RESEARCH PROJECT

IMPACT OF JOB SATISFACTION TOWARD ORGANIZATIONAL

PERFORMANCE BASED ON KENYA COOPERATIVE CREAMERIES,
ELDORET.

NAME: CHEPKEMOI SPETA

COURSE: DIPLOMA IN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

INDEX NO: 5780011955

CENTER CODE: 578001

INSTITUTION: THE ELDORET NATIONAL POLYTECHNIC

SUPERVISOR: MADAM RACHAEL JEMUTAI

PRESENTED TO THE KENYA NATIONAL EXAMINATION COUNCIL

AS A PARTIAL REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF DIPLOMA IN
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

SERIES: NOVEMBER 2022

 DECLARATION

STUDENT

I hereby declare that this research project is my original work and has not been presented to the
Kenya National Examination Council or any other examination body, for the purpose of
academic award.

NAME: CHEPKEMOI SPETA

DATE: …………………………………...

SIGN: ……………………………………

SUPERVISOR

I hereby declare that this research project was presented to the KNEC under my supervision as
the lecturer/supervisor.

NAME: MADAM RACHAEL JEMUTAI

DATE: …………………………………...

SIGN: ……………………………………

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 DEDICATION

I dedicate this research project to my parents, siblings and colleagues.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, I would like to show my advanced gratitude to the almighty God for giving me good
health during this period.

My sincere gratitude goes to my supervisor Madam Jemutai for her guidance, patience and many
hours he dedicated into guiding me through this research project. Thanks also to the supportive
staff and to my college colleagues for their positive encouragement and for the support in writing
this research project.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION.............................................................................................................................ii

DEDICATION...............................................................................................................................iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT..............................................................................................................iv

ABBREVIATIONS/ ACRONYMS..............................................................................................vii

DEFINITION OF SIGNIFICANT TERMS.................................................................................viii

CHAPTER ONE..............................................................................................................................1

1.0 INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................1

1.1 Background of the study........................................................................................................1

1.2 Statement of the Problem.......................................................................................................3

1.3 Purpose of the Study..............................................................................................................4

1.4 Research Objectives...............................................................................................................4

1.5 Research questions.................................................................................................................4

1.6 Significance of the Study.......................................................................................................4

1.7 Limitations of the study.........................................................................................................5

CHAPTER TWO.............................................................................................................................6

2.0 Literature Review......................................................................................................................6

2.1 Empirical Review...................................................................................................................6

2.2 Summary of Gaps identified from Reviewed Literature......................................................10

2.3 Theory of the Study/ Theoretical Framework......................................................................11

2.4 Conceptual Framework........................................................................................................13

CHAPTER THREE.......................................................................................................................14

3.0 Research Methodology............................................................................................................14

3.1 Research Design...................................................................................................................14

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 3.3 Sampling..............................................................................................................................14

3.4 Sample Size..........................................................................................................................15

Table 3.2: Sample size...............................................................................................................15

3.5 Data Collection Instrument..................................................................................................15

CHAPTER FOUR.........................................................................................................................18

4.0 Data Analysis, Findings, Recommendations and Conclusions...............................................18

4.1 Data Analysis and Findings.................................................................................................18

4.1.4 Job Satisfaction and Organization performance...............................................................23

4.1.5 Findings of the study.........................................................................................................24

4.2 Recommendations................................................................................................................25

4.3 Conclusions..........................................................................................................................25

REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................27

APPENDIX I: QUESTIONNAIRE...............................................................................................29

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 ABBREVIATIONS/ ACRONYMS

KCC Kenya Cooperative Creameries

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 DEFINITION OF SIGNIFICANT TERMS

Job: a paid position of regular employment.

Satisfaction: fulfillment of one's wishes, expectations, or needs, or the pleasure derived from
this.
Employee: a person employed for wages or salary, especially at non-executive level.
Job satisfaction: Refers to attitude and feelings people have about their work
Organization: an organized group of people with a particular purpose, such as a business or
government department.
Organization Performance: the ability of an organization to reach its goals and optimize results

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 ABSTRACT

Human resource is the most vital asset for organizational development. It is the resource that puts
other resources to use and strives to get the best return out of them. But getting best of human
resource requires enormous moves by organization and their management. The workers respond
best and most effectively not when they are controlled by management, placed in narrowly
defined jobs and rated as unwelcome necessity, but instead when they are given broader
responsibilities, encouraged to contribute and helped to achieve satisfaction in their work. It is
not job satisfaction that produces high performance but high performance that produces job
satisfaction. People are motivated to achieve certain goals and will be satisfied if they achieve
these goals through improved performance. The broad objective of the study was to determine
the of job satisfactions on organization’s performance using the case study of Kenya Cooperative
Creameries. The specific objectives under which the research was carried out were; to investigate
the impact of job satisfaction on organizations, to investigate the level of organizational
performance in Kenya Cooperative Creameries and to establish the relationship between job
satisfaction and to establish the relationship between job satisfaction and organization
performance. The research design adopted was a descriptive survey method. The study used
stratified sampling to classify the population into strata’s. A structured questionnaire was
prepared and distributed to all selected respondents. The study comprised of two variables, job
satisfaction which was the independent variable and organization performance which was the
dependent variable. A five point scale was used to collect data and analysis was based on
averages, percentage and correlation analysis. The findings of the study was that employee job
satisfaction was as a result of the supervisor, working colleagues, characteristics, teamwork and
training and development, advancement of opportunities, empowerment, working conditions,
participation in decision making and financial rewards. The findings indicate that the level of
organization performance is dependent on the job satisfaction.

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 CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

Individual performance is generally determined by three factors (Buchanan, 2007); motivation

the desire to do the job, ability which is the capability to do the job, and the work environment
including the tools, materials, and information needed to do the job. If an employee lacks ability,
the manager can provide training or replace the worker. If there is an environmental problem, the
manager can also usually make adjustments to promote higher performance. But if motivation is
the problem, the manager's task is more challenging. Individual behavior is a complex
phenomenon, and the manager may not be able to figure out why the employee is not motivated
and how to change the behavior. Thus, also motivation plays a vital role since it might negatively
influence performance because of its intangible nature.

1.1.1 Job Satisfaction

Job satisfaction has been widely studied over the last four decades of organizational research.
Job satisfaction has been defined and measured both as a global construct and as a concept with
multiple dimensions or facets (Locke, 1969, 1970; Price, 1997; Scarpello and Campbell, 1983).
In general, overall job satisfaction has been defined as ‘a function of the perceived relationship
between what one wants from one’s job and what one perceives it as offering’.

Locke (1969) and Jensen (2000) define job satisfaction as a sense of personal growth most often
measured by the extent of new challenges and learning situations experienced. This is the
definition that is used in this study as it fits the context of the study.

1.1.2 Organization Performance

Performance, in the context of organization, is not only a broad concept which has been used
synonymously with productivity, efficiency, effectiveness, and more recently competitiveness; it
has also been a subject of study for social scientists from a wide range of disciplinary
perspectives. Labour productivity, for example, has long been the concern of (labour) economists

1
ever since Marx and Smith. Within this perspective, how to extract labour from labour power,
one of Marx’s most fundamental insights, is seen as a basic problem of management, Harrison
(1997). More recently efforts have been made by HRM theorists to try to establish a causal link
between HRM and performance.

This has led to a growing number of studies which examine the potential contribution that good
human resource policy can make to improving organizational performance, so much so that ‘the
impact of human resource management on performance has become the dominant research issue
in the field, Guest (1997). As Wood notes, ‘The studies vary so markedly between each other
that there is not even a pair of studies that differs simply on one or two dimensions’.
Accordingly, ‘A consistent picture does not emerge from the studies,’ Wood (1999).

The studies of HRM and performance are mostly cross-sectional and quantitative in nature, and
contained in differing theoretical frameworks. While these studies provide us with colorful
opposing findings and rich competing theoretical perspectives, the emerging field of HRM on
performance suffers from a lack of unity in theory and inconsistency in research methodology.
As Guest pointed out, ‘statistical sophistication appears to have been emphasized at the expense
of theoretical rigour’ and ‘if we are to improve our understanding of the impact of HRM on
performance, we need a theory about HRM, a theory about performance and a theory about how
they are linked’ Guest (1997).

1.1.3 Job Satisfaction and Performance

Extensive literature review by Brayfield and Crockett (1955), found little evidence of any simple
or appreciable relationship between employee attitudes and their performance. Armstrong (2006)
argues that it is not job satisfaction that produces high performance but high performance that
produces job satisfaction, and that a satisfied worker is not necessarily a productive worker and a
high producer is not necessarily a satisfied worker. People are motivated to achieve certain goals
and will be satisfied if they achieve these goals through improved performance. They may be
even more satisfied even if they are rewarded by extrinsic recognition or an intrinsic sense of
achievement.

Vroom (1964) observed that performance improvements can be achieved by giving people the
opportunity to perform and rewarding them by financial or non-financial means when they do

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perform. It can also be argued that some people may be complacently satisfied with their job and
will not be inspired to work harder or better. They may be reluctant to admit being dissatisfied
with a job that they have no immediate intention of leaving. This apparent contradiction between
research findings and what people expect on the basis of common sense calls for more research
on the link between the two variables.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Job satisfaction is an important social process factor that fosters organizational efficiency and
effectiveness. The relationship between job satisfaction and performance is an issue of
continuing debate and controversy and according to Buchanan, (2007), one view associated with
the early human relations approach, is that satisfaction leads to performance. An alternative view
is that performance leads to satisfaction. A large number of studies have investigated the
relationship between job satisfaction and various organizational variables. Studies done on
organizational employees have focused primarily on job satisfaction which is the extent to which
employees perceive their work (Khainga, 2006), the levels and factors affecting job satisfaction
(Chanzo, 2005) and employees’ organization commitment and job satisfaction (Abwuano, 2005).
However, up to this time, the researcher is not aware of any study that has been done to
investigate the relationship between job satisfaction and performance of organizations.

Given the importance of job satisfaction, this study fills in the gap by seeking answers to the
following fundamental question: does job satisfaction affect performance of firms? It is in this
spirit that the researcher intends to carry out a survey on the impact of job satisfaction on
organizational performance using KCC as case study. Most companies are open to the public;
there is therefore more pressure on them by government and civil society to perform well. There
is also pressure to treat employees well as a corporate responsibility and in line with ILO
conventions which Kenya is signatory. The firm therefore presents a good opportunity to study
the link between job satisfaction and performance of organizations. There has been no clear
sense of direction as to whether there exist relationships or the two are not related at all. This
therefore, calls for further studies on the link between the two variables. In view of the above
therefore, the following research question emerges: What is the relationship between job
satisfaction and organization performance?

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1.3 Purpose of the Study

To investigate the impact of job satisfaction on organizational performance based on Kenya

Cooperative Creameries.

1.4 Research Objectives

i. To investigate the factors influencing job satisfaction.

ii. To establish the level of organizational performance in Kenya Cooperative Creameries.
iii. To establish the relationship between job satisfaction and organizational performance.

1.5 Research questions

i. What are the factors influencing job satisfaction?

ii. What establish the level of organizational performance in Kenya Cooperative
Creameries:
iii. What is the relationship between job satisfaction and organizational performance?

1.6 Significance of the Study

The management of the KCC will be able to understand the relevance of highly committed
employees as that will lead to better performance, exert greater effort on the job resulting in
increased job performance, less turnover and better attendance. This study will be useful to the
KCC management as they will be able to understand the impact of job satisfaction on
organizational performance and hence improve job satisfaction among their staff.

The study will benefit the government especially the Ministry of Agriculture for making policy
decisions whose overall objectives are to accelerate the rate of organization performance and
reduce the turnover rate thus improving service delivery. The Human Resource Specialists will
be able to understand how the variables used in the study interact with each other and to use the
information from the study to design better jobs so as to ensure job satisfaction.

The Scholars will gain knowledge on the impact of job satisfaction on organization performance.
They will acquire an insight into what factors affect job satisfaction in the teaching fraternity and

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its secretariat staff. They will also be able to use the findings of this study to prove various
theories and to use the study as a basis for further research on other variables not included in this
study. The finding will also increase the stock of theoretical and empirical knowledge especially
in the African context and also form the basis for further research and teaching.

1.7 Limitations of the study

The financial ratios used relied on the financial statement. Any weaknesses of the financial
statements such as “window dressing” of accounts are also captured in the financial ratios.

Comparing ratios across firms and accounting periods may be difficult and may not provide
meaningful comparisons because of factors such as use of different accounting policies.

The company that was investigated under this study did not go public at the same time neither
are they operating in the same industry hence the comparison is not absolutely free from bias.

The study concentrated on the financial performance and assumed the increased performance is
due to satisfied workers without taking into account other factors which may have contributed to
the increased financial performance such as management change and use of improved
technology.

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 CHAPTER TWO

2.0 Literature Review

2.1 Empirical Review

This subsection focuses mainly on the meaning and theories related to Employees training and
development on job satisfaction in District. In order to survive and prosper in today‘s economy,
the concept of employee retention is now very important for many South African institutions.
Many organizations have found it very important to invest in employees through training to
improve employee proficiencies so that they can acquire a greater return in human capital
investment through increased job commitment and high employee retention.

According to Cummings & Worley (2005), the world is constantly shifting such that institutions
of all types have to adapt to external and internal changes for their own survival. According to
Samuel & Chipunza (2009), retaining skilled employees is critical in order to sustain competition
and effective and efficient service delivery among organizations. In South Africa‘s job market,
retaining key employees has become a critical issue for 9 organizations. Employers are seizing
on training as one of the most effective retention tools available.

Kauffman (2010) argues that when it comes to improving employee retention. it is imperative to
use grass-root employee involvement program like training in the firm‘s business. Today‘s
employees are now very different because they now have so many opportunities at their disposal.
If they are not happy with their present company they move over to the next organization. The
responsibility therefore lies with the employer to ensure that they preserve and maintain their
best employees. A good employer is one who knows how to both attract and retain its
employees. This can be achieved through providing adequate employee training. Therefore if
training is not devised, it may also pose a threat to employee organizational commitment which
in turn leads to a negative impact to the organizational success.

Forgacs (2009) defines training is as a planned activity aimed at improving employees

‘performance by helping them realize an obligatory level of understanding or skill through the
impartation of information. Armstrong (2000) also defines training as an organized process to

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amend employee proficiencies so that they can achieve its objectives. In the traditional approach
to training, most organizations never used to believe in training. Organizations had the view that
training was very costly and unworthy. According to Torrington et al. (2004), the scenario is
however changing. The modern approach to training is that globally, organizations have realized
the importance of training. Training is now viewed as a commitment and retention tool than a
cost.

2.1.1 Impact of job satisfaction on organizational performance

According to Armstrong (2006), job satisfaction refers to attitude and feelings people have about
their work. Thus positive and favourable attitude towards job indicate job satisfaction. The
reverse is true for job dissatisfaction. Other writers have often defined morale as being
equivalent to job satisfaction. Guion (1958) defines morale as ‘the extent to which an
individual’s needs are satisfied and the extent to which the individual perceives that satisfaction
as stemming from his (sic) total work situation’. Gilmer (1961) suggests that morale ‘is a feeling
of being accepted by and belonging to a group of employees through adherence to common
goals’. He says job attitude is an individual variable related to the feelings employees have about
their job. The level of job satisfaction is affected by intrinsic and extrinsic motivating factors, the
quality of supervision, social relationships with work group and the degree to which individuals
succeed or fail in their work (Armstrong 2006).

Purcell et al (2003), asserts that firms can be more successful when employees are well
motivated and feel committed to the organization and when the job gives them high levels of
satisfaction. Their research found that the key factors affecting job satisfaction were career
opportunities, job influence, team work and job challenge. Given the fact that significant and
practically important relationships exist between aggregated employee attitudes and
organizational performance, it is important to question what factors, contribute to satisfaction.
The predominant view has focused on the situational context, for example supervisory support as
a cause of satisfaction and has argued that high- performance work practices and thus a positive
working climate foster employee satisfaction, Bowen and Ostroff (2004), Wright, Dunford, and
Snell (2001), Wright, Gardner, Moynihan and Allen (2005). This rationale is consistent with
recent research on the impact of financial and non-financial incentives (such as training) on
business-unit outcomes. For example, Peterson and Luthans (2006) used a quasi-experimental,

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control group design and found that both types of incentives had a significant impact on store
profit, customer service, and employee turnover. Initially, the financial incentive had a greater
effect on all three outcomes (as one might expect). But over time, however, the financial and
non-financial incentives exhibited equally significant impacts on two of the three outcomes (the
exception was employee turnover).

2.1.2 Level of organizational performance

Collins Compact English Dictionary (1999) defines performance as “to fulfill”. The ultimate
objective of human resource procedures is to align corporate performance and human resource
practices with a view to achieve organizational goals and objectives. Managers must be able to
determine whether or not their workers are doing an effective job, within a minimum of errors
and disruptions. Effective management means getting results through top performance of
employees, Nickels (2005). According to Crino (1993), employee work performance will be
determined by job satisfaction and motivation which are conceived as an employee’s attitude
towards his/her work, organizational rewards, social environment, organizational and physical
environment in which work is performed. Performance in firms is managed through performance
management programmes such as performance contracting, staff performance appraisals and
other forms of evaluation.

Performance management is the process by which executives, managers and supervisors work to
align organization performance with the organizational goals, Ivancerich (2001). As there are
many stakeholders that management is accountable to in any business, the contribution of
individual performance to the entire company performance is of ultimate importance. The value
of performance plans is thus contingent on financial performance measured against objectives set
at the start of the company’s financial year. The pressure on management therefore, is to cut cost
and increase profits. In many cases, human resource function has been the first to be cut down
when the profit picture become bleak simply because it could not show a clear direct relationship
of activities to profits, Miner (1995). A company’s performance can be measured by profitability
ratios. These ratios measure how effectively a firm is using its various resources to achieve
profits. Three of the more important ratios used are earnings per share (EPS), return on sales and
return onequity. EPS is a very important ratio for a company because earnings help stimulate
growth in the firm and pay for such things as stockholder dividends. Another reliable indicator of

8
performance is obtained by using ratio that measures the return on sales. Firms use this ratio to
see if they are doing well as companies they compete against in generating income from the sales
they achieve, Nickels (2005).

Rucci et al (1998) defines the employee-customer-profit chain thus, ‘if you keep employees
satisfied in terms of their attitude to the company and their job you will create a compelling place
to work which will encourage retention and lead to service helpfulness and merchandise value,
which leads to customer satisfaction, retention and recommendations, thus creating a compelling
place to shop’. These in turn create a compelling place to invest because of its impact on revenue
growth, return on assets and creation of shareholders wealth.

According to Armstrong (2006), Nationwide has developed human capital investment model to
quantify the impact that employee commitment has on customer satisfaction and business
performance. The model uses data from existing sources such as employee opinion surveys,
business performance statistics and employee turnover, length of service and absence. The model
enabled Nationwide to prove statistically that the more committed the employee the happier the
customer. However, research has shown it is possible to use data modeling to predict the impact
of a change in one factor affecting employees satisfaction would have on customer satisfaction
and ultimately on business performance, Rucci et al (1998). Reilly and Brown (1997) say that
performance is the extent to which organization goals and objectives are achieved. Measures of
performance include both financial and non-financial measures.

Financial performance of a company relates to profitability which is a key component of

performance. Helfert (1991) describes profitability in two dimensions, from the management and
also from the shareholders perspective. From management point of view, profitability is the
effectiveness in “which management has employed both the total assets and net assets as
recorded in the balance sheet, which is judged by relating net profit to the assets utilized to
realize that profit. From the owners’ point of view, profitability means the returns achieved
through the efforts of management on the initial investment outlay.

2.1.3 Job satisfaction on organizational performance

Job satisfaction lead to higher productivity, organizational responsibility, physical and mental
health, so a person will work with better mood and will learn more skills and finally promotion

9
in his performance (Coomber and Barriball, 2007). There are many reasons that show job
satisfaction is the result of job performance and awards have significant role in that. Internal
awards are because of job results (feeling of success) and external ones because of gratitude from
job (income and salary). These awards will satisfy employees, specifically workers. There are
three theories: performance lead to satisfaction, satisfaction lead to performance, award is a
medium between satisfaction and performance. The first two theories are not supported strongly,
but the third is. Awards not only promote the performance but also effect on job satisfaction.
Stirs and Porter (1991), states that: “the higher motivation and more positive attitude toward job,
the higher performance he will have, vice versa.

Job satisfaction is one criterion for establishing the health of an organization; rendering effective
services largely depends on the human source and job satisfaction experienced by employees
will affect the quality of service they render. The impact of other variables on efficiency, such as
infrastructures and internal relationships, should also be recognized. Job satisfaction has been
defined as a positive emotional state resulting from the pleasure a worker derives from the job
and as the affective and cognitive attitudes held by an employee about various aspects of their
work (Spector, 1997). In the labor market there is demand of highly skilled, trained and qualified
employees. The output and productivity of an organization is measured in terms the performance
of its workforce (Currall et al, 2005). It was found that better performance of the workforce is the
result of level of job satisfaction. The high performer demands attractive packages from the
employers and thus it becomes a predicament for the human resource experts to retain the

performer.

2.2 Summary of Gaps identified from Reviewed Literature

The literature review developed in this context was basically critiqued on employees training and
development on job satisfaction in district Hospital, case study of Ruli Hospital in Gakenke
District. Out of these variables, we identified a platform for arguments and suggestions of
different authors. According to Horwitz (2008) skills shortages are a threat to economic growth.
He argues those retention strategies are critical in a global market that is faced with the shortage
of skilled workers. The skills shortage challenge is not a South African phenomenon alone. It is
therefore important for business, government public and private sector leaders to address this

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critical component of employee retention for competitiveness and service delivery. Moseley et
al.(2008) state that employee retention is important to organizations as increased turnover creates
instability and puts additional workload and stress on remaining staff, increasing job
dissatisfaction and therefore potentiating the turnover cycle. Recent trends also show that
employees now have a desire to obtain fresh skills.

Chaminade (2007) says that particularly in technical skills because acquisition of skills provides
job security as compared to seniority. As a result employees look for organizations that are
prepared to afford them some training and development opportunities. This can be in the form of
bursaries on the job training and ongoing development opportunities. This results in affective
commitment be basing on this theory, Coetzee & Schreuder (2013) argue it is 28 therefore
important that organizations have both hygiene factors and motivation factors to keep their
employees satisfied so that they were not leave the organization. Motivation factors are often
said to lead to high retention but the absence of hygiene factors may result in increased turnover.

2.3 Theory of the Study/ Theoretical Framework

The study was based on job satisfaction theories;

Factors explaining job satisfaction

According Cranny & Smith & Stone (1992) managers, supervisors, human resource specialists,
employees, and citizens in general are concerned with ways of improving job satisfaction. Judge
& Drankoski (1995) supported the submission of Cranny et al., (1992) by advising that it was
imperative for human resource managers “to be aware of those aspects within an organization
that might impact most employees’ job satisfaction, and to enhance these aspects because, in the
long run, the results will be fruitful for both the organization and the employee”.

Rosnowski & Hulin (1992), submitted that the most 32 informative information to have about an
employee in an organization was a valid measure of their overall level of job satisfaction. The
urgency of a valid measure of job satisfaction, as proposed by Rosnowski & Hulin (1992), was
possibly the motivation behind the numerous research efforts pertaining to job satisfaction. The
motivator-hygiene theory was credited with propelling and advancing research on job
satisfaction, Steers & Porter (1992). The premise of the motivator-hygiene theory, Herzberg &

11
Mausner & Snyderman (1959) was that jobs had specific factors which were related to job
satisfaction or dissatisfaction. The five factors thought to facilitate job satisfaction were
achievement, recognition, work itself, responsibility, and advancement; discussed below:

Recognition: Acts of notice, praise, or blame supplied by one or more superior, peer, colleague,
management person, client, and/or the general public.

Achievement: Accomplishment of endeavors including instances wherein failures were

incurred. Similarly, instances were included wherein neither success nor failures were incurred.

Possibility of growth: Whether a change in status was possible, irrespective of the fact that the
change could be upward or downward in status.

Advancement: Designated an actual change in job status. Salary: All sequences of events in
which compensation plays a major role.

Interpersonal relations: Relationships involving superiors, subordinates, and peers.

Supervision: The supervisor’s willingness or unwillingness to delegate responsibility and/or

willingness to teach subordinates.

Responsibility: Satisfaction derived from being given control of personal work or the work of
others and/or new job responsibilities.

Policy and administration: Events in which some or all aspects of the organization were related
to job satisfaction.

Working condition: Physical working conditions, facilities, and quality of work as related to job
satisfaction.

Work itself: The actual job performance related to job satisfaction.

Das et al. (2003) argued that an increase in job satisfaction increases worker productivity. As
mentioned by Dunnette & Campbell & Hakel (1967) & Robbins (2001), job satisfaction is an
emotional state in which a person perceives various features of his/her work or the work
environment. Therefore, job satisfaction has a major effect on people's lives. Locke (1976)
indicated that job satisfaction most commonly affects a person's physical health, mental health

12
and social life. Moreover, Steiner et al. (1991) wrote that job satisfaction is connected to life
satisfaction, whereby people who are satisfied with their jobs will tend to be happy with their
lives as well, and vice versa. Coster (1992) supported the view that work can have on people's
lives. Furthermore, Breed & Breda (1997) indicated that job satisfaction may affect absenteeism,
complaints, and labour unrest. Therefore, it is understood that satisfied workers will be much
more productive and be retained within the organization for a longer period, in contrast to
displeased workers who will be less useful and who will have a greater tendency to quit their
jobs Crossman (2003). More importantly, satisfied workers not only perform better but also
provide better service to customers, which could result in improving customer satisfaction.
According to Dawson (2005), employee satisfaction is associated with positive employee
behaviour.

2.4 Conceptual Framework

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Job Satisfaction

 Employee Satisfaction Organization Performance

 Employee Performance

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CHAPTER THREE

3.0 Research Methodology

3.1 Research Design

The research design to be adopted will be a descriptive survey method. According to Cooper and
Schindler (2000) a descriptive research design is concerned with finding out the; who, what,
where, when and how much. This method will provide quantitative data from a cross section of
chosen population. Furthermore, a descriptive research design is structured, has investigative
questions and part of formal studies. The design is deemed appropriate because the main interest
is to explore the viable relationship and describe how the factors will support matters under
investigation. Descriptive design method will provide quantitative data from cross section of the
chosen population.

3.2 Target Population

The study will consist of all the KCC staff based at the headquarters in Eldoret. The population
of interest will be broken down as follows;

Category Job Group Number of Staff

Senior Managers P and Above 306
Middle Level Managers L-N 793
Lower level employees K and Below 2064
Total 2863

3.3 Sampling

The researcher will use stratified sampling because of ease of classifying the population into
strata’s (senior managers, middle level managers and lower level employees). Respondents will
be selected randomly based on their current employment category. This approach will be
appropriate since it will ensure a representative sample.

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3.4 Sample Size

The sample size will be based on the theory of "Theoretical Saturation" (Strauss and Corbin,
1998). This means that the quality of the data is more important than the number of those who
will be questioned. Usually, saturation occurs somewhere between 10 and 30 interviews. The
sample size is appropriate for the study as it ensures that all the cadres in the organization are
represented thus reducing sampling bias and achieving a high level of representation.

Table 3.2: Sample size

Category Job Group Number of Staff

Senior Managers P and Above 31
Middle Level Managers L-N 49
Lower level employees K and Below 206
Total 286

3.5 Data Collection Instrument

The study will use primary data which will be collected through self-administered
questionnaires. The questionnaire will consist of three sections, namely; section one which will
deal with personal information, section two which is designed to measure the employee job
satisfaction and section three will deal with employee perception and finally organization
performance. The research will use drop and pick method since the area of collecting data is
centralized

3.5.1 Questionnaires

A questionnaire is a research instrument that consists of a set of questions or other types of

prompts that aims to collect information from a respondent. A research questionnaire is typically
a mix of close-ended questions and open-ended questions. (QuestionPro, 2022)

15
Open-ended, long-form questions offer the respondent the ability to elaborate on their thoughts.
Research questionnaires were developed in 1838 by the Statistical Society of London.
(QuestionPro, 2022)
The data collected from a data collection questionnaire can be both qualitative as well as
quantitative in nature. A questionnaire may or may not be delivered in the form of a survey, but a
survey always consists of a questionnaire. (QuestionPro, 2022)
The respondents were diversified and therefore a questionnaire serves to be the most convenient
way of collecting the needed information. Furthermore, questionnaires saves time and enable
respondents to provide conclusive answers thereby they were preferred over other instruments.
3.5.2 Interview Guide

“An interview guide is a list of topics or questions that the interviewer hopes to cover during the
course of an interview. Qualitative interviews are sometimes called intensive or in-depth
interviews. These interviews are considered semi-structured because the researcher has a
particular topic for the respondent, but questions are open-ended and may not be asked in the
exact same way or order to each respondent. The primary goal of an in-depth interview is to hear
what respondents think is important about the topic at hand and to hear it in their own words.”
Esterberg, K. G. (2017)

“In a qualitative interview, the researcher usually develops a guide in advance that they can refer
to during the interview or memorize the interview takes place. It is called a guide because it is
simply that; it is used to guide the interviewer, but it is not set in stone. Think of an interview
guide like your agenda for the day or your to-do list: Both probably contain all the items you
hope to check off or accomplish, though it probably won’t be the end of the world if you don’t
accomplish everything on the list or if you don’t accomplish it in the exact order that you have it
written down. Perhaps new events will come up that cause you to rearrange your schedule just a
bit, or perhaps you simply won’t get to everything on the list.” Esterberg, K. G. (2017)

“Interview guides should outline issues that a researcher feels are likely to be important.
Participants are asked to provide answers in their own words and to raise points they believe are
important, so each interview is likely to flow a little differently. While the opening question in an
in-depth interview may be the same across all interviews, the information that each participant
shared will shape how the interview proceeds. This is what makes in-depth interviewing so

16
exciting and rather challenging. It takes a skilled interviewer to be able to ask questions, listen to
respondents, and pick up on cues about when to follow up, move on, or simply let the participant
speak without guidance or interruption.” Esterberg, K. G. (2017)

17
 CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 Data Analysis, Findings, Recommendations and Conclusions

4.1 Data Analysis and Findings

The results on the role of job satisfaction on organization performance at TSC have been
expounded in detail in the research findings. The findings came out to the effect that employee
job satisfaction is necessary for providing higher employee commitment and loyalty. The study
also found out that an employee satisfaction is not only attained through the provision of one
variable but rather should be a combination of various variables that include improvement of
working conditions, empowerment and participation of staff, reward and recognition, teamwork,
training and development. The findings on the need for the organization to institute a
combination of various factors is in line by the findings of Ampofo (1997) who further noted that
the organizational empowerment should involve creating values for employees to do their job
independently without constant intervention of management.

The study also found out that the level of employee job satisfaction can be determined and
measured by the extent to which employees are willing to work without supervision, by the level
of quality of work, completion of work on schedule, ability to organize and schedule workloads,
effort applied, acceptability of completed work, attendance promptness and overall effectiveness.
This means that a higher level of employee job satisfaction can lead to improved performance
from the employee. The results show that job satisfaction lead to higher productivity,
organizational responsibility, physical and mental health, so a person will work with better mood
and will learn more skills and finally promotion in his performance (Coomber and Barriball,
2007).

4.1.1 Data Analysis for Demographic Information

 Gender Composition

The respondents were to indicate their gender and of the 58 respondents, 56.9 percent were male
while 43.1% were female. This therefore means that majority of the respondents were male but
the difference is not significant.

18
 Gender distribution of respondents

Male
43%
Female

57%

 Respondents age bracket

The respondents were asked to indicate their age brackets and the results are as shown in Table
4.1

Respondents age bracket Frequency Percent Cumulative percent

Under 30 10 27.0 27.0
31-40 15 40.5 67.6
41-50 12 32.4 100.0
Total 37 100.0

The findings on the respondents’ age bracket in Table 4.1, was that 40.5% of the respondents
were 31 to 40 years old, 32.4% of the respondents were 41 to 50 years old while 27% indicated
that they were less than 30 years old. The results indicates that majority of the respondents were
above 30 years and thus understands the relationship between job satisfaction on employee

performance.

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  Highest level of education

The respondents were asked to indicate the highest level of education which they have attained
and the results are as presented in table 4.2.

Frequency Percent Cumulative percent

Post graduate level 21 16.5 70.8
University 69 54.3 88.9
Tertiary College 23 18.1 88.9
Secondary 14 11.1 100.0
Total 127 100.0
The findings on the respondents highest level of education was that 54.3% of the respondents

had attained university level, 18.1% of the respondents had tertiary education while 16.5% of the

respondents were post graduate level holders while 11.1% of the respondents indicated that they

had attained secondary level of education. The results indicate that majority of the respondents
were university graduates with specific training or skills.

 Length of continuous service

The respondents were to indicate the duration of time that they have been working in the
organization.

Frequency Percent Cumulative percent

Post graduate level 21 16.5 70.8
University 69 54.3 88.9
Tertiary College 23 18.1 88.9
Secondary 14 11.1 100.0
Total 127 100.0

The findings above on table 4.3 indicates that 57.9% of the respondents had worked in the
organization for more than 10 years, 32.5% indicated that they have worked in the organization

20
for 5-10 years while 9.6% said they have worked in the organization for less than 5 years. The
findings indicate that majority of the respondents have worked for more than five years in the
organization and thus they understand the organization well in regard to employee job
satisfaction.

4.1.2 Job Satisfaction

Job satisfaction is a pre-requisite for organization performance in any organization. It is

important for both the employee and the employer. For the employee, job satisfaction gives them
a sense of security and fulfillment. In return, it leads to employee commitment, decreased
absenteeism and reduced employee turnover.

 Employee satisfaction

The respondents were asked to indicate whether Kenya Cooperative Creameries has done enough
to ensure that its employees are satisfied. The results are presented in the figure below.

Employee Satisfaction

36%
YES
NO

64%

The results in Figure 4.2 indicate that 70.3% of the respondents were of the view that KCC has
not done enough to ensure that the employees are satisfied while 29.7% of the respondents said
the Company has done enough. The results indicate that the Company has not done enough to
satisfy its employees.

21
The respondents were asked to indicate whether the employees have been given broader
responsibilities and the findings were that 63.8% of the respondents said that the employees have
not been given broader responsibilities, encouraged to contribute and helped to achieve
satisfaction in their work while 36.2% of the respondents said they were not helped to achieve
satisfaction. The results indicate that the Company has not helped its employees to achieve
satisfaction.

4.1.3 Level of organization performance

Jason Westand (Retrieved 2022), At various points during the project, you want to evaluate five
points: schedule, quality, cost, stakeholder satisfaction and performance against the business
case. You should be doing this informally anyway. A formal project evaluation is of use during
the end of a phase or stage as it can give you a clear indication of how the project is performing
against the original estimates. This information can then be used to grant approval from moving
on with the next chunk of work.
 Schedule Baseline: Experienced project managers know how hard that is, but it’s a little
bit easier if you continually evaluate your progress as you go. The schedule evaluation is
something you can do more formally at the end of the stage or phase, or as part of a
monthly report to your senior stakeholder group or Project Board. It’s easy to update your
project schedule if you build it on an online Gantt chart, where tasks and deadlines are
made into visual timelines.
 Quality Assurance: A quality review can evaluate whether what you are doing meets the
standards set out in your quality plans. Best find out now before the project goes too far,
as it might be too late to do anything about it then. It helps to have project management
software to make sure you’re checking off everything you need to when reviewing
quality. Project Manager has a list view that leaves others in the dust. More than just a to-
do list, our tool can assign tasks, attach files and even show you the percentage complete
for each item on your quality review. Our cloud-based tool connects everyone on your
team in real time, which facilitates the quality review process. Have a quality tool to
review the quality of your project.

22
  Stakeholder satisfaction: The wider team of stakeholders are essential in getting much
of the work done, so it’s worth checking in with them. Find out how they are feeling
about the project right now and what you could be doing differently.
This is a difficult measure to document statistically, although there’s nothing to stop you from
asking them for a rating out of 10. Even if you are evaluating their satisfaction subjectively, it is
still a useful exercise. If you notice that stakeholders are not fully supportive, you can put plans
in place to engage them thoroughly to try to influence their behavior.

4.1.4 Job Satisfaction and Organization performance

Job satisfaction lead to higher productivity, organizational responsibility, physical and mental
health, so a person will work with better mood and will learn more skills and finally promotion
in his performance (Coomber and Barriball, 2007). There are many reasons that show job
satisfaction is the result of job performance and awards have significant role in that. Internal
awards are because of job results (feeling of success) and external ones because of gratitude from
job (income and salary). These awards will satisfy employees, specifically workers. There are
three theories: performance lead to satisfaction, satisfaction lead to performance, award is a
medium between satisfaction and performance. The first two theories are not supported strongly,
but the third is. Awards not only promote the performance but also effect on job satisfaction.
Stirs and Porter (1991), states that: “the higher motivation and more positive attitude toward job,
the higher performance he will have, vice versa.

Job satisfaction is one criterion for establishing the health of an organization; rendering effective
services largely depends on the human source and job satisfaction experienced by employees
will affect the quality of service they render. The impact of other variables on efficiency, such as
infrastructures and internal relationships, should also be recognized. Job satisfaction has been
defined as a positive emotional state resulting from the pleasure a worker derives from the job
and as the affective and cognitive attitudes held by an employee about various aspects of their
work (Spector, 1997). In the labor market there is demand of highly skilled, trained and qualified
employees. The output and productivity of an organization is measured in terms the performance
of its workforce (Currall et al, 2005). It was found that better performance of the workforce is the

23
result of level of job satisfaction. The high performer demands attractive packages from the
employers and thus it becomes a predicament for the human resource experts to retain the

performer.

4.1.5 Findings of the study

The study established that the Company has not done enough to ensure that its employees are
satisfied and these emanates from lack of broader responsibilities and encouragement. The study
showed that the respondents were not satisfied with their supervisor, working characteristics,
teamwork and training and development, advancement of opportunities, empowerment, working
conditions, participation in decision making and financial rewards and these affected the
performance of the Company in terms of service delivery as job satisfaction leads to higher
productivity, organizational responsibility, physical and mental health of the employees’.

The study found out that financial rewards influences employees satisfaction through motivation,
performance, attraction and retention of expert workforce. On the other hand, the respondents
noted that employee development results in increased level of individual and organizational
competences, helps improve change management by increasing the understanding and
involvement of employees in change management process, training and education help the
organization to develop a learning environment, which may enhance a better organizational
culture and that it increases the employees’ morale since training will improve the employees’
confidence and motivation thus organizational commitment. The employee job satisfaction was
as a result of quality of work, willingness to perform, completion of work on schedule, ability to
organize and schedule workloads, effort applied, acceptability of completed work, attendance
promptness and overall effectiveness. The correlation analysis established that there was a
positive correlation between job satisfaction and organization performance in the Company.

To the contrary, the findings showed that a number of aspects touching on job satisfaction are
not accorded adequate attention at the Kenya Creameries Cooperation. These include: effective
teamwork which motivates employees and improve organization performance and self-efficacy,
compensation levels, employees development opportunities, improved security in the workplace,
technical competence, adaptability, accepting responsibility for own behavior, amount of work

24
performed, observance of rules and regulations, personal performance, observance of rest and
lunch periods, making a high impression, propensity to leave, dependability and skills in
planning.

4.2 Recommendations

The study found out that the Company has not done enough to ensure that its employees are
satisfied and it recommended that the Company should explore for other means which includes
being given broader responsibilities and encouraged to contribute so that it can create a higher
level of employee commitment and loyalty in the Company

The study found out that financial reward does not result to employee job satisfaction and it is
therefore recommended that the Company should ensure that all other factors that affect the
employees are addressed so that their level of satisfaction can be increased and these results to
improved organization performance.

The study identified a number of aspects relating to participation in decision making that
influence employees level of satisfaction. However, some aspects require improvement going by
the low mean rating obtained from their scores. These include effective teamwork which
motivates employees and improve organization performance and self-efficacy, fair and equitable
compensation levels, reward system that is just, unambiguous, fair and in line with their
expectations and improved security in the workplace.

4.3 Conclusions

The study found out that organization performance at the Kenya Cooperative Creameries was
influenced by the employee level of satisfaction. Job satisfaction was related to factors of
supervisors, working colleagues, characteristics, teamwork and training and development,
advancement of opportunities, empowerment), working conditions, participation in decision
making and financial rewards. Level of organization performance with job characteristics was
found to be largely influenced by the level of job satisfaction. These included financial rewards,
development opportunities, working conditions and empowerment and participation. The study
showed that financial rewards were not as important as job satisfaction. This provides the basis

25
for further improvement in employees’ empowerment and participation so as to enhance their
levels of job satisfaction. The hypothetical basis of the study was ascertained by confirming that
job satisfaction increases organization performance.

26
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 APPENDIX I: QUESTIONNAIRE

Please give answers in the spaces provided and tick (V) in the box that matches your response to
the questions where applicable.

PART A: Demographic and Respondents Profile

1. Gender: Male ( ) Female ( )

2. What is your age bracket? (Tick as applicable)

a) Under 30 years ()

b) 31-40 years ()

c) 41-50 years ()

d) Over 50 years ()

What is your highest level of education qualification?

a) Post graduate level ( )

b) University ()

c) Tertiary College ()

d) Secondary ()

4. Length of continuous service with the Company?

a) Less than five years ()

b) 5-10 years ()

c) Over 10 years ()

Part B: Job Satisfaction

29
1. Has TSC done enough to ensure that its employees are satisfied with their job?

Yes ( ) No ( )

2. Does the management of the Company ensure its employees are not controlled by
management, placed in narrowly defined jobs and rated as unwelcome necessity, but instead
given broader responsibilities, encouraged to contribute and helped to achieve satisfaction in
their work?

Yes ( ) No ( )

3. Do you agree that employee job satisfaction is necessary for providing higher employee
commitment and loyalty in the Company?

Strongly disagree ()

Disagree ()

Moderate ()

Agree ()

Strongly agree ( )

4. Does the Company reward its employees or department as a means of supporting particular
performance level?

Yes ( ) No ( )

5. To what extent does the physical Working condition in the Company influence their job
satisfaction?

Very low extent ( )

Low extent ( )

Moderate ( )

Great extent ( )

30
Very great extent ( )

6. Does job satisfaction lead to higher productivity, organizational responsibility, physical and
mental health of the employees’ thus improved employee performance?

Yes ( ) No ( )

7. Has the employees service delivery been affected by their level of satisfaction in the
Company?

Yes ( ) No ( )

8. Does financial reward influence job satisfaction of the Company employees?

Yes ( ) No ( )

9. To what extent do you agree with the following regarding the effect of financial rewards on
the Company’s employees job satisfaction and overall employee performance.

Use 1- strongly disagree, 2 - Disagree, 3 - moderately agree, 4 - Agree, 5 - Strongly agree.

31