Joint Moderating Effect of Perceived Equity and Supervisor Support on the Relationship between Employee Compensation and Employee Performance in Kenyan Chartered Public Universities

Compensation is essential to the functioning of the relationship between the employee and employer and close to the heart of both the employer and the employee.  Perceived unfairness in compensation can be harmful to an organization. When employees believe that they are not paid equitably they will be dissatisfied with work which can lead to voluntary employee turn-over, regular absence from work, non-commitment to the organization and low-trust employee relations. Lack of clear criteria and unfairness in distributing incentives to academic staff and supportive supervisors could influence academic staff motivation and performance. There is need to consider fairness in distributing incentives and to have supportive supervisors who will motivate the academic staff and in turn improve their performance. The main objective of this study was to establish the joint effect of perceived equity and supervisor support on the relationship between employee compensation and employee performance in Kenyan chartered public universities. The study was based on three theories: Expectancy Theory, Equity Theory and Social Exchange Theory.  The study adopted positivist research philosophy. Descriptive cross-sectional design was adopted to enable the researcher discover the relationship between different variables. The study targeted academic staff in 23 Kenyan chartered public universities.  Multistage sampling technique was used to identify respondents from Kenyan Chartered Public Universities. The number of Faculties/Schools/Institutes sampled was 43 out of 246. A sample size of 370 academic staff was selected from a population of 2011 using easy sample size calculator. Data was collected on employee compensation, employee motivation, perceived equity, supervisor support and employee performance using a questionnaire. A pilot study was carried out at one university to validate the data collection instrument. Reliability results indicated a Cronbach Alpha value of 0.920. Out of 370 questionnaires administered, 247 were returned and analyzed, thus a response rate of 69 percent. Test of normality, linearity, multicollinearity and homoscedasticity revealed that the data was normally distributed, linear and independent of errors. Quantitative technique was used to analyze data. The study established that employee compensation and employee performance in Kenyan chartered public universities is jointly moderated by perceived equity and supervisor support (R2=0.37, p<0.05). The study concluded that the relationship between employee compensation and employee performance is jointly moderated by perceived equity and supervisor support. The study recommended in enhancing employee performance through employee compensation, perceived equity and supervisor support are crucial since they moderate the underlying relationship. Keywords: Employee compensation, perceived equity, supervisor support, employee performance, academic staff, Kenyan chartered public universities

Survey of Nematode-Destroying Fungi from Selected Vegetable-Growing Areas in Kenya

Plant-parasitic nematodes cause severe damage to a wide range of economic crops, causing upto 5% yield losses globally. In Kenya, vegetables are affected, among other pests, by parasitic nematodes, causing upto 80% loss in yield. Nematode control is very difficult and relies heavily on use of chemical nematicides. Use of these chemical nematicides leads to biological magnification, and elimination of natural enemies of other pathogens, thus creating a need for greater application of pesticides, increased production costs, and development of insecticide-resistance. These factors have led to a growing interest in search for alternate management strategies. The objective of this study was, therefore, to document nematode-destroying fungi in selected, major vegetable-growing areas in Kenya as a step towards developing a self-sustaining system for management of plant-parasitic nematodes. Soil samples were collected from five vegetable-production zones, viz., Kinare, Kabete, Athi-river, Machakos and Kibwezi, and transported to the laboratory for extraction of nematode-destroying fungi. The soil-sprinkle technique described by Jaffee et al (1996) was used for isolating the nematode-destroying fungi from soil, while, their identification was done using identification keys described by Soto Barrientos et al (2001). From this study, a total of 171 fungal isolates were identified as nematodedestroying. The highest population was recorded in Kabete, at 33.9% of the total, followed by Machakos, Kibwezi, Athi-river, with the least in Kinare, at 24.6, 22.2, 11.7 and 7.6% of the total population, in that order. Arthrobotrys was the most frequent genus, with mean occurrence of 7.3, followed by Monacrosporium with 6 and Stylophage with 5.2. A. dactyloides was significantly (P=0.002) affected by the agro-ecological zone, with the highest occurrence recorded in Kabete, and the least in Athi-river. Kibwezi recorded highest diversity index, with a mean of 1.017, while, Athi-river recorded the least, with a mean of 0.333. Kibwezi had the highest species richness, recording a mean of 3.4, while, the least mean of 1.6 was recorded in Athi-river. Mean species richness of 2.2 was recorded for both Kabete and Machakos, and 1.8 for Kinare. From the three genera recorded, Arthrobotrys was more effective at trapping nematodes compared to Monocrosporium and Stylopage. The genus Arthrobotrys had the highest number of trapped nematodes, with a total population of 57, followed by Monacrosporium, the least being Stylopage, with 45 and 36, respectively, in a period of 104 hours. From the study, it is evident that agricultural practices affect occurrence and diversity of nematodedestroying fungi, and, Arthrobotrys can be used as a bio-control agent for managing plant-parasitic nematodes