Participation, job satisfaction and decentralization: The case of Swaziland

Abstract

Abstract Using Swaziland's Ministry of Health as a case study this paper assesses the extent to which the empirical data supports anecdotal information and trends towards decentralized and participatory management systems. Specifically, this study measures the level of participation in decision making and assesses its impact on job satisfaction, measures the level of and analyses differences in job satisfaction by job classification, and identifies and analyses the determinants of employee job satisfaction. Data were obtained from a survey questionnaire which was constructed and administered to 447 employees of the Ministry of Health, a 42 per cent sample, at fifteen representative locations throughout the country. Simple descriptive statistics and multivariate techniques are used to analyse the data. From the analysis, policy implications are developed for designing administrative structures and systems that respond to emerging ‘quality of worklife’ needs, strengthening productivity, and improving the quality of services provided.