A Case Study of Commercial Bank of Africa by Paul Mathen

THE EFFECT OF AGILE WORK ON ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE IN KENYAN BANKS: A CASE STUDY OF COMMERCIAL BANK OF AFRICA

PAUL MATHENGE

UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY- AFRICA

SUMMER 2019

THE EFFECT OF AGILE WORK ON ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE IN KENYAN BANKS: A CASE STUDY OF COMMERCIAL BANK OF AFRICA

PAUL MATHENGE

A Research Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Management and Organizational Development (MOD)

UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY- AFRICA

SUMMER 2019

STUDENT DECLARATION

I, the undersigned declare that this project is my original work and that it has not been submitted to any other college or other institution of higher learning for academic credit other than United States International University-Africa

Signed: ______Date: ______

Paul K. Mathenge

This project has been presented for examination with my approval as the appointed supervisor

Signed: ______Date: ______

Fred Newa

Signed: ______Date: ______

Dean, Chandaria School of Business

All rights reserved. No part of this report may be photocopied, recorded or otherwise reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means without prior permission of the copyright owner.

iii

ABSTRACT

The general objective of the study was to determine the Effect of the Agile Work Model on an Organization’s Performance. The study focused on the banking sector and specifically, took up a case study on Commercial Bank of Africa Limited. The specific objectives of the study were to study the Influence of the Agile Work Model on Team Cohesion at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited; to determine the Influence of the Agile Work Model on Individual Work Performance at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited and to determine the Influence of the Agile Work Model on Strategy Execution at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited.

A descriptive research design was adopted by the study, with a target population that included 162 employees working at the Commercial Bank of Africa headquarters sampled from different levels of management incorporating senior level, middle level and lower level cadres. Stratified sampling method was utilized since the population of interest was heterogeneous. To collect data, structured questionnaires presented in a likert scale were adopted. 100 respondents participated in the study which gives a response rate of 61.7%. The analysis was done quantitatively using descriptive and inferential statistics.

The first objective of the study was to determine the influence of the agile work model on team cohesion at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited. The inferential findings regarding correlation indicated that agile work model was positively and significantly associated with team cohesion at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited (r =0.424, p <0.05). Similarly, the regression findings revealed that agile work model positively and significantly affects team cohesion at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited; R square value was 0.269 which implied that agile team cohesion explained 26.9% of the variability in agile work model.

The second objective of the study was to determine the influence of agile work model on individual work performance at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited. The inferential findings regarding correlation indicated that agile work model was positively and significantly associated with individual work performance at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited (r =0.846, p <0.05). Furthermore, the regression findings revealed that agile work model positively and significantly affects individual work performance and explained up to 72% of the variation in individual work performance at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited.

Findings on the third objective of the study, influence of the agile work model on strategy execution, found out that agile work model influenced strategy execution (r =0.866, p <0.05). The inferential correlation results indicated that agile work model was positively and significantly associated with strategy execution at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited. The regression findings revealed that 75% of the variability in the agile work model positively and significantly affects strategy execution at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited.

The study concluded that agile work model positively and significantly affects team cohesion in organizations, individual performance and strategy execution. The study recommends a high extent in adoption of the model in order to enhance team cohesion, individual performance and strategy execution. In so doing, the organization will realize increased employee productivity, job satisfaction, commitment and production.

The study recommended high extent in adoption of the agile work model in order to enhance team cohesion, facilitate teamwork and elimination of work stress in organizations to realize increased employee productivity, job satisfaction and commitment. Additionally, the study recommended that the management of companies in the banking sector and other sectors to adopt agile work model when there is a need to improve the employee’s individual performance and employees’ strategies executions.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to appreciate the following people who were instrumental in helping me with this work. I acknowledge my supervisor, Fred Newa, whose insightful comments, scholarly guidance and cooperation encouraged and saw me through this work.

DEDICATION

For Elsie and for Victor

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

STUDENT DECLARATION ...... ii

ABSTRACT ...... iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ...... vi

DEDICATION...... vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... viii

LIST OF TABLES ...... x

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ...... xii

CHAPTER ONE ...... 1

1.0 INTRODUCTION...... 1

1.1 Background of the Study ...... 1

1.2 Statement of the Problem ...... 6

1.3 General Objective ...... 9

1.4 Objectives of the Study ...... 9

1.5 Significance of the Study ...... 9

1.6 Scope of the Study ...... 10

1.7 Definition of Terms ...... 11

1.8 Chapter Summary ...... 13

CHAPTER TWO ...... 14

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW ...... 14

2.1 Introduction ...... 14

2.2 Influence of Agile Work Model on Team Cohesion ...... 14

2.3 Influence of Agile Work Model on Individual Work Performance ...... 19

2.4 Influence of Agile Work on Strategy Execution ...... 24

2.5 Chapter Summary ...... 29

CHAPTER THREE ...... 30

3.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ...... 30

3.1 Introduction ...... 30 viii

3.2 Research Design ...... 30

3.3 Population and Sampling Design ...... 30

3.4 Data Collection Method ...... 32

3.5 Research Procedures ...... 33

3.6 Data Analysis ...... 33

3.7 Chapter Summary ...... 34

CHAPTER FOUR ...... 35

4.0 RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ...... 35

4.1 Introduction ...... 35

4.2 Demographic Information ...... 35

4.3 Influence of the Agile Work Model on Team Cohesion ...... 40

4.4 Influence of the Agile Work Model on Individual Work Performance ...... 46

4.5 Influence of the Agile Work Model on Strategy Execution ...... 50

4.6 Chapter Summary ...... 54

CHAPTER FIVE ...... 55

5.0 DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 55

5.1 Introduction ...... 55

5.2 Summary ...... 55

5.3 Discussion ...... 58

5.4 Conclusion ...... 65

5.5 Recommendations ...... 67

REFERENCES ...... 69

APPENDICES ...... 81

APPENDIX 1: Questionnaire ...... 81

APPENDIX 2: Permission to Conduct Research Letter from USIU-A ...... 88 APPENDIX 3: National Commission for Science, Technology & Innovation Research Permit ...... 89

LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1 Target Population ...... 31 Table 3.2 Sample Size...... 32 Table 3.2 Data Reliability ...... 33 Table 4.1 Response Rate ...... 35 Table 4.2 Agile Work on Team Cohesion ...... 43 Table 4.3 Correlation Analysis of Agile Work Model on Team Cohesion ...... 44 Table 4.4 Agile Work Model (AWM) on Team Cohesion (TC) Model Summary ...... 44 Table 4.5 Agile Work Model (AWM) on Team Cohesion (TC) ANOVA ...... 45 Table 4.6 Agile Work Model (AWM) on Team Cohesion (TC) Model Coefficients ...... 45 Table 4.7 Descriptive Analysis of Agile Work Model on Individual Work Performance 47 Table 4.8 Correlation Analysis of Agile Work Model on Individual Work Performance 48 Table 4.9 Agile Work Model (AWM) on Individual Work Performance Model Summary ...... 48 Table 4.10 Agile Work Model (AWM) on Individual Work Performance ANOVA ...... 49 Table 4.11 Agile Work Model (AWM) on Individual Work Performance Model Coefficients ...... 49 Table 4.12 Descriptive Analysis of Agile Work on Strategy Execution ...... 51 Table 4.13 Correlation Analysis of Agile Work Model on Strategy Execution ...... 52 Table 4.14 Agile Work Model (AWM) on Strategy Execution Model Summary...... 52 Table 4.15 Agile Work Model (AWM) on Strategy Execution ANOVA ...... 53 Table 4.16 Agile Work Model (AWM) on Strategy Execution Model Coefficients ...... 53

LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4.1 Gender of Respondents...... 36

Figure 4.2 Age Bracket of Respondents ...... 37

Figure 4.3 Education Level of Respondents ...... 38

Figure 4.4 Number of Years Worked at CBA ...... 39

Figure 4.5 Level of Management ...... 39

Figure 4.6 Duration Worked in Agile Environment at CBA and other Organizations ...... 40

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

CBA Commercial Bank of Africa

CBK Central bank of Kenya

EAC East African Community

FWA Flexible working arrangements

KES Kenya Shillings

NPL Non-Performing Loans

UK United Kingdom

US United States

USA United States of America

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CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

The present-day global business marketplace is presently considered intensely competitive. The abundant accessibility and reach of technology effectively grant the innovative start-up as ubiquitous advantage as the well-funded multi-national conglomerate. In this competitive business hub, the formulation of a sound business strategy is invaluably more crucial than ever (Purnama & Subroto, 2016). Most organizations will not necessarily struggle with development of what is considered a sound business strategy and it has been argued that formulation is statistically the simpler part (Cândido & Santos, 2015) (Hrebiniak , 2013). In practice, the successful implementation of an organization’s strategy is considered as the greater challenge, there reasons thereof spawning significant contemporary scholarly and business material (MacLennan, 2011).

There is emergent literature that will alternately extol the virtues of work flexibility, accommodation of employee needs as well as criticize it for fueling performance exigency and job insecurity (Gambles, 2006). Although studies have identified varied effects of flexible work, questions remain about the workplace dimensions of flexibility and how occupational workplace health is managed in this environment. The bigger challenge on this issue arises from the concern of work engagement - a description applied to the extent ‘which employees are involved with, committed to, enthusiastic, and passionate about their work’ (Schneider, 2008). Work engagement has also been more vividly defined as when employees ‘feel positive emotions toward their work, find their work to be personally meaningful, consider their workload to be manageable, and have hope about the future of their work’ (Attridge, 2009).

The flexible work model has been proffered as a useful tool for engendering work engagement. As these virtual and flexible work conversations continue to evolve, managers are grappling with how to formalize work policies for their increasingly virtual employees so as to get a firmer comprehension on how to effectively manage them (Thomson, 2011), maintain productivity and ensure a positive work-life balance for the staff. A key focus for every organization is to improve performance and will be significantly bolstered with efficient 1 performance of its employees (Sharif, 2002). The tough strategic questions that corporate management must grapple with include: How therefore, do they ensure that virtual workers are kept part of the team? How do we ensure that performance is maintained at an excellent level and; How do we ensure that our employees are happy and well-adjusted with their work-life schedules?

For much of our work history, time has been a key control tool for employees particularly since the advent of industrial revolution (Moen, 2011). Norms, rules and regulations regarding work time have been called “time cages; taken-for-granted, invisible scaffoldings that confine the human experience on and off the job” (Sennett, 1998). It is in these time cages where employees spend most of their working hours following institutionalized rhythms around the start and end of workdays and workweeks. Subsequently, the societal organization around workhours has been theorized as a structural context with significant effects on utilization of the available opportunities away from work as well as quality of life (Bianche, 2010).

Recently, there has been significant deliberation on whether defined work hours are a necessity making it a constant topic of discussion particularly among corporate human resource departments (Wu, 2017). The issue is further highlighted by the fact that employees are no longer simply expected to be physically available at work on an 8-hour time shift. Rather, they are now also required to have multi-disciplinary skills, the ubiquity of technology demands employees are ‘on-call’ even after hours (Lahti, 2017). This invariably means employees are working longer hours raising the concern whether it should still be considered efficient to mandate employers maintain the archetypal 8am - 5pm work schedule. Presently, prevailing work-hours are getting longer and longer (Beauregard, 2009), resulting in employee wellbeing and work-life balance becoming a contemporaneous theme for managers (Wheatley, 2017).

A study in the United Kingdom covering over 500 high level employees in medium to large corporates showed that more than a third of the respondents had a favorable mindset towards flexible working conditions. Over 50% of the companies they worked for intimated a concerted effort to adopt flexible and virtual office work policies by the end of 2017 (Garner, 2016). As these virtual and flexible work options continue to evolve, managers are grappling with how to formalize work policies for their virtual employees so as to get a firmer comprehension on

2 how to manage virtual employees (Thomson, 2011), maintain productivity and ensure a positive work-life balance for the staff. Undefined work schedules or flexible work hours can be understood to include programs, policies and guidelines promoted by organizational management to allow its staff freedom and control in scheduling their work hours, including when to report to work and when to leave (Henly, 2012). Nijp (2012) argues that flexible work arrangements are now an indispensable part of today’s work ethos due to changes of a socio- economic nature.

In a society filled with conflicting responsibilities and commitments, Agile Work has become a predominant issue in the workplace. Three major factors contribute to the interest in and importance of serious consideration of agile work: global competition, renewed interest in personal lives, including family values and an aging industrial-trained workforce (Gaspar, Juliäo, & Cruz, 2018). A key issue of concern that would relate to policy and debates on agile work from the perspectives of the quality of working life weighed against the broader family and personal interests. This challenge could be resolved from the outlook of how employees may adopt effective agile work practices and the organizations to adopt policies to tackle conflicts that ensue from the interface of family or social pressures and work stress (Wheatley, 2016).

In the current global work environment, there is intense competition for talented employees and for market share based on higher product quality and lower prices in order to realize strategic advantage and this competition requires organizations to take into account diversity of employee’s needs, work life values, cultural influences in the areas where the companies operate as well as the diversity of working relationships in order to attract, retain and fully engage the employee (Valentine, Meglich, Mathis, & Jackson, 2019). As many organizations come to terms with the challenges of attracting and retaining the best talent coupled with the emerging issues of work life conflicts, it is important that managers employ a variety of human resource practices to attain organizational goals (Mokomane, 2014). Today, employee lifestyles are increasingly consumed with a host of family and other personal responsibilities and interests in addition to demands of the workplace. There is therefore a perceived imbalance between the demands of current lives and people’s abilities to adequately cope with them and this may lead to an experience of stress (Gajendran & Harrison, 2015).

In many western countries like Australia and USA, an increasing number of agile work policies have been adopted in organization to achieve employee productivity. Organization which adopted the policies most benefit from reducing absenteeism and improving productivity (Caspe & Harris, 2008). Some researchers also showed that employees with access to the policies express less intention to leave the organization and a higher commitment (Beck & Davis, 2015). The UK encouraged by the European Union, has done a much better job than the U.S. in providing formal policies in support of work/life balance. However, achieving a desired balance between work and life has become increasingly complex for the individual due to the blurring of the household-workplace interface (Kossek & Ozeki, 2012).

In Africa, many changes have occurred in the workplace in the past few decades. In most countries, there have been changes in workforce demographics, family roles, as well as the interaction between work and non-work domains (Mokomane, 2014). In recent years, as a result of social transformations such as dual-career couples and single-parented families, the concept of agile work has become a focus for researchers; especially with the growing number of women in the workplace. Policies, such as the Women Empowerment and Gender Equality across African nations show that Africa has made great effort to provide women in the workplace with an environment and culture of equality as well as creating an increased awareness of gender issues in every sphere of life (Mokomane, 2014). In an African context, more and more government legislation that supports the welfare of employees have realized the need to support their employees in balancing between work and life outside work. (Muasya, 2016) Most organizations continue to realize the need of agile work as these affects the individual’s career, mental health, stress levels, job performance, productivity, and job satisfaction (Allen, 2014).

In Kenya there is a push towards the “24/7 Economy” as a key plank in achieving the Vision 2030 (Iraki, Lavussa, Misiko, Nyagah, & Mukabana, 2009). This means that more flexibility is needed to cover round the clock peaks. There is much evidence of work intensification and this faster pace has been associated with much greater levels of stress in organizations. Kinoti (2012) found that employees were experiencing anxiety, workload, pressure, long working hours and insufficient personal time and that such experiences were likely to encourage a reassessment of values in workers. Moreover, there is also evidence that younger people

4 entering the labour market are significantly less willing to sacrifice their personal lives for total commitment to work (Brummit, 2014). This is particularly a significant issue because Kenya lacks adequately strong labour policies and systems supporting the well-being of employees’ and their families.

Majority of Kenyan companies operate in busy towns in the bustling central business districts where employment is most attractive, subjecting employees in these areas to longer working hours. Critically, Kenya’s Employment Act (2007) does not have a significant guideline on agile-work initiatives that relate to the employment relationship unlike other countries, unlike, for instance, Australia’s (Fair Work Act 2009) which provides employees with a legal right to request agile work engagements (Government of Australia, 2018). It should be appreciated that labour legislation in Kenya extended the maternity leave period to 3 months and included a new provision that guaranteed a minimum two-week paternity leave for new fathers. Significantly though, the law has been criticized for not ‘offering flexibility in today’s labour market realities (Tubey, Kipkemboi, & Bundotich , 2015).

In turning to the focus of study, Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) is a leading banking and financial service provider. It has its headquarters, in Nairobi, Kenya. CBA is licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya, the Kenya’s banking and financial services regulator. As at December 2018, the bank is listed as a Tier 1 bank with assets of approximately Kes 215.6 billion and a shareholders' equity of Kes 21.68 billion (Central Bank of Kenya, 2018). The largest privately- owned commercial bank in Kenya, CBA was founded in 1962 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and subsequently established branches in Nairobi & Mombasa, Kenya as well as Kampala, Uganda. The nationalization of commercialization of banks in Tanzania in 1967, (Dias, 1970), led the bank to move its headquarters to Nairobi. Following political changes in Uganda in 1971, the bank sold its assets in that country (Commercial Bank of Africa Report, 2018). As the largest privately-owned bank in Kenya, CBA has retained a work staff of approximately 1,200 employees and with a strategy to offer a ‘sophisticated and secure environment for corporate clients and institutional clients to transact their financial business’ (SAP, 2017). The bank has also invested in robust system that could streamline and unify its HR processes, and help build, develop and retain an effective workforce globally.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Agile work is said to influence employee productivity and ultimately organizational performance. According to Casper and Harris (2015) there was sufficient evidence to raise concerns about the risks to health and safety that long hour’s culture subjects’ employees. A work-life balance survey conducted in 2015 by Community Business reported that Over 65% of 1,000 respondents were suffering from stress and were said that they didn’t have a healthy balance between their personal and work lives (Wharton & Blair-Loy, 2016). Increasing levels of stress can rapidly lead to low employee morale, poor productivity and decreasing job satisfaction. More and more employees are expressing significance to severe stress over workload and work-time pressures (De Bruin & Dupuis, 2014). Failure to implement agile work policies effectively means long work hours for employees which it has an adverse effect on the health of employees.

Organization performance is an issue in the modern and globalized world since employee performance and productivity is part of the organization performance. In Kenya, the banking sector has registered improved financial strength, with total net assets recording an increase of 9.2% per cent in year. Despite the improved financial strength, the banking sector registered declined profitability with profit before tax decreasing by 5.03 per cent from Kes. 141.1 billion in 2015 to Kes. 134.0 billion in 2016. The banking sector also registered a decline in asset quality with the non-performing loans (NPLs) ratio increasing from 5.6 per cent in 2015 to 6.8 per cent in 2016 hence the need for credit information sharing to reduce non-performing loans and enhance profitability of banks (Central bank of Kenya Report, 2017).

Bank employees contribute to organization performance hence the importance of establishing the effects of agile work on organization performance. Various studies have been done on agile work; Sinead (2017) studied the effect of agile work on strategy execution and noted that employees who were parents felt less stressed due to the fact that they had the option to work from home during the week which had a massive impact on organization strategy execution. Sabiha and Daro (2017) focused on the impact of agile work on individual work performance of employee performance in Pakistan it was noted that agile work is a source of job satisfaction and the quality of life among employees. Mungania, Waiganjo and Kihoro (2016) explored the

6 effect of agile work on team cohesion in the banking industry in Kenya and noted that agile work motivated employees to set goals that would assist them in their workplace performance, whenever they do tasks individually they believe a better result would be achieved through team work. None of the above studies has focused on the effect of agile work on organizational performance in Kenyan banks.

This paper analyses the impact of an effective agile work policy on Organization Performance, with a specific focus on the banking sector in Kenya. The merits of application of the flexible hour policy have been sufficiently researched, reviewed and adjudged vital in today’s corporate environment (Garner, 2016) and this paper is therefore alive to need of avoiding the redundancy of regurgitating that argument. Of concern though, is that the policy has been archetypically considered an alternative or optional offer for certain employees (e.g., new mothers (Coenen, 2014)) or for a certain specific period (study leave (Munjiri, Flexible Work Practices and Job Performance in the Transport and Logistics Industry: The Kenyan Perspective, 2017). It is important to critically explore and illuminate the possibility of implementing agile working as a key and central component of a corporate’s strategic objective and the impact that centrality may have on the overall organizational performance.

In his work, Wheatley (2017) focuses on the gender imbalance suffered as a result of inconsistent flexi-work guidelines, arguing men have a greater positive association with taking up flexi-time as compared to women. In theory, the argument is that women take on flexi-hours so as to attend to ‘away-from-work’ responsibilities, typically family focused which should be viewed honorable, but in reality it is ultimately considered that she has been pulled from her job (Subramaniam & Selvaratnam, 2010). On the other a man on flexi-hours, particularly for family reasons will be considered a responsible family man, with it generally accepted that he is ‘working from home’ and is therefore not considered career-limiting (Shagvaliyeva & Yazdanifard, 2014). As a result, recent studies now include recommendations on the need to offer flexibility not only under conditions of restraint but as a matter of choice. The effects of flexible work on employee attitudes incorporate an increase in job satisfaction, and significant reduction in high value employee turnover (Kröll & Nüesch, 2017). The study is done in Germany and concluded that organizations with flexible working arrangements increase their brand attraction of top human resource talent. It also considers the Conservation of Resources

Theory advanced by Hobfoll (2001) that infers ‘employees want to obtain, retain, foster and protect their resources’- chiefly energies of time and knowledge, and the flexi-time circumstances allow for such protection. Lahti (2017) focused on productivity of teachers in Finland who have access to flexible working hours. The purpose of the study was based on the suggestion that teaching timetables provide instructors with little wriggle room for work-life balance, a position bolstered by (Göksoy, 2014). Significant outcomes from the work include that there is little empirical literature on the benefits of work-life balance particularly in the education sector, suggesting rather, that further critical study was necessary. It does conclude by finding that poorly designed flexible work arrangements inexorably benefit the employer over the employee. In reviewing the effect of fixed work schedules on health, and linking it to employee engagement, (Moen, 2011), provides an interesting treatise on the sociology of time, referring to defined hours as - ‘time-cages invisible scaffoldings that confine the human experience on and off the job’, a rather quaint moniker borrowed from (Sennett, 1998).

Moen et al, (2011) suggest these confines of time at work can and should be changed to a focus on productive results rather than a temporal construct, providing a prospective course where the flexible work arrangement can be directed to. Boru (2015) centers her enquiry on employee perception on ‘family friendly policies relating to work-life balance’, a case study on Gulf African Bank, in Nairobi Kenya (Boru, 2015). The findings are interesting in as far as the commitment with which an organization will have in effecting a useful ‘family friendly’ work policy. Employees have family support supervisors who provide mentorship and training on how to manage the flexibility and remain productive. The bank’s senior management ensure they model how to manage work-life balance, thus espousing the required culture.

From the much of the literature review, it was apparent that most of the flexible time modules, where they exist, were not considered as part of the central tenets of the organization’s strategy or key objectives (Brown, 2012). The concern for this study was the lack of adequate formalization of the policy and its operationalization, with the argument being, with proper design and implementation, agile working could significantly increase profitability and overall organizational performance (Sanford, 2012) as well as attract and retain top talent (Golden, 2009) due to increase in organizational employer brand value.

1.3 General Objective

The general objective of this study was to determine the Effect of the Agile Work Model on an Organization’s Performance: A Case Study of Commercial Bank of Africa Limited.

1.4 Objectives of the Study

The study was guided by the following research objectives:

1.4.1 To study the influence of the agile work model on team cohesion at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited.

1.4.2 To determine the influence of agile work model on individual work performance at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited.

1.4.3 To determine the influence of agile work model on strategy execution at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited.

1.5 Significance of the Study

1.5.1 The Executive Management Team of Commercial Bank of Africa

The study finding is of great importance to the management and employees working at CBA Bank as if informs the effects of agile work on organizational performance. The study may help the employees and management understand the challenges and types of agile work that can be implemented and how it affects them positively or negatively.

1.5.2. Employees of Commercial Bank of Africa

Agile work is a way of working in which an organization empowers its people to work where, when and how they choose with maximum flexibility and minimum supervision. The study shows agile work boosts the employees’ morale at Commercial Bank of Africa since they work at their convenient work schedule. This gives job satisfaction and in turn leads to better service delivery and promotes employee retention.

1.5.3 Management of Other Banks

This study is of value to the management of other banks in that it provides data on how adopting agile work can act as an employee recruitment and retention tool in the banks. Additionally, the banks in Kenya can identify how to incorporate agile work, in the way that they apply other HR practices.

1.5.4 Banking Industry

The information of the findings is important to the stakeholders in the banking sector, the employers and employees’ union. Agile work research within the banking sector was particularly important considering other studies found out many of this organizations have work life policies but lack good wheels in the implementation of this policies and practices.

1.5.5 Policy Makers

The study finding enlightens the policy makers on the anticipated impact of agile work on organizational performance; this will help them in putting in place policies through legislation that help protect the rights of employees since human capital is crucial to a nation development. It’s the researchers view that through the discoveries of this study, the policy makers in Kenya are able to appreciate which types of agile work helps employees to develop.

1.5.6 Researchers and Academicians

The study is of great importance to researchers and academicians as it forms basis for future research as well as providing literature for future studies on agile work. The study adds to the body of knowledge on the effect of agile work on organizational performance.

1.6 Scope of the Study

The study aimed at establishing the effect of agile work on organizational performance. The target population was limited to the formal employees at CBA Bank who were of different levels of management. The study was partial in terms of coverage as it only covered one geographical location which is Nairobi. The researcher had anticipated some respondents may not give full information fearing that the information sought would be used against them. The

10 study assured them of confidentiality and that the information would not be shared to anyone. Some respondents turned down the request to fill questionnaires. The presence of the introduction letter from the University assured many to participate in the study since information they gave is treated with confidentiality and would be used purely for academic purposes. The study also encounters problems in eliciting information from the respondents as the information required was subject to areas of feelings, emotions, attitudes and perceptions, which could not be accurately quantified and/or verified objectively. The study minimized this by making the questions objective. The study was conducted from October to December 2018.

1.7 Definition of Terms

1.7.1 Agile Work

Agile work is a way of working in which an organization empowers its people to work where, when and how they choose with maximum flexibility and minimum supervision (Casper& Harris, 2008).

1.7.2 Flexible Working Arrangements

Flexible working arrangements (FWA)is part of work-life balance and refers to where an employer provides benefits that permit employees some level of control over when and where they work outside of the standard workday, it also involves giving employees flexibility on how long, where and when they work. (Hill et al., 2001).

1.7.3 Work-Life Balance

Work-life balance refers to an individual’s ability to balance the commitments, responsibilities and goals relating to their paid work such as working hours, expected outputs of the job, career advancement and balancing it with personal commitments, responsibilities and desires such as parenting, recreational activities, community commitments, and further education (Allen, 2014).

1.7.4 Flexitime

Flexitime is a scheme where an organisation gives its employees the opportunity of a flexible working hour’s arrangement. Under flexi time, there is normally a core period of the day when employees must be at work, whilst the rest of the working day is "flexi time", in which staff can choose when they work, subject to achieving total daily, weekly or monthly hours. (Kelly & Kalev, 2006).

1.7.5 Compressed Hours

A compressed working hours schedule is when employees work full-time hours over fewer days. For example, a full-time employee could work four 10-hour days instead of five 8-hour days, this is a popular way to boost morale by offering extra days off with no loss of earnings and can benefit employers by extending business hours (Sundo & Fujii, 2005).

1.7.6 Telecommuting

Telecommuting involves an employee working away from the central workplace (usually at home), this increased productivity since often fewer distractions are at home and time at the central workplace is used more efficiently (Tarrant, 2007).

1.7.7 Performance

Performance is referred to as the results achieved from the act of working because they elicit a strong association the organization strategic goals, customer gratification and economic contributions (Hernando & Nieto, 2013.).

1.7.8 Financial Performance

Financial performance is the extent to which financial objectives are met or have been met. Financial performance subject to how effectively a firm uses its assets from its principal role of conducting business and its successive creation of revenues (Yahya, 2015).

1.7.9 Operation Performance

This involves analysis of the outcomes of an organization in relation to its intended outputs. This was measured through the effectiveness and efficiency of the organization to help it achieve the desired outputs (Armstrong, 2010).

1.8 Chapter Summary

This chapter provides a focus on the background of the study, the problem statement, the purpose of the study, the research objectives, the significance of the study, the scope of the study and the definition of terms. The next chapter covers the literature review. Thereafter the research methodology adopted was established in chapter three. In chapter four, the researcher made the summary of the results and findings of the study and in chapter five, conclusion and recommendations of the study was made.

CHAPTER TWO

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

The following chapter will determine the effect of the agile work model on organization’s performance, a case study of Commercial Bank of Africa. The specific objectives will then be covered which are to establish the influence of the Agile Work Model on team cohesion at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited, to determine the influence of the Agile Work Model on individual work performance at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited and to determine the influence of the Agile Work Model on strategy execution at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited.

2.2 Influence of Agile Work Model on Team Cohesion

Team cohesion is defined as the total field of forces causing members to remain in group (Sheryl & Bruce, 2005). Cohesion is the degree and the tendency of teams to stick together in unity, solidarity, and pulling together to achieve a certain objective. Team cohesion starts with the clarity of the specific performance objective starting with building of confidence in team members. An effective team requires cohesion that is held together by several factors. In order to understand how to assemble an efficient team, organization first need to know the factors affecting effective teamwork (Drew & Thomas, 2017). When an organization knows how to create a productive team environment, it can begin to expect positive results from its team. The best teams are those that understand why they have been brought together, what they are expected to accomplish as a whole and what each individual is expected to do (Salas, 2014). Employees operate better as individuals if they consider themselves to be part of a well- functioning, supportive team to which all are happy to belong. As committed participants in the group, they are more productive, communicative, trusting, motivated and loyal. Agile work efforts are task oriented and they attempt to help team members improve how they accomplish their team task. Other efforts are interpersonally oriented, and this is concerned with how well team members communicate and interact. Agile work has been successful in producing measurable results in terms of direct savings, costs avoided, producing measurable results in

14 terms of direct savings, costs avoided, improved customer satisfaction, and implemented process improvements (Salas, 2014).

2.2.1 Agile Work on Team Communication

Agile work facilitates effective teamwork through clear and open communication. All team members should be on the same page with respect to targets, responsibilities and timelines. This cohesion is facilitated by effective communication. Efficient communication mechanisms are crucial to develop effective teams. In order to understand the scope of a goal and agree upon a path to reach that goal, teams must develop an effective method of communication. Indicators of effective team communication include mellow conversation tones, willingness to consider all opinions, desire to enhance communication frequency, effective conflict resolution, and efficient decision-making processes (Ciborra, 2013).

One way of improving communication among team members is proximity is through agile work. According to Drew and Thomas (2017) these members should be located closely for an increased communication. If people see each other more often, then they will start to know each other more quickly. They can speak more effectively, and fluent. This frequent contact will tend the members to be more uniform. So, proximity will affect communication directly and clear understanding of both sides. Another issue for an effective communication is feedback. When one of the sides in a team denotes something to the other; they should wait for restating. This can help to overcome a listener’s closed mind. Another technique could be; after declaration of an idea, organizing a meeting to discuss it (Rosenau & Moran, 2014). Also, Salas (2014) harmonizes communication and feedback improves effectiveness and productivity. Teams get feedback both internally and externally to be more successful.

Accordingly, communication is needed for getting effective feedback. Organizations often ask employees to complete jobs that require they work as a team. Agile work has many benefits, including the possibility to create new friendships, a sense of group accomplishment and distribution of responsibilities. Conversely, agile work also may cause tension and anxiety among employees because of poor communication. Effective agile work can eliminate much of the stress and negative feelings sometimes associated with working closely as a team. Organizations should encourage their employees to communicate with one another clearly

15 when working together. This is especially important for smaller companies, whose employees often must work closely with one another (Gluck, 2011).

Agile work connects people together, great teams hold each member (the team leader included) accountable for their actions. Establishing a culture of agile work gives your team the words to use when others are not performing up to snuff. Your relentless focus on improving communication is the difference between your team's success and failure (Lumley & Coetzee, 2011). Agile work enhances team cohesion through communication which promotes motivation by informing and clarifying the employees about the task to be done, the manner they are performing the task, and how to improve their performance if it is not up to the mark. It is a source of information to the organizational members for decision-making process as it helps identifying and assessing alternative course of actions. Agile work plays a crucial role in altering individual’s attitudes, i.e., a well-informed individual will have better attitude than a less-informed individual. Agile work will help frame the employee’s attitude and influence corporate engagement with colleagues (Lumley & Coetzee, 2011).

2.2.2 Agile Work on Team Leadership

Teamwork is supported by effective leadership through agile work. All teams benefit from one or several sources of inspiration and direction; leaders can support collaboration by coordinating the efforts of team members and encouraging team members to speak their minds during team meetings through agile work. They can ensure the team projects stay on track by checking in with different contributors and measuring daily/weekly progress against overall timetables and objectives. The importance of the leader is an influential factor which affects virtual teamwork (Salas, 2014). Rosenau and Moran (2014) found an associating relationship between the use of behavioral controls and the trust among virtual team members. Agile work may help levels of engagement and collective efficacy within a team and might facilitate effective virtual team functioning. Agile work represents a significant characteristic of effective team performance because team.

Agile work role is to find out the defaults of the team and solve them as quick as possible. Leader performs or gets it performed (Day, 2004). Agile work creates a climate that encourages mutual performance monitoring, supportive behavior, and adaptability. Gilson (2010)

16 emphasize that a leader is thought to diffuse leadership skills and abilities to the team that are used in influencing core processes, such as transition, action and interpersonal processes. Team leaders work for achieving team purpose and goals, building commitment and self-confidence, discovering the team’s collective skills and approach, crossing barriers, and creating opportunities (Katzenbach & Smith, 2013). According to Katzenbach and Smith (2013) agile work play an important role on team performance. They plan, model and set teamwork for a successful teamwork process. Rosenau and Moran (2010) denoted that, team performance is affected from team leadership. Team leader must know all capabilities of the members to coordinate and employ them in their specialized area to be more effective. They also explain that, team leader’s important mission is to provide feedback and recommendations for improvement.

Boomer (2012) report that agile work brings together team members who report increased satisfaction, exert extra work effort, have higher performing groups and receive high ratings on effectiveness. Boomer (2012) suggests that agile work create a dynamic organizational vision that necessitates a metamorphosis in cultural values, reflecting greater innovation and empowerment of team members. Although most empowerment researchers devote their attention to individual level models, Salas (2014) suggests that agile work do play an intrinsic role in motivation that reflects on individual’s orientation to his/her work role. Therefore, empowered team members see themselves as competent and able to influence their work in meaningful ways. Yebei (2014) defines team effectiveness in terms of innovation, communication and team performance. He concludes that feelings of empowerment shared in a group fueled by agile work can result in high team effectiveness.

2.2.3 Agile Work on Team Diversity

Agile work facilitates effective teams which embrace and are constituted by a diversity of cultures, talents and personalities. Diversity can promote creativity and innovation, and raise awareness of and respect for differences, which supports effective teamwork (Chen, 2016). By contrast, teams that lack diversity can find it difficult to solve particular problems; it is much harder to find innovative solutions when all of the team members think about problems in the same way draw on similar experiences for support and come to the same conclusions (Rosenau & Moran, 2014). The merits of diversity noted, difference also raises the potential for conflict

17 within teams, which can be harmful if not managed properly. Buchner (2013) has shown that, while agile work can have both positive and negative impacts on teamwork, it most positively affects teamwork by enhancing creativity, innovation, flexibility, information-sharing, productivity, synergy (the ability of the team to accomplish more than an individual), and work-related problem-solving skills. Agile work in teamwork makes it possible for the accomplishments of the group to far outweigh any single or individual contribution; it makes it possible for ‘the whole to become more than the sum of its parts.’ Developing diversity consciousness will improve those skills that are essential for true teamwork (e.g., communication, conflict management, empathy, self-evaluation, and leadership), expand diversity management skills, and increase group productivity (Buchner, 2015).

According to Chen (2016) agile work has a positive impact on performance because of unique cognitive attributes that members bring to the team. Ultimately, cognitive diversity among heterogeneous members promotes creativity, innovation, and problem solving, and thus results in superior performance relative to cognitively homogeneous teams. However, there have been counterarguments against the effects of team diversity as postulated by the cognitive diversity perspective. Most notably, researchers taking either the similarity attraction paradigm or the social identity theory in examining teamwork often conclude that member heterogeneity has an adverse impact on team outcomes. According to Allen (2017) varying member characteristics such as age, ethnicity, and expertise can be easily categorized by individual members and are negatively associated with team outcomes.

Agile work facilitates the mix of knowledge and expertise in a team. Individuals should be selected for teams so that as a whole the group has all the expertise needed to achieve its goals. For this reason, cross-functional teams may be larger than groups formed to work on less complex activities (Hackman & Oldhman, 2010). Similarly, a task force charged with making recommendations in a short time frame would benefit from having fewer members. Teams benefit from similarities in background among members, which can reduce conflict and miscommunication. Having fewer differences can also reduce the amount of time a team takes to become an effective working group since there is less need to adjust individual work styles (Miller, 2012). Agile work facilitates diversity in skills and experience which brings broader perspectives and different approaches to the team's work. Having members with different skill

18 sets also reduces redundancies and allows for the more efficient assignment of people to various teams through agile work (Allen, 2017).

2.3 Influence of Agile Work Model on Individual Work Performance

At first, agile work arrangements such as shift-work and mandatory overtime were introduced because they were beneficial to organizations (Nijp, 2012). Nowadays, agile work has become an essential part of today’s work culture because of socio-demographic changes, but the organizations benefits are still one of its major driving forces (Masuda et al., 2011). People have to cope with increased role demands and new technology has also made it possible to communicate and work wherever and whenever. Managing multiple roles as individuals has become even more difficult (Rothbard, Phillips & Dumas, 2015). Also, the possibility and expectation to work unusual times has created health risks (Greubel, 2016). These changes have enhanced the demand of work-life balance. Organizations adopt more agile work in order to respond to the needs and expectations of employees which have increased because of these socio-demographic changes. In reality however, flexibility favors more organizations than employees since with flexible working hours, employees may spend more time working (Wheatley, 2016). Therefore, companies and organizations want to provide agile work.

2.3.1 Flexi-Time on Individual Work Performance

Flexi-time is an arrangement which enables employees to choose when they start or finish their work than the usual time, provided they complete a certain number of hours (Kelly & Kalev, 2006). Employees are supposed to be present particularly in certain core hours (Eaton, 2003). Flexi-time enables organizations to have employees working in extended time without any increase in costs. Frone and Yardley (2010) states that less time is wasted in settling down. Employees are able to attend to their person responsibilities especially those young families and those attending to part time classes. According to Frone and Yardley (2010) studies have indicated organization using flextime have less employee’s turnover; there is more commitment and more gains in production. There is also improved employee relations and improved communication. Wheatley (2016) also sights reduced employee absenteeism as another benefit. According to Cole (2012) Flexi time enable employee to vary their working hours within agreed parameters and provided they attend during a “core” time it has some

19 potential benefits for instance, it gives employee more control over scheduling personal responsibilities on either end of the workday. Arguments for a positive relationship between flexible employment contracts and innovation can also be found. Following the approaches of Greubel (2016) not necessarily only internal resources are used for innovation. Instead, innovation depends much more on the effective utilization of technology and knowledge, even beyond internal capacities can be seen as complementary innovation input factors. Especially in the cases of open source projects, the use of external resources is crucial.

Onyango (2013) researched on relationship between flexi time and commitment of nurses in public hospitals in Kenya agreed with Muchiti and Gachunga, 2015) who observes that employees with greater control over work schedules are more likely to show increased engagement, commitment, retention and job satisfaction. Hill (2010) argues that flexi time enable employees to manage their work and family responsibilities harmoniously. Hill (2010) view is supported by Dalcos and Daley (2009) who revealed that flexible work arrangement such as flex time allows employees to choose when, where and for how long they engage in work-related tasks, thus enhance engagement. Chow and Howe's, (2006) revealed that work arrangements where employees’ participation is incorporated shows higher levels of concentration, and performance. It is therefore evident that flexible work arrangement is very significant in enhancing employees’ commitment, quality service delivery in the public hospitals and thus client satisfaction.

According to Cole (2012) flexi time is viewed as a business imperative to adhere strategic priority such as higher employer productivity, job satisfaction, innovation and lower absenteeism. Furthermore, Greubel (2016) in their research examined the relation between the use of family-friendly employment practices (flexi time) and work family conflict suggested that employers that are concerned about work family conflict would be wise to offer family friendly practices especially. Flexi time and supervision to support. Flexi time generally makes workers to be productive hence high performance to the employee. Employees who are placed on flexible program will be happier at work and less prone to burnout and stress than employees on fixed job hence productivity is realized. Productivity is particularly important for the long term financial and non-financial success and profitability of the organization. Loscocco (2012) in his study “Flexible and compressed workweek schedules” found that flexible work

20 schedules had positive effects on both job satisfaction and satisfaction with work schedule. Furthermore, telecommuting is associated with increased job satisfaction and reduced intentions to turnover, with these relationships partially mediated by lower levels of work-life conflict and results into organizational performance. Loscocco (2012) found that individuals with high levels of work-life conflict were more attracted to organizations that offered flexible working hours, while individuals with lower levels of conflict between work and life were more attracted to organizations that provided employee preferences for segmentation versus integration of work and family roles predicted attraction to work-life practices, with employees who preferred to keep their work and family lives separate being more satisfied with the provision of flexible hours rather than onsite childcare.

2.3.2 Compressed Work Week on Individual Work Performance

The Compressed Work Week model is an agreement in which employee’s works for more hours by prolonging the length of workdays in a week (Sundo & Fujii, 2005). Employees may opt to work for four days in a week to get a day off. Hill (2010) ascertains that the commonly type of compressed hours is made up of ten hours per day making forty hours for 4 days. The employee could therefore be in a position to take a day off either Monday or Friday. According to Avery and Zabel (2011) North America workforce practices compressed work hours more than any other country. According to Bird (2010) compressed work hours increases production and job satisfaction improves as well as reducing absenteeism. In a study carried out in Texas 85% indicated it was easier to devote time to their families while 76% indicated that more time was devoted to family responsibilities (Travis, 2010).

Companies have begun to realize how important the work-life balance is to the productivity and creativity of their employees. Employees who are more favorable toward their organization’s efforts to support work-life balance also indicates a much lower intent to leave the organization, greater pride in their organization, a willingness to recommend it as a place to work and higher overall job satisfaction. Employers can offer a range of different programs and initiatives, such as agile work in the form of part time (providing more part time jobs with less hours or fewer shifts, or job-sharing arrangements) to all employees, casual and telecommuting work. More proactive employers can provide compulsory leave, strict maximum hours and foster an environment that encourages employees not to continue working

21 after official hours (Gainey & Beth, 2016).It is an alternative work arrangement where a standard workweek is reduced to fewer than five days, and employees make up the full number of hours per-week by working longer hours, (Hyman & Summers, 2014). The most common types of compressed workweek are: 4/10 schedule (four 10-hour days per week) and 9/80 schedule (80 hours in a two-week period worked over nine days instead of ten). Compressed work week is intended to create flexible conditions that help employees integrate their work and personal lives more effectively and better manage issues such as commuting, care giving, continuing education, and community service. Successful compressed workweek arrangements serve the needs both of individual employees and their work unit/departments. The focus of the arrangement is on job performance and meeting operational needs (Hyman & Summers, 2014).

Compressed work week can result into a problem of meeting deadlines, for example for those employees working 4 days a week with long hours, this happens if the boss wants his work early 5th day which is an employee day of attending non-work duties (Kirrane & Buckley, 2013). Challenges such as work schedules, child and adult care, time concerns, gaining administrative support, meeting family needs, and work expectations are becoming increasingly more complex for employees in organizations throughout the world. This brings a challenge to employees in trying to balance between work and life. A different kind of employee is emerging in the workplace. Increasingly, workers' commitments may be more to themselves than to their employer. Younger workers, particularly those with children, are more willing to make sacrifices in their education, career, and/or job in exchange for increased time for family or personal life (Golafshani, 2013).

McDonald (2014) reported that employees working longer hours are slightly more likely to report a greater imbalance in the work life relationship. The five high involvement variables (i.e. power to make decision and act autonomously, information provision, rewards, knowledge of the job and team working) were found to be negatively correlated to work life imbalance. It was also found that increasing the availability of work life balance policies for employees did not improve the relationships when pressure to work longer hours was higher, and employees felt greater work life imbalance. Duxbury and Higgins (2014) examined the effects of three types of work family conflict – role overload (having too much to do), work to family

22 interference and family to work interference on the organizational performance and quality of life of employees. It was found that work-life conflict had a negative impact on organizational performance and on employees. Employees who are overloaded or whose work interfered with family (vice-versa) were highly stressed, experienced burnout, expressed dissatisfaction with life, and were in poor mental/ physical health.

2.3.3 Telecommuting on Individual Work Performance

Telecommuting model means working at home or at a central place convenient to one’s customers (Bijsterveldt, 2015). The employees make use of their telephones, email and fax to get in touch with their managers and other co-workers. Previous studies have found that organizations practicing telecommuting have the advantage of employees’ retention. According to Kurland and Bailey (2009) there are variety types of telecommuting. The commonly used are: home-based, satellite offices, neighborhood work centers, and mobile workers. Home-base telecommuting is a method of telecommuting in which employees particularly work from their homes. Employees may opt to work for several days in a week. In order for this arrangement to succeed, employers provide employees with various office equipment and machines for instance, computers and fax machines. On the other hand Satellite offices are other ways of telecommuting whereby employees are stationed at locality convenient to them or to their customers. The offices are properly furnished and have various office equipment.

The other form of telecommuting is the neighborhood work center. It is more or less like satellite office. The disparity arises in that neighborhood work center accommodates employees from more than one company. The organizations or companies may share the lease on buildings but maintain separate offices within the same building. Offices may be furnished by owner of the building or the renting firm (Pyoria, 2013). Mobile working is different from telecommuters because they work from one fixed location. Mobile workers are mostly commuting on the road. They may work from various locations for instance, hotel, planes or vehicle. This arrangement is common for salespersons, reporters or investment bankers. According to Kossek and Lee (2008) organizations makes saving because of reduced absenteeism. Reduced absenteeism displays employee’s loyalty to the organization which in turn has positive effects on organization performance. Workers operating from home have the

23 advantage of combing work and family or personal responsibilities. This benefits the organization in that absenteeism reduces. In their study Bijsterveldt (2015) established that office running costs reduces as a result of better utilization of resources management. Employees reduces their commute time as well.

However, there are challenges associated with telecommuting. Madsen (2011) states that workers telecommuting may feel cut off from the organization set up. Employees are not able to interact with each other thereby losing the sense of belonging. Teamwork and employees’ relations are also affected. There is the problem of inadequate resources and lack of technical support. Career development is 28 affected as well (Kossek & Lautsch, 2008). The employer is not able to closely monitor the performance of those employees chosen to telecommute. This may have repercussion for those jobs which are measurable. According to Bailey and Kurland (2002) extensive studies have been carried out on telecommuting and its influence on performance however very little research has been done on examine decisions and design processes to give support to these programs. Other research indicated that managers/ supervisors have problems in monitoring their employees (Kurland & Bailey, 2009).

2.4 Influence of Agile Work on Strategy Execution

The strategy execution of a firm is determined through firm performance which is the outcome achieved in meeting internal and external goals of a firm (McDonald, 2014). Performance has several outcomes including growth, survival, success and competitiveness. Better performing employees at work become more committed to their organizations and ultimately contribute to increased Performance as well as growth of the economy; to achieve this, work life balance is important. Availability of work life balance practices have also been related to increased affective commitment and decreases turnover intentions among all employees not just users of the practices (Golafshani, 2013). Organizations offering agile work enjoy increased profit rates, employees improved relationships with family and friends as well as enjoyment of better physical and mental health by employees. For any organization to achieve its objectives, there must be standards that are set to act as a guideline on how the various actors in an organization must behave. Having agile work policies in the organization is connected to a number of positive outcomes for employees who access them, including reductions in stress, burnout, turnover, and absenteeism and increases in retention, loyalty, job satisfaction, innovation,

24 creativity, and productivity (Travis, 2010). Studies using self-report measures of productivity often find a positive association between telework and performance among employees (Gajendran & Harrison, (2011), and formal participation in telework programs has also been related to improved performance ratings from supervisors. In their review of telework studies, Pastore, Carr-Chellman and Neal (2011) found productivity increases of between 10% and 30%, and qualitative research among teleworkers and their managers also yielded positive reports of increased performance.

2.4.1 Influence of Agile Work on Employee Strategies Execution

Meyer, Mukerjee and Sestero (2011) found positive effects of agile work on performance in their meta-analysis. On the other hand, in reviewing the results from studies conducted by (Stansfeld, 2012) concluded that a more limited amount of flexibility was optimal in predicting improved performance, with employees specifying in advance what hours they would work, rather than varying their schedule on an ad hoc basis. Clark (2013) collected information from 36 pharmaceutical companies in the U.S., covering an 11-year period, which indicated that the use of agile work is associated with an increase of approximately 10% in firm productivity.

Baltes (2013) offer a dissenting view regarding the causal effect of agile work on firm productivity. In a survey of 732 medium-sized manufacturing firms in the USA and Europe, they found that while the number of work-life balance practices on offer was positively associated with both higher productivity and better management practices, the relationship with productivity disappeared after controlling for the overall quality of management as evidenced by practices such as better shop-floor operations or performance-based promotion systems. This would suggest that organizations offering a wider range of work-life practices to employees are also more likely to institute high quality management practices, which may be confounding the link between work-life practices and organizational performance. Kefah (2012) studied impact of agile work on workers' performance in Information and Communication Technology Sector.The study used the descriptive analytical approach. The more remarkable finding of the study was the presence of the positive impact of agile work on workers' productivity since 65.68% of the employees agreed on that and 79.91% of information and communication technology companies' employees agreed with the presence of impact of the types of agile work were applied on their productivity. While the supported regulations of

25 the organization to agile work programs had the highest impact, where 81.95% of the respondents agreed with its impact on their productivity positively. 46.68% of the respondents disagreed with presence of employees' support to different agile work programs. 50.81% of the respondents disagreed with the presence of management support to agile work which effect on their productivity. Muli (2015) also found positive effects of agile work on productivity in their meta-analysis.

On the other hand, in reviewing the results from studies conducted by Madsen (2011) concluded that a more limited amount of flexibility was optimal in predicting improved performance, with employees specifying in advance what hours they would work, rather than varying their schedule on an ad hoc basis. Halpern (2014) collected information from 36 pharmaceutical companies in the U.S., covering an 11-year period, which indicated that the use of agile work is associated with an increase of approximately 10% in firm productivity.

Njiru (2013) studied the influence of agile work on employee performance in public sector in Kenya. The study was carried out at the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government and a descriptive survey design was adopted. The linear and multiple regression analysis were done to establish relationship among all the variables in the study. The study found out that telecommuting did not influence employee performance. The entire respondents gave a negative response. This implies that employees did not prefer this type of flexible work practice. It was found out that compressed work hours had no effect on employee performance.

2.4.2 Influence of Agile Work on Job Satisfaction Execution

With regard to contextual performance, the perceived usefulness of available practices has been found to predict increased organizational citizenship behavior. Use of and satisfaction with agile work has been associated with increased organizational commitment and reduced turnover intentions and voluntary reduced hours have been linked to greater job satisfaction, loyalty, and organizational commitment (Stansfeld, 2012). In a study of the ‘virtual office’, Clark (2013) participants attributed an increase in job satisfaction to increased flexibility in the location and timing of their work. Teleworkers in also reported higher levels of job satisfaction. The availability of organizational resources, including agile work, has been linked to job satisfaction and organizational commitment for women and for all employees with family

26 responsibilities, regardless of whether or not these resources are being used. Nizar (2016) studied agile work and job satisfaction: the mediating role of employee empowerment. It was noted that perceptions of pay and turnover intentions are included in the model as dependent constructs. Building on extant theories, a partial least square structural model was developed to study the relationships between work flexibility, empowerment, and job satisfaction. The model showed strong links between agile work and job satisfaction. Also, it is concluded that empowerment plays an important role in mediating the relationship between agile work and job satisfaction. It was observed that empowerment led to improved perceptions of pay and that improved perceptions of pay together with job satisfaction led to lower turnover intentions.

Njiru (2013) studied the influence of agile work on job satisfaction and staff morale in public sector in Kenya. The study was carried out at the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government and a descriptive survey design was adopted. The linear and multiple regression analysis were done to establish relationship among all the variables in the study. It was found out that compressed work hours had led to job satisfaction and enhanced staff morale since workers freedom to spend more time on their families and also move away from the traditional work schedule. It was also established that job satisfaction and staff morale had been achieved through job sharing since workers allowed job sharing are motivated and committed. It was also noted flexi time had led to job satisfaction and staff morale and established that indeed flexi time had led to job satisfaction and staff morale to a ‘large’ and ‘very large extent’ both at the same level.

Kilonzi (2014) studied the psychological contract and its relationship with organizational commitment and job satisfaction on employees in Faith Based Child development projects in Nairobi-East. The data was analyzed using frequency distribution Tables and percentages. The study revealed that poor psychological contract adversely affects the levels of job satisfaction and commitment of employees in Nairobi East. The main factors that determine the employee level of job satisfaction include; recognition, promotions, good working conditions, remuneration, and supervision. It was clear that dissatisfied employees proportionately demonstrate low levels of organizational commitment, which translates into high turnover, absenteeism and increased wastes in resources and time.

2.4.3 Influence of Agile Work on Reduced Turnover Rate Execution

Hall and Parker (2013) found that organizations offering parental leave enjoyed above average labour productivity, and that the provision of agile work and telework was associated with reduced turnover. In their meta-analysis, Gajendran and Harrison, (2011) found that telework was associated with increased job satisfaction and reduced intentions to turnover, with these relationships partially mediated by lower levels of work-life conflict. Availability of work-life balance practices has also been related to increased affective commitment and decreased turnover intentions. Stansfeld (2012) found that parental leave; childcare information and referral, flexible work hours, and financial assistance with childcare predicted both increased affective commitment to the organization and decreased turnover intentions among all employees, not just users of the practices.

Kelliher and Anderson (2012) review suggested that the provision of agile work will be positively related to organizational commitment only if employees perceive the flexibility as increasing their control over their time. Clark (2013) found that organizations offering parental leave enjoyed above average labour productivity and that the provision of agile work and telework was associated with reduced turnover. In their meta-analysis, Gajendran and Harrison (2011) found that telework was associated with increased job satisfaction and reduced intentions to turnover, with these relationships partially mediated by lower levels of work-life conflict. Availability of work-life balance practices has also been related to increased affective commitment and decreased turnover intentions.

Bijsterveldt (2015) focused on the effect of agile work on employee well-being, moderated by social support. Data was collected using questionnaires, distributed among 197 employees from different organizations and different countries. The results showed that there is a positive significant relationship between agile work and psychological well-being. Furthermore, the results showed that there is a negative significant relationship between agile work and social well-being, as well as the stress level of physical well-being. The moderating effect of social support is not significant. However, due to the relatively little studies examining the moderating effect of social support, future studies should examine its impact on a larger sample size and within other contexts. By doing so, future studies can examine to what extent the context of this study influenced current results. Njiru (2013) studied the influence of agile work

28 on employee turnover in public sector in Kenya. The study was carried out at the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government and a descriptive survey design was adopted. The linear and multiple regression analysis were done to establish relationship among all the variables in the study. Compressed work hours had only reduced employee turnover to a ‘very small extent’ with respondent attesting to this fact and therefore compressed hours had no positive impact on employee turnover. job sharing had reduced employee turnover to a large extent since job sharing scheduling system attributed its success as a result of reduced employee turnover enabling employees to give care to their families. Finally, flexi-time had led to reduced employee turnover this is because benefits of flexible work scheduling in the form of flexi-time is decreased employee turnover.

2.5 Chapter Summary

This chapter reviews the literature on the three objectives which were the influence of the agile work on team cohesion at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited, the influence of agile work on individual work performance at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited and the influence of agile work on strategy execution at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited. The next chapter will cover the research methodology that will be used, in an attempt to achieve the objectives of the study.

CHAPTER THREE

3.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

This chapter focused on the research methodology that was used, in an attempt to achieve the objectives of the study which was the effect of the agile work model on an organization’s performance, a case of Commercial Bank of Africa Limited. Attention was focused on research design, population and sample design. It also discussed the data collection method, instruments used and research procedures. It puts across the data analysis method and chapter summary.

3.2 Research Design

The study adopted a descriptive research design. A descriptive study is concerned with determining the frequency with which something occurs or the relationship between variables (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2009). Thus, this approach is appropriate for this study, since the researcher intends to collect detailed information through descriptions and was useful for identifying variables and hypothetical constructs (Saunders, Lewis &Thornhill, 2009). This method provided descriptions of the variables in order to answer the research questions in the study. It was therefore an efficient way to use to obtain information needed to describe the attitudes, opinions and views of the respondents on the effect of the agile work model on an organization’s performance, a case study of Commercial Bank of Africa Limited (Kombo & Tromp, 2013).

3.3 Population and Sampling Design

3.3.1 Population

Population can be defined as a complete set of elements (persons or objects) that possess some common characteristic defined by the sampling criteria established by the researcher (Mugenda & Mugenda, 2008). Target population on the other hand is the specific population about which information is desired (Kothari & Garg, 2014). This definition ensured that population of interest was homogeneous. Population studies are more representative because everyone has an equal chance to be included in the final sample that is drawn (Mugenda &Mugenda, 2008).

The target population was the 162 employees working at the Commercial Bank of Africa headquarters, from different levels of management; the senior level, middle level and lower level management (Commercial Bank of Africa, Human Resource Department).

Table 3.1 Target Population Category Population Frequency Percentage Top level management 13 8.0 Middle level management 42 25.9 Lower level management 107 66.0 Total 162 100.0 Source: Commercial Bank of Africa Human Resource Department (2018)

3.3.2 Sampling Design

3.3.2.1 Sampling Frame

The sampling frame is defined as the set of source materials from which the sample is drawn. It provides a means by which particular members of the target population are chosen (Johnson, Scholes & Whittington, 2008). The sampling frame in essence is a complete list of all the cases in the population from which a sample is drawn (Kombo & Tromp, 2013). Since a researcher rarely has direct access to the entire population of interest in social science research, a researcher must rely upon a sampling frame to represent all of the elements of the population of interest (Kombo & Tromp, 2013). The sampling frame for this study was the employees in the senior level, middle level and lower level management at Commercial Bank of Africa.

3.3.2.2 Sampling Technique

Sampling is that part of statistical practice which is concerned with the selecting of a subset of individual observations within a population with intention of yielding some knowledge about the population of concern, necessary for making predictions based on statistical inference (Mugenda & Mugenda, 2008). Sampling technique is the procedure a researcher uses to gather people, places or things to study, (Kombo & Tromp, 2013). Survey method was used since the population of study was small and not homogeneous; was subdivided into groups or strata to get a representative sample. Survey method gives a more representative sample from a

31 generally non-homogeneous population. This strategy was utilized since it reduced chances of bias and all items had equal chance of being chosen.

3.3.2.3 Sample Size

Mugenda & Mugenda (2008) explained a sample to be a small group that is obtained from an accessible population. The sample is drawn from a list of population elements that often differ somewhat from the defined population (Kombo & Tromp, 2013). In this study, survey method included all the employees of CBA at the headquarters.

Table 3.2 Sample Size Population category Frequency Sample Size Top Management 13 13 Middle Level Management 42 42 Lower Level Management 107 107 Total 162 162 Source: Commercial Bank of Africa Human Resource Department (2018)

3.4 Data Collection Method

The study used questionnaires to carry out the study. According to Cooper and Schindler (2011) primary data are sought for their proximity to truth and control over error thus primary data will be used to obtain realistic and truthful information. The study used closed ended questions in an effort to conserve time and money as well as to facilitate easier analysis. The questionnaire contained organisation information and statements as per research questions. The researcher used the Likert 5- Point Scale; where 1 represented ‘strongly disagree, 2 represented ‘disagree’, 3 represented ‘agree’, 4 represented ‘strongly agree’ and 5 represented ‘not applicable’. The questionnaire was divided into 2 sections. The 1st section contained demographic information concerning age of the respondents, gender of the respondents, education level and years of experience. The second section covered the research questions of the study.

3.5 Research Procedures

The researcher made use of his network to persuade targeted respondents to fill up and return the questionnaires to ensure a high response rate. The researcher also encouraged the respondents to participate without holding back the information that they had as the research instruments did not bear their names. The researcher carried an introduction letter from United States University to assure the respondents that the information that they gave would be treated confidentially and it was used purely for research purposes when carrying out the actual data collection. The questionnaire was administered through drop and pick method.

The study conducted a pilot study to pretested and validates the questionnaire. The researcher selected a pilot group of 8 employees from the target population to test the validity of the research instrument. The pilot study allowed for pre-testing of the research instrument to enhance the instrument’s validity. The pilot study also enabled the researcher to be familiar with research and its administration procedure as well as identify items that required modification. After the pre-test, the researcher proceeded to do actual data collection. Bryman and Bell (2015) insisted that this enabled the researcher to familiarize with the study area and its administration procedure as well as identifying items that required modification. A threshold of 0.7 was adopted for reliability. The results in Table 3.2 indicate that the overall Cronbach alpha was .949 which was greater than .7 thresholds. This means the variables in the study demonstrated construct reliability.

Table 3.3 Data Reliability Cronbach's Alpha Based on Standardized Cronbach's Alpha Items Number of Items Decision .949 .947 40 Reliable

3.6 Data Analysis

Analysis was done quantitatively using descriptive and inferential statistics. For descriptive statistics it was presented in form of means and standard deviations. The study further employed inferential statistics in form of linear regression and correlation analysis. Data

33 analysis was done with the use of SPSS software version 22. The response was presented through tabulations and percentages. Cooper and Schindler (2011) notes that the use of percentages is important for two reasons; first it simplifies data by reducing all the numbers to range between 0 and 100. Second, they translate the data into standard form with a base of 100 for relative comparisons. Correlation analysis is the statistical tool that can be used to examine the level of association of two variables. Correlation values ranges from 0 to ±1.0, a value of 0 indicates that there is no relationship between the dependent and the independent variables. On the other hand, a correlation of ±1.0 indicates that there exists a perfect negative or positive relationship. The relationship will be regarded as weak when r = ±0.1 to ±0.29, while the relationship will be considered medium when r = ±0.3 to ±0.49, r ±0.5 to ±0.74 will be strong and when r = ±0.75 and above, the relationship will be considered to be very strong variable (Cooper & Schindler, 2011). In this study, Tables were used to summarize responses and facilitate comparison.

The research used regression method which was beneficial for its ability to test the nature of influence of independent variables on a dependent variable. The regression model was as follows:

Y = β0 + β1X1 + β2X2 + β3X3 + ε

Where: Y = Organization’s performance of Commercial Bank of Africa Limited; β0 = Constant

Term; β1, β2 and β3 = Beta coefficients; X1 = Team Cohesion; X2= Individual Work

Performance, X3= Strategy Execution and ε = Error term.

3.7 Chapter Summary

This chapter has presented the research methodology used in analysing the research questions. The chapter covered the research design, population, sampling design, data collection method, research procedure and finally the data analysis. The next chapter covers research findings and discussions of the study.

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Introduction

This chapter covers the research findings on the Effect of the Agile Work Model on an Organization’s Performance: A Case Study of Commercial Bank of Africa Limited. The results and findings were based on the research specific objectives informed by the three independent variables: the impact of the Agile Work Model on Team Cohesion; the impact of the Agile Work Model on Individual Work Performance and; the impact of the Agile Work Model on Strategy Execution. Descriptive analysis as well as inferential analysis was the statistical tests performed and the results are presented as follows.

4.2 Demographic Information

In this sub section, the response rate as well as the information on the respondents’ demographic characteristics such as gender, age, level of education, number of years worked at CBA, level of management and duration worked in an agile environment both outside and within CBA environment are presented and explained.

4.2.1 Response Rate

As indicated on Table 4.1, the sample population for the study was 162 employees from the Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA). Using the survey method using questionnaires, 100 respondents participated in the study which gives a response rate of 61.7%. This was an adequate size for the research according to Fincham (2008) that determines that a response rate of more than 60% is adequate in a study.

Table 4.1 Response Rate Questionnaires Frequency Percentage Responded 100 61.7% Did not respond 62 38.3% Total 162 100.0%

4.2.2 Gender of Respondents

Figure 4.1 illustrates the response across gender indicating the 52% of the respondents were male and 48% of the respondents were female. Therefore, male participants were slightly more than female though in with a smaller margin.

Female 48% Male 52%

Figure 4.1 Gender of Respondents

4.2.3 Age Bracket of Respondents

The respondents were categorized in 5-year age cohorts starting at 20 years as the lower age threshold and 45 years and over as the eldest metric. A majority of the respondents were those in the 26 to 30-year cohort at 41.5%, followed by those aged 31 to 35 years at 26.6% and 20 to 25 years at 20.2%. Those below 10% are outlined as follows: 41 to 45 years at 5.3%, 36 to 40 years at 4.3% and 45 years and above at 2.1%. This shows about 88.3% of the respondents were of the age 20 to 35 years. The Age cohort is illustrated on Figure 4.2.

41.5

26.6

20.2

4.3 5.3 2.1

20-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 41-45 45 YEARS & ABOVE

Figure 4.2 Age Bracket of Respondents

4.2.4 Education Level of Respondents

Figure 4.3 shows the education level of respondents. More than half (62%) of the respondents have a university degree. An additional 20.4% of the respondents have a Master’s degree. 7.5% were diploma holders and similar number of 7.5% as postgraduate diploma. The least group were the Ph.D. holders at 2.2%. Therefore, as a baseline, 92.5% of the respondents have at least an undergraduate degree, with the majority being were degree holders at 62.4%.

62.40%

20.40%

7.50% 7.50% 2.20%

DIPLOMA DEGREE POSTGRADUATE MASTERS PHD DIPLOMA

Figure 4.3 Education Level of Respondents

4.2.5 Years Worked at CBA

Figure 4.4 shows the number of years the respondents had worked at CBA. More than half of the respondents (64.8%) had worked at CBA for 1 to 5 years. 23.1% had a 6 to 10-year experience at the bank and 8.8% of the staff surveyed had worked for less than 1 year. A representative 3.3% had worked for 11 to 15 years. Majority of those surveyed have been at the bank for 1 to 5 years.

64.8%

23.1%

8.8% 3.3%

LESS THAN 1 YEAR 1-5 YEARS 6-10 YEARS 11-15 YEARS

Figure 4.4 Number of Years Worked at CBA

4.2.6 Level of Management

Figure 4.3 shows the level of management. In descending order, more than half of the respondents were officers at 59.3%. They were followed by managers at 18.7%, middle level managers at 17.6%, senior managers at 3.3% and only 1.1% was the CEO. From this, the higher the level of management, the fewer the respondents.

59.3

17.6 18.7 1.1 3.3

CEO LEVEL SENIOR MIDDLE MANAGER OFFICER MANAGEMENT MANAGEMENT

Figure 4.5 Level of Management

4.2.7 Duration Worked in Agile Environment at CBA and other Organizations

Figure 4.4 shows the duration the respondents have worked in an agile environment at CBA and in other organizations. For those who had worked at agile environment in other organizations, majority had worked for less than 1 year (50%), followed by 42.6% who had worked for 1 to 5 years and others who were below 10%. Similarly, a comparison of those who had worked at agile environment at CBA shows more than 50% had worked for 1 to 5 years at 61.7%. They were followed by those who had worked for less than 1 year at 26.2% while others were presented by less than 10%. This shows similarity where most of the respondents who had worked in agile environment both at CBA and outside had worked for less than 5 years. The difference was on the percentage; those who had worked at agile environment at CBA were more than those who had worked at agile environment in other organizations hence CBA provided more agile environment than the previous work environment of the respondents.

Duration worked in agile environment Duration worked on Agile environment at CBA

70 61.7 60 50 50 42.6 40

30 26.6

20 9.6 10 5.3 2.1 1.1 0 Less than 1 year 1-5 years 6-10 years 11-15 years

Figure 4.6 Duration Worked in Agile Environment at CBA and other Organizations

4.3 Influence of the Agile Work Model on Team Cohesion

The first objective of the study was to establish the influence of the agile work model on team cohesion at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited. This sub section presents the descriptive and inferential findings on the first objective.

4.3.1 Descriptive Analysis of Agile Work Model on Team Cohesion

On the team communication, all items were ranked as agreed with mean value of 4. In descending order based on the mean value, they were; ‘Agile work enhances team cohesion motivates employees’ (M=4.3404, SD=.78361), ‘Agile work facilitates effective teamwork through communication’ (M=4.3830, SD=.65757), ‘Efficient communication mechanisms are crucial to develop effective teams’ (M=4.3617, SD=.84052), ‘Effective agile work can eliminate much of the stress and negative feelings sometimes associated with working closely as a team’ (M=4.3298, SD=.78135), ‘All team members in our company are on the same page with respect to responsibilities’ (M=4.0000, SD=.78972) and lastly ‘All team members in our company are on the same page with respect to targets’ (M=3.8830, SD=.86579).

On the agile work on team leadership, all items were also ranked as ‘agreed’ with mean value of 4. They were; ‘Our organizational has teamwork which is supported by effective leadership through agile work’ (M=4.0957, SD=.74875), ‘Leaders can support agile work by coordinating the efforts of team members’ (M=4.3617, SD=.66963), ‘Leaders encourage team members to speak their minds during team meetings through agile work’ (M=4.0213, SD=.93876), ‘The top managers in our company are committed in supporting the implementation of innovation capabilities that support virtual work environment’ (M=4.1809, SD=.76148) and ‘Team leader’s important mission is to provide feedback and recommendations for improvement’ (M=4.1828, SD=.75103).

Lastly, on the agile work on team diversity, all the items were ranked as agree with mean value of 4. They were; ‘Agile work facilitates effective teams which embrace people of diverse cultures’ (M=4.0957, SD=.65696), ‘Agile work facilitates effective teams which embrace people of diverse talents’ (M=4.1489, SD=.86705), ‘Agile work facilitates effective teams

41 which embrace people of diverse personalities’ (M=4.1702, SD=.87545), ‘Agile work in teams makes it possible for the accomplishments of the group contribution’ (M=4.3298, SD=.73891) and ‘Agile work facilitates the mix of knowledge and expertise in a team’ (M=3.8830, SD=1.00382). The result based on frequency shows all the items had higher percentage ranking on agreed and strongly agreed. There was no item with higher ranking as neutral, disagreed or disagreed. On the results based on the standard deviation, only one item had standard deviation of greater than one; ‘Agile work facilitates the mix of knowledge and expertise in a team’ (M=3.8830, SD=1.00382). All other items had standard deviation ranging from .658 to .939. This shows there was greater variance on the response of ‘Agile work facilitates the mix of knowledge and expertise in a team’ compared to other questions which had consensus among the respondents.

Table 4.2 Agile Work on Team Cohesion Statements Mean SD Agile Work on Team Communication Agile work enhances team cohesion motivates employees 4.3404 .78361 Agile work facilitates effective teamwork through communication 4.3830 .65757 All team members in our company are on the same page with respect 3.8830 .86579 to targets All team members in our company are on the same page with respect 4.0000 .78972 to responsibilities Efficient communication mechanisms are crucial to develop effective 4.3617 .84052 teams Effective agile work can eliminate much of the stress and negative 4.3298 .78135 feelings sometimes associated with working closely as a team Agile Work on Team Leadership Our organizational has teamwork which is supported by effective 4.0957 .74875 leadership through agile work Leaders can support agile work by coordinating the efforts of team 4.3617 .66963 members Leaders encourage team members to speak their minds during team 4.0213 .93876 meetings through agile work The top managers in our company are committed in supporting the 4.1809 .76148 implementation of innovation capabilities that support virtual work environment Team leader’s important mission is to provide feedback and 4.1828 .75103 recommendations for improvement Agile Work on Team Diversity Agile work facilitates effective teams which embrace people of 4.0957 .65696 diverse cultures Agile work facilitates effective teams which embrace people of 4.1489 .86705 diverse talents Agile work facilitates effective teams which embrace people of 4.1702 .87545 diverse personalities Agile work in teams makes it possible for the accomplishments of 4.3298 .73891 the group contribution Agile work facilitates mix knowledge and expertise in a team 3.8830 1.00382

4.3.2 Correlation Analysis of Agile Work on Team Cohesion

Correlation analysis was adopted to indicate the association between Agile Work Model and Team Cohesion. A Pearson correlation was adopted. The findings in Table 4.3 indicate that agile work model has a positive and significant influence on team cohesion (r = .424, Sig = .000 < 0.05). The findings imply that adoption of the agile work model improves team cohesion significantly.

Table 4.3 Correlation Analysis of Agile Work Model on Team Cohesion

Agile Work Model Pearson Correlation .424** Team Cohesion Sig. (2-tailed) .000 **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

4.3.3 Regression Analysis of Agile Work Model (AWM) on Team Cohesion (TC)

The study adopted an ordinary least square regression model to establish the influence of the agile work model on team cohesion at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited. The findings for the model summary are presented in Table 4.4. The findings indicated an R square value of 0.269 which implies that agile work model explains up to 26.9% of the variation in team cohesion while the remaining 73.1% can be explained by other factors other than agile work model.

Table 4.4 Agile Work Model (AWM) on Team Cohesion (TC) Model Summary

Model R Adjusted Std. Error Change Statistics Square R Square of the R F df1 df2 Sig. F Estimate Square Change Change Change

.518a .269 .263 .43772 .269 47.016 1 128 .000

Predictors: (Constant), ATC

The study also established the model fitness through the ANOVA findings as shown in Table 4.5. The findings indicate that the F value of 47.016 was significant at 5% level of significance (Sig = 0.000, < 0.05). This implies that the regression model linking Agile Work Model (AWM) to Team Cohesion (TC) was a good fit to predict the outcome variable.

Table 4.5 Agile Work Model (AWM) on Team Cohesion (TC) ANOVA

Model Sum of Df Mean Square F Sig. Squares

Regression 9.008 1 9.008 47.016 .000

1 Residual 24.525 98 .192

Total 33.533 99 Dependent Variable: Team Cohesion Predictors: (Constant), Agile Work Model

The model coefficients are presented in Table 4.6. The findings indicate that Agile Work Model (AWM) has a positive and significant influence on Team Cohesion at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited (B = 0.463, Sig = 0.000, < 0.05). This indicates that a unit increase in adoption of the agile work model leads to a significant increase in team cohesion by 0.463 units.

Table 4.6 Agile Work Model (AWM) on Team Cohesion (TC) Model Coefficients Model Unstandardized Standardized T Sig. Correlations Coefficients Coefficients B Std. Error Beta Zero- Partial Part order (Constant) 2.201 .284 7.754 .000

ATC .463 .067 .518 6.857 .000 .518 .518 .518 Dependent Variable: Team Cohesion From the coefficient Table, the equation derived: Team Cohesion = 2.201 + .463 (Agile Work Model)

4.4 Influence of the Agile Work Model on Individual Work Performance

The second objective of the study was to determine the influence of agile work model on individual work performance at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited. This sub section presents the descriptive and inferential findings on the second objective.

4.4.1 Descriptive Analysis of Agile Work Model on Individual Work Performance

On the flexi-time on individual work performance, all items were ranked as agreed with mean value of 4. In descending order, they were ‘Through flexi-time less time is wasted in settling down in a company every morning’ (M=4.1915, SD=.83314), ‘Through Flexitime there is more commitment in the organization’ (M=4.1596, SD=.90759), ‘Through Flexitime there is more productivity’ (M=4.3333, SD=.85126), ‘Flexitime facilitates quality service delivery in organizations’ (M=4.1170, SD=.99306) and ‘Through Flexitime there is less employee’s turnover in a company’ (M=3.8511, SD=1.01555).

On the compressed work week, all the all items were ranked as agreed with mean value of 4. They were ‘Compressed work hours increase employee productivity in organizations’ (M=3.9894, SD=1.07258), ‘Compressed work hours increase job satisfaction in organizations’ (M=3.9043, SD=1.08825), and ‘Successful compressed workweek arrangements serve the needs both of individual employees and their work unit/departments’ (M=4.0319, SD=1.04163). Lastly, on the telecommuting, all items were ranked as agreed with mean value of 4. They were; ‘Organizations practicing telecommuting have the advantage of employees’ retention’ (M=3.9149, SD=1.13270), ‘Through telecommuting organizations makes saving because of reduced absenteeism’ (M=4.0106, SD=.92160) and lastly, ‘The employer is not able to closely monitor the performance of those employees chosen to telecommute’ (M=3.5532, SD=1.30026). The result based on frequency shows all the items had higher

46 percentage ranking on agreed and strongly agreed. There was no item with higher percentage ranking as neutral, disagreed or disagreed. On the results based on the standard deviation, most factor had standard deviation of greater than 1 or near 1. This shows there was greater variance on the respondents’ response.

Table 4.7 Descriptive Analysis of Agile Work Model on Individual Work Performance

Statements Mean SD

Flexi-Time on Individual Work Performance

Through flextime less time is wasted in settling down in a 4.1915 .83314 company every morning

Through flextime there is less employee’s turnover in a 3.8511 1.01555 company

Through flextime there is more commitment in the organization 4.1596 .90759

Through flextime there is more productivity 4.3333 .85126

Flextime facilitates quality service delivery in organizations 4.1170 .99306

Compressed Work Week

Compressed work hours increase employee productivity in 3.9894 1.07258 organizations

Compressed work hours increase job satisfaction in 3.9043 1.08825 organizations

Successful compressed workweek arrangements serve the 4.0319 1.04163 needs both of individual employees and their work unit/departments

Telecommuting

Organizations practicing telecommuting have the advantage of 3.9149 1.13270 employees’ retention

Through telecommuting organizations makes saving because of 4.0106 .92160 reduced absenteeism

The employer is not able to closely monitor the performance of 3.5532 1.30026 those employees chosen to telecommute

4.4.2 Correlation Analysis of Agile Work on Individual Work Performance

Correlation analysis was adopted to indicate the association between Agile Work Model and individual work performance. A Pearson correlation was adopted. The findings in Table 4.8 indicate that agile work model has a positive and significant influence on individual work performance (r = .849, Sig = .000 < 0.05). The findings imply that adoption of the agile work model improves individual work performance significantly.

Table 4.8 Correlation Analysis of Agile Work Model on Individual Work Performance

Agile Work Model

Individual Work Pearson Correlation .849** Performance Sig. (2-tailed) .000

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

4.4.3 Regression Analysis of Agile Work Model (AWM) on Individual Work Performance

The study adopted an ordinary least square regression model to establish the influence of the agile work model on individual work performance at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited. The findings for the model summary are presented in Table 4.9. The findings indicated an R square value of 0.720 which implies that agile work model explains up to 72% of the variation in individual work performance while the remaining 28% can be explained by other factors other than agile work model.

Table 4.9 Agile Work Model (AWM) on Individual Work Performance Model Summary

Model R R Adjusted Std. Error Change Statistics Square R Square of the Estimate R Square F df1 df2 Sig. F Change Change Change

.849a .720 .718 .44580 .720 329.926 1 128 .000

Predictors: (Constant), AWM

The study also established the model fitness through the ANOVA findings as shown in Table 4.10. The findings indicate that the F value of 329.926 was significant at 5% level of significance (Sig = 0.000, < 0.05). This implies that the regression model linking Agile Work Model (AWM) to individual work performance was a good fit to predict the outcome variable.

Table 4.10 Agile Work Model (AWM) on Individual Work Performance ANOVA

Model Sum of Df Mean Square F Sig.

Squares

Regression 1 1 65.570 329.926 .000

1 Residual 98 98 .199

Total 99 99

Dependent Variable: Individual Work Performance

Predictors: (Constant), Agile Work Model

The model coefficients are presented in Table 4.11. The findings indicate that Agile Work Model (AWM) has a positive and significant influence on individual work performance at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited (B = 0.802, Sig = 0.000, < 0.05). This indicates that a unit increase in adoption of the agile work model leads to a significant increase in individual work performance by 0.802 units.

Table 4.11 Agile Work Model (AWM) on Individual Work Performance Model Coefficients Model Unstandardized Standardized t Sig. Correlations Coefficients Coefficients B Std. Error Beta Zero- Partial Part order (Constant) .673 .399 1.685 .094

AWP .802 .097 .590 8.265 .000 .590 .590 .590 Dependent Variable: Individual Work Performance From the coefficient Table, the equation derived: Individual Work Performance = 0.673 + 0. 802 (Agile Work Model)

4.5 Influence of the Agile Work Model on Strategy Execution

The third objective of the study was to determine the influence of agile work model on strategy execution at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited. This sub section presents the descriptive and inferential findings on the third objective.

4.5.1 Descriptive Analysis of Agile Work Model on Strategy Execution

The key descriptive analysis performed were the mean and standard deviation (SD). All the questions were measured on five Likert scale rating: 1 = strongly disagree; 2 = Disagree; 3 = Neutral; 4 = Agree and 5 = Strongly Agree. Agile work on strategy execution were measured using three constructs; agile work on employee strategies executions, agile work on job satisfaction execution and agile work on reduced turnover rate execution. The response was arranged based on each of the constructs with mean, standard deviation and frequency as presented on Table 4.12. On the agile work on employee strategy execution, all items were ranked as agreed with mean value of 4 as follows; ‘Agile work environment enhances organization strategies executions’ (M=4.0000, SD=.86758), ‘Organizations offering agile work to employees are also more likely to institute high quality management practices’ (M=4.1170, SD=.85328), ‘Compressed work hours enhance employee strategies executions’ (M=3.9149, SD=.93509) and lastly ‘Telecommuting hours enhance employee strategies executions’ (M=4.0000, SD=.82956).

Similarly, on agile work on job satisfaction execution, all items were ranked as agreed with mean value of 4. They were; ‘Flexible work practice enhances job satisfaction execution’ (M=4.0851, SD=.95782), ‘Agile work has been associated with increased job satisfaction hence organizational commitment’ (M=4.1170, SD=.94876), ‘Agile work has been associated with increased job satisfaction hence better employee productivity’ (M=4.0851, SD=1.01239), ‘Agile work has been associated with increased job satisfaction hence reduced turnover intentions’ (M=3.9787, SD=.90374) and ‘Compressed work hours enhance job satisfaction execution’ (M=3.9149, SD=.95782).

The result based on frequency shows all the items had higher percentage ranking on agreed and strongly agreed. There was no item with higher percentage ranking as neutral, disagreed or disagreed.

Table 4.12 Descriptive Analysis of Agile Work on Strategy Execution

Statements Mean SD

Agile Work on Employee Strategies Executions

Agile work environment enhances organization strategies 4.0000 .86758 executions

Organizations offering agile work to employees are also more likely 4.1170 .85328 to institute high quality management practices

Compressed work hours enhance employee strategies executions 3.9149 .93509

Telecommuting hours enhance employee strategies executions 4.0000 .82956

Agile Work on Job Satisfaction Execution

Flexible work practice enhances job satisfaction execution 4.0851 .95782

Compressed work hours enhance job satisfaction execution 3.9149 .95782

Agile work has been associated with increased job satisfaction 4.1170 .94876 hence organizational commitment

Agile work has been associated with increased job satisfaction 3.9787 .90374 hence reduced turnover intentions

Agile work has been associated with increased job satisfaction 4.0851 1.01239 hence better employee productivity

Agile Work on Reduced Turnover Rate

Flexible work practice reduces turnover rate execution in 3.9043 0.9166 organization

Compressed work hours reduce turnover rate execution in 3.7553 .96927 organization

Telecommuting hours reduces turnover rate execution in 3.9574 .86652 organization

Agile work enhances employee psychological well-being which 4.1277 .80635 reduce turnover rate

4.5.2 Correlation Analysis of Agile Work on Strategy Execution

Correlation analysis was adopted to indicate the association between Agile Work Model and strategy execution. A Pearson correlation was adopted. The findings in Table 4.13 indicate that agile work model has a positive and significant influence on strategy execution (r = .866, Sig = .000 < 0.05). The findings imply that adoption of the agile work model improves strategy execution significantly.

Table 4.13 Correlation Analysis of Agile Work Model on Strategy Execution

Agile Work Model

Strategy Pearson Correlation .866** Execution Sig. (2-tailed) .000

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

4.5.3 Regression Analysis of Agile Work Model (AWM) on Strategy Execution The study adopted an ordinary least square regression model to establish the influence of the agile work model on strategy execution at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited. The findings for the model summary are presented in Table 4.14. The findings indicated an R square value of 0.750 which implies that agile work model explains up to 75% of the variation in strategy execution while the remaining 25% can be explained by other factors other than agile work model.

Table 4.14 Agile Work Model (AWM) on Strategy Execution Model Summary

Model R R Adjusted Std. Error Change Statistics Square R Square of the Estimate R Square F df1 df2 Sig. F Change Change Change

.866a .750 .748 .39394 .750 383.382 1 128 .000

Predictors: (Constant), Agile Work Model

The study also established the model fitness through the ANOVA findings as shown in Table 4.15. The findings indicate that the F value of 383.382 was significant at 5% level of

significance (Sig = 0.000, < 0.05). This implies that the regression model linking Agile Work Model (AWM) to strategy execution was a good fit to predict the outcome variable.

Table 4.15 Agile Work Model (AWM) on Strategy Execution ANOVA

Model Sum of df Mean Square F Sig. Squares

Regression 59.496 1 59.496 383.382 .000

Residual 19.864 98 .155

Total 79.360 99

Dependent Variable: Strategy Execution

Predictors: (Constant), Agile Work Model

The model coefficients are presented in Table 4.16. The findings indicate that Agile Work Model (AWM) has a positive and significant influence on strategy execution at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited (B = 0.836, Sig = 0.000, < 0.05). This indicates that a unit increase in adoption of the agile work model leads to a significant increase in strategy execution by 0.836 units.

Table 4.16 Agile Work Model (AWM) on Strategy Execution Model Coefficients

Model Unstandardized Standardized t Sig. Correlations Coefficients Coefficients

B Std. Error Beta Zero- Partial Part order

(Constant) .533 .195 2.734 .007

ASE .836 .048 .840 17.546.000 .840 .840 .840

Dependent Variable: Strategy Execution

From the coefficient Table, the equation derived: Strategy Execution = 0.533 + 0. 836 (Agile Work Model)

4.6 Chapter Summary

The chapter presents the findings of the study of The Effect of the Agile Work Model on Organizational Performance: A Case Study of Commercial Bank of Africa Limited. The results and findings outlined are based on the analysis of the study’s key objectives, which were to establish the influence of the Agile Work Model on Team Cohesion at Commercial Bank of Africa, to determine the influence of the Agile Work Model on Individual Work Performance and to determine the influence of the Agile Work Model on Strategy Execution at Commercial Bank of Africa. It outlined the summary of the major findings for each research question and comprised the study response rate demographic information, descriptive sections which show the means and standard deviation for each of the study variables, and the inferential statistics section which presents the correlation and linear regression analysis results. The next chapter gives the chapter summary, discussion, recommendations and conclusion of the study.

CHAPTER FIVE

5.0 DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Introduction

The chapter presents the summary of findings, discussion, conclusions and recommendations of the study. First, the summary of key findings is presented, discussed while comparing what other previous scholars found out then drawing conclusions from the findings. The conclusions then guide recommendations of the study for policy and for future studies.

5.2 Summary

A descriptive research design was adopted by the study, with a target population included 162 employees working at the Commercial Bank of Africa headquarters sampled from different levels of management including senior level, middle level and lower level management. Stratified sampling method was utilized since the population of interest was heterogeneous. The sample population of the study was 65 respondents. To collect data, structured questionnaires presented in a likert scale were adopted. After data collection, analysis was done quantitatively using descriptive and inferential statistics. This section presents the findings of the study per objective.

The first objective of the study was to determine the influence of the agile work model on team cohesion at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited. Regarding agile work and team communication, the descriptive findings indicated that the respondents agreed that at CBA bank, agile work enhances team cohesion, facilitates effective teamwork through communication, all team members are on the same page with respect to targets and

55 responsibilities, efficient communication mechanisms are crucial to develop effective teams and that effective agile work can eliminate much of the stress and negative feelings sometimes associated with working closely as a team. With regard to team leadership, there was an agreement that at CBA, there is teamwork which is supported by effective leadership through agile work, leaders support agile work by coordinating the efforts of team members, leaders encourage team members to speak their minds during team meetings through agile work, the top managers are committed in supporting the implementation of innovation capabilities that support virtual work environment and the team leader’s important mission is to provide feedback and recommendations for improvement.

The descriptive findings also revealed that the respondents agreed that agile work improves team diversity at CBA. It was indicated that at CBA, agile work facilitates effective teams which embrace people of diverse cultures, people of diverse talents and personalities; agile work makes it possible for the accomplishments of the group contribution as well as facilitation of the mix of knowledge and expertise in a team. The inferential findings regarding correlation indicated that agile work model was positively and significantly associated with team cohesion at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited (r =.518, p< .05). Similarly, the regression findings revealed that agile work model positively and significantly affects team cohesion at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited (β = .463, t = 6.857, p<.05). This implies that an increase in the adoption of the agile work model results to an increase in team cohesion. It was also established that up to 26.9% of the variation in team cohesion at CBA can be attributed to the agile work model being adopted there. The remaining percentage, which is 73.1%, of the variation in team cohesion is attributed to other factors other than agile work model. The findings imply that team cohesion was the least affected factor by the agile work model compared to both team cohesion and strategy execution.

The second objective of the study was to determine the influence of agile work model on individual work performance at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited. The descriptive findings indicated an agreement that adoption of flexi time led to an improvement in individual performance. It was indicated that through flexi-time, less time is wasted in settling down in a company every morning, there is less employee’s turnover in a company, more commitment and productivity in the organization. It was also indicated that flexi time improved quality

56 service delivery in the organization. The descriptive findings also indicated that compressed work model improved individual performance at CBA bank. The findings specifically indicated that compressed work hours increase employee productivity and job satisfaction in organizations as well as serving the needs both of individual employees and their work unit/departments. The descriptive results also showed that telecommuting was essential in enhancing individual performance at CBA bank. It was revealed that telecommuting improves employees’ retention rate, leads to reduced absenteeism and enhances monitoring of the performance of those employees chosen to telecommute. The inferential findings regarding correlation indicated that agile work model was positively and significantly associated with individual work performance at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited (r =.590, p< .05). Similarly, the regression findings revealed that agile work model positively and significantly affects individual work performance at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited (β = .802, t = 8.265, p<.05). This implies that an increase in the adoption of the agile work model results to an increase in individual work performance. It was also established that up to 65.7% of the variation in individual work performance at CBA can be attributed to the agile work model being adopted there. The remaining percentage, which is 34.3%, of the variation in individual work performance is attributed to other factors other than agile work model. The findings imply that individual work performance was the second most affected factor by the agile work model compared to team cohesion.

The third objective of the study was to determine the influence of agile work model on strategy execution at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited. The descriptive findings indicated that agile work model enhanced employee strategies executions. It was shown that agile work environment enhances organization strategies executions and enables an organization to institute high quality management practices. It was also revealed that compressed work hours and telecommuting hours enhance employee strategies executions. The descriptive findings also showed that agile work model improves job satisfaction execution. The study specifically established that flexible work practice and compressed work hours enhances job satisfaction execution, increased organizational commitment, reduced turnover intentions and more employee productivity.

The descriptive findings also showed that at CBA bank, adoption of flexible work practice has led to a reduction in turnover rate execution in organization, adoption of compressed work hours reduces turnover rate execution in organization, telecommuting hours reduces turnover rate execution in organization and enhances employee psychological well-being which reduce turnover rate.

The inferential correlation results indicated that agile work model was positively and significantly associated with strategy execution at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited (r =.840, p< .05). Similarly, the regression findings revealed that agile work model positively and significantly affects strategy execution at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited (β = .836, t = 17.546, p<.05). This implies that an increase in the adoption of the agile work model results to improved strategy execution ability at CBA. It was also established that up to 70.4% of the variation in strategy execution at CBA can be attributed to the agile work model being adopted there. The remaining percentage, which is 29.6%, of the variation in strategy execution is attributed to other factors other than agile work model. The findings imply that strategy execution was the most affected factor by the agile work model compared to both individual work performance and team cohesion.

5.3 Discussion

The section presents a discussion of the findings presented per objective. In the section, the findings have been interpreted and compared to the existing empirical literature. The section has been organized per objective of the study.

5.3.1 Agile Work Model and Team Cohesion

The study findings established that the agile work model positively and significantly affects team cohesion at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited. We can therefore reliably surmise that if the organization would progressively adopt the agile work model, it will concurrently and positively influence greater team cohesion within the bank units. One of the clearer specific deductions from the research indicated that the adoption of the agile work model improves greater team communication. The research covered cross-functional units and departments, and in order to succeed, are dependent on proficient and steady flow of information from all unit members. It was established that adoption of the model, enhances team cohesion,

58 facilitates effective teamwork through communication, development of effective teams and elimination of much of the stress and negative feelings sometimes associated with working too closely and constantly with the same team members. These findings are consistent with the argument by Ciborra (2013) as well as Drew and Thomas (2017) who indicated that one way of improving communication among team members through agile work. The argument here is that agile work environment there is a definite and determined effort to apply effective communication channels, including defined and regular meeting times as well as focused engagements. The findings are also consistent with Gluck (2011) who indicated that agile work leads to creation of new friendships, a sense of group accomplishment and distribution of responsibilities. Each member of the team was clear and what was expected of him and there was less need for consistent supervision. Similarly, Lumley and Coetzee (2011) agreed that agile work enhances team communication since it connects people together and gives a team the words to use when others are not performing as required.

There is methodical, routine feedback on how well or not, each employee is working and what needs to be improved on. This was particularly so due to the increased utilization of feed-back models like the one-on-one concept (Ebrahim, Shamsuddin, & Taha, 2009). More importantly, it can be inferred that teams operating under the agile work model make team communication a significant component of their daily engagement. Given that work colleagues are typically not cloistered together at one office space, more communication effort and tools are employed to ensure clarity and constant appraisal on what the teams are doing. Improved communication is the channel through which work contemporaries share the information which is necessary to a fruitful team cohesion. From the research findings, this enhanced communication, particularly in the environment of agile work, is the necessary mainstay to enriched team cohesion. It may also corroborate the position that managing an agile team is easier due to the improved team communication (Zuofa & Ochieng, 2017). This is because it is important because the team is working separately in terms of hours and location, and therefore a finding of positive influence on the team communication is significant.

The study also indicated that the agile work model supports team leadership. The findings indicated that agile work supports teamwork, improves coordinating the efforts of team members, improves top leadership commitment in supporting the implementation of

59 innovation capabilities that support virtual work environment and enables leaders to provide feedback and recommendations for improvement. The findings are consistent with the argument by Rosenau and Moran (2014) who indicated that agile work may help levels of engagement and collective efficacy within a team and might facilitate effective virtual team functioning. The findings are also consistent with the argument by Day (2004) who posited that agile work creates a climate that encourages mutual performance monitoring, supportive behavior, and adaptability as well as the findings of Katzenbach and Smith (2013) who revealed that agile work plays an important role on team performance by enabling team leaders to plan, model and set teamwork for a successful teamwork process. In addition, the agile work model facilitates release of the hierarchical chain of command traditional models of team organization, which do not necessarily promote develop leadership training and growth (Parker, Holesgrove, & Pathak, 2015). In the agile model, the study shows that team is increasingly allowed to be self-regulatory and therefore there are more opportunities for leadership development among its members as well as across different units. Colleagues will have more prospects to improve on collaborative engagement as they work of various tasks.

The team is impacted with ‘idealized influence and inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration’ that results in the transitional upshots such as shared vision, team commitment, an empowered team environment and functional team conflict (Dionne, Yammarino, Atwater, & Spangler, 2014). The study revealed that an appreciably positive impact of the agile model on team leadership does in turn, positively affect team communication, cohesion and conflict management, resulting in explorable inferences regarding team development, team training and team structure. However, it was inconclusive on what could be the long-term demonstrable effects, positive or detrimental, on self-organized and self-led team modeling necessarily required by an agile work model, particularly in the regulated banking industry environment.

The study also established that agile work improves team diversity at CBA. Team diversity is the degree to which team members differ with respect to background characteristics such as age, tenure and functional experience (Opiyo, 2016). It was indicated that at CBA, agile work facilitates effective teams which embrace people of diverse cultures, people of diverse talents and personalities. Agile work makes it possible for the accomplishments of the group

60 contribution as well as facilitation of the mix of knowledge and expertise in a team. This is consistent with Chen (2016) who revealed that agile work promotes diversity which in turn promote creativity and innovation, and raise awareness of and respect for differences, which supports effective teamwork. The agile work model is focuses mainly on the contribution each team member will contribute, and as a consequence has a higher potential to coalesce more employees with different skills and backgrounds to the team. Similarly, Buchner (2013) argued that agile work affects teamwork by enhancing creativity, innovation, flexibility, information- sharing, productivity, synergy (the ability of the team to accomplish more than an individual), and work-related problem-solving skills.

There is an increased application of the qualitative human resource talents including quality of ideas, engagement of all organizational levels and therefore proffering greater range of perspective on where the organization is at a particular time. As a result, even where the team is operating in an agile work environment, these positive attributes contribute to increased team performance and consequently organizational performance, particularly influencing what would be considered the non-financial measures of performance. These findings are also consistent with the findings of Hackman and Oldhman (2010) who indicated that agile work facilitates the mix of knowledge and expertise in a team.

5.3.2 Agile Work Model and Individual Work Performance

The findings revealed that agile work model positively and significantly affects individual work performance at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited which implies that an increase in the adoption of the agile work model results to an increase in individual work performance. It was indicated that enabling employees more freedom to elect their ideal work hours contributes to an improvement in individual performance. This freedom minimises the collective time taken to settle down in a company every morning, reduces employee turnover, increases commitment and productivity and improves quality service delivery in the organization. In regard to settling down to work, this can be attributed to the fact that employees were spending less time getting to the office as they could choose their commuting hours therefore avoid rush- hour traffic. In addition, given that agile employees do not congregate at the same particular hour every morning, there are fewer opportunities for idle conversation as people settle down. This is therefore a significant contributor to individual work performance. Further, the impact

61 of agile work hours on reduced employee is significant. These findings are consistent with Frone and Yardley (2010) who indicated that organization using flex-time have less employee’s turnover; more commitment and more gains in production. The flexi-time is an attractive benefit and at essentially a non-monetary cost to the bank, but with significant retention impact for employees. This was also consistent with the findings of Wheatley (2016) who indicated that flexi time improved employee relations and communication as well as reduce employee absenteeism. The statistics comparably matched with that of a study by Onyango (2013) which indicated that employees with greater control over work schedules are more likely to show increased engagement, commitment, retention and job satisfaction.

The findings are also consistent with those of other scholars such as Hill (2010) who argued that enabling flexi-time allows employees to manage their work and family responsibilities harmoniously, Dalcos and Daley (2009) who revealed that flexible work arrangement enhance engagement and Chow and Howe's, (2006) who argued that flexible work arrangements shows higher levels of concentration and performance. The descriptive findings also indicated that compressed work model improved individual performance at CBA bank by specifically increasing employee productivity and job satisfaction in organizations as well as serving the needs both of individual employees and their work unit/departments. The findings agree with other previous studies who researched on the same concept. For instance, the findings are in line with that of Bird (2010) who indicated that compressed work hours increases production, job satisfaction and reduces absenteeism. The findings are also consistent with the findings of Hyman and summers (2014) who revealed that compressed work increases job performance and meeting operational needs. However, the findings deviate from that of Kirrane and Buckley (2013) who indicated that compressed work week can result into a problem of meeting deadlines.

The study also revealed that telecommuting was essential in enhancing individual performance at CBA bank since it improves employees’ retention rate, leads to reduced absenteeism and enhances monitoring of the performance of those employees chosen to telecommute. The import from this is that CBA should explore allowing employees significant work agility offered in telecommuting, particularly because it ensures employees are monitored on what is considered important rather than on extraneous matters like conformity to specific work hours

62 and censure for absenteeism. This is acutely essential when ‘absenteeism is a particularly ambiguous concept’ (Muchinsky, 2000). These findings are consistent with that of Kurland and Bailey (2009) who indicated that organizations practicing telecommuting have the advantage of reduced employee turnover. This position augments the position of Beck and Davis (2015) discussed earlier who found that employees with a clear agile work policy ‘express less intention to leave the organization and show greater commitment to their employer’. In their interrogation, Kossek and Lee (2008) correspondingly established that telecommuting has a positive correlation in the reduction of employee absenteeism. The nexus here being that there are fewer opportunities to being considered absent if attendance within a strict time protocol is no longer considered an employee performance metric. This is predominantly useful to employees as they are additionally emboldened by an organization that has shown its commitment to an effective work-life balance. The findings are consistent with Bijsterveldt (2015) who established that telecommuting has a beneficial financial benefit on office running costs as well as commuting time.

Nevertheless, it is important to also consider the contrary academic positions on telecommuting. Madsen (2011) in making a negative import on telecommuting, argued that it makes employees lose the sense of belonging and affects teamwork and employees’ relations are also affected. Similarly, Kossek and Lautsch (2008) felt that telecommuting leads to reduced technical support and affects career development as well. As a result, it is important to review the positive impact of agile work on team cohesion discussed earlier here and view it against that of telecommuting. Perhaps, these inverse effects of telecommuting can be mitigated by improving deliberate channels of team communication and engagement. With regard to the effect on career development, the challenges include a reduced capacity of management to be consistently aware or closely monitor the employee’s performance and therefore there is less career visibility. This was a disconcerting issue predominantly among working mothers given that the initial emphasis for a flexible working schedule was an exceptional offer for mothers with younger children, which was viewed negatively. Employers felt compelled to allow agility to new mothers who as a result, suffered considerable career stagnation (Wheatley 2017). However, the growing academic and professional material on the benefits of an agile work model limits this and allows for a greater positive association with regard to individual performance. It is now no longer provided under conditions of restraint

63 but rather as a matter of choice which as the results indicate, contribute to improved individual performance. It would be important that CBA would works to formally institutionalize this policy across the bank and thus significantly influence the performance capacity of its employees as the data suggests.

5.3.3 Agile Work Model and Strategy Execution

The study established that the agile work model definitively and significantly affects strategy execution at Commercial Bank of Africa Limited denoting that an increase in the adoption of the agile work model results to improved strategy execution ability at CBA. The conclusions that could be drawn specifically recommend that agile work model enhanced organizational strategy execution since the work environment enables an organization to institute high quality management practices quickly and organically. This position is argued decisively by Lumley & Coetzee (2011) who intimate that agile work will place increasing focus on the ultimate endgame, rather than on ‘old-school’ barometers of management such as attendance. They portend that the agile work model therefore compels an organization to think about how effectively it works as a whole rather than just the individual employees within it.

In comparison to the empirical work of Meyer, Mukerjee and Sestero (2011), a consistency was established since the study revealed a positive effect of agile work on performance in relation to strategy execution. The findings of this study are also correlational with those by Clark (2013) who concluded that the use of the agile work framework is associated with an increase in organizational strategic productivity. Similarly, these findings are consistent with the conclusions made by Baltes (2013) who denoted that the agile work model was associated with both higher productivity and better management practices. The findings of this study are also consistent with other interrogations by Muli (2015) who found positive effects of agile work on organizational productivity in their meta-analysis and Madsen (2011) who concluded that work flexibility was a reliable predictor of improved strategy performance in an organization. The outcomes on this study of CBA confirmed the same.

The findings of the study also showed that agile work model improves job satisfaction execution in that flexible work practice and compressed work hours enhances job satisfaction execution, increased organizational commitment, reduced turnover intentions and more

64 employee productivity. This agrees with the findings of a study by Stansfeld (2012) who indicated that agile work has been associated with increased organizational commitment and reduced turnover intentions and voluntary reduced hours have been linked to greater job satisfaction, loyalty, and organizational commitment. The findings can also be compared with that of Clark (2013) who attributed an increase in job satisfaction to increased flexibility in the location and timing of their work. The findings of the study are also in line with those of a study by Njiru (2013) who indicated that compressed work hours had led to job satisfaction and enhanced staff morale and Nizar (2016) who revealed strong links between agile work and job satisfaction. Other findings of the study showed that adoption of flexible work practice has led to a reduction in turnover rate execution in the organization.

The study showed that adoption of compressed work hours and telecommuting reduces turnover rate execution in organization and enhances employee psychological well-being. This is consistent with Hall and Parker (2013) who found that organizations practicing agile work experienced reduced turnover. In a near similar interrogation, Gajendran and Harrison, (2011) found that telework was associated with increased job satisfaction and reduced intentions to turnover. The findings of this study are also consistent with the findings of a study by Kelliher and Anderson (2012) who indicated that the provision of agile work is positively related to organizational commitment but only if employees perceive the flexibility as increasing their control over their time.

5.4 Conclusion

The section presents the conclusions of the study based on the findings. The conclusion has been presented per objective. This section is guided by the descriptive and inferential findings.

5.4.1 Agile Work Model and Team Cohesion

Based on the findings of the study, it can be concluded that agile work model positively and significantly affects team cohesion in organizations. When there is adoption of agile work model, team cohesion is enhanced, effective teamwork is facilitated, there is development of effective teams and elimination of work stress and negative feelings.

Another conclusion is that adoption of the agile model supports team leadership in an organization. It supports teamwork, improves coordinating the efforts of team members, improves top leadership commitment in supporting the implementation of innovation capabilities that support virtual work environment and enables leaders to provide feedback and recommendations for improvement. The study also concludes based on the findings that agile work improves team diversity in organizations. It can be used to facilitate effective teams which embrace people of diverse cultures, people of diverse talents and personalities; enhance accomplishments of the group contribution as well as facilitate the mix of knowledge and expertise in a team.

5.4.2 Agile Work Model and Individual Work Performance

Based on the study findings, it can be concluded that agile work model positively and significantly affects individual work performance of organizations. The individual work performance is improved when organizations adopt the agile work model. Another conclusion is that when organizations adopt the flexi time it reduces the time taken by employees to settle down, reduces employee’s turnover and increases commitment and productivity. It can also be concluded that adoption of compressed work model is associated with improved individual performance in organizations since it leads to increased employee productivity and job satisfaction. Another conclusion is that adoption of telecommuting is associated with enhancing individual performance in organizations since it improves employees’ retention rate, leads to reduced absenteeism and enhances performance management and monitoring.

5.4.3 Agile Work Model and Strategy Execution

The study findings guided the study to conclude that agile work model positively and significantly affects strategy execution in organizations. It can be concluded that employee strategies executions is improved by adoption of agile work models. With that, it enables an organization to institute high quality management practices. The study also concludes that agile work model, specifically adoption of flexible work practices, improves job satisfaction execution, increased organizational commitment and reduced turnover intentions. Another conclusion is that adoption of compressed work hours and telecommuting by organizations

66 leads to a reduction in in turnover rate execution in organization and enhances employee psychological well-being.

5.5 Recommendations

The section presents the recommendations which touch on the recommendations for policy as well as the recommendations for further studies. The recommendations are made based on the findings and conclusions of the study.

5.5.1 Recommendations for Policy

Since it was established that the Agile Work Model positively and significantly affects team cohesion in organizations, the study recommends a high extent in adoption of the model in order to enhance team cohesion, facilitate teamwork and elimination of work stress. In so doing, the organization will realize increased employee productivity, job satisfaction and commitment. To support team leadership, the study recommends organizations to adopt agile work model. This can help the team leaders to coordinate the efforts of team members more easily and enable team leaders to easily support implementation of innovation capabilities. The study also recommends adoption of the agile model if there is a need to enhance team diversity along different cultures, talents and personalities.

The study recommends the management of companies in the banking sector and other sectors to adopt agile work model when there is a need to improve the employee’s individual performance. This can be done by adopting the flexi time which has been proven to be essential in reducing the time employees use to settle down for work and increasing employees, commitment and productivity. Organizations are also encouraged to adopt telecommuting in order to improve the employee’s productivity and job satisfaction, retention rate, reduced absenteeism and increased performance management and monitoring.

Based on the study findings, the study recommends companies in the banking sector as well as other sectors to consider adoption of agile work when there is a need to improve the employee strategies executions and instituting high quality management practices. Furthermore, organizations can adopt agile work models regarding flexible work practices when there is a need to improve job satisfaction execution, increase organizational

67 commitment and reduced turnover intentions. Another model can be adoption of compressed work hours and telecommuting which can be adopted by the management of companies which are seeking to reduce employee turnover rate execution.

5.5.2 Recommendations for Further Research

The study focused on the effect of the agile work model on an organization’s performance taking a case of CBA. This presents a contextual knowledge gap which other studies can seek to fill. Instead of a case study, future studies can conduct a survey of the entire banking sector in order to establish whether similar findings can be established. This study interrogated organization’s performance using the non-financial measures of performance thus creating a conceptual knowledge gap. As a result, it opens up a room for future studies to explore other measures of organizational performance which are more financial in nature such as market share, net profits, operational costs and return on assets.

The study adopted the use of purely primary data. In as much as this is conclusive, there may be a need for future studies to consider the use of both primary and secondary data in mixed research design. This may help reduce the biasness related to opinions. The contextual focus of the study was the private sector, more specifically banking sector. This creates a contextual knowledge gap which may infer other studies to focus on other unregulated private sectors and check whether the findings would be similar.

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APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1: Questionnaire

SECTION A: Demographic Information

You are requested to fill out your personal information in the spaces below. Please tick only one response.

1. Gender:

Male: Female:

2. Age:

20-25 26-30 31-35

36-40 41-45 45 years and above

3. Highest Level of education:

Diploma Degree Masters PhD

Postgraduate diploma

4. Number of years worked in this company.

Less than 1 year 1-5 years

6-10 years 11-15 years Above 15 years

5. Indicate your Work Department/Unit: ………………………………………………

6. Indicate your level of management: CEO level Senior Management Middle Management

Manager Officer

SECTION B: The Influence of The Agile Work on Team Cohesion

The Influence of the Agile Work on Team Cohesion. Please complete the following questions by rating on a scale of 1 to 5 where: 1 =Strongly disagree, 2 =Disagree, 3 = Neutral, 4 =Agree and 5 = Strongly Agree.

Agile Work on Team Communication 1 2 3 4 5

1. Agile work enhances team cohesion motivates employees

2. Agile work facilitates effective teamwork through communication

3. All team members in our company are on the same page with respect to targets

4. All team members in our company are on the same page with respect to responsibilities

5. Efficient communication mechanisms are crucial to develop effective teams

6. Effective agile work can eliminate much of the stress and negative feelings sometimes associated with working closely as a team

Agile Work on Team Leadership

7. Our organizational has teamwork which is supported by effective leadership through agile work

8. Leaders can support agile work by coordinating the efforts of team members

9. Leaders encourage team members to speak their minds during team meetings through agile work

10. The top managers in our company are committed in supporting the implementation of innovation capabilities that support virtual work environment

11. Team leader’s important mission is to provide feedback and recommendations for improvement

Agile Work on Team Diversity

12. Agile work facilitates effective teams which embrace people of diverse cultures

13. Agile work facilitates effective teams which embrace people of diverse talents

14. Agile work facilitates effective teams which embrace people of diverse personalities

15. Agile work in teams makes it possible for the accomplishments of the group contribution

16. Agile work facilitates the mix of knowledge and expertise in a team

Please indicate how agile work influence team cohesion? ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………

………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………

Section C: The Influence of Agile Work on Individual Work Performance

The Influence of Agile Work on Individual Work Performance. Please complete the following questions by rating on a scale of 1 to 5 where: 1 =Strongly disagree, 2 =Disagree, 3 = Neutral, 4 =Agree and 5 = Strongly Agree.

Flexi-Time on Individual Work Performance 1 2 3 4 5

1. Through flexi-time less time is wasted in settling down in a company every morning

2. Through flextime there is less employee’s turnover in a company

3. Through flextime there is more commitment in the organization

4. Through flextime there is more productivity

5. Flextime facilitates quality service delivery in organizations

Compressed Work Week

6. Compressed work hours increase employee productivity in organizations

7. Compressed work hours increase job satisfaction in organizations

8. Successful compressed workweek arrangements serve the needs both of individual employees and their work unit/departments

Telecommuting

9. Organizations practicing telecommuting have the advantage of employees’ retention

10. Through telecommuting organizations makes saving because of reduced absenteeism

11. The employer is not able to closely monitor the performance of those employees chosen to telecommute

Please indicate how agile work influence individual work performance? ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………

………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………

Section D: The Influence of Agile Work on Strategy Execution

The Influence of Agile Work on Strategy Execution. Please complete the following questions by rating on a scale of 1 to 5 where: 1 =Strongly disagree, 2 =Disagree, 3 = Neutral, 4 = Agree and 5 = Strongly Agree.

The Influence of Agile Work on Employee Strategies 1 2 3 4 5 Executions

1. Agile work environment enhances organization strategies executions

2. Organizations offering agile work to employees are also more likely to institute high quality management practices

3. Compressed work hours enhance employee strategies executions

4. Telecommuting hours enhance employee strategies executions

The Influence of Agile Work on Job Satisfaction Execution

5. Flexible work practice enhances job satisfaction execution

6. Compressed work hours enhance job satisfaction execution

7. Agile work has been associated with increased job satisfaction hence organizational commitment

8. Agile work has been associated with increased job satisfaction hence reduced turnover intentions

9. Agile work has been associated with increased job satisfaction hence better employee productivity

The Influence of Agile Work on Reduced Turnover Rate Execution

10. Flexible work practice reduces turnover rate execution in organization

11. Compressed work hours reduce turnover rate execution in organization

12. Telecommuting hours reduces turnover rate execution in organization

13. Agile work enhances employee psychological well- being which reduce turnover rate

Based on your experience, how long have you worked in agile environment in other organizations?

Less than 1 year 1-5 years

6-10 years 11-15 years Above 15 years

Based on your experience, how long have you worked in agile environment at CBA

Less than 1 year 1-5 years 6-10 years

11-15 years Above 15 years

Thank you very much for your cooperation and honest feedback.

APPENDIX 2: Permission to Conduct Research Letter from USIU-A

APPENDIX 3: National Commission for Science, Technology & Innovation Research

Permit