An assessment of the impact of knowledge and attitudes of employeeson acceptanceof reforms in selected state corporations at the ministry of State for Planning, Development and Vision 2030

Abstract

This study analyses the association between exposure of employees to reform information through means such as government circulars, office memos, staff meetings, and training seminars, on the one hand and attitudes and perception of employees towards the reforms, on the other. The study used primary data and is limited to opinions expressed by 57 out of about 70 employees of the two state corporations who work in Nairobi. The two state corporations lie within the Ministry of State for Planning and Vision 2030 and include: Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis and the National Coordinating Agency for Population and Development. The corporations were selected for study using purposive sampling method. The logic for the choice of the two corporations is premised on their strategic importance to the nation and were among the first parastatals to initiate implementation of ref Although employees studied are knowledgeable and hold positive attitudes about prospects of reforms with regard to work and survival of the state corporations as organizations, they do not see reforms as beneficial to their personal development. This leads to the conclusion that employees may be less than optimally committed to the reform process. Further research is recommended to establish what could motivate public employees to view public sector reforms as supportive of personal advancement as this might determine their continued support of the reforms. Just as there are elaborate plans on how the state corporations are to be structured to cope with environmental realities, this study recommends setting up of strategies to develop employees simultaneously as the reforms are implemented. One way to do this is to cascade reform knowledge to the lower rank employees as a strategy to train and develop human capital to ensure sustainability of reforms. Plans should take into consideration the existing disparities where top managers are more informed and take the lion's share of training as is the case with the corporations studied.