CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

In the era of globalisation, cultural differences influence work in multi-national projects, particularly it impacts project performance.  Members of the team coordinate and closely work with people or teams working beyond national boundaries; or their team itself made up of members from several nations or culturally diverse background. Understanding cultural differences and successfully managing it in an organisation can provide several advantages for the project outcome. Effective Management of diversity can increase work productivity, positively affect creativity and innovation and problem solving. Subsequently, it plays a vital role in improving overall performance and enhances competitive advantage of an organisation. Globalization has greatly contributed to an influx of diverse talent from different cultural backgrounds and so this change is not only important for companies in Europe or America but for organizations around the globe. Diversity is slowly taking grounds as it is becoming an organizational reality and if managed in the right way, will be beneficial to all, Thomas et al (2004). Regardless of how expensive such diversity programs are it is often recorded as unsuccessful (Aghazadeh, 2004) which only goes to mean that diversity trainings are very necessary for perfect performance and productivity. However, managing cultural diversity aims to produce a multi-work force with a very diverse staff who can stand out and attain an egalitarian work environment with members who are equal with no advantages and disadvantages (Schneider Northcraft, 2011). One of the core values of cultural diversity is that, organizations which have a culturally diverse team of workers can better operate an international level (Klarsfeld et al, 2014) as they are more opened to conveniently associating with and understanding different types of people and by so doing improved communication and a possible way to better solve their problems. For an organization to remain relevant especially with the massive growth of our global world, it is important that the management hires employees who represent the diverse demographics (John & Bezrukova, 2004) this has to do with people who represent an ethnic community and understands the needs of the culture or an individual who can be able to give an insight on what the organization forbids and demands off them with regards to its tradition.

According to Farrer (2006), if an organization aim to expand and improve their performance, they should be willing to consider hiring a multi-cultural force as the trend of having a vast work function and departments in an organization which have different cultures will only contribute to a strong element of cultural diversity to work groups or teams in an organization (John & Bezrukova, 2004).Ang et al(2007) believe that cultural diversity is a representation in one social system of people who have distinctly different perspectives of cultural significance.

Cultural diversity is now widely accepted by organizations as a means of gaining competitive advantage over competitors which is achieved over competitors which is achieved from their living of employees from different backgrounds, hence an opportunity to utilize a wide range of knowledge and skills and abilities from their cultural work force (Stahl et al, 2010).Most organizations now in order to make sure they last in the market and meet the overwhelming needs of the consumers have to make sure their performance is top notch (Arslan and Staub, 2013). Ely and Thomas (2001) described performance as a proof of accomplishment of a task to a certain level of desired satisfaction.

Also, if cultural diversity is well managed, it can be a great asset to employee performance and if mismanaged it may lead to a breakdown in the performance of an organization (Brewwerys and Prince, 2011).Cultural diversity can also play a relevant role in case where an organization can be managed and benefit from issues like; enhance thinking and problem-solving skills, employees who can communicate easily regardless of cultural barriers, having and overview of the demands of its customer base (Moran, 2024). Meanwhile in the South African context, diversity is generally defined on the basis of race, religion and culture. Also, Berger et al (2018; 155-174) look at diversity of the perspective of religion, gender, race, language, age and other characteristics that best describe people. The apartheid system made it vis8ible for whites to be seen as intelligent and hardworking whereas the blacks were considered to be lazy and incompetent, Koole et al (2001: 289-301).

Organizations in Nigeria have also become profit driven since they have looked for better ways to pull through the many other competitive organizations. The geometrical in the increase in the population of job seekers from a diverse cultural background in Nigeria to urban cities like Lagos, Kano, Abuja, has been evident in the past two decades as individuals are compelled to move out of their sphere in search of “greener pastures”, Aworemi et al (2011). Nigeria happens to be an African country with multiple ethnic groups, religion and dialect and this helps in shaping their culture. Thus, their diverse nature contributively helps implementation of strategies almost impossible, Mbakogu (2002) and this can be because the diverse culture of individuals can go a long way to play on their cultural orientation and hence stereotypes. Most, if not all organizations try to sustain its existence and meet up with the need of its consumers by improving performance, (Arinaitwe, 2001; Aremu, 2004).

The ethnic map of Cameroon shows how diverse Cameroonians are from the three (3) major ethnic groups which are Bantu, semi Bantu and Sudanese. The country uses French and English as its official languages and also, an addition of 256 local languages. The religious groups present in Cameroon are the Christians, Muslims and others which gives justification to the constitution stipulating Cameroon as a circular state.

Cultural diversity is bound to exist in construction project environment because of the nature of the industry, where plethora of construction professionals are involved from the inception to handover and use of varied procurement systems, especially during design and execution stages (Kivrak et al., 2020). Improper management of cultural diversity may lead to problems such as workplace conflicts, decline in productivity and resource inefficiency that shall have negative implications on the project performance. It has been attempted to seek empirical evidence for relationship between cultural orientations and project performance in an organisation involved in construction. An exploratory study using questionnaire survey indicates that cultural differences in the organisation is statistically negatively correlated with project performance. Salient findings of this study is reported in the article.

Since the late 1980s, the globalisation phenomenon and the resulting political liberalisation seem to have led to an increased obsession with ethnicity, ‘autochthony’ and the ‘politics of belonging’ in Africa and elsewhere, thereby creating a crisis of identity. So pervasive and disturbing was this issue of exclusion and new forms of identity arising from ‘repackaging’, ‘retribalisation’, ‘reconstruction’ and ‘redefinition’ of Africans that a special issue of Africa Today (1998) and a plethora of writers (e.g. Awasom 2004; Fawole & Ukeje 2005; Fonchingong 2005), as well as CODESRIA have focused on it in an attempt to x-ray its complexities. Cameroon is a special case study of identity construction and activation. Such a situation can be a threat to national integration because of Cameroon’s triple German, Gallic and Anglo-Saxon colonial legacies and its more than 289 ethnic tribes.

Cameroon was born out of the erstwhile German colony of Kamerun, which became a United Nations mandated territory after World War I. The colony was splintered to cater for French and British interests against the backdrop of the imperialist morass that ensued. The north- and south-west regions of the country, known today as Anglophone Cameroon, were administered by the British, while the rest of the territory known today as Francophone Cameroon was administered by the French. These two separately administered regions reunified in 1961 after a plebiscite to form a two-state federation with two prime ministers, a federal legislature and a single president (Ngoh 1999).

In 1972, the population voted in a referendum to adopt a new constitution setting up a unitary state to replace the federation whose name ipso facto changed from Federal Republic of Cameroon to United Republic of Cameroon. This event, referred to as ‘the pacific revolution’ was to turn the tide in Cameroon’s chequered colonial history (Stark 1980; Konings & Nyamnjoh 2003) as it immediately resulted in what can be called a complete annexation of English-speaking Cameroon into a unitary state dominated by French-speaking Cameroon. A number of factors resulting from the fusion of the two entities generated ethnicisation and a growing polarisation of communal identities: First, there were many inequalities which engendered disgruntlement. Secondly there was a spectre and repression of opposing voices – especially of leaders and supporters of a political party, Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC), which had been founded in 1948. Finally, the state had the ability to effectively encapsulate the vulnerabilities of regional fracturing that were a result of the union. More disturbing, however, is the fact that in present-day Cameroon, the ruling elite has adopted a rather naive approach to the concept of peace and security – as meaning the absence of internal and external armed war or conflict.

Non-Governmental  Organisations  (NGOs)  are  believed  to  be  the  pillars  of  community development, however, the level of benefits as a result of their involvement in community development is slighter  Namara (2009) argues that the reason NGOs benefits are not visible in communities is because some NGOs are engaged in charitable and humanitarian works that have little or nothing to do with community development and others have self- appointed and corporate leadership not answerable to any group of people other than their funders. NGOs in the North West Region (NWR) of Cameroon are not different from the above given the involvement of NGOs in community development but the level of deficiency continues to be extraordinary in some communities served by these NGOs. The World Bank (2019) studies prove that poverty has increased from 55% in 2014 to 57% in 2019 in the NWR  and  in  some  districts  in  the  northern  provinces  the  condition  is  shoddier  as insufficiency has increased from 74% in 2014 to 77% in 2019.  This has become a great fear in Cameroon as NGOs have been existing in this country for years. On the other hand, deficiency is getting deeper and wider in the same areas serviced by these NGOs  .  There is a lack of basic services like education, shelter, water and health facilities preventing Cameroonians from getting out of poverty

Bamenda, Cameroon, is a city rich in cultural diversity. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in this area often face the challenge of navigating these diverse cultural backgrounds. This thesis explores the impact of cultural diversity on project performance in NGOs in Bamenda, examining both its potential benefits and challenges.

Plan International is a British based organisation working in 51 emerging countries across Africa, Asia and America to support child rights and lift children out of poverty. Child sponsorship is the foundation of this organisation. PI plays a facilitating role between a child in need and the foster parents who would help that child. PI has been working in NWR of Cameroon since 1996. PI works with eight councils in the NWR (Boyo, Mezam, Momo and Ngoketunjia  divisions).  PI  Bamenda  management  team  is  made  up  of  five  top-level managers, six first-line managers and 192 community volunteers.

According to the PI Report (2015:5) PI Bamenda is supporting more than 6250 foster children and their families (PI families) in the NWR  Major activities carried out by PI in these regions to reduce poverty include health, learning, habitation, and building relations  NGO is a wide term used for organisations that deal with non-profit social development activities for the benefit of society. The term is heterogeneity in terms of size, visions and purposes within the sector  . Different nations use different terms for these organisations E.G. In the United Kingdom, NGOs are known as voluntary, charitable or third sector  .

In the  United  States  of  America  the  term  non-profit  or  not-for-profit  sectors  is  used . However, the use of such expressions in the United States of America, and in the United Kingdom, has been condemned on the basis that they focus on only one characteristic of non- profit  or  not-for-profit  distribution  to  members.  Alasah, A.A. 2008 Even  though  NGOs  have  different definitions, and challenges, their character remains the same through all their definitions. Such characteristics include the provision of goods and services, not to give profits to personnel in their individual capacities, they are formed, sustained, and terminated based on charitable decisions and the initiatives by members or a board and, finally, they exhibit wisdom regularly based on resilient ethical components.

According to Bebbington et al., (2007) reported that activities of NGOs are influenced by their internal environment. One will see relief NGOs where there are disasters, human rights NGOs where there are political supremacies, discrimination,  and  developmental  NGOs  where  there  is  poverty   .  In  the  NWR  of Cameroon both international and local NGOs are involved in human rights, political and development activities even though each NGO has different objectives   . International NGOs are those NGOs operating in several countries with headquarters in another country. Some of these international NGOs may have sufficient funding and means but have narrow country grassroots information  . This is not the case with local NGOs whose activities are limited in scale and scope, they depend mostly on other international NGOs for survival  . Growth of NGOS in the North West Region

NGOs grow from inside in reaction to particular historical and sociocultural contexts .  One of the reasons for the fast growing of NGOs in the North West region is the traditional set up of the people in this region.  There are five main ethnic groups in these regions; the Tikar, Ngemba, Chamba Fulani and Moghamo which are structured from the lowest unit which is the family to the chiefdom which is the highest in the NWR of Cameroon. The centralized authority of these chiefs with their clearly defined hierarchies allows for rapid mobilization of members of the tribal groups, which provide a strong impetus for common initiatives and ventures. The ability of chiefs and populations to rally together at short notice and to work together encourages foreign NGOs to work in the region .

Additionally, the liberalization and existence of many political and pressure groups during the British administration of the Southern Cameroons explains the existence of many of such groups in the NWR today. The common initiative groups and the existence of a communal spirit were promoted by the traditional set up of the dynamic people of the Region. All these factors created a more favourable environment for the operation and success of NGOs in the North West region of Cameroon . Cultural diversity is most often centered on the mobility of individuals, and this is beneficial in the sense that the process of having to migrate from place to place, there is a facilitation on the exploitation of knowledge to create new businesses and better ideas to improve the business Sexenian, (2005). Highly skilled immigrants have the potential to become high growth entrepreneurs because they have access to resources to exploit opportunities OCEO, (2010).

When immigrants are highly educated, they tend to possess a stock of human capita which is linked to the productivity of an organization Cowan and Zinovyeva, (2013) therefore, with ethnic diversity there is an attraction of a different form of human capita/human resource which goes a long way to encourage creativity, innovation and business competitiveness Fainstain, (2005). Many companies face the problem of language being a barrier or facilitator to their business performance, Lambert, (2001). Language as an obstacle can be a key influence for information not reaching the organizations executive, Brannen and Doz, (2012). Employees who have no mastery of how and what language is used in the organization will face challenges in expressing themselves, in expressing themselves, ideas, needs and even difficulties in communicating with their fellow colleagues and clients, (Katsz and Pesetsky, 2011) and a client or customer who cannot understand he or she is partners with may seek refuge in another organization, Levinson et al, ( 2002) which can contribute inefficiency, low creativity and low productivity. Countries and organizations with a vast and wild mastery of many languages will have higher startup rates than linguistically homogenous countries or organizations Galbraith & Benitez-Galbraith, (2009).

However, from the above literature, the general observation is that cultural diversity has effects on employee’s performance and with how culturally diverse Cameroon is, the cultural aspect of ethnic diversity, linguistic diversity and religious diversity have to be looked at in this study and how this aspect can go a long way to affect non-governmental organizations in the north west region of Cameroon and their employee’s overall performance in the quest for sustainable development.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Bamenda, a city in the Northwest region of Cameroon, is characterized by significant cultural diversity, with various ethnic groups and languages. This cultural diversity is a potential asset for NGOs working in the region, offering a wider range of perspectives and approaches to project development. However, it also presents unique challenges in terms of communication, collaboration, and understanding cultural nuances that can impact project performance. Cultural diversity within workforce is seemingly inevitable. While it presents an opportunity for creativity and innovation, it also poses unique challenges that can greatly impact project performance through communication barriers, differences in work ethics and practices. Despite a great number of studies on cultural diversity, most have so far not yielded a consistent result and it is on this basis that the question of whether or not cultural diversity is advantageous to organizations is raised. Ang et al, (2007) acknowledge the positive and negative impact of diversities on organizations but also went ahead to say that these impacts are only justifiable and applicable based on the type of diversity.

Further, not much research has been done with regards to non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Specifically, the role of cultural diversity on employee performance in NGOs in the northwest region of Cameroon has not received adequate research attention in Cameroon. This study intends to fill this gap by studying the different NGOs in the northwest region of Cameroon and provide more empirical evidence on the impact of cultural diversity on the performance of employees.

Studies have been carried out on the role of cultural diversity in organizations and companies in Cameroon but limited study has been carried out on the impacts of cultural diversity on employee performance of NGOs in the north west region of Cameroon and it is in this regards that the researcher seeks to investigate the role of cultural diversity on employee performance with the case study being NGOs in the north west region of Cameroon.

1.3 Research Questions

1.3.1 Main Research Question

What is the role of cultural diversity on project performance in Non-Governmental Organisations in Bamenda Cameroon?

1.3.2 Specific Research Question

1. What is the role of ethnic diversity on project performance of Non-Governmental Organisations in Bamenda?
2. What is the role of religious diversity on project performance of Non-Governmental Organisations in Bamenda?
3. What is the role of Linguistic diversity on project performance in Non-Governmental Organisations in Bamenda?