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Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development (AJAD) - Call for papers!

Factors Affecting Job Performance of Extension Workers in the Department of Agricultural Extension Central Office, Thailand

(Thailand), Doctor of Philosophy in Extension Education (University of the Philippines Los Baños)

Dissertation Abstract:

 

The study sought to determine the effect of extension workers' (EWs) personal characteristic factors and organizational climate at the Department of Agricultural Extension (DOEA) on the EWs' job performance at the DOAE central office in Thailand.

A total of 197 EWs and their 54 superiors from nine divisions of the DOAE central office were randomly and purposively selected, respectively. Data were obtained through questionnaires. The EWs themselves and their superiors evaluated their job performance.

Data were analyzed using measures of central tendency, chi-square test, Pearson product moment correlation, and multiple regression. Analysis was facilitated by the use of the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) computer software. More than half of the respondents were male with an average age of 37 years and had attained at least the bachelor's degree. Most of them have been working at DOAE for 12 years with a mean salary of 10,734 baht (USjumi = 25 baht). More than half of them had attended training during 1990-1992, and had favorable attitude toward extension work as well as favorable achievement motivation.

The majority of the respondents found the DOAE organizational climate favorable. However, they noted that the reward system was relatively low.

The level of EWs' job performance as perceived by themselves and by their superiors was not significantly different. However, the majority of the respondents perceived their performance as high while their superiors perceived the majority of. EWs as having low job performance.

Personal characteristic factors such as age, sex, educational attainment, salary, work experience, attitude toward work, and achievement motivation, and organizational climate factors such as individual autonomy, superior-subordinate-colleagues relationship, communication system, participation in decision-making, and reward system were significantly related to the level of job performance.

Among these significant factors, achievement motivation contributed most to job performance as perceived by EWs while decision-making had the greatest contribution to job performance as perceived by their superiors. Total variation in job performance was explained mainly by the significant variables, 35.33 percent as perceived by EWs and 30.78 percent as perceived by their superiors.