Personal Factors Affecting Work Efficiency Among Patrol Staff in Ta Phraya National Park

Abstract

The effects of personal factors were investigated on the performance of 60 Ta Phraya National Park patrol staff from October 2016 to September 2021 based on a quantitative research method and data from the SMART database. The data were analyzed using the frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and the Wilcoxon signed–rank test. Based on the results, the patrol staff were non–government employees aged 40–49 years, had less than 5 years of service and had completed high school education. There had been 9,386 patrols conducted on 23,145 days, with the total patrol distance being 176,519 kilometers. Furthermore, the records included, 374 trees, 288 forage plants, 368 salt licks, 132 water sources, 394 wildlife, 18,890 animal tracks, 29 hunting, 248 logging, 226 shelter, 670 trapping, 248 guns/ammunition and 117 logging equipment. Personal factors of patrol staff with the highest performance in 3 areas were: 1) patrolling efficiency– non–government employee, aged 20–29 years, with less than 5 years of services and completed primary education; 2) ecological factors detection–were non–government employees, aged 20–29 years, with 5–9 years of service and education not exceeding secondary school, 3) threatening factors detection–aged 20–29 years, with less than 5 years of service and employed on a term contract and education to lower secondary school level. In addition, personal factors, such as age, years of service, employment status and education, had different effects on the performance of the patrol staff. The results of this study could be used as guidelines for human resource management. Taking into account the potential and personal factors of each patrol staff member would help to maximize the results from the SMART patrol operation and provide sustainable protection for the area.