Determinants of performance of services rendered by technical staff of Ceylon electricity board: The case of the Peradeniya region
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Date
2019-03-29
Authors
Karunarathna, Kenesha
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Peradeniya
Abstract
Electricity Customer Service Centres of Ceylon Electricity Board constitute the serviceoriented sector within the establishment that is responsible for providing new electricity connections to retail and heavy supply customers, attending to breakdowns and power supply failures, and carrying out maintenance work. Over the years, Electricity Customer Service Centres have been criticized for their inefficiency, ineffectiveness, and poor performance. The electricity customers in the Peradeniya Region frequently experience power failures. Attending to breakdowns and restoring power supply is often delayed. There are significant delays in attending to many complaints, while the average restoration time exceeds the expected time period. Hence it has been a burden and challenge for the management of Electricity Customer Service Centres to overcome this situation in order to attain service excellence. The main objective of the research study was to identify the determinants of performance of the technical staff in the Electricity Customer Service Centre of Ceylon Electricity Board in the Peradeniya Region and to analyze the relationship between performance and predicted determinants/variables. The predicted variables were formulated as training, supervision, resource allocation, and job insecurity, which are the independent variables of the study, while employee performance was identified as the dependent variable. The sample population of the study included the technical staff of the Electricity Customer Service Centre of the Peradeniya Region. Quantitative data were derived from a self-administered questionnaire with open ended questions, while secondary data were collected from employee performance reports and analytical information from the Area Office. The relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable were tested using the statistical tools of Central Tendency Analysis and Pearson‘s Correlation Analysis. According to Central Tendency Analysis, the technical staff disagree that effective training is conducted by the Ceylon Electricity Board, that they are successfully supervised by their supervisors, that they have adequate resource allocations and that they enjoy job security. The Pearson‘s Correlation Analysis indicated that there is a positive linear relationship between training, supervision, and resource allocation with employee performance, and a negative correlation between job insecurity and employee performance. Moreover, training and employee performance bore a marked degree of correlation, supervision and employee performance bore a moderate degree of correlation, resource allocation and employee performance bore a low degree of correlation, and job insecurity and employee performance bore a negligible correlation. Therefore, it was reliably concluded that the Electricity Customer Service Centres of the Peradeniya Region experience poor performance due to ineffective training, unproductive supervision, and inadequate resource allocation.
Description
Keywords
Training , Supervision , Resource Allocation
Citation
Proceedings of the PGIHS Research Congress ( PGIHS-RC) -2019, University of Peradeniya, p. 9