Reward Management and Employees’ Performance in Private Universities in Mogadishu, Somalia

ABSTRACT There is a high level of exploitation of employees in the private universities in Mogadishu. This is attributed to the fact that majority of the private universities are not regulated and therefore admit students beyond their carrying capacity. This study investigated the effect of reward management on employee performance in private universities in Mogadishu, Somalia. The following objectives guided the study: i) to assess the effect of financial reward on employee performance in private universities in Mogadishu; ii) to assess the effect of non-finance reward on employee performance in private universities in Mogadishu; and iii) to assess the relationship between reward management and employee performance in private universities in Mogadishu. This study used cross-sectional research design. The target population of this study were 862 staff members (i.e. teaching, non-teaching staff, and human resource managers). The sample size of this study was 273 as determined by Slovene’s formula. Purposive and simple random sampling was the main sampling techniques. Data collection instruments included questionnaires and interviews. Data was analyzed using frequency and percentage tables, mean and standard deviations, linear regression analysis. The study revealed that financial reward significantly affects employees performance in the surveyed private universities in Mogadishu (Adjusted R Square =0.564, p=0.000). The study revealed that non-financial reward significantly affects employees performance in the surveyed private universities in Mogadishu (Adjusted R Square =0.431, p=0.000). The study revealed that reward management have a positive, strong and significant relationship with employee performance (r=0.808**, p=0.000). The study concluded that both financial and non-financial reward management affect employee performance in the private universities in Mogadishu. The study made the following recommendations: The management of the private universities in Mogadishu should apply equality where employees at managerial and support levels are rewarded appropriately in relation to others within the organization. The management of the private universities in Mogadishu should keep in mind that there should be a balance between the amounts of effort required and the size or significance of the reward. The management of the private universities in Mogadishu should constantly affirm and recognize their employees as a way of enhancing their performance. The management of the private universities in Mogadishu should come up with policies that encourage work life balance for efficiency and effectiveness of employee performance. The new knowledge contributed by this study is that the use of the mixture of financial and non-financial reward management has a positive influence on employee performance and that if the management of private universities in Mogadishu strengthen their reward management, employees would perform more excellently hence attaining organizational goals.