The influence of change in organisational structure on employee performance at a private sector organisation in Cape Town

Abstract

Organisations are constantly changing to match the demands and challenges of the internal and external business environment. Changes to an organisational structure exposes its vulnerabilities and impact on both organisational and employee performance. While there are several studies on organisational change and performance, it is still unclear how change in an organisational structure affects employee performance. The research question for this study was: “What are the factors that affect employee performance when institutional structural changes are implemented in an organisation in Cape Town?” To answer the research question, the aim of this study was to explore the factors that affect employee performance when structural change occurs in an organisation. The focus areas were change management, communication, organisational culture, and decision-making processes. The research followed a subjective ontological and interpretivist epistemological design and an abductive approach. Data collection included both a semi-structured face-to-face interviews comprising of open-ended questions and a survey comprising of closed questions. Participants were made aware that their participation was strictly confidential and voluntary, and that they could withdraw from the study at any time without obligation. Data analysis methods of summarising, categorising, and thematic analysis were followed, guided by a theoretical framework.The data from the surveys were extracted, converted to numbers and presented through infographic tools which enabled further discussion of the findings. For this research, six headline findings were identified. Based on the findings, it was concluded that the organisation in this study should carefully consider the factors that increase resistance to change. The research found many opportunities for this organisation to improve their change management process. For immediate impact, there is an opportunity for the management to address current issues such as change management, commununication and the organisational culture. The contribution of the study is improving understanding of the effects of change management, communication and organisational culture on organisational performance and its relationship to organisational change.