The Effects of Employee Motivation on Job Performance in Local Authorities in Kenya (A Case of County Council of Nyeri)

Abstract

Motivation is the term used to describe those processes, both instinctive and rational by which people seek to satisfy the basic drives, perceived needs and personal goals, which trigger human behavior. This study intended to investigate the effects of employee motivation on job performance in local authorities in Kenya, with a special reference to Nyeri county council. The study also tried to investigate the level of service delivery by local authorities and how this has contributed to the state of affairs. It aimed to finally make recommendations and provide solutions for future action. In Kenya, the phenomenon of local government councils relate to the need to give the diverse communities a chance to govern themselves in certain matters and to provide a method of consulting public opinion. The needs of small villages and towns are so complex that it has become necessary to get the help of able people on the spot to settle local problems according to priorities of the stakeholders. The data collection tools were questionnaires which contained both closed ended and open ended questions. These questionnaires were administered through personal contacts, where the researcher dropped them and picked them after three days to allow the respondents' time to fill them. These questionnaires were then edited and the data collected analyzed using the SPSS computer package.