CORPORATE CULTURE: THE KEY TO PERFORMANCE IN EQUITY BANK, KENYA
Abstract
Purpose of Study: The purpose of the research was to assess how Equity Bank Kenya's corporate culture affects performance by investigating power, person and task: to establish how power culture, person culture and task culture affects firm performance.
Problem Statement: The banking environment in Kenya has undergone major changes due to technological, regulatory, and competitive pressures, prompting a need for adaptive strategies. Despite evidence linking corporate culture to performance, limited research exists on its specific impact within Kenyan commercial banks like Equity Bank.
Methodology: The study used descriptive survey research design. The target population consisted of all 4,422 employees of Equity Bank Kenya proportionate stratified and random sampling techniques were used to select the sample. The Yamane (1967) formula was used in the study to obtain a sample of 367 respondents. Data was collected utilizing a structured questionnaire that was tested and found to be valid and reliable. A sample size of 367 respondents was obtained through the use of stratified random sampling. Version 26.0 of the SPSS program was employed to code and analyze the data. The results would crucial for academic researchers, regulators, and policy makers.
Result: The study found that power culture, role culture, task culture and employee culture had a positive significant influence on Equity Bank's performance in Kenya.
Conclusion: The study concludes that power culture encourages fast decision-making process within the organization. Role culture is characterized by well-defined and strictly enforced formal norms, processes, and organizational hierarchy. Task culture is often seen in businesses that use matrix or project-based structure designs and is characterized by a focus on project-oriented tasks.
Recommendation: The organization's management should create an atmosphere that allows workers to have autonomy in their decision-making. The firm should enhance its corporate core values by ensuring that they are more actionable, concise, and unambiguous. Additionally, it should conduct surveys among workers to determine which values should be eliminated or added, and match the values with the company's mission statement. The company should adopt a policy of transparency by consistently disclosing and acknowledging the achievements of the team, organization, or even individual accomplishments. The corporation should promote a culture that fosters workers' free expression of their thoughts and views, both in company-wide meetings and in personal interactions with their supervisors.
Keywords: Power Culture, Person Culture, Task Culture, Corporate Culture, Commercial Banks
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