An investigation into the effects of organisational culture on employee performance at the Oshana Regional Council, Namibia

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of organisational culture on employee performance at Oshana Regional Council (ORC), Namibia. Mixed research methods were used to collect, analyse and interpret data from respondents and key informants. Participants of the study consisted of 103 employees of Oshana Regional Council. Questionnaires and face to face interviews were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data respectively. The Statistical Program for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 was used to compute the quantitative data while descriptive and inferential statistics were applied to better understand its meaning. To examine the association between employee performance and organisational culture at Oshana RC, methodological triangulation was utilized to strengthen the credibility and validity of the findings. The study found that a Hierarchical Culture is the dominant culture at Oshana Regional Council. It was the finding of this study that the Hierarchical Culture is relatively weak and ineffective in driving employee performance. It was also established that employee performance is positively influenced by organisational culture. The study concluded that a strong organisational culture can provide a number of benefits including organisational unity of purpose, behaviour control and it improves employee commitment. The study recommended that ORC managers should use leadership styles that are most suited to their situation in order to achieve high productivity and should periodically conduct cultural audits