High Performance Work Practices and Employee Performance within Firms in the Aviation Industry in Kenya: A Case of Kenya Airways

Abstract

High Performance Work Practices area is key in this study and considerations have not been made for any organization in Kenya especially in the private sector. HPWPs are imperative in any private entity. Effectiveness of HPWPs in organization is largely related to overall employee performance. Organization with high employee performance has huge trickledown effect on the bottom line-healthy balance sheet and attractiveness to potential investors. A better understanding is required to investigate HPWPs in corporate firms in Kenya and especially in the aviation context. This study sought to establish the effect of performance work practices (HPWPs) on employee performance. The study was guided by four specific objectives namely; to determine the effect of reward management, performance management, training and development, employee relations on employee performance at Kenya Airways. The study was anchored on ability, motivation and opportunity theory of performance (AMO Theory), resource-based theory and social exchange theory. The core objective of HPWPS was to impact attitudes and behaviors of employees in such a manner that individual performance is enhanced. The AMO theory stated that organizational performance was dependent on the ability, motivation and opportunity of employees. The study employed descriptive design since the researcher was interested on the state of affairs already existing in the field and no variable was manipulated. The target population was the operational employees at Kenya Airways in Nairobi offices. A sample size of 347 employees was selected using stratified random sampling. The study relied on primary data specifically use of structured questionnaires. The collected data was made ready for analysis and cleaned through checking for errors and completeness, editing, coding, transcribing and entering them directly into SPSS software. Data analysis entailed both inferential and descriptive statistics. Descriptive statistics such as percentages, mean, frequency distribution and standard deviation were computed to describe the characteristics of the variables of interest while in inferential statistics, correlation, multiple regression analysis was used establish the nature and magnitude of the relationships between the variables. The results of data analysis were presented using figures and tables for easy understanding and interpretation. The study findings indicated that high performance work practices had a positive and significant effect on employee performance. Based on the study findings the adoption of high-performance work practices by Kenya Airways could be concluded that these practices influenced employee performance. Reward management, performance management, training and development, and employee relations had a positive effect on employee performance. The results of this study have helped to determine the crucial role of HPWPs on employee performance and therefore recommend that organizations focus on the use of these practices to be able to achieve and meet their set targets, mission, and vision and be able to sustain themselves in the competitive global market. The results of the study can be used by academicians and industry stakeholders to improve employee performance hence high returns on investment.