Employee discipline and employee performance at Mitooma District Local Government. A cross-sectional study.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64792/rwad2017Keywords:
Employee discipline, Employee performance, Organizational accountability, Ethical conduct, Workplace supervision, Performance managementAbstract
Background
The study aimed to examine the influence of Employee discipline on employee performance at Mitooma District Local Government.
Methodology
The study adopted a cross-sectional mixed-methods design involving quantitative and qualitative approaches. The study population comprised 126 employees of Mitooma District Local Government, from whom the study selected 114 respondents using purposive and simple random sampling. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires and interviews with key informants. Instrument validity was established through expert review, yielding an average Content Validity Index of 0.8125, while reliability testing produced a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.823. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative data were thematically analyzed.
Results
Of the 114 targeted respondents, 85 participated, yielding a 74.6% response rate. The interviewed key informants were aged 43–50 years, reflecting experienced perspectives on workplace discipline and performance. Employee discipline received consistently high ratings, with mean scores ranging from 4.12 to 4.32 and standard deviations from 0.552 to 0.809. The highest rating concerned discipline instilling responsibility, self-control, and ownership of duties (M=4.32, SD=0.711), while ethical, rule-compliant decision-making had the lowest rating (M=4.12, SD=0.714). Key informants emphasized staff induction, adherence to codes of conduct and standing orders, continuous supervision, appraisal, rewards, sanctions, refresher training, and integrity as important themes for strengthening discipline and performance. They also identified understaffing, inadequate funding, transport limitations, and insufficient wage allocations as performance constraints. Employee discipline was moderately and positively related to employee performance (r=0.512, p<0.001, n=85), confirming a statistically significant association.
Conclusion
Discipline strongly and positively influences performance, promoting accountability, reducing conflict, and strengthening organizational reputation when consistently enforced.
Recommendation
Management should strengthen employee discipline through continuous induction, supervision, fair sanctions, regular appraisals, and recognition of compliant employees.
References
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