Title: Performance management in Sierra Leone public sector organisations

Authors: Lansana Kanneh; Abubaker Haddud

Addresses: School of Management, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK ' School of Management, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to identify the key factors that influence effective performance improvement in public sector institutions in Sierra Leone. This paper attempts to establish the determinants of continuous improvement in performance, the factors that affect performance and the implementation of performance systems in public sector organisations in Sierra Leone. A survey was used to collect data from 120 senior managers from 40 institutions within the public sector in Serra Leone. The findings from this research indicated: first, service delivery improves through simplification of service delivery processes, decentralisation of services and involvement of community in designing service. Second, research and development, application of modern technology, involvement of stakeholders and use of transparency boards were indicated as factors that can lead to continuous performance improvement. Third, key challenges with improving performance delivery includes; lack of leadership commitment, lack of strategic planning, lack of measuring criteria, lack of knowledge by management and staff, lack of effective communication and lack of resources to build systems. The study considers only public sector institutions and no private organisation. Also, the study is only limited to public sector institutions in Sierra Leone. The paper supports existing literature and most importantly presents work with immense value to researchers in public sector performance management.

Keywords: performance management; performance measurement; public sector; Sierra Leone; continuous improvement; service delivery; community engagement; decentralisation; research and development; R&D; technology adoption; stakeholder involvement; transparency boards; leadership commitment; strategic planning; measurement criteria; organisational knowledge; effective communication; resource constraints.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPSPM.2016.079721

International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management, 2016 Vol.2 No.4, pp.411 - 429

Received: 28 Nov 2015
Accepted: 31 Jul 2016
Published online: 12 Oct 2016 *

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