ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE FACTORS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF TWO TYPES OF EMPLOYEES IN A PUBLIC ORGANIZATION.
DIEGO A. CARDONA-ARBELAEZ1, HAROLD LORA-GUZMÁN2,TANIA ROCHA-GÓMEZ3
1PhD in Administration, Professor at Universidad de Cartagena and Universidad Libre Cartagena, Colombia. ORCID:0000-0002-9123-0156. E-mail: dcardonaa@unicartagena.edu.co. 2PhD in Social Sciences, Professor at Universidad de Cartagena, Cartagena, Colombia. ORCID: 0000-0001 -6945-0999. E-mail: hlorag@unicartagena.edu.co. 3Masters in Administration from the Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar. Cartagena, Colombia. Email: taniarochagomez27@gmail.com.
Abstract.
The purpose of this article is to analyze the norms, values and beliefs present in the culture of a public organization in the department of Bolivar based on the model of Denison et al (1995), which proposes four dimensions: involvement, consistency, adaptability, and mission. The methodology used is quantitative with a descriptive-analytical approach, the primary source of the study were two groups or types of employees (officers and service provision order) of a public organization. The results obtained based on the comparative analysis show that the group of collaborators considered official employees show a greater sense of belonging and commitment to the organization, while the other group of employees by service provision order do not reach the same level of commitment to the organization. It should also be noted that, in reference to the capacity development indicator, the two groups show a high degree of nonconformity, which is evidence of a pending task to be developed by the organization analyzed.
Keywords: organizational culture, involvement, employees, public organization, empowerment, teamwork, capability development.
INTRODUCTION
Companies face different challenges, such as changes in public policies regarding regulations and compliance with laws in the countries where they develop their commercial activities, consumer behavior and expectations, the competitive business environment that can be very aggressive, competitors who are constantly seeking to gain more market share by developing value propositions to capture new customers, as well as rapid technological progress, economic volatility caused by geopolitical factors, low availability of raw materials for manufacturing, all of which put pressure on companies to assume which management paradigm they should rely on (Echeverría, R. 2000; Porter, M. 2008; Schoher, M. 2008). All these aspects mentioned above exert pressure on companies to assume on which management paradigm they should rely (Echeverría, R. 2000; Porter, M. 2008; Schoenherr, et al, 2012; Jácome-Lara, Et al, 2018; Negassa, G., & Japee, G. P. 2023).
In that order of ideas, environmental sustainability, social responsibility in companies is also a challenging factor for organizations, due to the fact that every day more and more customers are demanding socially responsible management in their business practices, likewise business innovation is a fundamental aspect to respond adequately to the constant changes in the business environment. For this reason, having talented and qualified employees is essential for companies, because it becomes a determining factor that contributes to the purpose of the company, however, in order to achieve business objectives, it is necessary to recognize on what standards, beliefs and values the organization is based and thus adjust, guide and indicate on what aspects and institutional principles the organizational culture is built that leads to the best coordination of financial, commercial, technical and human resources to achieve its goals.
The general objective of this research is to analyze how the norms, values and beliefs present in the culture of a decentralized public organization in the department of Bolivar influence the human talent from the perception of two types of employees (official employees and temporary employees)
that leads to the achievement of the purpose of this territorial entity based on the theoretical approaches developed by Denison, D. R.., & Mishra, A. K. (1995) and the analysis and adaptation of the work model developed by (Denison D. & Near W. 1994, 2004) by researchers Bonavia, Prado & García (2010).
THEORETICAL REFERENCES
Organizational culture refers to aspects related to habits, values, perceptions, beliefs, interactions among employees or members of the organization, whether public or private. In this sense, organizational culture is the institutional foundation on which the collaborators or members of an organization perceive the company and this in turn, based on its vision, values or institutional principles, influences the routines, beliefs and customs that guide the social behavior of the members of an organization (Allaire, Y., & Firsirotu, M. 1984; Ogbonna, E., & Harris, L.2000; Martinez, Beaulieu, N., & Wang, T. 2015; Bagga, S., Gera, S., & Haque, S. 2023).
According to Shein E. (1990) one of the most representative researchers on the subject of organizational culture argue that OC is founded with the achievement of the company's goals formulated by top management, and has as its foundation the company's history, vision and mission of the company, leadership style, as well as policies and strategies, as well as its philosophy and corporate spirit. For the author Shein (1988) mentioned above and Pedraza, et al (2015) and Rocha et al (2022) organizational culture has three levels which are a) Superficial level or cultural artifacts that refers to the most visible and tangible aspects of the organization. b) Intermediate level or shared values refers to the values, beliefs and norms shared by the members of the organization; and finally, the deepest level that is represented by the deepest beliefs and assumptions that members assume about what is reality in the organization.
In research developed by Chiang & Candia (2021), whose objective was to analyze how beliefs could affect organizational commitment and job satisfaction, they precisely show the importance of the assumptions and beliefs of the members in the organizations and their positive influence on the performance of the companies under study. In the same sense the results obtained by the research of Aktas, Cicek & Kiyak, M. (2011) show positive results, but from management positions in the organization and how values and culture influence the performance of the company. According to Bonavia et al (2010) citing Denison and other collaborators, they propose four dimensions to measure organizational culture which are Involvement, Consistency, Adaptability, and mission; with respect to the first-dimension involvement, three indicators emerge which are empowerment, teamwork and development of capabilities that are generated in the members of an organization.
It should be noted that empowerment is a concept that has been developed since the 80s and 90s (Wilkinson, A. 1998) and that in turn has several fields of research and application, beyond the use that has been given to it in management and companies (Perkins, D., & Zimmerman, M. 1995). However, the concept of empowerment is essential for companies because it stimulates employees to a greater sense of responsibility, commitment and autonomy over their work; in that sense, when employees can make decisions about what they develop, they can feel more valued which leads to increased job satisfaction, teamwork, develop a positive work environment and thus can improve business performance and thus achieve the proposed objectives (Wyer, P. and Mason, J. 1999; Wong H. and Perry, C. 2011; Muniandi, J., Richardson, C. and Salamzadeh, Y. 2022). Likewise, empowerment has a very strong relationship with the stimulation of the development of capabilities, since employees have greater autonomy and responsibility, leading to different challenges that require new competencies and skills that contribute to their personal and professional growth. In this context of freedom and autonomy, employees do not feel limited or constrained in expressing and offering their opinions that provide bold and innovative alternatives to uncertain scenarios in companies.
In the same line of thought, when management trusts its employees and their capabilities, the relationship between the different members of the organization, as well as the relationship between
management and employees, improves significantly; in short, empowered employees can better adapt to the changes that arise in an increasingly competitive environment for organizations. On the other hand, teamwork acquires great relevance in organizations, because it is a valuable factor in the culture of the organization, since it allows to maximize the potential of each team member. Likewise, it fosters creativity and innovation, to provide effective solutions, a good work team can turn a problem into an opportunity for the company and thus improve its organizational performance (Catmull, E. 2008; De Leede, J. and Nijland, J., 2016; Uraon, R., Chauhan, A., Bharati, R. and Sahu, K. 2023).
METHODOLOGY
The research was based on the norms, values and beliefs from the measurement model proposed by Denison et al. (1995) in a decentralized public entity of the department of Bolivar; the most appropriate methodological strategy for this research, according to Yin (1994) is a case study, which allows a deeper analysis of the reality perceived by individuals in a specific scenario in which they operate.
Likewise, this research is of a transversal order, from a descriptive-hermeneutic perspective, oriented to the understanding of the phenomena present in the perception of the employees about the organizational culture developed in a public and decentralized organization.
For data collection, a questionnaire was applied to measure organizational culture based on the Denison model "Spanish adaptation of the Denison Organizational Culture Survey", adapted and translated by the authors Bonavia, Prado & Garcia (2010). The sample was by convenience and was applied on 60 people who are part of this public entity, and which consisted of 34 employees of payroll and / or administrative career and 26 employees who are hired by order of service provision, the questionnaire is prepared on a Likert scale, from the four dimensions of Denison's model, which are Involvement, Consistency, Adaptability, and the last dimension which is Mission. The statistical analysis of the data was carried out using the SPSS statistical package (version 22.0). The partial results obtained for this study come from the involvement dimension, which is one of the four dimensions proposed by Denison and other collaborators. Likewise, the reliability analysis of the questionnaire on the involvement dimension and its three indicators, empowerment, teamwork and development of capabilities in the original language in English and the one adapted to Spanish, developed by the authors (Bonavia et al, 2010) of the Polytechnic University of Valencia in Spain, are presented.
Table 1. Reliability comparison (Cronbach's alpha) of the original questionnaire by Denison et al
(2005) and its ada ptation to Spanish by Bonavia et al (2010).
Dimension Alfa de Cronbach Alfa de Cronbach
(Adaptation) (Original)
Involvement 0,90 0,90
Empowerment 0,79 0,77
Teamwork 0,80 0,83
capability development 0,72 0,70
Source: Bonavia, Prado & Garcia (2010) pag. 24.
As shown in Table 1, there are no major differences in Cronbach's alpha in the different dimensions with their scales between the original instrument in English and the instrument adapted to Spanish; this indicates that the instrument applied for this study has a high degree of reliability.
RESULTS.
The following are the most relevant results that show the influence that norms, values, and beliefs may have on the involvement dimension and its three indicators that revolve around the organizational culture of the decentralized public entity of the department of Bolivar.
Table 2. Comparative analysis of employees based on the dimension of involvement in the technical
area.
Types of employees Indicator T. Dis Dis Ind. Agree T. Agree
Government/officia l employees Empowerment. 2,22% 0% 2,22% 35,55% 60%
Temporary employees 0% 15,55% 13,33% 24,44% 46,66%
Government/officia l employees Teamwork 6,66% 6,66% 0% 24,44% 62,22%
Temporary employees 2,22% 11,11% 8,88% 35,55% 42,22%
Government/officia l employees Development of capabilities 15,55°% 8,88% 13,33% 44,44% 17,77%
Temporary employees 6,66°% 6,66% 24,44% 42,22% 20%
Source: Own elaboration.
According to the data in Table 2. The results obtained clearly indicate that the collaborators in the area of the technical assistant manager of the decentralized public organization of the department of Bolivar, with respect to the empowerment indicator, the group of official employees or public servants show a high degree of conformity and acceptance expressed with 60% of total agreement and 35.55% of agreement; which indicates a very positive trend with the level of empowerment felt by this group of employees. In the case of employees hired for the provision of services, who for all practical purposes can be considered non-official employees or temporary employees, the trend is positive with a total agreement of 46.66% and an agreement of 24.44% but does not reach the same level of commitment with the first group of employees analyzed.
It is important to note that temporary or non-official employees, with 15.55% in disagreement and 13.33% indifference, indicate that they do not feel sufficiently empowered by the organization. With respect to the teamwork indicator, with 24.44% in agreement and 62.22% in total agreement, the official employees show great acceptance with respect to teamwork in the organization, which shows a great willingness to collaborate and cooperate in working with others; With respect to temporary or non-official employees the situation is a little different, since with 42.22% in total agreement and 35.55% in agreement, although it may be positive, what is striking is that in the ranges of total disagreement 2.22%, disagreement 11.11% and indifference with 8.88%, exhibits by this group of employees problems or barriers that do not encourage teamwork in the organization. Finally, with the last indicator on the development of collaborators capabilities in the organization by official employees with a total agreement of 17.77% and non-official employees with a total agreement of 20%, it is evident that there is a great feeling of nonconformity on the part of this area of the organization in that they perceive that there are not enough incentives to improve and develop new capabilities within the organization.
The following are the results that correspond to the perception of the employees of the administrative and financial area and service assurance of the decentralized public organization under study.
Table 3. Comparative analysis of employees based on the dimension Involvement in the administrative-financial area and service assurance.
Types of employees Indicator T. Dis Dis Ind. Agree T. Agree
Government/official employees Empowerment. 1,25% 3,75% 1,25% 39,75% 53,75%
Temporary employees 0% 2,33% 6,66% 33,33% 58%
Government/official employees Teamwork 5,75% 13,75% 6,25% 26,25% 47,55%
Temporary employees 0% 3,33% 10% 56,66% 30%
Government/official employees Development of capabilities 6,25°% 11,25% 16,25% 38,5% 27,5%
Temporary employees 13,33°% 16,66% 3,33% 43,33% 23%
Source: Own elaboration.
According to the data in Table 3. The results obtained indicate that the collaborators in the administrative-financial and service assurance area with respect to the empowerment indicator, the group of official employees or public servants shows a very good acceptance expressed with 47.55% of total agreement and 26.25% of agreement, which indicates a positive trend with the level of empowerment perceived by this group of employees. In the case of temporary employees, the results obtained show a total agreement of 30% and an agreement of 56.66%, which indicates that in this area this group of temporary employees does not allow good teamwork, which leads to further analysis of these factors that may be serving as obstacles for the better performance of the work teams in this specific area. This indicator identifies aspects that can be improved for the two groups of employees analyzed in this area of the decentralized public organization.
With respect to the last indicator on the development of the collaborators' capacities in the administrative-financial and service areas of the public organization, the official employees with a total agreement of 27.5% and the non-official employees with a total agreement of 23.33%, indicate that there is a great feeling of nonconformity on the part of the two groups analyzed; this tendency is also present in the technical area. Therefore, this information can be valuable for the management, as long as they generate efforts to continue working on strategies and programs that encourage their employees to develop new capabilities in the public organization analyzed.
CONCLUSIONS
The conclusions of this article are from a theoretical perspective that the study on the factors present in the organizational culture, regardless of whether they are public or private organizations are valuable to identify how employees are recognizing and valuing the norms, principles and beliefs that are present in organizations. Such information is unique for management because it allows it to identify the situation in the company and can also redefine the strategic horizon of the organization. On the other hand, regarding the results obtained, it can be concluded that from the comparative analysis of the two types of employees (official and/or public and by order of service provision and/or temporary) in the public organization of the department of Bolivar with respect to the involvement dimension and its indicators which are empowerment, teamwork and development of capabilities, it can be pointed out that the first group of employees reflects a greater commitment and sense of belonging based on a greater positive response offered by this group; while the second group of employees who are temporary, although it is true that they also show a good acceptance in terms of feeling empowered and teamwork does not reach the same level of acceptance of the first group. Finally, the two types of employees -public and temporary- show a silent complaint that is identified with a total agreement of only 27.5% on the part of public employees and a scarce 23% for temporary employees with respect to the indicator that deals with the development of capabilities. For this reason, the administration of the public organization should develop strategies to encourage and stimulate its collaborators to develop new skills that will lead to their personal and professional growth.
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