TEACHER PERCEPTIONS OF THE MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVES PERFOMANCE APPRAISAL SYSTEM AS A QUALITY CONTROL MEASURE INSCHOOLS: A CASE OF MASVINGO URBAN DISTRICT, ZIMBABWE.

Abstract

The study sought to establish the extent to which teachers perceive
management by objectives (MBO) as a quality control measure. It attempted to find out
whether performance appraisals were perceived as mere formality and a sheer waste of
time and resources or otherwise. It also has the assessment of the whole process,
whether it is a welcome ministerial requirement or not as its aim. The study was mainly
qualitative in nature .Questionnaires, observations and semi-structured interviews were
targeted at teachers and education officers. A total of sixty teachers from all secondary
schools and three education officers were randomly sampled after stratification from a
population of two hundred and seventy teachers and five education officers in Masvingo
urban .After taking a pilot study at Chikato primary school, the selected respondents
were interviewed with their views audio- taped while questionnaires were sent to a
further thirty teachers. Data from both interviews and questionnaires were analyzed by
categorizing them into emerging themes for presentation and discussion. The findings
revealed that teachers perceived the whole process of appraisals as just but a
disoriented ritual which has failed to accomplish intended objectives due to
underfunding and lack of commitment by its very initiators. The researcher recommends
that the employer ,who happens to be the Public Service Commission set in
mechanisms and instruments that police the whole process rigorously while facilitating
workshops for new appraisees and appraisers as well as refresher courses for the old
guard. The Commission could as well give impetus to the system through supporting its
blue print by way of running a consistent but selective reward system that recognizes
and rewards high flyers.