Organisational culture and workers’ performance in public enterprises in Uganda; a case of national water and sewerage corporation, Luweero area

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between organizational culture and workers’ performance in public enterprises in Uganda with National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) Luweero Area as the case study. The study's objective was to examine the relationship between organizational values; organizational communication; organization practices and workers’ performance in NWSC Luweero Area. The study adopted a descriptive and cross-sectional survey design whereby data was collected using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The study population was 75 and a sample size of 63 respondents of which all participated. Interview guide, self- administered questionnaire and documentary review were used to collect data. Descriptive and inferential techniques were used to analyse data while content analysis helped in analysing qualitative data. Results revealed that organizational values [β=0.232, p<0.05, t-statistic=1.862, p<0.05] influence workers’ performance as the dependent variable. This means that organizational values significantly influence workers’ performance; since the p-value (0.047) is less than 0.05 at 5% level of significance, organizational communication [β=0.405, p<0.05, t-statistic=3.458, p<0.05] influences workers’ performance as the dependent variable and organizational practices [β=0.443, p<0.05, t-statistic=3.864, p<0.05] influences workers’ performance as the dependent variable. Using multiple regressions, the predictor variables (organizational values, organizational and organizational practices) had positive significant impact on workers’ performance at NWSC Luweero area. The study came to the conclusion that organizational culture has a positive impact on workers’ performance. Given that organisational culture has a positive impact on employees' performance, the researcher recommends that the management of NWSC should implement organisational culture development programmes at all levels and regularly carry out organisational culture audits to help employees better understand the significance of organisational culture. The researcher recommended that NWSC management should promptly carry out salary scale re-alignment to address discrepancies in the salary scale of certain employees. The management of NWSC Luwero Area should conduct regular and periodic trainings for both new and existing employees to enhance the skills of employees with lower qualifications, thus ensuring that they meet the set standards. The researcher recommended that in addition to monetary performance bonuses, the management of NWSC should implement alternative methods to acknowledge exceptional performers. Additionally, it is recommended to introduce incentives to encourage the community to provide information regarding customers who collude with NWSC workers to engage in illegal water connections.