The Discipline Paradox
Analyzing the Effects of Motivation, Work Environment, and Discipline on the Performance of Village Apparatus in Indonesia
Keywords:
Village Apparatus Performance, Motivation, Work Discipline, Work Environment, Public Administration, Human Resource Management, Rural GovernanceAbstract
This study aims to analyze the influence of motivation, work environment, and discipline on the performance of village apparatus in Supun Village, South Biboki District, North Central Timor Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia a context representing the governance challenges at the grassroots level. Employing a quantitative causal research design, this study involved the entire population of village officials (N = 40) through a saturated sampling technique. Primary data were collected using a validated and reliable questionnaire (Cronbach's α = 0.812) and analyzed using multiple linear regression analysis. The results indicate that motivation has a significant positive effect on performance (β = 0.486, t = 2.623, p = 0.012). Conversely, the work environment was not found to have a significant effect (β = -0.158, t = -1.634, p = 0.110). The most critical finding is the significant negative influence of discipline on performance (β = -0.403, t = -2.686, p = 0.011), suggesting that increased enforcement of discipline correlates with a decrease in performance. Simultaneously, the three independent variables significantly affect performance (F = 17.215, p < 0.001), with a coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.301, indicating that 30.1% of performance variance is explained by these variables. This study uncovers a “discipline paradox” within the context of village bureaucracy, where rigid disciplinary approaches may be counterproductive. The findings highlight the importance of needs-based motivation and necessitate a re-evaluation of disciplinary policy implementation in the rural public sector, particularly within the Indonesian village governance system. The research contributes theoretically to understanding HRM applicability in developing country contexts and offers practical policy implications for rural governance improvement.
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