JOURNAL OFBUSINESS
MANAGEMENTPRACTICEAND RESEARCH
A Journal of Multitech Business School
© 2016 Multitech Business School
Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
EDITOR AND EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor
Mr. Onwangi Victor
Multitech Business School
Editorial Board
Dr. Ssendagire Hassan Wasswa
Multitech Business School
Mr. Lwanga Fred
Multitech Business School
Mr. Oonyu Charles
Multitech Business School
Mr. Kasozi Robert
Multitech Business School
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Dr. Kibuuka Muhamed
Dr. Kinyatta Stanely
Dr. Olutayo Osunsan
i A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
AIMS, SCOPE AND MISSION Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) (ISSN:ISBN: 978-9970-9423- 0-5) is produced by Multitech Business School. The goal of this Journal is to provide a hands-on outlet for high quality articles that discuss and link the theory and practice of Business Management. The Journal editor welcomes articles from academicians, researchers, practitioners and policy makers among otherswith a diverse range of contributions to understanding, promotion, improvement and effective Business Management and that focus on either or combine national, regional and international debates, challenges and opportunities. The Journal encourages in-depth study, analysis, critical evaluation and synthesis of new Business Management issues that shape business operations in the current dynamic and competitive environment. Articles should ground the ‘local dimensions and context’ and where possible integrate the key regional and international perspectives of the phenomenon at hand so that to embed the debate in a broader discourse which facilitates a holistic understanding and knowledge creation. The Journal is edited from Multitech Business School, Uganda and has a strong pillar of experienced and qualified editors whose expertise is international in nature but with a strong focus on Business Management issues in Africa. The journal provides an outlet for seasoned and experienced academicians and researchers for the papers and further opens a window for young and upcoming researchers as its editorial policy calls for a detailed attention to sustained interactions between the reviewers and Authors to improving the submitted articles to the level of quality that is fit for publication through timely reviewer feedback, setting agreed strategies and timelines for required improvements and ensuring that at all times the accepted articles are meeting all the qualities as set in the publication policy and guidelines. The Mission of Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) is to publish Original empirical research that tests, analyzes and synthesizes critical and current phenomena that builds Business Management theory and contributes to Business Management practice.
ii A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
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Editorial and Enquiries Contacts: Multitech Business School (P. O. Box 10923 Kampala, Uganda; Tel.: +256 414 533931, +256 757 779971; email: [email protected]). iii A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
PUBLICATION POLICY Manuscript submission requirements:JBMPR requires manuscripts that are original and has not been submitted for publication elsewhere in part or whole. The Author(s) have to sign an irreversible publication permission form (PPF) as an express acceptance and endorsement for the manuscript to be published in JBMPR. It is the prerogative of the editor to accept any manuscripts for publication after they have gone through a double-blind peer review process.
On submission of the manuscript (through [email protected]), the editor will check if the manuscript fits the ‘design standards’ and it does so, it will be forwarded for review and if it doesn’t, the editor will request the Author to modify it to fit the requirements. The manuscript will be subjected to a blind review by at least two peers whose decisions may be three fold: - Publish in current form; make changes and publish (The reviewers will provide feedback through the ‘Reviewer Feedback Form’-RFF, clearly indicating the specify areas that require attention); or reject the paper because it is substandard and unfit to be published in the JBMPR.
The information and views expressed in the manuscripts and published in JBMPR are those of the Author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the journal, editor(s) of Multitech Business School in general. The assumption is that manuscripts are original and under no any form of publication elsewhere and that also they are free of plagiarism. In case of plagiarism or any form claims against the manuscripts the Author(s) other than the journal (JBMPR) will be held accountable.
Manuscript design standards: Paper length: 4000-5000 words inclusive of everything. Format: Times New Roman; size 12 and 1.5 spacing. Structure: Introduction (including literature Review); Methodology; Findings; Discussion; Conclusions; and Recommendations. Figures, tables and graphs should be in the specific places in the body of the article and properly numbered in their sequence. Articles should have an abstract not exceeding 150 words and all citations must be referenced and adhere to the sixth edition of the APA format. A detailed guide on article standard can be accessed on the website www.mulitech.ac.ug/journal/publications
Manuscript submission Enquiries: Manuscripts should be emailed to the editor at [email protected] as word attachments. Any publication Enquiries should be addressed to the same email and from the same email the appropriate feedback will be received.
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GUIDELINES AND POLICIES FOR AUTHORS Publication Policies: For the Author to successfully submit the manuscript, the following requirements have to be met; i) Originality: - The final articles should describe and contain evident original work of the author(s) which in no other accounts has been previously published in or is under publication consideration in a peer reviewed journal. Also no works of the Author(s) that are published in another journal should be included in the article and depicted as original without proper referencing. ii) Significance: - The overall contributions in the manuscript should be new, substantial and significant in content and therefore should reflect new and significant information about the phenomena under investigation. The manuscripts should not in any way reflect or be based on commercial termsor originate from commercial undertakings for example consultancy reports. iii) Rejected Papers: - Authors can re-submit to JBMPR papers that were previous rejected only if the reviewer comments were considered and changes made. The changes made should be clearly written and identified in the cover letter that would accompany the re-submitted article. Rejected articles can only be accepted in the next issue rather than the current issue of the journal under which it was submitted. iv) JBMPR Code of Ethics:- In line with the JBMPR Mission of publishing Original works, Authors and the entire JBMPR membership shall adhere to; Professional Behavior that does not discriminate on the basis of gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, race, or religion; giving due to consideration to public safety viz a viz individual interest; avoidance and disclosure of conflict to all parties at all times; adherence to confidentiality at all times; and proper reporting or citations of all works of others used in the articles. v) Authorship: - To claim authorship, one should have made a significant contribution to the manuscript through conceptualization, design, execution or interpretation of the research study, and thus all those who have done the above in respect to the article should be listed as Authors/Co-Authors. Contributions of non-research/non-academic like money, materials, typesetting, editing or any other form of interaction with the manuscript during its creation would not warrant or equal the claim of authorship.
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However, if it fits within the requirements of the abstract, all or any parties falling in the category of non-research/non-academic and at the discretion of the author(s), may be acknowledged, but not identified as authors. Co-authors share some degree of responsibility for the article they coauthor and this responsibility may include but not limited to accuracy of the data, familiarity with all the paper contents, and provide appropriate corrections as required. Failure or refusal of any individual unwilling or unable to undertake the above, the individual should lose the claim of being a co- author. vi) Plagiarism: - Authors should ensure that all works sourced from other papers should be properly acknowledgement and in case of errors resulting from omissions or commission on the part of the author, should be promptly corrected or deleted where required. The editor will subject the submitted manuscripts to the plagiarism and originality check. vii) Preparing a Manuscript: - Manuscripts should be submitted in English and presented in Microsoft Word version and meet all the requirements. viii) Terms of Use for Authors: -Publishing in the JBMPR requires the authors to sign the Transfer of Copyright agreement (TCA), but they retain proprietary rights other than copyright, and right to use the material for lecture or classroom purposes.
vi A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
EDITORIAL
THE EXTENT OF JOB SATISFACTION AND ORGANIZATION COMMITMENT IN KABAALE HEALTH SECTOR ...... 6 CASH MANAGEMENT AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF ORGANIZATION IN UGANDA ...... 19 MOTIVATION AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IN CO-OPERATIVE SAVING AND CREDIT SOCIETY IN UGANDA ...... 34 PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL SYSTEMS AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IN ORGANISATIONS ...... 47 NETWORK INTRUSION DETECTION AND CONTROL USING PACKET FILTERING AND PROXY SERVERS ...... 63 VOTING SYSTEM ...... 80
1 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
EDITORIAL
EDITOR AND EDITORIAL BOARD ...... i AIMS, SCOPE AND MISSION ...... ii COPYRIGHT ...... iii PUBLICATION POLICY ...... iv GUIDELINES AND POLICIES FOR AUTHORS ...... v THE EXTENT OF JOB SATISFACTION AND ORGANIZATION COMMITMENT IN KABAALE HEALTH SECTOR ...... 6 ABSTRACT ...... 6 1. INTRODUCTION ...... 6 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ...... 7 2.2 Promotion ...... 9 2.2.3 Job Content ...... 9 3. METHODOLOGY ...... 10 4. FINDINGS AND INTERPRETATIONS ...... 10 4.2.2 Promotion ...... 13 4.2.3 Job Content ...... 13 5. CONCLUSIONS ...... 16 6 RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 16 REFERENCES ...... 16 CASH MANAGEMENT AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF ORGANIZATION IN UGANDA ...... 19 ABSTRACT ...... 19 1. INTRODUCTION ...... 19 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ...... 20 3. METHODOLOGY ...... 23 4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS ...... 23 5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 31 REFERENCES ...... 32 MOTIVATION AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IN CO-OPERATIVE SAVING AND CREDIT SOCIETY IN UGANDA ...... 34 ABSTRACT ...... 34 1. INTRODUCTION ...... 34
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2. LITERATURE REVIEW ...... 35 2.1 Payment ...... 35 2.2 Working Environment ...... 36 3. METHODOLOGY ...... 38 4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS ...... 38 5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 43 REFERENCES ...... 43 PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL SYSTEMS AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IN ORGANISATIONS ...... 47 ABSTRACT ...... 47 1. INTRODUCTION ...... 47 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ...... 48 3. METHODOLOGY ...... 51 4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS ...... 52 4.1.1 Gender of the respondents ...... 52 Table 2: gender of respondent ...... 52 4.1.2 Age group of the respondents ...... 53 Table 3: Age bracket of respondent ...... 53 4.2.1.3 Educational Level of respondents ...... 53 Table 4: Highest education of respondent ...... 53 Table 5: Analysis on the relationship between Rater Accuracy and Employee Performance in organization ...... 54 Table 6: Findings on the effect of Behaviorally Anchored rating scales on employee performance in organisation ...... 55 Table 7: Analysis to establish the effect of Management By Objectives approach on employee performance in organisation ...... 57 Table 8: Correlation between Performance Appraisal Systems and Employee Performance ...... 58 Table 8: Performance Appraisal Systems and Employee Performance Model Summary ...... 58 Table 9: Performance Appraisal Systems and Employee PerformanceCoefficientsa ...... 59 5. CONCLUSIONS ...... 59 5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 60 REFERENCES ...... 60 NETWORK INTRUSION DETECTION AND CONTROL USING PACKET FILTERING AND PROXY SERVERS ...... 63
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ABSTRACT ...... 63 1. INTRODUCTION ...... 63 2.THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY ...... 64 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ...... 67 System Analysis ...... 68 User Requirements ...... 69 Functional Requirements ...... 69 4. SYSTEM DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION ...... 70 5. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 76 Conclusion ...... 77 REFERENCES ...... 78 VOTING SYSTEM ...... 80 INTRODUCTION ...... 80 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY ...... 80 METHODOLOGY ...... 83 Systems design ...... 83 Systems implementation ...... 83 Documentation: ...... 84 Testing ...... 84 Unit testing ...... 84 System testing ...... 84 SYSTEM DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION ...... 84 User Requirements for the System ...... 84 Requirement Specification ...... 84 Functional Requirements ...... 85 System Login ...... 85 Design ...... 85 Context diagram ...... 85 Conceptual design ...... 87 Logical design ...... 88 IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SYSTEM ...... 88 Form input and Reports Design ...... 88 6. CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATION ...... 93 4 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
6.1 Conclusion ...... 93 6.2 Recommendations ...... 94 REFERENCES ...... 94
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THE EXTENT OF JOB SATISFACTION AND ORGANIZATION COMMITMENT IN KABAALE HEALTH SECTOR 1Nabibaasa bride and 2Sendagire Hassan Wasswa (PhD), [email protected]
1 Graduate, Multitech Business School
2 Principal, Multitech Business School
ABSTRACT The study investigated the extent of job satisfaction among employees in Kabaale referral hospital and their extent of organizational commitment. Drawing on several conceptualizations, including pay, promotion and job content, an integrated framework was used to explain how job satisfaction leads to commitment using reduced role stress, empowerment and employability. These ideas were tested using survey data obtained from a sample of 70 employees and patients in health sector. From the data set, frequency counts and other descriptives on factors affecting commitment in hospitals yielded three conclusions; a)Improved pay should be done according to skills and educational standards; b) promotion and job training enhances career development; c) job content increased due to conducive work environment leading to long working hours. Results of a frequency tables showed that staff in hospitals are satisfied with their pay in relation to their skills and level of education, hospitals promote and reward employees according to the level of expertise and academic achievements, staff are contented with their jobs since they are offered on job training at various times and participate in decision making on issues affecting their career.
KEYWORDS: job satisfaction, organization commitment, pay, promotion, job content, stress, empowerment and employability.
1. INTRODUCTION The concept of organizational commitment has raised high interest from the perspective of understanding the intensity and stability of the individual’s dedication to the organization. Allen (2003) reported that employees who are committed or attached to the organization often demonstrate improved productivity, a reduction in absenteeism and a higher retention rate. A
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number of factors distinguish job satisfaction from organizational commitment. Thus organizational commitment focuses on attachment to the employing organization as a whole, including the organization’s goals and values, while job satisfaction focuses on the specific task environment where an employee performs his or her duties (Mowday, 2008). Formation of organizational commitment is based on some individual and organizational antecedents such as job satisfaction. Thus considering this framework, the researcher investigated the extent of job satisfaction and organizational commitment in Kabaale health sector. In Uganda, health workers’ organizational commitment has been studied but not in relation to factors such as job satisfaction. Freund (2005) stated that future research needs to be conducted concerning the relationship between job satisfaction and organization commitment in an attempt to better understand the job factors that influence various types of employee commitment. Employees with high levels of organizational commitment are more work-oriented than other employees. They get more satisfaction from work and view their jobs as fulfilling more of their personal needs. As a result, they are willing to exert considerable effort on behalf of the organization (Van Scotter 2007, p. 83). In this context, further exploration into job satisfaction and organizational commitment is imperative to gain a greater understanding of how to increase retention and reduce turnover among the nursing community.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Commitment Employee commitment refers to the psychological attachment of workers to their workplaces (Allen, 2003, p. 464). According to Balfour (2006, p. 257), organizational commitment majorly involves employee’s desire to remain with the organization. The concept of the organizational commitment involves the following three factors (Maxwell & Steele 2003, p. 362); strong belief in and acceptance of the Organization’s goals and values, a willingness to exert considerable effort on behalf of the organization, definite desire to maintain organizational membership. Organizational commitment can also be defined as employees’ strong belief in and acceptance of an organization’s goals and values, effort on behalf of the organization to reach these goals and objectives and strong desire to maintain membership in the organization (Hunt & Morgan, 2004: 68). According to Luthans (2002:124), organizational commitment is directly related to the desire to maintain membership in the organization, the willingness of employees to exert
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considerable effort on behalf of the organization and a strong belief in and acceptance of an organization’s goals and values. In this study organizational commitment was characterized by; reduced role stress, empowerment and employability. 2.2 Job satisfaction Job satisfaction is an antecedent of organizational commitment (VanScotter, 2007, p.83). It is one of the attitudinal constructs that has been shown to be related to organizational commitment (Salancik, 2007), but its treatment as an independent construct should be emphasized. The more employees are satisfied with their job, the more they are deeply committed to organizations. A number of factors (as discussed below) explain this concept of job satisfaction and most of them focus on the specific task environment where an employee performs his or her duties (Mowday, 2008); 2.2.1 Pay Pay refers to the amount of financial compensation that an individual receives as well as the extent to which such compensation is perceived to be equitable. Remuneration and earnings are a cognitively complex and multidimensional factor in job satisfaction. According to Luthans (2008), salaries not only assist people to attain their basic needs, but are also instrumental in satisfying the higher level need of people. Pay satisfaction is of primary concern to both employers and employees. For employees, pay is of obvious importance in terms of satisfying their economic needs. It is important that they are satisfied with their overall pay as this may impact their attitudes and behaviours. As Heneman (2008: 85) concluded, “research has unequivocally shown that pay dissatisfaction can have important and undesirable impacts on numerous employee outcomes.” Employee dissatisfaction with pay, for instance, can decrease commitment to the job, increase stealing, and catalyze turnover (Currall, 2005). The switching behaviour of employees is supported by many researchers who have shown that satisfaction with pay is an important variable that influence employee’s attitude towards the work (Hoppock, 2005). Previous research (Voydanoff, 2009) has shown that monetary compensation is one of the most significant variables in explaining job satisfaction. In their study of public sector managers (Bull, 2005) found that pay levels affect job satisfaction, reporting that those public employees experienced lower levels of job satisfaction.
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2.2 Promotion An employee’s opportunities for promotions are also likely to exert an influence on job satisfaction (Landy, 2010). Robbins (2008) maintains that promotions provide opportunities for personal growth, increased responsibility and increased social status. Bull, (2005) postulate that many people experience satisfaction when they believe that their future prospects are good. This may translate into opportunities for advancement and growth in their current workplace, or enhance the chance of finding alternative employment. They maintain that if people feel that they have limited opportunities for career advancement, their job satisfaction may decrease. Policies and practices concerning the movement of employees, particularly upward movement, once they are in the organization might also affect their commitment. For example, Gaertner (2009) found that commitment was greater among employees who had been promoted and that it was also positively related to employees’ perceptions that the company had a policy of promoting from within. Such a policy might be perceived by employees as evidence of organizational support, which in turn instills a greater commitment to the organization. In this study, a positive relationship between promotion opportunities and organizational commitment was envisaged. 2.2.3 Job Content A job description identifies essential and non-essential tasks that are assigned to a specific position. It also identifies reporting relationships and may also describe required qualifications, minimum requirements, working conditions, and desirable qualifications. Top management are responsible for developing and maintaining accurate and current job descriptions for other staff. The duties should be appropriate for the classification and consistent with the class specification. It is not uncommon for duty statements to vary within the same classification due tothe various departmental settings and organizational structures (Blegen 2003). The nature of the work performed by employees has a significant impact on their level of job satisfaction. According to Luthans (2002), employees derive satisfaction from work that is interesting and challenging, and job that provides them with status. Landy (2010), advocates that work that is personally interesting to employees is likely to contribute to job satisfaction. Similarly, research suggests that task variety may facilitate job satisfaction (Eby & Freeman, 2009). This is based on the view that skill variety has strong effects on job satisfaction, implying
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that the greater the variety of skills that employees are able to utilize in their jobs, the higher their level of satisfaction (Ting, 2007). Sharma (2011) postulate that the single most important influence on a person’s job satisfaction experience comes from the nature of the work assigned to him / her by the organization. They claim that if the job entails adequate variety, challenge, discretion and scope for using one’s own abilities and skills, the employees doing the job is likely to experience job satisfaction.
3. METHODOLOGY The study was descriptive in nature and employed a survey method in investigating the extent of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. A case study design was adopted to examine the phenomenon in its natural setting. Primary data was obtained through questionnaire and interview guide, administered to 70 respondents, selected using simple random and purposive sampling techniques. The researcher used descriptive statistics to effectively conduct a valid analysis in the presentation and analysis of the data collected from the field.
4. FINDINGS AND INTERPRETATIONS 4.1 Profile of respondents Table 1: Gender of Respondents Gender Male Female Total Frequency count 29 41 70 Percentage (%) 41 59 100 Source: Primary The findings in Table 1 suggests that female respondents 41 (59%) dominated the study sample, while 29 (44%) lagged behind. This implies that female staffs are more than the male counterparts in health sector in Uganda. Table 2: Educational Level of Respondents Educ. Level Certificate Diploma Degree Masters PhD Total Frequency count 5 17 33 12 3 70 Percentage (%) 7 24 47 17 5 100
Source: Primary
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From the findings in Table 2, degree holders 33 (47%) constituted majority in the sample, followed by diploma holders 17 (24%) and then masters holders 12 (17%), while PhD holders 3 (5%) and certificate holders 3 (5%) lagged behind. Basing on these findings, it is apparent that the health sector employs a relatively competent staff to handle the health affairs of Ugandans. Table 3: Age of Respondents Age Bracket 20 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 50 51 - 60 61 and Above Total Frequency count 8 20 25 7 10 70 Percentage (%) 11 29 36 10 14 100 Source: Primary The findings of Table 3 indicates that more than 75% of the employees in health sector are relatively young, aged 50 years and below. As indicated in the Table, 40% are 40 years and below. Such a group of workers is more productive, innovative and can easily adapt to new changes in health sector, hence they are highly desired. Table 4: Duration in the health sector Duration (Years) Below 1 1 - 3 3 - 6 6 - 9 9 - 12 ≥ 12 Total Frequency count 8 11 20 31 0 0 70 Percentage (%) 11 16 29 44 00 00 100 Source: Primary Overwhelmingly, more than 70% of the respondents had worked at the health sector for a period of more than three years and very few (27%) of the respondents had worked in the health sector for less than three years. This implies that employees in the health sector have acquired a relatively adequate experience. However no respondent had worked at the hospital for a period beyond nine years, an indication that there is need for the hospital management to retain employees for more years. Table 5: Monthly Income of Respondents Monthly Income (000) ≤ 200 - 400 400 – 600 600 - 800 800 - 1000 ≥1000 Total 200 Frequency count 00 7 12 13 25 13 70 Percentage (%) 00 9 16 20 35 20 100 Source: Primary
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Basing on the study findings in Table 5, more than 55% of the respondents earn more than 800,000/=, reaching one million and above. This suggests that most employees in the health sector are relatively paid higher pay. It also indicates that all the employees at health sector earns salary above the required taxable income of 235,000/= wage rate. Such income can enable workers to deliver services when they are relatively motivated, something that can boost quality of services delivered.
4.2 Job Satisfaction Regarding job satisfaction, the researcher collected data on the three constructs used to measure job satisfaction, which include pay, promotion and job content at health sector. The information gathered was coded, analyzed and interpreted as per the following information: -
4.2.1 Findings on Pay All questions on job satisfaction were closed ended and based on a five point Likert scale ranging from one for strongly disagree to five for strongly agree. The first question was on whether the employee was satisfied with the pay and benefits they get, for which responses are summarized in table 6.
Table 5: Whether respondents are satisfied with pay and other benefits Considering my skills and level of SD D NS A SA Total education that I have, I am satisfied with my pay and benefit that I get in this sector
Frequency count 0 7 12 44 7 70 Percentage (%) 00 10 16 64 10 100 Source: Primary Looking at the findings in Table 6, more than 74% of the respondents at least agreed that they are satisfied with the pay and benefit they get from the organization, leaving only 26% on the other side. This is a strong indication that most employees at health sector are satisfied with the pay and benefits they get. However, the findings from face to face interviews indicated that they are not satisfied with the pay and that is why most of them have private clinics and look for greener pastures outside the country. The switching behavior of employees is supported by many researchers who have shown that satisfaction with pay is an important variable that influence 12 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
employee’s attitude towards the work (Hoppock’s, 2005). Larwood (2004) found that pay satisfaction had both direct and indirect effects on turnover intent. The indirect effect of pay to satisfaction occurred through job satisfaction and organizational commitment. 4.2.2 Promotion The findings in table 7 indicate how respondents are satisfied with the way their organizations implement employee promotions. Table 7: Whether respondents are satisfied with promotions and employee rewards This organization promotes and rewards SD D NS A SA Total employees due to the level of expertise and academic achievements
Frequency count 0 5 14 37 14 70 Percentage (%) 00 7 20 53 20 100
Source: Primary Looking at the findings in Table 7, more than 73% of the respondents at least agreed that they are satisfied with the promotions and rewards they get from their organization, only 27% otherwise. This is a strong indication that the organization promotes and rewards employees based on merit. It is also true that policies and practices concerning the movement of employees, particularly upward movement, once they are in the organization might also affect their commitment. For example, Gaertner (2009) found that commitment was greater among employees who had been promoted and that it was also positively related to employees’ perceptions that the company had a policy of promoting from within. Such a policy might be perceived by employees as evidence of organizational support, which in turn instills a greater commitment to the organization. 4.2.3 Job Content The findings in table 8 indicate how respondents are satisfied with the job content. Table 8: Whether respondents are satisfied with job content I would be happy to spend the rest of SD D NS A SA Total my career with this organization.
Frequency count 21 7 7 24 11 70 Percentage (%) 30 10 10 35 15 100
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Source: Primary Based on the findings in Table 8, it seems that many workers are not satisfied with their job content. This indicated by the fact that about 50% of the respondents did not agree on whether they are happy to spend the rest of their career life with the organization. On a positive note however, results indicate that at least 50% of the respondents minimally agreed that they are happy to spend the rest of their career life with the organization, an indication that there is a big portion of workers who are satisfied with their job content. It is important to note that the nature of work performed by employees has a significant impact on their level of job satisfaction. According to Luthans (2002), employees derive satisfaction from work that is interesting and challenging, and job that provides them with status. Landy (2009), advocates that work that is personally interesting to employees is likely to contribute to job satisfaction.
4.3 Organization Commitment Regarding organization commitment, data was collected on three constructs used to measure this variable, including reduced role stress, empowerment and employability at Kabale Regional Referral Hospital. All the three questions asked on organizational commitment were closed ended and based on a five point Likert scale ranging from one for strongly disagree to five for strongly agree.Responses were summarized using frequency counts and percentage distributions as indicated in 9 -11. The first question was measuring reduced role stress, the findings are presented in table 9.
Table 9: Whether enjoy working long hours I enjoy working long hours with this organization SD D NS A SA Total due to the conducive environment.
Frequency (freq) 14 7 18 24 7 70 Percentage (%) 20 10 25 35 10 100 Source: Primary Looking at the findings in Table 9, majority of the respondents did not agree on whether they enjoy working long hours with their organization. Only 45% clearly agreed with the statement, an indication that there are many workers who are not satisfied with the work environment. This is an indication that though most of the time the working environment at health sector is conducive (35% agreed and 10 strongly agreed), there are times when the respondents believe
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that the working environment is not conducive (20% strongly disagreed and 10% disagreed). Meyer (2009, p 604) further describes organizational commitment as “an attachment to the organization, characterized by an intention to remain in it; an identification with the values and goals of the organization and a willingness to exert extra effort on its behalf. Individuals consider the extent to which their own values and goals relate to that of the organization as part of organizational commitment, therefore it is considered to be the linkage between the individual employee and the organization. Table 10 shows the responses on staff empowerment.
Table 6: Whether the organization offers on job training This organization offers on job training at various times SD D NS A SA Total thus enabling me enhance my career while on job.
Frequency (freq) 0 1 21 41 7 70 Percentage (%) 00 2 30 58 10 100 Source: Primary The study findings in Table 10 showed that at least 68% of the respondents agreed with the fact that the organization offers on job training at various times, enabling them enhance their career while on job. The findings strongly indicate that the health sector in Kabaale usually offers on job training opportunities to their staff to enhance their skills while on job. Respondents were also asked about how they feel about their future employability in the organization. Their perceptions are summarized in table 11.
Table 11: Employees’ feelings about future belonging with the organization You reflect your feelings about your SD D NS A SA Total future (belonging) with this organization in the next one year
Frequency (freq) 5 7 7 38 13 70 Percentage (%) 7 10 10 53 20 100 Source: Primary The findings in Table 11 indicate that the biggest majority of respondents (over 73%), at least agreed that they reflect their feelings about their future (belonging) with this organization in the next one year. These findings imply that respondents have positive feelings about their being
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with the organization in the next one year as they believe that, probably nothing big can crop up for consideration. This indicates that their level of commitment is high.
5. CONCLUSIONS Employees are generally satisfied with their job. Satisfaction is highest with pay and promotion and it is lowest on job content, although it is just 50%. Employees are generally highly committed with the organization. The highest score on commitment is employees’ feelings about future employability or stay, followed by staff empowerment, while the job stress indicator, specifically how workers enjoy the job, scored lowest and less than 50%, something that indicated that employees’ level of stress is still high.
6 RECOMMENDATIONS The health sector management should ensure that they address the challenges related to job content. This can be done by redefining the job roles and responsibilities, making them more clear and specific and redistributing the job tasks considering the staff abilities, expertise and experiences. This should at times involve all stakeholders’ participation in order to have a package that is satisfactory to change on employee attitudes that would jeopardize operations than uphold job satisfaction and commitment. Regarding employee commitment with the organization, the hospital management should make sure that they provide conducive work environment that can reduce stress among workers. One thing that can reduce work stress is making sure that work tasks, roles and responsibilities are clear and well defined and distributed considering the knowledge and skills of workers. Workers also need to be provided with materials to make their job easy. It is also pertinent for the management at health sector to respect and implement the ideas of participative decisions made by all stakeholders in terms of job content to make the employees have a sense of belonging to the organization. This will go a long way in improving on their commitment and satisfaction while at work.
REFERENCES Allen, (2003). Inequity in Social Exchange. In: L. Berkowitz (ed.). Advances in Experimental Psychology(Vol. 2). New York: Academic Press
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Balfour & Wechsler (2006). The effect of item content overlap on organizational commitment questionnaire-turnover cognitions relationships.Journal of Applied Psychology, 86: 161-166. Blegen M.A. (2003). “Nurses’ Job Satisfaction: A Meta-Analysis of Related Variables”, Nursing Research, March/April-2003, 36-40 Bull, (2005). ‘An empirical assessment of organisational commitment and organizational effectiveness’, Administrative Science Quarterly, 26: 1–14. Currall, C. S., Towler, A. J., Judge, T. A., & Kohn, L. (2005). Pay satisfaction and organizational outcomes. Personnel Psychology, 58(3), 613-640. Eby, L. T., Freeman, D. M., Rush, M. C., & Lance, C. E. (2009). Motivational bases of affective organisational commitment: A partial test of an integrative theoretical model. Journal of Occupational and Organisational Psychology, 72(4), 463-483. Greenberg, J. (2011b). Employee theft as a reaction to underpayment inequity: The hidden cost of pay cuts. Journal of Applied Psychology, 75: 561–568. Heneman, H. G. (2008). Pay satisfaction. In K. M. Rowland & G. R. Ferris (Eds.), Research in personnel and human resource management (Vol. 3, pp. 115-139).Greenwich , CT: JAI Hoppock, R. (2005). Job Satisfaction, Harper and Brothers, New York, p. 47 Hunt, S.H. and R.M. Morgan (2004). “Organizational Commitment: One of Many Commitments or Key Mediating Construct?”,Academy of Management Journal,37,1568 87 Krejcie V. Robert & Daryle W. Morgan, (2000). Educational and Psychological Measurement, Page 607-610. Landy, (2010). The impact of occupational stressors on correctional staff organizational commitment: A preliminary study. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 22(1), 44 62. Larwood, (2004). Organizational structure and job satisfaction: Do bureaucratic organizations produce more satisfied employees? Administration & Society, 27(3), 427 450. Luthans, F. (2002). Organisational Behaviour. (8th ed). Boston: Irwin McGraw-Hill. Maxwell and Steele (2003). Linking employees’ justice perceptions to organizational commitment and intention to leave: the mediating role of perceived organizational support.Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, 79(1), 101-20. Meyer, J.P. and N.J. Allen (2009). Commitment in The Workplace, Thousand Oaks. CA: Sage Publications.
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Moorhead, G. and R.W. Griffin (2008). Organizational Behavior: Managing People and Organizatons, 4th. ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company Mowday RT, RM Steers, LW Porter (2008).”The measurement of organizational commitment” J. Vocat.Behav., 14(2), pp. 224-247. Robbins, S.P. and Coulter, M. (2008)."Management, 7th ed., Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Salancik (2007). Referent selection in determining equity perceptions: differential effects on behavioral and attitudinal outcomes. Personnel Psychology, 40: 113-124. Sharma and Bhaskar (2011). Referent Selection in Determining Equity Perceptions: Differential Effects on Behavioral and Attitudinal Outcomes. Personnel Psychology 40: 113–124. Ting, (2007). Effects of inequity on job satisfaction and self-evaluation in a national sample of African-American workers.The Journal of Social Psychology, 133: 565–573. Van Scotter, (2007). Individual and situational influences on the development of self efficacy: Implications for training effectiveness. Personnel Psychology, 46: 125–147. Voydanoff, (2009).“Understanding procedural justice and its impact on business organizations” J. Manage.26, pp.486-512.
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CASH MANAGEMENT AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF ORGANIZATION IN UGANDA
1, Embalo Tenem and 2, Onwangi Victor, 2, [email protected]
1Graduate, Multitech Business School
2 Lecturer, Multitech Business School
ABSTRACT This study set out to investigate the relationship between cash management and financial performance in Tangerine Company Ltd, with three objectives, which included establishing the; 1) extent of cash management; 2) extent of financial performance; and 3) effect of cash management on financial performance in Tangerine Company Ltd. The study used a descriptive correlational and cross-sectional survey design to collect data from a sample of 44 respondents selected using purposive and simple random sampling techniques. Data was analyzed using frequency counts and percentage distributions, means and standard deviations, Pearson’s Linear Correlation Coefficient and linear regression. The findings indicated that the level of Cash Management was generally high with an overall mean of 2.97 and the level of financial performance was rated low with overall mean of 2.68. There was a positive and significant relationship between Cash Management and financial performance in Tangerine Company Ltd (r-value = 0.75; sig = 0.000). The study revealed that Cash planning, Cash collection and Cash budgeting all have positive effect on financial performance. We recommend that there is need to improve cash management in Tangerine Company Ltd in order to have effective financial performance. KEYWORDS:Cash Management, Financial Performance, Risk Management
1. INTRODUCTION Cash management is a broad term whose goal is to manage the cash balances of an enterprise in such a way as to maximize the availability of cash not invested in fixed assets or inventories and to do so in such a way as to avoid the risk of insolvency. In managing cash, several factors have to be monitored including a company's level of liquidity, its management of cash balances and its short-term investment strategies (Springer, 2005). In some ways, managing cash flow is the most
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important job of business managers. If at any time a company fails to pay an obligation when it is due because of the lack of cash, the company is insolvent. Insolvency is the primary reason business organizations go bankrupt. Obviously, the prospect of such a dire consequence should compel companies to manage their cash with care. Moreover, efficient cash management means more than just preventing bankruptcy. It improves the financial performance and reduces the risk to which the firm is exposed (Davidson, 2002). Bort (2004) noted that, cash management is of importance for both new and growing businesses. Companies may suffer from cash flow problems because of lack of margin of safety in case of anticipated expenses such that they experience problems in finding the funds for innovation or expansion. Weak cash flow management makes it difficult to hire and retain good employees (Beranek, 2000). However, despite the importance of cash management to the financial performance of an organization in many organizations, this function is not effectively performed and this explains its goal is not achieved, indicated by problems of profitability, liquidity, return on assets and return on capital employed. Moreover, organizations conduct few studies to improve these problems. Therefore, it is upon this gap that this investigation was carried out to find out why there seems to exist poor financial performance despite the use of various types of cash management.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Financial performance According to Dwivedi (2005), financial performance is an income accruing to the equity holders in the same sense as wages accrue to labour, rent to the owners of rentable assets and interest to the moneylenders. Financial performance is form profits which is denoted by Greek letter n and it is defined to be the difference between total revenue (TR) and total cost (TC) that is to say profits = total revenue-total cost. When total revenue is the total money received from the sale of goods and service and total costs, being the amount of money the firm spent to produce these goods/services (Jacques, 2003). Financial performance can be measured using proxies like profitability, return on equity, liquidity, solvency, and sales growth and all these can be extracted from the financial statements and/or reports. Information on financial performance is useful in predicting the capacity of the enterprise hence analyzing how well or poorly an enterprise is doing against its set objectives (Khazi, 2002). 2.2 Cash management
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Cash management is a broad term that refers to the collection, concentration, and disbursement of cash. The goal is to manage the cash balances of an enterprise in such a way as to maximize the availability of cash not invested in fixed assets or inventories and to do so in such a way as to avoid the risk of insolvency. Factors monitored as a part of cash management include a company's level of liquidity, its management of cash balances and its short-term investment strategies (Springer, 2005). It encompasses a company's level of liquidity, its management of cash balance and its short-term investment strategies. 2.2.1 Cash Planning According to Pandey (2003) cash planning is a technique used to plan and control the use of cash. It involves preparation of forecasts of cash receipts and payments so as to give out an idea of the future financial requirements. Therefore, the management of the organization needs to determine the schedules of monthly disbursements and collection schedules of creditors. With efficient cash planning system, the financial needs of the organization will be met, with reduced possibility of the cash balances, which lowers the organization’s profitability and cash deficits, which can lead to organization’s failure. He further notes that a cash budget is the most significant device used to plan for and control cash receipts and payments. Cash Planning is a very important component of corporate finance because it directly affects the liquidity, profitability and growth of a business and is important to the financial health of businesses of all sizes as the amounts invested in working capital are often high in proportion to the total assets employed (Atrill, 2006). It involves the planning and controlling of current assets and liabilities in a manner that eliminates the risk of inability to meet short-term obligations and avoid excessive investments in these assets (Lamberson, 1995). This management of short-term assets is as important as the management of long-term financial assets, since it directly contributes to the maximization of a business’s profitability, liquidity and total performance. 2.2.2 Cash Collection According to Ross (2000), cash collection is a function of accounts receivable, it is the recovery of cash from a business or individual with which the company is issued an invoice. Gitman (2008) offer theoretical positions drawn from their observations and consulting experience on the fact that a firm can improve its cash management efficiency by collecting accounts receivable as soon as possible. The most obvious way of bringing forward cash inflows, would be to press debtors for earlier payment although this policy resulted in goodwill and problems with 21 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
employees (Palom, 2001). There was very little scope for speeding up payments when the credit period currently allowed to debtors is no more than the norm for the industry. According to Gitman (2008), there are four cash collection techniques namely letters, telephone calls, personal visits and legal action. Letters are written communication of expressions, opinions and communication recorder for later reference. After a certain number of days, the firm sends a polite letter reminding the customer of the overdue accounts. If the account is not paid within, a certain period after this letter has been sent a second more demanding letter is sent. A telephone call is a connection established over a telephone network between two parties (Chastain, 2008). Kakuru (2005) asserted that transaction motive is the need to hold cash to facilitate day-to-day transactions of the firm. A firm needs cash to pay for wages and salaries, purchase raw materials cater for administrative expenses and to pay taxes, dividends among others. The need to hold cash would not arise if there were perfect synchronization between cash receipts and payments. The transaction motive therefore refers to holding cash to meet anticipated payments whose timing is not perfectly matched with cash receipts. 2.2.3 Cash Budgeting A cash budget is a summary statement of the firm projected time period. This information helps the financial manager to determine the future cash needs of the firm, plan for the financing of these needs and exercise control over cash and liquidity of the organization (Kakuru 2005). No business operation is isolative of cash budgeting. Cash is regarded as the most important current asset for the operation of business (Olowe, 2008). Cash is the basic input required to keep the business running on a continuous basis and it is the ultimate output expected to be realized by selling the services or products manufactured by the firm (Pandey, 2010). Cash management is imperative in every business organization as cash is said to be the lifeblood of any business (Chartered Institute of Management Accountant (CIMA), 2002). The essence of cash management is to ensure positive cash flow for smooth business operation. Adetifa (2005) argued that cash management has been professionalized because of the importance of managing corporate cash. Pandey (2001) in support of above added cash management is very important to these business organizations. This is because a firm needs cash to invent in inventory receivable and fixed assets and to make payments to operating expenses in order to maintain growth in sales and earnings. He further explained that the firm may make adequate profits, but may suffer from 22 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
shortage of cash because its growing needs may be consuming cash very first. Therefore, management should look to ways of increasing cash inflows to the firm and minimizing cash outflows like delaying of operating expenses like rent then the surplus cash may be managed into an investment portfolio thus increasing the financial performance of these business organizations.
3. METHODOLOGY A descriptive correlational and cross sectional survey design was used to investigate the extent and relationship between cash management and financial performance of Tangerine Ltd. The study adopted a mixture of qualitative and quantitative research approaches and used researcher devised questionnaires as well as interview guides to collect data about the feelings and attitudes of respondents regarding cash management in their organization. The study targeted a sample of 44 workers of Tangerine Ltd determined using Krejcie and Morgan table of sample size determination. A Likert scale questionnaire passed the validity test witha Content Validity Index (CVI) higher than 0.75 and the reliability using Cronbatch Alpha (α) was higher than 0.78. Data analysis was done using frequency counts and percentage distributions for profile of respondents, means and standard deviations to determine the level or extent of cash management and financial performance, Pearson’s Linear Correlation Coefficient to establish the relationship between cash management and financial performance and linear regression was used to determine the influence cash management has on the financial performance of Tangerine Ltd.
4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 4.1 Respondent’s profile Respondents are described in terms of gender, age bracket, education level, marital status and period of work with Tangerine Ltd, using frequencies, as indicated in table 1. Table 1: Description of respondent’s profile Gender Frequency Percent Male 32 72.73 Female 12 27.27 Total 44 100 Age Frequency Percent 18-30 24 54.55
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31-40 16 36.36 41-50 3 6.82 50 and above 1 2.27 Total 44 100 Level of Education Frequency Percent Diploma 8 18.18 Certificate 4 9.09 Masters 12 27.27 Bachelors 19 43.18 None 1 2.27 Total 44 100 Marital Status Frequency Percent Married 16 36.36 Single 26 59.09 Widowed 1 2.27 Divorced 1 2.27 Total 44 100 Working experience Frequency Percent Below 3 years 26 59.09 3-5 years 13 29.55 6 and above years 5 11.36 Total 44 100 Source: Primary Data, 2015 The results in Table 1 showed that male were the majority respondents with 32 (72.73%) and female were the minority 12 (or 27.27%), suggesting that there is a big gender imbalance in Tangerine Ltd. For age, most respondents were between 18-30 years (54.55%), implying that almost 90% of the respondents are in their early adulthood age of 20-39. Concerning education level, almost all the respondents had some professional qualification, with majority having either a bachelor’s degree, 19(43.18%) or a master’s degree (27.27%). In regard to workers’ experience with the organization, (59.09%) had been Tangerine employees for less than three years, while
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about 30% had interacted with Tangerine for a period of 3 to 5 years. This implies that majority of the respondents had less knowledge and experience about Tangerine Ltd since they had been Tangerine Ltd employees for relatively short period of time, that is less than three years. 4.1 Assessment of the extent of cash management in Tangerine Company Ltd Cash management in this study was operationalised with two constructs, which include cash planning and cash collection. Each of these two was operationalised using several sub elements as indicated in table 2 and 3.
4.1.1 Extent of cash planning in Tangerine Company Ltd Cash planning was measured using four elements as indicated in table 2. Each of the four elements was operationalised using a number of question items in the questionnaire and each question was Likert scaled using four points ranging from one for strongly disagree to four for strongly agree. The responses were analysed using means and ranks and then an interpretation scale was designed to interpret the Likert scale data.
Table 2: Extent of cash planning in Tangerine Company Ltd Items Mean Interpretatio Ran n k Reliability The organization prepares forecasts of cash receipts so as to 2.80 Good 1 give out an idea of the future financial requirements The organization prepares forecasts of cash payments so as to Good 2 2.78 give out an idea of the future financial requirements Whenever I experience any problem, it is handled in constant Poor 3 2.44 manner Whenever i request for any service in this company, we do it so Poor 4 2.42 fast The company has different branches for us to access the Poor 5 2.41 services. Average mean 2.57 Good Responsiveness There are effective receivables management practices in 2.65 Good 1 25 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
Tangerine There is efficient cash planning system 2.54 Good 2 Management determines the schedules of monthly Poor 3 2.33 disbursements and collection schedules of creditors. cash budget is the most significant device used to plan for and 2.19 Poor 4 control cash receipts and payments Average mean 2.42 Poor Assurance Cash Planning helps determine the future cash needs of the Very good 1 3.63 firm Cash Planning directly affects the liquidity of businesses 3.62 Very good 2 Cash Planning directly affect profitability of a business. 3.49 Very good 3 Cash Planning directly affects growth of a business 3.45 Very good 4 Average mean 3.55 Very good Competence and communication Cash Planning is important to the financial health of businesses 2.72 Good 1 Planning and controlling of current assets and liabilities is well Good 2 2.55 done Cash Planning eliminates the risk of inability to meet short-term Good 3 2.52 obligations and avoid excessive investments in assets Cash Planning improves the overall performance by Poor 4 2.23 understanding the role and drivers of working capital Cash Planning has led to effective cash management practice 2.11 Poor 5 Average mean 2.42 Poor Overall mean 2.97 Good Source: Primary Data, 2015 Table 2 results revealed that the extent of cash planning was rated differently on the different elements. For instance, the findings portray two dimensions with the best (high) level of cash planning under reliability. The organization prepares forecasts of cash receipts so as to give out an idea of the future financial requirements and The organization prepares forecasts of cash
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payments so as to give out an idea of the future financial requirements at (mean=2.80 and 2.78 respectively); and all these are equivalent to Strongly Agree on the Likert scale. Secondly under responsiveness of cash planning, two aspects were rated as good including; Cash Planning has led to effective receivables management practices in the organization (2.65); There is efficient cash planning system (2.54) and the poorest was cash budget is the most significant device used to plan for and control cash receipts and payments (2.19). under assurance all the aspects were rated very high including the average mean (average mean 3.55), meaning that they were ensured of keeping their information under utmost confidentiality, they feel safe in their transactions with the company, very time the staff is consistent and polite with them and that they always have knowledge about the company. Under competence and communication, three aspects were rated good plus the average mean. These include; Cash Planning is important to the financial health of businesses (mean=2.72), Cash Planning involves the planning and controlling of current assets and liabilities (mean=2.55), Cash Planning eliminates the risk of inability to meet short-term obligations and avoid excessive investments in assets (mean=2.52). This implies that cash planning is good with an overall mean of 2.97 on a Likert scale indicating that organization has improved its cash planning aspect. 4.1.2 Extent of cash collection in Tangerine Like cash planning, cash collection was measured using four elements as indicated in table 3. Each of the four elements was operationalised using a number of question items in the questionnaire and each question still was Likert scaled using four points ranging from one for strongly disagree to four for strongly agree. The responses were analysed using means and ranks and then an interpretation scale was designed to interpret the Likert scale data.
The findings in Table 3 indicate that with regard to collection policy, employees rated it as generally good (average mean= 2.55), indicating that the employees get feed backs from the staff of selected insurance companies. On Communication Policy, four items measured this element for which employees were asked whether they agreed with the statements therein. Collection policy emphasize the use of aging schedule to display necessary information about payment terms; Collection policy emphasizes on when to telephone debtors reminding them about the debt with means ranging from 2.45-2.41. Responses indicated that communication policy work was also good on average (average mean= 2.67). Regarding rules and procedure, three items were used, which had means ranging between 2.89-2.55, which indicated good on Likert scale. 27 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
The company uses a computer system efficiently to offer good services to employees, I often introduce other employees to this company and collection policy emphasizes on when to telephone debtors reminding them about the debt on average mean =2.79). This therefore means that employees are satisfied with the services provided. Table 3: Extent of cash collection in Tangerine Company Ltd Items on Collection policy Mean Interpretatio Ran n k There is an effective collection policy 2.85 High 1 Collection policy emphasizes promptness in collection efforts. 2.55 High 2 Collection policy emphasizes regulating in collection efforts 2.52 Low 3 Average mean 2.55 High Items on Communication policy Collection policy emphasize systematization in collection 3.05 high 1 efforts Collection policy emphasizes when to send statements of 2.78 high 2 account asking for payment. Collection policy emphasizes the use of Aging Schedule to 2.45 Low 3 display necessary information about payment terms. Collection policy emphasizes on when to telephone debtors 2.41 Low 4 reminding them about the debt. Average mean 2.67 High Items on Rules and Procedure Collection policy emphasize when to send statements of High 1 2.92 account asking for payment Collection policy emphasize the use of Aging Schedule to High 2 2.74 display necessary information about payment terms Collection policy emphasizes on when to telephone debtors High 3 2.71 reminding them about the debt Average mean 2.79 High Items on Customer loyalty
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Collection policy should emphasize circumstances when 2.89 High 1 negotiating payment plans should be held. Collection policy emphasize account reconciliations. 2.75 high 2 Collection policy emphasize on when to send the first, second 2.63 High 3 and final demand letter Collection policy emphasize on when to engage a debt 2.55 High 4 collection agency to collect the debt Average mean 2.71 High Overall mean 2.68 High Source: Primary Data, 2015 Finally, with respect to customer loyalty, four items measured this variable. (1) Collection policy should emphasize circumstances when negotiating payment plans should be held, ii) Collection policy emphasize account reconciliations, iii) Collection policy emphasize on when to send the first, second and final demand letter, iv) Collection policy emphasize on when to engage a debt collection agency to collect the debt on average 2.71. The level of Financial Performance is high with 2.68 meaning that the employees are satisfied with the services provided to them in Tangarine Company Ltd where employees agreed with it. 4.1 Relationship between cash budgeting and financial performance in Tangerine The third objective of this study was to establish the effect of cash management on financial performance for which it was hypothesized that; there is no significant relationship between cash management and performance of Tangarine Company Ltd. To test this null hypothesis, the researcher combined all the mean perceptions computed in table 2 and 3 above, and the two mean indices were correlated using Pearson’s linear correlation coefficient (PLCC), results of which are indicated in table 4; Table 4: Relationship between Cash Management and Financial Performance in Tangerine Company Ltd Variables correlated r-value Sig Interpretation Decision on Ho
Cash Management Vs significant Rejected 0.377 0.000 Communication Policy correlation
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Cash Management Vs Collection Significant Rejected 0.253 0.011 Policy correlation
Cash Management Vs Rules and Insignificant Accepted 0.388 0.250 Procedure correlation
Cash Management Vs Employees’ Significant Rejected 0.606 0.000 loyalty correlation
Overall Cash Management Vs 0.75 .000 Significant Rejected Financial Performance correlation Source: Primary data 2015 Table 4 results showed that Cash Management was positively and significantly correlated with all aspects of Financial Performance (all sig-values < 0.05, except Rules and Procedure with R- value 0.388 with sig =0.250). Cash Management is positively and significantly correlated with Communication Policy (r = 0.582, sig. = 0.000); Communication Policy (r=0.377, sig =0.000) and customer loyalty (r = 0. 0.253, sig. = 0.011); profits (r=0.388, sig = 0.000), quality of services (r = 0.606, sig. 0.000); employee satisfaction (r = 0.393, sig. = 0.000); and owner(s) satisfaction (r = 0.289, sig. = 0.000). The overall relationship between Cash Management and all aspects of Financial Performance was (r=0.75, sig = 0.000). Basing on these results, also poor Cash Management is likely to improve on Financial Performance the reverse is true. These are in line with Suda (2001)’s findings that revealed that Financial Performance and Cash Management are inter-related. The better the cash management, the better is the Financial Performance. Many agree that in most organizations, there are no recognized standard scales to measure the perceived quality of a financial performance. Thus, competitive advantage through effective cash management is an increasingly important weapon to survive 4.1 Regression Analysis between Cash Management and Financial Performance of TangerineCompany Ltd To establish the strength of the effect cash management has on financial performance of Tangerine Company Ltd, linear regression analysis was done, results of which are presented in table 6. Table 5: Regression Analysis between the level of Cash Management and level of Financial Performance of Tangarine Company Ltd
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Adjusted R2 Decision on
Variables regressed F Sig. Interpretation Ho
VS 0.87 15.049 .000 Significant effect Rejected Financial Performance Coefficients Beta T Sig. (Constant) .075 5.914 .000 Significant effect Rejected Collection policy .044 1.046 .180 Insignificant effect Accepted Communication Policy .312 3.530 .001 Significant effect Rejected Rules and Procedure .383 4.562 .000 Significant effect Rejected Employees’ loyalty .206 2.395 .019 Significant effect Rejected Source: primary data 2015 The Linear regression results in Table 6 reveal that Cash Management contributes 87% towards variations in Financial Performance in Tangerine Company Ltd as indicated by the adjusted R2 of 0.87. Results further suggest that the independent variables included in the model significantly influence changes in Financial Performance (F=15.049, sig. =0.000). These results led to a conclusion that Cash Management significantly explains the good Financial Performance in Tangerine Company Ltd. Considering the coefficients of the regression, of all the four constructs of cash management, three had a significant influence on Financial Performance and only one (collection policy) did not have a significant influence (Beta = 0.044, sig. = 0.180) where the null hypothesis was accepted of no significant effect, Cash Management(Beta = .044) had the biggest influence on Financial Performance than other constructs.
5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS With reference to the objectives the following conclusions were arrived at: Cash planning, Cash collection and Cash budgeting all have positive effects on financial performance of Tangerine Company Ltd. Tangerine Company Ltd should carry out effective cash planning by considering all departments and their needs such that every item is planned for and cash allocated to it. There is need to set appropriate cash collection policy in organisations by developing tools which enables cash to be collected without affecting organization operations. Cash budgeting should be done at the right times and all revenues and expenditures acknowgedged before use of any cash.
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REFERENCES Baumol, W. (1952). ‘The transactions demand for cash: an inventory theoretic approach’, Quarterly Journal of Economics. Beranek W (2000). Analysis for Financial Decisions, 15th Edition, Irwin, Homewood. Bort R (2004). Corporate cash management hand book, Second Edition, Bort, R. (2004). Corporate cash management handbook, Warren Gorham and Lamont RIA Group, New York. Brealey M (2005). Principles of Corporate Finance, seventh Edition, McGraw Hill Publishing Company, Delhi. Brinker. R. (2002). Introduction to financial management, 3rd Edition. The Dry press Marcourt Brace College publishers, Orlando Brinker. R. (2002). Introduction to Financial Management,3rd Edition. The Dry press Marcourt Brace College publishers, Orlando Campello, M., Graham, J. and Harvey, C. (2010). ‘The real effects of financial constraints: evidence from a financial crisis’, Journal of Financial Economics, 97. Chris F. (2008). Cash management challenges remain emerging liquidity managementarticle 2023857 Gitman LJ (2008). Principles of Managerial Finance, 5th edition, Harper and Raw publishers, United Kingdom. Hurdon, C. (2001). The Economics of Financial Systems, Second Edition Black well publishers, London. Hurdon, C. (2001). The Economics of Financial Systems, second Edition Black well publishers, London. International Research Journal of Finance and Economics - Issue 19 (2008). Kakuru, Julius (2003). Financial Decision and the Business, First Edition Kampala International Publishers. Kampala. Kakuru, Julius (2005). Finance Decisions and the Business, Third Edition, Kampala International Publishers Keynes, J. M. (1936). ‘The general theory of employment, interest and money’. London: Macmillan and Co. Limited. Kirkman P (2006). Modern Credit Management, 3rd Edition, George Allen and Unwin, London.
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Konoid et al (2007). New Possibilities for economic researchthrough integration of establishment level panel data of German official statistics, journal of applied social science studies 127. 2, 321-334. McLaney E (2006). Business Finance Theory and Practice, 7th Edition, Pearson Education, Prentice Hall. Miller H, Orr D (2001). ‘Model of the demand for money by business organizations’: Q. J. Econ. 80(3): 413-435. Nickson, G (2001). Business Administration,The Second Edition. DP Publishers, London. Nkundabanyanga S. (2004). Advanced Accounting, The First Edition Makerere University School, Kampala. Opler, T., Pinkowitz, L., Stulz, R. and Williamson, R. (1999). ‘The determinants and implications of corporate cash holdings’, Journal of Financial Economics. Pandey M. I (2002). Financial management Eight EditionVikas publication house PVT Ltd. New Delhi. Pinkowitz, L. and Williamson, R. (2004). ‘What is a dollar worth? The market value of cash holdings’, Working Paper, Georgetown University, Washington, DC. Ranson, D (2005). A practical implementation of gamma distribution to the lending decisions of an inventory control problem, production and inventory management journal, vol.3No2 pp 13-23 Ross AS (2000). Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, 5th Edition, Irwin McGraw Hall. Saleemi, L (2001). Principles of Cost Accounting, A Managerial Perspective, Fifth Edition Chatham press, London. Samuels (2000). Management of’ company finance, 6th Edition, Thomas learning, London. Scholt, V. Saunders M (2005). Research Methods for Business Studies, 3rd Edition, Pearson Education New Delhi. Shleifer, A., & Vishny, R. (1986). Large Shareholders and Corporate Control. Journal of Political Economy 94, no. 3: 461-88
33 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
MOTIVATION AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IN CO-OPERATIVE SAVING AND CREDIT SOCIETY IN UGANDA 1, Alinitwe Mary and 2, Sendagire Hassan Wasswa, (PhD), 2, [email protected]
1Graduate, Multitech Business School
2 Principal, Multitech Business School
ABSTRACT The study focused on motivation and employee performance in Co-operative saving and Credit Society in Uganda. The objectives of the study were; 1) to examine how communication affects employee performance; 2) to assess whether payment influences employee performance and 3) to establish the relationship between working conditions and employee performance in Cooperative Savings and Credit Society. The study employed a descriptive correlational survey design to correct data from 36 respondents, using a self-made questionnaire. Analysis was done using means and standard deviation, Pearson’s Linear Correlation Coefficient and linear regression. The findings indicated that; communication in cooperative Savings and Credit Society is flowing well from top to bottom and also from down to top management thus improving on the employee performance. Communication is efficient and effective, management listens to inquiry from employees complaints in case of any. Employees work in conducive and good conditions. There a positive significant relationship between motivation and employee performance (r=0.359, sig. =0.018). The recommendations were: management should find means of reducing on the communication barriers,, should also to give feed back to the employees in case they have raised an issue so as to increase on their morale as they feel that they voice is hard thus improving on their performance, should tighten their confidentiality of the pay roll system. KEY WORDS: motivation and employee performance
1. INTRODUCTION Organization run because of people working for it and each person contributes toward achieving the ultimate goal of an organization. Panagiotakopoulos (2013) concluded that factors affecting staff motivation at a period where the financial rewards are kept to the least leads to stimulate employee performance. So, management personnel’s responsibility to motivate their employees to work as per the expectation to enhance the organization’s performance. Similarly Dysvik and
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Kuvaas (2010) concluded that intrinsic motivation was the strongest predictor of turnover intention and relationship between mastery-approach goals and turnover intention was only positive for employees, low in intrinsic motivation. The only thing organization needs to do is to give employees with ample resources and platform to do. As per Kuo (2013) a successful organization must combine the strengths and motivations of internal employees and respond to external changes and demands promptly to show the organization’s value. In this paper, we have taken various techniques of motivation from existing literature, and managed to make flow of motivation from young-age employees to old-age employees. Barney (2010) found that with extrinsic motivation there exist a significant interaction between job stress, flex time, and country of residence. Leaders know that at the heart of every productive and successful business lies a thriving organizational culture and hardworking people collaborate passionately to produce great results (Gignac and Palmer, 2011). In the body of literature, various frame works are used by the researchers based on theory of motivation, with only few dimensions of motivation. In a complex and dynamic environment, leader of the organization used to create the environment in which employee feel trusted and are empowered to take decisions in the organization which leads to enhance motivation level of employee and ultimately organizational performance are enhanced. Smith and Rupp (2003) stated that performance is a role of individual motivation; organizational strategy, and structure and resistance to change, is an empirical role relating motivation in the organization.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Payment The primary objective of employees is to earn for a better life. Money is an extrinsic reward and it can be used to influence employees’ Extrinsic rewards are granted by another individual, and can include salary, fringe benefits, and so on. Also described these rewards as those basic material requirements which management must meet for the employee. These rewards can vary in type and scope, depending on place of employment. Organizations that reward their members in accordance with performance typically experience fewer problems than organizations that do not. Bonuses, as extrinsic rewards, can be a good tool to motivate workers for better performance illustrated that employees are best motivated by having them bet on their own success. When
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management ties their performance in with their bonuses, they take it as a challenge to generate greater performance for receiving bigger financial reward. Money is important, but it is not the ultimate tool for motivation (Kreitner, 2005).
The administrative assumption is that salary administration would be responsible to the need of employees by virtues of their proximity knowledge if employees’ conditions are therefore treated to react quickly to those needs and demands. The economic assumption is that, the salary administration would become more efficient if increase in salary and wages by virtue of their supportive ability can jack their priority in terms of the different service that employer need. From all the above conceptualization so far, there is a common agreement that government and organization exist and charged with the responsibilities of executing employees policies with giving power. It must involve the workers in salary decision through their union whom are legally entailed with the responsibilities of protecting the interest of the workers. All the authors above have the same ideas expressed in different forms about what those charged with the responsibilities of salary and wages administration in Ntuyozo Cooperative Savings and Credit Society (Smith and Rupp, 2003).
2.2 Working Environment Heath (2006) states that the biggest goal of all the business organization is to increase their productivity, thus decreasing their cost of production and making high profits. Although, there is very less amount of effort, which these organizations make in order to increase their productivity. Many employers have a very wrong view that productivity can be increased by giving their employees good pay package and timely increments for their work. What these employers are not aware of is that there are many other factors, which affects the performance of the employees in an organization. One of the major factors, which have an impact on the motivation level of the employees and their performance, is the workplace environment. Work environment is a mixture of many factors, which when come together form the environment of an organization. These factors are: goal setting, workplace incentives, defined processes, performance feedback, Role congruity, mentoring, resource availability and supervisor support. All these factors together have an impact on the performance of an employee. Therefore, in order to gain better results from the employees, it becomes very essential that they should be provided with proper work environment factors. 36 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
In order to enhance the performance of the employees, it is very important that the organization should determine what motivates their employees. As according to the requirements of the employees and their performance, the employees should be provided with proper workplace incentives. Incentives can be both internal and external like challenging tasks and better compensation. As mentioned above, one of the biggest reason because of which the employees leave organization is due to bad experiences with their managers. Therefore, another important factor for creating a suitable environment for the employees is to provide them with supervisor support. The supervisor's should be supportive of the employees and help them in performing their tasks. The supervisors should have good interpersonal skills so that they can maintain proper relationship with their employees and enhance their self-confidence. It is very necessary that the supervisor's should appreciate them (Taiwo, 2010).
2.3 Communication Communication is an important aspect of motivation. It affects directly the employee motivation and satisfaction and choosing the best communication style to apply on employees when going for motivation is an important factor on motivation approach. For example, when management communicates with their employees face to face is a motivated approach to people than sending those emails (Jone, 2004). Employees who know what is going on in the company as soon as they can and directly from their boss and manager are very important. It builds a good relationship between them which will help a lot with motivation. By this, they can take the important decisions toward their job and work (Jone, 2004). The other way of good communication style and motivation aspect is communicating daily with every employee, hold one to one meetings and make sure that they aware about the changes to the work are an effective way of motivation As when managers/leaders communicate openly, honestly and be transparent with their employees has an affective on motivation of managers on employees. Furthermore, implementing the “open door policy” for employees to share their ideas and discuss issues will make the managers and leaders understand the main issues of their employees will strength the relationship between the management and their employees which will help a lot with the motivation process. Communication audit methodologies advanced a general systems approach to the study of organizational communication (Ormrod, 2008). In modern days, we understand ‘communication’ as one of the most dominant and important activities in
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organizations (Harris & Nelson, 2008). Communication helps individuals and groups coordinate activities to achieve goals, and it’s vital in socialization, decision-making, problem-solving and change-management processes. Internal communication also provides employees with important information about their jobs, organization, environment and each other. Communication can help motivate, build trust, create shared identity and spur engagement; it provides a way for individuals to express emotions, share hopes and ambitions and celebrate and remember accomplishments. Communication is the basis for individuals and groups to make sense of their organization, what it is and what it means.
3. METHODOLOGY The design was basically of descriptive and correlation in nature. The qualitative data collection tools that were used included in depth, interviews, documentary analysis, and semi structured questionnaires while quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS from which mean, standard deviation, correlation and regression. The researcher wanted to hear first-hand information from the respondents on how they perceive motivation and performance of employees in Cooperative Savings and Credit Society. The study involved 36 respondents from different categories of people working in cooperative Savings and Credit Society. A researcher made questionnaire was used to collect primary data. The researcher designed questionnaire had closed -ended questions based on a five point Likert scale. A pre-test was conducted to ensure the clarity of questions, their effectiveness, time was required to complete the questionnaire, and to make sure that the questionnaire measures what it intended to measure, the researcher assessed its content validity and reliability.
4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS Table 1: Communication and Employee Performance in SACO Items on communication Mean Std. Dev. Communication in Cooperative Savings and Credit Society is favorable 3.67 1.042 Communication in this SACO flows from employees to top management. 4.14 .990 Employees usually get feedback from their bosses in this SACO. 2.56 1.539 Employers inquiry from their employees in case of any complaint in SACO. 2.17 1.231 Employers listen to employees’ complaints in case of any in this SACO 3.42 1.402 There is efficient & effective communication in this SACO 3.61 1.103
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Effective and efficient communication affects employee performance. 3.61 1.337 Communication also flows from top management to the employees. 4.08 .874 Communication buriers like noise from the venders are high in SACO. 4.00 1.121 There are measures employers have under taken to improve on the 2.17 1.254 communication system in Ntuyozo Cooperative Savings and Credit Society. Average Mean 3.34 1.189 Pearson correlation; r = .359; sig. = 0.018 Descriptive Analysis of Communication The overall rating on most aspects of communication was high as reflected in Table above whose average mean was 3.34; S.D=1.189 Majority of the aspects were rated above average mean confirming that respondents agreed that communication affects employee performance in Cooperative and Credit Society. The following dimensions of communication were rated high because their mean were above average mean and may lead to improvement in employee performance in Ntuyozo Cooperative and Credit Society as most respondents agreed: Communication in Ntuyozo Cooperative Savings and Credit Society is favourable (Mean= 3.67, SD=1.042), Communication in Ntuyozo Cooperative Savings and Credit Society flows from employees to top management (Mean= 4.14, SD= 0.990), Employers listen to employees’ complaints in case of any in Ntuyozo Cooperative Savings and Credit Society. (Mean=3.42, SD=1.402), Communication in Ntuyozo Cooperative Savings and Credit Society is efficient and effective(Mean=3.61, SD= 1.103),Effective and efficient communication affects employee performance in Ntuyozo Cooperative Savings and Credit Society (Mean = 3.61, S.D = 1.337), Communication also flows from the top management to the employees in Ntuyozo Cooperative Savings and Credit Society (Mean = 4.08, S.D = 0.874), Communication burials like noise from the venders are high in Ntuyozo Cooperative Savings and Credit Society. (Mean = 4.00, S.D = 1.121), The following dimensions of communication were rated low because they were below the average mean of communication and may not lead to improvement of employee performance in Ntuyozo Cooperative and Credit Society and most respondents disagreed : Employees usually get feedback from their subordinates or bosses in Ntuyozo Cooperative Savings and Credit Society (Mean = 2.56, S.D = 1.539), employers inquiry from their employees in case of any complaint in Ntuyozo Cooperative Savings and Credit Society (Mean = 2.17, S.D = 1.231), there 39 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
are measures employers have under taken to improve on the communication system in Ntuyozo Cooperative Savings and Credit Society (Mean = 2.17, S.D = 1.254).
The Regression table shown above analyzed whether communication has effects on employee performance in Cooperative Savings and Credit Society. From the Regression analysis, the model summary showed R Square value of 0.129 indicating that communication contributes to employee performance in Ntuyozo Cooperative Savings and Credit Society by 12.9% and that 87.1% of the employee performance is contributed by other factors. Further the regression analysis showed that communication is significant in determining employee performance in Ntuyozo Cooperative Savings and Credit Society since it has a significant value of 0.018 at 95% confidence interval.
Table 2: Payments and Employee Performance in SACO
Items on Payments Mean Std. Dev. Payments are based on merit in SACO. 2.11 1.326 The pay roll confidential in Cooperative Savings and Credit Society. 3.69 1.167 Payments to the employees are made on a regular basis in SACO. 2.22 1.333 Employee’s salary and wages influence their performance SACO. 3.67 1.042 Employees in Cooperative Savings and Credit Society paid in time. 4.22 .959 There are criteria followed to increase an employee’s salary in SACO. 4.03 1.055 Payments are related to employee performance in SACO. 2.08 1.273 In Cooperative Savings and Credit Society their payments are the best 2.28 1.386 compared to other organisations in the similar category. Employees in the same department with the same responsibilities are 3.89 1.116 paid differently in Cooperative Savings and Credit Society. There measures that are under taken to improve on payments in SACO. 4.14 1.150 Average mean 3.23 1.181 Pearson correlation; r = .206; sig. = .114 Based on the results in the Table above, the correlation coefficient (R) between Payments and employee performance was found to be R=0.206 at (P=0.114). These results indicate that according to the study, there was insignificant positive linear correlation between Payments and
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employee performance. This implies that though payments affect employee performance in Cooperative Savings and Credit Society it is not a significantfactor.
Table 3: Payments and Employee performance in Cooperative Savings and Credit Society Model Summary
Std. Error Change Statistics R Adjusted R of the R Square F Model R Square Square Estimate Change Change df1 df2 Sig.
1 .206a .042 .038 1.308 .042 3.845 1 34 .114
a. Predictors: (Constant), Communication b. Dependent: Employee Performance The Regression table shown above analyzed whether payments has effects on employee performance in Cooperative Savings and Credit Society. From the Regression analysis, the model summary showed Adjusted R Square value of 0.038 indicating that payments contributes to employee performance in Cooperative Savings and Credit Society by 3.8%.and that 96.2% of the employee performance is contributed by other factors. Further the regression analysis showed that payments is not significant in determining employee performance in Cooperative Savings and Credit Society since it has a significant value of 0.114>0.05 at 95% confidence interval.
Table 4: Working Conditions and Employee performance in Ntuyozo Cooperative Savings and Credit Society Descriptive Statistics
Items on Working Conditions Mean Std. Dev. Working conditions are favourable to the employees in SACO. 3.50 .845 There are safe measures to protect employees against hazards in SACO 2.50 1.320 The working environment is clean and health in SACO. 2.06 1.094 Working environment affects the employee performance in SACO. 3.50 1.298 There are measures to improve on the working environment SACO. 4.03 1.055 The management of Cooperative Savings and Credit Society provide 2.06 1.145 enough orientation to the new employees.
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There are efficient resources or equipment in Cooperative Savings and 3.78 1.174 Credit Society for employees’ performance for his duties. Good working environment improves on the performance in SACO. 3.56 1.362 Poor working environment leads to low productivity of an employee in 3.69 1.489 Cooperative Savings and Credit Society. Resources in SACO are equally distributed. 2.06 1.433 Pearson correlation; r = .724; sig. = .019
Results in the Table above indicated that , the correlation coefficient (R) between Working Conditions and employee performance was found to be R=0.724 at (P=0.019). These results indicate that according to the study, there was a highly significant linear correlation between Working Conditions and employee performance. This implies that Working Conditions affects employee performance in Cooperative Savings and Credit Society.
Table 5: Working Conditions and Employee performance in Ntuyozo Cooperative Savings and Credit Society Model Summary Change Statistics
R Adjusted R Std. Error of R Square Model R Square Square the Estimate Change F Change df1 df2 Sig.
1 .724a 524 .334 1.021 .524 6.816 1 34 .019
c. Predictors: (Constant), Working Conditions d. Dependent: Employee Performance The R value represents the correlation strength between independent variables and dependent variables. The value is 0.724 which shows strong correlation. The R Square shows how much of dependent variable can be explained or accounted for by the independent variables. For this case 52.4% of variance in the independent variables can be accounted in the independent variable indicating that working conditions accounts for 52.4% of Employee performance in Cooperative Savings and Credit Society. The regression analysis showed a significant value p=0.019<0.05 implying that working conditions in Cooperative Savings and Credit Society is significant in determining employee performance in Cooperative Savings and Credit Society.
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5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS From the objectives, the study concluded that communication, working conditions and salary have positive effects on employee performance in Co-operative Saving and Credit Society in Uganda but in varied degrees. Employers should find better means of improving on the communication system besides what they have in place and they put them in writing and explain them to the employees and understand them well so as to improve on their performance. The management should put in writing the measures under taken to improve on employee s’ payment and explain them to the employee such that they understand them and work hard to meet them thus improving on employee performance. There is need to improve working conditions of employees in Co-operative Saving and Credit Society in Uganda.
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PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL SYSTEMS AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IN ORGANISATIONS
1, Senkumba Rodney and 2, Onwangi Victor, 2, [email protected]
1Graduate, Multitech Business School
2 Lecturer, Multitech Business School
ABSTRACT The study investigated the relationship between performance appraisal and employee performance in organisations. Three objectives guided the study; 1) ascertain the effect of Rater Accuracy; 2) establish the effect of management by objectives approach; and 3) examine the effect of Behaviorally Anchored rating scales on employee performance. Cross sectional and descriptive study designs using quantitative and qualitative approaches were adopted. Both Questionnaires and interview guides were used to source information while interview guide was used for qualitative and questionnaire for quantitative instrument. The population involved in the study was 130 employees and the sample size was 97depicted using Kreijie and Morgan 1970 but only 92 respondents participated. Purposive, convenience, stratified simple random sampling techniques were used for selection of respondents. The study revealed a number of findings including: Rater Accuracy, Management By Objective) and Behaviorally Anchored rating scales all have positive relationship and contribute to employee morale, it’s recommended that; Performance ratings should be based on rater evaluations, Personal factors and prejudices should not influence the ratings, MBO should enhance teamwork and relationship among the supervisors and the employee by enabling employees set objectives which they can achieve.
KEYWORDS:Performance Appraisal and Employee performance .
1. INTRODUCTION The evolution of performance Appraisal can be traced back to the reign of second caliph of Islam, Hazrat Umar (634- 644 A.D /13-23 AH) who laid the foundations of many State institutions and enunciated several administrative laws that are being followed and adopted by many nations of the world till today as a role model of true administration. During the industrial revolution, Performance appraisal gained momentum when it was used as a means of measuring organizational efficiency (Ali, d. 2008). The landscape of performance appraisal changed
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dramatically from a purely measurement focus to one in which the cognitive processes of appraisal became paramount as a result of (Landy and Farr’s,1980:101). Wright (2005) affirmed that Performance appraisal was incepted when Robert Owen used wooden colored block to measure the achievement of employees working in the cotton Mills in Scotland at the close of work hours. During that era, it was utilized as a disciplinary mechanism for punishing poor performance (Kennedy & Dresser 2001). This resulted in the negative notation of the appraisal system which turned out to be despised by both the appraiser and the appraisee. As suggested by Bazerman, (2000) "performance appraisal is a yearly rite of passage in organizations that triggers dread and apprehension in the most experienced, battle hardened manager". Subsequently, organizations tried to refine the methods linking it to other administrative matters including reward, promotion, training and so forth, arguing that employees achievements should not only be measured but evaluated and managed (Brown & Benson,2003). Despite the historical perspective, appraisal is both inevitable and universal. There has been several analysis and wide criticisms of the effectiveness and use of Performance Appraisal within the organizational context but up to recent times the issue is still being debated among scholars, academicians and professionals and NO system has been successful in meeting the desired goal.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Rater accuracy and Employee Performance Meyer (2009) opined that the dilemma of a performance appraisal process has always been developing performance measures. Malos (1998) says that a good performance appraisal systems should be based on measuring employee's contribution to the job as opposed to the employee's activities or behaviors. However, developing a Performance Appraisal Systems that accurately reflects employee performance is not an easy task. Such systems must be tailor-made to match employee and organizational characteristics. Performance ratings are based on rater evaluations which are subjective to human judgments. Personal factors and prejudices are likely to influence the ratings (Noonan, & Sulsky, 2001). On the other hand, errors based on age, gender or race can influence the raters evaluations.
Poor performance evaluations will not have the desired effect. There should be a proper development of the appraisal to remove subjectivity and bias in the ratings. Hartog (2004) noted
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that some sources of rater inaccuracy include instances where female juniors tend to be assessed essentially from masculine points of view. On some occasions, male superiors who appraise women subordinates often have inappropriate masculine interpretations of female characteristics, aptitudes and abilities for managerial work. Consequently, personality based appraisals disadvantage women and minorities who emerge as having less of the desired attributes than their male counterparts. Multi-rater systems can be used to deal with rater inaccuracy. This method consists of a questionnaire that contains instances of work behavior (Hedge, & Teachout,. 2000). ''Bystanders'' who are directly involved with the person who is being evaluated are asked to give their views on the person from a long list of phrased behaviors.
2.2 Behaviorally Anchored rating scales (BARS) and Employee Performance Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) is a relatively new technique, which combines the graphic rating scale and critical incidents method. It consists of predetermined critical areas of job performance or sets of behavioral statements describing important job performance qualities as good or bad (for the qualities like inter-personal relationships, adaptability and reliability, job knowledge etc). These statements are developed from critical incidents. In this method, an employee’s actual job behaviour is judged against the desired behaviour by recording and comparing the behaviour with BARS. Developing and practicing BARS requires expert knowledge (Kavanagh, & Brown, 2007).
The specific purpose of the Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale is to use behavioral procedures to design an instrument that can identify and measure the critical components that constitute effective performance in an occupation. The instrument has been used to identify performance competencies in such occupations as Nurses (Schleicher, 2002), store managers (Campbell, et. al., 1998), college professors and for identifying the professional and career development activities needed by teachers (Latham and Kenneth, 1999). The instrument allows researchers to "capture performance in multidimensional, behaviour-specific terms" (Holbrook, 2002).
Behaviorally anchored rating scales are a modernized or extended version of the subjective graphic scale. They are an apparent attempt to transform the graphic rating scale into an objective appraisal in terms of level of performance and performance objectives. In other words, they are corrective measures for many of the subjective concerns that cloud the validity and
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hinder the use of graphic rating scales (Kline & Sulsky, 2009). This technique specifies definite computable, quantifiable and observable job behavior on a range and the employee is rated on the basis of his/her behavior along the continuum. The scales combine elements of critical incident and graphic rating approach. In anchoring behaviors with specific examples BARS has two main options to choose from- behaviorally expected scales (BES) which represents managements judgment call as to what can be done and the behaviorally observed scales (BOS) which anchors its behaviors firmly in the reality of the situation (Hartog, Boselie and Paauwe, 2004).
2.3 Management by Objective Appraisal system and Employee Performance The management by objective approach originated as a process whereby managers can transform their strategic plans into implementable action (Holbrook, R.L.2002). In this approach, participation is central; goals and objectives are worked out based on mutual understanding. This enhances teamwork and relationship building among the supervisors and the employee. In addition, there is constant communication between the participants, prior notice is given before scheduling the evaluation process and at the end of the process "performance review or rating" is discussed and analyzed (Armstrong, 2006).
The MBO is a result-oriented and objective approach which often decentralizes power to lower- level decision makers and tailors each individual's performance with job responsibilities. Employee participation in work-related decision making gives him/her a sense of belonging which increases performance and productivity. Furthermore, MBO is a means of setting precedence and resource allocation for achieving them. However, the public sector often works in ambiguity due to the political environment that dominates it. This has the potential to undermine the implementation of MBO in that sector. Hence, organizations resort to using the BARS format for those positions that involve numerous incumbents.
Management by objectives (MBO) is a management system designed to achieve organizational effectiveness by steering each employee's behavior toward the organization's mission. MBO is often used in place of traditional performance appraisals. The MBO process includes goal setting, planning, and evaluation. Goal setting starts at the top of the organization with the establishment of the organization's mission statement and strategic goals. The goal-setting 50 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
process then cascades down through the organizational hierarchy to the level of the individual employee. An individual's goals should represent outcomes that, if achieved, would most contribute to the attainment of the organization's strategic goals. In most instances, individual goals are mutually set by employees and their supervisors, at which time they also set specific performance standards and determine how goal attainment will be measured (Lindsey, 2005).
3. METHODOLOGY The study used cross sectional study design because the study involved staff of all the different organisations as population from which sample size was determined, descriptive research design to obtain information concerning the current status of the phenomena and to describe "what exists" with respect to variables or conditions in the situation and people’s views and opinions will be sought and described accordingly in the need to analyze performance appraisal system and employee performance in organisations. The study adopted a mixture of qualitative and quantitative research approaches, which was preferred because many of the respondents were covered by use of questionnaires and interview guides so that they can describe their feelings, beliefs and attitudes regarding performance appraisal. Specifically, the quantitative research approach was used in order to generate quantifiable data. Qualitative data was collected so as to capture views, attitudes and opinions of respondents in form of themes from the contents. Statements under each variable were subjected to reliability test. The researcher used SPSS internal consistency method that provided a unique estimate of reliability for the given test administrations. The most popular internal consistency reliability estimate was given by Cronbach’s alpha as shown in table 3.1. Table 1: Reliability Statistics Objective Cronbach's Cronbach's Alpha N of Alpha Based on Standardized Items Items Rater Accuracy .872 .872 7 Management By Objective .834 .834 11 Behaviorally Anchored Rating .862 .862 9 Scales Overall .857 .857 27
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Since all the items had Cronbach reliability statistics of more than .60,then all of them were reliable in causing relationship between Performance Appraisal and Employee Performance in organisations and since the overall Cronbach reliability statistics is 0.857 which is more than 0.60 then Performance Appraisal has relationship with Employee Performance.
Validity of the questionnaire After constructing the questionnaire, the researcher contacted the supervisors and three other experts. Hence, the researcher constructs the validity of the instruments by using expert judgment method suggested by Gay (1996). The instrument was defined based on expert advice. The following formula was used to test the validity index.
CVI= No. of items regarded relevant by judges Total No. of items judged
4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 4.1 Background of respondent
4.1.1 Gender of the respondents Gender was taken into consideration in this study because both sex were affected by appraisal systems in organisations and also because both sex participate in it.
Table 2: gender of respondent
Categories Frequency Percent Male 56 57.7 Female 36 37.1 Total 92 94.8 Source: Primary Data 2015 The study showed that out of the 92 respondents who responded,56(57.7%) were male, 36(37.1%) were female. This implies that more male than female participated in the study. It is also an indication that the organization employs more male than female, but meets the requirements of the gender balance according to the Constitution of Uganda since employees more than 30% female in their workforce.
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4.1.2 Age group of the respondents Age was considered to find out the dominant age group of employees in organizations as shown in table 3.
Table 3: Age bracket of respondent
Age brackets Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent 18-27yrs 28 30.4 30.4 28-37yrs 32 34.8 65.2 38-47yrs 23 25.0 90.2 48-57yrs 9 9.8 100.0 Total 92 100.0 Source: Primary Data 2015 From table 3, 28 (28.9%) of the respondents were aged between 18-27 years, 32 (33.0%) were 28-37 years, 23 (23.7%) were aged from 38- 37 years and 9 (9.3%) were from 48-57 years. This shows that all the age groups were well represented but the majority is in the youthful age of 18- 37years. The researcher found out that most of the respondents are still young employees and few are in the age above forty years meaning that employee performance may not be well balanced because the youthful age still feel like moving from employment to employment to try their talents somewhere else. Also since all the employees are above 18years it was presumed that information obtained was substantive and reliable enough to enable researcher make informed decision.
4.2.1.3 Educational Level of respondents The education level was important in this study because the researcher assumed that the higher the education the more it is assumed one knows about team building and morale in an organization.
Table 4: Highest education of respondent
Education levels Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent certificate 11 12.0 12.0
diploma 20 21.7 33.7
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degree 36 39.1 72.8 masters 13 14.1 87.0 Any other-Specify 12 13.0 100.0 Total 92 100.0 Source: Primary Data 2015
The study found that the respondents possess the following qualifications; 11 (12.1%) have Certificates, 20(21.7%) have Diploma, 36(38.1%) possess Degrees, 13(13.5%) have masters and 12(13.0%) have others. This shows that most of the respondents are of good educational level and can make informed decisions. The researcher found out that there were some staff with other types of qualifications including professionals like ACCA, CIPS, and some with post graduate diplomas. The findings showed that the organization employs staff with high standards of education and almost every employee is taking a course to improve their present qualifications in order to improve their performance.
Table 5: Analysis on the relationship between Rater Accuracy and Employee Performance in organization
Rater Accuracy& Employee Performance Correlation Analysis Rater Accuracy & Employee Performance Pearson Sig Correlation Performance Appraisal Systems is based on measuring employee's .605 .040 contribution to the job Performance Appraisal Systems is based on measuring employee's .272 .001 activities or behaviors Performance Appraisal Systems accurately reflects employee .335 .013 performance Performance Appraisal Systems match employee and organizational -.045 .002 characteristics Performance ratings are based on rater evaluations .005 .480 Personal factors and prejudices influence the ratings .-096 .181 Education standard, age, gender & race influence raters evaluations .390 .042
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Rater’s harshness or lenience on ratee affects the accuracy of .046 .330 evaluations There is proper development of the appraisal to remove subjectivity -.079 .226 and bias in the ratings Multi-rater systems is used to deal with rater inaccuracy -.132 0.105 Female juniors are assessed essentially from masculine points of .089 0.046 view Questions containing instances work behavior are used in appraisal .178 0.046 ''Bystanders'' who are directly involved with the person who is being .236 0.012 evaluated are asked to give their views on the person Raters under go frame-of reference(FOR) training -.184 0.039 Pearson Correlations; r = 0.712; sig. = 0.003 Regression Analysis Results: Adjusted R2=0.484 Source: Primary data 2015 Correlational results in Table above indicates that Rater Accuracy is significantly and positively related to employee performance (r=0.712, sig= 0.003< 0.05) suggesting that if Rater Accuracy improves, employee performance also improves. There was need to run the regression analysis to confirm the causal relationship. The Regression table shown above analyzed whether Rater Accuracy has effect on employee performance in organisations. Regression results indicated that Rater Accuracy dimensions are collectively explanatory variables of Rater Accuracy (sig =0.003). From the Regression analysis, the model summary showed R-Square value of 0.484 indicating that Rater Accuracy contributes to employee performance by 48.4% and that 51.6% of employee performance is contributed by other factors. This is in agreement with Katzenbach (2008) who asserted that the Rater Accuracy consists of the structure, climate and culture of the organization which should be conductive for employee performance. The organizational structure is the infrastructure of multifunctional team. Only with the support of organization can employee performance improve.
Table 6: Findings on the effect of Behaviorally Anchored rating scales on employee performance in organisation
Behaviorally Anchored rating scales and Employee Pearson Correlation Sig
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Performance Supervisor records significant incidents in employee’s behavior -.065 0.269 Employee is rated on the basis of his/her behavior .045 0.337 Performance determine an employee's effectiveness .124 0.120 Inter-personal relationships is rated in appraisal .176 0.047 Employee adaptability to working conditions is rated in the -.244 .009 appraisal Employee reliability is rated in the appraisal .236 .012 Maturity of employee is rated in appraisal .089 .200 Appraisal rates employee job knowledge -.111 .145 Motivation of employee is rated in the appraisal .027 .398 Employee time management is rated during appraisal -.129 .110 Pearson Correlations; r = 0.627; sig. = 0.013 Regression Analysis Results: Adjusted R2=0.309 Source:Primary data 2015
Correlation results in Table above show that effect of Behaviorally Anchored rating scales on employee performance (r=0.627, sig= 0.013<0.05). The positive relationship employee performance also improves. However, there was need to determine whether the relationship was predictive or not by running a regression analysis. The Regression table shown above analyzed whether Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales has effect on employee performance in organisation. Regression results indicated that Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales dimensions are collectively explanatory variables of Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (sig =0.013). From the Regression analysis, the model summary showed R-Square value of 0.393 indicating that Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales contributes to employee performance by 39.3%.and that 60.7% of employee performance is contributed by other factors. The findings of the study agreed with what Kavanagh (2007)explained that the specific purpose of the Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale is to use behavioral procedures to design an instrument that can identify and measure the critical components that constitute effective performance in an occupation.
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Table 7: Analysis to establish the effect of Management By Objectives approach on employee performance in organisation
Management By Objectives r- Sig value Managers transform strategic plans into implementable action .422 .027 Participation is central in employee performance .021 .487 goals and objectives are worked out based on mutual understanding .432 .006 MBO has enhanced teamwork and relationship among the supervisors and the .525 .032 employee there is constant communication between the participants in appraisal .023 .415 Prior notice is given before scheduling the evaluation process -.085 .209 At the end of appraisal process "performance review or rating" is discussed & .303 .002 analyzed MBO is a result-oriented .273 .004 MBO has decentralized power to lower-level decision makers .355 .017 MBO tailors each individual's performance with job responsibilities .234 .012 Employee participation in work-related decision making gives a sense of .094 .186 belonging Pearson Correlations; r =0.578; sig. = 0.044 Regression Analysis Results: Adjusted R2=0.311 Source: Primary data 2015
Correlation results in Table above show that Management By Objectives is significantly and positively related to employee performance (r=0.578, sig= 0.044<0.05). The positive relationship indicates that when Management by Objectives are improved, employee performance also improves. However, there was need to determine whether the relationship was predictive or not by running a regression analysis below. The Regression table shown above analyzed whether Management By Objectives has effect on employee performance.Regression results indicated that Management By Objectives are collectively explanatory variables of employee performance (sig =0.044). From the Regression analysis, the model summary showed R-Square value of 0.334
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indicating that Management By Objectives contributes to employee performance by33.4%.and that 66.6% of employee performance is contributed by other factors
Table 8: Correlation between Performance Appraisal Systems and Employee Performance
Performance Employees Appraisal Systems Performance Pearson Correlation 1 .604 Performance Appraisal Sig. (2-tailed) .003 Systems N 92 92 Pearson Correlation .604 1 Employees Performance Sig. (2-tailed) .003 N 92 92 Source: SPSS
From correlation table above, the results showed that there is positive relationship between Performance Appraisal Systems and employee Performance with Pearson coefficient of Correlation value r = .604 meaning that Performance Appraisal Systems has positive relationship with employee Performance and if the Performance Appraisal Systems is improved, employee Performance will also improve.
Table 8: Performance Appraisal Systems and Employee Performance Model Summary
Std. Change Statistics Error of R Adjusted the R Square F Sig. F Model R Square R Square Estimate Change Change df1 df2 Change
1 .604a .365 .328 1.268 .365 12.211 1 90 .003
a. Predictors: (Constant), Performance Appraisal Systems b. Dependent Variable: Employees Performance
The Regression table shown above analyzed the relationship between Performance Appraisal Systems and Employee Performance, extent to which Performance Appraisal Systems affects
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employee Performance, significant value to determine the significance of Performance Appraisal Systems on employee Performance, Dublin Watson to determine the type of correlation. The Regression analysis showed Adjusted R-Square value of 0.328 indicating that Performance Appraisal Systemsexplains32.8% of employee Performance. The Durbin Watson value was used to detect the presence of autocorrelation and if the value is less than 3 there is no presence of autocorrelation in the regression model. In this model no autocorrelation was detected as the value was 1.153 implying that Performance Appraisal Systems has effect on employee Performance. Independent variable has positive relationship with the dependent variable.
Table 9: Performance Appraisal Systems and Employee PerformanceCoefficientsa
Model Unstandardized Standardized t Sig. Coefficients Coefficients B Std. Error Beta (Constant) 2.740 .473 5.794 .000 Rater Accuracy .017 .099 .712 4.175 .003 Management By .080 .114 .627 2.698 .013 Objectives Behaviorally Anchored .055 .118 .578 3.469 .044 rating scales Source: Primary Data 2015
Further, results in table 4.10(c) indicate that Rater Accuracy is the most significant predictor of employee performance, (sig=0.003,Beta =0.712, t=4.175, this is followed by Management By Objectives(sig=0.013,Beta=0.627, t=2.698) and trailed by Behaviorally Anchored rating scales(sig=0.044,beta = 0.578, t = 3.469).
5. CONCLUSIONS From the objectives of the study, the following conclusions were drawn: Rater Accuracy has effect on employee performance in organisations because it has positive correlation 0.712, strong significant value of 0.003 and contributes 48.4% of the employee performance. Behaviorally Anchored rating scales has positive relationship with employee performance in organisations because it has positive correlation 0.627, strong significant value of 0.013 and contributes 39.3%
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of the employee performance. Management By Objectives has positive relationship with employee performance in organisations because it has positive correlation 0.578, strong significant value of 0.044 and contributes 31.1% of the employee performance. Performance Appraisal Systems has positive relationship with employee Performance in organisations because it has positive correlation 0.604, strong significant value of 0.003 and contributes32.8% of the employee Performance.
5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS Performance appraisal systems should include employee's activities or behaviors not only jobs, Performance ratings should be based on rater evaluations but not perceptions, Personal factors and prejudices should not influence the ratings but employee performance should be paramount, Rater should not be harsh or lenient on the rate as this affects the accuracy of evaluations, there should be proper development of the appraisal to remove subjectivity and bias in the ratings. Employee should also be rated on the basis of his/her behavior, Performance should not only be a measure to determine an employee's effectiveness, Inter-personal relationships should be rated in appraisal, Employee adaptability to working conditions should be rated in the appraisal, Employee reliability should also be rated in the appraisal, Employee time management should be rated during appraisal. MBO should enhance teamwork and relationship among the supervisors and the employee by enabling employees set objectives which they can achieve, there is need to develop effective communication between the participants in appraisal by allowing both sides describe their feelings,prior notice should be given before scheduling the evaluation process, at the end of the appraisal process "performance review or rating" should be discussed and analyzed, MBO should have decentralized power to lower-level decision makers.
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Campbell, D. and Lee, C. (1998). Self-Appraisal in Performance Appraisal Evaluation: Development versus Evaluation.Academy of Management Review, pp. 13. Hartog, D., Boselie, P. and Paauwe, J. (2004). Performance Management: a model and research agenda, Applied Psychology, An International Review, vol. 53, issue 4, pp.556-569. Hedge, J. W., & Teachout, M. S. (2000). Exploring the concept of acceptability as a criterion for evaluating performance measures. Group &Organization Management, 25(1): 22–44. Holbrook, R.L. Jr (2002). "Contact points and flash points: conceptualizing the use of justice mechanisms in the performance appraisal interview", Human Resource Management Review, Vol. 12 pp.101-23. Human Resource Office Records 2008:14). Human Resource Office Records 2014:8). Human Resource Records 2014:5 Kavanagh, P., Benson, J., & Brown, M. (2007). “Understanding performance appraisal fairness.”Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 45, 132. Kline, T.J.B. & Sulsky, L.M. (2009). Measurement and Assessment Issues inPerformance Appraisal. Canadian Psychology. Vol 50, (3): pp161-171. Landy, F. J., & Farr, J. L. 1980. Performance rating. Psychological Bulletin, 87: 72–107. Lindsey, J.A. (Ed.) (2005), Performance Evaluation: A Management Basic for Librarians, Oryx Press, Phoenix, AZ. Malos, S. B. (1998). Current issues in performance appraisal. In J. W. Smither (Ed.), Performance appraisal: State of the art in practice ( pp. 49–94). New York: Jossey-Bass. Meyer and Allen (2009) "A solution to the performance appraisal feedback enigma", Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 5 pp.68-76 Morgan and Krejcie, (1970). Sampling in Statistics Noonan, L. E., & Sulsky, L. M. (2001). Impact of frame-of-reference and behavioral observation training on alternative training effectiveness criteria in a Canadian military sample. Human Performance, 14(1): 3–26. Pulakos, E. D. (1984). A comparison of training programs: Error training and accuracy training. Journal of Applied Psychology, 69: 581–588. Redmond, 2012). Redmond, B. (2012). PSYCH 484, Lesson 9: Control Theory: How do I regulate my behavior? 61 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
Sekaran (2001). Timothy J. Ellis and Yair Levy (2008): Framework of Problem-Based ResearchtheInternational Journal of an Emerging Transdiscipline Volume 11, 2008 Wright, P., Gardner, (2005). The relationship between HR. What businesses are doing to attract and retain employees. Employee Benefits Journal, 5, 34-47.
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NETWORK INTRUSION DETECTION AND CONTROL USING PACKET FILTERING AND PROXY SERVERS
1, Lwanga Kintu Fred, 1, [email protected]
1, Head of Business Computing and Information Technology Department,Multitech Business School.
ABSTRACT This paper combines the group’s efforts to implement an intrusion detection mechanism that will improve network security at the Faculty of Computing and Information Technology through implementation of an intrusion detection and control mechanism that can support packet filtering on a proxy server on the faculty network. As the network expands day by day, there is need for optimization and collaborative sharing of the scarce network resources such as bandwidth on a more secure network; a proxy server is intended to fulfill this objective
KEYWORDS: Network Intrusion Detection and Control.
1. INTRODUCTION Given the ever increasing number of computer network users at the Faculty of Computing and Information Technology, it was found out that there are concerns to address more reliable network security mechanisms on the faculty network. The number of students at the faculty today was estimated to be about 4000, that is, about 3500 students on Undergraduate Programs and about 500 on Postgraduate Programs. Different legitimate and illegitimate users ranging from students, administrators, instructors and probably hackers may access the faculty network for various interests. For computer networks with weak security mechanisms, hackers may either use computers as objects of study rather than as instruments to facilitate their work such as accessing confidential information or they may focus on breaking security mechanisms of computer and network systems.
For fear of damage by hackers, the faculty network managers have used security measures such as; routers that are configured to act as firewalls to filter incoming and outgoing traffic, IP- tables (Internet Protocol) are used to monitor user activity on computers, a proxy server through which network users access the Internet, is used to filter and cache/store web content and in addition a proxy server increases throughput (actual amount of information flowing through a connection, 63 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
Flickenger, R. (2006), access rights (usernames and passwords) to user domains, physical verification of users using Identity Cards and Laboratory Cards, spam filters on e-mail server, access control using IP-addresses, both the manual and automated systems altogether, Access Control Lists (ACL), Virtual Local Area Networks (VLAN’s) to separate staff from students domains by creating independent logical networks within the physical network, laboratory attendants to allow or deny access of users into the computer laboratories and MAC address filters on the network switches to filter data packets against their source hosts.
Packet filtering involves controlling access to a network and its resources by analyzing the incoming and outgoing packets and letting them pass or halting them based on the IP addresses of their source and destination or their ports. Following from the previous paragraph, packet filtering has been implemented on the faculty network through; use of routers configured to act as firewalls, a proxy server, spam filters and MAC Address filters. Despite these implementations, it was noted that students still illegally access staff mailing lists, an indication that showed the desire for more security controls.
Intrusion detection according to Uwe et al. (2006), involves detecting inappropriate, incorrect, or anomalous activity on the network machines. Intrusion detection systems are of two categories, that is to say; host-based ID systems which operate on a host to detect malicious activity on that host and network-based intrusion detection systems that operate on network data flows. As noted above, the faculty has implemented intrusion control measures through; physical verification of users, use of both the manual and automated systems altogether, access rights, access control using IP-addresses, use of VLAN’s, making backups for stored data and monitoring of user activity on machines using IP-tables. Intrusion detection and control reduces Latency, the actual amount of time it takes for a packet to travel from one point of a network to another, since network resources such as bandwidth (a measure of frequency ranges) are optimally utilized. Flickenger, R. (2006).
2.THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY 2.1 State of the Art
According to Killcrece et al. (2003), network security engineers also known as (system or security administrators) would provide many services for companies, research laboratories, and
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universities protecting their internal computer networks from malicious attacks. These services were classified as reactive, proactive, or security quality management. Reactive services, such as incident handling and attending to alerts, would be required when an event or request that might indicate an attack has occurred on the network. Proactive services, for example installing and configuring protective software on the networks and disseminating security-related information to the users of the network, would provide assistance and information to help prepare, protect, and secure constituent systems in anticipation of future attacks, problems, or events. These activities could address the problem of intrusion on the network.
Adiseshu et al. (2004) defined Packet filters as rules for classifying packets based on their header fields. They further argued that packet classification was essential to routers supporting services such as Quality of Service (QoS), Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), and firewalls.
Flickenger, R. (2006) defined Network Monitoringas the use of logging and analysis tools to accurately determine traffic flows, utilization, and other performance indicators on a network. He further argued that good monitoring tools gave both hard numbers and graphical aggregate representations of the state of the network. This would help to visualize precisely what was happening, so a network manager could know where adjustments might be needed. Flickenger also gave the advantages of monitoring a network which included; troubleshooting would greatly be simplified, viruses could be detected and eliminated, malicious users could be detected and dealt with, network hardware and resources could be justified with real statistics, proper network usage could be enforced, capacity planning would be much easier,network performance could highly be optimized andnetwork intruders would be detected and filtered.
2.2 State of Practice
Mark (2001) stated that a fundamental problem for network intrusion detection systems was the ability of a skilled attacker to evade detection by exploiting ambiguities in the traffic stream as seen by the monitor.
In addition, some examples of Network Monitoring Tools according to Flickenger, R. (2006), included; Spot Check Tools that in his words are designed for troubleshooting and normally run interactively for short periods of time. These tools give a quick view of what is happening on a connection in real time and in the process they could help one locate the source of the problem.
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A program such as Pingmight be considered an active spot check_tool, since it generates traffic by polling a particular machine. Other examples of spot check tools included; Traceroute that could help one locate problems between a computer and any point on the Internet, Wireshark also known as Ethereal is a free network protocol analyzer for Windows and UNIX and ntop is used for most operating systems.
Uwe et al. (2006) defined Intrusion detection systems,IDSs as software systems designed to identify and prevent the misuse of computer networks and systems. They further classified IDSs into two ways: the analysis approach and the placement of the IDS.
Regarding the former, there were two classes: misuse detection and anomaly detection.
The misuse detection approach examined network and system activity for known misuses, usually through some form of pattern-matching algorithm. In contrast, an anomaly detection approach based its decisions on a profile of normal network or system behavior, often constructed using statistical or machine learning techniques.
From the writings of Richard (2005), proxy servers have two main purposes. They could improve performance and filter requests. By filtering requests, it meant that an organization might use a proxy server to prevent its employees from accessing a specific set of Web sites. Proxy servers could dramatically improve performance for users of an organization. This was because the proxy server would save the results of all requests for a certain amount of time. Organizations that used Web proxy servers reported that the proxy server’s caching technology had greatly reduced network costs. Many organizations bought proxy servers in order to decrease access time. However, they received an unexpected benefit when caching reduced traffic on the Internet connections. Industry analysts reported that proxy servers often reduced traffic enough to eliminate the need to add bandwidth servers.
This analysis was based on Martin (2007), in which he discussed the limitations of packet filtering that, in cases where a packet filter restricted access to a resource based on the source IP address attempting to access that resource, the packet filter could not verify whether the packets originated from the real device or from a host or router spoofing that source address. A transparent proxy illustrated this problem perfectly. A transparent proxy frequently ran on a NAT host which would be connected to the Internet. This machine intercepted outbound connections
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for a particular protocol e.g. (HTTP), and simulated the real server to the client. The client might have had a packet filter limiting outbound connections to a single IP and port pair, but the transparent proxy would still operate on the outbound connection.
A packet filter would make no effort to validate the contents of a data stream, so data passed over a packet filter might be invalid or otherwise incorrect. The packet filter only verified that the network layer datagrams were correctly addressed and well-formed. Many security devices, such as firewalls, included support for proxies, which were application aware. These were security mechanisms which could validate data streams. Proxies were often integrated with packet filters for a tight network layer and application layer firewall.
Tunnels were one of the most common ways to subvert a packet filter. They came in wide varieties: SSH tunnels which allowed users to transport TCP sessions into or out of a network; GRE tunnels, which allowed arbitrary packets to be encapsulated in an IP packet; UDP tunnels; VPN tunnels; and application layer transport tunnels over HTTP/HTTPS. Some of those tunnels were very difficult to prevent with packet filtering, while others were trivial to block.
Another area of network security which was not addressed by packet filtering was encryption. Encryption could be used at a number of different layers in a networked environment. Martin compared IP-Security, encrypted packets, with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), which encrypted a single application layer session. IP-Sec operated at layer 3, while SSL operated above layer 4. Packet filtering did not directly address the issue of encryption in any way. Both were tools used in an ongoing effort to maintain and secure a network.
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Interviews
A series of face to face interviews were conducted in the different faculty departments visited such as; systems administrators section that manages users on the network, network administrators section also known as DICTS that chiefly controls Internet services on the faculty network, computer laboratories section where laboratory attendants reside, the students/end user section, faculty registrar department and the administration section and others in order to find out
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user requirements and study the existing intrusion detection, packet filtering and proxy server implementations on the network. This was carried out on a regular basis during collection of factual data like student complaints on the current network system, cases of intrusion registered by the network administrators, steps taken to reduce intrusion, make network faster, filter packets and others.
Review of Systems
Information about the currently implemented intrusion detection and control mechanisms both physical and logical, packet filtering methods and proxy server implementation was gathered from the different faculty book banks, faculty website and the Internet. Different intrusion detection, packet filtering and proxy server mechanisms used by the faculty were identified. This literature was used to determine the different areas that still needed to be improved in the way the faculty had implemented its security mechanisms in relation to intrusion detection, packet filtering and use of a proxy server on its network.
System Study
The different existing physical and logical security implementations in relation to intrusion detection, packet filtering and use of a proxy server on the network were studied in order to identify and evaluate the functional and non–functional requirements of the proposed intrusion detection mechanism. These were determined by studying the system flow, traffic flow, network architecture, problems and possible solutions of the current/existing network security mechanism. This was achieved through; use of interviews especially in the system and network management departments, reading through written documentation such as brochures and booklets, faculty website, online journals and participatory observation of the existing system.
System Analysis The information collected on the current network system study was analyzed using qualitative analysis. Functional and Non-Functional requirements of the systems were also determined after the system study and analysis and these requirements were used to provide the basis for determining the mechanism’s main functions which were geared towards the attainment of the set objectives of the faculty network.
System Design 68 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
The proposed enhancement of network packet filtering and use of proxy servers was designed and ultimately implemented in accordance to the following:
1. Network intrusion detection tools such as Nagios, Apache:mod_security, snort. 2. The collected data helped in the estimation of the relative levels of unfiltered traffic traversing the network. 3. Installation and configuration of a web based, packet filtering proxy server on the faculty network was implemented. User Requirements The faculty network system consists of two main sections which were; the Default Section/End User Section used by the ordinary network users and the Administrative Section that is used by the systems and network administrators to; monitor user activity on the network, manage users, control access on the network, set user domains, set VLAN’s, configure routers, do network configurations, updates and upgrades, implement network security mechanisms, assign usernames and passwords to user domains, control usage of network resources such as bandwidth and others. The default or user section allows the end user to login to and logoff the network, to send and receive traffic, to access the Internet through the proxy server, to share information between the faculty network and other networks outside, to study online, to send complaints to staff, to view results, time tables, announcements and schedules using the faculty network and many more.
Functional Requirements The network system allows for authentication and authorization of both administrators and students using a login form that requires entry of a password and username to access the network. The system checks that all fields of the login form are correctly filled before submission can be made and the submitted parameters are checked against the parameters stored in the network authentication database for verification. The user domain usernames and passwords stored in the database are encrypted using the password encryption functionality to safeguard against hackers and possible attacks on the network system by masqueraders.
The network system provides an efficient and effective security mechanism to protect the network from any kind of intrusion, attack and malicious traffic. The network security is implemented using; routers that are configured to act as firewalls to filter incoming and outgoing 69 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
traffic, IP-tables that are used to monitor user activity on computers, a proxy server to filter web content and through which network users access the Internet, access rights (usernames and passwords) to user domains, physical verification of users using Identity Cards and Laboratory Cards, spam filters on e-mail server, access control using IP-addresses, access control lists (ACL), VLAN’s (Virtual Local Area Networks) to separate staff from students domains, laboratory attendants to allow or deny access of users into the computer laboratories and MAC address filters on the network switches to filter data packets against their source machines.
The faculty security network system is scalable, reliable and maintainable. It’s implemented to provide reliable security at all times by providing the needed quality. A proxy server is used for caching web content and IP-tables are used for network monitoring in order to save against over consumption of network resources such as bandwidth by the network users. For example if a user is trying to consume so much bandwidth on the network by downloading a very heavy file, they are blocked from accessing the Internet any more so as to optimally share bandwidth across the network. Scalability allows the addition of new security mechanisms and implementations.
Performance, this is measured by the network’s resistance against; attacks, intrusion, unfiltered packets (robustness). It’s also measured by the number of user complaints on the network security in that the fewer the user complaints, the more reliable the network and vice versa, registered number of unfiltered packets that find their way into the faculty network in a certain period of time, number of cases of intrusion in a given period, life of an implemented security mechanism on the network and how often upgrades are done on the network. The implemented security measure in line with intrusion detection, packet filtering and use of a proxy server provides the network with the ability to detect and deny access to unfiltered packets traversing the network, detect and control intrusion attempts both physical and logical, filter and cache frequently requested web content, this provides users with safe information and increases access for confidential information on the network, a proxy server makes it faster and more efficient for users to access and download content from the Internet. It is able to sustain during busy hours/peak periods without slowing down the network performance.
4.SYSTEM DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION System Design
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The faculty intrusion detection and control mechanism is both a physical and logical system providing users with a secure traffic exchange environment/interface. The information that was gathered during system study and analysis was used to generate diagrams illustrating the physical and logical layout of the intrusion detection and control system implemented on the faculty network. The intrusion detection system is implemented in hardware architectures such as; network routers, proxy server for Internet access, web caching, restriction on untrusted web sites, end user hosts for logical verification, authorization and authentication, network servers for backing up faculty data, network switches for MAC Address filtering and physically using laboratory cards, identity cards and laboratory attendants for physical verification. Logically the system is built using web based programming languages such as objected oriented Hyper Text Preprocessor (PHP), JavaScript, and Ajax which is a combination of PHP, JavaScript and XML for the back end, Cascading Style Sheets for the layout of the interface and MySQL database tables. The system provides users with a secure networking environment enabling them to exchange secure traffic between the faculty network and other networks. Users make good use of systems and network administrators on any network abnormalities.
System Requirements
Hardware Requirements
Hardware Number at the faculty network
Clients/End user hosts 700 computers
Servers 6 servers: Database, mail, web, DNS, proxy and application servers.
A proxy server 1
Routers 4
A Switch 2
Firewall (router) 2
Laboratory card/Identity card 1@
Software requirements
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Software Minimum system requirements
Operating system Windows 2000 and above
Environment Windows and Linux Platform
Virtual Local Area Networks Network Switch
Server Apache Server
Firewall Network Router
IP-Tables Router
Filters A Switch Proxy server and Router.
Figure: 1
Illustrates how packets from the Internet are filtered and forwarded/routed to their final destinations by the faculty routers.
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Data packets from the Internet are forwarded between routers until they reach their ultimate destinations. Routers are also configured to act as firewalls to filter these packets before they reach the faculty servers or client machines (user machines). In addition, IP-tables in routers are used to monitor user activity on the network hosts.
Figure: 2
Illustrates the current security mechanism implemented on the faculty network for intrusion detection and control using routers and a proxy server.
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Users access the Internet through a proxy server that is configured to do web caching and filtering of frequently requested web pages. Routers are used on the network to filter and route packets to their final destinations. This implementation has improved network performance through increase in network speed and reliability.
Figure 3
Illustrates how a Network Port and MAC Address filters are used on the Network Switch to observe traffic crossing all the network ports.
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There MAC Address filters implemented in the network switches that filter packets against their source machines. Since every device connected to an Ethernet network has a unique MAC address, assigned by the manufacturer of the network card. Its function is similar to that of an IP address, since it serves as a unique identifier that enables devices to talk to each other. This mechanism helps in packet filtering and intrusion detection on the faculty network.
Figure 4
Illustrates how a Network Monitor can be inserted between the faculty network and the Internet connection to observe all network traffic.
This implementation can help in detection and control of intrusion on the faculty network.
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5. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS The main objective of the study was to implement an intrusion detection mechanism that could support packet filtering on a proxy server on the faculty network, designed from the available existing information that would provide secure network services or the functional equivalent to assist users and network managers in securing the system, network and traffic traversing the functional units on the faculty network, the Internet and other outside networks (extranets).
This was achieved in the following manner: -
Interviewing system/network and managers and directly interacting with the system to observe and determine the system and user requirements.
A new intrusion detection and control mechanism was designed based on the findings
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Conclusion This study identified the major problems faced by the existing intrusion detection and control system used the faculty network in traffic exchange and attempted to solve them by designing another system that was complemented with a packet filtering enabled proxy server that consisted of the following: -
A web-based application that can therefore be accessed from any station that is connected to the Internet thus making it online.
Enhanced security by enabling only authorized users to login and perform different operations depending on there level of access.
The main objective of the study, which was to implement an intrusion detection mechanism that could support packet filtering on a proxy server, was achieved.
Recommendations. For the faculty intrusion detection and control system to work efficiently the following should be put in place:
• Implementation of an Intrusion Detection System on network • Authentication of both mobile users and their machines. • Swap cards should be used to authenticate users on the computer itself. • Install surveillance cameras in computer labs to monitor computers • Use a dedicated monitoring tool on the network such as; snort a packet sniffer and logger which can be used as a lightweight network intrusion detection system, Apache: mod_security is an open source intrusion detection and prevention engine for web applications , Traceroute, that can help one locate problems between a computer and any point on the Internet or Wireshark also known as Ethereal is a free network protocol analyzer for Windows and UNIX • Use of a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) manager, this is a network technology that uses radio waves to link multiple computers. • A Wi-Fi manager is configured to automatically to detect both legitimate and illegitimate users as soon they join onto the network. It then uses authentication, authorization and verification to allow or deny user access. In case of any abnormality, it sends out an 77 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
alarm to notify. It’s capable of hiding its identity such as its IP-address from users. It categorizes the network into two: - the wireless and wired network. It can detect users accessing unauthorized sites and deny them access. The technology can automatically detect virus infected content downloaded from the Internet. • Enough user training • Network administrators should collect and document as much data about network performance as much as possible. Then network statistics should be kept safely on back- ups not to be blind to problems with the network. • Use of a dedicated monitoring server that can give provide simple feedback about network resource utilization and comprehensive details about usage patterns. The server must also have access to everything that needs to be watched, that is to say, the entire network. • Set policies to users. A policyis a statement of opinions, intentions, actions and procedures that guide the overall use of the network. A policy can be updated and users are made aware immediately. • Network monitoring: Is the ongoing process of collecting information about various aspects of the network operations. By carefully analyzing this data, network administrators can identify faults; find cases of waste and unauthorized access, and spot trends that may indicate future problems.
REFERENCES Mark, H. and Vern, P. (2001). Network Intrusion Detection: Evasion, Traffic Normalization, and End-to-End Protocol Semantics, AT&T Center for Internet Research at ICSI (ACIRI):International Computer Science Institute Berkeley, CA 94704 USA
Marti, S. Giuli, T. Lai, K. and Baker, M. (2000). Mitigating Routing Misbehavior in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks: Mobicom. CiteSeer.IST: Penn State and NEC
Ramona, T. Esa, M. (2006). Network Intrusion Detection Cognitive Task Analysis: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Adiseshu, H. Subhash, S. and Guru, P. (2000). Detecting and Resolving Packet Filter Conflicts: INFOCOM (3), CiteSeer.IST: Penn State and NEC
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Vaidya, N. (2002). Detection and Handling of MAC Layer Misbehavior in Wireless Networks: CiteSeer.IST: Penn State and NEC
Lee, W. Fan, W. Miller, M. Stolfo, S. and Zadok, E. (2002). Toward Cost-Sensitive Modeling for Intrusion Detection and Response: College of computing, Georgia institute of technology: Atlanta GA, Hawthorne N.Y, ISSN: 0926-227X.
Howard, R. and Jansen, B. (1998). A proxy server experiment: an indication of the changing nature of the web: Seventh International Conference on Computer Communications and Networks: Lafayette, Louisiana.
Ainsworth, J. and Kristine, A. (2004). System Administration: Preparing for Network+ Certification. St. Paul: Paradigm Publishing,
Caudle, K. and Kelly, C. (2004). CCNA Guide to Cisco Networking: Third =Edition. Canada: Course Technology
Forouzan, B. and Frederick, A. (2003). A. Local Area Network: Firewalls and Internet Security. The Internet Protocol,Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Kurose, James, F. and Keith, W. (2001). Computer Networking: A Top-Down approach featuring the Internet: Boston: Addison-Wesley.
Cert Coordination Center: Deploying Firewalls. Carnegie Mellon University: 2001.http://www.cert.org/security-improvement/modules/m08.html
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VOTING SYSTEM
1, Katelemwa and2, Lwanga, [email protected]
1Graduate, Multitech Business School
2 Head of Business Computing and Information Technology Department, Multitech Business School.
INTRODUCTION Most African Electoral bodies right from their inception to date, even with latest advancements in technology, still use a primitive paper based methods during voting; this system is characterized by manual form filling to choose leaders and transfer of the information from manual data capture forms to computerized datasheets, this has led to an excessive number of mistakes making their way into the final vote counts hence leading to confusion at the time of announcing the results. The main advantage of paper-based systems is that ballot papers are easily human auditable. The disadvantages outweigh the advantages for instance the need to print ballot papers is a slow, expensive, inflexible, environmentally hostile process, visual impairments, or literacy limitations and also last minute changes to the voter register are difficult to accommodate among others.
Over the last few years, there have been a number of election observers who have suggested electoral organizations should introduce electronic voting at State and Local Government election processes. A general observation is that as more business is done using electronic mediums, it should not be difficult to carry out voting using electronic equipment rather than turning up at the polling place on voting day to use paper and pen. The Online Voting System under implementation mainly addresses the voting phase. Electronic voting using the OVS should be cheaper than the present paper based arrangement of Multitech Business School electoral commission. The phenomenal use of the Internet as a vehicle for improving communication, access to information and electronic commerce has led to the claim that the Internet could be used as either a replacement to attendance voting or as an additional voting option.
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY The term “Internet voting” or online voting refers to two rather different approaches: casting a vote using an ordinary computer that is not dedicated to voting (for example, at a home, an 80 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
office, a cybercafé, or a library), or kiosk voting, using a dedicated computer to cast votes. In both cases, the votes are transmitted over the Internet, but the difference between dedicated and non dedicated computers is critical. In the kiosk model, dedicated systems have the potential of being correctly configured and free of malicious software. By contrast, ordinary computers are non dedicated systems that must be presumed to be under the control of someone other than the user, via malware, other computers on an open network, or software update services. This short essay considers only the use of non dedicated systems, although many of the issues raised are also applicable to dedicated systems In the recent years, voting equipment which were widely adopted in many countries may be divided into five types. Paper-based voting: The voter gets a blank ballot and use a pen or a marker to indicate he want to vote for which candidate. Hand-counted ballots is a time and labor consuming process, but it is easy to manufacture paper ballots and the ballots can be retained for verifying, this type is still the most common way to vote. Lever voting machine: Lever machine is peculiar equipment, and each lever is assigned for a corresponding candidate. The voter pulls the lever to poll for his favorite candidate. This kind of voting machine can count up the ballots automatically. Because its interface is not user-friendly enough, giving some training to voters is necessary. Direct recording electronic voting machine: This type, which is abbreviated to DRE, integrates with keyboard; touch screen, or buttons for the voter press to poll. Some of them lay in voting records and counting the votes is very quickly. But the other DRE without keep voting records are doubted about its accuracy. Punch card: The voter uses metallic hole-punch to punch a hole on the blank ballot. It can count votes automatically, but if the voter’s perforation is incomplete, the result is probably determined wrongfully. Optical voting machine: After each voter fills a circle correspond to their favorite candidate on the blank ballot, this machine selects the darkest mark on each ballot for the vote then computes the total result. This kind of machine counts up ballots rapidly. However, if the voter fills over the circle, it will lead to the error result of optical-scan.
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Recent years, a considerable number of countries has adopted E-voting for their official elections. These countries include; America, Belgium, Japan and Brazil.
The Voting Threat Model When thinking about the security of any system, it’s important to think about the potential adversaries, including their skills and motivations. Voting has a very long history of adversaries deliberately tampering with elections, regardless of the technology used. In the case of voting systems in general, threats can come from insiders such as election officials and poll workers, technology vendors, and voters acting individually or in groups. In addition, Internet voting introduces as adversaries people who are not directly part of the election process, including anyone in the world with an Internet connection. Opportunities and motivation could come from individuals, organizations, or governments. While there have not (to date) been known attacks on online voting systems, related attacks have clearly shown motivation, including successful penetrations of both the Obama and McCain campaign Web sites during the 2008 US presidential election.
No form of voting is completely secure, completely private, or easy for all voters to use and understand. We should not expect Internet voting to meet all of these goals. However, in considering Internet voting, we should ensure that it is no worse than forms of electronic or paper-based voting systems in use today, such as precinct count optical scan (PCOS) and vote by mail (VBM).
In a PCOS voting system, the voter marks a sheet of paper that is scanned in the precinct and becomes the official ballot for recounts. PCOS voters commit their ballots for delivery through a system that is vulnerable to a small number of people, many of whom are known insiders. By contrast, in most Internet voting schemes, the voter commits his or her ballot to a delivery channel that is vulnerable to an unknown but large number of unknowable people worldwide. With VBM, voters are sent paper ballots to mark and return to the government. Voter fraud (including bribery, coercion, and suppression) is limited to the number of people who can physically obtain the actual VBM ballot. With most Internet voting schemes, voter fraud becomes feasible to anyone who can obtain (or guess) the voter’s credentials, as well as anyone who can find vulnerabilities in the online voting system. Such vulnerabilities may include attacks
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on the voting computer that sends the electronic votes, the election server that receives the votes, or the networks connecting them.
METHODOLOGY
Systems design A data flow diagram, entity relationship diagram and flow charts were used to carry out a conceptual and logical design of the proposed system and document the results using pens and paper.
Systems implementation The web-based OVR was developed as an online information system to offer users convenient access to the voter register. Several tools used during implementation include the following:
MYSQL DBMS-it allows combination, extraction, manipulation and organization of data in the voters’ database. It is platform independent and therefore can be implemented and used across several such as Windows, Linux server and is compatible with various hardware mainframes. It is fast in performance, stable and provides business value at a low cost.
HTML -Hypertext Markup Language-This is currently the core of the web world, it is a language used to makeup web page. It is the glue that holds everything together. Although HTLM was used for the implementation of the OVS, it is highly compatible with eXtensible HTML (XHTML) which is designed to be a replacement of HTML made to handle data and is also portable between different browsers and platforms with little or no alterations in code. Macromedia Dreamweaver is a prefer tool for designing HTML pages and that is the tool used in coming up with this OVS system.
PHP coding-This is for advanced user who find PHP codes easy to work with.
Testing is done via WAMPSERVER.
Web browsers: Mozilla Firefox, Google chrome, Opera and Internet Explorer
Reporting Tool i.e. through Data Report.
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Documentation: A well-documented source to implement the system was written with comments to help the web master in system maintenance.
Testing This involved unit testing and system testing which ensured that all components are functioning as expected.
Unit testing Unit testing was carried out to ensure the proper functionality of the individual components of the system. Testing at this level involved ensuring that the modules conform to functional independence.
Functional independence is the assurance that each component works independently.
System testing System testing was carried out to ensure the proper functionality of the entire system. This took place after all the different components had been integrated. Testing of the new system based on the use of the designed data flow diagrams.
SYSTEM DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION User Requirements for the System The OVS should: a) Be able to display all registered voters in the database to the SYSTEM ADMIN(s) as per their access rights and privileges. b) Have a user-friendly interface and user guides understandable by people of average computer skills. c) Be robust enough so that users do not corrupt it in the event of voting. d) Be able to handle multiple users at the same time and with the same efficiency, this will cater for the large and ever growing population of voters. Requirement Specification A system should meet the following requirements for it to run the OVS:
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Web browsers: Mozilla Firefox, Google chrome, Opera and Internet Explorer, MYSQL DBMS, WampServer, Macromedia Dreamweaver 8, Programming language such as PHP and HTML. Windows OS Xp, Windows Vista or Windows 7. At least 2.0 GHz Processor speed, At least 40 GB Hard Disk Capacity and 512 RAM Functional Requirements a) Secure storage and retrieval of voters’ details from the database. b) Enable secure login of voters, that is to say non- legitimate voters should never be allowed to login to the tool, these include the non-registered student of MBS. c) Maintaining and manipulating records in database through functions like edit, delete, and view. d) Validate and verify input and output data.
System Login As already stated, to login into the system, one has to have a valid username and password. It has also been noted that there are absolutely different privileges for the voter and the system administrator. At the first visit of the system, the voter interacts with the login page where he/she is required to provide a valid username and password in order to login. Once logged in, then the voter/user is allowed to perform activities such as voting, viewing results as per the privileges. Design System design involved the summary and detailed description of the system using context and data flow diagrams Context diagram The Context Diagram is the highest level view of the system that was used to show the system as a whole and its inputs and outputs from/to external environment. Figure 4.1 Context diagram
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Figure 1: Context Diagram Key:
Data store
Data flow
External entity
Data flow diagram The data flow diagram was used to capture the flow of inputs through the system to their resulting output. The data flow diagram was used to give the diagrammatic description of information flow between the internal and external components.
Figure 2: Data flow diagram 86 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
Data base design Data base design involved conceptual, logical and physical design. Conceptual design
students candidate id studid votecount name position studid course views updates name position year platform result sec password picture
leve
position admin views updates level idNO password position username limit
Figure 3: Conceptual design Entities, attribute and relationships types which form the basis of developing entity relationship diagram (ERD) and enhanced entity relationship diagrams (EERD) will be identified
Figure 3 entity relationship diagram (ERD)
87 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
Logical design In the logical design, relations were derived from the Enhanced Entity Relationship diagram (EERD) developed in the conceptual design stage. The derived relations were normalized to ensure there is no redundancy.
Entities and their associated attributes
'candidate`----- {`id`, `position`, `name`, `platform`, `picture`, `votecount`, `sy`} Primary key: id
`position` ------{`idNO`, `position`, `limit`} primary key: IDNo
`admin` ------{`leve`, `password`, `username`} primary key: leve
`students` ------{`studid`, `name`, `course`, `year`, `sec`, `password`, `leve`, `sy`} primary key: studid
`votecount` ------{`studid`, `position`, `result`} Foreign key: studid
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SYSTEM
Form input and Reports Design The system was developed as an interactive mechanism between the user at the interface and the database using the web-browser. This tool enables a user through a web browser to interact with the MYSQL database to enter, edit, view and retrieve such data as per the privileges granted. These activities were achieved using Java servlets. HTML forms offer the best layout to enter data, change and view the database. These forms were also kept as short and simple as possible for easy public awareness on the use of the tool, some of the forms and report interfaces created include the following:
Screenshot 1: Home page
This module contains all navigation functionalities to the system. The Page displays the various links such as voting page, results page, admin page and contact us page
88 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
Figure 4: Home page
Screenshot 2: Login page
In this page, the user/student enters his/her course name as the username and registration number as the password.
Figure 5: Login page
Screenshot 3: Admin login page This is where the administrator enters login details
89 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
Figure 6: Admin login
Screenshot 4: Contact us page
A user/student can enter a massage which will be sent to the administrator.
Figure 7: Contact us
Screenshot 5: Position data page
The administrator can add or remove categories of candidates.
90 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
Figure 8: Position data
Screenshot 6: Candidate data page
This page shows candidates running for their respective categories
Figure 9: Candidates
Screenshot 7: student info page This page shows the students that are allowed to vote 91 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
Figure 10: student info
ScreenShot8: Display info page Here results of the candidate are viewed
Figure 11: Display info
Screenshot 9: vote page
92 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
Figure 12: Vote Page
6. CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATION
6.1 Conclusion The main aspect behind OVS is that it enabled us to bring out the new ideas that were sustained within us for many for many days. This project offers the voters to cast easily through internet. Vote counting is also made easy by the OVS since it’s just a matter of querying the database. OVS is used by a number of countries today. Developing a good system is critical to the success of the system to prevent system failures and to gain wide acceptance as the best method available. A good OVS system requires ten characteristics which this system already has. These are:
Accuracy Convenience Reliability
Verifiability Flexibility Consistency
Democracy Mobility Social Acceptance
Privacy
Table 1: Characteristics of this system
93 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
In analyzing, designing, implementing, and maintaining standards, we considered these characteristics as the foundation. OVS will be an inexpensive, and less time consuming method once a system exhibiting national standards and the above mentioned characteristics is implemented.
6.2 Recommendations Online voting system (OVS) serves to be the best to be put in use especially in the 21st century where human beings are embracing technology and where there is malicious struggle for power by leaders all over the world. This struggle for power has resulted in the use of all approaches by the leaders in power to remain in their positions at whatever costs even if it means applying vote rigging to win elections.
With this system in place, a number of such problems shall be forgotten. It is therefore recommend that the IEBC should put the OVS technology at practice to phase out some of the problems they go through during manual voting.
REFERENCES Anderson, C. (2006). How to Rig a Democracy: A Timeline of Electronic Voting in the United States. The Independent. Retrieved November 28, 2006 from: http://www.indypendent.org/?p=608
Bellis, M. (2007). The History of Voting Machines. Retrieved November 9, 2006 from: http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa111300b.htm
Cranor, L.F., &Cytron, R.K. (1996).Design and Implementation of a Security-Conscious Electronic Polling System.Washington University Computer Science Technical Report (WUCS). Retrieved October 9, 2006 from: http://www.acm.org/crossroads/ords2-4/voting.html
Electronic Voting and Counting – Development of the System.(2005). Elections ACT. Retrieved February 11, 2007 from: http://www.elections.act.gov.au/EVACS.html
"A Preliminary Assessment of the Reliability of Existing Voting Equipment," The Caltech-MIT Voting Technology Project, March 30, 2001 (revised). Available at http://www.vote.caltech.edu/Reports/index.html)
94 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
“Lorrie Cranor's Voting Papers,” Lorrie Faith Cranor. http://www.lorrie.cranor.org/pubs/voting.html
"A Better Ballot Box?" Rebecca Mercuri, IEEE Spectrum, Volume 39, Number 10, October 2002.
“Security Criteria for Electronic Voting,” Peter Neumann, presented at the 16th National Computer Security Conference Baltimore, Maryland, September 20-23, 1993. Available at http://www.csl.sri.com/users/neumann/ncs93.html
“Secret-Ballot Receipts and Transparent Integrity,” David Chaum, draft. Available at http://www.vreceipt.com/article.pdf
“Electronic Voting - Evaluating the Threat,” Michael Ian Shamos, CFP '93. Available at http://www.cpsr.org/conferences/cfp93/shamos.html\
“Electronic Voting,” Rebecca Mercuri. http://www.notablesoftware.com/evote.html
Falk H., “Computer Intrusions and Attacks,” The Electronic Library , vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 115-119, 1999.
Evans M. and Furnell S., “Internet-Based Security Incidents and the Potential for False Alarms,” Electronic Networking Applications and Policy , vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 238-245, 2000.
95 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
About the Promoter Multitech Business School is a registered, licensed and classified College of Business by the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE). Multitech Business School is a degree awarding institution focusing on skilling and vocationalizing Uganda’s education system to produce graduates with core competences to excel. It is the largest private business institution in the field of management, finance, accountancy and information technology training in Uganda. Multitech Business School experience in the areas of education and training spans to over 25 years providing knowledge, skills and attitudes to graduates. Multitech is committed to producing employable graduates through skills enhancement. The core objective of the schools is provision of employable graduates with ability to apply knowledge for self, local and national development. This is conducted through collaboration with employers’ associations, government agencies and private sector SMEs. MBS internship programme is well coordinated by Heads of Department to exude the capacity of the potential graduate to excel in the world of work. Multitech Business School has graduated over 5,000 graduates in the various disciplines since its inception in 1989. The school has trained over 60% of Uganda’s Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) and Accounting Technicians. MBS has patnered with the Ministries of Finance and 96 A Journal of Multitech Business School. Editors email: [email protected] Journal of Business Management Practice and Research (JBMPR) Vol. 1 Issue 1 2016. ISBN: 978-9970-9423-0-5
Local Governments to train procurement officers in Uganda (CIPS). Multitech Business School has local and international affiliations and collaboration that have helped the school to widen the scope of education services and courses provided. Locally MBS has affiliations with; Uganda Martyrs University Nkozi and Makerere University Business School (MUBS). MBS also collaborates with the Institute Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU) to train Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) and Accounting Technicians(ATCs). At the international level MBS collaborates with the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA) and the Chattered Institute of Purchasing and Supplies (CIPS) in UK. Finally, the Uganda Film and Television Institute which has been bought off and moved to MBS and now forms the Film Department. Courses here include: The Diploma in Radio and Television production, Certificate in Audio-Visual production and Digital Video Editing. We also have Short or tailor made Courses such as: Video camera & equipment operation, Script writing & Film Directing, Casting, Digital Video Editing, Television & Radio presentation, Graphics & Multimedia and Still Photography. Other services offered by Multitech include Consultancy in Management, Human Resource, Information and Communications Technology, Finance and Administration. This function is supported by the MBS Consultancy Unit and Semu & Associates – Audit firm.
Visit us at: www.multitech.ac.ug
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