Factors affecting teamwork in export processing zones in Kenya: a case of Indigo Garments Export Procesing Zone LTD

Abstract

Teams can be depicted in terms of many philosophies and theoretical frameworks, and teambased philosophy within organisations is becoming increasingly popular and commonplace (Sheard & Kakabadse, 2001). Organizational teams can improve organizational performance through involvement, learning and increased communication that transpires through teamwork and team interactions. Team working is being seen increasingly as a means of improving organizational health (Woodcock, 1989), to redesign structure (Chance, 1989) and drive quality forward (Peterson, 1991). There are many types of teams documented in the literature. The most fundamental problem that teams confront is existing work structure (Wellins, 1991). A second problem teams confront is keeping sight of their goal. Individualism plays a big part in this problem. Control issues, political issues and individual agendas can blur the team's vision (Larson and LaFasto, 1989). The general objective of the study is to determine factors affecting teamwork in indigo garments EPZ Ltd. The research design employed in this study was descriptive survey. The major purpose of descriptive research design was to describe the state of affairs as it is at present. The target population of this study was the employee of Indigo garments EPZ Ltd located in Ruaraka, Nairobi County, there are about 120 employees working with EPZ in Ruaraka Region. The study sampled 60 respondents from the target population. For the purposes of the research, stratified sampling was used to select the target groups which were employees of Indigo garments EPZ Ltd located in Ruaraka, Nairobi County. They were divided into three strata ie Top level management, Middle level management and Support staff from where the primary data will be collected using semi-structured questionnaires. The researcher used both qualitative and quantitative techniques in analyzing the data. The organised data was interpreted on account of concurrence to objectives using assistance of computer packages especially statistical package for social scientists (SPSS) version 20 to communicate research findings. Tables and charts was used for data presentation. After the analysis and interpretation of data, a final report was written to provide a summary of the findings. The study revealed that cultural belief affect teamwork in the organization through misunderstanding among team members, conflicting views on issues, low level of cohesiveness among team members, poor communication, conflicts and poor team performance due to colliding cultural beliefs. The study revealed that most of the team members used intranet to communicate amongst themselves. The study found that communication through intranet affects teamwork in the organization to great extent. The study found that their organization organized training for members. The study found that training of team members affect teamwork in the organization to great extent. The study revealed that top management support team work in an organization was through favourable policies, creation of a favourable working environment, delegation of duties, provision of the necessary materials and leadership support.