Employees’ Motivation and Local Governments Performance in Tanzania: A Case Mvomero District Council

Abstract

Employee motivation is a universal concept that is accepted by human resource practitioners as a tool to improve organizational performance. This study sought to examine the effects of employee motivation in improving performance in local governments in Tanzania. The study aims at examining the contribution of employee motivation to local governments in Tanzania. This paper adopted a research case design whereby Mvomero District Council was the case study. A sample size of 78 respondents was taken for the study. The study adopted a mixed approach whereby qualitative and quantitative approaches in the data collection process. The data was collected through key informant interviews and questionnaires. The findings revealed that the majority of the respondents were negative about the employee motivation provided in Mvomero District Council, especially at ward and village levels. The findings also, found that there is a positive relationship between employees’ motivation and employees’ performance. The higher the employee’s motivation the higher the employee’s performance. The study indicated that employees are motivated by financial motivation rather than non-financial motivation. The study concluded that there is a greater relationship between employee performance and employee motivation and employees in rural settings are less motivated compared to their counterparts in an urban setting. The study recommended that the government incentives policies should be reversed not only to motivate top management levels and consider middle and lower levels employees. The study also, recommended for the Mvomero District Council to improve the working conditions of the employees who are working in remote areas