The Effect of Organizational Culture on Job Satisfaction In A Private Healthcare Organization in Kenya: A Case Study of AAR Healthcare

Abstract

The general objective of the study was to establish the effect of organizational culture on job satisfaction levels in a private healthcare organization. The research objectives focused on identifying the organizational culture at AAR healthcare as well as identifying how they affect job satisfaction levels amongst AAR employees. Organizational culture was determined by a myriad of factors with influence from the society, individual beliefs and leadership, to mention but a few. Job satisfaction was because of individual as well as broad organizational inputs. The researcher used a descriptive research design for this study. The target population for this study was all the AAR healthcare staff working in AAR health centers in Nairobi. The researcher collected data using a detailed questionnaire that focused on different elements of organizational culture and job satisfaction. The questionnaire also contained supporting questions that identified some key characteristics of the population for the study. This census targeted one hundred and twenty members of staff who all received a questionnaire. Sixty percent of these questionnaires were returned and overall fifty five percent were usable for the study. The data was then analyzed and presented in a format that would be understandable. This was facilitated by use of the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS).The findings were then presented showing the different strengths and weaknesses in the organizational culture as well as satisfaction levels in the different areas of focus for the job satisfaction survey. Major strengths in AARs organizational culture included teamwork and cooperation, high initiative in the organization, a healthy and fast-paced environment, a sense of urgency, high quality awareness and focus, focus on the customer and a strong work ethic. Weaknesses included lack of trust and openness, no recognition or reward for high performance, no openness to change, no encouragement to innovate, little internal competition and no focus on the employee. The distribution of responses for the alignment of leadership at the top, accountability for results and integrity when dealing with employees did not allow us to make any conclusions as to whether these were strengths or weaknesses.For the individual job satisfaction survey, majority of the employees were dissatisfied with how they were noticed when they did a good job, the recognition they got for the work they did, the praise they got for doing a good job, how their pay compared with that of other companies, the way their boss handled employees and how their bosses handled complaints. There were mixed views regarding the personal relationship between the boss and his/her employees. The major conclusions were that various factors helped in the identification of the organizational culture prevailing at AAR healthcare. These qualities or factors include commonality of focus among leaders, type of communication, teamwork and accountability. Others were employees' recognition, how the organization addressed employees and customers needs and relationship between bosses and employees. On the other hand, different factors fostered different levels of job satisfaction. The study concluded that factor identifiers of organizational culture influenced job satisfaction levels. Generally, job satisfaction among employees was low and was influenced by the culture of the organization. This study recommends that managers ought to promote factor identifiers of culture that will ensure the development of the desired organizational culture. It also entails the adaptation of qualities of other cultures that create higher job satisfaction. These include clan or adhocracy culture and focusing on employees and innovation in order for the organization to remain competitive with a focus on fostering employee loyalty.