. 28 Table 3. Comparative statistics on staffing, Tanzania and Uganda, around 2003....................................... 28 Table 4. General and specific core HRM powers, Tanzania and Uganda .................................................. 30 Table 5. Broader HRM powers, Tanzania and Uganda ................................................................................. 32 Table 6. Central Government employment size and wages in comparative perspective, 1990s .............. 33 Table 7. HFTP cases in central government involving the PSC Uganda, 2000-2004 ................................ 42 Table 8. HFTP cases in six local governments, Tanzania, 2002-2004.......................................................... 42 Table 9. Staff perceptions of the quality of recruitment practices ................................................................ 43 Table 10. Common types of allowances received by staff.............................................................................. 49 Table 11. The relative importance of allowances............................................................................................. 49 Table 12. I work in this organisation because I can do something for my country.................................... 51 Table 13. Staff perception about the adequacy of the organizations budget.............................................. 53 Table 14. Staff views on future employment.................................................................................................... 55 Table 15. Quality of supervisors......................................................................................................................... 59 Table 16. Rewards of high performing staff.................................................................................................... 61 Table 17. Sanctions against poorly performing staff ....................................................................................... 62 Table 18. Extent to which rules for HFTP are well-known........................................................................... 66 Table 19. Recruitment practices in the workplace according to staff perceptions ..................................... 70
Executive Summary
How can a government in a poor country with a limited budget increase the performance of its public sector organizations through better Human Resources Management practices (HRM)? And how may donors assist? These questions are addressed in this comparative study of HRM practices and organisational performance in public sector organizations in Tanzania and Uganda. Specifically, as stated in the terms of reference (appendix D), the study aims to: