Organizational Involvement and Employees’ Consumption of New Work Practices in State-owned Enterprises: The Ghanaian Case
This paper explored the challenges faced by the
management of a Ghanaian state enterprise in managing conflicts and
disturbances associated with its attempt to implement new work
practices to enhance its capability to operate as a commercial entity.
The purpose was to understand the extent to which organizational
involvement, consistency and adaptability influence employees’
consumption of new work practices in transforming the
organization’s organizational activity system. Using selfadministered
questionnaires, data were collected from one hundred
and eighty (180) employees and analyzed using both descriptive and
inferential statistics. The results showed that constraints in
organizational involvement and adaptability prevented the positive
consumption of new work practices by employees in the
organization. It is also found that the organization’s employees failed
to consume the new practices being implemented, because they
perceived the process as non-involving, and as such, did not
encourage the development of employee capability, empowerment,
and teamwork. The study concluded that the failure of the
organization’s management to create opportunities for organizational
learning constrained its ability to get employees consume the new
work practices, which situation could have facilitated the
organization’s capabilities of operating as a commercial entity.
[1] M. A. Sanda, Four Case Studies on the Commercialization of
Government R&D Agencies: An Organizational Activity Theoretical
Approach. Luleå, Sweden: Luleå University of Technology Press, 2006.
[2] K. Marx, Grundrisse: Foundations of the Critique of Political Economy.
Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1973.
[3] Y. Engeström, Learning by Expanding: An Activity-Theoretical
Approach to Developmental Research. Helsinki: Orienta-Konsultit,
1987.
[4] J. B. Barney, “Organizational culture: Can it be a source of sustained
competitive advantage?,” Acad Manage Rev, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 656–65,
1986.
[5] H. Schein, “Organizational culture,” Am. Psychol, vol. 45, no. 2, pp.
109-119, 1990.
[6] A. O’Reilly, J. Chatman and D. E. Caldwell, “People and organizational
culture: A profile comparison approach to assessing person-organization
fit,” Acad Manage J, vol. 34, pp. 487-516, 1991.
[7] D. Denison and A. K. Mishra, “Toward a theory of organizational
culture and effectiveness,” Organ Sci, vol. 6 no. 2, pp. 204-223, 1995.
[8] M. Alvesson, Understanding Organizational Culture. London: Sage,
2002.
[9] M. G. Caroll and F. M. Nafukho, “Culture, organizational learning and
selected employee background variables in small-size business
enterprises, J. Eur Ind Train, vol. 31 no. 2, pp. 127-144, 2006.
[10] M. Rousseau, “Assessing organizational cultures: The case for multiple
methods,” in Organizational Climate and Culture, B. Schneider, Ed. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1990, pp. 153–188.
[11] R. E. Zammuto and J. Y. Krakower, “Quantitative and qualitative studies
or organizational culture,” Res Organ Change Dev, vol. 5, pp. 83–114,
1991.
[12] J. Kotter and L. Heskett, Corporate culture and performance. New
York: Macmillan, 1992.
[13] T. E. Deal and A. A. Kennedy, Corporate Cultures: The Rites and
Rituals of Corporate Life. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1982.
[14] S. Robbins, Organizational Behaviour: Concepts, Controversies,
Applications. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1998.
[15] J. Sørensen, “The strength of corporate culture and the reliability of firm
performance,” Admin Sci Quart, vol. 47, pp. 70–91, 2002.
[16] T. Peters and R. Waterman, In Search of Excellence: Lessons From
America’s Best Run Companies. New York: Harper and Row, 1982.
[17] H. Schein, Organizational Culture and Leadership. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass, 1992.
[18] K. S. Cameron and S. J. Freeman, “Cultural congruence, strength, and
type: Relationships to effectiveness,” in Research in Organizational
Change and Development, R. W. Woodman and W. A. Pasmore, Eds.
Greenwich, CT: JAI Press Inc., 1991, ch.5 pp. 23-58.
[19] H. Schein, “Coming to a new awareness of organizational culture. Sloan
Manage Rev, vol. 25 no. 2, pp. 3-16, 1984.
[20] F. Buono, “SEAM-Less post- merger integration strategies: A cause for
concern,” J. Organ Change Manage, vol. 16 no. 1, pp. 90-98, 2003.
[21] C. Pheysey, Organizational culture: Types and Transformations.
London: Routledge, 1993.
[22] P. Lock J. Crawford, “The effect of organizational culture and leadership
style on job satisfaction and organizational commitment: A cross
national comparison,” J. Manage. Dev., vol. 23 no. 4, pp. 321-338, 2004. [23] R. A. Cooke and D. M. Rousseau, “Behavioral norms and expectations:
A quantitative approach to the assessment of organizational culture,”
Group Organ Manage, vol. 13 no. 3, pp. 245-273, 1988.
[24] S. Robbins, Organizational Behaviour: Concepts, Controversies,
Applications. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1998.
[25] A. Brown, Organizational Culture. London: Pitman, 1995.
[26] T. Powell, “The impact of organizational sub-cultures on information
sharing: A manufacturing company’s dilemma,” in Academy of Human
Resource Development 1997 Conference Proceedings, R. J. Torraco Ed.
Atlanta, GA: AHRD, 1997, pp. 150-155
[27] L. R. Zboril-Benson and B. Magee, “How quality improvement projects
influence organizational culture,” Hlthc. Quart, vol. 8 (special issue), pp.
26-31, 2005.
[28] F. Luthans, Organizational Behavior. New York: McGraw- Hill, 2005.
[29] L. G. Aspinwall, and U. M. Staudinger, A Psychology of Human
Strengths: Fundamental Questions and Future Directions for a Positive
Psychology. Washington: American Psychological Association, 2003.
[30] A. J. DuBrin, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour. Hampshire:
Cengage Learning, 2006.
[31] B. Lund, “Organizational culture and job satisfaction,” J. Bus Ind Mark,
vol. 18 no. 3, pp. 219-236, 2003.
[32] A. A. Aksu and B. Ozdemir, “Individual learning and organization
culture in learning organization: Five-star hotels in Antalya region of
Turkey,” Manage Auditing J, vol. 20 no. 4, pp. 422-441, 2005
[33] D. R. Denison. Corporate Culture and Organizational Effectiveness.
New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1990.
[34] H. Kasper, “Culture and leadership in market-oriented service
organizations,” Eur J. Marketing, vol. 36 no. 9, pp. 1047-1057, 2002.
[35] S. Chang and M. Lee, “A Study on relationship among leadership,
organizational culture, the operation of learning organization and
employee, job satisfaction,” Learn Organ, vol. 14 no. 2, pp. 155-185,
2007.
[36] P. Bate, “The impact of organizational culture on approaches to
organizational problem-solving,” Organ Stud, vol. 5, pp. 43-66, 1984.
[37] S. Koberg and L. H. Chusmir, “Organization culture relationships with
creativity and other job-related variables,” J. Bus Res, vol. 15, pp. 397-
409, 1987.
[38] A. Wilklins and W. Ouchi, “Efficient cultures: Exploring the
relationship between culture and organizational performance,” Adm Sci
Quart., 28, pp. 468-481, 1983.
[39] S. W. Pool, “The learning organization: Motivating employees by
integrating TQM philosophy in a supportive organizational culture,”
Leader Organ Dev J, vol. 21 no. 8, pp. 373-378, 2000.
[40] A. Brown and K. Starkey, “The effect of organizational culture on
communication and information,” J. Manage Stud, vol. 31 no. 6, pp.
807-828, 1994.
[41] D. R. Denison, “Corporate Culture and Organizational Effectiveness,
2nd Edition. Lausanne, Switzerland: Denison Consulting, 1997.
[42] C. Fisher and R. Alford, “Consulting on culture,” Consult. Psychol. Res.
Practice, vol. 52 no. 3, pp. 206-217, 2000.
[43] L. Benko, “Getting the royal treatment,” Mod Health Care, vol. 39 no. 1,
pp. 28-32, 2001.
[44] B. Sharma, “Local government organization on its journey to becoming
a learning organization,” Bus Process Manage J., vol. 11 no. 4, pp. 388-
402, 2006.
[45] K. S. Cameron and R. E. Quinn “Diagnosing and Changing
Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework.
Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. 1991.
[46] S. A. Dellana and R. D. Hauser, “Toward defining the quality culture,”
Eng. Manage. J., vol. 11 no. 2, pp. 11-15, 1999.
[47] M. Stoica and M. Schindehutte, “Understanding adaptation in small
firms: Links to culture and performance,” J. Dev Enterpren, vol. 4 no. 1,
pp. 1-18, 1999.
[48] A. Webb, “Co-ordination: A problem in public sector management,”
Policy Polit., vol. 19 no. 4, pp. 229-241, 1991.
[49] P. Lock and J. Crawford, “The relationship between commitment and
organizational culture, subculture, leadership style and job satisfaction in
organizational change and development,” Leader Organ Dev J, vol. 20,
pp. 365-373, 1999.
[50] D. Denison, “Organizational culture: Can it be a key for lever for driving
organizational change?,” in The International Handbook of
Organizational Culture and Climate, C. Cooper, S. Cartwright and P.
Earley, Eds. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons, 2000. pp. 347-376
[51] M. Meglino, E. C. Ravlin and C. L. Adkins, “A work values approach to
corporate culture: A field test of the value congruence process and its
relationship to individual outcomes,” J. Appl Psychol, vol. 74, pp. 424-
432, 1989.
[52] W. R. Box, R. Y. Odom, and M. G. Dunn, “Organizational values and
value congruency and their impact on satisfaction, commitment, and
cohesion: An empirical examination within the Public Sector,” Public
Pers Manage, vol. 20 no. 1, pp. 195–205, 1991.
[53] F. Blackler, “Knowledge and the theory of organizations: Organizations
as activity systems and the reframing of management,” J. Manage Stud,
vol. 30 no. 6, pp. 863-884, 1993.
[54] A. Edmondson, “Psychological safety and learning behavior in work
teams,” Admin Sci Quart, vol. 44 no. 2, pp. 350–383, 1999.
[1] M. A. Sanda, Four Case Studies on the Commercialization of
Government R&D Agencies: An Organizational Activity Theoretical
Approach. Luleå, Sweden: Luleå University of Technology Press, 2006.
[2] K. Marx, Grundrisse: Foundations of the Critique of Political Economy.
Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1973.
[3] Y. Engeström, Learning by Expanding: An Activity-Theoretical
Approach to Developmental Research. Helsinki: Orienta-Konsultit,
1987.
[4] J. B. Barney, “Organizational culture: Can it be a source of sustained
competitive advantage?,” Acad Manage Rev, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 656–65,
1986.
[5] H. Schein, “Organizational culture,” Am. Psychol, vol. 45, no. 2, pp.
109-119, 1990.
[6] A. O’Reilly, J. Chatman and D. E. Caldwell, “People and organizational
culture: A profile comparison approach to assessing person-organization
fit,” Acad Manage J, vol. 34, pp. 487-516, 1991.
[7] D. Denison and A. K. Mishra, “Toward a theory of organizational
culture and effectiveness,” Organ Sci, vol. 6 no. 2, pp. 204-223, 1995.
[8] M. Alvesson, Understanding Organizational Culture. London: Sage,
2002.
[9] M. G. Caroll and F. M. Nafukho, “Culture, organizational learning and
selected employee background variables in small-size business
enterprises, J. Eur Ind Train, vol. 31 no. 2, pp. 127-144, 2006.
[10] M. Rousseau, “Assessing organizational cultures: The case for multiple
methods,” in Organizational Climate and Culture, B. Schneider, Ed. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1990, pp. 153–188.
[11] R. E. Zammuto and J. Y. Krakower, “Quantitative and qualitative studies
or organizational culture,” Res Organ Change Dev, vol. 5, pp. 83–114,
1991.
[12] J. Kotter and L. Heskett, Corporate culture and performance. New
York: Macmillan, 1992.
[13] T. E. Deal and A. A. Kennedy, Corporate Cultures: The Rites and
Rituals of Corporate Life. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1982.
[14] S. Robbins, Organizational Behaviour: Concepts, Controversies,
Applications. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1998.
[15] J. Sørensen, “The strength of corporate culture and the reliability of firm
performance,” Admin Sci Quart, vol. 47, pp. 70–91, 2002.
[16] T. Peters and R. Waterman, In Search of Excellence: Lessons From
America’s Best Run Companies. New York: Harper and Row, 1982.
[17] H. Schein, Organizational Culture and Leadership. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass, 1992.
[18] K. S. Cameron and S. J. Freeman, “Cultural congruence, strength, and
type: Relationships to effectiveness,” in Research in Organizational
Change and Development, R. W. Woodman and W. A. Pasmore, Eds.
Greenwich, CT: JAI Press Inc., 1991, ch.5 pp. 23-58.
[19] H. Schein, “Coming to a new awareness of organizational culture. Sloan
Manage Rev, vol. 25 no. 2, pp. 3-16, 1984.
[20] F. Buono, “SEAM-Less post- merger integration strategies: A cause for
concern,” J. Organ Change Manage, vol. 16 no. 1, pp. 90-98, 2003.
[21] C. Pheysey, Organizational culture: Types and Transformations.
London: Routledge, 1993.
[22] P. Lock J. Crawford, “The effect of organizational culture and leadership
style on job satisfaction and organizational commitment: A cross
national comparison,” J. Manage. Dev., vol. 23 no. 4, pp. 321-338, 2004. [23] R. A. Cooke and D. M. Rousseau, “Behavioral norms and expectations:
A quantitative approach to the assessment of organizational culture,”
Group Organ Manage, vol. 13 no. 3, pp. 245-273, 1988.
[24] S. Robbins, Organizational Behaviour: Concepts, Controversies,
Applications. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1998.
[25] A. Brown, Organizational Culture. London: Pitman, 1995.
[26] T. Powell, “The impact of organizational sub-cultures on information
sharing: A manufacturing company’s dilemma,” in Academy of Human
Resource Development 1997 Conference Proceedings, R. J. Torraco Ed.
Atlanta, GA: AHRD, 1997, pp. 150-155
[27] L. R. Zboril-Benson and B. Magee, “How quality improvement projects
influence organizational culture,” Hlthc. Quart, vol. 8 (special issue), pp.
26-31, 2005.
[28] F. Luthans, Organizational Behavior. New York: McGraw- Hill, 2005.
[29] L. G. Aspinwall, and U. M. Staudinger, A Psychology of Human
Strengths: Fundamental Questions and Future Directions for a Positive
Psychology. Washington: American Psychological Association, 2003.
[30] A. J. DuBrin, Fundamentals of Organizational Behaviour. Hampshire:
Cengage Learning, 2006.
[31] B. Lund, “Organizational culture and job satisfaction,” J. Bus Ind Mark,
vol. 18 no. 3, pp. 219-236, 2003.
[32] A. A. Aksu and B. Ozdemir, “Individual learning and organization
culture in learning organization: Five-star hotels in Antalya region of
Turkey,” Manage Auditing J, vol. 20 no. 4, pp. 422-441, 2005
[33] D. R. Denison. Corporate Culture and Organizational Effectiveness.
New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1990.
[34] H. Kasper, “Culture and leadership in market-oriented service
organizations,” Eur J. Marketing, vol. 36 no. 9, pp. 1047-1057, 2002.
[35] S. Chang and M. Lee, “A Study on relationship among leadership,
organizational culture, the operation of learning organization and
employee, job satisfaction,” Learn Organ, vol. 14 no. 2, pp. 155-185,
2007.
[36] P. Bate, “The impact of organizational culture on approaches to
organizational problem-solving,” Organ Stud, vol. 5, pp. 43-66, 1984.
[37] S. Koberg and L. H. Chusmir, “Organization culture relationships with
creativity and other job-related variables,” J. Bus Res, vol. 15, pp. 397-
409, 1987.
[38] A. Wilklins and W. Ouchi, “Efficient cultures: Exploring the
relationship between culture and organizational performance,” Adm Sci
Quart., 28, pp. 468-481, 1983.
[39] S. W. Pool, “The learning organization: Motivating employees by
integrating TQM philosophy in a supportive organizational culture,”
Leader Organ Dev J, vol. 21 no. 8, pp. 373-378, 2000.
[40] A. Brown and K. Starkey, “The effect of organizational culture on
communication and information,” J. Manage Stud, vol. 31 no. 6, pp.
807-828, 1994.
[41] D. R. Denison, “Corporate Culture and Organizational Effectiveness,
2nd Edition. Lausanne, Switzerland: Denison Consulting, 1997.
[42] C. Fisher and R. Alford, “Consulting on culture,” Consult. Psychol. Res.
Practice, vol. 52 no. 3, pp. 206-217, 2000.
[43] L. Benko, “Getting the royal treatment,” Mod Health Care, vol. 39 no. 1,
pp. 28-32, 2001.
[44] B. Sharma, “Local government organization on its journey to becoming
a learning organization,” Bus Process Manage J., vol. 11 no. 4, pp. 388-
402, 2006.
[45] K. S. Cameron and R. E. Quinn “Diagnosing and Changing
Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework.
Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. 1991.
[46] S. A. Dellana and R. D. Hauser, “Toward defining the quality culture,”
Eng. Manage. J., vol. 11 no. 2, pp. 11-15, 1999.
[47] M. Stoica and M. Schindehutte, “Understanding adaptation in small
firms: Links to culture and performance,” J. Dev Enterpren, vol. 4 no. 1,
pp. 1-18, 1999.
[48] A. Webb, “Co-ordination: A problem in public sector management,”
Policy Polit., vol. 19 no. 4, pp. 229-241, 1991.
[49] P. Lock and J. Crawford, “The relationship between commitment and
organizational culture, subculture, leadership style and job satisfaction in
organizational change and development,” Leader Organ Dev J, vol. 20,
pp. 365-373, 1999.
[50] D. Denison, “Organizational culture: Can it be a key for lever for driving
organizational change?,” in The International Handbook of
Organizational Culture and Climate, C. Cooper, S. Cartwright and P.
Earley, Eds. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons, 2000. pp. 347-376
[51] M. Meglino, E. C. Ravlin and C. L. Adkins, “A work values approach to
corporate culture: A field test of the value congruence process and its
relationship to individual outcomes,” J. Appl Psychol, vol. 74, pp. 424-
432, 1989.
[52] W. R. Box, R. Y. Odom, and M. G. Dunn, “Organizational values and
value congruency and their impact on satisfaction, commitment, and
cohesion: An empirical examination within the Public Sector,” Public
Pers Manage, vol. 20 no. 1, pp. 195–205, 1991.
[53] F. Blackler, “Knowledge and the theory of organizations: Organizations
as activity systems and the reframing of management,” J. Manage Stud,
vol. 30 no. 6, pp. 863-884, 1993.
[54] A. Edmondson, “Psychological safety and learning behavior in work
teams,” Admin Sci Quart, vol. 44 no. 2, pp. 350–383, 1999.
@article{"International Journal of Business, Human and Social Sciences:71801", author = "M. Aminu Sanda and K. Ewontumah", title = "Organizational Involvement and Employees’ Consumption of New Work Practices in State-owned Enterprises: The Ghanaian Case", abstract = "This paper explored the challenges faced by the
management of a Ghanaian state enterprise in managing conflicts and
disturbances associated with its attempt to implement new work
practices to enhance its capability to operate as a commercial entity.
The purpose was to understand the extent to which organizational
involvement, consistency and adaptability influence employees’
consumption of new work practices in transforming the
organization’s organizational activity system. Using selfadministered
questionnaires, data were collected from one hundred
and eighty (180) employees and analyzed using both descriptive and
inferential statistics. The results showed that constraints in
organizational involvement and adaptability prevented the positive
consumption of new work practices by employees in the
organization. It is also found that the organization’s employees failed
to consume the new practices being implemented, because they
perceived the process as non-involving, and as such, did not
encourage the development of employee capability, empowerment,
and teamwork. The study concluded that the failure of the
organization’s management to create opportunities for organizational
learning constrained its ability to get employees consume the new
work practices, which situation could have facilitated the
organization’s capabilities of operating as a commercial entity.", keywords = "Organizational transformation, new work practices,
work practice consumption, organizational involvement, state-owned
enterprise, Ghana.", volume = "9", number = "10", pages = "3618-10", }
