Charles Handy Model of Organizational Culture
This report is prepaid in order to help determine the research design and procedures as well as the methodology used to arrive at the research findings on the university of Queensland. The report aims at elaborating the data collection methods and procedures used and as well as the data analysis used in carrying out research on University of Queensland organizational culture. Some of the data collection methods used includes interviews, questionnaires, observation, and secondary data collection methods (Information Resources Management Association.2017). The report also contains analysis of data analysis methods and an analysis of the findings from the research on organization culture of QoU.
The Charles Handy model on culture uses the Greek culture of gods to describe the organizational culture of various organizations. The model is very suitable for analyzing data collected on the culture of University of Queensland. This is because, the Charles Handy model of culture describes and elaborates clearly the types of cultures that are available in all organizations using the four gods of the Greeks as an illustration (Kessler, 2012). This mode is suitable for analyzing the data from UOQ since there are seen to be very many similarities between the facts described in the theory and the data collected from the organization and therefore providing a very powerful tool for analyzing data on the organizational culture of UOQ. The model uses the Gods of Management theory where it illustrates different personalities and cultures to explain how different organizations have different cultures. The first is the God of Zeus representing power, Apollo representing role of culture, Athena representing Task culture and Dionysus representing existential or personal culture. The Charles Handy model describes the God of Zeus as highly respected and feared but rarely loved (Cameron & Quinn, 2013). This explanation is similar to the current organizational culture of UOQ because, most of the leadership positions have so much power that there is no free interaction but respect and fear are the basis of work. Decision making in this kind of model is slow and non consultative hence it does not result to very informed and effective decisions. . Another difference between the Charles` model and the UOQ culture is that the culture of Apollo emphasis on security and stability both conceptually and psychologically. The culture of UOQ does not show emphasis on security and stability in the organization because, managers in the organization appear to be unwilling to address and take action on issues to do with development and performance. Managers tend to be looking warm and they don’t act on issues and they prefer instilling fear among their seniors as a way of getting things done in the organization.
Edgar Schein Model of Organizational Culture
Edgar Schein developed the iceberg model after spending more than 15 years as a consultant on organizational culture working for many organizations. The iceberg model is comprised of three layers. The first layer on the shallow end of an organization is the Artifacts, at the center is the Espoused values and at the deep end is the Underlying assumption (Schein & Schein, 2017)s. This model was used to analyze data on the research on organizational culture of UOQ because, the model is simple and therefore data can be analyzed and interpreted easily when this model is used. The iceberg model was used in analysis of data on University of Queensland because, the model emphasis on the stability of social structures which help to bond employees of an organization together. This aspect was seen to be missing in the culture of the University of Queensland and therefore will help to identify gaps in the organizational culture that needs to be filled. One of the similarities between the Schein model and the culture of the University of Queensland is that the model suggests that it is easy to spot the artifacts of the culture of an organization from simple observation of the way things are done in an organization. This is similar to the organization culture of university of Queensland because from the onset, the university is seen to have a culture of shared hard work and shared common beliefs and values as well as consulting between various levels of management(Ashkanasy, Wilderom & Peterson,2013). This however is found to be untrue especially after reaching the espoused values and underlying assumptions of stage of the model. Another similarity between the models is that in the stage of underlying assumptions, the model discusses that when solutions work repeatedly and consistently, they tend to be taken for granted. This was also noticed from the data collected from the survey on the University of Queensland. The difference between the model and the culture of the university is that the model`s view of group learning signifying individual learning is different from the culture of the university because, from the research, the behavior of individual leaders in the organization have shaped the culture of the institution.
the peters and Waterman model on culture describes the eight principles that excellent companies posses. These principles include; a bias action, get and stay close to the customer, a mindset of autonomy and entrepreneurship, productivity through people, be hands on and value driven, stick to the knitting, simple form, lean staff and simultaneous loose.
Peters and Waterman Model of Organizational Culture
The model of Peters and Waterman is similar to the organizational culture of the University of Queensland in many ways. Queensland University is based around productivity through people as discussed widely in the Peters and Waterman culture model. The culture of the university is treats all workers and other stakeholders of the institution as partners and therefore providing job security and feeling of safety among workers. The principle of being hands on and value driven is also similar to the culture of Queensland University since most of the managers at the university are hands on and they are focused on the value created in the organization (Xenikou, 2012).This helps to deliver superior quality products and services. Simultaneous loose property is also applied in the organizational culture of University of Queensland. The key values and norms of the organization are known and well executed by members of the university.
Some of the differences between the model and the culture of the organization is that the culture of the organization goes against the principle of staying close to the customer. The culture of the University is such that the customer who is the student is not adequately catered for and is not involved in decision making. Another difference is that the university does not apply the simple form and lean staff strategy where there is only one employee reporting to one boss hence there are no two axis of power (Duke,& Mallette, 2012).
The OCAI`s model of organizational culture consist of four competing values which are in line with the four types of organizational culture. Every organizational has its own unique combination of the four organizational cultures and the mix is done by conducting a survey on the organization. The OCAI model is similar to the organizational culture of Queensland University in that Adhocracy culture discussed in the model is entrenched in the culture of the university. The Adhocracy culture is where people in an organization are motivated and energized in their working environment (Chilisa, 2012). In this kind of culture, employees take risks and innovations and experiments bond the people working in the organization together.
The population being researched on the organizational culture of university of Queensland was sampled using the stratified random sampling. This technique works by partitioning the entire population under study into various groups referred to as Strata. The division of the population is based on factors that may influence the variables that are being measured in the study. In the case of the University of Queensland, the population was divided into student population, the academic staff, non teaching staff and the universities casual laborers. After stratifying the populations, samples were then taken from the strata using simple random sampling technique. Then data was collected from each random sample and the results were analyzed separately. The stratified sampling technique was used because the characteristic of the population beginning investigated is heterogeneous and therefore, it is necessary to divide the population into more homogeneous groups so as to obtain more accurate and precise data.
OCAI Model of Organizational Culture
Queensland university organizational culture data was collected using a combination of techniques and methods which were suitable for giving precise and necessary information about the subject under investigation. The following are the methods which were used by researchers in arriving at the data which was used to draw findings and conclusions from on the research topic:
Individual interviews: The method of conducting personal interviews was widely used to collect information in this research. The individual interviews technique is where the researcher arranges for interviews with members of the sample population on an individual level and asks them open ended questionnaires which can be structured or unstructured (Sakikawa, 2012). The research on the organizational culture of University of Queensland was conducted using interview questions that were prepared prior to the interview in order to help the researcher in remaining objective throughout the interview. The structuring of questions before the interview also helps to save time since most of the interviewees are very busy and also the research has a limited time line which has to be met(Miner, 2014). The advantage of individual interviews is that people can be able to answer questions that maybe they would not be comfortable answering in a focus group (Alvesson, 2015).
Focus groups: The research also used focus groups to collect data on the research subject. Focus groups method brings about a small group of people picked using simple random sampling. The group is then asked questions and they are required to discuss and brainstorm before giving answers to the person collecting data. The advantages of focus group are that they help to reduce sample size hence making data collection easier. Focus groups also aid in collection of unbiased information since the data represents vies of a group of people unlike individual interviews where the respondent where answers given can be very biased.
Data on the organizational culture of University of Queensland was collected not only from primary sources but also from secondary sources. The data collected on organizational culture of Queensland University was collected from books and journal articles written about the institution. Data on previous research done on the organization culture on UOQ by students and presented to the university as theses and research projects was also used when arriving at the findings and recommendations for this research. This information was collected from the Universities main library.
Another important source of secondary data used in the research is the Universities charter which outlines the core values of the organization, mission, vision, goals and objectives of the organization (Xenikou, 2012). These factors are very important in this research because they influence greatly the organization culture of an organization especially an institution of higher learning like UOQ.
Data Collection Methods
Data analysis involves procedures such as coding, categorizing and making sense of meanings and data derived from the research. Data analysis helps in simplifying the information collected to be able to obtain important information from the data collected. This research exercise used the grounded theory method to analyze data collected from the study. The method involves the coding stage where indexing of information collected using interviews and focus groups is assigned indexes following an in depth exploration of all research questions asked. The research topics are then labeled depending on the relevance to the study subject (Dainton & Zelley, 2014). Indexing data lead to a number of categories, concepts and codes which explains the situation under this study. This process is dynamic because it continues throughout the process of data collection and it involves refining of the indexing mode used and integrating of emerging categories to establish relationship between variables.
The questions asked in the survey were carefully analyzed and a lot of research was done to ensure that the questions are structured in a professional, manner and that the questions asked during the interview will help in solving the research questions. The designing of interview questions also considered the role and position of each and every individual in the organization so as to ask the respondents questions that are relevant to their area of specialization or concern. The following are the interview questions that were used to collect data on the organizational culture of Queensland University.
The first set of questions involves finding out how the university engages and supports its employees. Questions in this section are meant to determine how workers feel about their relationship with their seniors and how valued they are to the organization.
- What makes you proud working in the institution?
- Does the university encourage risk taking and trying of new methods and procedures of doing things?
- Does the organization support your professional development? If yes, in what ways does the university support your professional development?
- What role does the values of the university play in hiring of new staff and in promotion of existing workers?
- What one thing would you wish changes in the university?
The second set of questions features questions that help to establish how the University of Queensland handles conflicts and internal politics. This is important because, in a large institution like this, conflicts are very common. It is therefore important to establish how conflicts are solved in the University of Queensland in order to ensure a good working environment within the university (Pecora, 2013). Conflict resolution also affects organizational culture to a very large extent. The following are the questions asked in regard to the above subject.
- What are the common causes of conflicts in your workstation?
- How are the conflicts in your workstation resolved?
- How are decisions arrived at when there are disagreements and high stakes are involved in the decisions?
- At what circumstances are people so willing and ready to give feedback?
- Who is the most powerful person in the university regardless of their title and position in the university?
The third section contains questions on the daily operations of the university and the kind of work environment workers are subjected to. The following are the questions that were asked.
- In what ways does the company celebrate and reward success?
- How does your manager or supervisor motivate your team?
- Is the work arrangement of the university flexible?
- Is the university involved in corporate social responsibility?
- How does the university reward loyalty and commitment to values?
Conclusion
The research methods used in any study is very important in determining the kind of information and findings that will be derived from the study. The data analysis methods and sampling methods are very important in research and should be carefully chosen when undertaking a study. From the findings on the university of Queensland culture, it can be found that there are very many similarities between the four models that explain culture of organizations and the culture at Queensland University. There are also a few differences between the model theories and the culture of the organization hence revealing gaps in the organization culture of Queensland which need to be filled.
References
Ashkanasy, N. M., Wilderom, C., & Peterson, M. F. (2013). The handbook of organizational culture and climate.
Alvesson, M. (2015). Changing Organizational Culture (2nd Edition). ZULU: Taylor and Francis.
Cameron, K. S., & Quinn, R. E. (2013). Diagnosing and changing organizational culture: Based on the competing values framework. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Chilisa, B. (2012). Indigenous research methodologies.
Dainton, M., & Zelley, E. D. (2014). Applying communication theory for professional life: A practical introduction.
Duke, N. K., & Mallette, M. H. (2012). Literacy research methodologies. New York: Guilford Press.Cameron, K. S., & Quinn, R. E. (2013)
Information Resources Management Association. (2017). Organizational culture and behavior: Concepts, methodologies, tools, and applications. Hershey: Information Science Reference.
In Christiansen, B., & In Chandan, H. C. (2017). Handbook of research on organizational culture and diversity in the modern workforce.
Khan, J. A. (2015). Research methodology. New Delhi: APH Publishing Corporation.
Kessler, E. H. (2012). Management theory in action: Real-world lessons for walking the talk. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Miner, J. B. (2014). Organizational behavior 6. Armonk, N.Y: M.E. Sharpe Inc.
Pecora, P. J. (2013). Strategic supervision: A brief guide for managing social seAlvesson, M. (2015)rvice organizations. Los Angeles: Sage.
Sakikawa, T. (2012). Transforming Japanese workplaces. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
Schein, E. H., & Schein, P. (2017). Organizational culture and leadership.
Xenikou, A. (2012). Group Dynamics and Organizational Culture. Palgrave Macmillan
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
