Welcome to Dr. Margaret N. Ndung’u's Website
In this website, I have featured my new book - Performance Contracting and Management Kenya Perspective. This book
discusses Performance contracting from the African perspective.
The science of Performance Contracting and Management is relatively new to many African countries. Governments have embraced Performance Contracting and Management as a strategy to apportion limited resources to achieve maximum results to serve more informed citizens
The first book on performance management filling the void
When the government of Kenya introduced performance contracts in 2003 for workers in the public sector, many people were skeptical. Would the contracts change anything in the lethargic public service, long riddled with incompetence, corruption and all manner of professional practices?
The Performance Contracts started with a pilot group of 16 commercial public enterprises in 2004, to eventually cover the entire public service in Kenya.
Surprisingly, the contracts ushered in a new dawn in the management of public affairs in Kenya. Government offices became sensitive to public demands or better service, corruption was discouraged by notices on walls and even the formerly drab and dull public offices were given a modern look facelift.
This did not escape the attention of the international community. In 2007, the United Nations Public Service Agency recognised Kenya as a winner for Improving transparency, accountability and responsiveness in the public service. It seemed, the public service was on its way to excellence.
The initiative of performance contracting was designed to restore the lost trust of the people in their Government. It is therefore surprising that there has been no book written on performance contracting in Kenya.
This book by Dr. Margaret N. Ndung’u is therefore an important milestone in the corpus of this science of performance contracting and management.
The book contains an important reference tool; a glossary of performance management terms that will surely be important to a reader in this discipline.
The book is useful for management students and also public service practitioners. It has seven, well coordinated chapters.
Every chapter has an introduction, summary and also questions at the end of the chapter help the reader to focus and reinforce what he has read.
This book will be valuable in the field of performance contracting and management in Kenya.