How culture, leadership and engagement helped a small business survive during the pandemic

Purpose The purpose of this case study is to investigate how a small catering company has coped with the current Covid-19 pandemic. Initial research was performed in 2014 and repeated in 2018. Given the far reaching business challenges of the pandemic, the authors examined the viability of the organization within the current climate. Design/methodology/approach Embedded organizational components of culture, leadership and engagement are explored as key elements in the sustainability of the company during the pandemic crisis. Prior research data using the organizational culture inventory is used to assess organizational culture over a four-year period. Employee data and interview analysis within company structure is used to determine how leadership and employee engagement is impacted. Culture research is examined to determine the influence of company culture upon organizational survival. Findings This paper identifies workplace culture elements that contribute to company sustainability. Embedded core value systems, strong employee engagement mechanisms and focused leadership styles were observed to be critical influences upon company survival during the pandemic. Originality/value This research would assist industry professionals and practitioners in understanding the active workplace culture mechanisms found to be effective for organizational survival during periods of crisis. Companies that adopt similar practices may acquire sustainability advantage during the pandemic.

Organizational Culture and Subcultures in the Spanish Nuclear Industry

Organizational culture determines the norms, values and behaviors of an organization, playing a key role in the safety of high-reliability organizations (HRO). Previous research has shown that differentiated subcultures can coexist within organizations, sharing some norms and values but not necessary everything From this perspective, this study was aimed at (1) describing the organizational culture of the Spanish nuclear industry and (2) determining the potential presence of organizational subcultures. To do that, a statistical analysis of organizational culture surveys (Organizational Culture Inventory®, N = 5825) handed over to all organizations within the Spanish nuclear industry, was carried out. Results allow us to accurately characterize the industry’s organizational culture, which is made up of predominant “Constructive”-style behaviors together with “Defensive” normative patterns of the “Conventional”, “Dependent” and “Perfectionistic” styles. Indications about the existence of various subcultures associated to the nuclear organization type, the sociodemographic aspect and the organizational structure component were also found. Certain safety implications potentially linked to the existence of subcultures and to the industry’s organizational culture are discussed.

Estudio piloto de la validez convergente de la adaptación española del Denison Organizational Culture Survey

El (DOCS, Cuestionario de Cultura Organizacional de Denison) es uno de los instrumentos más utilizados en el análisis de la cultura organizacional. El objetivo de este artículo es analizar la validez convergente de la versión en español del DOCS. Para ello hemos empleado otro instrumento de gran relevancia y utilización en el campo de la psicología de las organizaciones, el Organizational Culture Inventory (OCI, Inventario de Cultura Organizacional) de Cooke y Lafferty. Hemos evaluado la validez convergente de estos cuestionarios por medio de correlaciones de Pearson, utilizando una muestra de 344 miembros de una universidad española pertenecientes a diferentes equipos de investigación. Los resultados apuntan que el cuestionario de Denison se ajusta de manera muy pobre a una de las dimensiones del segundo instrumento, la Cultura agresiva-defensiva. En cambio, las altas correlaciones entre las dimensiones del DOCS con la dimensión de Cultura constructiva del OCI señalan que es muy probable que el equivalente conceptual y psicométrico entre ambos cuestionarios se encuentre en esta dimensión principalmente, lo que nos conduce a considerar que el DOCS es un instrumento especializado en la evaluación de organizaciones con una cultura constructiva.

Perceptions of Administrative and Supervisory Support in Public Child Welfare

Using the Child Welfare Organizational Culture Inventory (CWOCI) in a public child welfare agency, perceptions of administrative and supervisory support held by employees with social work degrees (BSW and MSW) were compared to perceptions of administrative and supervisory support held by employees without social work degrees. Child welfare employees with social work degrees reported lower administrative and supervisory support than employees without social work degrees. Implications for social work educators, public child welfare administrators and supervisors, and future research are presented.

Organizational Culture In Hospitals: Issues in Measurement

It is still not clear that organizational culture in hospitals is linked to patient or provider outcomes. However, measurement of organizational culture in nursing units within hospitals and for entire hospitals is common. Two instruments frequently used to measure hospital culture or work group culture within hospitals are the Organizational Culture Inventory (OCI) (Cooke & Lafferty, 1987) and the Nursing Unit Cultural Assessment Tool (NUCAT-2) (Coeling & Simms, 1993a). The purpose of this paper is to review selected empirical studies of organizational and work group culture in hospitals and critique these two measurement instruments. The paper discusses the issues of unit of analysis/aggregation bias and sample size when using these two instruments. It was concluded that OCI has been widely used in many types of organizations and has substantial data supporting the reliability and validity. However, the instrument does not always capture variation in nursing units. The NUCAT- 2 has less reliability and validity data but researchers have reported wide variation among units. Individual items can be selected for use from the NUCAT-2 and it is less expensive to use than the OCI.

Measuring Normative Beliefs and Shared Behavioral Expectations in Organizations: The Reliability and Validity of the Organizational Culture Inventory

The Organizational Culture Inventory measures 12 sets of normative beliefs or shared behavioral expectations associated with three general types of cultures, Constructive, Passive-Defensive, and Aggressive-Defensive These cultural norms are hypothesized to influence the thinking and behavior of organizational members, their motivation and performance, and their satisfaction and stress. As components of organizational culture, behavioral expectations are considered to be shared and enduring in nature. Tests of three types of reliability—internal consistency, interrater, and test-retest—and two types of validity—construct and criterion-related—on data provided by 4,890 respondents indicate that the inventory is a dependable instrument for assessing the normative aspects of culture. Obtained alpha coefficients support the internal consistency of the scales; tests for interrater agreement show that significant variance in individuals' responses is explained by their organizational membership; and tests for differences across time show the temporal consistency of scale scores. Factor analysis results provide general support for the construct validity of the scales, most of which were related to both individual and organizational criteria as predicted.