Caracterização da cultura organizacional utilizando o Modelo dos Valores Contrastantes: o caso da Universidade de Évora

Considerada, cada vez mais, como um atributo organizacional essencial para o sucesso das organizações, a cultura organizacional ainda não é conhecida da maioria das Universidades, as quais têm sido sujeitas a transformações sem precedentes para se adaptar e a acompanhar os desafios societais. Adotando uma abordagem multimétodo, procurou-se a caracterizar a cultura organizacional de uma universidade publica portuguesa, segundo o Modelo dos Valores Contrastantes recorrendo ao questionário FOCUS e à entrevista semiestruturada de Quinn. Os resultados revelaram uma ênfase na cultura de regras para a Universidade no seu todo e de três subgrupos. A cultura de apoio foi enfatizada numa Escola. Estes resultados confirmam a tendência das entidades publicas valorizarem as regras, a estabilidade e os processos internos. A literatura afirma a necessidade de se procurarem estratégias de abertura ao exterior, flexibilizaçao de processos e estruturas deforma a aumentar a produtividade e melhorar a adaptação aos desafios externos; Abstract: Characterization of Organizational Culture using the Competing Values Framework: The Case of the University of Évora Regarded increasingly as an essential organizational attribute to the success of organizations, organizational culture is not known to most of the universities, which have been subject to unprecedented transformations to adapt and keep up with societal challenges. Adopting a multimethod approach, we sought to characterize the organizational culture of a public Portuguese university, according to the Competing Values Framework using the FOCUS questionnaire and semistructured interview by Quinn. The results revealed an emphasis on Rules culture for the University as a whole and three of their subgroups. The Support culture was emphasized in one university School. These results confirm the trend of public institutions to value the rules, stability and internal processes. The literature states that universities need to seek strategies opening to the outside, flexibilization of processes and structures to increase productivity and better adapt to external changes.

Quinn’s Leadership Roles: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis Study in Portuguese Health Services

Purpose: To evaluate psychometric properties of Quinn’s leadership questionnaire (CFV questionnaire; 1988) to the Portuguese health services. Design: Cross-sectional study, using the Quinn’s leadership questionnaire, administered to registered nurses and physicians in Portuguese health care services (N = 687). Method: Self-administered survey applied to two samples. In the first (of convenience; N = 249 Portuguese health professionals) were performed exploratory factor and reliability analysis to the CFV questionnaire. In the second sample (stratified; N = 50 surgical units of 33 Portuguese hospitals) was performed confirmatory factor analysis using LISREL 8.80. Findings: The first sample supported an eight-factor solution accounting for 65.46% of the variance, in an interpretable factorial structure (loadings> .50), with Cronbach’s α upper than .79. This factorial structure, replicated with the second sample, showed reasonable fit for each of the 8 leadership roles, quadrants, and global model. The models evidenced, generally, nomological validity, with scores between good and acceptable (.235 < x2/df < 2.055 e .00 < RMSEA < .077). Conclusions: Quinn’s leadership questionnaire presented good reliability and validity for the eight leadership roles, showing to be suitable for use in hospital health care context. Key-Words: Leadership; Quinn’s CVF questionnaire; health services; Quinn’s competing values.

Assessing the ability of rural agrarian areas to provide cultural ecosystem services (CES): A multi scale social indicator framework (MSIF)

Assessing the ways in which rural agrarian areas provide Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES) is proving difficult to achieve. This research has developed an innovative methodological approach named as Multi Scale Indicator Framework (MSIF) for capturing the CES embedded into the rural agrarian areas. This framework reconciles a literature review with a transdisciplinary participatory workshop. Both of these sources reveal that societal preferences diverge upon judgemental criteria which in turn relate to different visual concepts that can be drawn from analyzing attributes, elements, features and characteristics of rural areas. We contend that it is now possible to list a group of possible multi scale indicators for stewardship, diversity and aesthetics. These results might also be of use for improving any existing European indicators frameworks by also including CES. This research carries major implications for policy at different levels of governance, as it makes possible to target and monitor policy instruments to the physical rural settings so that cultural dimensions are adequately considered. There is still work to be developed on regional specific values and thresholds for each criteria and its indicator set. In practical terms, by developing the conceptual design within a common framework as described in this paper, a considerable step forward toward the inclusion of the cultural dimension in European wide assessments can be made