The Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument - Coursework Example

OCAI Assessment Name: Course: Lecturer: Date: OCAI Assessment Introduction OCAI is a management tool developed for organizations to realize the dominant culture in their organization, help them come up with new and innovative ways to overcome bad cultures and in the overall create a favorable culture for their organization.This assessment was taken for a local wholesale outlet. There are many advantages of taking the assessment. First is that the test makes people aware of the current organizational structure and the preferred organizational structure. This could in the overall create some desire and initiative to have change in the organization. It can also help the organization create effective change measures. When change is initiated, the amount of resistance to expect can be predicated (OCAI, 2010).The tool also aids employees in giving their best at the workplace in order to be drivers of change. The tool, to a large extent offers a strategic plan to change and is also the pioneering intervention to initiate change at the workplace. Culture Profile of the Organization The culture profile of the organization is created by answering a six point questionnaire on the current culture of the organization and a similar questionnaire on the way one wishes to have the organization. The six point questionnaire is based on the following pointers. a. Dominant Characteristics. This basically tries to analyze the structure of the relationships of people in relation to the management. It uses pointers such as whether the organization is an extended family sort of place where people have an attachment to the work place. Another is whether the organization is an entrepreneurial place that is dynamic and people at the work place are willing to take risks for the sake of the workplace. Whether the organization is result oriented and the major concern of people at the work is getting the work done. The last is whether the organization is a controlled structured place where formal procedures govern what people do. The current dominant characteristics at my organization are that the workplace is result oriented, controlled and structured. Little emphasis is placed on making the workplace a personal place while a dynamic entrepreneurial culture is not in place. The desired characteristics is more emphasis should be placed on allowing the workplace to be a personal space so that staff can take their own initiative in making the organization achieve its goals. Instead of been so keen on results a dynamic entrepreneurial culture should be created. b. Organizational Leadership. This parameter tries to look at the type of leadership at the organization from the staff perspective. It gauges whether the organization exemplifies mentoring, facilitating or nurturing. The second is whether the leadership exemplifies entrepreneurship, risk taking and innovation. The third is whether the leadership is a no-nonsense and result oriented type and the last is whether the leadership exemplifies coordinating, organizing or smooth running efficiency. Currently, the organizational leadership is concerned on being results oriented and very concerned with efficiency. The management is not concerned with mentorship and nurturing and places little emphasis on innovation, risk taking and entrepreneurship (OCAI, 2010). The desired leadership would be that which has increased its emphasis on mentorship, nurturing, innovation and entrepreneurship. This would encourage good relations in the work place and staff owning up to what they do. c. Management of employees. This parameter analyses how the management handles the employees. The first is whether management at the workplace is characterized by teamwork, participation and consensus. The second is whether the management style is characterized by innovation, freedom, uniqueness and individual risk taking. The final is whether the management style of the organization is characterized by employment safety, stability in relationships and predictability. Little emphasis is placed on stabilizing relationships, securing employment and conformity. A lot is on competitiveness, high demand and achievement. Team work, innovation, uniqueness and freedom share same emphasis. The desired management would be an environment where teamwork, consensus and participation are encouraged. Individual risk taking, employment and uniqueness too should be emphasized. The result would be driving the rest of the parameters. d. Organizational Glue This parameter more of analyses what keeps the organization cohesive? The first is whether loyalty, mutual trust and commitment hold the organization together. The second is whether the organization is glued by commitment to innovation and development, with a lot of emphasis on the cutting edge. The third is whether achievement and goal accomplishment glues the organization and the last being whether the glue is maintenance of a smooth-running organization. Currently, the organization is glued by achieving and accomplishing goals. Conforming to formal rules and policies, and ensuring the organization runs smooth is also emphasized. There is little emphasis on loyalty and mutual trust, innovation and development. I felt that there is need to increase the level of loyalty and trust and encourage innovation and development. e. Strategic Emphasis. This parameter was centered on whether the organization emphasizes on high trust, openness and participation. The organization emphasizes on acquiring new resources, creating challenges, trying out new things and prospects. The third is whether emphasis is placed upon competitive actions, winning and achieving targets. The last is whether the organization has placed emphasis on permanence and stability. Right now, emphasis is placed on competitive actions and achieving targets. There is also some emphasis on creating new challenges, resources and prospecting for new opportunities. It is also shown in efficiency and ensuring smooth operations are run. Little is placed on human development. The desired is that there is need to increase emphasis on human development and reduce emphasis in other fields to create a good working environment without many pressures. f. Criteria of Success Is focused on which ways the organization and its leadership have defined success. First is whether human resource, concern for people, employee commitment and teamwork are the basis for success. The second is whether success is defined by having unique and newest products in the market. The third is whether winning and outpacing the competition is that which defines success while the last is whether success is defined by efficiency in terms of delivery, low-cost production and smooth scheduling. A lot of emphasis is placed on outpacing our competition and increasing efficiency in the workplace. It is also defined by having new products in the market but little emphasis is placed on developing human resource in the workplace (OCAI, 2010).The desired workplace environment I felt should be that that has placed a lot of emphasis on human development and team work. It should also be more concerned with having unique products. This will outpace our competition and also increase our efficiency. Analysis of the competing Values Framework To effectively do this, OCAI proposes that the organizational culture should be divided into four main culture types. These are; a. Clan Culture This kind of culture would have the workplace be a personal place and an extended family for the employees. The management is seen as mentors, the workplace is held together by loyalty and trust, success is defined by concern for people, teamwork and commitment are emphasized so is human resource development. The key values in this culture are commitment, communication and development. And the type of leader is that who is a facilitator, a mentor and a team builder. I felt that my organization lacked this type of culture and there is need to build it, for the good of the staff and to build relationships in the workplace. b. The Adhocracy Culture. In this culture type, the workplace is to encourage a dynamic entrepreneurial culture, leaders are innovators and risk takers. It is glued by innovation and experimenting and long term emphasis is on growth and acquiring new resources. Success should be measured by acquiring new products and services and individual initiative and freedom are encouraged. A leader in this organizational culture should be visionary, innovative and an entrepreneur. The core values in this culture type are transformation, agility and innovation outputs. This culture would really work well for our organization, unfortunately only a few of its aspects are observed. c. The Market Culture. In this culture, the organization is result oriented, people are competitive and goal oriented, the leaders are tough, demanding, competitors and producers. The organization is glued by competition and winning, success is defined by market share, long term focus is on achieving goals and the general organization style is hard-driven competitiveness. The type of leader in this organization culture is that who is a producer, competitor and hard driver and the core values in this culture are profitability, achieving goals and having a market share that is huge. This kind of culture actually does exist in our organization and is very dominant. I feel that may be if we incorporated more of the other culture sometimes, we would be better. d. Hierarchy Culture. In this culture, the organization is formal and structured, people are governed by procedure. Leadership is both coordinated and organized and maintenance of a smooth-running organization is very important. It is glued by formal procedures and policies and the long-term goal of the organization is ensuring that smooth operations continue. Success is defined by smooth delivery and secure employment is guaranteed. This culture is driven by uniformity, efficiency, punctuality and efficiency, while the leader type in this culture is good at organizing and coordinating. My organization has a lot of this and the market culture. This has generally made the staff not to have an attachment to where they work, since a lot of emphasis is on delivery. I felt that the organization should encourage more of the clan and adhocracy culture. This would have the effect of the employees loving their job and also creating good relationships in the workplace. This would in the overall make employee’s love their jobs and the objectives of the market and hierarchy culture would be easily met in an indirect manner. Possible Blocks when Bridging the Cultural Gap The major challenge I felt would be encountered in the pursuit of bridging the cultural gap would be rigidity on the side of the management. Putting in place the clan culture would mean foregoing some aspects of the market culture. The management expects value for the money they pay at the end of each month, hence I fell they would feel shortchanged. Another challenge is that the organization cannot implement all these at the same time. I feel that a lot of work would need to be put in order to make the cultures flexible, like when to apply this or that culture. Some of the management would also not feel free to be flexible considering the fact that the changes would require them to have good relationships with the staff. I feel like it would really take some time before such an environment is created and a lot of hostilities exist between the management and the staff. There is also the challenge and fear that some employees would take advantage of the introduction of new cultures to lax in the workplace. Some employees cannot just have their own initiative and can only work when under pressure. Recommended Cultural Change Plan to change Organizational Culture to Desired Levels I would recommend that the organization takes the cultural change plans in a somewhat slow manner. A plan needs to be drawn up to schedule each of the changes that are desired. If things are carried out haphazardly, the plans and changes would never come to be realized. There is also need to educate all parties what is happening and why it is important. Each party should be shown how the changes will benefit them and the organization so as to get commitment from all members. Finally is that the changes will in the long term create a new culture in the workplace. There is need for consistency so that the plan is achievable. Conclusion OCAI is definitely a good way to make changes in an organizational culture. The instrument is very successful and all factors are put in place. I feel like once an assessment is done, the implementation of the desired changes would give a new lease of life to the organization. References OCAI(2010). Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument: Public Administration. Retrieved from http://www.uiowa.edu/~nrcfcp/dmcrc/documents/OCAIProExampleReport.pdf. g. Read More