Relationship between Functional Diversity and The Performance of County Governments in Kenya

Abstract

Purpose: Despite the goals of decentralization, county governments in Kenya continue to face performance disparities largely linked to poor management of employee diversity. Underutilized functional diversity negatively affects service delivery, innovation, and strategic planning. This study examined the relationship between functional diversity and the organizational performance of county governments in Kenya.

Method: The study was anchored in Contingency Theory and adopted a descriptive correlational research design. The target population comprised 1,645 county government employees drawn from 47 counties, encompassing management and technical staff across key departments. We determined a sample size of 384 using Fisher's (1970) formula, with stratified random sampling and proportionate allocation ensuring representation across job categories. We collected data using a structured questionnaire with closed-ended, five-point Likert-scale items. We analyzed quantitative data using descriptive statistics and inferential techniques, including correlation and multiple regression analysis. We used F- and t-tests to test hypotheses at p < 0.05.

Results: Functional diversity had a positive and statistically significant relationship with organizational performance in Kenyan county governments. However, occupational diversity drove this overall effect. It had a positive, statistically significant effect on organizational performance, while job role diversity and departmental affiliation showed positive but statistically non-significant relationships.

Implications: County government management should prioritize strengthening occupational diversity by recruiting and retaining employees with varied professional and occupational backgrounds, as this dimension has the most meaningful impact on organizational performance, while continuing to pursue job-role and departmental integration as longer-term, complementary investments.

Originality/Value: Existing workforce-diversity studies in Kenya's devolved system have not adequately disentangled the distinct contribution of functional diversity's individual dimensions to organizational performance. By decomposing functional diversity into occupational diversity, job role diversity, and departmental affiliation and testing each dimension's contribution, this study offers more granular, actionable evidence than prior county-level diversity research.