An essessment of the impact of restructuring on organizational performance: A case of the Municipality of Harare's Water Department (2006 to 2012)

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to assess the impact of restructuring on organizational performance in Harare City Council, mainly focusing on the Harare Water Department. The objectives of the research are: to investigate the effectiveness of restructuring carried out in HCC, to contrast service delivery before and after restructuring, to assess the impact of restructuring on employee performance, work culture and revenue collection efficiency, to assess the extent to which stakeholders are satisfied with HCC service delivery since the restructuring and finally to identify factors that are inhibiting successful restructuring in HCC.

The research was carried out in Harare City Council’s Water Department. A positivist philosophy to the research was used. The methodology adopted was both quantitative and qualitative approach. Both the case study and survey strategies were used in the research so as to obtain meaningful data. The target population was 192 000 and this includes employees of HCC, Senior Managers, Middle Managers, rate payers and councilors. Stratified random sampling was used and the sample size was 200.A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect primary data. The self-administered questionnaire was made up of five likert’s scale questions and one open ended question.

The findings of the research were that restructuring in HCC has not managed to improve the performance of COH municipality’s Water Department. It must be noted that restructuring is not carried out in a vacuum such that other factors can water down restructuring efforts especially in quasi-government organizations. These factors include political, public concerns, inadequate funding, lack of proper managerial skills and lack of ownership. Harare City Council continues to fail to achieve its intended goals and objectives even though an autonomous department was created to improve on efficiency and effectiveness in the provision of water and waste water services. Proper water governance mechanisms should be put in place by policy makers so as to improve water supply in the city.