Evaluating employee perception of corporate agility in a VUCA environment (an FMCG Case Study).

Abstract

Abstract The business landscape in the 21st century presents itself with many challenges that threaten the long term sustainability of an organisation. The literature describes this environment as a VUCA environment. A VUCA environment is Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. The key to surviving in a VUCA environment lies in agility. The largest BU at a leading multinational FMCG company (Organisation X) in South Africa has experienced many challenges that adversely affected performance in the last 5 years. The challenges include legislative restrictions, increased competition and changing consumer preferences, which resulted in a high staff turnover, declining Market share, declining profitability and pruning of many failing BU’s. The aim of this study was to evaluate employee perception of Corporate Agility in a VUCA environment. The four key constructs that contribute to agility, namely; Organisational Culture, Leadership, Employee Empowerment and Information Technology were evaluated. The study population comprises of 103 employees in the infant nutrition BU at Organisation X. Due to the small population size, the entire population was included in this study. Participants include management and all employees from various departments within the BU. A quantitative study was conducted using a survey. The survey was created and emailed to participants using Survey Monkey software. At the end of the study period, 61 participants completed the survey (n=61). It was found that employee perception of organisational agility was highly favourable across all four constructs. Leadership and Organisational Culture were the two most significant contributors to Corporate Agility at Organisation X, however there were a few development areas identified. Recommendations to the organisation include adapting the Organisational structure to reflect a flatter and more agile organisation. Rewards and recognition for teamwork and collaboration was a common concern across all constructs and participants. It is also recommended that Organisation X, takes the necessary steps to leverage the strengths identified by this study in order to gain a competitive advantage in the market place.