An Analysis of the Effects of Contract Management on Employee Performance in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs in Uganda December 2010.

Abstract

The study is about the effects of contract management on employee performance in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs (MJCA) in Uganda. The main question of the study was based on the fact that though it is becoming increasingly common to hire individual professional members as contract employees in public service in Uganda, there is a growing dissatisfaction among contract employees that their employers are violating the contracts. Employees complain that they do not receive their salaries in time as they spend almost three months before they get their agreed monthly salaries (IGG Report, 2007). The study sought to specifically achieve the following objectives. These included; examining the aspects of contract management; to analyze the relationship between contract management and employee performance; and to examine the challenges the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs faces in implementing contract obligations. The study design was analytical as well as cross sectional design. The study was carried out through data collection and analysis using frequency tabulation. Data presentation was done using tables and percentages. The key findings were that contracts are poorly managed in that consequent parts of contract management are not aligned with good practice in contract management. They also show that contract employment did not fundamentally affect the core services of the ministry. Other findings show that frequency of work, punctuality and employee obedience were the major parameters used in measuring employee performance. The study concludes that payment of salaries is poorly handled and this weakness jeopardizes contractual relationships and leads to low productivity. It also concluded that the way contracts in MJCA are handled demoralizes and discourages good employee performance. The study recommends that payment of salaries should be handled properly so that contractual relationships may lead to increased productivity. Employees should be informed of the contract expectations so as to motivate them to perform optimally. It also recommends that contracts in MJCA should be handled with openness and mutual trust so as to induce good employee performance. It further recommends that tension resolution amongst contract employment should be systematic so that all parties are involved.