Organizational Cultural Assessment of the Solar Energy Research Institute [report]

Not Given Author
1991 unpublished
s"tto"qqÐfl lrnl e< % .rur d¡ DNE An Organizational Cultural Assessme4t (oc4) was performed at the Solar Energr Research Institute (SERI) by administering an organizatioial cúlture 3u*9y (ocs) thatquefied employees on the subjec'ts of organizational culiure, n"iiorrs aspects of comrnunicátbns, empnyåe *",*iirí"ít;;;i. group cohesion, coordination of worþ environmental concerng hazardour nãt*" of worþ safeÇ and overall job satisfactiol The PurPose of the oCs is to measure in a quantitative and
more » ... jeciive *iy tt " notion of nculture;n that ig the valueg attitudeg and beließ of thä individuals working within the organÞation. In addition, through the OCS, a broad sample of individuals can be reached that would probably not be interviewed or ãbserved during the course of a typical assessment. , The oCS atso provides a descriptive proñle of the organizatioñ at one point in timä that can thei be||p;ã ;; profile taken at a different point in tirne to assess changes in the culture of the organization. The OCS administration at SERI was the seventh to occur at a Department of Energr (DOE) facility in conjunction with a Tiger Team Assessment. The OCS was "d-inirt"r"d at SERI in large grouPs' Times were assigned to groups of empþees based on the beginning letter of their last names. 9f t|" 578 empþees at SERI, 4V2 cnmpleaeo thé r,r-ey, yíelding a response rate of g5.1 percent. The dístribution of response wasvaried across divisions/offi"årï¡tr, the lowest response rate of 62.4 percent in the Mechanical and Industrial Technolog Division, and the highest response rate of 102.7 percent in the Administrative services Division. Thls greate, úr"n 100 peränt ,"rfrnr" rate is due either to a small number of individuals who did not appropriately identif their divisio" ;;;;pjäii"g',nä background information sheet, or to an inaccuratä r"po'.ting of ihe number of employees within each division/office. AII data from the oCS is presented in groui summaries, by division, supervisory level, and staff classification. Statistically significant differencis båtrpeen groups are identified and discussed. The most notable finding which emerges from the oCA conducted at SERI is that it is a very 1919e"n"9us organization as indicated by tlie few statistically significant differences found between divisions/offices, staff classifications, and iupendsory levels. The results also indicate SERI to be an organization' which.places a large "-ouni of emihasis on those behaviors which are considered 'constructiven (i.e., Humanistic-Encouraging Affiüaìive, Achievement, Self-Actualizing) and, although to a lesser extent, on those behaviors *trici could be iegarded as npassive/defensiven (i.e., Approval, Conventional, Dependent, Avoidance). While the overall mean score on the Communication -Interaction Scale indicated that most employees of SERI desire interaction with others in the organization, the mean scores on the Communication -Accuracy, Communication -Trust, and Cornmunication -Satisfaction Scales were not corre-spondingly as high. Thus, SERI employees have lower trust in, perceived accuracy in, and satisfaction with communicationg than their áesire for interaction witir'oth"r. in the organization. Overall commitment to the organization and cohesion with one's working g""p were high. The mean value obtained on the Hazard Scale was low, a finding which was not unexpected given the gpe of research and work which is conducted at SERI. Similarly, the SERI sample had low mean values on both the Ofßite and Onsite Consequences euestions. Oesfite this, the obtained mean value on the Safety Scale was high, indicating that SeRl emptoyees still find those behaviors which ".,re important to safety to be helpfui in Ooing th-eir job well. No statistically significant differences between divisions/offices at SERI were obtained on the Organizational Cultu¡e-Inve-ntory (OCI) scales. The differences obtained between divisions/offices on the Hazard scale and the offsite and onsite consequence Questions were consistent with the types of iii EXECTITTVE ST'MMARY u/ork in which the divisions/offices engage. The Administrative Services Division, Director's Office, and Enerry and Environmental Analysis Division scored low on these scales and the Environment, Safety and Health Section and the Ft¡els and Chemicals Research and Engineering Division scored somewhat higher. These differences, as well as others obtaine4 indicate that the two divisions/offices which were most dissimilar were the Administrative Services Division and the Environment, Safety, and Health Section. These divisionVoffices were statistically significantly different on every scaie in which a significant difference was obtained" Statísticalþ significant differences between staff classifications were obtained only on the Conventional (Oa) and Hazard Scales. The dífferences obt¿inedwere consistent with the work functions of the classifications. No statistically significant differences were identified between supervisory levels. Thís is yet another indication of the apparentþ homogeneous culture which exists at SERI. lv
doi:10.2172/5217665 fatcat:y3jkcpxukva4lbfsd5eyaqiqwa