Article Review of Organizational Culture Essay

It was not expected that the hierarchical model would be dominant given the previous attempt to change the culture. The altruistic values of those surveyed indicated they are committed to social development and public interests and are most comfortable with a hierarchical dominate culture. The sample size of 530 participants obtained from the Public Sector Directory was an adequate size. All of the executives in the directory were included in the survey, which suggests a less than random selection process for the final candidates. However, the six varied departments selected represented central coordination, infrastructure provision and social services. Although an almost two to one ratio of male to female employee responses were utilized, none of the demographic variables collected in section C of the three part survey affected the perceptions of the current culture. Sections A and B of the survey gathered information on character, managers, cohesion, emphases and rewards. Results indicated that Departments A – D preferred the internal process or group culture. Department E preferred the internal process model, but it was equally comfortable with rational goal model indicating goal fulfillment was a requirement. Department F results indicated a comfort level with the rational goal model most likely due to their interactive responsibilities with other departments. Forcing change from a formalized, rules and rewards based culture to a more flexible, decentralized culture could create individual-organization value conflict resulting in stress. Of the population surveyed only 191, 36%, was usable and the male respondents outnumbered the female respondents nearly 3 to 1. The survey, divided into three sections dealing with perceptions of the current culture, respondent ideal culture, and demographic information. The survey reviled 4 out of 6 public sector departments in the study held to the traditional model. The findings also suggest organizational culture is driven at the non-managerial employee level and the deeply embedded cultural values can’t be forced any form of management. The article mentions the constant state of transition is the Queensland government over a twenty year period; employees may value the stability and predictability of the traditional bureaucratic model. Base on the research and finding in the article, culture change must target the organization at the non-managerial level in order for the culture change to be effective. In order for Queensland traditionally bureaucratic organizations to embrace high performing teams, the change must address the needs of the driving force of the traditional model culture; the non-managerial employees. In forming high performing teams for the Queensland public sector, it is important to investigate the factors/components of those teams. Also, because most teams are unique in their goals and focus, there is no â€Å"off the shelf† solution for all teams (Davenport, 2001) and that â€Å"there is no singular, uniform measure of performance effectiveness for groups† (Guzzo and Dickson, 1996. p. 309). By creating a customized plan for transitioning, Queensland public sector can move from a control hierarchical organizational culture to a culture of change, flexibility, and productivity. The Queensland public sector was managed for so many decades using the top down management that the culture of the organizations productivity depended on it. The results of the study can be supported by the need for stability which can only be changed by small adjustment to small changes (Bhide 2010). The culture of the organization is controlled by political authority, so it was not surprising that a hierarchical process model was so deeply rooted in to the essence of the government employees who understood the leadership values (Goodwin and Neck, 1998). Organizations lack of understanding of their members caused employees to be less adaptable to change, and with that less productive. Employees will move to do only their specific functions and only respond to the tasks directed by their manager, which is contradicting to the desired results of flexibility, and supports the article results (Miller S 2009). â€Å"Beyond top-down and bottom-up work redesign†, explains â€Å"Authority is traditionally conceptualized as hierarchical†, but the informal authority operates day to day work of organizations. This proved to be true for the Queensland public sector with few exceptions such as a high commitment to the rules and the attention to details. These changes have also been achieved on a federal level with similar setbacks who still managed to overcome the existing dominant culture (189). Just because the organization is not dominated by the â€Å"new managerialist thinking† as stated in â€Å"Organisational culture in the public sector† article, Sting and Loch explain that this does not mean that there is not a need for a â€Å"bottom-up participation† which was part of the work environment before the values of the employees were, in a way, forced to be changed for unexplained reasons to them. As a result of such, this did cause setbacks in the cultural change that was attempted. Changing the value of a large group of people within the company is next to impossible when it’s so closely tied to their private beliefs such as the members of the Queensland public sector. In order to move from a hierarchical process model of an organization to a more flexible and change oriented one, organizations must first understand their employees preferred organizational structure, and then create a corporate culture which employees can slowly get accustom to. In the case of six organizations in the Queensland public sector, the transformation required a culture change from the â€Å"Mechanistic† to ‘Organic† organizational structure and this should have been done very slowly only after understanding the values of those involved. One easy way to get this information is to have employees perform a self-assessment. Because â€Å"a corporate culture is influenced by the industry in which the organization operates†, outside factors such as political control have to be considered in a path taken to change employees assumptions, values, and artifacts (McGraw-Hill Companies, 2002-2009). Before an organization can move from a hierarchical process to a more flexible one employees must understand the benefits of shifting their culture from â€Å"control† to â€Å"performance†, where their input is valued. Through our research and critical analysis of the six organizations in the Queensland public sector, it is evident to us that the paradigm public organizations are functioning in will not change easily. Though the employees have to be able to accept change and shift, employers must understand that the need to create an environment that fosters a corporate cultural environment is vital. Change is inevitable but a positive response to the change is not. Without the strategic planning of organizational leaders, we will continue to see results like we saw with the six organizations in Queensland; the entire organization has to be a part of the implementation, intimately, in order for it to be effective. Unfortunately, when employees of any organization settle for the â€Å"norm,† they will not only resist change but they will fear it.