Developing a framework for understanding the emotional dimension of organizational culture

Why is it that in some organizations we are able to find and develop our positive selves and in others we are not? Responding to the call from positive organizational scholarship to better understand how to build contexts for human flourishing, in this paper we are concerned how an organization's culture contributes to our thriving, or failing to thrive, at work. We introduce the organizational culture construct and its summary dimensions, noting the absence of an emotional dimension. We show that it is through our interactions with others that organizational culture is developed and maintained, and through which we learn how to manage and interpret the emotions we experience. That is, relationships are central to both culture and emotions. Integrating Josselson's model of our relational needs with Schein's typology of organizational culture, we present a relationally-based framework for an emotional dimension of organizational culture. The paper concludes with a report on a study designed to refine the framework presented and suggests that individuals will thrive in organizations where the cultural norms and values for relating enable a "good enough" fulfillment of our relational needs.

The development of a new construct : the emotional dimension of organizational culture

Qualitative organisational culture studies reveal the emotional side of organisational life. Yet, in a recent review of the quantitative organisational culture survey measures available, 10 summary dimensions were identified intended to be representative of the major dimensional categories in the organisational culture literature, and an emotional dimension was notably absent. The PhD aims to address this gap in the literature by (a) developing a theoretical definition of the newly proposed dimension; and (b) developing and validating an instrument for its measurement. The talk presents the findings of the studies conducted to date and discusses the inherent challenges of bringing the rigours of psychometric development to areas more commonly associated with qualitative research. The theoretical bases for adopting a multidimensional, relational approach that draws on theories within the psychoanalytically oriented and feminist traditions is provided. A strength of this approach is that the research can potentially contribute to explaining the nature of the ties between organisational members that is currently lacking in organisational research.

HR role effectiveness and organizational culture in Australian local government

The role of the human resource management (HRM) function and its consequent contribution to organizational culture and strategic management have been much debated. This relationship has not been empirically tested in the Australian local government sector. This paper explores the types of organizational culture and the role effectiveness of the HRM function as perceived by 217 senior managers in 71 New South Wales and Queensland local government entities. We found four clusters of local government entities, each with different profiles of organizational culture and perceived effectiveness of the HRM role. While most organizations are undergoing a transition in their cultural values, over one-third of the organizations exhibit a market-oriented culture. These market-oriented organizations have a higher level of human resource role effectiveness. The present study contributes to the ongoing debate regarding the status and influence of HRM as a value-adding corporate function.

How does organizational culture affect IS effectiveness : a culture-information system fit framework

Previous research has examined the impact of organizational culture(OC) on the implementation of many information systems. However, there is a lack of overall picture on how OC affects the effectiveness of different information systems differently. Based on the Competing Value Framework, this paper proposes a comprehensive framework to explain how the fit between organizational culture and types of IS results in different types of IS effectiveness. This framework can be used by managers to create a proper organizational culture that is compatible with the use of specific information systems.

Families divided : culture and control in small family business

In this article, we explore the dynamics of control, compliance and resistance using two case studies where ‘family’ has symbolic, material and ideological significance. While the ‘family’ metaphor is often invoked to suggest a normative unity and integration in large organizations, we investigate the use of shared understandings of divisions (Parker 1995) and difference, as well as unity and similarity, in constituting organizational culture in two small family-owned firms. Diverging from mainstream family business research, we adopt a critical and interpretative approach that incorporates employee perspectives and explores how forms of control and resistance need to be understood in relation to their local contexts. We also argue that organization studies could benefit from revisiting progressive assumptions that equate developments in forms of organization with forms of organizational control.

The meaning of work : employees as stakeholders in organizational experience

Researchers and commentators have highlighted changes to individuals' understanding of the meaning of work over time, and particularly the increasing centrality of work in many people's lives today. This highlights the stakeholder role of employees not only in ensuring the organization's long-term viability, but for the organizational culture and overall workplace experience. The concepts of workplace spirituality and authentic leadership have both received attention as tools to aid in employees' connectedness wit the organization and in providing an environment where employees can bring their 'whole self' into the workplace. This paper discusses how these concepts assist in providing understanding of individuals' meaning of work, and highlights questions for future research consideration.

A qualitative investigation of the safety culture of two organisations

A qualitative investigation of the safety culture of two contrasting organisations was undertaken. The research sought to identify categories and themes in the data that highlighted similarities and differences in salient safety issues for employees from the two organisations. The participants were 131 employees attending safety training sessions in a large national retail organisation and a heavy manufacturing organisation. Unobtrusive observation was used to collect data during the safety training sessions. Thematic analysis was used to identify emergent categories and themes from the data. Ten broad categories with relevant themes were identified and provided some insight into the safety culture of the two organisations, with both similarities and differences being evident. Participants from both organisations mentioned management issues in relation to safety, discussed the impact of employee risk- taking behaviour on safety, made reference to a blame culture, and raised integrity issues regarding safety. For the manufacturing organisation, a number of themes focused on contractor issues, while in the retail organisation, several themes highlighted differences in safety attitudes between head office and store-level employees.

Knowledge management culture, strategy and process in Malaysian firms

Malaysia is one of the leading countries in Asia that are at the forefront in the development of a knowledge-based economy (KBE). The Malaysian government has been making substantial investments in both physical and technological infrastructure to facilitate knowledge-intensive economic activities. Foreign and local firms in Malaysia are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunities brought by the emerging KBE. However, little is known as to how firms in Malaysia respond to this new trajectory of economic development. In particular, there is paucity in the literature as to how Malaysian firms manage knowledge in their organizations as they strive to achieve sustainable competitive performance. Little is known as to how and why firms in Malaysia develop and manage their intangible and knowledge-based resources as they operate and respond to the modern knowledge-based competitive economic arena. This paper examines a type of organizational culture that supports and promotes knowledge management (KM) within firms in Malaysia. The paper argues that KM-oriented culture shapes the overall KM strategy of firms, which consequently shapes the organizational process required to manage the firm's knowledge-based resources. The study uses survey data from a sample of 153 firms from Malaysia. Structural equation modelling was used to develop and test the measurement model of KM-oriented culture, KM strategy and KM process of the sample firms, as well as the structural model of their hypothesized relationships. The results show that firms with high level of KM-oriented culture demonstrated well-defined KM strategies. Firms that implemented well-defined KM strategies also reported that they have better KM processes in place. Building a KM-oriented culture within the organization is a pre-requisite to the implementation of any KM systems in Malaysian firms. Successful implementation of KM strategies, processes and the supporting technological infrastructure depends on whether organizational members consider KM as a norm within the firm. The study's focus on the linkages between KM-oriented culture, strategy and process in the context of Malaysian firms contributes to a more nuanced understanding of KM among firms in the Asian context in general, and in the Malaysian context in particular.

Islamic organizational leadership within a Western society: the problematic role of external context

This research tests qualitatively the relationship between leadership, organizational culture and organizational effectiveness in Islamic organizations in Australia in the early years of the 21st century. We also researched the contextual challenges faced by Islamic organizations in Western societies during the early years of the 21st century. Qualitative and quantitative data were analyzed qualitatively. Theoretical sampling and theoretical coding generated a positive and negative story-line. A grand narrative of Muslim disenfranchisement and several micro-stories of organizational complexity brought to life the story-lines. One conclusion is that context invariably is problematic for leadership. Another conclusion is that leadership cannot be studied fruitfully out of context. A third conclusion from this substantive setting is that a challenge for Islamic leadership is to reconstitute the context of the organization. An underlying parallel with structure-agency theory is noted. The leadership of Islamic organizations is faced with the traditional leadership challenges found in the extant literature. In addition it must accommodate a problematic external context, a heterogeneous followership, the important role of religion, the influence of Imams, and increasing roles for women and young Muslims. © 2010.

Analysis of cultural conflict in the development of web-enabled information systems

The advent of the World Wide Web (WWW) and the emergence of Internet commerce have given rise to the web as a medium of information exchange. In recent years, the phenomenon has affected the realm of transaction processing systems, as organizations are moving from designing web pages for marketing purposes, to web-based applications that support business-to-business (WEB) and business-to-consumer (B2C) interactions, integrated with databases and other back-end systems (Isakowitz, Bieber et al., 1998). Furthermore, web-enabled applications are increasingly being used to facilitate transactions even between various business units within a single enterprise. Examples of some of the more popular web-enabled applications in use today include airline reservation systems, internet banking, student enrollment systems in universities, and Human Resource (HR) and payroll systems. The prime motive behind the adoption of web-enabled applications are productivity gains due to reduced processing time, decrease in the usage of paper-based documentation and conventional modes of communication (such as letters, fax, or telephone), and improved quality of services to clients. Indeed, web-based solutions are commonly referred to as customer-centric (Li, 2000), which means that they provide user interfaces that do not necessitate high level of computer proficiency. Thus, organizations implement such systems to streamline routine transactions and gain strategic benefits in the process (Nambisan & Wang, 1999), though the latter are to be expected in the long-term. Notwithstanding the benefits of web technology adoption, the web has ample share of challenges for initiators and developers. Many of these challenges are associated with the unique nature of web-enabled applications. Research in the area of web-enabled information systems has revealed several differences with traditional applications. These differences exist with regards to system development methodology, stakeholder involvement, tasks, and technology (Nazareth, 1998). According to Fraternali (1999), web applications are commonly developed using an evolutionary prototyping approach, whereby the simplified version of the application is deployed as a pilot first, in order to gather user feedback. Thus, web-enabled applications typically undergo continuous refinement and evolution (Ginige, 1998; Nazareth, 1998; Siau, 1998; Standing, 2001). Prototype-based development also leads web-enabled information systems to have much shorter development life cycles, but which, unlike traditional applications, are regrettably developed in a rather adhoc fashion (Carstensen & Vogelsang, 2001). However, the principal difference between the two kinds of applications lies in the broad and diverse group of stakeholders associated with web-based information systems (Gordijn, Akkermans, et al., 2000; Russo, 2000; Earl & Khan, 2001; Carter, 2002; Hasselbring, 2002; Standing, 2002; Stevens & Timbrell, 2002). Stakeholders, or organizational members participating in a common business process (Freeman, 1984), vary in their computer competency, business knowledge, language and culture. This diversity is capable of causing conflict between different stakeholder groups with regards to the establishment of system requirements (Pouloudi & Whitley, 1997; Stevens & Timbrell, 2002). Since, web-based systems transcend organizational, departmental, and even national boundaries, the issue of culture poses a significant challenge to the web systems’ initiators and developers (Miles & Snow, 1992; Kumar & van Dissel, 1996; Pouloudi & Whitley, 1996; Li & Williams, 1999).

Police perceptions of interviews involving children with intellectual disabilities: a qualitative inquiry

This study employed a qualitative method to explore the experiences of 20 police officers when interviewing children with intellectual disabilities. Three main themes were interpreted as representing challenges to the officers when interviewing special-needs children: police organizational culture, participants' perceptions of these children as interviewees, and prior information. Participants in this inquiry mentioned poor organizational priority within the police force for child abuse cases and children with intellectual disabilities, as well as inadequate support for interviewing skills development and maintenance. Participants also attempted to equalize these children by interviewing them in the same way as their mainstream peers. Finally, participants viewed interview preparation as influential in determining an interview's successful outcome, but recognized that preparedness could bias their interviewing techniques. Increased attention towards these issues will provide a basis for developing strategies to minimize such challenges and thus improve the quality of interviews with children with intellectual disabilities.