Training, Counseling and Welfare Services as Factors of Job Performance of Academic Staff in Makerere University.

Abstract

The study intended to establish the relationship between each of training, counseling and welfare services on one hand, with job performance of academic staff in Makerere University on the other. To get respondents, clustered sampling was used whereby three out of the nine colleges were sampled and it is academic staff in these colleges that served as respondents who filled self administered questionnaires. Data analysis at univariate level that is, targeting only one variable at ago was based on relative frequencies from frequency tables and descriptive statistics such as means and medians on age and all other numerical variables. At bivariate level, all hypotheses were tested by correlating the respective numerical aggregate with one of the independent variables (e.g. training, counseling and welfare services) with an equally numerical index on the dependent variable (job performance) using Pearson's correlation method. Lastly at multivariate level, the dependent variable (job performance) was regressed on all the three independent variables that is training, counseling and welfare services at a go using multiple linear regression to rank-order the independent variables in terms of influence on the dependent variable. On the other hand, qualitative data were presented by reading the verbatim answers in the interview guide and giving them side by side quantitative statistics. The study found out that, of the three independent variables, it was only training which positively significantly correlated with the dependent variable (job performance) while the other two variables, namely, counseling and welfare services were not significant correlates. The study concluded that training might be necessary if job performance of academic staff in Makerere University is to be raised while counseling and provision of welfare services do not seem to be necessary as far as job performance is concerned. The study recommended that Makerere University should come up with more strategic in service training programs and also consolidate the existing ones so as to train, its academic staff as to realise its objectives, vision, mission, and even retain its glory as a chief custodian of wisdom and a giant performer. Makerere University should not put a lot of attention on provision of counseling services and provision of welfare services since they do not seem to have much to do with job performance of academic staff.