Determining the impact of organisational culture on a water utility supplier's strategy

Abstract

Background: The water sector in South Africa has been facing several challenges which necessitated that government reacts swiftly and appropriately to these challenges. This, in turn, has placed a severe burden on the Company (reference of the organisation under review in this study) as an entity of government to respond adequately to the continuous changing water sectoral landscape. These changes in the sectoral landscape demand that the Company continuously assess whether its strategy is still relevant in achieving its mandate as prescribe by the legislation that governs such institutions. Research has shown that organisational culture is one of the critical pillars that need to be aligned with a company’s strategy in order to ensure competitive advantage and effectiveness of such organisation. Research aims: The aim of this study is to identify the type of organisational culture that exists within the Company. Due to the legislated mandate of the Company and the challenges presented by the sector it operates in, the Company is necessitated to operate in a new space which is not within its traditional business domain. This new space requires the Company to adapt its culture to align with the new strategy. Method: An empirical study is conducted to determine the current type of culture within the Company by using the Competing Values Framework. This culture is assessed against the strategy to measure any alignment between them. Key findings: The study shows through a literature review that an organisation's strategy will be affected if is not aligned with the organisational culture. The study also identifies gaps for improvement and makes recommendations to the management of the Company on what change management interventions are required to foster such alignment