Page 1 of 10

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 01 Issue 05

June 2015

Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 55

Declining Employee Performance in Public Sector

Organizations: An Etiological Study of Public

Sector Organizations in Pakistan

Syed Kashan Ali Shah1, Najabat Ali2 Zulfiqar Ali3

1Faculty Member, Hamdard Institute of Management Sciences, Hamdard University, Karachi,

PAKISTAN

2Research Scholar, Hamdard Institute of Education and Social Sciences, Hamdard University,

Main Campus, Karachi, PAKISTAN

3PhD Scholar, Department of Public Administration, University of Karachi, PAKISTAN

Email: kashan_shah@live.com

ABSTRACT

Declining employee performance is the most

widespread problem in public sector

organizations. The purpose of this study is

to identify the genetics, reasons and domain

of poor employee performance in Pakistan’s

public sector organizations. Employee

performance has been center of attention for

researchers for many years due to the

difference of competence level between

private and public sector organizations. The

study examines the determinants of

decreased level of employee performance in

public sector organizations. This paper

reviews and evaluates the academic

literature, articles, performance evaluation

reports, global competitiveness indices and

books relating to employee performance to

gather information. The study found that

corruption and political interference have

significant effect on employee’s

performance. Whereas, environmental

factors; lack of

training/processes/technology and lack of

employee participation in the decision

making have little impact on the employee’s

performance. The results of this study are

useful for policy makers as well as

authorities concerned with devising

performance management system in public

sector organizations.

Keywords: Public sector, employees,

declining performance, politicization,

corruption, environmental factors, Pakistan.

INTRODUCTION

It is a fact that in today’s world the economy

is most critical factor for the development of

any country. The economic prosperity

ensures sovereignty, stability and

development of a country. And economic

prosperity can only be achieved through

high level of performance, good governance,

focused national strategies and industrial

growth. Governments in any part of the

world are responsible to manage the public

resources to generate maximum public good.

Government plays vital role in various

aspects that directly impact on citizen’s

welfare. Government institutions are

responsible for providing basic services such

as security, law and order, justice, health,

Page 2 of 10

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 01 Issue 05

June 2015

Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 56

education, employment, transportation etc.

Pakistan’s public sector is not very efficient

due to various reasons, which include lack

of accountability, political influences, lack

of resources, delayed projects. In addition to

this over staffing, unskilled work force, low

compensation and benefits, unfair

employment opportunities and promotion

criteria are also potential problems that

hinder employee performance.

The governance conditions are worst in

Pakistan than most parts of the world. The

Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), which

measures competitiveness of an economy on

the basis of 12 major indicators. Pakistan

has lost on almost all indicators of

performance and ranked at 124 in 2012-13.

The World Bank has stated in its reports that

Pakistan’s bureaucracy is having structural

problems. Although plenty of efforts have

been made to improve governance but

politicization is the foremost barrier in

implementing policies to establish culture of

performance in Pakistan. The Transparency

International Pakistan in its National

Corruption Perception Survey (NCPS 2012)

stated that corruption in last five years has

increased by 400% in Pakistan. According

to Transparency International Pakistan, the

main reasons of corruption were lack of

accountability, lack of transparency and

unlimited powers.

It is a fact that bureaucracy in Pakistan is

astonishingly problematical by different

rules and regulations. While dealing with

bureaucrats it requires some personalized

relationships and third party interference to

get work completed in appropriate time. The

accumulated effects of poor employee

performance of government institutions

result in massive economic losses, energy

crises, decline in industry, poor health and

education facilities, delayed projects,

corruption, disturbances prevailing in

citizens and other number of crises.

In order to generate clear understanding of

performance dilemma in public sector, we

studied its genetics as well as its domain to

explore when poor performance culture

induced and where it is common. As we

know that Pakistan was fastest growing

economy in Asia during 1960’s, all

economic indexes illustrate that institutions

were performing well in all directions. Then

we adopted nationalization policy, it results

in gradual decrease of performance in public

sector.

In this study we analyze numbers of

researches conducted on employee

performance measurement in public sector,

which use various models to identify the

significance of factors like civil servants

wages, internal enforcement of policies,

autonomy of organization, external

influences, transparency and politicization

as variables that affect quality of employee

performance in public sector. This research

aims to investigate the factors that stimulate

or hinder the government servants to

perform competently. The factors thus

identified can be used to enhance the

employee and overall performance of the

public sector in Pakistan.

LITERATURE REVIEW

PUBLIC SECTOR DEFINED:

Page 3 of 10

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 01 Issue 05

June 2015

Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 57

Public sector organizations have broad- based responsibilities of serving “people”,

taking care of their interests, enable suitable

environment for business, provide sound

policies, information, assistance etc.

According to World Bank “it is imperative

for the state to create, sustain and augment

institutional structures befitting the myriad

of minimal, intermediate and activist

functions it performs to improve social

equity and address market failure (The

World Bank, 1997, p. 27). First of all we

will discuss the ‘public sector’, it is

important to understand the word “Public”

in public sector. A statement by Ranson and

Stewart (1994: 59-60) generate clear

understanding about the functions and

obligations of public sector that is “The

essential task of the public domain can now

be interpreted as enabling authoritative

public choice about collective activity and

purpose. In short, it is about clarifying,

constituting and achieving a public purpose.

It has the ultimate responsibility for

constituting a society as a political

community which has the capacity to make

public choices. Producing a ‘public which is

able to enter into dialogue and decide about

the needs of the community...is the uniquely

demanding challenge facing the public

domain.”

In the above statement it has been stressed

that the basic purpose of public sector is

“collective” activity, purpose, and choice for

the welfare of people.

PERFORMANCE DEFINED:

Briscoe and Claus (2008) defined

Performance management is a systematic

process for improving organizational

performance by developing the performance

of individuals and teams. It is a means of

getting better results by understanding and

managing performance within an agreed

framework of planned goals, standards and

competency requirements. Processes exist

for establishing shared understanding about

what is to be achieved, and for managing

and developing people in a way that

increases the probability that it will be

achieved in the short and longer term.

New approach towards performance

management describes that organizational

values, employee participation, continuous

and objective assessment, mutual goal

setting, customer focus and use of key

performance indicators are inevitable for the

successful working of public sector

organizations. But Max Weber, designer of

bureaucratic style of management argues

that only bureaucracies are capable of taking

rational decisions and state political leaders

can direct and mobilize state organizations.

Weber defends that Bureaucratic types of

organization are technically superior to all

other forms of administration, much as

machine production is superior to handicraft

methods. The characteristics of an ideal

bureaucracy have been identified by Weber

as Hierarchy of authority; Impersonality;

Written rules of conduct; Promotion based

on achievement; Specialized division of

labor; and Efficiency (‘Max Weber on

Bureaucracy’). Weber’s notion of

bureaucracy is not without criticism. Some

have claimed that he liked bureaucracy, that

he believed that bureaucracy was a “rigid”

organization. Others have pronounced

Weber “wrong” because bureaucracies do