INFLUENCE OF PERCEIVED ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE ON EMPLOYEES PERFORMANCE

INFLUENCE OF PERCEIVED ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE ON EMPLOYEES PERFORMANCE

ABSTRACT

Organizational culture influenced human cognitive systems, which aid in improving thinking and decision making. By conducting business in an effective manner, the multifaceted set of beliefs, assumptions, and values aids in presenting different levels of culture. This study attempts to evaluate the relationship between organizational culture and employee performance. This study also seeks to ascertain whether organizational culture influences employee performance based on gender. To understand the impact of perceived organizational culture on employees, the study employs a qualitative and quantitative research design. Findings show that there is a significant relationship between organization culture and employee performance. Furthermore, the findings show that there is no significant difference in the influence of organizational culture on male and female employees. Organizations are formed for specific purposes and objectives; people join organizations to meet their needs, and in doing so, they contribute to organizational performance in order to achieve the organization’s goals. As a result, it is critical that every organization develops a specific culture that will function effectively because, as revealed by the case study, the extent to which employees perform can be dependent on the culture of the organization. The following recommendations have been made as a result of the study’s findings. In Nigeria, cultural studies dealing with organizational performance are largely uncharted territory. The organization will achieve its goals if a proper and adequate combination of human and material resources is put in place.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1  BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Culture is defined as a collection of values, sets, beliefs, communications, and explanations of behavior that provide people with direction. The main concept of culture stems from participation in learning processes that are based on systematic resource allocation (Titiev, 2009). Organizational culture influenced the cognitive systems of humans, which aid in improving thinking and decision making (Pettigrew, 1999). By conducting business in an effective manner, the multifaceted set of beliefs, assumptions, and values aids in presenting different levels of culture. The normative glue based upon organization culture helps in holding overall management effectiveness (Tichy 1999). The concept of effective organizational culture aids in making better business decisions.  Organizational culture dictates how things should be done to employees. The majority of the time, people use word culture to express a pattern of individual behavior. Prior to the 1980s, culture was regarded as the most important factor in the study of organizational behavior. Businesses are more interested in cultural dimensions as an extreme effect than in other aspects of organizational behavior. According to Peter and Waterman (1992), culture is the key to an organization’s success. Many business journals and articles published on a regular basis claimed that culture was fundamental to organizational success, and it was recommended that managers handle their work by adhering to their organizational culture, which aids in the growth of the organization (Moorhead and Griffin, 1995). Many different organizational behaviors have been linked by researchers to organizational culture. They have also identified a link between organizational culture and employee job performance (Sheridan, 1992), decision making (Gamble & Gibson, 1999), and productivity (Kopelman, Brief and Guzzo, 1990). According to Luthans (1998), organizational culture has always existed within organizations, but businesses have paid less attention to it most of the time. The organizational culture is seen to permeate every important component of the organization. Understanding the relationship between employee job performance and organizational culture is an important research topic because various studies have shown that individual work performance is critical for organizational success.

A strong culture will make it easier to communicate openly and participate in decision making efficiently and effectively in order to explore their ideas and skills. The various cultural characteristics have been organized on the basis of norms and attitudes that aid in distinguishing one firm from another (Forehand and von Gilmer, 2004). On the basis of cognitive thinking, the process of thinking aids in distinguishing one member from another (Hofstede, 1990). The success guidance based on various values and norms that make culture effective (Schein, 1990). The set of beliefs, behaviors, norms, and values contributes to the effectiveness of culture (Kotter and Heskett ,1992).

Nowadays, organizational culture and management are inextricably linked. (1992, Kotter and Heskett). The two most important factors that contribute to effective culture

Culture has been learned through understanding and beliefs shared by large groups.

According to Cascio (2006) performance is the degree of an achievement to which an employee’s fulfil the organisational mission at workplace. He goes on to say that an employee’s job is built up by the degree of achievement of a specific target or mission that defines performance boundaries. According to Ojo (2008), despite a plethora of studies on organizational culture over the last few decades, empirical evidence from various studies about the effect of organizational culture on performance has so far yielded mixed results that are inconclusive and contradictory. He goes on to say that researchers agree that there is no agreement on the precise

1.2  STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Over the last twenty-five years, the concept of corporate culture has gained widespread acceptance as a means of understanding human systems. From the standpoint of an open system, each aspect of corporate culture can be viewed as an important environmental condition affecting the organization’s system and subsystems. Increased competition, globalization, alliances, and major workforce departments have heightened the importance of organizational culture. As a result, it has become an important factor in the growth of a company.

Managing corporate culture is quickly becoming one of the most important managerial challenges of the twenty-first century. Most studies on corporate culture and employee performance have tended to focus on distinct elements of culture while ignoring its multidimensionality and the fact that it is concepts made up of numerous interconnected variables (Schein, 1992).

Culture is the unifying factor that fosters a sense of belonging among the actors in an organization. Organizational culture offers a shared system of meaning which is the basis for communications and mutual understanding and if there functions are not fulfilled satisfactorily way culture may significantly reduce effectiveness of employees in organizations.

The primary motivation for this research study is to contribute to the larger research community by expanding knowledge in the field of industrial and organizational psychology. Furthermore, by focusing on employees in the insurance industry, this study addresses this topic from a Nigerian work context and perspective.

1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The following are the study’s objectives:

i. Determine the relationship between organizational culture and employee performance.

ii. To determine whether organizational culture influences employee performance based on gender.

iii. To investigate the effects of organizational culture on employee performance.

iv. To make recommendations on how to improve the impact of organizational culture on employee performance.

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTION

i. Is there a link between organizational culture and employee performance?

Is there a significant difference in the influence of organizational culture on the performance of male and female employees?

iii. Does organizational culture have an impact on employee performance?

1.4 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

H01: Organizational culture has no effect on employee performance.

H02: Organizational culture has no effect on the performance of male and female employees.

1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of perceived organizational culture on employee performance. The study will focus on all employees at Nestle PLC Sagamu.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study is expected to have an impact on Nestle Sagamu employees, homes, and the general public. The study’s findings will contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the relationship between organizational culture and employee performance.

The findings of this study could be extremely beneficial to public and private individuals, stakeholders, government, parents, students, lecturers, university management, and researchers, as well as change their perceptions of the impact of organizational culture on employee performance.

The study’s findings will be useful to the community, institutions of higher learning, and the Nigerian government because they will highlight the importance of organizational culture and how it affects employee performance.

1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Influence: The effect of something or someone on something or someone. This can be either positive or negative. The ability to influence, manipulate, or control something or someone.

Organizational culture refers to the unwritten customs, behaviors, and beliefs that govern the “rules of the game” for decision-making, structure, and power.

Culture can be defined as a collective programming of the mind that distinguishes members of one group of people from those of another.

Employee: A person who performs labor for another person or organization.

The term performance refers to how and in what manner a specific task is carried out, which is usually judged by its effectiveness. Increased profitability and achieving the best results in all organizational endeavors should be associated with performance.