The Role of Benchmarking on the Performance Of Church Maintained Schools in Kenya: A Case of Central Kenya Conference Schools
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Date
2014-06-05
Authors
Mokaya, K.C.
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Abstract
With growing demand for increased operational efficiency and process improvement in
organizations of all sizes, more and more institutions are turning to benchmarking as a means of
setting goals and measuring performance against the products ,services, and practices of other
organizations that are recognized as leaders (Stapenhurst, 2009). In any competitive economy,
continuous quality improvement is essential if an organization is to stay in operation.
Organizations that thrive in the market do not function in isolation but continuously measure
their products, services, practices and cultures against the toughest competitors or those
companies recognized as industry leaders. SDA church maintained schools in Kenya have been
operating in isolation just to conserve the culture and traditions of the church. This attitude has
for a long time led to many SDA schools in Kenya to operate as 'lone rangers', a trend that fall
short;of meeting the ever dynamic customers' needs. This study attempted to find out the role of
benchmarking on the performance of SDA church maintained schools in the Central Kenya
Conference (CKC). It sought to determine the difference in performance between the church
schools that have maintained a conservative culture and those schools that have embraced
change of culture. It utilized descriptive study through survey as it targeted ten schools with a
population of 155 teachers who were the respondents. The study administered questionnaires on
the teachers in the schools selected. It sought to determine the current and the previous status of
the schools' performance and to find out if benchmarking had ever been carried out and the role
it had played on the performance. It sought to determine how variables such as quality,
adaptability, innovation, and motivation through benchmarking could affect performance. Data
collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics by statistics program for social sciences
(SPSS) and presented in charts, frequency tables, graphs and cross tabulation. The study findings
indicated that most church maintained schools seem to have high gender parity given the
difference between male and female respondents reflected in the study. Benchmarking in schools
is evidently linked to practices of innovation, adaptability, teacher motivation and quality within
the school system. Most schools were rated to be moderately performing as a result of
benchmarking. Benchmarking envisaged a likelihood of increasing the level of motivation
among teachers. Different benchmarking parameters have intertwined role in the way they
influence performance of church maintained schools. The study recommended a need for
continuous and effective benchmarking process among all church maintained schools,
importance of emphasising on the effectiveness of benchmarking practices among schools and a
needs assessment on teacher satisfaction parameters among church maintained schools. Further
study should be undertaken on factors affecting the effectiveness of benchmarking process in
church maintained schools in Kenya.