Internal Environment and Organizational Performance of World Vision in Nairobi City County, Kenya

Abstract

World vision in Nairobi operates in a very dynamic environment. These changes that keep happening in the environment whether anticipated or not determine the strategic objectives that World vision in Nairobi adopts in order to remain relevant in relation to its mission and vision. The general objective of this study was to investigate the influence of internal environment on organizational performance of World Vision in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The study specifically sought to examine the influence of organizational culture, employee competence, organizational structure and leadership style on the organizational performance. The study was guided by resource based view theory, Durkheim’s theory of culture, contingency theory and expectancy theory. This study used descriptive survey research design. The unit of analysis was World Vision in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The accessible population was 95 respondents comprising of 10 managers and 85 support staff. The study conducted a stratified sampling method to sample the accessible population so as to ensure that all the cases are well represented. Simple random sampling method was used to select the respondents. Primary data was collected using questionnaires. The pilot study was conducted to 10 respondents who did not participate in the actual study to assess the face and content validity of the research instruments. The pilot study will also measure the characteristic of the reliability of the research instruments over the period of the research. Content analysis technique was used to analyse information obtained from the open-ended questions and reported in narrative form. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation and presented in form of tables and figures. Inferential statistics such as correlation analysis and multiple regressions were used to determine the relationship between variables. The study found that organizational culture, employee competence, organizational structure and leadership styles had a positive and significant relationship with the organizational performance. This study concludes that a work environment that possesses organizational culture is driven by purpose and clear expectations. Competence among employees ensures that organization-funded training and professional development activities are cost-effective, goal-oriented and productive. The flow of information with an organizational structure can be used to promote faster decision-making. Leadership style develops structured and organised pathway for decision making which makes target more visible and clear. The study recommends that the organization’s leaders must communicate not only the values, but also the expected behaviors associated with each value to help the employees understand what is expected, which reduces uncertainty and ensures everyone is aligned on how things should be done at the organisation. In order to improve competencies, the organization should provide enough resources and motivate its employees. The organization should look at the current organizational structure and analyze whether its employees know their exact duties, who they supervise and whether they are being used to their maximum potential. The organizational leaders should take time throughout the day to reflect to improve leadership style and skills and the managers should improve their leadership style by setting examples.