Impact of organizational culture on employee performance and productivity: an empirical study of a South African bank.

Abstract

An organisation’s culture plays an important role in determining its success in a highly competitive business environment and influencing how employees work in an organisation. It provides a foundation to stakeholders to align their own value systems with that of the organisation. This study assessed organisational culture within the South African banking context. The objectives of the study were to establish the perceptions of existing culture in the organisation, the impact of organisational culture on employee performance, productivity and to assess if employees have confidence in the organisation’s ability to live up to their defined culture values. This was a prospective quantitative study that was conducted at the Private Banking department in Kwa Zulu Natal from June 2016 to March 2017. A voluntary survey using a questionnaire was conducted on a group of 88 employees that worked at the chosen bank (n=88). Respondents comprised of private bankers, private banking analysts, managers and product specialists. The data was analysed using a statistical analysis program and percentages were calculated based on the number of participants. Analysis included cross-tabulations of variables that yielded significant results. Results revealed that 84.1% of respondents viewed the existing organisational culture to be good or excellent. 94.4% believed that the company recognised organisational culture. The majority felt that new employees do not undergo a culture orientation. Current performance measurements systems e could be improved to incentivise employees to work optimally. 51.1% and 59.3% of respondents strongly agreed that employee performance is impacted by organisational culture and that employee productivity is impacted by organisational culture respectively. The majority of respondents viewed the organisation’s channels to be ethical, innovative and helpful thus operating in line with the set of core values. In conclusion, it was shown that organisational culture impacts on employee productivity and performance. Recommendations to refine the current situation include improved orientation of new employees and using a performance measurement system that motivates employees. Furthermore, regular communication with employees would allow for the identification and resolution of gaps in the organisation.