Abstract:
Organizations are eager to monitor and increase the productivity of their employees. One such means with the
potential of increasing service performance and delivery is performance contracting. Performance contracting through
performance target setting has seen accelerated effort in research as a new concept of management in Kenya. Most
studies have focused on performance management, performance measurement, commitment, and target meeting. The
objective of this research is to understand how much of target setting, target implementation and monitoring and
evaluation influences positive service delivery. The research was done at Kirinyaga University, a public university in
Kenya. The study adopted descriptive cross-sectional research design with a population of 272 staff members. Primary
data was collected using a structured questionnaire that included both closed and open-ended questions. Secondary data
was collected from journals. Pilot study was conducted in order to determine validity and reliability of research
instruments. The Statistical Package for Social Science package was used in the data analysis. Descriptive statistical tools
including the mean, mode standard deviation, and variance were used to analyze qualitative data. Inferential statistics was
done by use of correlation and multiple linear regression analysis in order to establish the relationship between
independent variable and the dependent variable. The results revealed that performance contacting parameters
significantly (t = 3.407, p < 0.05) affected service delivery of the University. It was also revealed that target
implementation significantly (t = 2.633, p < 0.05) influenced service delivery. However, it was established that target
setting (t = -1.816, p < 0.05), monitoring and evaluation (t = 0.617, p < 0.05) did not significantly influence service
delivery at Kirinyaga University. In conclusion, proper target setting, monitoring and evaluation, and target
implementation are necessary in achieving employees and organizations’ goals as well as satisfactory delivery of services
to customers.
