AN INVESTIGATION ON ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AS A PREDICTIVE FACTOR FOR OVERALL JOB SATISFACTION: A CASE STUDY OF BUEA COUNCIL

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Culture has attracted some attention, primarily in relation to the impact that various forms or aspects of it have on job satisfaction. Job satisfaction is perhaps the most extensively studied concept in organizational behavior (Blau, 2019). Its significant impact on organizational outcomes, such as extra-role behaviors and performance, has prompted researchers to delineate its precursors (e.g., Dormann and Zapf, 2021; Fassina et al., 2018). While identified antecedents of job satisfaction fall into two categories i.e organizational and individual, the latter has garnered the predominant focus (Judge et al., 2022). One of the most crucial organizational-level antecedents is organizational culture.

Organizational culture is characterized as the recurrent fundamental assumptions; conceived, uncovered, or developed by a particular group. However, as it addresses challenges related to external adaptation and internal integration. These assumptions have proven effective enough to be deemed valid and, consequently, transmitted to new members as the proper way to perceive, think, and feel about those challenges (Schein, 2018). Additionally, organizational culture denotes a shared system of meaning among members, ultimately distinguishing one organization from another (Robbins & Judge, 2019). According to Schein (1985), organisational values are the foundation of organisational culture and are essential to the unique character that each organisation possesses, together with beliefs, presumptions, expectations, attitudes, philosophies, and norms. However, opinions regarding the implemented corporate culture differ among employees because each person has a different interpretation and justification of their working environment depending on their own traits, inclinations, and personality (Johnson and Johnson, 2022; Palthe and Kossek, 2020). Furthermore, the degree of job satisfaction that employees experience has also been related to individual factors, including gender, age, education, tenure, and prior work experience (Cron and Slocum, 2018; Igbaria and Guimaraes, 2019). Having taken all these issues into consideration. Therefore, a survey will be conducted to investigate on organizational culture as a predictive factor for overall job satisfaction: a case study of Buea Council

1.2 Statement of the Problem

There are various reasons that can be attributed to the failure of an organization, but none of them aligns as closely with the failure as organizational culture. The most commonly cited cause for organizational failure is the disregard for the organization's culture. Besides the primary distinguishing characteristics of high-performing organizations, their most significant competitive advantage, and the crucial factor contributing to their success are believed to be their organizational culture. Beyond utilizing the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI), specifically Buea can identify its current culture and the culture it aspires to have. Further more, the management team at Buea Council Cameroon can capitalize on employees' identified perceptions of both the existing culture and the desired future culture. It is also presumed that Buea Council have well-experienced and highly educated experts to attain its goals. Nevertheless, numerous studies have explored the connection between job satisfaction and other organizational variables, such as organizational climate, organizational commitment, organizational performance, and structure. However, organizational culture has been extensively studied in relation to major organizational concepts and activities like creativity and innovation (Martins and Terblanche, 2020), productivity and quality (Mathew, 2019), and knowledge transfer (Lucas, 2018), few studies have investigated how job satisfaction is influenced by organizational cultural dimensions. This has sparked considerable interest in the current study. Thus, this study seeks to investigate on organizational culture as a predictive factor for overall job satisfaction: a case study of Buea Council

1.3  Objectives of the Study

The main purpose of this study is on an investigation on organizational culture as a predictive factor for overall job satisfaction: a case study of Buea Council. Specifically, the study will;

Assess the level of job satisfaction among employees at Buea Council

Assess the key attributes that constitute the organizational culture at Buea Council.

Determine whether there is a  correlation between organizational culture and job satisfaction

Assess the influence of organizational culture on employees’ job satisfaction Buea Council.

1.4 Research Questions

The following questions have been prepared for the study:

What is the level of job satisfaction among employees at Buea Council?

What are the key attributes that form the organizational culture at Buea Council?

Is there a correlation between organizational culture and job satisfaction at Buea Council?

How does organizational culture influence the job satisfaction of employees at Buea Council?

1.5  Research Hypotheses

H0: There is no significant relationship between organizational culture and job satisfaction of employees

Ha: There is a significant relationship between organizational culture and job satisfaction of employees.

1.6  Significance of the Study 

This research will contribute insights to organizational culture and job satisfaction within organizations in Cameroon, specifically focusing on the Buea Council.  The study's findings aim to increase awareness among the organization's staff and management. In addition, the research will help identify the cultural behaviours that are most common in the Buea Council and provide better ways to improve cultural aspects. 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 organizational culture as a predictive factor for overall job satisfaction: a case study of Buea Council.

1.7 Scope of the study

The scope of this study is to investigate on organizational culture as a predictive factor for overall job satisfaction: a case study of Buea Council  Empirically, this study will assess the level of job satisfaction among employees at Buea Council, assess the key attributes that constitute the organizational culture at Buea Council, determine whether there is a  correlation between organizational culture and job satisfaction and assess the influence of organizational culture on employees’ job satisfaction Buea Council.

Geographically, the study will be delimited to employees of Buea Council

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

Culture:  is “a system of shared values (what is important) and beliefs (how things work) that interact with an organization’s people, organizational structures and control systems to produce behavioral norms”(Uttal, 2019)

Job satisfaction: refers to an individual's overall contentment and fulfillment in their work or job role

Organizational culture: is the pattern of shared basic assumption invented, discovered, or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel about those problems.