ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE AND LEADERSHIP PERFORMANCE IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM IN THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH SUDAN

Abstract

Organisational structure is a subject of much academic interest and debate. In South Sudan, the public sector has been operating on some structures subject to enormous political and social influence. The Ministry of Petroleum being in the realm of the public sector is controlled by certain organisational structures, which influence leadership performance. In the Republic of South Sudan, however, inter-organisational governance based on organisational structure is less effective, raising the issue of shown leadership in the Department of Petroleum which required investigation. Thus, the main goal of this research was to investigate how organisational structure affects leadership effectiveness in the country of South Sudan's Ministry of Petroleum. Examining the relationships between institutional structures, the political-administrative interface, bureaucratic frameworks, leadership effectiveness and relationships between organisations in the Department of Petroleum were among the study's specific goals. Another was to evaluate potential intervention strategies for the efficient operation of the Ministry of Petroleum. Three leadership theories served as the study's theoretical framework: Contingency Theory, Leader-Member Exchange Theory and Agency Theory. An explanatory mixed-methods approach was used for the study, which was directed towards 1,973 employees of the Petroleum Ministry. Finance and Administration (345), Exploration as well as Production (323), Oil Economics (295), Petroleum Infrastructures (182), Policy, Training and Investigation (108), Planning (60), Health, Safety, and Environment (105), were some of the departments from which these workers were drawn, Nile Pet (427), and National Oil and Gas Commission (135). In order to determine the sample size of 333 employees, the researcher used the Yamane sampling formula. Primary data obtained through prearranged interviews and questionnaires served as the primary source of information. The researcher interviewed ten key informants, one from each of the Ministry of Petroleum's nine departments, including the Director General of Petroleum. The means, frequencies, and percentages of the quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistical approaches. The set of hypotheses was tested and the inferential statistics were analysed using the regression analysis technique. Tables and figures were used to present the results. The Ministry of Petroleum's leadership performance was found to be significantly impacted by the bureaucratic structures and the political-administrative interface (β = 494, p = 0.000 and β = 215, p = 0.002), respectively. The study went on to conclude that one of the factors influencing leadership performance in organisational structures was unstructured and ineffective inter-organizational relations. Other factors included weak organisational frameworks, ineffective political administrative interface, rigid bureaucratic structures, and inadequate leadership in the nation of South Sudan's Petroleum sector. The results from the study will be used to inform policy, practice in the Ministry of Petroleum of the Republic of South Sudan, and to contribute to public administration and management scholarship in respect to the influence of organisational structure on leadership performance in public sector. According to the report, the Department of Petroleum should strengthen its institutional framework for better leadership performance. The ministry's operations should have safeguards and checks in place to provide the necessary accountability. The implementation of checks and balances can significantly enhance operational efficiency and optimise resource utilisation.