THE IMPACT OF ORGANISATION CULTURE ON EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY
Background of the study
Culture is an abstract concept applied across multiple academic and social fields with changing
contextual meanings. The rapid increase in attention paid to the subject garnered fundamental
disagreements about what culture is and how it should be studied. Not only is culture difficult to
definitively describe, but organizations and their leaders are in constant pursuit of a good or right
or functionally effective culture. Most can agree that it exists and that it’s effects are important.
Edgar Schein (2004) concurs that attempts to define culture are not only numerous but vary
dramatically, leaving different ideas about what exactly it is.
For example, the Merriam-Webster (2011) dictionary presents ten different interpretations of
culture ranging from developing the intellectual and moral faculties to an acquaintance with and
taste in fine arts to the act or process of cultivating living material in a prepared nutrient. Despite
these differences, most authors concur that the concept of organizational culture refers to the
shared values, underlying assumptions, and behavioral expectations that govern decision-making
(Schein, 1985; Barney, 1986; Alvesson, 1990; Hofstede, 1998; Christensen, 2006; Senge, 2006;
Kissack & Callahan, 2009; Rainey, 2009; Cameron & Quinn, 2011). In other words, culture
creates social order, continuity, and a collective identity that generates commitment to rules
about how we do things and how to get the job done within organizations (Cameron & Quinn,
2011).
One of the main objectives of each organization is achieving to productivity. For getting to this
objective we have no way except a kind of systematic view which is original. Last decade
successes of organization with the least properties and fail of organizations with the best abilities
indicates the role of factors in their success which is as an effective factor in an organization and
its action.
Culture in organization is like a personality of a human. Basic examples, beliefs, aid, values are
as cultural basics of an organization and its basis will be formed, distinctive point of normal or
abnormal will be expressed.
With this powerful and relative culture, people will be more responsible and satisfied beside the
more objective and organization strategies and it will be beside the better motivation and
organization actions and staff (Mamizadeh, 1997). High culture of organization is power which
will direct people and will organize their goals and create more motivation in people so that
some of researchers there is the most effective motivation in the world and this will be the factor
for improving of their job (Wendell et al., 1995).
Each organization’s culture is indicated as a basic factor in creating of it and it will be effective
on this structure and organization designing, internal and external environment of the
department, technology and human forces and strategy and productivity of he organization.
Culture will determine the things and form the structure of behavior.
There were many researches and studies on the field of organizational culture. Bowels (2000) in
the field of organizational culture effects on the success of students in university entrancing, Sue
(2001) about factors engineering of human which involves of Helms, and Stern (2001) in the
field of knowing effective factors on staff understanding about organizational culture on the
department, Patricia (2001) in the field of checking the relation of directing relation and
organizational culture in an organization, Oneill et al.
(2001) in the field of culture and organizational structure for directing of staff strategic behavior,
Strasser et al. (2002) in the field of hospital effective culture on development and researches.
Present research for checking the relationship between organizational cultures with the
productivity of public organization’s staff in Guilan province.
California, the world’s eighth largest economy, faces serious and significant challenges. Not only
is the state entrenched in crippling budget problems but the region must confront an aging
infrastructure, a diversifying population, a growing unskilled and undereducated workforce, a
struggling K-12 educational system, and an unfriendly business climate. Critical to therefore
mentioned topics are county governments, who face unique institutional dilemmas as they strive
to fulfill dual roles in a rapidly evolving external climate. On the one hand, they provide
municipal services like roads, parks, libraries and public safety. In concert with these municipal
responsibilities, counties act as the state’s delivery arm for services like foster care, health care,
and jails. Furthermore, county administrators are placed in the challenging position of
implementing policy and providing mandated services with limited ability to participate in policy
formulation (the responsibility of state legislators). Finally, local governments also experience
restricted and categorical revenue sources coupled with state mandated service requirements that
limit budgetary flexibility.
In light of these challenges and the current economic recession, there is growing pressure for
local jurisdictions to demonstrate increased effectiveness and efficiency while adapting to
changing service demands. Additionally, the dynamic environments characterized by
technological, economic, and political change increasingly requires organizational agility.
Perhaps a primary indicator of these needs are the growing inventory and increased use of
management tools in counties coupled with the long history of attempts to improve
organizational functioning in both the private and public sectors (Poister and Strieb, 1994;
Cameron & Quinn, 2011).
Responsible for the nation’s space program and aeronautics research, the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA) core functions require balancing innovation and risk-taking
with safety and controlled outcomes. On January 28, 1986, the world watched as the Space
Shuttle Challenger exploded just seconds after launching over Florida’s coast (CNN.com, 1996).
Seven years later, similar devastation was experienced as the Space Shuttle Columbia
disintegrated upon reentry (National Geographic News, 2003). A nine-year study of NASA’s
internal operations and procedures revealed that in both instances, specialized personnel did
discuss critical information indicating significant flight risks; however, that information was not
adequately communicated to senior decision makers and those same decision makers were
unwilling to internalize the warning messages that were delivered (Balthazard, et al., 2006).
While an immediate reaction to the disastrous events was to identify individual blame, analysis
revealed both incidents were not due to intentional misconduct. Instead, NASA’s organizational
culture allowed for processes that desensitized signals of danger and reinforced risky-outcomes
(Vaughan, 1996; Balthazard, et al, 2006). Conformity to norms institutionalized tunnel vision
and prevented the presentation of evidence that conflicted with or jeopardized desired outcomes,
which ultimately led to the fatal errors.
A second example of dysfunctional organizational culture revolves around the 2010 Deepwater
Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Considered the largest accidental marine oil spill in the
petroleum industry’s history, this catastrophe resulted in loss of human life, marine, life, and
wildlife habitats across thousands of square miles (Telegraph Press, 2010). Like the NASA
incidents, the oil spill exposed an organizational culture that supported extreme risk taking,
ignored expert feedback, hid facts indicating agency errors, and overlooked signs that were
contradictory to embraced mental models (Corkindale, 2010). Additionally, governmental
emergency response agencies and political officials not only underestimated the level of aid
required but also were unable to respond with haste, which could have mitigated the severity of
the event’s consequences.
While dramatic, both examples demonstrate how ingrained patterns of thinking and behavioral
norms influence an agency’s ability to respond effectively to changing and unexpected
situations. In both cases, key leaders reinforced personal mental models that prevented the
dissemination of information contradictory to a desired outcome. While individual personnel
may have attempted to question operating standards, the feedback was not accepted. Finally,
both examples resulted in several studies recommending cultural modifications as a critical
solution to remedying organizational inadequacies in the long-run.
Statement of the problem
Different notions and perceptions of employees make up an organizational culture. However
these personal views have since led to low productivity in an organization. Many public
organizations have since failed to manage the culture disparity of their employees leading to utter
losses of valuable resources and unharnessed employee potential.
According to Balthazard, (2006), dysfunctional organizations were characterized by lower
effectiveness, efficiency, and performance relative to equivalent agency counterparts. Culture
has a profound impact on an organization. On the one hand, leadership strategies, styles, and
skills have failed to communicate that collaboration, cross-agency feedback, and strategic
learning is devalued; thereby, producing and reinforcing a more destructive culture striving for
continual improvement. On the other hand, an organizational culture can support passivity,
aggression, and defensive behaviors that are detrimental to an agency. The following examples
demonstrate the effects of dysfunctional agency culture.
For the last two decades, 60% Kenyan public sectors has had a huge problem in merging the
organizational culture into single objective oriented and similar cultural views that would impact
positively the organizations. However, a lot of research has been carried on the same with little
done to rectify the situation. This study will establish organization culture on employee
productivity in the public sector in Kenya and recommend on possible solutions to this plight.
Objectives of the study
The study was guided by the following objectives;
i) To find out whether promotion of organizations symbols example like company logos and staff
uniforms improve employee productivity.
ii) To examine whether reward ceremonies for sales personnel/staff improves productivity.
iii) To find out whether formal address to staff by the top management improves participation in
management decision making.
Research questions
The following questions were used as a general guideline to the research process
1. Does promotion of organizations symbols i.e. company logos; staff uniforms influence
employee levels of productivity?
2. Do reward ceremonies for sales staff improve productivity?
3. Do formal addressing to staff by top management improve participation in management
decision making?
Scope of the study.
The study was carried out at Rift Valley Textiles Company. The target population was drawn
from the administration, engineering department and the employees.
Significance of the study.
The study is of good use as it intends to generate useful knowledge that will be helpful to
improve the external and internal organizational environment at Rift Valley Textiles and other
public organizations in Kenya. Future research will also benefit from the current study either in
methodology findings or development of new theories of culture.
Literature review
Hierarchy of needs theory of motivation
The theory was expanded by Abraham Maslow (1957).The needs hierarchy is based on this
assumption that individuals are motivated to satisfy some of these needs exist within individuals
are that these needs relate to each other in the form of hierarchy . The needs hierarchy theory
applies to human research development of individuals in any society; however the study on
employee productivity in Rift Valley Textiles has much to gain from the theory. Employees as
individuals in the organization have their needs, which have to be satisfied.
Each of the five levels of needs hierarchy is inherent in the personalities of employees can rise to
positive motivation; it occurs as a result of the individual search to fulfill the felt needs.
An organization culture comprises its members shared of issues, their customs, mode of behavior
and attitude towards work and the enterprise, it affects the management style of the organization,
employees, approaches to their jobs and opinion on what is not proper.
Advantages of a strong and distinct organizational structure;
a) Easy implementation of agreed norms
b) Unification of effort among employees
c) The provision of a focal point for employee identification with the enterprise
d) There is less need for written procedures thus contributing to the projection of distinct
corporate image.
Types of organization culture
Handdy 1993 distinguished organizational culture;
a) Power culture – it is bureaucratic in nature, it operates through formal roles and
procedures and there are clearly defined rules for settling disputes .Organizations
dominated role culture offer security and predictability. This culture serves the cause of
structure.
b) Person culture – A lose collection of individuals usually professional sharing common
facilities but pursuing own goals separately; power is not really an issue since members
are experts in their own right. This type of culture serves the individual. The dominant
culture that develops in an organization is primarily the product of the aims and methods
of its founders or their variety of internal and external forces. The person culture is an
individual aspect.
RESEARCH METHOLOGY
The chapter describes the design and methodology that has been used or employed to the study.
It specifically describes the study design, Population, sampling procedures, research instruments,
their reliability and validity, methods of data collection analysis and interpretation.
Research design
Robbins (2002) defines case study as a “strategy for doing research which involves an empirical
investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon within its real life context using multiple
sources of evidence.
The strategy was of particular intensity you wish to gain a rich understanding of the context of
the research and the process being enacted (Morris and Wood 1991), the case study also has
considerable ability to generate answers to the questions “why”? As well as “what”? and also
“why”?
The purpose of conducting case study research is because of the :un scientific feel, it has been
argued that case study is a very worthy way of exploring existing theory, in addition to this, a
simple well statured case study can enable the researcher to challenge an existing theory and also
provide a source of new hypothesis.
Area of study
The study was carried out in Rift Valley Textiles (RIVATEX) the Company is a public
enterprise situated in Eldoret. The research was carried out there as an assessment of prevailing
culture as an inhibitor or motivator to employee productivity; established findings were used to
make recommendations on the possible ways of implementing a better organization culture for
more enhanced employee productivity.
Population and Sampling Techniques
Target population;
The study was carried out in Rivatex and the target population was drawn from three
departments out of the eight departments. The departments are; Administration, Designing and
Engineering departments.
The employees used for the study drawn from these departments are estimated to be 150
employees.
Sample size;
The sampling design that guided the researcher to arrive at the respondent was selected from the
total population of 150 employees. However, the researcher adopted a number used should be
easy to handle for collecting the required information and offset time and constrain costs. The
sampling design below guided the researcher arrived at the respondents involved in the study.
Table 1.1
DEPARTMENTS TOTAL POPULATION SAMPLE SIZE
Administration 34 13
Designing 64 20
Engineering 50 27
TOTAL 150 60
Sampling Techniques
The study employ simple random sampling techniques to select stratified sampling technique
group population into separate homogeneous sub-groups so as to ensure equitable representation
of the population.(Onen 2005) As such the three departments at Rift Valley Textiles form strata
from where representatives numbers of the respondents drawn.
Simple random technique was used to pick the simple of the respondents from each department;
example 20 respondents were picked randomly from the eighty employees in the designing
department. Simple sampling is appropriate because it ensures that each member of the target
population has an equal independent chance of the sample (Onen 2005)
Data Collection
The following methods are appropriate to be used for data collection in the study;
Primary Data;
This is the collection of raw information directly from the field; this includes questionnaires,
interviews and observations as the tools for collecting data.
The main aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of organizational culture on employee’s
productivity in the public sector in Kenya. Such information can be best collected through the
use of questionnaires and interviews (perceptions and feelings of the employees)
In this study two tools were used to collect data
i) Questionnaires-
This is a set of accumulated questions which the respondent is expected to react on
them, the respondent may be expected to give details or either chooses an answer
from the choices provided by the researcher.
Each item on the questionnaire is developed to address a specific objective
(researcher question hypothesis of the study-Olive .M. Mugenda)
ii) Interviews-
Interview is an oral administration of questions or a face to face encounter of a
researcher and a respondent to obtain accurate information. Interviews are most
appropriate since a researcher be able to ask questions according to the respondents
view or opinion on the issues at hand.
Secondary Data;
This are second hand information got by a researcher to obtain information, this is mainly found
in libraries or the archives, the secondary data mainly include data from; books, research audits,
other researchers thesis, documentary analysis etc.
Data analysis methods
MAfter the fieldwork, before analysis, all the questionnaires and interview schedule were
adequately checked for reliability and verification. The data was analyzed using qualitative and
quantitative techniques. This involved creating descriptive statistics namely percentages and
frequencies. The data was presented by using tables and charts.
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