Relationship Between National Culture And Performance Of Selected United Nation’s Agencies In Kenya

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine whether there was a relationship between national culture and performance of United Nations agencies operating in Kenya. 25 agencies operating in Kenya were used for the study. Cross-sectional survey was used because the research problem required a comparative data analysis.Both primary and secondary data was used in this study. The primary data which was on elements of national culture was collected through structured questionnaires. The questionnaire from Naveen & Yoo (1998) which is concerned with assessing the cultural values of individuals in consistence with Hofstede’s renowned five-dimensional typology of culture. Performance was measured using secondary data on agencies’ result based performance management and Programme delivery in Kenya.The results of this study revealed that there is a relationship between national culture and performance. The results implied that the dominant culture in the UN agencies was that of uncertainty avoidance which define a culture characterized by strong emphasis on laws, regulations, and controls that are designed to reduce uncertainty. Although the results imply that Uncertainty Avoidance is the dominant element, there also exist low levels of power distance which could indicate high respect between higher and lower level authority, high trust in delegating important tasks to lower staff levels, liberal democracy and organizations lean towards egalitarianism.