Exploring The Impact of The New Public Sector Performance Management System in Ghana

ABSTRACT 

Ghana has made attempts to institute an effective public sector performance management system to enhance performance, transparency, accountability and efficient service delivery in the public sector. This study sought to explore the impact and the challenges of the new Performance Management System (PMS) in public sector organizations. The study adopted an exploratory study design and was influenced by the pragmatism research paradigm. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used. Therefore primary data was obtained through the interviews and survey questionnaires. The principal-agent theory provided the theoretical framework for the study. Theoretical sampling and convenient sampling were used to select 18 public sector organizations for the study. Methodologically, the study collected primary data through interviews with 14 officials (mainly the heads of human resource management departments) and a survey of the views of 225 employees from 18 public sector organizations. Findings from the study reveal that the new PMS has impacted positively on the performance management processes by increasing the involvement of bureaucratic heads and their subordinates in processes of target setting, performance execution, performance assessment, and performance feedback. However, the study also found that the new PMS has failed to link employee performance to pay, rewards and sanctions. The study also identified some challenges of the new PMS such as the lack of rewards and incentives for non-executives; lack of effective supervision; inadequate understanding of the new appraisal instrument; failure to enforce sanctions for nonperformance due to fear of being victimized. The study concluded that though the new PMS is faced with some challenges, there are clear signs of positive impact on performance management processes, and for the system to be effective it would require more effort and commitment from principal agencies (PSC, FWSC, and OHCS) and the leadership of implementing agencies.