An Assessment of Organizational Structure on Performance of Public Health Service Providers in Western Kenya

Abstract

Organizations have for long known that in order to be successful they must develop a strategy then appropriately align important factors such as skills, resources, values and staff among others so as to achieve success. If the organizational structure is not supportive of the organizational strategy then the performance of the Public Health Service Providers would not improve even with all other strategic management practices in place. However between the alignment of these components and the success lie many difficulties. This study was designed to investigate the impact of organizational structure on the performance of Public Health Service providers Western Region of Kenya. This study was intended to generate knowledge that will enable Public Health Service Providers asses the connection between organizational structure, planning process and the actual implementation so as to allow more appropriate strategic planning and desirable results. The study was conducted through a correlational descriptive survey research design covering respondents from the Government owned healthcare facilities targeting specifically, District Hospitals in Western Kenya. Qualitative and quantitative data was collected through the use of structured questionnaires. Reliability of the selected measures was done through the use of Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient due to its ability to determine internal consistency of items in a survey. The researcher tested the questionnaires on pilot group that did not form part of the main study. The pilot study enabled removal of any ambiguities hence focus the questionnaire to collect data relevant to the study. The study collected both secondary and primary using the prescribed data gathering tools to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. Data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics such as tabulations, measures of central tendency and regression analyses so as to arrive at appropriate conclusions. The study results show that organizational structure had positive and significant effect on performance of Public Health Service Providers in Western Kenya.