大家都相信，一個企業(yè)的文化能夠支撐其進取不懈，從而增強員工工作時的作風，發(fā)展他們高素質(zhì)意識。企業(yè)的負責人越來越關(guān)心其企業(yè)的實際成長和發(fā)展，因為企業(yè)負責人開始意識到文化是一種重要的價值。它可以用于激勵和鞭策一個企業(yè)的表現(xiàn)。如此一來，企業(yè)負責人們開始計劃一些能夠增加其效力的項目。公司負責人通過得到員工的承諾，確保員工們也認同企業(yè)的價值，標準。同樣，員工們也可以決定是否可以應(yīng)對公司的文化價值。（丹尼森，法伊，2003）

文化的觀念源自于人類學，也可以簡單的看做是一種“社會模式”。根據(jù)霍夫斯泰德的言論（1991引自丹尼森和法伊，2003），“企業(yè)文化是一種概念，它指示了一個整體的信仰，價值和行為，為企業(yè)自我認同性和與其他企業(yè)區(qū)別開來。”。沙因（1981引用奧格博納和哈里斯，2002）提出，一個企業(yè)中的文化分為三個層次，（1）基本假設(shè)；（2）價值；（3）人為行為。這三個基本的假設(shè)通常都是無意識的，也很難去直接評估他們。

The culture of an organization is believed to support continuous improvement at work thereby enhancing employees’ style of performing their job and developing quality awareness. Business owners are increasingly concerned about the effective growth and development of their organizations. This is because of the perception that culture is an important asset amongst others that can be applied to spur the performance of an organization. Thus they plan and delivery programmes that would increase their effectiveness. They achieve this by obtaining the commitment of their employees and ensure that they also identify with the values, norms and artefacts of the organization. In turn the employees decided whether they can cope with it or not. (Denison and Fey, 2003)

The concept of culture stems from Anthropology which can be simply seen as a ‘social pattern’. According to Hofstede (1991 as cited by Denison and Fey, 2003), ‘organizational culture is a concept denoting a series of beliefs, values and behaviours giving shape to an organization's self-identity and differentiating it from other organizations’. Schein (1981 as cited by Ogbonna and Harris, 2002) proposed that culture in an organization has three levels (a) basic underlying assumptions; (b) values; and (c) artefacts and behaviours. These basic underlying assumptions are usually unconscious and are difficult to assess directly.

However, the artefacts and behaviour are overt aspects of culture which are observable but difficult to interpret thus are rarely studied under organizational studies. (Schein 1992 as cited by Ogbonna and Harris, 2002), 1992 as cited by Denison and Mishra 1995)

Performance, according to Cascio (2006) is ‘the extent to which an individual is carrying out assignment or task’. It refers to the degree to which the accomplishment of a particular task makes up an employee’s job. It is also defined as ‘the net effect of an employee’s effort as modified by abilities and roles or task perceptions’. (Jones, 2003).#p#分頁標題#e#

Past empirical researches have focused on the impact of organizational culture on corporate performance (Deal and Kennedy 1982; Weick, 1985; Ouchi and Price, 1978; Schall, 1983; Peters and Waterman, 1982; Schein, 1985 as cited by Denison and Mishra 1995) with supported hypotheses, a good number of them were able to establish that successful companies have strong cultures. Other researchers later studied this relationship based on the company’s financial standing by considering and measuring the rate of return of these organizations over a number of years. (Gordon and Ditomaso, 1992)

These researches have looked at the issue of the impact organizational culture has on the performance of the organizational as a whole. This research is however attempting to focus on the performance as defined by the employees themselves. Whilst it is possible to focus on the performance measures as defined by the Human Resource Management department in organizations, there is every tendency to deviate towards a quantitative perspective which will take us away from our mode of study here, which is the qualitative method.

It is also important to note here that regardless of the numerous previous studies done on organizational culture, there has been no widely accepted evidence that attest that there is a positive relationship between organizational culture and performance. Ojo (2009) even noted that there have been contradictory results in this study, hence there is still much vacuum to be filled in this aspect of research. Also in the Nigerian context, much research has not been done, thus the need to fill the gap in this study. As a result of this, there is a belief that this research will be of particular relevance here.

In this research, we are trying to relate performance to culture. How is Performance defined and related to organizational culture? How do employees and their managers interpret the culture of the organization and then relate it to performance. It is important to view this concept from this angle because culture has underlying assumptions which has different individuals’ point of views and meanings. (Kunda 1991 as cited by Martins 1992) The organization is seen as a social structure thus it defines the nature of individual meaning and practice at work. The performance of an employee is embedded in the proper understanding of the organizational culture. (Martin, 1992)

The objectives of the study

The objectives of this study are the following:

To assess the impact of organizational culture on the employee job performance

To empirically determine the relationship between organizational culture and performance

Research Questions

The purpose of the research study is to provide answers to the following questions:

Does organizational culture have any effect on employee job performance?

In what way does corporate culture impact on employee job performance according to the views of managers and low level employees?#p#分頁標題#e#

Research Hypotheses

In order to answer the above mentioned research questions and achieve the objectives of the study, the following hypotheses are being considered and are to be tested:

Hypothesis 1: Does organizational culture have any effect on employee job performance?

Hypothesis 2: In what way does corporate culture impacts employee job performance according to the views of managers and low level employees?

Methodology

An interpretivist approach is taken for the purpose of this research. This is because it develops knowledge of the social world based on human interpretation and culture can be viewed from the social construction perspective. (Burrell & Morgan 1979 as cited by Saffold 1988) Primary and secondary data are being collected and used for the purpose of this research. Also the dual methodology will ensure more reliability of this research.

In this pilot study, dual methods are being applied for this research: case study and semi-structured interviews. The secondary data which is the case study, was approached by assessing websites and online journal articles on Guaranty Trust Bank plc. For the primary data, semi-structured interviews were applied. Although six interviewees were in the initial plan for this pilot study, only two interviewees were available due to time constraints, a senior manager and employee in the lower managerial level specifically from the operations division. From this, l was able to get the perspectives of this investigation from two extremes. The interviews via Skype, an internet telephony. It is hoped that by the time the real research is being carried out, there will be more time and access.

Data Analysis and interpretation

The population of the study consists of the entire workers of Guaranty Trust Bank plc, whose head office is located in Lagos, Nigeria. The choice of this bank is because it is an internationally recognised company with high reputation of consistency and good banking ethics.

For the interviews, the artefacts of culture which are manifested in these four ways are considered: symbols, heroes, rituals, and values. The selection is based on the terminologies offered by past researchers. Moreover, they seem to be mutually exclusive and are clearly observable. Symbols are basically pictures, gestures, or objects that connote particular meanings within a culture. For GTB (Guaranty Trust Bank plc), such symbols were observed in the corporate website and in the various offices. The colours (orange and grey), pictures and designed used portray the image and the beliefs of the bank. Heroes are persons, alive or dead, real or imaginary, who possess characteristics highly prized in the culture thus serve as models for behaviour. Rituals are collective activities that are technically superfluous but are socially essential within a culture— they are therefore carried out for their own sake. Whilst the first three are seen as practices of which their inherent meanings are more perceived by the insiders rather than outsiders, values are the core of culture because they are only manifested in behaviour. They are in form of feelings of good and evil, conscious and unconscious. (Deal and Kennedy, 1982; Hofstede et al 1990; www.gtbplc.com; Wilkins,1984 as cited by Gordon and Ditomaso, 1992).#p#分頁標題#e#

The interviews were done over the internet phone and so could not be recorded. However because of the no cost incurred, there was no sense of urgency to conclude the interviews; this facilitated immediate transcribing of the answers as the interviewees gave answers. The answers gotten from these interviews were used to create a qualitative description of the culture of GTBank. The following are the answers extracted from the interview and the information collected from our secondary sources.

Findings and Analysis

Guaranty Trust Bank, founded in January 1990 is the third biggest bank in the Nigerian banking industry. It has a reputation of retaining their pioneer staff thus are old timers of the bank. They have a culture of excellence, whose vision states thus ‘’ We are a team driven to deliver the utmost in customer services. We are synonymous with innovation, building excellence and superior financial performance; and creating role models for society’’ Their ultimate goal is that employees work with customers to ensure that they are satisfied at all times. They maintain an informal but competitive environment where people call each other by their first names from the cleaners through to the Managing Director so people are not addressed as Sirs or Madams. This informal culture is not common practice in Nigeria, but true to its convictions, the non-regimented and open environment brings out the best in the employees of the bank. They believe in employing the right people because it is their belief that extra-ordinary organizations make ordinary people extra-ordinary. Having recruited the right people, they empower them to make key decisions when need be. The Bank also maintains an open door policy. This reinforces the informal atmosphere and breeds a feeling of equality. Everyone is accessible and approachable, working in open offices alongside their colleagues. They believe every day presents an opportunity to make history whilst consolidating their organization a place of pride as a proudly African Bank. Their mantra is ‘Work hard, play hard’ which to both insiders and outsiders is self interpreted. (www.gtbplc.com)

Stories about the past abound for current and new employees. The manager interviewed reflected on the history of the bank twenty years ago when the ritual of regular meetings with the Managing Director when he addressed them and reminded them of the mission and the vision he has for the company. The pioneer workers were determined to create a friendly environment both at the back offices and at the banking hall. They faced the physical and health risk of working till late hours of the days and coming to work during weekends.

The calling of all staff members on first name basis plus the open door basis created an open and welcoming environment whereby employees were encouraged to discuss their problems and ideas freely with their bosses and colleagues alike. The MD was also routinely goes round various cubicles across the ranks to discuss both professional and personal matters. This creates a sense of belonging in the company. Departmental meetings are held every Monday and profitability review meetings held monthly. Every Christmas, bags of rice and vegetable oil are distributed across all members of staff. The environmental is quite friendly and welcoming but the more time you spend working there, the more work pressure you feel and the more you become aware of the politics being played in the office. Social interaction plays an important role in the work environment individually and collectively. There are dress codes which are to be adhered to. The closing time is clearly specified in the staff manual but there is an unwritten rule that closing late and even all weekends is very welcoming and is being encouraged.#p#分頁標題#e#

The questionnaire was aimed at collecting first hand information regarding how employees on different levels interpret performance and how it affects their output in the office. Whilst the employee interpreted performance as being able to achieve the daily set tasks, the manager interviewed interpreted it as being able to perform and exceed the monthly and yearly targets set. Also to be able to participate in other activities besides the normal duties assigned and to be able to make good contributions at meetings and helping the boss to achieve his own goals. Using the answers gotten from these interviewees, it can be seen that the definition of performance and the expectation of the two persons differ. Thus, this will determine the level of effort they put in their work.

Conclusion

In this pilot study, an attempt has been made to investigate the impact of organizational culture on employee job performance. Two interviews were conducted and opinions and views collected. Also the website and journals were read and vital information extracted.

The deduction from this study is that organizational culture is important and is increasingly being recognised and institutionalized in more organizations. As a result of this, it has some impact on employee performance. In consideration whether this impact is positive or negative, we can deduce that there is a positive relationship between organizational culture and employee job performance

Ethical considerations will be looked into prior to the commencement of the research; this is because of the interview process which will be undertaken.

Limitations
The limitation observed in this pilot study is that only two interviews were conducted thus an attempt to generalize cannot be done. Also as stated earlier, there were time constraints; however there should be improvement on this when the real research is being carried out. The interviewing and writing skills of the researcher need to be enhanced in preparation of the research ahead.

Questionnaire

Describe Guaranty Trust Bank plc briefly (to confirm what has been read on the website journals)

What unique organizational symbols can you say that insiders would understand?

Is it possible for outsiders to also understand these symbols? (Organizational heros)

What type of people would most likely have a fast career here?

Who do you consider are significant people in this organization?

What regular meetings do you attend?

How do people conduct themselves in these meetings?

What events are celebrated in this organization? (Rituals)

What things do employees usually love to see happening?

What is the biggest mistake can one make?

Which work issues can give you sleepless nights?

Can you say that these beliefs, values, events and symbols motivate you (or the employee) to put in their optimum level of effort in their work (performance)#p#分頁標題#e#