Participation and Job Performance in the Malasyan Public Service Department

This paper examines the relationship between participation and job performance. It also seeks to identify the impact of individual variables on the level of participation among managerial employees in the Public Service Department in Malaysia. Finally, it attempts to determine whether Porter and Lawler's (1968)‐expectancy model could represent an appropriate framework for studying employee participation. The results indicate that the level of perceived participation among managerial employees is high and that employee participation has acmoderate and positive relationship with job performance. The findings appear to match other studies conducted in the West, suggesting that these studies were not very much different across cultures. Managerial employees place equal importance on intrinsic and extrinsic outcomes. Employee participation could be better managed if employees possess certain critical factors. These include high job abilities, greater need for achievement, and a substantial amount of motivation. This study also suggests that Porter and Lawler's (1968) expectancy model is a suitable framework for studying employee participation.