Organizational culture and perceived effectiveness: a case study of an insurance company

Abstract

Research question: This paper studies the relation between organizational culture and perceived organizational effectiveness of an insurance company in a developing country with an emerging economy.Motivation: The main objective of the research is to determine whether there is a correlation between organizational culture and climate as a narrower concept, on the one hand and perceived organizational effectiveness on the other hand. Some authors noted a correlation between these organizational aspects. For example, Yan (2016) empirically confirmed that organizational culture positively and significantly correlates with organizational effectiveness. The relationship between organizational culture and organizational effectiveness was also examined by Cox and Trotter (2016), Chen (2017) and Deem, De Lotell and Kelly (2015). Idea: Starting from the findings of other authors that organizational culture indeed affects effectiveness, the authors of this paper wanted to examine whether this relation existed in  a state-owned insurance company in an emerging economy and if so, how to use this  to improve employees’ performance and overall business results. Data: They conducted the research in June 2017 on the sample of employees of Dunav Insurance Company and obtained six hundred and sixty six valid questionnaires. Tools: The questionnaires consisted of five general questions about demographic variables and twenty-nine closed-ended questions related to the topic. The researchers assessed the correlation between variables by Spearman Rho Coefficient and Chi-Square significance. Findings: The results showed the relationship between a number of aspects of organizational culture and climate on one hand and perceived organizational effectiveness on the other hand. Research results showed that the evaluation of effective utilization of working hours and professional capabilities is largely connected with the aspects of organizational climate that reflect poor working conditions and unethical attitude of employees. However, the evaluation of effective utilization of professional capabilities also relates to the perception of predominant aspects of an organizational climate that inspire positive internal relations. Contribution: The results presented in the paper can be used as the basis for organizational and managerial decision-making to improve work processes in the observed organization.