Effect of Strategic Organizational Structure on Performance of National Council of Persons with Disabilities in Rwanda: A Case Study NCPD

Organizations are formed by groups of people with the purpose of achieving goals and objectives. Better results are created as a consequence of organizational structure to achieve organizational performance. This study aimed at analyzing the effect of strategic organizational structure on performance. Specifically, it intended to assess the effect of structure on organizational growth, identify the effect of structure on organizational effectiveness, and examine the effect of structure on organizational innovativeness at the NCPD. This study is beneficial for the NCPD management and other practitioners, and remains an issue of widespread interest. Moreover, it benefits other organizations, and proposes concrete recommendations to ensure proper structures for long-term performance. It was a cross-sectional study using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The target population includes the 8, 490 registered persons with disabilities living in Kigali City. As sample size, 138 persons with disabilities were selected in order to answer the questionnaire. A focus group of ten (10) persons were selected for interviews and discussions. For validity and reliability of research instruments, the pilot study was conducted in a similar organization and amendments to instruments were done where necessary. The questionnaires content consistency was assessed by experienced researchers. Data analysis used the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, Version 25.0.0.0), edited and coded. As results, based on cumulative answers, 533 (77.25 %) respondents were in disagreement that the structure has an effect on the organizational growth, while 157 (22.75 %) respondents were in agreement with all assertions about the organizational growth. There was insignificant effect of structure on organizational growth because the organization could not expand, hire more employees, add more departments and engage more departmental managers. Respondents confirmed the inexistence of greater productivity, greater utilization of resources or increase of efficiency. Findings of the study showed that analyses based on cumulative answers revealed that 566 (82.03 %) respondents disagreed and 124 (17.97 %) respondents agreed that the structure had an effect on the organizational effectiveness. In other words, 82.03 % of respondents disagreed that organizational structure has an effect on organizational effectiveness, while 17.97 % of respondents stated the contrary. Based on cumulative responses, the results showed that 131 (18.99 %) respondents agreed with the organizational innovativeness, while the majority of 559 (81.01 %) respondents disagreed with organizational innovativeness assertions. It can be concluded that the performance of an organization largely depends on its structure. In other terms, organizational structure significantly affects organizational performance, it affects performance in its growth, effectiveness and innovativeness objectives. When a clear organizational structure exists, employees perform better, responsibilities are well-attributed and performance increases. Having a well-designed structure is a precondition for long-term performance. This study recommends that management should critically analyze the effectiveness and efficiency of the organizational structure as an important predictor of performance. Proper structures should be put in place in order to achieve set goals and objectives, and non-performing organizations should redesign their structures in order to attain the expected performance.