Organizational Culture Analysis: Health Systems Lab Jenna Marquard September 1, 2005

Why a Culture Analysis? Aid in understanding an organization’s culture Pinpoint areas for improvement Create tension for change This was a self-assessment

What Did we Look at? Visible Elements Shared symbols Rituals and ceremonies Heroes Stories

What Did we Look at? Hidden Elements Values Norms Beliefs

What Did we Look at? Functions of Organizational Culture Providing a sense of identity for members Guiding and controlling behavior Enhancing cooperation Guiding decision making Enhancing commitment Providing justification for behavior

Methods Survey Internet survey tool called “SurveyMonkey” Link to the survey sent via an Anonymous responses Documentation Review Use of data within the lab Guidelines for lab-related travel Resource guide for Health Systems Lab members

Visible Elements Stories of trouble: to learn from, to reassure Personal life stories and small talk ‘How-to’ and ‘How-not-to’ stories Landmarks: graduations, semester completion, accomplishments, a student leaving Work-related: retreats, lab meetings Values: what members feel is important to acknowledge Post-docs and Past graduates Fellow members who have accomplished something significant Leaders: authors, researchers, departmental figures Academic Landmarks Work Products Logos “Write a Paragraph”

Visible Elements Rituals and ceremonies identified as used most often Although rituals and ceremonies are not daily occurrences, they may have a larger impact on organizational culture With a good deal of work done independently, elements of organizational culture that bring members together may be seen as more beneficial Symbols identified as used least often

Hidden Elements More senior students passing on knowledge to newer students Attendance at lab and project meetings Providing feedback and contributing Acting in a scholarly and ethical way Specific behaviors are not heavily regulated Work Products: grants, publications, research, etc. Training: activities during training program Feedback: learning to give feedback to, and receive feedback from, colleagues

Hidden Elements Values were the most clear hidden elements Values mentioned by lab responses can be translated across research institutes Academic works, such as publications or presentations, for instance, are universally valued in the research world The lab sees those who have been successful in terms of our values as heroes Norms were the least clear hidden elements Where independent thought is valued, individual behavior may be less regulated

Functions There is little of this Feedback from the group may be used to justify some behaviors We are a tight community Provides belonging Provides lab roles Being a part of this specific group: Patti’s lab has clout on and off campus Provides a source of feedback Feedback is given on research decisions Guide what is worth spending time on Commitment to research Commitment to each other The lab is ‘give and take’ Set examples for each other We do not ‘control’ each other We work in project teams We provide feedback to each other Patti advocates collaboration There is a lot of informal talking, sharing ideas, sharing stories

Functions Survey respondents rated organizational culture as having the largest influence on providing a sense of identity for members, enhancing cooperation and enhancing commitment Aligns with clarity in organizational values Guiding and controlling behavior, guiding decision making and providing justification for behavior were rated as least influenced by organizational culture Aligns with lack of clarity in organizational norms

Conclusions The culture of the lab is a translation of research organizations in general The lab values and sees success in a similar framework as other researcher organizations, through specific outputs such as publications and presentations They find heroes in those who have been successful in these areas Like other research organizations, the lab does not tend to regulate behaviors as long as the values of the lab are attended to

Recommendations Using additional symbols by more formally recognizing the importance of non-career- related acts (mentoring, logistics, website) Broadening the scope of success to value other heroes (ethical behavior, contributions to the community, etc.) Using stories in a more structured way as a learning tool