Mode of Communication and Employee Engagement in Technical Training Institutions in Kenya

Authors

  • Margaret Ngugi
  • Prof. Hellen Mberia
  • Dr. Kyalo Wa Ngula

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47672/ajc.1322

Keywords:

Communication mode, employee engagement, technical training institutions, methods of communication, channels of communication

Abstract

Purpose: This study sought to determine the effect of the communication mode on employee engagement in technical training institutions in Kenya.

Methodology: The study was conducted using survey research design. Study population was all the 3780 trainers in the 102 public technical training institutions in Kenya out of which a sample of 360 respondents was used. Stratified random sampling, random sampling and stratified proportionate random sampling technique design were employed. Data was collected using a questionnaire which had both closed and open- ended (Likert type scale 1-5) questions. Questionnaires were distributed to 360 respondents out of which 322 completed the questionnaires giving a response rate of 89.4%. Cronbach's alpha was used to test for internal reliability of each variable used in the study. Data analysis was done by use of descriptive and inferential statistics.

Findings: Logistic regression coefficients showed that communication mode influenced employee engagement and in a negative way. The effect therefore, was not statistically significant (β=-0.647, p=0.114). This implies that communication mode is not a significant predictor of employee engagement in technical training institutions in Kenya.

Recommendations: The study recommends that technical training institutions should endeavor to embrace modern methods of communication. In an increased switch on world, the staff and the students rely on technology as their primary means of communication. Computers, smart phones and tablet devices are ubiquitous. It is imperative for technical training institutions to stop over relying on traditional methods such as notice boards, meetings and paper based newsletters like in the past years.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Margaret Ngugi

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya

Prof. Hellen Mberia

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya

Dr. Kyalo Wa Ngula

Chuka University, Kenya

References

Ahmetoglu, G., Harding, X., Akhtar, R., & Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2015). Predictors of creative achievement: Assessing the impact of entrepreneurial potential, perfectionism, and employee engagement. Creativity Research Journal, 27, 198-205.

Ashfaq M., Ur Rehman K., Safwan N., Afzal Humayoun A., (2012). Role of Effective Communication in Retention and Motivation of Employees. International Conference on Arts, Behavioral Sciences and Economics Issues (ICABSEI' 2012), May 26-27, 2012 Phuket, pp. 64-67.

Bakker, A.B; Albrecht, S. L & Leiter, M.P. (2012). Key questions regarding work engagement. European Journal of Work and Organisational Psychology, 20, 4 - 28.

Bambacas, M., & Patrickson, M. (2008). Interpersonal communication skills that enhance organisational commitment. Journal of Communication Management, 12(1), 51-72.

Bronn, J. (2015). Establishing Internal Communications Channels that Work. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 31 (2), 135-149.

Bua, F.T (2014). Communication and interpersonal relationship in educational management. Makurdi; Me2u iMPACT Publishers

Byron, K. (2008). Carrying too heavy a load? The communication and miscommunication of emotion by email. Academy of Management Review, 33(2), 309-327. JOUR

Carriere, J., & Bourque, C. (2009). The effects of organizational communication on job satisfaction and organizational commitment in a land ambulance service and the mediating role of communication satisfaction. Career Development International, 14(1), 29-49.

Christian, M. S., Garza, A.S. & Slaughter, J.E. (2011). Work engagement: A quantitative review and test of its relations with task and contextual performance. Personnel Psychology, 64, 89 -139

Cooper, D. R., & Schindler, P. S. (2008). Business Research Methods. Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

D'Aprix, R. (2009). The credible company. Communicating with today's skeptical workforce San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Demerouti, E., and Cropanzano, R. (2010). From thought to action: Employee work engagement and job performance. In A. B. Bakker and M. P. Leiter (Eds.), Work engagement: A handbook of essential theory and research, (pp. 147−163), Hove, East Sussex: Psychology Press

Eldor, L., & Harpaz, I. (2015). A process model of employee engagement: The learning climate and its relationship with extra-role performance behaviors. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 37, 213-235. doi:10.1002/job.2037

Frandsen, F., and Johansen, W. (2011). The Study of Internal Crisis Communication: Towards an integrative framework. Corporate Communication; An International Journal, 16(4), 347-361

Ganster, D. C., & Schaubroeck, J. (1991). Work stress and employee health. Journal of Management, 17(2), 235-271.

Gay, L. (1992). Educational research, competencies for analysis and application. Ohio: Charles E. Merril Publishing Co.

Gillham, B. (2013). Developing a questionnaire (4nded.). London: Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd

Greenberg Jerald. 2011. Behavior in Organizations. 10th Edition. Pearson

Hargie, O. & Tourish, D. (Eds.). (2000). Handbook of communication audits for organisations. London: Routledge

Hoover, G. (2005). Maintaining employee engagement when communicating difficult issues. Communication World, Nov-Dec, 25-27. of Research, Theory and Practise. London: Routledge.

Johlke, M. C., & Duhan, D. F. (2000). Supervisor communication practices and service employee job outcomes. Journal of Service Research, 3(2), 154-165.

Kahn, W. A. (1990). Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work. Academy of Management Journal, 33(4), 692-724

Kataria, A., Kataria, A. & Garg, R. (2013), "Effective Internal Communication". Internation all Journal of Business Insight & Transformation, 6(2).

Keller, R. T. (1994). Technology-information processing fit and the performance of R&D project groups: A test of contingency theory. Academy of Management Journal, 37(1),167-179

Kitchen, P. J., & Daly, F. (2002). Internal communication during change management. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 7, 46-53.

Koome, R.J. (2014).Institutional Factors influencing Academic staff turnover in Public Technical Institutes in Meru County, Kenya. Unpublished Master's Thesis, UON.

Kravina, L; Falco, A; De carlo, N.A & Andreassen, C.S. (2014). Workaholism and work engagement in the family: The relationship between parents and children as a risk factor. European Journal of Work and Organisational Psychology, 23 (6), 875 - 883.

Maltz, E. (2000). Is all communication created equal?: An investigation into the effects of communication mode on perceived information quality. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 17(2), 110-127

Marelli, A. F. (2011). Employee engagement and performance management in the federal sector. Performance Improvement, 50 (5), 235 - 249.

Meyer, J. 2014. Employee Commitment, Motivation, and Engagement: Exploring the Links. Article in Gagn, M. (ed.) The Oxford handbook of work engagement, motivation, and self-determination theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 33-36.

Njoroge , 2015. Effect of integrative leadership style on organizational commitment in technical institutions in Kenya. Unpublished thesis. JKUAT Kenya.

Oroni, W. G. C. (2012). A Comparison of Technical Education Teachers' Competencies: A study Of Moi University and Kenya Technical Teachers College graduates in Technical Institutions in Kenya. Unpublished MED Thesis, University of Nairobi

Orpen, C. (2012). The interactive effects of communications quality and job involvement on managerial job satisfaction and work motivation. Journal of Psychology, 131(5), 519-522.

Owler, F. J. (2009). Survey Research Methods. (4th ed.) London: Sage Publications Inc.

Roberts,J.L.(2013).Relationships Among Employee Engagement, Communication Climate, and Employees' Communication Channel Preferences. Unpublished Master Thesis. Wright State University.PP.170-171

Sang, A.K., Muthaa, G.M., & Mbugua, Z.K. (2016) Challenges facing training in Kenya. Creative Education,3(1),109-113. doi :10.4236/ce.2016.31018.

Schaufeli, W.B. & Bakker, A.B. 2010. Defining and measuring work engagement; Bringing clarity to the concept. Article in Bakker, W.B. & Leiter, M.P. (ed.) Work Engagement: A Handbook of Essential Theory and Research. New York: Psychology Press. 10-25

Schaufeli, W.B., Salanova, M., Gonza´lez-Roma´, V. & Bakker, A.B. (2002). The measurement of engagement and burnout: A two sample confirmatory factor analytic approach. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3, 7192.

Simiyu, J. W. (2009). Factors influencing the attractiveness of a Technical and Vocational Education and Training Institution: A case study of a Technical Institute in Kenya. Nairobi: Moi University.

Stohl, C., & Redding, W. C. (1987). Messages and message exchange processes. In F. Jablinet al. (Eds.), Handbook of organization communication (pp. 451-502). California:Sage Publications.

Taris, T. W.; Schaufelli, W. B. & Shimanzu, A. (2010). The push and pull of work: the difference between workaholism and work engagement. In A. B. Bakker & M. P. Leiter (Eds). Work engagement: A handbook of essential theory and research (pp. 39 -53). Hove: Psychology Press

Waldeck, J.H., Seibold, D.R., & Flanagin, A.J. (2004). Organizational assimilation and communication technology use. Communication Monographs, 71(2), 161-183.

Wallace P. (2004), The Internet in the Workplace: How New Technology is Transforming Work.

Zhang, X. & Venkatesh, V. (2013). Explaining employee job performance: the role of online and offline workplace communication networks. MIS Quarterly, 37(3), 695-722.

Downloads

Published

2023-01-09

How to Cite

Ngugi, M. ., Mberia, H. ., & Ngula, K. W. . (2023). Mode of Communication and Employee Engagement in Technical Training Institutions in Kenya. American Journal of Communication, 5(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.47672/ajc.1322