Understanding the motivations of Ghanaian bureaucrats

Abstract

This study examines the factors that affect the work performance of Ghanaian bureaucrats. Three decades ago Robert Price (1975) examined the impact that kinship ties had on the motivation of Ghanaian bureaucrats. He found that Ghanaian bureaucrats behaved in particularistic fashions as opposed to acting in a universalistic manner, suggesting kinship was a major determinant of bureaucratic routine. This study followed the work of Price by replicating his mix of interviews and surveys, with the addition of questions that incorporate recent work on bureaucracy that suggest motivation involves a mix of solidary, functional, and pecuniary preferences (Brehm and Gates, 1997; Golden 2000). Utilizing a mix of interviews and surveys of public servants from the Civil Service and the Ghana Education Service, I find the motivation of Ghanaian bureaucrats involves pecuniary, solidary and functional preferences as well as kinship ties.