IMPLICATIONS OF CHANGE ON THE PRODUCTIVITY OF EMPLOYEES IN BANKS: STUDY OF ACCESS BANK PLC, UYO
A RESEARCH PROJECT
SUBMITTED TO
DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT, SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
MAURID POLYTECHNIC MBIASO, NSIT-IBOM L.G.A.
APRIL, 2023.
ABSTRACT
This study examined the implications of change on employee productivity: study of Access Bank Plc. Access Bank Plc. has undergone several changes through mergers, acquisition, introduction of new products and alignment with different banking policies within the bank and from regulators hence the need to examine the implications of these changes on the productivity of the employees in the bank. The objectives of the study included to examine the different types of change in that occurred in Access Bank Plc., to investigate the impact of mergers and acquisitions, introduction of new products, and changes in banking policies and processes and volume of deposits in Access Bank Plc., to assess the implications of change through mergers and acquisitions, introduction of new products, and changes in banking policies and processes and revenue of Access Bank Plc. and to examine the implications of mergers and acquisitions, introduction of new products, and changes in banking policies and processes on profit of Access Bank Plc. Descriptive and survey research designs were adopted in the study.
Data was collected from 85 respondents selected from three Access Bank Plc. branches in Uyo Akwa Ibom using simple random sampling. The data was analyzed using simple percentage, descriptive statistic and multiple regression. The findings revealed that change through mergers and acquisition has positive and significant relationship with total deposits, revenue and profitability of Access Bank Plc. and that change through banking policies has inverse and significant relationship with total deposits, revenue and profitability of Access Bank Plc. It was concluded that there is enough evidence to suggest that change has significant implications on the productivity of Access Bank Plc. Recommendations made include Access Bank Plc. should introduce more changes through mergers or acquisitions and that changes introduced through introduction of new banking policies should be supported with training of the employees in order to enhance employee productivity.
Implications of Change on the Productivity of Employees in Banks
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page – – – – – – – – i
Declaration – – – – – - – – ii
Certification – – – – – – – – iii
Dedication – – – – – – – – iv
Acknowledgement – – – – – – – v
Abstract – – – – – – – – – vi
Table of Content – – – – – – – vii
List of Tables – – – – – – – x
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study – – – – – – 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem – – – – – – 4
1.3 Objectives of the Study – – – – – – 6
1.4 Research Questions – – – – – – 7
1.5 Research Hypotheses – – – – – – 7
1.6 Significance of the Study – – – – – – 8
1.7 Scope and Limitations of the Study – – – – – 9
1.8 Organization of the Study – – – – – – 10
1.10 Operational Definition of Terms as Used in the Study – – 11
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURES
2.1 Conceptual Review – – – – – – – 12
2.1.1 Concept of Change in an Organization – – – – 12
2.1.2 Drivers of Change in an Organization – – – – 14
2.1.3 Types of Organizational Change – – – – – 15
2.1.4 Concept of Employee Productivity – – – – – 18
2.1.5 Change Management in Organisation – – – – 19
2.1.6 Implications of Change Management on the Organization – – 20
2.1.7 The Factors that Influence Change in Organization – – 22
2.1.7 Employees’ Resistance to Change in Organization – – 26
2.2 Theoretical Framework – – – – – – 28
2.2.1 Diamond Model (Organizational System Theory) – – – 28
2.2.2 Contingency Theory of the General Model – – – 29
2.3 Empirical Framework – – – – – – – 29
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Design – – – – – – – 34
3.2 Population of the Study – – – – – – 34
3.3 Sample Size and Sample Size Determination – – – 35
3.4 Sources of Data – – – – – – – 36
3.5 Sample and Sampling Techniques – – – – – 37
3.6 Research Instrument – – – – – – – 38
3.7 Validity and Reliability of the Instrument – – – – 38
3.8 Scoring/Weighting of the Instrument – – – – – 39
3.9 Model Specification – – – – – – – 40
3.10 Data Analysis Techniques – – – – – – 41
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Data Presentation – – – – – – – 43
4.2 Test of Hypotheses – – – – – – – 46
4.2.1 Hypothesis One – – – – – – – 47
- Hypothesis Two – – – – – – – 49
- Discussion of Findings – – – – – – 52
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Summary – – – – – – – – 54
5.2 Conclusion – – – – – – – – 55
5.3 Recommendations – – – – – – – 56
References – – – – – – – – 57
Appendix – – – – – – – – 59
Implications of Change on the Productivity of Employees in Banks
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
The popular saying that ‘the only thing permanent is change’ holds even in the world of management in various organizations. Thus change is a common feature in organization no matter their nature of business or industry. Regardless of the nature of the organization or the industry, change can be a time of exciting opportunity for some and a time of loss, disruption or threat for others in the organization. How such persons or group of persons respond to change can be the difference between surviving and thriving in a workplace or business environment.
Changes being an inherent characteristic of any organization including banks are expected to adapt to change to remain relevant within their various domestic environments or even globally. The banking industry in Nigeria is one that is susceptible to change and this is because of the changing business environment which has led to increased competition and increasing demand for quality products and services. Again, change is a process which is rarely contained by functional or specialist boundaries (Cole and Kelly, 2011). This implies that no one in the organization is immune change elements.
Change can originate from external sources through technological advances, social, political or economic pressures, or it can come from inside the organization as a management response to a range of issues such as changing client needs, altering work processes, introducing a new technology, reducing costs or demands of human resources; or even due to a performance issue. It can affect one small unit or the entire organization. Nevertheless, all change whether from internal or external sources, large or small, involves adopting new mindsets, processes, policies, practices and behaviour. This implies that change can influence mission, strategy, structure, products, processes, people, culture and nature of technology.
When considering the drivers for organizational change in banking sector of Nigeria, it has to be said that nothing remains still in the world of business. The rate of change that these banks face has continued at an increasing pace over the last 20 years through changing laws and policies, advances in innovations and technology since the 2000s and more recently through the penetration and assimilation of globalization of financial services, have been associated with many impacts on the banking institution in Nigeria. Some of these banks undergo changes in response to external circumstances while others decide to effect change principally because there was need for change. However, it must be pointed out that the change that occurs in most of the banks in Nigeria is influenced by existing or perceived opportunities and challenges.
Rees and Hall (2013) explain that historically changes in organizations are generally focused on alignment with customer demands and technological advances in production techniques, and were usually addressed by incrementally stepped change. As the rate of change increased so the gap widened between global competitors necessitating more extensive change, management plans and longer implementation lead – times. Burnes (2009) posits that planned major change is often an infrequent action and part of a larger organizational realignment either through incremental drift of lagging behind others or the need for a more large – scale change driven by evolution or revolution.
With increasingly competitive and dynamic banking industry which has seen many mergers, acquisitions, buyouts, downsizing, restructuring, recapitalization, launching of new products and even outsourcing of some major organizational activities, change cannot be said to be Thus as changes affects processes, structures, products, job roles and tasks and even organizational goals, it will have great impact on various stakeholders in the organization.
One of such key stakeholders is the employees which are considered very vital for the success or failure of change in the organization. These changes which are perceived to have effect on the employees include leadership change, technological change and structural changes which are the components of change that may be experienced in banks. When these changes are well implemented and managed it is expected that it would be positive impact on the productivity, creativity and commitment of the employees. There is need to explore and examine what implication change has on employees’ productivity in banks in Nigeria.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
With increasing influence of technology on the banking industry which has led to changes in products and services, and at the same time intense competition for deposits and sales of loan products has led to different types of changes in the commercial banks. These includes changes through capitalization and recapitalization, mergers and acquisitions, new products and services development and introduction, new policies and processes such as the Bank Verification Number (BVN), Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and so many more which has affected the operations of the people working in these commercial banks.
These and many more changes that affect banks have not seen many empirical studies with respect to how it affects the productivity, contribution or performance of human resources in these banks especially as it relates to Access Bank-Diamond Bank merger, Access Bank acquisition of the defunct Intercontinental Bank Plc, introduction of mobile and internet banking products and services by the banks, the introduction of Bank Verification number (BVN) and restructure of banks from universal to commercial banking structure in recent times. This creates a gap in research with respect to Access Bank Nigeria Plc in Nigeria.
Access Bank Plc has also undergone several changes in recent times. These include changes covers mergers, acquisitions, policies, management, leadership, job rules and culture and technological changes. During this period, sales volume, aggregate deposits, profitability of the banks perhaps has been increased or decreased while customers-base growth may have been enhanced or slowed down. These changes have also led to restructuring, business processes and products re-engineering and introduction of new business model for the banks. These constitute important changes which may likely affect the productivity of the employees of the bank and it will be of empirical interest to examine. Hence this study was necessitated by the need to examine implications of changes on the productivity of employees in Access Bank Plc Uyo.
Impacts of Change on the Productivity of Employees in Banks
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The main objective of this study is to examine implications of change on the productivity of employees in banks. Specifically, this study seeks to achieve the following objectives:
- To examine the different types of change in that occurred in Access Bank Plc.
- To investigate the impact of mergers and acquisitions, introduction of new products, and changes in banking policies and processes and volume of deposits.
- To assess the implications of change through mergers and acquisitions, introduction of new products, and changes in banking policies and processes and revenue of Access Bank Plc.
- To examine the implications of mergers and acquisitions, introduction of new products, and changes in banking policies and processes on profit of Access Bank Plc.
1.4 Research Questions
The research questions for this study include the following:
- What types of changes has taken place or occurred in Access Bank Plc?
- What impacts do mergers and acquisitions, introduction of new products, and changes in banking policies and processes have on volume of deposits of Access Bank Plc?
- What implications do changes through mergers and acquisitions, introduction of new products, and changes in banking policies and processes have on revenue of Access Bank Plc?
- What are the implications of do changes through mergers and acquisitions, introduction of new products, and changes in banking policies and processes have on profit of Access Bank Plc?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The research hypotheses for this study which are developed in line with the research objectives and research questions are given as follows in the null (H0) forms:
- H0: Change through mergers and acquisitions, introduction of new products, and changes in banking policies and processes have no significant implications on volume of deposits of Access Bank Plc.
- H0: Change through mergers and acquisitions, introduction of new products, and changes in banking policies and processes have no significant implications on revenue of Access Bank Plc.
1.6 Significance of the Study
This study when completed will be significant to the following groups of people. These are the management of Access Bank Plc, managers other commercial banks, change management experts, researchers and students of management. To the management of Access Bank Plc, the findings from this study will enable them to understand how change can be used to enhance the productivity of employees. To managers of other commercial banks, this study will provide them with the best change options that can act as a catalyst to increased performance of their employees in the banks.
At the same time, to change experts, this study will enable them to find the best ways to deliver change in organizations in such ways that it will spur better productivity of employees of that organization. Also to researchers and students, the findings from this study will act as the basis to carry out further research studies in this area of change, change management and productivity of employees.
Effects of Change on the Productivity of Employees in Banks
1.7 Scope and Limitations of the Study
This study is on implications of change on the productivity of employees in banks. The emphasis is on the implication of change on the productivity of employees in Access Bank Plc Uyo Akwa Ibom.
Frequent visits for participant observation, administration of the questionnaire and data collection required much financial resources. There was also the problem of data collection since this study required respondents input in the data collection procedure. Most of the respondents showed apathy towards this citing reasons ranging from that of confidentiality and victimization from management of the organization. The researcher was able to resolve this by involving the management of the bank in the research study and explaining how the study can benefit the researcher and the bank. Implications of Change on the Productivity of Employees in Banks.
Finally there was the problem of inadequate time. This study was being carried out at the same time with seminal work and other course work activities hence the period of time allocated for this study apparently appeared insufficient. This limitation was resolved through time management and commitment to the objective of this research. At the end, this study is expected completed successfully.
1.8 Organization of the Study
This study is organized into five (5) sequentially arranged chapters. It includes the chapter one which is on introduction and covers the background to the study, statement of the problem, research objectives, research questions, research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope and limitations of the study and definition of terms as used in the study. The second chapter encapsulates the review of related literature which comprises of the conceptual review, theoretical framework and empirical review.
Chapter three covers the research methodology. The sub-heading under this chapter include research design, population of the study, sample and sample size determination, sampling technique, research instrument used, area of the study, model specification, data analysis techniques and validity and reliability of instrument. Chapter four covers the presentation data, analysis of data, testing of hypothesis and discussion of findings. The final chapter (chapter five) covers summary, conclusion, recommendations and suggestions for further research work.
1.10 Operational Definition of Terms as Used in the Study
Change: This refers to the process of altering, varying or modifying something in an organization in order to establish new state of things in some way. It also refers to “a new state of things, different from the old state of things making things different, but needs to make explicit mention of actual and perceived change(s)
Change Management: This refers to the process, tools and techniques to manage the people-side of change to achieve the required business outcome. It supports moving an organization from a current state (how things are done today), through a transition state to a desired future state.
Employees: These are those people who are employed by the organization and receive commensurate remuneration for the performance of specific tasks or jobs. They are considered the human resources of the organization.
Employees Productivity: This refers to an economic measure of the efficiency that summarizes the value of outputs relative to the value of outputs relative to the value of inputs used to create them.
Management: This is considered an intervention for controlling operational performance outcomes in line with an organization’s purpose and objectives.
Organizational Change: This is defined as a state of transition between the current state and a future one, towards which the organization is directed.
Lawson Peter – Chief Editor in Projectvilla Nigeria. A writer and academic researcher.