Perception of Gemba Kaizen’s upper management commitment principle on employee performance in Kenya Wildlife service, Tsavo East National Park, Kenya

Abstract

Harnessing human capital and converting it into useful industrial processes can best be realized through competent management systems. However, without significant commitment from the upper management as espoused in the Gemba Kaizen principles, strategies to improve employee performance may fall short of their objectives. Gemba Kaizen principles have been adopted in several private and public sector organizations globally, and the upper management commitment principle is being subsequently practiced in the organizations. However, the influence of the application of the Gemba Kaizen upper management commitment principle on  employee performance has not received significant research attention previously. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the application of GembaKaizen’supper management commitment principle on employee performance in Kenya Wildlife Service, Tsavo East National Park, Kenya. The study adopted a descriptive research design targeting employees of Kenya Wildlife Service, Tsavo East National Park. Data collected through pre-tested copies of questionnaire from 202 respondentsrevealed that the Gemba Kaizenupper management commitment principlesignificantly influenced employee performance in the Kenya Wildlife Service. There was a  significant linear relationship between the Kaizen Principle of upper management commitment and employees’ understanding the contribution of their role in performance of the organization. Employees increase their outputs if the top management is committed by communicating the importance of meeting regulatory requirements, establishing the quality policy, ensuring that quality objectives are
established, conducting management reviews and ensuring the availability of resources. It is, therefore, recommended that the upper management in the Kenya Wildlife Service begin inculcating the need for team effort and customer satisfaction among employees for
the achievement of organizational objectives.

Keywords: Gemba Kaizen, Upper management commitment, Employee performance, Customer satisfaction