Organizational culture, subcultures, and organizational commitment

Abstract

<p>The purpose of this study was to examine whether three custodial groups in the same organization differ in their behavioral norms and shared values, and, if so, to what extent do these differences impact organizational commitment. Two major questions were of concern: (a) whether there were any differences in the perceptions of three custodial groups of their behavioral norms and shared values at the workplace; and (b) whether there were any relationships between these two components of organizational culture and organizational commitment of the custodians;A survey was administered to 63 custodians in the Residence department of a land-grant university. The custodians were located in three different workplaces and belonged to three different supervisory teams. The instrument used was a questionnaire developed using three different existing instruments to assess custodians' perceptions about behavioral norms using the Kilmann-Saxton Culture Gap Survey (KSCG, 1983); shared values using the Survey of Organizations (SOO) by Taylor and Bowers (1972); and organizational commitment using the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) by Mowday, Steers, and Porter (1979);Data were analyzed by means of oneway ANOVA to determine differences between the three custodial groups in their perceptions about behavioral norms, shared values, and organizational commitment. T-tests were performed to determine differences between custodial groups as it relates to different selected elements of demographics. Pearson correlation was used to determine relationships between behavioral norms and organizational commitment, and between shared values and organizational commitment;Findings are discussed based on the specific research questions. Among other outcomes, it was concluded that all three groups reported similar perceptions about behavioral norms and shared values. It was also concluded that all three groups reported a strong commitment to their organization. Implications for the Residence department are also discussed.</p>