AN INVESTIGATION ON THE INFLUENCE OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE: A CASE STUDY OF GUINNESS CAMEROON

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Almost every organization prioritizes profit and growth as its primary goals. Assessing a firm's growth typically revolves around the percentage of market share acquired and the number of customers served. However, employees play a crucial role in achieving these objectives by being strategically assigned to different areas based on how the organization approaches markets and customers. Their efforts are directed towards executing plans that contribute to the realization of the organization's goals and objectives. In order to achieve these results organizations create inner order and relations among organizational parts that can be described as organizational structure. Organizational structure is how job task is formally divided, grouped and coordinated (Sablynski, 2019). According to Kariuki et al. (2021), organizational structure is the network of relationships and roles existing throughout the organization. The organization's structure highlights how various functions, such as task distribution, oversight, and coordination, are geared towards achieving their distinct objectives. However, previous studies (Campion and McClelland, 2019; Dipak, 2021) have found a substantial relationship between organizational structure and employee job performance. Also, organizational structure has been found to be a common phenomenon that has been thoroughly and extensively examined by many researchers throughout the worldwide due to its importance to the organization (Lo, Ramayah, & Min, 2018). Beyond that, organizational commitment has been associated with the performance of employees within the organization, incorporating their loyalty, engagement in organizational citizenship behavior, avoidance of counterproductive behavior, levels of job satisfaction, and other individual and group-related constructs. Furthermore, committed employees are anticipated to exhibit higher levels of performance, demonstrating a willingness to work additional hours as needed and actively endorsing the organization as a favorable workplace (Crawford, 2020).  The involvement of employees and leaders in idea generation and implementation underscores the significance of incorporating the concept of organizational structure (Agbim, 2019). The dynamic interplay between leadership and relationship styles can exert both positive and negative influences on employee performance. Therefore, a survey will be conducted to investigate on the influence of organizational structure on employee performance: A case study of Guinness Cameroon.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Most organization managers faced with the task of designing an organizational structure encounter challenging decisions, as they must select from numerous alternative options for jobs and departments. However, there is still considerable disagreement about the most suitable organizational structure that would optimize organizational performance. Nevertheless, the topic of organizational structure has drawn the attention of both managers and scholars in organizational behavior, leading to extensive research, discussions, arguments, and findings. Furthermore, organizations, driven by specific goals and objectives, can only achieve them within the framework of their organizational structure. The structure of an organization plays a crucial role in realizing its goals and objectives, with recognition that organizations adopt various structures aligned with their specific goals. Therefore, it is essential to assess whether the organizational structure has an impact on employee satisfaction. However, studies have shown that efficient and effective performance relies on the organization's design and adoption of a suitable structure. In essence, the success of an organization hinges on the alignment of its structure with the people working within the system, as they constitute a key element determining its effectiveness. Thus, this study seeks to investigate on the influence of organizational structure on employee performance: A case study of Guinness Cameroon. 

1.3  Objectives of the Study

The main purpose of this study is on an investigation on the influence of organizational structure on employee performance: A case study of Guinness Cameroon. Specifically, the study will;

Determine whether a significant relationship exist between organizational structure and employees productivity in Guinness Cameroon

Determine the extent organizational hierarchical structure influences employees performance in Guinness Cameroon

Determine the extent structural complexity affect employee’s efficiency.

Determine the extent structural formality influences employee’s innovativeness.

Determine the extent organizational authority distribution influences employees‟ job performance in Guinness Cameroon

Determine the extent organizational departmentalization influences employees periodic target achievement in Guinness Cameroon

1.4 Research Questions

The following questions have been prepared for the study:

Is there a significant relationship between the organizational structure and employee productivity at Guinness Cameroon?

To what extent does the organizational hierarchical structure influence the performance of employees in Guinness Cameroon?

How does the structural complexity of an organization affect the efficiency of its employees?

To what extent does the formality of the organizational structure influence the innovativeness of employees in Guinness Cameroon?

How does the distribution of organizational authority influence the job performance of employees at Guinness Cameroon?

To what extent does organizational departmentalization impact the periodic target achievement of employees in Guinness Cameroon?

1.5  Research Hypotheses

H0: There is no significant relationship between the organizational structure and employee productivity at Guinness Cameroon.

Ha: There is a significant relationship between the organizational structure and employee productivity at Guinness Cameroon.

1.6  Significance of the Study 

This study will be of great importance to manufacturing firms in Douala, Cameroon,and their customers. It will benefit the firm by helping them to know the best media to use for effective communication. It will also expose their customers to the importance of communication in manufacturing firms. Furthermore, subsequent researchers will use it as a literature review. This means that other students who may decide to conduct studies in this area will have the opportunity to use this study as available literature that can be subjected to critical review. Invariably, the result of the study contributes immensely to the body of academic knowledge with regards to an investigation on the influence of organizational structure on employee performance: A case study of Guinness Cameroon.

1.7 Scope of the study

The scope of this study is to investigate on the influence of organizational structure on employee performance: A case study of Guinness Cameroon.  Empirically, this study will setermine whether a significant relationship exist between organizational structure and employees productivity, the extent organizational hierarchical structure influences employees performance, extent structural complexity affect employee’s efficiency, structural formality influences employee’s innovativeness, extent organizational authority distribution influences employees‟ job performance and the extent organizational departmentalization influences employees periodic target achievement in Guinness Cameroon.

Geographically, the study will be delimited to staff of some selected manufacturing firms in Douala, Cameroon.

1.7 Limitation of the study

In the course of carrying out this study, the researcher experienced some constraints, which included time constraints, financial constraints, language barriers, and the attitude of the respondents. In addition, there was the element of researcher bias. Here, the researcher possessed some biases that may have been reflected in the way the data was collected, the type of people interviewed or sampled, and how the data gathered was interpreted thereafter. The potential for all this to influence the findings and conclusions could not be downplayed. 

More so, the findings of this study are limited to the sample population in the study area, hence they may not be suitable for use in comparison to other schools, local governments, states, and other countries in the world.

 1.8 Definition of Terms

Communication: refers to the exchange of information, ideas, thoughts, or feelings between individuals or groups.

Organization: a group of people working together to achieve common goals or objectives.

Manufacturing Firm:  is a type of organization that is primarily engaged in the production of goods through various processes, such as assembling, processing, or fabricating raw materials.