TITLE: Organizational Culture

SUB-TITLE: Factors that influence organizational culture regarding orientation to improvement in quality and productivity: An experience learned from an ISO9001: 2000 certified organization

AUTHOR: Christopher Cheng

This dissertation is submitted in part fulfilment of the Degree of Master of Science in Quality Engineering.

Institution: The Nottingham Trent University

Date: March 2009

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Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge the contribution of the following people and

organizations in the development of this dissertation.

Dr. John Disney, my supervisor, was responsive and had been providing continuous

support throughout the research. His comprehensive reviews and comments were

particularly helpful in improving the comprehensibility and logic of the dissertation.

Mr. Peter Hartley, CEO of Salmat BusinessForce, was the General Manager NSW of

Salmat BusinessForce whom I reported to when the research (case study) was

conducted at Salmat. A special thank you for his interests in organizational culture

and generosity in providing tremendous management support not only approving

the research to be conducted on site, but also help in allowing employees to attend

the interviews during working hours such that the interviews could be completed

before I left the company to pursue my new career.

The many operators, executives and managers who generously provided their time

to complete survey questionnaires and allowed themselves to be interviewed.

Without their co-operation it would have not been possible to complete this

dissertation.

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Abstract Summary In order to stay in business and remain competitive in this ever-changing global

market, organizations have to manage in a total quality manner that include both

the soft foundations, namely commitment, communication, and culture; as well as

the systems, tools, and teams – the hard management necessities. SALMAT

Document Management Solutions Ltd (“Salmat”), an ISO9001 certified Australian

printing and mail processing company, has established business processes being

managed under a documented system called the Salmat Business System.

However, not much has been done in creating or changing the organizational

culture to strengthen the soft foundations that could facilitate total quality as a way

of life.

Over the years, SALMAT has gone through positive changes and has transformed

itself into a more efficient and effective organization that has out-performing some of

its competitors. That is why some ISO9001 certified organizations performed much

better than others in terms of gaining the competitive edge in productivity and

quality improvements. However, there seems to be stagnation in any significant

continual improvement in the organization. In addition to the systems and process

approach in supporting a customer-supplier relationship (internal and external), as

well as requirements regarding communications and commitment provided by the

ISO9001 system implementation, those companies that out-performed the others

must have taken extra steps in changing and creating a culture, excelling in human

resources management that brought about modifications in employee behaviour in

enhancing productivity and committing to quality improvements.

The objective of this research study is to describe and analyze the perspectives of

people working specifically in Document Management Solutions Moorebank NSW

site of SALMAT Ltd (now known as Salmat BusinessForce) regarding past and

potential influencing factors on the culture and organizational behaviour to bring

about even greater productivity and quality / business improvements. The issues

identified will then be recommended to the management for use in the development

of human resource policies, training and better communication with the employees

in building a more involved and committed workforce that will benefit the workers,

management, customers and other stake-holders.

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Table of Contents

Page Acknowledgments 3

Abstract Summary 5

Table of Contents 6

Chapter 1 – Introduction and rationale

1.1 Background to the Research 9

1.2 Objectives of the Research 10 1.3 Justification for the research 10

1.4 General Research Questions 12

1.5 Literature Overview 12

1.6 Limitations and Key Assumptions 14

1.7 Research Design 14

1.8 Practical and Ethical Issues 15

1.9 Outline of the Dissertation 15

Chapter 2 – Literature review

2.1 Introduction to the Literature Review 19

2.2 Topics and issues identified for review 19

2.3 Critical Literature Review 22

2.4 Summary of the Literature Review 30

Chapter 3 – Exploratory interviews

3.1 Introduction to Exploratory interviews 33

3.2 Summary on profiles of interviewees 33

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Chapter 4 – Conceptual framework and hypotheses

4.1 Conceptual Framework 35

4.2 Hypotheses 36

Chapter 5 – Research Methodology and Methods

5.1 Selection of Research Methodology 38

5.2 Research Strategy 40

5.3 Overview of the Methodology 42

5.4 Design of Questionnaire 44

5.5 Instructions to Respondents 45

5.6 The Research Questions 45

5.7 Sampling Method 46

5.8 Findings (Analysis and Interpretation) 46

Chapter 6 – Presentation and Analysis of Results

6.1 Introduction 47

6.2 Quantitative Results 47

6.3 Qualitative Results 117

6.3.1 Summary on responses for question no. 1 117

6.3.2 Summary on responses for question no. 2 118

6.3.3 Summary on responses for question no. 3 120

6.3.4 Summary on responses for question no. 4 122

6.3.5 Summary on responses for question no. 5 124

6.4 Summary of Hypotheses Test Outcomes 124

Chapter 7 – Discussion of results 126

7.1 Results Addressing Main Hypotheses 128

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7.1.1 Attitude towards the ISO9001: 2000 Quality Management System 128

7.1.2 Management Commitment and Leadership 129

7.1.3 Participative Management, Reward and Recognition System 129

7.1.4 Human Resources Policy and Management 130

7.2 Findings related to important others 130

7.3 Comparison of research results 132

7.4 Other research questions 136

7.4.1 Organizational culture in Salmat Moorebank site 136

7.4.2 Employee motivation in support of productivity and quality improvement

and improving human resources management to promote positive

behaviour 137

7.4.3 Building a strong culture to promote ownership and accountability 138

Chapter 8 – Conclusions and recommendations

8.1 Conclusions 139

8.2 Recommendations to the management 141

Appendices

Appendix A Final version of questionnaire 142

Appendix B1 Illustrations of culture changes 151

Appendix B2 Images and Metaphors 152

Appendix C Explanation on Human Synergistics’ distinctive circumplex 158

Appendix D Presentation of the results of Hewitt culture and engagement

survey 162

References 165

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Chapter One – Introduction and rationale

1.1 Background to the Research

In order to stay in business and remain competitive in this ever-changing global

market, organizations have to manage in a total quality manner that include both

the soft foundations, namely commitment, communication, and culture; as well as

the systems, tools, and teams – the hard management necessities.

SALMAT Document Management Solutions Ltd (“SALMAT”), an ISO9001 certified

Australian printing and mail processing company, has established business

processes being managed under a documented system called the SALMAT Business

System. However, not much has been done in creating or changing the

organizational culture to strengthen the soft foundations that could facilitate total

quality as a way of life.

Originally the research for this dissertation is meant to be conducted at GPC

Electronics P/L where I have been working for nine years since December 1996.

However, due to downturn in business, I have been offered a redundancy package to

leave GPC in December 2005 and therefore unable to conduct my research there.

Fortunately, I have been offered the position of Business Systems Manager in

February 2006 and later promoted to National Business Systems Manager at

SALMAT Document Management Solutions P/L where I have been granted

permission to conduct this research.

As summarized below, both GPC and SALMAT have a great deal of similarities that

justified the switching of the organization to be researched into although there

seemed to be a couple of minor differences between them.

• Both are ISO9001: 2000 certified organization by the same certification body

for a number of years and the management systems are established but

improvements are limited;

• Limited people involvement in driving continual improvement and lack of

quality ownership in ensuring work done right first time every time;

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• Both have improved their competitive edge over many of their rivals but

continual improvements seemed to be stagnated;

• In terms of HR policies, SALMAT is more established with formalized

performance review appraisal or enterprise bargaining agreement to set

performance goals and objectives that link to remuneration benefits whereas

GPC only has the process of completing standard questionnaires by

supervisors for factory level employees. Same for reward and recognition

where SALMAT has established corporate policy although it has not been

consistently implemented across the board, GPC has no policy and

significantly weaker in this area;

• As part of the SALMAT corporate strategy, the Project Optimise has a people

stream that is currently conducting organisational culture survey to review

the current culture and aiming to establish the desired SALMAT culture

whereas GPC never showed any interests in the study of organisational

culture.

1.2 Objectives of the Research

The objective of this study is to describe and analyze the perspectives of people

working specifically in Document Management Solutions Moorebank NSW site of

SALMAT Ltd regarding past and potential influencing factors on the culture and

organizational behaviour to bring about even greater productivity and quality /

business improvements.

The issues identified are intended for recommendation to the management for use in

the development of human resource policies, training and better communication

with the employees in building a more involved and committed workforce that would

benefit the workers, management, customers and other stake-holders.

1.3 Justification for the research

Employee involvement at SALMAT at the grassroots level is limited and although

many workers are committed to excellence and willing to get involved in workplace

improvements, the resources management strategies may not always lead to positive

contributions by these people. On the other hand, there are needs for motivation or

other incentives such as appropriate reward and recognition systems to encourage

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productivity and quality improvements at the Operations level where at the moment

it seemed to be not consistently happening.

There does not appear to be a strong mechanism in place for ensuring that the

training undertaken is effective. Although a Competency Based Training (CBT)

Program is in place for Laser and Mail Operators, it is not fully implemented and the

Program does not cover Customer Service Representatives. Risks are identified in

terms of processes not being carried out in compliance with established procedures.

The non-compliances could be a result of ineffective training or lack of discipline to

follow procedures due to either lack of commitment or work pressure. The degree of

employee commitment is believed to be related to the degree of employee

satisfaction. At the moment, there is no means to determine how employee

satisfaction could be measured.

Another problem area is the imbalance perceived by grassroots between quantity

and quality. For example, some production operators, while being concerned solely

with the output quantity possibly due to pressure from their team leader or

supervisor, disregard the importance of making the product quality right first time.

In the worse case scenario, non-compliances can slip through the door undetected

by the Quality Control Officers. This would not only increase the quality costs

(failure costs in re-inspection and re-work) but also loss of reputation for the

company, which eventually could lead to lost business due to customer

dissatisfaction. There is no guarantee that everyone would be committed in taking

up ownership on quality and productivity improvement.

Over the years, SALMAT has gone through positive changes and has transformed

itself into a more efficient and effective organization that has out-performing some of

its competitors. That is why some ISO9001 certified organizations performed much

better than others in terms of gaining the competitive edge in productivity and

quality improvements. However, there seems to be stagnation in any significant

continual improvement in the organization. In addition to the systems and process

approach in supporting a customer-supplier relationship (internal and external), as

well as requirements regarding communications and commitment provided by the

ISO9001 system implementation, those companies that out-performed the others

must have taken extra steps in changing and creating a culture, excelling in human

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resources management that brought about modifications in employee behaviour in

enhancing productivity and committing to quality improvements.

1.4 General Research Question

What sort of organizational culture does SALMAT has?

How strong or how weak was this culture at SALMAT?

How could employees be motivated such that their behaviour will shift

towards the positive end of the spectrum in support of productivity and

quality improvement?

How could a strong organizational culture be built to promote the ownership

and accountability from grass roots to line and middle management?

What could be done regarding human resources management to enable

modification in employee behaviour to improve support and commitment in

productivity and quality improvement?

What are the factors that have influenced and could influence organizational

behaviour and culture to bring about productivity and quality improvement?

1.5 Literature Overview

According to the American Heritage English Dictionary, the definition of culture is

“The totality of socially transmitted behaviour patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions,

and all other products of human work and thought.” In the book Cultural

Anthropology: Tribes, States, and the Global System, 1994, John H. Bodley tabled the

diverse definitions of culture. This included “Behavioural: Culture is shared,

learned human behaviour, a way of life”; “Normative: Culture is ideals, values, or

rules for living” and “Functional: Culture is the way humans solve problems of

adapting to the environment or living together”.

Some definitions of organizational culture initially focused on distinguishing levels

of organizational culture and strong versus weak cultures (See Baker 2002) while

others expand the concept to include behaviours and artefacts, leading to a common

distinction between the visible and the hidden levels of organizational behaviour

(Kotter and Heskett 1992). In contrast to the distinction between the visible and

hidden levels, some theorists distinguished multiple levels.

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Edgar Schein, one of the foremost experts in the area, characterized culture as

consisting of three levels (Schein 1988). The most visible level is behaviour and

artefacts, the observable level of culture that consists of behaviour patterns and

outward manifestations. All may be visible indicators of culture, but difficult to

interpret. Artefacts and behaviour also may tell us what a group is doing, but not

why. The next level of culture is values, not directly observable, but to a large

extent determines behaviour. There may be a difference between stated and

operating values. People often attribute their behaviour to stated values. To really

understand culture, one has to get to the deepest level of assumptions and beliefs.

People may be unaware of or are unable to articulate what constitutes their deepest

level of culture.

In Edgar Schein’s book “Organizational Culture and Leadership 3rd Edition”, it is

suggested that shared definition (assumptions) in most business organizations

revolves around the issue of economic survival and growth, which, in turn, involves

the maintenance of good relationship with the major stakeholders of the

organization. Several studies have shown that the key to long-range growth and

survival is to keep the needs of these constituencies in some kind of balance.

Furthermore these researches indicated that the mission of the organization as a set

of beliefs about its core competencies and basic functions in society is usually a

reflection of this balance (Donald-son and Lorsch, 1983; Kotter and Heskett, 1992;

Porras and Collins, 1994).

Alteration in the reward and punishment system is also one of the quickest and

easiest ways to begin to change some elements of the culture. Once one has

identified what kind of behaviours are considered “heroic” and what are perceived as

“sinful”, one can begin to infer the assumptions that lie behind those evaluation.

The deeper cultural dimensions deal with human nature, activity, and relationships.

For example, some basic assumptions about human nature could include being

calculative, sociable, self-actualizing, or complex; or being positive and malleable

(Theory Y); or being negative and fixed (Theory X). The assumptions about

resolution of basic human relationship problems include: participation and

involvement; identity and role; power and influence; needs and goals; and

acceptance and intimacy.

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1.6 Limitations and Key Assumptions

During the research processes that involve contact with an organization, there is

always an intervention into the life of the organization. The most obvious difficulty

in gathering valid cultural data is a well-known phenomenon: human subjects

involved in research have a tendency either to resist and hide data that they feel

defensive about or to exaggerate to impress the researcher. Other times they might

exaggerate for cathartic relief or they might be fearful of reprisal from the

management.

1.7 Research Design

As these problems are associated with the usual qualitative research method, the

more suitable and valid approach is a clinical research model that I have adopted

where the data come voluntarily from the members of the organization since they

feel they have something to gain from cooperating with the researcher (Schein,

2004). This research is conducted as a case study adopting the Interpretative

methodology.

The research design is primarily involved with survey by questionnaire, followed by

exploratory interviews involving a primary sample composed of 35 employees. The

primary sample includes people in the management team, middle management

(supervisors and engineers), team leaders (leading hands) and people at the

grassroots level (office staff and factory workers).

In addition, the original design involves a second sample of 12 to 16 is to be

interviewed in two separate focus groups (6 to 8 people per group) as a “member

check” based on the results of the preliminary analysis (Guba, 1981). However, due

to an unforeseen and unplanned event that I have been offered and accepted a

position with the NSW Government Department of Education and Training, I have

managed to complete the survey and interviews but not the focus group interviews

before I left SALMAT. Despite my written request to the Customer Service Team

Leader at SALMAT a week after my departure to arrange for the focus group

meeting, a response has not been received.

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1.8 Practical and Ethical Issues

I have asked SALMAT for the permission to go ahead with this study. Employees

are to be approached to take part in the research on a volunteer basis. It is

necessary to inform them fully of the purpose of the research, and what will be

expected of them in terms of time and input commitments to participate in the

research. It is necessary to provide guarantees of confidentiality, and anonymity.

Regardless of the way in which basic cultural data are gathered, the organization

can be made vulnerable through having its culture revealed to outsiders (Schein,

2004). The obvious solution that I will take is to disguise the organization in

published accounts. If the information is inaccurate, potential employees,

customers, suppliers, and any other categories of outsiders who deal with the

organization may be adversely influenced.

In order to ensure the accuracy of the information, the data collected from

interviewing each individual member of the organization is double-checked with the

particular individual by going through the transcript of the interview. The data

analysis is provided to the members of the organization before it is published. This

step has the advantage of also testing, to some degree, the validity of the

information.

Even though the analysis may be correct, insiders other than those who made the

analysis may not be prepared to digest what has been learned about them. In the

worse case scenario, they may lose self-esteem because some of their myths or

ideals about themselves may be destroyed by the analysis. Therefore I have made

the management aware of these potential risks resulting from this research before

they approve the project. I am providing the final dissertation to the management

and members of DMS Moorebank involved in the research before publishing the

paper for submission to the university.

1.9 Outline of the Dissertation A diagram of the outline of the Dissertation is shown in Figure 1.1 on the next page.

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Figure 1.1 Structure of Dissertation

CHAPTER 1 Introduction & Rationale

CHAPTER 2 Literature Review

CHAPTER 3 Exploratory Interviews

CHAPTER 4 Conceptual Framework

and Hypotheses

CHAPTER 5 Research Methodology

and Methods

CHAPTER 6 Presentation of

Results & Analysis

CHAPTER 7 Discussion of Results

CHAPTER 8 Conclusion & Recommendations

REFERENCES

APPENDICES

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Chapter 1 – Introduction and Rationale, introduced the research and the main

research questions i.e. What sort of organizational culture does SALMAT has?

How strong or how weak was this culture at SALMAT? What are the factors that have

influenced and could influence organizational behaviour and culture to bring about

productivity and quality improvement? A case is made for the importance of the

research. This case is based firstly on evidence of the extent of quality system

program but generating little improvement; secondly, on the important of

organizational culture playing in driving continual improvement and lastly the

important factors that influence organizational culture behaviour.

Chapter 2 – Literature review is divided into a number of sections. The first section

reviews various definitions of organizational culture. The second section reviews the

topics and issues of interests, follow by a section on the detailed critical literature

review. The main points that are important and relevant to this research are

summarized in Section 4.

Chapter 3 – Exploratory interviews, described a number of semi-structured

interviews that were carried out to explore some of the issues raised in Chapter 2 –

Literature review. The interviewees include the management team (E.g. General

Manager, Customer Service Manager and Human Resources Manager), middle

management (Accounts Managers, Production Managers and Supervisors / Team

Leaders) and people at the grassroots level (Customer Service and temporary office

staff and factory workers/operators).

Chapter 4 – The development of conceptual framework and hypotheses is built on

the literature review and the exploratory interviews and present an overall

framework for the research. A number of hypotheses to be tested in the research

are presented. The work of Miller and Friesen (1984) fitted categorically to a

‘configuration’ as featured in this framework as being constituted by three

interrelated components that Clark and Soulsby (1995) called the organization’s

‘sub-systems’, its ‘structure’, the tangible aspects and its ‘culture’, the intangible

aspects.

Chapter 5 – Research methodology and methods, describes the conduct of the

research. This research is conducted as a case study adopting the Interpretative

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methodology. Two main methods were used to obtain data. Firstly, a questionnaire

was prepared and employees at the site were invited to volunteer in taking part in

the research by completing the survey that is a structured format making use of

Likert scales to rate people’s opinion and attitudes. It was followed by exploratory

interviews with these volunteers to complete the last part (Part 9) of the

questionnaire containing semi-structured questions and the researcher taking notes

as per responses from the interviewees.

Chapter 6 – Presentation of results and analysis, the quantitative results are

presented first starting with responses from Part 1 of the questionnaire with results

summarised and analysed in a table followed by percentage distribution charts for

each question. This is followed by the same presentation for Part 2 of the

questionnaire and repeated until the presentation concluded on Part 7 of the

questionnaire. The qualitative results are then presented with summary of the

discussion during the exploratory interviews listed sequentially from question 1 to 5

inclusively.

Chapter 7 – Discussion of results, first the main research question and followed by

the hypotheses are addressed and the implications of the research findings are

discussed. Most of the hypotheses were supported. These included those

hypotheses predicting that the following variables would be important (generally

significantly related in a positive sense against quality culture) in forming

employee’s attitudes towards: 1) ISO9001: 2000 Quality Management System; 2)

Management Commitment and Leadership; 3) Participative Management, Reward

and Recognition System and 4) Human Resources Policy and Management.

Comparison with results from previous research is followed by discussion on other

research questions.

Chapter 8 – Conclusion and recommendations, summarises the research findings,

states some of the implications for theory and practice and provides suggestions for

further research.

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Chapter Two – Literature Review 2.1 Introduction to the Literature Review

Now that we had suggested that the creation and changes in the organizational

culture are catalysts (enablers) for productivity and quality improvement, let us have

a look at what culture is. According to the American Heritage English Dictionary, the

definition of culture was ‘The totality of socially transmitted behaviour patterns,

arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought.’ John

H. Bodley (1994) tabled the diverse definitions of culture. This included

‘Behavioural: Culture is shared, learned human behaviour, a way of life’; ‘Normative:

Culture is ideals, values, or rules for living’ and ‘Functional: Culture is the way

humans solve problems of adapting to the environment or living together’. …

‘Culture involves at least three components: what people think, what they do, and

the material products they produce. Thus, mental processes, beliefs, knowledge,

and values are parts of culture. Culture also has several properties: it is shared …

[that] means that it is a social phenomenon … learned, [and] not biologically

inherited and it involves arbitrarily assigned symbolic meanings [transmitted across

generations].’ It is adaptive and integrated. We had reviewed further study on

organizational culture in Section 2.3.

2.2 Topics and issues identified for review

Literatures on organizational culture were reviewed to get a better understanding of

what it is, and then followed naturally in linking it up with what are believed to be

the most important factors that could influence the organizational culture. Since

the deeper cultural dimensions deal with humanistic activity and relationships, we

had looked at literatures on Employee Involvement and Empowerment; Douglas

McGregor Motivational Theory X and Y; William Ouchi’s Theory Z; Self-

Determination Theory; Leadership of management; Reward and Recognition System;

Employee Satisfaction, Training, Appraisal, Competency and Personal Development.

In order to understand organizational culture, we started from looking at what it

meant by the word “culture” and then some definitions of organizational culture.

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Latest research conducted by Kostman and Schiemann (2005) was congruent with

the findings by Peters and Waterman (1982), Deal and Kennedy (1982) and Kotter

and Heskett (1992) that there was a link (with modest positive correlations) between

the strength of organizational culture and long-term business performance /

excellence. ‘Sociologists Gary Fine and Sherryl Kleinman (see Organizational

Culture, 1997) discussed how distinct societies are composites of interacting

subcultures rather than a single overarching culture.’ The explicit social products

produced by subcultures within organizations could be widely diverse and even

result in countercultures that can have both productive and unproductive outcomes

as illustrated in examples discussed later. One of the findings in Sonja Sackmann’s

research (1992) was that the top management team ‘defined and framed the slice of

reality in which organizational members behaved in their role as employees.’

Similar to what was published in Schein’s book (2004), Leaders could influence or

manage an organization’s culture and how strong or how weak the culture was

could impact on organizational performance.

In simple term Culture is how employees feel so it is important to motivate and

change their behaviour to bring about productivity and quality improvements.

Refreshing as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs concept is, if the theory was completely

valid then, economic incentives should have lost all their forces but we knew this

was not correct. According to Drucker (1974) ‘there is not one shred of evidence for

the alleged turning away from material rewards … Anti-materialism is a myth, no

matter how much it is extolled.’ In fact, they were taken so much for granted that

their denial may act as a de-motivator. Peters and Waterman (1982, p.68) had

found that ‘… the most important lesson from [B.F.] Skinner (1971) is the role of

positive reinforcement, of rewards for jobs well done … negative reinforcement will

produce behavioural change, but often in strange, unpredictable, and undesirable

ways. Positive reinforcement causes behavioural change too, but usually in the

intended direction.’ They also pointed out that

Arguably, the important offshoot from Skinner’s reinforcement notion is Leon

Festinger’s now widely held “social comparison theory (1954)” … Skinner’s

work …, [seemed] underutilized in most management theory and practice.

But the larger context of high performance, we believe, is intrinsic motivation.

On the surface, self-motivation is opposed in many ways to the beliefs of

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reinforcement theory; but in our minds the two contexts fit together nicely.

(Peters and Waterman 1982, p.71 - 72)

I did believe the larger context of high performance comes from intrinsic motivation

and it fitted well with reinforcement. The way the reinforcement ought to be carried

out as noted by Skinner was discussed later.

In 1960 Douglas McGregor published his findings after examining theories on

behaviour of individuals at work formulating two models that he called Theory X

and Theory Y. Theory X assumptions mainly identified that average workers

generally dislike work and responsibilities and had to be directed or even threatened

before they would work hard. Dr. Rensis Likert (1961) had conducted much

research on human behaviour within organizations, particularly in the industrial

situation and had identified four main management styles namely, the exploitative -

authoritative system that I believed is based on Theory X; the benevolent –

authoritative system; the consultative and the participative - group system that I

presumed was based on Theory Y assumptions pointing mainly on work as natural

as play or rest and the average workers learnt not only to accept but to seek

responsibilities under the right conditions. Then in 1981, William Ouchi came up

with a variant that combined American and Japanese management practices

together to form Theory Z having the characteristics such as long-term employment;

collective decision-making; individual responsibility; slow evaluation and promotion;

implicit, informal control with explicit, formalized measures; moderately specialized

career paths and a holistic concern for the employees, including their families.

Frederick Herzberg (1968) first established that satisfaction and dissatisfaction at

work nearly always arose from different factors, and was not simply opposing

reactions to the same factors, as had always previously been believed. His

motivation theories suggested man had two sets of needs; one as an animal to avoid

pain that he showed as those factors that tended to lead to dissatisfaction ('hygiene

factors'), and two as a human being to grow psychologically he showed as other

factors that truly motivate ('motivators'). Certain parallels could clearly be seen with

Maslow. One important motivator that had been a valuable TQM concept in the

workplace was employee empowerment. However, this concept had been questioned

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by those who were sceptical about the employer’s intention to enslave rather than

empower employees.

The concept of employee empowerment had been historically practiced in a way that

restricts individuals from using their innate capacity to achieve their own unique

level of excellence at work, thereby inhibiting the level of individual and

organizational effectiveness that could otherwise be achieved. A concept called

employee determination took employee empowerment to the next level and could

increase individual and organizational effectiveness. … In a review of employee

empowerment literature, John Fox cited authors who define empowerment as

instilling power in employees. … Employee determination, on the other hand,

contended employees used their personal power and need to self-determine unique

levels of excellence when choosing which organizations to work for. … E.L. Deci and

R.M. Ryan (2000) identified the psychological processes that promote optimal

functioning in what they called the self-determination theory. (David Geisler 2005,

p. 48 - 49)

2.3 Critical Literature Review

After reviewing the various definitions of organizational culture in Section 2.1, a

lecture material prepared by the National Defence University (Organizational

Culture, 1997) suggested that two major camps exist in the study of organizational

culture.

The first camp viewed culture as implicit in social life. Culture was what naturally

emerged as individuals transformed themselves into social groups as tribes,

communities, and ultimately, nations. The second camp represented the view that

culture was an explicit social product arising from social interaction either as an

intentional or unintentional consequence of behaviour. In other words, culture was

comprised of distinct observable forms (e.g., language, use of symbols, ceremonies,

customs, methods of problem solving, use of tools or technology, and design of work

settings) that groups of people create through social interaction and use to confront

the broader social environment (Wuthnow and Witten 1988). This second view of

culture was most relevant to the analysis and evaluation of organizational culture

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and to cultural change strategies that leaders could employ to improve

organizational performance.

I inclined to take this second view of culture too. So what is organizational culture

and is it the same as culture as described above? The concept of organizational

culture was popularised in the early 1980’s but its roots could be traced back to the

early human relations view of organizations that originated in the 1940’s where it

drew its inspiration from even earlier anthropological and sociological work on

culture associated with groups and societies (See Bodley 1994; Mead 1934).

Definitions of organizational culture initially focused on distinguishing levels of

organizational culture, and study was conducted on how strong versus weak

cultures had impacted on the company performances. Discussing about the theory

of strong cultures caused strong performance, Kotter and Heskett (1992, p.18)

addressed ‘But despite its popularity, questions had been raised about this theory.

One had to do with causality. …, yet the reverse was known to occur too – strong

performance can help to create strong cultures.’

Based on the data analysis of a sample size of 207 firms from twenty-two different

U.S. industries, a study by Kotter and Heskett (1992) concluded that there was a

modest positive relationship between strength of corporate culture and long-term

economic performance. However, firms such as McGraw-Hill continued to perform

well because of their monopolistic market positions and the relative autonomy that

the weak corporate culture allowed. On the contrary firms including General Motors

and Procter & Gamble received strong cultural strength scores yet weak

performance scores due to apparently strong cultures including dysfunctional

elements as well as vigorous, functional ones.

Many definitions of culture gave primacy to the cognitive components, such as

assumptions, beliefs, and values. Others expanded the concept to include

behaviours and artefacts, leading to a common distinction between the visible and

the hidden levels of organizational culture. In contrast to the distinction between

the visible and hidden levels, some theorists distinguished multiple levels such as

Schein (1985), who further characterize culture as consisting of three levels (Schein

1988). The most visible level was behaviour and artefacts, the observable level of

culture that consisted of behaviour patterns and outward manifestations of culture.

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All may be visible indicators of culture, but difficult to interpret. Artefacts and

behaviour also may tell us what a group was doing, but not why. At the next level of

cultures were values, not directly observable but to a large extent determine

behaviour. There may be a difference between stated and operating values. People

would attribute their behaviour to stated values. To really understand culture, we

had to get to the deepest level, assumptions and beliefs. People may be unaware of

or were unable to articulate what forms their deepest level of culture. In addition, a

homogenous and tenured workforce contributed to cultural strength: ‘surviving the

good and bad times together [makes] the employees a close-knit group’ (Ingols and

Myers 1992, p. 269).

Schein (2004, p. 17) stated ‘The culture of a group [or organization] can now be

defined as a pattern of shared basic assumptions that was learned by the group as

it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that had

worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new

members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to these

problems.’ It was suggested that shared definition (assumptions) in most business

organizations revolved around the issue of economic survival and growth, which, in

turn, involved the maintenance of good relationship with the major stakeholders of

the organization. Several studies had shown that the key to long-range growth and

survival was to keep the needs of these constituencies in some kind of balance, and

that the mission of the organization as a set of beliefs about its core competencies

and basic functions in society, was usually a reflection of this balance (Kotter and

Heskett, 1992; Porras and Collins, 1994).

The latest research conducted by Kostman and Schiemann (2005) showed that

organizations having top leadership support, development of a quality culture and a

high level of people equity dramatically outperformed others with respect to

managing resources and business processes in a cost effective manner; eliminating

activities inconsistent with the organization’s strategic direction; increasing the

likelihood of customer referrals; and identifying, analysing and closing performance

gaps, etc. These results were in congruence with the findings by Kotter and Heskett

(1992) that there was a link (with modest positive correlations) between

organizational culture and business performance.

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Pikula listed three elements that determine the strength of corporate culture.

[Firstly], the number of shared beliefs, values, and assumptions. The higher

the number of shared assumptions, the ‘thicker’ the culture. In ‘thin’ cultures,

there are few commonly held assumptions and values. [Followed by] the

numbers of employees who accept, reject, or share in the basic beliefs, values,

and assumptions. If employee acceptance is high, a strong corporate culture

will emerge. [Lastly] the higher the number of shared beliefs, values and

assumptions, the stronger the culture of the organization. (Nahavandi and

Malekzadeh, 1993) … (Pikula 1999, p. 1)

Organizational cultures were created, maintained, or transformed by people but the

fundamental assumptions and values perceived by each individual in an

organization may be different and hence subcultures were formed based on

groupings by professions, ethnic/cultural background, work areas, functional

departments, etc. If the subcultures adhered to the core ideologies, values and

norms of the organization, then it was highly likely that it would be beneficial but

organizations do not, however, always have homogeneous subcultures. Research

(Sackmann, 1992) on subcultures found each subgroup was influenced by the

nature of its particular work. All three groupings clearly distinguished between “we”

and “them”; they dressed differently, worked in distinctly different work spaces that

were furnished differently, they took separate breaks, etc. and most importantly

they have different objectives and values that were not in congruence to the core

values of the organization.

An example of countercultures with productive outcomes is the case of US Brig.

General Billy Mitchell who tried to assert the value of airpower against the

resistance of the traditional war-fighting cultures of the Army and the Navy and

resulted in the formation of the Air Force as a separate service in 1947. This was

because the counterculture group was able to demonstrate how its idiosyncrasies

were consonant with the core ideologies, values and norms of the dominant culture,

the ethos of war-fighters. An example of counterculture that had unproductive

outcomes is the resignation (likely he was asked to leave) of John Delorean as the

vice president of car and truck production for the entire General Motors line in 1973

unexpectedly at the age of 48. Delorean took steps to create a new counter culture

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that would try to force innovations with an alternative set of core values, preferring

productivity to deference, objective measures of performance to subjective measures

of conformity, and independence to blind loyalty.

Delorean also refused to participate in the ceremonies and rituals of deference

that were widely practiced in the corporation. As an ultimate rejection of GM's

core values, Delorean attacked a GM icon, the Corvair (before Ralph Nader) for

faulty construction, its unsafe performance and persistent maintenance

problems. For a while, Delorean was able to maintain a delicate balance

within the dominant culture's latitude of tolerance, but [left] eventually [when]

met with disfavour; … and the counter culture disintegrated. (Organizational

Culture, 1997)

An organization’s culture was, in part, also created and maintained by the

organization’s leadership. Leaders at the executive level were the principle source

for the generation and re-infusion of an organization’s ideology, articulation of core

values and specification of norms. In one study according to Peters and Waterman

(1982) eighteen out of twenty HP executives interviewed spontaneously claimed that

the success of their company depended on the company’s people-oriented

philosophy. It’s called “the HP way”. In 1940s the founders of HP, Hewlett and

Packard decided, “not to be hire and fire company”. Even during the 1970

recession; rather than lay people off, they decided that everyone in the organization

took a 10 percent cut in pay and working 10 percent fewer hours.

Sam Walton, or “Mr. Sam,” as he was called in Wal-Mart was the driving force

behind this success of the now number one retailer in the United States (with 3,337

stores) and the largest company in the world. Walton referred to his people as

“associates,” not employees and he listened to them. He visited every store every

year (330 in 1982) as he had done since 1962. Sam Walton passed away in 1992

and the leadership role was taken over by his son Rob Walton as the Chairman of

the Board of Directors maintaining the strong culture created by him. The impact

on organizational performance was related to how strong or how weak the culture

was prevailing. It is not always negative to have a weak culture since if it was not

supportive to the core values it could be relatively easier to be changed. On the

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other hand, a strong culture but also non-supportive to the core values could be

detrimental to the performance of the organization.

According to Schein (2004, p.127), ‘Change in the reward and punishment system is

also one of the quickest and easiest ways to begin to change some elements of the

culture.’ ; ‘Once one has identified what kind of behaviours are considered “heroic”

and what kinds of behaviours are “sinful”, one could begin to infer the assumptions

that lie behind those evaluation.’ (Schein 2004, p. 129). We reviewed the basic

assumptions about human nature as being calculative, social, self-actualizing, or

complex; as being positive and malleable (Theory Y) or negative and fixed (Theory X).

(Schein 2004, p. 188)

We could not talk about self-motivation without mentioning Abraham H. Maslow’s

Hierarchy of Needs in regards to physiological; safety; social; self-esteem and the

ultimate approach to self-actualization (personal growth or development). But

Maslow, like other authors avoided talking about the plausible bad aspects or the

ethical side of human growth. Based on my own experience working with people in

the workplace for 28 years, I always assume people behave towards the theory Y

model as formulated by McGregor (1960) since most workers I met were observed to

have initiatives to do things right first time provided they are trained and informed

properly. Unfortunately in this fast changing global market, we were unlikely to

have the pre-requisites for Theory Z since long-term employment was no longer

guarantee even in Japan and slow evaluation and promotion may not be tolerable by

the “Generation Y”, etc.

I also took the same view as Rensis Likert that all organizations should adopt the

participative-group system (believed to be based on the theory Y model), the one

which was the ideal for profit oriented and human-concerned organization. This

was a system where leadership was by supervisors who had complete confidence in

their subordinates, where motivation was by economic rewards based on goals set in

participation, where personnel at all levels felt real responsibility for the

organization goals, where there was much communications, and a substantial

amount of cooperative teamwork. However, mutual trust between workers and

supervisors and a fair reward system was unlikely to be in existence in most

organizations, it took a strong supportive culture and plenty of time to establish this

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trust that could be damaged overnight due to mismanagement. Herzberg's work

(1968), originally on 200 Pittsburgh engineers and accountants, proved through

replicated research that people would strive to achieve hygiene needs because they

were unhappy without them, but once satisfied the effect soon worn off - satisfaction

was temporary. Examples of hygiene needs in the workplace were policy,

relationship with supervisor, work conditions, salary, company car, statuses, and

security, relationship with subordinates, personal life. True motivators were found

to be other completely different factors: achievement, recognition, works itself,

responsibility, advancement, and personal growth.

Social Comparison Theory (Leon Festinger, 1954) talked about how we learnt about

our own abilities and attitudes by comparing ourselves with other people and their

opinions. Mostly, we sought to compare ourselves with someone against whom we

believed we should have reasonable similarity, although in the absence of such a

benchmark, we would use almost anyone. Upward social comparison occurred

where we mostly compared ourselves with people who we deemed to be socially

better than us in some way whereas downward social comparison acted in the

opposite direction. I reckoned the basis of this theory was important as attitudes

help shaped one’s behaviour. We could therefore used this to change employee’s

behaviour towards a stronger functional culture by finding out other people with

whom the target people compared themselves, then either got those reference people

to adopt the desired action or found a way of persuading the target to select a better

reference. According to the workshop material on fifty years of social comparison

theory (2004) ‘While the first three decades after the publication of this theory in

Festinger’s paper social comparison was a more or less peripheral topic in social

psychology, … social comparison theory has developed from being a theoretical

statement focused on the use of others for self-evaluation into a lively and varied

area of research encompassing many different paradigms, approaches and

applications. In addition, social comparison processes are linked to more general

principles that underlie our psychological functioning, including social judgment,

social cognition, group processes, and personality.’

People commonly argue that money was a primary motivator. It's not always true.

Surveys repeatedly showed that other factors motivated more. For example, a

survey (Chapman, 2001-4) by Development Dimensions International published in

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the UK Times newspaper in 2004 interviewed 1,000 staff from companies employing

more than 500 workers, and found many to be bored, lacking commitment and

looking for a new job. Pay actually came fifth in the reasons people gave for leaving

their jobs. The main reasons were lack of stimulus jobs and no opportunity for

advancement - classic Herzberg motivators - 43% left for better promotion chances.

As Skinner (1971) notes, the way the reinforcement was carried out was more

important than the amount. First, it ought to be specific, e.g. Activity-based MBO

systems were more common in the excellent companies than were financially based

MBOs. Second, the reinforcement should have immediacy. E.g. Thomas Watson Sr.

was said to have made a practice of writing out a cheque on the spot for

achievements he observed in his own peripatetic management role. Third, the

system of feedback mechanisms should take account of achievability. Rewarding

small wins by good news swapping was common in the excellent companies. The

fourth characteristic was that a fair amount of the feedback comes in the form of

intangible but ever-so-meaningful attention from top management. This sort of

recognition may be the most powerful of all since management’s time is scarce.

E.L. Deci and R.M. Ryan (2000) identified the psychological processes that promoted

optimal functioning in what they called the self-determination theory. (SDT; Deci &

Ryan, 1980, 1985, 1991) They asserted humans were active and growth oriented

and strived for congruency between their psychological makeup and social world

that was reached only when our needs for relatedness, competence and autonomy

were satisfied. Employee determination (Geisler, 2005) asserted that the desire for

self-assurance, self-worth and the opportunity needed to maintain and enhance

personal power must be reinforced by what was found in the organizational culture

and work processes. If elements of the culture and work processes assured

employee, gave them worth and provided them with opportunities that reinforce

positive psychological wellbeing, employees would exhibit personal power and

optimal performance. As for the effects of culture and work, employees would

choose to align their behaviours and attitudes with an organization’s strategic

direction based on organizational purpose: when the mission, vision and values

were substantiate and sustainable; individual effort: when the objectives were

challenging and requisite knowledge and skills were continuously learned and work

activity: when the process was manageable, stimulating and consistent with an

employee’s temperament.

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In case the organizational culture was not supportive or in alignment with the

organization’s purpose the leader responsible might choose to act by managing

cultural change. According to Deal and Kennedy (1982, 2000), ‘Even if people

understand and accept a change, they often don’t have the required skills and

ability to carry out the new plan. This is a major impediment to successful change.’

‘… Planning, contracting, and project management processes often provided the

opportunities for training in new values, new behaviour, and even language that

permits people to shift from one culture to another.’ Training was crucial to provide

the employees of a changing organization to acquire the necessary skills, attitudes,

etc. and to be motivated to change their behaviours in the transformation of the

organizational culture to a strong and functional one. To ensure the training was

conducted effectively and value adding, there ought to have a system in place for

competency based assessment compliment by a fair appraisal system that allowed a

two way communications between supervisor and subordinate on a regular and

appropriate time interval that covered personal development of the employees.

2.4 Summary of the Literature Review

An assumption had been made that with the improvements in productivity and

quality, the financial position of an organization will improve too. The financial

returns and performance improvement generally came from the increase in

organizational efficiency and effectiveness by employees motivated to work smarter

and harder resulting in the reduction of cycle or processing time and waste, etc.

The improvement in the product and / or service quality was also a major

contributor resulting in enhancement of customer satisfaction, boosting customer

loyalty for more repeat orders and driving the organization toward a competitive

edge. In other words, financial performance was the desired outcome (or possible

by-product) of productivity and quality improvement and since money was the

common language understood by all stakeholders especially the senior

management, literatures related to the link between culture and financial

performance were therefore selected for review.

The findings suggested that organization with culture that was weak or

dysfunctional and did not support their core value or purpose was not likely to

perform better financially comparing with the industry average. But there were

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ways that leaders of such organizations could choose to influence and change the

organizational culture to improve the organizational performance. A leader’s skills,

abilities, competencies, behaviours, activities, and styles were important, but they

did not define the essence of one’s leadership. Rather, the essence of leadership was

the impact that a person had on the thinking and behaviour of others and the

culture that he or she ended up creating as a result. For example, building a strong

culture that supported the core values of the organization; using the power of

subcultures or countercultures to bring about positive outcomes; implementation of

a fair, timely and realistic reward and recognition system; managing under an

environment of participative-group system to enhance employee satisfaction

applying both hygiene factors such as appropriate company policies, working

conditions, salary and true motivators such as award and recognition, advancement

and personal development.

I strongly believed and supported the ideas of employee contributions towards

organizational performance based on intrinsic human needs as a major driving force

as well as other external factors such as influences by peers and managers. These

were related to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs on self-actualization, the self-

determination theory and social comparison theory. Based on the self-

determination theory, it asserted humans’ strive for congruency between our

psychological makeup and social world was reached only when our needs for

relatedness, competence and autonomy were satisfied.

Kostman and Schiemann (2005) highlighted the staggering cost of employee

turnover at a replacement cost of 41% of the annual salary for just one frontline

manufacturing employee according to the U.S. Department of Labor (2004). Also,

an out-placement consultant told me that she estimated the replacement cost in

Sydney, Australia for an executive earning AUS$100,000 per annum to be

AUS$60,000 to AUS$80,000 taking into accounts the job advertisement, fees

payable to the recruitment firm, productivity lost and training cost to bring the new

person up to speed. These costs were enormous that affect the bottom line

financially and therefore cultural fit was extremely important for retaining staff to

avoid such costs.

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I would therefore explore the points covered here in my research including

competency-based training to determine the factors perceived as important to the

influence on and the management of culture change to bring about improvement in

organizational performance.

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Chapter Three – Exploratory Interviews 3.1 Introduction to Exploratory interviews

The literature review has identified a number of issues that are likely to be

important in determining how well an organization can continual improve quality

and productivity by creating a strong and supportive organizational culture. These

issues are summarized in Section 2.4 of the Literature Review. The main purpose of

the exploratory interviews was to look for evidence that the issues raised by the

literature review in relation to the strength and health of the organizational culture

and in relation to the value and practices adopted were relevant in this case study.

The interviews, which lasted approximately one hour each, were conducted based on

loosely structured open questions listed in Part 9 of Appendix A to stimulate the

interviewees to tell about his or hers personal perception and emotional valuing of

the organizational culture. The responses were summarised in Chapter 6.

After approaching and talking to a randomly selected sample of employees for their

interests in taking part in the research study, 35 of these employees have agreed to

take part voluntarily in the research study that includes this exploratory interview.

However, only 23 of these 35 volunteers had been interviewed. The reason for those

who were not interviewed included a change of mind and decided not to take part or

the employee had left Salmat or the person was on leave the day interview was

scheduled.

Participants volunteered their feedback may be biased because of lack of self-

reflection by stating value which was difference to their operating value. Also, they

may be over-critical towards the actions or behaviour of their colleagues within their

team or from other departments without understanding fully the limitations others

may have.

3.2 Summary on profiles of interviewees

Of the 23 employees interviewed, more than one-third (40 %) had been with Salmat

for between one to two years; one-third had been working for the company for nine

years or more and the remaining 26.7 % was in service with the organization for

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between three to eight years. This distribution of years of service should result in

the interviewees giving a relatively balanced perspective on the organizational

culture. Regarding the time spent in their current role, half (50 %) the employees

interviewed had been in their current position for two years or less and 12.5 % out

of this category had only been in their current role for less than one year. Slightly

more than one-third (37.5 %) had been in their current position for between three to

four years and the remaining 12.5 % had five years or more. These employees who

volunteered to take part in this research study mainly came from Team Leader or

Supervisor level (50 %) of which the majority was from the production floor and

most of their time was spent in operating production machines and completing

manufacturing processes in additional to supervision duties. There was an equal

split of 18.8 % in the profile of interviewees who came from clerical staff or operators

and the middle management. The remaining 12.5 % was from the senior

management.

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Chapter Four – Conceptual Framework and Hypotheses

4.1 Conceptual Framework

The critical literature review has identified issues that are pertinent to the present

research as illustrated with the application of the Cause and Effect (also known as

Fish-bone or Ishikawa) Diagram (See Figure 4.1 below). The features of this

theoretical framework fit categorically to a ‘configuration’ (Miller and Friesen 1984)

or an ‘organizational form’ (Laughlin 1991) as being constituted by three interrelated

components that Clark and Soulsby (1995) called the organization’s ‘sub-systems’,

its ‘structure’, the tangible aspects and its ‘culture’, the intangible aspects.

ManagementCommitment &

Leadership

ParticipativeManagement, Reward& Recognition System

ISO 9001-2000 QualityManagement System

Human ResourcesPolicy & Management

Productivity andQuality Oriented

Culture

Managers with rightLeadership traits wholead by example

Human Resources Management - Training, awareness and competence of employees; motivation, appraisal and Employee satisfaction

Change ManagementProcess implemented

Top managementcommitment communicatedto all employee

Agenda for peopleinvolvement explained to allemployees on benefits

Training and knowledgemanagement build in forcareer development A reward & recognition

system separate from salarypackage and is fair

Using the HumanResources Schoolapproach to maximizeemployees' contribution

Develop team, promoteteamwork & provide trainingin tools for business improvement

Promote Quality of Work Life and apply theories of motivation

JIT training to ensure skill learned could bepracticed with coaching and 360o appraisal

Management Responsibilityin ensuring a system to enhanceproductivity and quality performance

Communications on vision / valuesobjectives / and understandingof responsibility/accountability

Figure 4.1

It is the intangible end of the spectrum of these ‘organizational form’ aspects that

shape the culture of an organization. We are interested to explore into how

employees perceived the organizational culture in terms of the existing informal

reward and recognition system; the availability of career development; the provision

of coaching and mentoring, hence the supports from the management; the

effectiveness of communications, both top down and bottom up and in particular

the leadership quality in shaping the vision and values of the organization that

ISO9001: 2000 Quality Management System

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determine how employees’ behave in supporting productivity and quality

improvements. There may be a difference between stated and operating values.

People will attribute their behaviour to stated values. We are also interested in

knowing whether employees feel motivated in achieving their set objectives and how

satisfied they are on the job.

The level of analysis in this research is fairly broad. It is not concerned with specific

behaviours of particular employees at a point in time and in a particular context.

Rather it investigates the formation and importance of employees’ attitudes to broad

issues in particular, the causes identified above namely, management commitment

and leadership, participative management, reward and recognition system, human

resources policy and management, and their support towards the ISO9001: 2000

Quality Management System that could bring about the effect being a productivity

and quality oriented culture.

4.2 Hypotheses

Attitude towards the ISO9001: 2000 Quality Management System

The literature review indicated that system approach; internal communications and

effective training play important roles in the success in changing the organizational

culture to align with the company’s objectives and visions. These are essentially the

requirements of ISO9001: 2000 management system standard. The above

discussions lead to the following hypothesis:

Hypothesis H1: Employees generally believe that implementation of ISO9001: 2000

management system is important in creating / maintaining productivity and quality

oriented culture.

Management Commitment and Leadership

One factor which emerges consistently from the literature as essential for the

success of creating or maintaining productivity and quality oriented culture is

commitment and support from top management and leadership. For organization

with culture that is weak or dysfunctional and does not support their core value or

purpose, they are unlikely to perform better financially comparing with the industry

average. But leaders of such organizations could choose to influence and change

the organizational culture to improve the organizational performance in the essence

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of leadership to impact a person has on the thinking and behaviour of others and

the culture that he or she ends up creating as a result. The above discussions lead

to the following hypothesis:

Hypothesis H2: Employees generally believe that strong management commitment

and leadership is important in creating / maintaining productivity and quality

oriented culture.

Participative Management, Reward and Recognition System

Examples listed in the literature review include, building a strong culture that

supports the core values of the organization; using the power of subcultures or

countercultures to bring about positive outcomes; implementation of a fair, timely

and realistic reward and recognition system; managing under an environment of

participative-group system to enhance employee satisfaction applying both hygiene

factors such as appropriate company policies, working conditions, salary and true

motivators such as award and recognition, advancement and personal development.

These examples lead to the following hypothesis:

Hypothesis H3: Employees generally believe that promoting participative management

and a fair reward and recognition system are important in creating / maintaining

productivity and quality oriented culture.

Human Resources Policy and Management

As indicated in the critical literature review, I strongly believe and support the ideas

of employee contributions towards organizational performance based on intrinsic

human needs as a major driving force as well as other external factors such as

influences by peers and managers, the promotion of team spirits and providing

necessary training and supports. These are related to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

on self-actualization, the Herzberg’s true motivators, the self-determination theory

and social comparison theory leading to the final hypothesis.

Hypothesis H4: Employees generally believe that implementation of Human Resources

Policy and Management based on the human resources school approach is important

in creating / maintaining productivity and quality oriented culture.

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Chapter Five – Research Methodology and Methods

5.1 Selection of Research Methodology

Methodology should be grounded in a framework that encourages good research.

Cooper and Schindler (1995) stress the importance of thorough planning and

describe a number of characteristics of good research:

i. The purpose of the research should be clearly defined.

ii. The research should be sufficiently detailed to permit other researchers to

repeat the methodology.

iii. The research should be thoroughly planned.

iv. High ethical standards should apply.

v. Limitations of the research should be frankly revealed.

vi. The amount of analysis undertaken should be adequate for the decision

maker’s needs.

vii. Findings should be presented in a clear unambiguous way.

viii. Conclusions should be justified.

When selecting a suitable research methodology, a number of important issues have

been taken into consideration. These include selecting a methodology that is

appropriate to address the research issue while taking into account any constraints

that may exist. Remenyi, Williams, Money and Swartz (1998, p. 45) identify four

major issues affecting selection of a research strategy. These are the nature of the

research question, the skills of the researcher, the costs involved and the time

required to complete the research. Research can be either theoretical or empirical.

Remenyi et al. (1998, p. 47) point out that among those undertaking higher degrees

in management an empirical approach, in which primary data is collected and

analyzed, is by far the most popular approach.

Different philosophical approaches towards the research can be taken. Remenyi et

al. (1998, p. 32-35) contrast the positivistic approach with the phenomenological

approach to research. They explain that the positivistic approach emphasizes

observations that lend themselves to statistical analysis. The danger in the

positivistic approach is that it is restrictive and shallow and is unlikely to lead to

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interesting and profound insights into complex problems, especially in the studies of

organizational culture. The phenomenological approach, which Remenyi et al.

explain is also described as the descriptive or interpretative approach, takes the

position that every event studied is a unique incident in its own way. The research

unfolds as it proceeds. Rich descriptions are sought which are the building blocks

of the argument the researcher develops.

Remenyi et al. (1998, p. 47-48) point out that a choice of doing either longitudinal or

cross-sectional research often presents itself to researchers. Longitudinal research

captures changes over time in the subject being studied. Cross-sectional studies

essentially take a snapshot of a situation at a particular time. They examine how

something is done at the time and generally try to identify and understand

differences between the various members of the study population.

Remenyi et al. (1998, p. 48-61) describe fourteen specific research approaches.

Seven of the approaches that are more relevant to the present research are shown in

Table 1 together with an assessment of their philosophical base. A brief explanation

of each of the approaches is included in the table.

Table 5. 1 Research approaches and their philosophical bases.

Based on Remenyi et al. (1998, Table 3.1 p. 59)

Research Approach Positivistic Phenomenological

Action research – The action researcher is involved in an organization. Process involves assessing situation, hypothesizing affect of intervention, evaluating results of intervention.

Strictly interpretivist

Case studies – Empirical investigation of phenomenon in its real life context. Valuable in answering who, why and how questions in management research.

Have scope to be either

Have scope to be either

Ethnographic – Social anthropology approach. Field observation in which the researcher becomes fully involved in the situation being studied.

Strictly interpretivist

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Field experiment – Laboratory type experiments but carried out in the less controlled environment of an organization. E.g. The Hawthorne studies.

Have scope to be either

Have scope to be either

Focus groups – Collecting views from a highly specialized group of people through interaction / debate with the researcher.

Mostly interpretivist

In-depth surveys – Conducting in-depth interviews to obtain evidence from a relatively small number of informants. Usually subjects are allowed to speak freely on subject of interest to researcher and questionnaire generally not used.

Mostly interpretivist

Participant-observer – Researcher joins team who are part of phenomenon being studied. Takes part in phenomenon but makes observations of the way the group operates.

Strictly interpretivist

5.2 Research Strategy

This research is conducted as a case study at the Moorebank NSW site of Salmat

DMS Division that has five sites within Australia and three sites overseas. The case

study strategy is appropriate for this research as “an empirical enquiry that

investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real life context when the

boundaries between phenomenon and the context are not clearly evident [and] is

particularly valuable in answering who, why and how questions in management

research” (Remenyi, Williams, Money and Swartz 1998 p.50, citing Yin 1989). The

case study method also “generally emphasizes qualitative, in-depth study of one or a

small number of cases” (Ellram 1996 p.95) and is “desirable in those

circumstances… because it provides depth and insight in a little known

phenomenon” (1996 p.97).

The results are to be used to compare against the results of the culture survey

conducted by Salmat at the corporate level that covered DMS and two other

divisions provided that the details of the corporate results are available for releasing

for such a purpose. The types of questions that will be used include descriptive,

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relational and causal. The point of reference regarding the time in this qualitative

research will be cross-sectional instead of longitudinal. As the productivity and

quality may not be obviously seen to have improved significantly within the course

of the research, we will aim to identify the factors that could influence the

organizational culture that promote productivity and quality improvement.

Interpretative methodology is to be used. During the research processes that involve

contact with an organization, there is always an intervention into the life of the

organization. The most obvious difficulty in gathering valid cultural data is a well-

known phenomenon: human subjects involved in research have a tendency either to

resist and hide data that they feel defensive about or to exaggerate to impress the

researcher. Other times they might exaggerate for cathartic relief or they might be

fearful of reprisal from the management. As these problems are associated with the

usual qualitative research method, the more suitable and valid approach is a

clinical research model that I will be adopting where the data come voluntarily from

the members of the organization since they feel they have something to gain from

cooperating with the researcher (Schein, 2004).

Employees are approached to take part in the research on a volunteer basis. It is

necessary to inform them fully of the purpose of the research, and what is expected

of them in terms of time and input commitments to participate in the research. It is

necessary to provide guarantees of confidentiality, and anonymity. If the

information is inaccurate, potential employees, customers, suppliers, and any other

categories of outsiders who deal with the organization may be adversely influenced.

In order to ensure the accuracy of the information, the data collected from

interviewing each individual member of the organization is double-checked with the

particular individual by going through the transcript of the interview. The data

analysis is to be provided to the members of the organization before it is published.

This step has the advantage of also testing, to some degree, the validity of the

information.

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5.3 Overview of the Methodology

1. A questionnaire (written, structured in a format for review face-to-face) to be

completed by individual employees is designed. The questionnaire addresses

the hypothesis outlined in the section “Theoretical Framework and

Hypotheses”.

2. The questionnaire is piloted using a sample of people known to the researcher

who are employees of organizations other than the one where the research

will be conducted. No amendments are made to the questionnaire as a result

of the pilot.

3. Approval of the research procedures are obtained from the SALMAT DMS

NSW General Manager and the People and Culture (Human Resources)

Manager is consulted.

4. Based on the current staff level of 120 people in the Moorebank site where

the research is conducted, questionnaires have been distributed to a primary

sample composed of 35 employees (who has accepted to take part in the

research) being the targeted respondents in the senior management team,

middle management, and customer service and production staff members.

Where possible random samples are taken from customer service and

production since these two areas have relatively large number of staff

members.

5. A preliminary analysis is carried out on the data contained in returned

questionnaires after completion of interviews (in the form of semi-structured

interviews that include critical incident approach) with the primary sample.

The targeted response rate is 100% with an expected minimum of 90%

completing the questionnaires and interviews. The plan is to approach and

talk to a randomly selected sample size of employees far greater than 35 to

get prior commitment of at least 35 of these employees to take part

voluntarily in the research.

6. The original design involves a second sample of 12 to 16 is to be interviewed

in two separate focus groups (6 to 8 people per group) as a “member check”

based on the results of the preliminary analysis (Guba, 1981). However, due

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to an unforeseen and unplanned event as explained in Section 1.7 Research

Design in Chapter 1, the focus group interviews are not conducted.

7. Analysis of the overall results is undertaken. The qualitative data from the

questionnaire survey and from the interviews is subjected to simple

descriptive statistical analysis.

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5.4 Design of Questionnaire

The questionnaire is designed to be completed on an individual basis by Senior

Managers (GM Operations, Customer Service Manager and Client Directors); Middle

Managers (Account Managers, Production, Planning and Warehouse Managers);

Customer Service Representatives, Invoicing staff, Laser / Mail Operators, Postage

and Warehouse staff, Quality Control Officers and Planners. A copy of the final

questionnaire is in Appendix A. The questionnaire is designed, together with

evidence gathered during interviews, to address the hypotheses outlined in page 2

and 3.

The following are important design considerations and assumptions made in the

construction of the questionnaire. In order to achieve the targeted response rate of

100% it is important to make the questionnaire easy for the respondents to

complete because it is to be completed at a very busy workplace that the employees

invited to take part would more likely to volunteer their time provided the process

taking not more than an hour. The questionnaire combined tick boxes type of

questions, and mainly Likert scales to be used in attitudes for completion

beforehand, and open questions to be answered during interview when answer

options are available and interviewer keeps to a script.

The standard instruments being used in this research to measure organizational

commitment, role conflict and role ambiguity use a seven point Likert scale and this

practice has generally been used for other attitude measures that have been

developed. Open questions are structured using techniques such as “Critical

incidents”; “three typical statements” – by giving the respondent a chance to

summarize all that they said when ending an interesting question; “Timelines” – in

capturing people’s perceptions of the change in the organization’s culture over time;

“Heroes, villains and fools” exercise, “Images and metaphors” exercise, and “the

newcomer” exercise, all of which are based on that developed by McClean and

Marshall (1991) relevant for researching into organizational culture.

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5.5 Instructions to Respondents

The front page of the questionnaire provides background information on the project

and instructions on how to complete it together with a guarantee of confidentiality.

It is made clear that responses are encouraged from individuals not to resist or hide

data that they feel defensive about but to provide feedback to the best of their

knowledge and perception as such data coming voluntarily from them is beneficial

to them as a result of positive impact on the organizational culture provided the

research findings are adopted and acted upon by the management. It is explained

that the questionnaire is to be collected by the writer after a face-to-face interview

during which the writer / interviewer reviews and checks that responses to all

questions have been completed. Respondents are provided with the opportunity to

be sent a summary of the research findings. They are advised to contact the writer

directly if they are concerned about providing their contact details together with

their completed questionnaire.

5.6 The Research Questions

What sort of organizational culture does SALMAT has?

How strong or how weak is this culture at SALMAT?

How could employees be motivated such that their behaviour will shift

towards the positive end of the spectrum in support of productivity and

quality improvement?

How could a strong organizational culture be built to promote the ownership

and accountability from grass roots to line and middle management?

What could be done regarding human resources management to enable

modification in employee behaviour to improve support and commitment in

productivity and quality improvement?

What are the factors that have influenced and could influence organizational

behaviour and culture to bring about productivity and quality improvement?

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5.7 Sampling Method

Due to resources limitation usually involved in a research being undertaken within

a dynamic and busy workplace, it is not feasible to use a large sample size based on

the standard protocol. Also, with the nature of a case study method that involves

an in-depth, longitudinal examination of a single instance or event to provide a

systematic way of looking at events, rather than using large samples and following a

rigid protocol to examine a limited number of variables, convenient sampling is used

for this study.

The research is primarily conducted by semi-structured interviews; although being

very open, it would include some pre-coded elements. A primary sample composed

of 35 employees includes the targeted respondents in the management team (E.g.

General Manager, Customer Service Manager and Human Resources Manager),

middle management (Accounts Managers, Production Managers and Supervisors /

Team Leaders) and people at the grassroots level (Customer Service and temporary

office staff and factory workers/operators).

5.8 Findings (Analysis and Interpretation)

Descriptive Statistics is used in the analysis where applicable to describe and

present the central tendency and variation for all variables including a table of

frequencies for all nominal and ordinal (5 or less categories) variables. Charts and

graphs are used for enhancing the verbal presentation by using visual information

to highlight important information or key discrepancies.

Since this is mainly a non-statistical project, the observations, and the relationships

between variables, as well as the conditions under which certain relationships do

and don't exist is described verbally, and is presented in the form of an argument

using data (observations, interviews, artifacts, etc.) as evidence in testing the

hypothesis, supporting any claims, or making assertions.

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Chapter Six – Presentation and Analysis of Results

6.1 Introduction The results of this case study research were presented in two separate sections. The

first section covered the quantitative results (and analysis) collected from a survey

based on the questionnaires completed by individual participating employees. The

specific questions were listed in Part 1 to 7 of Appendix A that addressed the

hypothesis outlined in the section “Theoretical Framework and Hypotheses”. Then

it was followed by another section on qualitative results based on the information

gathered during a face-to-face interview where the participating employees were

asked loosely structured open questions listed in Part 9 of Appendix A and talked

about his or hers personal perception and emotional valuing of the organizational

culture. The final section covered a summary of the outcomes of the Hypotheses

Tests related to the quantitative results.

6.2 Quantitative Results After approaching and talking to a randomly selected sample of employees for their

interests in taking part in the research study, 35 of these employees have agreed to

take part voluntarily in the research study and were given a copy of the

questionnaire. Despite the fact that 23 of these 35 volunteers had eventually

participated in this research study and were interviewed, only 17 participants had

returned the completed questionnaires. Unfortunately, the 6 remaining

questionnaires all from production operators were never completed and returned

after repeated requests to return then completed.

The statistical analysis was conducted with the help of the SPSS Statistics 17.0

software programme. For each outcome or statement contained in the

questionnaire, the responses from the participating employees as to its importance,

likelihood and extent of occurrences, and acceptance (the degree the participants

agreed or disagreed with the statement) were expressed in terms of the Likert scales

from a rating of number 1 to 7. The mean, lower and upper bound values (at a 95%

confidence interval) of the numbers picked by the participants was computed for

each statement and presented in the tables below corresponding to each part of the

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questionnaire. These computed values (based on the lower bound values) were used

to interpret the average response (also presented in the tables) of the sample

population for each statement using the same rating scales. The rating numbers

and its equivalent interpreted descriptions of responses used were listed below.

Rating number Descriptions of Responses

1 Not important at all/Very Unlikely/Strongly disagree/Not at all

2 Very little importance/Unlikely/Significantly disagree/To very

little extent

3 Little importance/May be/Disagree/ To a little extent

4 Quite important/Quite possible/Neutral/To some extent

5 Important/Likely/Agree/To a moderate extent

6 Significantly important/More than likely/ Significantly agree/

To a significant extent

7 Very important/Very likely/Strongly agree/ To a great extent

Results and analysis for questions from PART 1 of the questionnaire

Outcome The ISO9001: 2000 quality system certification has or will result in:

Importance to participant personally that this outcome is achieved

Likelihood that this outcome has or will result from the ISO9001: 2000 quality system certification

1 Improved quality of our products and services

Mean = 6.59; Lower bound = 6.22; Upper bound = 6.95; Significantly important

Mean = 5.00; Lower bound = 4.27; Upper bound = 5.73; Quite possible

2 Improved competitiveness Average = 6.12; Lower bound = 6.22; Upper bound = 6.95; Significantly important

Mean = 4.53; Lower bound = 3.71; Upper bound = 5.34; May be / Quite possible

3 Improved company long term survival prospects

Average = 6.41; Lower bound = 6.09; Upper bound = 673; Significantly important

Mean = 5.00; Lower bound = 4.52; Upper bound = 5.48; Quite possible / Likely

4 Improved relationships with our customers

Average = 6.41; Lower bound = 6.01; Upper bound = 6.81; Significantly important

Mean = 5.12; Lower bound = 4.29; Upper bound = 5.95; Quite possible

5 Improved interdepartmental cooperation

Average = 5.65; Lower bound = 4.69; Upper bound = 6.61; Quite important / Important

Mean = 4.18; Lower bound = 3.34; Upper bound = 5.01; May be

6 Improved relationships with our suppliers

Average = 5.65; Lower bound = 4.92; Upper bound = 6.37; Quite important / Important

Mean = 4.76; Lower bound = 4.17; Upper bound = 5.35; Quite possible

7 Significant reduction in “red tape” and bureaucracy

Average = 5.76; Lower bound = 5.05; Upper bound = 6.48 ; Important

Mean = 4.18; Lower bound = 3.65; Upper bound = 4.70; May be / Quite possible

8 More emphasis on long term planning

Average = 5.88; Lower bound = 5.44; Upper bound = 6.32; Important

Mean = 4.35; Lower bound = 3.81; Upper bound = 4.90; May be / Quite possible

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Outcome The ISO9001: 2000 quality system certification has or will result in:

Importance to participant personally that this outcome is achieved

Likelihood that this outcome has or will result from the ISO9001: 2000 quality system certification

9 Less overreacting to short term goals

Average = 5.35 Lower bound = 4.75; Upper bound =5.95; Quite important

Mean = 4.00; Lower bound = 3.49; Upper bound = 4.51; May be

10 Improved communication throughout the organization

Average = 6.12; Lower bound = 5.75; Upper bound = 6.72; Significantly important

Mean = 4.18; Lower bound = 3.32; Upper bound = 5.03; May be

11 Improved processes and procedures throughout the organization

Average = 6.35; Lower bound = 5.87; Upper bound = 6.83; Significantly important

Mean = 5.41; Lower bound = 4.64; Upper bound = 6.18; Quite possible / Likely

12 A culture of continuous improvement throughout the organization

Average = 6.12; Lower bound = 5.61; Upper bound = 6.63; Significantly important

Mean = 4.88; Lower bound = 4.18; Upper bound = 5.58; Quite possible

13 Maintaining or enhancing your position in the organization

Average = 5.76 Lower bound = 5.07; Upper bound = 6.46; Significantly important

Mean = 4.59; Lower bound = 3.75; Upper bound = 5.42; May be / Quite possible

14 Maintaining or enhancing your status in the organization

Average = 5.59; Lower bound = 4.84; Upper bound = 6.34; Quite important

Mean = 4.41; Lower bound = 3.62; Upper bound = 5.21; May be / Quite possible

15 Improved chances of promotion for you

Average = 5.53; Lower bound = 4.80; Upper bound = 6.26; Quite important

Mean = 3.94; Lower bound = 3.06; Upper bound = 4.82; May be

16 An increase in your overall job satisfaction

Average = 6.53 Lower bound = 6.16; Upper bound = 6.90; Definitely important

Mean = 4.41; Lower bound = 3.73; Upper bound = 5.09; May be / Quite possible

17 Retention of duties that you consider to be important

Average = 5.47; Lower bound = 4.79; Upper bound = 6.15; Quite important

Mean = 4.24; Lower bound = 3.57; Upper bound = 4.90; May be / Quite possible

18 New important duties for you Average = 5.29; Lower bound = 4.64; Upper bound = 5.94; Quite important

Mean = 3.82; Lower bound = 3.14; Upper bound = 4.51; May be

19 Maintenance or improvement in your job security

Average = 5.76; Lower bound = 5.00; Upper bound = 6.53; Significantly important

Mean = 4.12; Lower bound = 3.44; Upper bound = 4.79; May be

The following were 2 sets of percentage distribution charts generated from the

responses for Part 1 of the questionnaire displayed in the same sequence as the

listing of the outcomes. The first set of charts were about the importance to the

participants that the corresponding outcome is achieved and the second set of

charts were about the likelihood that the corresponding outcome has or will result

from the ISO9001: 2000 quality system certification.

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Results and analysis for questions from PART 2 of the questionnaire Statement Participant’s response (Degree of

agreement or disagreement) 1 I am very enthusiastic about applying quality principle, doing things

right first time, improving productivity in my organization Mean = 6.35; Lower bound = 5.99; Upper bound = 6.71; Significantly agree

2 I actively encourage others in my organization to take an interest in quality issues

Mean = 5.94; Lower bound = 5.48; Upper bound = 6.40; Agree

3 I am very willing to provide leadership in the area of quality and productivity improvement in my organization

Mean = 5.82; Lower bound = 5.24; Upper bound = 6.41; Agree

The following was a set of percentage distribution charts generated from the responses for Part 2 of the questionnaire displayed in the same sequence as the listing of the statements.

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Results and analysis for questions from PART 3 of the questionnaire Statement of outcome How important is this in

increasing your commitment to quality and productivity improvements?

To what extent does this happen in the organization?

1 Top management in our organization is committed to quality and productivity improvement

Mean = 5.76; Lower bound = 4.88; Upper bound = 6.65; Quite important / Important

Mean = 4.82; Lower bound = 3.89; Upper bound = 5.57; To a little extent / To some extent

2 Top management in our organization provides strong leadership in quality and productivity improvement

Mean = 5.53; Lower bound = 4.92; Upper bound = 6.14; Quite important / Important

Mean = 4.88; Lower bound = 4.14; Upper bound = 5.63; To some extent

3 Top management’s actions clearly show that they support quality and productivity improvement

Mean = 5.76; Lower bound = 5.15; Upper bound = 6.38; Important

Mean = 4.88; Lower bound = 4.03; Upper bound = 5.73; To some extent

4 Top management keeps us informed of their plans regarding quality and productivity improvement

Mean = 5.06; Lower bound = 4.26; Upper bound = 5.86; Quite important

Mean = 4.00; Lower bound = 3.21; Upper bound = 4.79; To a little extent

5 Top management provides useful feedback on how the quality and productivity improvement is going

Mean = 4.88; Lower bound = 4.18; Upper bound = 5.58; Quite important

Mean = 4.11; Lower bound = 3.23; Upper bound = 5.01; To a little extent

6 Top management makes it easy for me to communicate my feelings about quality and productivity improvement to them

Mean = 5.35; Lower bound = 4.63; Upper bound = 6.08; Quite important / Important

Mean = 4.70; Lower bound = 3.82; Upper bound = 5.59; To a little extent / To some extent

7 My direct boss is committed to quality and productivity improvement

Mean = 5.82; Lower bound = 4.91; Upper bound =6.74; Quite important / Important

Mean = 5.35; Lower bound = 4.39; Upper bound = 6.31; To some extent

8 My direct boss encourages and supports my involvement in quality and productivity improvement

Mean = 5.65; Lower bound = 4.74; Upper bound = 6.55; Quite important / Important

Mean = 5.35; Lower bound = 4.38; Upper bound = 6.33; ; To some extent

9 Most of my colleagues support quality and productivity improvement

Mean = 5.65; Lower bound = 4.92; Upper bound = 6.37; Quite important / Important

Mean = 4.58; Lower bound = 3.82; Upper bound = 5.36; To a little extent / To some extent

The following were 2 sets of percentage distribution charts generated from the

responses for Part 3 of the questionnaire displayed in the same sequence as the

listing of the outcomes. The first set of charts were about the importance to the

participants that the corresponding statement of outcome could increase their

commitment to quality and productivity improvements and the second set of charts

were about the extent of the corresponding statement of outcome did happen in the

organisation.

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Results and analysis for questions from PART 4 of the questionnaire Statement Participant’s response (Degree

of agreement or disagreement)1 I feel certain about how much authority I have Mean = 4.71; Lower bound = 3.86;

Upper bound = 5.55; Disagree / Neutral

2 I have clear planned goals and objectives for my job Mean = 5.53; Lower bound = 4.67; Upper bound = 6.38; Neutral / Agree

3 I have to do things that should be done differently Mean = 4.71; Lower bound = 3.92; Upper bound = 5.49; Disagree / Neutral

4 I know I have divided my time properly Mean = 4.94; Lower bound = 4.08; Upper bound = 5.80; Neutral

5 I receive an assignment without the manpower to complete it Mean = 5.00; Lower bound = 4.21; Upper bound = 5.79; Neutral

6 I know what my responsibilities are Mean = 5.94; Lower bound = 5.23; Upper bound = 6.71; Agree

7 I have to buck a rule (bend/break/ignore a rule) or policy in order to carry out an assignment

Mean = 3.88; Lower bound = 2.89; Upper bound = 4.88; Significantly disagree / Disagree

8 I work with two or more groups who operate quite differently Mean = 5.47; Lower bound = 4.58; Upper bound = 6.36; Neutral

9 I know exactly what is expect of me Mean = 5.88; Lower bound = 5.18; Upper bound = 6.58; Agree

10 I receive incompatible requests from two or more people Mean = 4.29; Lower bound = 3.29; Upper bound = 5.30; Disagree

11 I do things which are apt to be acceptable by one person but not accepted by others

Mean = 4.24; Lower bound = 3.30; Upper bound = 5.17; Disagree

12 I receive an assignment without adequate resources and materials to execute it

Mean = 4.41; Lower bound = 3.43; Upper bound = 5.39; Disagree

13 Explanation is clear of what has to be done Mean = 4.65; Lower bound = 3.94; Upper bound = 5.35; Disagree / Neutral

14 I work on unnecessary things Mean = 3.59; Lower bound = 2.72; Upper bound = 4.46; Significantly disagree / Disagree

The following was a set of percentage distribution charts generated from the responses for Part 4 of the questionnaire displayed in the same sequence as the listing of the statements.

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Results and analysis for questions from PART 5 of the questionnaire Statement Participant’s response (Degree of

agreement or disagreement) 1 I am willing to put in a great deal of effort beyond that normally

expected in order to help this organization to be successful Mean = 5.88; Lower bound = 5.31; Upper bound = 6.45; Agree

2 I talk up this organization to my friends as a great organization to work for

Mean = 5.12; Lower bound = 4.16; Upper bound = 6.08; Neutral

3 I feel very little loyalty to this organization Mean = 2.71; Lower bound = 1.63; Upper bound = 3.78; Strongly disagree / Significantly disagree

4 I would accept almost any type of assignment in order to keep working for this organization

Mean = 3.59; Lower bound = 2.61; Upper bound = 4.57; Significantly disagree / disagree

5 I find my values and the organization’s values are very similar Mean = 4.06; Lower bound = 2.99; Upper bound = 5.13; Disagree

6 I am proud to tell others that I am part of this organization Mean = 5.00; Lower bound = 3.92; Upper bound = 6.08; Disagree / Neutral

7 I could just as well be working for a different organization as long as the type of work was similar

Mean = 3.53; Lower bound = 2.58; Upper bound = 4.48; Significantly disagree / disagree

8 This organization really inspires the very best in me in the way of job performance

Mean = 4.41; Lower bound = 3.62; Upper bound = 5.21; Disagree / Neutral

9 It would take very little change in my circumstances to cause me to leave this organization

Mean = 3.18; Lower bound = 2.28; Upper bound = 4.07; Significantly disagree

10 I am extremely glad that I chose this organization to work for over others I was considering at the time I joined

Mean = 5.00; Lower bound = 4.13; Upper bound = 5.87; Neutral

11 There’s not too much to be gained by sticking with this organization indefinitely

Mean = 3.29; Lower bound = 2.27; Upper bound = 4.32; Significantly disagree

12 Often, I find it difficult to agree with this organization’s policies on important matters relating to its employees

Mean = 3.59; Lower bound = 2.59; Upper bound = 4.58; Significantly disagree / Disagree

13 I really care about the fate of this organization Mean = 4.88; Lower bound = 3.75; Upper bound = 6.02; Disagree / Neutral

14 For me this is the best of all possible organizations for which to work Mean = 4.06; Lower bound = 3.06; Upper bound = 5.06; Disagree

15 Deciding to work for this organization was a definite mistake on my part

Mean = 2.82; Lower bound = 1.73; Upper bound = 5.55; Strongly disagree / Significantly disagree

The following was a set of percentage distribution charts generated from the responses for Part 5 of the questionnaire displayed in the same sequence as the listing of the statements.

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Results and analysis for questions from PART 6 of the questionnaire Items that are relevant to

positive impact on organizational culture:-

How important is this in increasing your commitment to quality and productivity improvements?

To what extent does this happen in the organization?

1 People are supported and developed

Mean = 5.94; Lower bound = 5.25; Upper bound = 6.63; Important

Mean = 5.53; Lower bound = 4.53; Upper bound = 6.53; To some extent / To a moderate extent

2 More opportunity for employees at lower levels to get involved in decision making, i.e. Empowerment

Mean = 5.12; Lower bound = 4.18; Upper bound = 6.06; Quite important

Mean = 4.71; Lower bound = 3.60; Upper bound = 5.81; To a little extent / To some extent

3 Rewards (pay, etc.) & recognition based on quality performance

Mean = 5.59; Lower bound = 4.72 Upper bound = 6.46; Quite important / Important

Mean = 5.18; Lower bound = 4.08; Upper bound = 6.27; To some extent

4 Greater accountability for individual’s job performance

Mean = 6.06; Lower bound = 5.37; Upper bound = 6.75; Important

Mean = 5.65; Lower bound = 4.64; Upper bound = 6.66; To some extent / To a moderate extent

5 Believe in people enjoy their work, are creative and embrace change

Mean = 5.29; Lower bound = 4.34; Upper bound = 6.25; Quite important

Mean = 4.88; Lower bound = 3.75; Upper bound = 6.02; To a little extent / To some extent

6 Reduced performance monitoring based on, Self-Directed Team, Self Determination Theory etc.

Mean = 4.82; Lower bound = 4.16; Upper bound = 5.48; Quite important

Mean = 4.41; Lower bound = 3.58; Upper bound = 5.25; To a little extent / To some extent

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7 Lower level employees taking over some of the routine duties

Mean = 4.88; Lower bound = 4.34; Upper bound = 5.42; Quite important

Mean = 4.47; Lower bound = 3.72; Upper bound = 5.22; To a little extent / To some extent

8 Realistic goals are set Mean = 5.82; Lower bound = 5.16; Upper bound = 6.48; Important

Mean = 5.41; Lower bound = 4.45; Upper bound = 6.37; To some extent

9 Personal effort makes a difference Mean = 6.18; Lower bound = 5.62; Upper bound = 6.73; Important / Significantly important

Mean = 5.76; Lower bound = 4.83; Upper bound = 6.70; To some extent / To a moderate extent

10 People are friendly Mean = 6.24; Lower bound = 5.74; Upper bound = 6.73; Important / Significantly important

Mean = 5.82; Lower bound = 4.91; Upper bound = 6.74; To some extent / To a moderate extent

The following were 2 sets of percentage distribution charts generated from the

responses for Part 6 of the questionnaire displayed in the same sequence as the

listing of the outcomes. The first set of charts were about the importance to the

participants that the corresponding statement of outcome could increase their

commitment to quality and productivity improvements and the second set of charts

were about the extent of the corresponding statement of outcome did happen in the

organisation.

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Results and analysis for questions from PART 7 of the questionnaire Statement Participant’s response (Degree

of agreement or disagreement) 1 DMS Moorebank has a strong organizational culture Mean = 4.76; Lower bound = 4.07;

Upper bound = 5.46; Neutral 2 DMS Moorebank has a weak organizational culture Mean = 3.47; Lower bound = 2.58;

Upper bound = 4.36; Significantly disagree / Disagree

3 DMS Moorebank has an organizational culture aligns with its values Mean = 4.41; Lower bound = 3.78; Upper bound = 5.04; Disagree / Neutral

4 DMS Moorebank has a dysfunctional organizational culture Mean = 3.71; Lower bound = 2.71; Upper bound = 4.70; Significantly disagree / Disagree

5 Materiel rewards are more important than recognition, i.e. just saying thank you

Mean = 4.47; Lower bound = 3.54; Upper bound = 5.40; Disagree / Neutral

6 Reward and recognition program is working and is fair Mean = 3.47; Lower bound = 2.60; Upper bound = 4.34; Significantly disagree / Disagree

7 Senior and middle management demonstrate a participative management style

Mean = 4.53; Lower bound = 3.87; Upper bound = 5.19; Disagree / Neutral

8 Appropriate company policies, working condition and salary are hygiene factors only

Mean = 3.76; Lower bound = 3.05; Upper bound = 4.48; Disagree

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9 True motivators are reward and recognition, advancement and personal development

Mean = 4.53; Lower bound = 3.66; Upper bound = 5.40; Disagree / Neutral

10 Senior management plays a vital role in creating, changing the organizational culture

Mean = 5.00; Lower bound = 4.32; Upper bound = 5.68; Neutral

11 On the job training is effectively conducted with coaching and mentoring

Mean = 3.59; Lower bound = 2.72; Upper bound = 4.46; Significantly disagree / Disagree

12 Communications within department is effective Mean = 4.12; Lower bound = 3.23; Upper bound = 5.01; Disagree

13 Inter-department communications is effective Mean = 3.82; Lower bound = 2.84; Upper bound = 4.81; Significantly disagree / Disagree

14 Appraisal and performance review process is working properly Mean = 3.88; Lower bound = 3.09; Upper bound = 4.67; Disagree

15 Employee is generally satisfied with their work Mean = 4.53; Lower bound = 3.76; Upper bound = 5.30; Disagree / Neutral

The following was a set of percentage distribution charts generated from the responses for Part 7 of the questionnaire displayed in the same sequence as the listing of the statements.

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6.3 Qualitative Results

6.3.1 Summary on responses for question no. 1

When asked if the interviewees noticed any changes in the organizational culture in

terms of strength and supportiveness, 21.74 % of the responses were no culture

changes in the timeline between when the interview took place and twelve to twenty-

four months ago depending on the number of years of service the person was with

the company. Coincidentally, the percentage of responses was dead even on 39.13

% from employees interviewed who either claimed they have noticed changes

(continual improvement) in the organizational culture that is strong and supportive

or weak and dysfunctional that was worse than before. The illustrations (typical

examples only) of culture changes over time were shown in Appendix B1.

For those who noticed improvement towards a strong and supportive culture, the

statements made to support this view were mainly:

• Reward and recognition program formalized and working well

• Process improvement in stock/inventory management

• Better understanding of business needs and improvement in knowledge

• Increased awareness and flexibility amongst employees

• Combination of training / team work, empowerment and management

understanding how production environment worked

• More control and visibility and better load sharing

• New people joined and former employees returned had brought with them

enthusiasm, commitment and stronger management

For those who saw the organizational culture weak and dysfunctional that was

worse than before, the statements made to support this view were mainly:

• Demand to be multi-skilled to perform more complicated tasks was not

supported by competency based training

• Massive impact of staff turnover, left without replacement affecting morale

due to lack of resources but expectation by management to fill the gap

• Most staff (except 20% key people) lacked ownership and just passing the

buck

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• Management control too tight, less freedom to act, pushing ahead for volume

while sacrificing quality

• People felt uncomfortable, stressful due to too much pressure from

management

• People felt being talked down by manager, not getting clear direction in

decision making and changing priorities

• Double standard and lack of consistency in following procedures

• HPA/Salmat merger caused uncertainty because there was no clear

direction/plan how the overall outcome would turn out

6.3.2 Summary on responses for question no. 2

This consisted a set of probing questions with the intention to identify how values

and culture were perceived at Salmat Moorebank site through a story telling

exercise based on one developed by McClean and Marshall (1991). Not everyone had

a full story to tell on the specific topic on heroes, villains and fools that addressed all

the questions; almost 70 % (69.6 %) of the employees interviewed had expressed

their point of view. The following summarized how they felt from the writer’s

interpretation (verified with the employees during the interviews) on what was said

about the moral of those stories:

• A complacent, lay-back culture lacking accountability and not taking pride in

own job despite others putting their efforts in to make a difference

• Ineffective change management due to management decision not justified by

factual system review but instead assumption of staff not supporting the

system. A lack of trust and true teamwork that de-motivated people

• Lack of a participative-group culture to enhance employee satisfaction was

evident in the unsuccessful implementation of a large project. The use of

external resources at the design phase and reluctance of internal

stakeholders to speak out, asking questions and pointing out the weaknesses

due to fear of reprisal

• Lack of commitment by some employees who took advantage to do less by not

following procedures when knowing they would not be caught or punished.

Even when mistakes were made, offenders were counselled and/or given

verbal or written warning and that was it. Same mistakes occurred again

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• Changes made with good intention were too drastic and lacking support from

top management

• Culture was seen as negative when it came down to people especially those

who had been with Salmat for a long time. These “old” employees were

perceived as out of touch and just holding on to the past no matter what

• Conflicting values that was inconsistent with the organizational objectives

where service level agreement (on time delivery) was sacrificed by optimizing

operational efficiency in maintaining high volume production and machine

utilization

• Unrealistic expectations from management that resulted in over-commitment

by day shift staff but not achieving the actual objective by night shift. Some

individuals had their own agenda instead of a common goal

• Lack of ownership of some employees of their roles and responsibilities that

did not add value to the business and a blaming culture

• People just emailed to the next person to pass critical and important

information on without actual following up to ensure action was taken to

meet customer need

• Again HPA/Salmat merger was named for the poor planning resulting in

programming support staff moved from Salmat Moorebank site to HPA

Matraville site. Performance to meet client requirements was impacted due to

this change that was seen as a cost-cutting exercise without consideration of

client/employee satisfaction

• One interviewee spoke about people talking down on others, rumours going

around the workplace and people complaining probably due to pressure from

work

On the other hand, there were positive viewpoints raised about the values and

culture from the stories told:

• Some employees were hard working, doing a good job, contributing a great

deal on improvement and good working with people

• Management had better understanding that the “bolts and nuts” of making

money was the people in the organization and culture was more supportive

• Employees felt being treated fairly and that management cared about them,

motivation was good and workplace improved

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• Culture was seen as positive when it came down to people who were new to

Salmat or had returned to work for the company

• One middle manager saw himself as hero having the right skill set and the

courage to make changes and distancing those who did not add values to the

business. He strongly believed that successful change needed confidence,

courage and sacrifice

6.3.3 Summary on responses for question no. 3

The interviewees drew pictures about how they perceived the values and in

particular how well the subcultures were working together. Through the

visualisation of the images shown (representative samples only) in Appendix B2, the

interpretations of such images were verified with the employees during the

interviews.

The portraits of the values and culture at the site during the time of the interviews

were mostly (73.9%) negative. These employees who had negative perceptions

painted pictures such as “rainy days”, “sad faces”, “hitting a brick wall”, “car

missing wheels”, “mushroom”, “pushing hand”, “dust bin” and “interrupted phone

line” to represent the culture of their department and/or another department they

interacted with. The following was a summary of what they had said:

• Too many levels within production operations between Team Leader and

Production Operator where the difference in wages was disproportionate

against the role and responsibilities and people felt unfairly treated

• Lack of job satisfaction and job security due to people made redundant

despite communication by management giving reassurance of no more

redundancy offers

• Due to restructuring, Production Supervisor’s position was replaced or

downgraded to Team Leader as the employees affected saw it. Those

affected felt their supervision skills and efforts they had put into the

organization was wasted as their major role was running the machines.

They no longer enjoyed their work and felt uncertain about the future not

knowing where they stood and what they were doing

• When there were needs and expectations of supports to be provided by

another department, it was like “hitting a brick wall” when people felt there

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was a lack of urgency, commitment and initiative in providing such

supports. Another image drew of a “sloth” had the same metaphor

suggesting slow, very slow, no sense of urgency or care for the client’s work

that described the interviewee’s own department

• Management had the desire to succeed but the means such as

systems/tools were limited. Using the “car missing wheels” analogy, what

was missing were compatible / appropriate platform and software but

people felt they were kept in the dark with plan on technological

improvements. Optimization project was ineffective focused on cost cutting

• People were kept in the dark under the “mushroom”; there was not enough

communications by managers who merely drip fed the minimum amount of

information

• Some departments had working culture that was based on personal

relationship rather than established processes and system procedures,

picking people management liked for promotion that was unfair

• They were pushed to the limit in the name of maximizing efficiency and were

unhappy feeling stress (as illustrated by a “pushing hand” drew by two

machine operators) but staff in other department were under utilized

• They had to deal with tasks dumped over to them by other people or

department that were lacking information and/or just passing the buck.

(This was illustrated by a “dust bin” but there was a positive side to this as

discussed later)

• Ineffective (team member not supportive), laziness (people just did not care),

inconsistent (not following established procedures), lack of ownership /

accountability, lack of directions, lack of motivation for some employee, lack

of passion and people engagement (people themselves were disengaged

through their own faults), rehashing (doing thing over and over again but

not learning from experience) and not pro-active

• Covering up issues just to look good, lack of knowledge, discipline and

understanding of processes and procedures

• Blaming culture and avoidance (of responsibility) for some employees unless

managers were involved resulting in time wasted in the merry-go-round

search on who was the employee responsible

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• Lack of visibility and planning for clear coordination and accountability to

consistently meeting customer needs and achieving organizational goals and

objectives

At the other end of the spectrum, 26% of employees interviewed had positive

perceptions and drew pictures such as “Truck moving in the right direction”,

“Circles bonding together” and “a bag of plaster” to represent the culture of their

department and/or another department they interacted with. The following was a

summary of what they had said:

• Efficient (own department) and moving in the right direction

• Like a family (own department) being together for a long time. They knew

each other’s attitude and personality and knew how to deal with each other.

In general teamwork was good, work practice had improved probably due to

more team communication meetings

• Strength, unity and teamwork as illustrated by the metaphor “Circles

bonding together” (own department) and the people in other department

could be moulded (like “a bag of plaster”) by building rapport with them,

letting them know what benefited them that struck a win-win situation to

the good of the company that worked pretty well

• Strong / diverse base was the metaphor for the team looking after customer

account that was friendly, having fun and stuck together. There were clear

communications and expectations set by middle management

• They were flexible and good in problem-solving and therefore employees in

other department dumped things into their “dust bin”

6.3.4 Summary on responses for question no. 4

The following clues about the organisational culture were gathered during the

interviews using a list of probing questions on critical incidents that the

interviewees had experienced

• Conflicting values (one employee saw himself care more about his clients

than others in servicing customers); laid back, lazy attitude, and no

accountability (this employee had to cover for another team member to

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perform tasks to meet a client requirement that was part of the team

member’s role)

• Not a quality-oriented culture (Operator not accepting positive feedback

when non-compliance on a job was reported by quality officer and got

defensive and angry; not enough communications from manager to operator

that quality officer was there to help, not policing)

• Non-supportive culture (Operator ran a job following proper work

instructions provided and okayed by Team Leader / Manager still took the

blame when non-conformance found and Team Leader / Manager not

supporting the operator)

• Authoritative culture that lacked quality focus ( Operator was instructed by

Team Leader / Manager to run jobs that he reported as having incorrect

work instructions; he was also instructed by Team Leader / Manager to run

jobs with machine speed too high to allow for proper quality checking and

there was no freedom to express his feeling, no empowerment)

• Disengaging people with values not aligned with the organisational

objectives (Some employees were labelled as incompetent who did not make

any efforts at all to make sure quality work was performed, leaving the

company exposed to financial loss; they had no will to change or improve)

• Lack of team spirit and unclear goal (Some employees tried to cover their

own backs having their own objectives and not working as a team)

• Dysfunctional subculture of complaining employees (Group of employees

telling story about the company, its people and other groups, gossiping,

complaining and venting negative thoughts trying to get support but making

other people felt miserable)

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6.3.5 Summary on responses for question no. 5

By asking the interviewees to try to force their memory back to their first

impressions of the organisation, it was intended to make the cultural values visible

that they had already accepted. Although one might argued that the employee

interviewed probably joined Salmat many years ago and the cultural values

identified was historical rather that current, it still provided a comparison from this

starting point to the present time (during the interview) that gave us some hints in

the understanding of the journey thought the changes in organisational culture.

Based on the perception of the cultural values from memory of the employees

interviewed regarding the work practices, work relationship, teamwork, values and

priorities, about 40% responded it was better whereas roughly the same percentage

responded the reverse and the response of the remaining 20% was neutral. The

same split was noticed amongst how interviewees felt the organisational culture was

changing for the better or the worse. It coincided with the results from question

number 1 when asked if the interviewees noticed any changes in the organizational

culture in terms of strength and supportiveness.

6.4 Summary of Hypotheses Test Outcomes

Attitude towards the ISO9001: 2000 Quality Management System

Hypothesis H1: Employees generally believe that implementation of ISO9001: 2000

management system is important in creating / maintaining productivity and quality

oriented culture.

By considering the quantitative results only, the Null Hypothesis in this case was

the overall samples mean of numerical value less than 4 that was equivalent to the

response of “Quite important”. As per the results tabled for Part 1, the actual

overall sample means (taking into account responses for all statements) were from

4.64 to 6.95 (being the lower and upper limits at a confidence interval of 95%), i.e.

equal to or greater than 4. Therefore, the Null Hypothesis was rejected and taking

consideration of the results from exploratory interviews, this case study results

suggested that the above Hypothesis H1 was supported. See also the discussion of

results per 7.1.1.

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Management Commitment and Leadership

Hypothesis H2: Employees generally believe that strong management commitment

and leadership is important in creating / maintaining productivity and quality

oriented culture.

By considering the quantitative results only, the Null Hypothesis in this case was

the overall samples mean of numerical value less than 4 that was equivalent to the

response of “Quite important”. As per the results tabled for Part 3, the actual

overall sample means (taking into account responses for all statements) were from

4.18 to 5.15 (being the lower and upper limits at a confidence interval of 95%), i.e.

equal to or greater than 4. Therefore, the Null Hypothesis was rejected and taking

consideration of the results from exploratory interviews, this case study results

suggested that the above Hypothesis H2 was supported. See also the discussion of

results per 7.1.2.

Participative Management, Reward and Recognition System

Hypothesis H3: Employees generally believe that promoting participative management

and a fair reward and recognition system are important in creating / maintaining

productivity and quality oriented culture.

Human Resources Policy and Management

Hypothesis H4: Employees generally believe that implementation of Human Resources

Policy and Management based on the human resources school approach is important

in creating / maintaining productivity and quality oriented culture.

By considering the quantitative results only, the Null Hypothesis in this case was

the overall samples mean of numerical value less than 4 that was equivalent to the

response of “Quite important”. As per the results tabled for Part 6, the actual

overall sample means (taking into account responses for all statements) were from

4.18 to 6.75 (being the lower and upper limits at a confidence interval of 95%), i.e.

equal to or greater than 4. Therefore, the Null Hypothesis was rejected and taking

consideration of the results from exploratory interviews, this case study results

suggested that both the Hypothesis H3 and H4 were supported. See also the

discussion of results per 7.1.3 and 7.1.4.

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Chapter Seven – Discussion of Results

In this chapter the results will be discussed in relation to the overall research

question i.e. what factors are important that influence organizational culture

regarding orientation to improvement in quality and productivity, and the various

hypotheses outlined in Chapter 4 will be addressed. The results of this research will

also be compared to the published (internally only within Salmat) of the Hewitt

culture and engagement survey conducted between November and December 2006

by Salmat (using Hewitt Associates - Human Synergistics Australia as consultant) at

the corporate level that covered DMS and two other divisions. The results relating

to other important issues and those in relation to other research questions listed in

Section 5.6 of Chapter 5 will also be discussed.

The ISO9001: 2000 Quality Management System implementation and certification

was identified, based on the quantitative results, as one of the important factors

that influence the organisational culture and quite possibly, quality improvement

and a culture of continuous improvement had resulted from its implementation.

Other important factors identified were listed below:

• Top management’s action clearly show that they support quality and

productivity improvement

• Top management provides strong leadership in quality and productivity

improvement

• People are supported and developed

• Greater accountability for individual’s job performance

• Realistic goals are set

• Personal effort makes a difference

• People are friendly

Although the research study participants were not asked direct questions during the

exploratory interviews what factors they reckoned were important that could

influence the organisational culture to quality and productivity oriented, their

responses during the interviews on why they felt positive or negative about the

values and culture were used to interpret and gauge what the important factors

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were. These qualitative results were believed to have enabled a broader and deeper

understanding of how people felt about the organisation. The most important

factors, based on the most frequently talked about issues related to such factors,

were human resource policy and management that creates self-actualizing,

humanistic and motivational styles of culture. This was supported by participants

who had either addressed ineffective competency based training, employee

development; team building and lack of empowerment as the issues why they

perceived the culture as dysfunctional, or participants who felt improvements had

been made in these areas that they believed the culture had changed for the better.

Other important factors identified were listed below:

• People with enthusiasm, commitment and strong management

• Participative-group culture that enhance employee satisfaction

• Support from top management

• Human resource management policy that is fair, caring and motivates

• Effective communications from top down and bottom up that promote the

core vision and values of the organisation

• Reward and recognition program formalized and worked well

By consolidating the quantitative and qualitative results, it was apparent that the

findings here fitted in categorically into the conceptual framework established using

the Cause and Effect diagram (Figure 4.1) in Chapter 4 where the four categories

(the causes) listed below could “drive” the outcome of a productivity and quality

oriented culture (the effects).

1. ISO9001: 2000 Quality Management System

2. Management Commitment & Leadership

3. Participative Management, Reward & Recognition System

4. Human Resources Policy & Management

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7.1 Results addressing main hypotheses

In this section the results relating the main hypotheses of the research were

discussed in more details drawing in exploratory interview findings additional to the

quantitative results reported as per 6.4 Summary of Hypotheses Test Outcomes.

7.1.1 Attitude towards the ISO9001: 2000 Quality Management System

Participants generally believed that internal communications, top management

commitment, support and leadership as well as human resources management were

important factors in creating or changing the culture to be oriented in quality and

productivity improvement. These were essentially part of the generic processes that

made up the two main processes of the ISO9001: 2000 Quality Management System

Standard namely, management responsibility and resource management. The

standard is process-based comprising four main processes, product realization and

measurement, analysis and improvement being the other two main processes.

People who were critical to ISO9001 Quality Management System had been arguing

that it was too bureaucratic (particularly the 1994 or earlier versions that was

clause/element based) and that its system and process control approach only

facilitated the consistency of product or services but not necessarily good quality

and services, not to mention quality and productivity improvements or creating,

change the culture towards this end. Even the 2000 version of the standard (latest

version is 2008 with only minor amendments) that had improved with process based

model and continual improvement approach, a few participants were still sceptical

that the system merely ensured the processes were there but it was unlikely that

there were any positive effects on actual support, leadership, commitment and

communications from top management.

Since values and culture were about how people felt and their thoughts and

behaviour, it was the people in the organization who made the difference in creating

and changing the culture and establishing values and believes. However, the

research results did show support that the processes established through the

implementation and certification of the management system provided the foundation

for the organization like the “hardware” but it required the “software” to drive it.

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7.1.2 Management Commitment and Leadership

Participants generally believed that besides top management leadership, support,

and commitment; their direct boss (Team Leaders or Managers) commitment to

quality and productivity improvement too were important factors in creating or

changing the culture to be oriented in quality and productivity improvement. This

was supported by responses from participants of their perception that new

management team members had brought with them enthusiasm, commitment and

stronger management; management had better understanding that the “bolts and

nuts” of making money was the people in the organization and culture was more

supportive.

7.1.3 Participative Management, Reward and Recognition System

Participants generally believed that participative management and reward and

recognition system were important factors in creating or changing the culture to be

oriented in quality and productivity improvement. However, the reward and

recognition system must be formalized, fair and consistent. This was supported by

responses from participants that they felt being treated fairly and that management

cared about them, motivation was good and workplace improved. In order to

sustain the benefits it brought to the organization, negative reinforcement (or

punishment) unfortunately had to be applied and responses from a few participants

suggested that counselling, verbal or written warnings were issued but not effective

since mistakes reoccurred.

The importance of participative management was supported by responses from

participants of their perception that management understood how production

environment worked with the combination of training, team work and

empowerment; the need to promote and improve participative-group culture to

enhance employee satisfaction, catalyst for a quality oriented culture with satisfied

employees who more likely wanted to do better rather than an authoritative culture

that lacked quality focus but emphases on quantity instead. Another important

factor pointed out by the participants was building up trust and true team work

that motivate people.

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7.1.4 Human Resources Policy and Management

Participants generally believed that human resource policy and management that

created self-actualizing, humanistic and motivational styles of culture were

important factors in creating or changing the culture to be oriented in quality and

productivity improvement. However, policy for employees to be multi-skilled must

be supported by the availability of effective competency based training. Also, an

appraisal and performance review process that worked properly and the

establishment of appropriate terms and conditions including wages for different job

position levels was important as there were claims from participants that there were

too many levels within production operations between Team Leader and Production

Operator where the difference in wages was disproportionate against the role and

responsibilities and people felt unfairly treated.

The importance human resource policy and management was supported by the

perception of participants that strong teamwork had struck a win-win situation to

the good of the company that worked pretty well and there were clear

communications and expectations set by middle management. Other participants

felt that on-the-job training was not effectively conducted with coaching and

mentoring. However, the offering of redundancy packages, especially it happened

again after management gave reassurance of no more redundancy offers was seen to

be impacting negatively on the morale of employees and some participants felt lack

of job satisfaction and job security.

7.2 Findings related to important others

According to the responses from Part 2 of the questionnaire, the participants

generally agreed or even significantly agreed to the following statements about how

they thoughts and behaviours towards quality and productivity improvements:

• I am very enthusiastic about applying quality principle, doing things right

first time, improving productivity in my organization

• I actively encourage others in my organization to take an interest in quality

issues

• I am very willing to provide leadership in the area of quality and productivity

improvement in my organization

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These findings about employees generally had such thought and believe system that

aligned with a quality and productivity improvement culture supported the ideas of

employee contributions towards organizational performance based on intrinsic

human needs as a major driving force as well as other external factors such as

influences by peers and managers. These were related to Maslow’s hierarchy of

needs on self-actualization, the self-determination theory and social comparison

theory. Since this findings were based on how participants thought about

themselves and there were possibilities of overstating. The most obvious difficulty in

gathering valid cultural data was a well-known phenomenon: human subjects

involved in research have a tendency either to resist and hide data that they feel

defensive about or to exaggerate to impress the researcher.

According to the results from Part 4 of the questionnaire, the participants generally

responded neutrally and shifted to disagree with the following statements:

• I feel certain about how much authority I have

• Explanation is clear of what has to be done

The implications from these feeling and perception would have been resulted in the

lack of accountability or commitment by employees having management

responsibilities as they were unaware and uncertain about their authorities and

therefore not able to act appropriately towards the company objectives. The inability

to provide concise and complete instructions and/or information reflected the

ineffectiveness in internal communications.

Another important issue identified during the exploratory interviews was the impact

from the HPA/Salmat merger that unfolded from end of 2007 and the merging

processes still went on at the time of this research in July 2008. There was no

doubt and probably no need to refer to the research results that culture changes

were more than likely to occur when two different organizations, being competitors

before with different cultures and subcultures, merged together and formed a single

entity. This was supported by participants saying that HPA/Salmat merger caused

uncertainty because there was no clear direction/plan how the overall outcome

would turn out; planning was poor resulting in programming support staff moved

from Salmat Moorebank site to HPA Matraville site and as a result, performance to

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meet client requirements was impacted. The move was seen as a cost-cutting

exercise without consideration of client/employee satisfaction.

7.3 Comparison of this research results against the published Hewitt culture and

engagement survey results that covered DMS Moorebank site.

In order to provide the audiences a better understanding of the comparison that

followed, an explanation on the methodology and presentation format of the Hewitt

culture and engagement survey was included in Appendix C. It explained the use of

a “circumplex” to represent a synthesis of a collection of seminal contributions on

human thinking and behaviour. The presentation of results on the Hewitt culture

and engagement survey conducted by Hewitt Associates at Salmat in 2006 was

included in Appendix D. It also showed the preferred and actual culture study

results within Australia and New Zealand for the period 1994-2005 that was

included in the comparison.

Comparison between OZ/NZ preferred culture and results of this research

OZ/NZ Preferred Culture 1994-2005

(Extracted from presentation of the

results of this Hewitt culture and

engagement survey)

Organisational Culture study conducted

in Salmat Moorebank site in July 2008

(Extracted from responses to statements

in Part 6 of the questionnaire and

responses from exploratory interviews)

Ideal Culture (Constructive styles)

• People are supported and developed

• People enjoy their work, are creative

and embrace change

Actual Culture (suggested by the results)

• To some or moderate extent, people

were supported and developed

• Need for multi-skilled not supported

by effective competency based

training

• To a little or some extent, people

enjoyed their work, were creative

and embraced change

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Comparison between OZ/NZ preferred culture and results of this research

OZ/NZ Preferred Culture 1994-2005

(Extracted from presentation of the

results of this Hewitt culture and

engagement survey)

Organisational Culture study conducted

in Salmat Moorebank site in July 2008

(Extracted from responses to statements

in Part 6 of the questionnaire and

responses from exploratory interviews)

• People enjoy their work, are creative

and embrace change

• Realistic goals are set

• Those affected by changes due to

re-structuring no longer enjoyed

their work and felt uncertain about

the future

• To some extent, realistic goals were

set

• Unrealistic expectation from

management resulted in over-

commitment but objectives missed

• Personal effort makes a difference

• People are friendly

• To some or moderate extent,

personal effort made a difference

• Employee had to cover the task not

done by another to meet client’s

need

• To some or moderate extent, people

were friendly

Based on the above comparison, the current research study results suggested that

the perceived thinking and behaviour of people in the workplace that basically

reflected its culture and values matched relatively close to the preferred / ideal

culture (constructive styles that is self-actualizing and humanistic encouraging) in

terms of personal contribution, support and development and friendliness in the

workplace except that more work will be required in ensuring the effectiveness of

competency based training. This point was identified in 2.3 Critical Literature

Review that training was crucial to provide the employees of a changing organization

to acquire the necessary skills, attitudes, etc. and to be motivated to change their

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behaviours in the transformation of the organizational culture to a strong and

functional one.

Comparison between OZ/NZ actual culture and results of this research

OZ/NZ Actual Culture 1994-2005

(Extracted from presentation of the

results of this Hewitt culture and

engagement survey)

Organisational Culture study conducted

in Salmat Moorebank site in July 2008

(Extracted from responses from

exploratory interviews)

Culture styles (Aggressive/Defensive)

• Be critical, oppose new ideas

• Avoid responsibility

• Blame others for mistakes

• Work against each other, play

politics

• Avoid all mistakes, work long hours

• Conform, follow the rules, maintain

status quo: “The way things have

always been done around here”

Actual Culture (suggested by the results)

• Employee opposed new ideas as

part of system changes could have

been resulted from ineffective

change management when they

were not opposing just any ideas for

the sake of be critical all the time

• Avoidance and lack of ownership,

accountability commitment

• Blaming culture

• Perception of a subculture of “old

employees” being out-of-touch and

holding on to the past no matter

what; my department was better

than your department mentality

• Some employees were hard-working

doing a good job, contributing a

great deal on improvement but on

the other hand, mistakes were

rehashing

• More control and visibility but still

lacking consistency in following

procedures

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The comparison above suggested some general similarities between the two research

results in particular the perception of avoidance, oppositional mentality and the

blaming culture. In the current study, ineffective change management process and

sub-cultures with values non-aligning to the organisational objectives were

identified as the underlying issues. Again the impacts on an organisations caused

by subcultures were discussed in the chapter on literature review and it also

identified that it was important to have strong management leadership in creating

changes to re-align the values of such subgroups towards the core values and

visions of the company.

Comparison between survey results at Moorebank site 2006 and this research

BPO - Moorebank Culture 2006

(Extracted from presentation of the

results of this Hewitt culture and

engagement survey)

Organisational Culture study conducted

in Salmat Moorebank site in July 2008

(Extracted from responses from

exploratory interviews)

Culture styles (Avoidance/Oppositional)

• Mistakes are punished

• Responsibility shifted to others

• Avoid any possibility of being

blamed for problems/errors

• Confrontation prevails

• Negativism is rewarded

Actual Culture (suggested by the results)

• Counselling, verbal or written

warnings were issued but not

effective since mistakes reoccurred

• Lack of ownership, accountability,

commitment; just passing the buck

• Covering up issues just to look good

• No evidence from the responses to

suggest this as a common issue

• No evidence from the responses to

suggest this as a common issue

The Hewitt culture and engagement survey was conducted at Salmat Moorebank

site in November 2006 whereas this organisational culture study was conducted in

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July 2008. The comparison of the research findings above provided a snap shot

view of any culture changes between the two points in time about 20 months apart.

It suggested that the avoidance style remained unchanged while some changes were

likely to have happened as there were no compelling evidences from this research

that suggested thinking or behaviours such as confrontation prevailed or negativism

was rewarded. This impression fitted quite well with the responses to the first

question of the exploratory interviews on the perception in organisational culture

change. Based on the average responses of participants to Part 7 of the

questionnaire regarding the strength (not weak but not so strong) of the culture and

whether it aligned with the corporate value or not (inconclusive – response was

neutral), the results seemed to reinforce the believe mentioned in the literature

review that culture changes could occur over time (possibly in a positive way in this

case) due to management leadership changes to steer the organisation (not so

strong in culture strength) back from non-aligning values.

7.4 Other research questions

The results relating to other research questions listed in Section 5.6 of Chapter 5

were discussed as follows:

7.4.1 Organizational culture in Salmat Moorebank site

According to the results from Part 7 of the questionnaire relating directly to

organizational culture, the participants generally disagreed/significantly disagreed

with the statement that DMS Moorebank has a weak/dysfunctional culture but

responded neutrally to or disagreed with the statements that DMS Moorebank has a

strong culture and an organizational culture aligns with its value. Results from the

interviews showed 20% of participants saw no changes, 40% saw changes towards

stronger/more supportive culture whereas 40% saw just the opposite. (See

Appendix B1) These results suggested that the organizational culture at Salmat

Moorebank site was neither weak and dysfunctional nor strong and aligned with its

value. This was not a bad situation as opportunities existed to continue to shape

the values to bring about a stronger and more supportive culture provided a

genuine desire was there for the top management to be committed, truly supportive,

engaging people with quality leadership and making use of an effective reward and

recognition system to motivate employees and improve ownership and

accountability.

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7.4.2 Employee motivation in support of productivity and quality improvement and

improving human resources management to promote positive behaviour

According to the results from Part 6 of the questionnaire asking participant to rate

the importance of factors that could increase their commitment to quality and

productivity improvements, the following list was put together that was rated from

quite important to significantly important:

• People are supported and developed

• More opportunity for employees at lower levels to get involved in decision

making, i.e. Empowerment

• Rewards (pay, etc.) & recognition based on quality performance

• Greater accountability for individual’s job performance

• Believe in people enjoy their work, are creative and embrace change

• Reduced performance monitoring based on, Self-Directed Team, Self

Determination Theory etc.

• Lower level employees taking over some of the routine duties

• Realistic goals are set

• Personal effort makes a difference

• People are friendly

These important factors essentially fitted into the “sub-causes” that contributed to

the “main causes’ identified in the Cause and Effect diagram (Figure 4.1) in order to

achieve the “effect” of productivity and quality oriented culture. These “sub-causes”

were:

• Training and knowledge management build in for career development

• Agenda for people involvement explained to all employees on benefits

• A reward and recognition system separate from salary package and is fair

• Using the human resources school approach to maximize employee’s

contribution

• Develop team, promote teamwork and provide training in tools for business

improvement

• Promote Quality of Work Life and apply theories of motivation

• JIT training to ensure skill learned could be practiced with coaching and 360°

appraisal

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7.4.3 Building a strong culture to promote ownership and accountability

In order to create or change the organizational culture so that it becomes stronger

and more supportive to promote ownership and accountability, the most important

task for the management as suggested from the research results from Part 4 of the

questionnaire was to ensure employees to be fully aware and be certain about their

responsibilities and authorities. Although these responsibilities and authorities had

been documented as part of the requirements of the ISO9001: 2000 management

systems standard, there were grey areas and gaps that needed to be clarified to

promote the compliance and discipline in having ownership and accountability.

Those employees having management responsibility needed to have two way

communications with the subordinates to ensure their direct reports had full

awareness of their responsibilities and authorities. The next important action to be

taken again as suggested from the research results from Part 4 of the questionnaire

was to ensure employees were provided concise and complete instructions and/or

information to perform their responsibilities taking ownership and accountability

that was clear to them. To reinforce the ownership and the discipline to have them

held accountable, an effective and fair reward and recognition system (with negative

reinforcement) had to be working hand in hand with an effective and fair

performance appraisal program to achieve employee satisfaction.

To build a strong culture that aligned with the values and visions of the

organization, top management has to lead the way and show clearly they are taking

actions that they support quality and productivity improvement. Top management

has to lead by example to facilitate effective communications from top down and

bottom up that promote the core vision and values of the organisation and promote

ownership and accountability.

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Chapter Eight – Conclusions and Recommendations 8.1 Conclusions

The research supported the position taken that in order to influence organizational

culture regarding orientation to improvement in quality and productivity, the

implementation and certification of ISO9001:2000 quality management systems is

important as a foundation for the organization to establish processes that drive

continual improvements on the tasks and activities involved in the important factors

identified in this research. (See Section 7.1.1 of the Discussion of Results) The

important factors that influence organizational culture regarding orientation to

improvement in quality and productivity fitted in categorically well with the four

main causes listed in the Cause and Effect Diagram (Figure 4.1 of the Conceptual

Framework and Hypotheses) with the effect being a productivity and quality oriented

culture. These four main categories are ISO9001: 2000 Quality Management

System, Management Commitment and Leadership, Participative Management,

Reward and Recognition System, and Human Resources Policy and Management.

The ISO9001: 2000 quality management system provided the foundation for

establishing processes for the activities involved in these four main categories of

important factors including the setting up of the system itself. It is important that

the commitment and support by management at all level for quality and productivity

improvements are demonstrated to the whole organisation from top down through

actions and leading by example. Communications are made company-wide on

business plans and objectives of key projects for participative consultation and

involve local expertise in making decisions on solutions.

It is important that those employees having management responsibility to have two

way communications with the subordinates to ensure their direct reports have full

awareness of their responsibilities and authorities. Effective communications from

top down and bottom up that promote the core vision and values of the

organisation, and provide concise and complete instructions and/or information to

perform their responsibilities taking ownership and accountability that is clear to

them. To reinforce the ownership and the discipline to have them held accountable,

an effective and fair reward and recognition system (with negative reinforcement)

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has to be working hand in hand with an effective and fair performance appraisal

program to achieve employee satisfaction. Its importance is supported by the idea

revealed in the Literature Review Chapter that ‘Change in the reward and

punishment system is also one of the quickest and easiest ways to begin to change

some elements of the culture.’ (Schein 2004)

Participative management is important for the production environment to work

effectively and efficiently with the combination of training, team work and

empowerment; the need to promote and improve participative-group culture to

enhance employee satisfaction, catalyst for a quality oriented culture with satisfied

employees who more likely wanted to do better rather than an authoritative culture

that lacked quality focus but emphases on quantity instead. It is very important to

build up trust and true team work that motivate people; research results suggested

the people are willing to put in the efforts in contributions towards organizational

performance as supported by intrinsic human needs related to Maslow’s hierarchy

of needs on self-actualization, the self-determination theory and social comparison

theory but they need motivation to act.

Another important factor is about training. The policy for employees to be multi-

skilled has to be supported by the availability of effective competency based training.

The research suggested that it is also important to maintain an effective on-the-job

training conducted with coaching and mentoring. The importance of training is

supported by the discussion in 2.3 Critical Literature Review that it is crucial to

provide the employees of a changing organization to acquire the necessary skills,

attitudes, etc. and to be motivated to change their behaviours in the transformation

of the organizational culture to a strong and functional one. Training and

knowledge management build in for career development. Personal development is

particular important because the research suggest that personal effort makes a

different in achieving the company objectives and meeting customer needs. But in

order to achieve the goals and objectives with confidence that can be sustainable, it

is important to set realistic goals and objectives to minimize the stress and pressure

on the employees.

The research study results suggested that the organizational culture at Salmat

Moorebank site is not weak and dysfunctional. By comparing previous culture and

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engagement survey conducted (See Section 7.3 of the Discussion of Results) with

this research, it is suggested that there has been positive changes towards a

stronger and more supportive culture. However, the prevailing culture, due to

isolated subcultures, is not fully align with the stated vision and values due to the

perception of a blaming culture, the lack of ownership and accountability and other

factors identified in this research. The HPA/Salmat merger is one of these factors

too. This is an opportunity for the top management to take on board the important

factors identified in this research to shape the values in bringing about a stronger

and more supportive culture oriented for quality and productivity improvements.

8.2 Recommendations to the management

This research has identified a number of topics that warrant further study. In the

following section these topics are described together with an explanation of their

relevance based on the results of this research.

The original research design involved a second sample of 12 to 16 employees to be

interviewed in two separate focus groups (6 to 8 people per group) as a “member

check” based on the results of the preliminary analysis of the research responses

(Guba, 1981). However, due to an unforeseen and unplanned event, this was not

done. Therefore, the recommendation is to have this “member check” completed

and the research paper revised with the additional information gathered for an

audience of company executives provided the management has further interests

after receipt of this Dissertation.

The main research question here is about identifying the important factors that

influence the organizational culture to be oriented in quality and productivity

improvements but there are no details as to how the important factors identified

could be put into action. The next and final recommendation is to have a

comprehensive investigation of the use and impact of various kinds of reward and

recognition programs being used and investigate in more detail issues relating to the

effectiveness of competency based training. The findings from these further studies

can then be presented to the management for implementation to help shaping the

values in bringing about a stronger and more supportive culture oriented for quality

and productivity improvements.

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Appendix A

Final version of questionnaire

SURVEY OF EMPLOYEES’ PERCEPTION ON The Nottingham Trent University, UK WHAT ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

CHANGES COULD DRIVE QUALITY AND PRODUCTIVITY I would be most grateful if you could spare the time to participate in this survey which is a vital part of my Masters Dissertation research project leading to MSc in Quality Engineering. A number of colleagues from Document Management Solutions in Moorebank are participating. Note that your participation is on a totally voluntary basis. The survey and associated interview takes approximately 45 minutes to complete. PURPOSE OF THIS SURVEY To improve our understanding of the existing organizational culture and identify the factors that influences it for DMS Moorebank to continual improvement in quality and productivity. WHO SHOULD FILL IN THE QUESTIONNAIRE? Your views are sought as to how you see the existing organizational culture in DMS Moorebank and what you perceive as the important factors from a process-owner view point that could change this culture to bring about quality and productivity improvement. CONFIDENTIALITY Reporting back to the management and publishing the research findings externally will be on a collective basis. Your responses will be confidential to myself and will not be used in any way that would identify you. As a senior member of the American Society for Quality and a founding member of the Chartered Quality Institute, I will carry out this project in accordance with the applicable code of ethics laid down by these professional bodies. IF YOU WANT MORE INFORMATION I would be pleased to discuss any aspect of the questionnaire with you or the research project in general or provide you with a summary of the results of the research. Please contact myself at the email address or telephone number given below. INSTRUCTIONS Detailed instructions are given at the start of each section. Most questions require you to indicate on a scale of 1 to 7, the strength of your belief or your opinion of a statement or to tick an appropriate box. Please try to complete all relevant sections of the questionnaire beforehand. During a pre-booked appointment, either face-to-face or via telephone, I will check that responses to all questions are completed, and conduct interview to collect feedback to the open questions with answer options available and make sure interviewer keeps to a script. The completed questionnaire will be collected at the conclusion of the interview. Thank you very much for your cooperation. Researcher: My Dissertation Supervisor is:

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Christopher Cheng Dr. John Disney Business Systems Manager NSW Programme Leader Salmat Document Management Solutions Nottingham Business School Direct Line: (02) 9612 8386 Direct Line: +44 115 848 8688 Email: christopher.cheng@salmat.com.au Email: john.disney@ntu.ac.uk PART 1. For each outcome statement indicate how important is it to you personally that this outcome is achieved and how likely you think this has resulted or will result from the ISO9001: 2000 quality system certification by marking an appropriate number on each scale.

How important is it to you personally that this outcome is achieved?

How likely is it that this outcome has or will result from the ISO9001: 2000 quality system certification?

Outcome The ISO9001: 2000 quality system certification has or will result in:

Not important at all

Very important

Very unlikely

Very likely

1 Improved quality of our products and services

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

2 Improved competitiveness 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 3 Improved company long term

survival prospects 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 Improved relationships with our customers

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 Improved interdepartmental cooperation

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Improved relationships with our suppliers

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

7 Significant reduction in “red tape” and bureaucracy

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 More emphasis on long term planning

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 Less overreacting to short term goals

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 Improved communication throughout the organization

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

11 Improved processes and procedures throughout the organization

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 A culture of continuous improvement throughout the organization

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 Maintaining or enhancing your position in the organization

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 Maintaining or enhancing your status in the organization

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 Improved chances of promotion for you

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

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16 An increase in your overall job satisfaction

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

17 Retention of duties that you consider to be important

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

18 New important duties for you 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

19 Maintenance or improvement in your job security

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

PART 2. Please indicate the degree to which you agree or disagree with each of the statements below by marking an appropriate number on the scale. Statement strongly

disagree strongly

agree1 I am very enthusiastic about applying quality principle, doing things

right first time, improving productivity in my organization 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

2 I actively encourage others in my organization to take an interest in quality issues

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

3 I am very willing to provide leadership in the area of quality and productivity improvement in my organization

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

PART 3. Please indicate how important each item is in increasing your commitment to quality and productivity improvements and the extent that it happens in the organization.

How important is this in increasing your commitment to quality and productivity improvements?

To what extent does this happen in the organization? Item

Not important at all

Very important

Not at all

To a great extent

1 Top management in our organization is committed to quality and productivity improvement

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

2 Top management in our organization provides strong leadership in quality and productivity improvement

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

3 Top management’s actions clearly show that they support quality and productivity improvement

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 Top management keeps us informed of their plans regarding quality and productivity

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

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improvement 5 Top management provides useful

feedback on how the quality and productivity improvement is going

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Top management makes it easy for me to communicate my feelings about quality and productivity improvement to them

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

7 My direct boss is committed to quality and productivity improvement

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 My direct boss encourages and supports my involvement in quality and productivity improvement

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 Most of my colleagues support quality and productivity improvement

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

PART 4. With respect to your own feelings about working for this organization please indicate the degree of your agreement or disagreement with each of the statements by marking an appropriate number on the scale Statement strongly

disagree strongly

agree1 I feel certain about how much authority I have 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

2 I have clear planned goals and objectives for my job 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

3 I have to do things that should be done differently 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 I know I have divided my time properly 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I receive an assignment without the manpower to complete it 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 I know what my responsibilities are 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

7 I have to buck a rule (bend/break/ignore a rule) or policy in order to carry out an assignment

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 I work with two or more groups who operate quite differently 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 I know exactly what is expect of me 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 I receive incompatible requests from two or more people 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

11 I do things which are apt to be acceptable by one person but not accepted by others

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 I receive an assignment without adequate resources and materials to execute it

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 Explanation is clear of what has to be done 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

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14 I work on unnecessary things 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

PART 5. With respect to your own feelings about working for this organization please indicate the degree of your agreement or disagreement with each of the statements by marking an appropriate number on the scale Statement strongly

disagree strongly

agree1 I am willing to put in a great deal of effort beyond that normally

expected in order to help this organization to be successful 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

2 I talk up this organization to my friends as a great organization to work for

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

3 I feel very little loyalty to this organization 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 I would accept almost any type of assignment in order to keep working for this organization

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 I find my values and the organization’s values are very similar 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 I am proud to tell others that I am part of this organization 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

7 I could just as well be working for a different organization as long as the type of work was similar

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 This organization really inspires the very best in me in the way of job performance

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 It would take very little change in my circumstances to cause me to leave this organization

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 I am extremely glad that I chose this organization to work for over others I was considering at the time I joined

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

11 There’s not too much to be gained by sticking with this organization indefinitely

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 Often, I find it difficult to agree with this organization’s policies on important matters relating to its employees

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13 I really care about the fate of this organization 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 For me this is the best of all possible organizations for which to work 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 Deciding to work for this organization was a definite mistake on my part

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

PART 6. Please indicate how important each item is in increasing your commitment to quality and productivity improvements and the extent that it happens in the organization.

How important is this in increasing your commitment to quality and productivity improvements?

To what extent does this happen in the organization? Items that are relevant to

positive impact on organizational culture:-

Not important at all

Very important

Not at all

To a great extent

1 People are supported and 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

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developed 2 More opportunity for employees

at lower levels to get involved in decision making, i.e. Empowerment

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

3 Rewards (pay, etc.) & recognition based on quality performance

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 Greater accountability for individual’s job performance

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 Believe in people enjoy their work, are creative and embrace change

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Reduced performance monitoring based on, Self-Directed Team, Self Determination Theory etc.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

7 Lower level employees taking over some of the routine duties

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 Realistic goals are set 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 Personal effort makes a difference 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

10 People are friendly 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

PART 7. With respect to your own feelings about working for this organization please indicate the degree of your agreement or disagreement with each of the statements by marking an appropriate number on the scale Statement strongly

disagree strongly

agree1 DMS Moorebank has a strong organizational culture 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

2 DMS Moorebank has a weak organizational culture 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

3 DMS Moorebank has an organizational culture aligns with its values 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4 DMS Moorebank has a dysfunctional organizational culture 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

5 Materiel rewards are more important than recognition, i.e. just saying thank you

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

6 Reward and recognition program is working and is fair 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

7 Senior and middle management demonstrate a participative management style

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 Appropriate company policies, working condition and salary are hygiene factors only

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

9 True motivators are reward and recognition, advancement and personal development

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

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10 Senior management plays a vital role in creating, changing the organizational culture

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

11 On the job training is effectively conducted with coaching and mentoring

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

12 Communications within department is effective 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 13 Inter-department communications is effective 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

14 Appraisal and performance review process is working properly 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

15 Employee is generally satisfied with their work 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

PART 8. 1. How long have you worked for the organization? ………………….[ ] Years 2. How long have you worked in your current position? ……………...[ ] Years 3. Which of the following most closely describes your level in the organization? Please tick one

1 [ ] No management or higher level administrative/professional responsibilities 2 [ ] Lower level management, i.e. managing those doing routine work in the organization

(e.g. supervisor) 3 [ ] Middle level management, i.e. supervising lower level management or undertaking

higher level administrative/professional duties

4 [ ] Senior level management, i.e. responsible for managing middle level managers or for strategic matters in the organization

4. Which of the following best describes your area of activity in the organization? Please tick one

1 [ ] Quality Control/Assurance 2 [ ] Sales/Customer Service 3 [ ] Production/Operations/Supply 4 [ ] Human Resources Management 5 [ ] IT/Programming/Formatting 6 [ ] General management

5. Is your job mainly a support role, sometimes called a staff role; or a more direct operations

role, sometimes called a line role? Please tick one 1 [ ] line role 2 [ ] staff role 3 [ ] both line and staff role

PART 9. EXPLORATORY INTERVIEW (Interviewer to take notes)

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1. Have you noticed any changes in the organizational culture here? …….[ ] Yes [ ] No

If your answer is “Yes”, please illustrate the changes over time in the last 18 months or a timeline as specified by you if you have worked here less than 18 months.

Strong / Supportive

Please describe in your own words your perception of the changes as illustrated above.

If your answer is “No”, please describe in your own words your perception of the organizational culture; was it stable, strong or weak, supportive or dysfunctional?

(From time to time when ending an interesting question, interviewer will give the respondent a chance to summarize what they said by providing three typical statements that characterize the subject of the discussions whenever applicable.)

2. Heroes, villains and fools – This exercise is based on one developed by McClean and Marshall (1991). It is intended to help identify some of the key features of an organization’s culture.

Can you recall a story, shaggy dog story, joke or anecdote that you have heard or told about DMS Moorebank. It must be one that concerns DMS Moorebank and refers to its personnel and habits. Please tell me the story and then tell me the following:

• What you think the moral of the story is? • Which of the characters in the story are seen as heroes, and why? • Which of the characters in the story are seen as villains, and why? • Which of the characters in the story are seen as fools, and why? • What you think the stories reveal about the values and culture of the organization?

3. Images and metaphors – This exercise can be used to gain insight into people’s thoughts about their organization’s culture. This one, too, is based on an original exercise in McClean and Marshall (1991):

• Draw a picture that represents the culture of your department.

- Avoid drawing an organization chart; choose an image instead. It might be a jelly, a dustbin, a lumbering articulated truck or whatever. Trust your intuition.

• Identify the adjectives that the chosen metaphor or image suggests – slow, responsive, efficient, cold and so on.

• Then repeat the exercise for another department with which your department interacts.

• Compare and contrast the metaphors that describe the two departments.

• How well do the two departments work together?

Weak / Dysfunctional

Time

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• Can the smoothness or the choppiness of the relationship between the two departments be explained by the comparison of the metaphors used to describe them?

4. Critical incidents – Please answer the following questions

• Can you think of a situation at work when you knew that you would be expected to do but were unsure that this was right?

• Can you think of a situation at work when the novelty of a situation meant that there were no conventions or typical behaviours to guide your actions?

• Can you think of a situation at work when your values appeared to conflict with those of other groups in the organization?

For each situation you can remember, please describe the following:

• The situation

• Your thoughts and feelings about the situation

• What you did and why

• What others did

• The consequences and outcomes of the situation

What clues do the incidents give about the culture of the organization?

5. The newcomer exercise – This is another exercise that is based on one in McClean and Marshall (1991). It works because over a period of time we become used to the culture of an organization and what originally struck us as strange becomes commonplace. It is only when we force our memory back to out first impressions that we realize what we have come to accept. As, by definition, culture is the values and habits we accept without thought, then this technique is excellent for making cultural values visible. Think back from your first few days in your current organization.

• What struck you as odd about its:

- Work practices - Physical location and premises - Patterns of relationships between people - Values and priorities?

• How did it differ from your previous organization?

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Appendix B1 The illustrations (typical examples only) of culture changes over time (12 to 24

months) from question 1 of the exploratory interview

Strong / Supportive Strong / Supportive

Strong / Supportive

Strong / Supportive

Strong / Supportive

Weak / Dysfunctional Time

Weak / Dysfunctional

Weak / Dysfunctional

Weak / Dysfunctional

Weak / Dysfunctional

Time

Time

Time

Time

Possibly due to management changes

Project Eagle (system improvement project) implementation

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Appendix B2

Representative samples of the images and metaphors from question 3 of the

exploratory interview

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Appendix C Explanation on the methodology and presentation of the Hewitt culture and

engagement survey results (Source: Human Synergistics International website)

The Circumplex

Human Synergistics’ distinctive circumplex is a quantitative human behaviour

measure. The conceptual model arranges variables in a circular manner based on

their similarity.

The circumplex represents a synthesis of a collection of seminal contributions on

human thinking and behaviour, specifically those that provide insight to the

relationship between task and interpersonal orientations and the impact of

constructive versus defensive need fulfilment as drivers (causes) of human

behaviour. The circumplex brings together twelve styles of thinking and behaving

and clusters these into three general orientations:

1. Constructive (blue) style

2. Passive/Defensive (green) style

3. Aggressive/Defensive (red) style

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Constructive Styles

Reflect a healthy balance of people and task-related

concerns and promote the fulfillment of higher order

needs. Styles associated with this orientation are directed

toward the attainment of organisational goals through the

development of people. Constructive styles account for

synergy and explain why certain individuals, groups and

organisations are particularly effective in terms of performance, growth and work

quality.

11 O'clock Achievement

Based on the need to attain high-quality results on challenging projects, the belief

that outcomes are linked to one's effort rather than chance and the tendency to

personally set challenging yet realistic goals. People high in this style think ahead

and plan, explore alternatives before acting and learn from their mistakes.

12 O'clock Self-Actualising

Based on needs for personal growth, self-fulfillment and the realisation of one's

potential. People with this style demonstrate a strong desire to learn and experience

things, creative yet realistic thinking and a balanced concern for people and tasks.

1 O'clock Humanistic-Encouraging

Reflects an interest in the growth and development of people, a high positive regard

for them and sensitivity to their needs. People high in this style devote energy to

coaching and counselling others, are thoughtful and considerate and provide people

with support and encouragement.

2 O'clock Affiliative

Reflects an interest in developing and sustaining pleasant relationships. People high

in this style share their thoughts and feelings, are friendly and cooperative and

make others feel a part of things.

Page 160 of 169

Passive/Defensive Styles

Represent an unduly strong orientation toward people as

opposed to tasks, fuelled by and reinforcing individual

insecurity. These styles characterise people who

subordinate themselves to the organisation but, in the

process, end up creating stress for themselves and allowing

the organisation to stagnate. Passive/Defensive styles can

produce a predictable and secure situation, but at the cost

of learning, adaptability and ultimately survival.

3 O'clock Approval

Reflects a need to be accepted and a tendency to tie one's self-worth to being liked

by others. People high in this style try very hard to please others, make good

impressions and be agreeable and obedient.

4 O'clock Conventional

Reflects a preoccupation with conforming and "blending in" with the environment to

avoid calling attention to one's self. People high in this style tend to rely on

established routines and procedures, prefer to maintain the status quo and want a

secure and predictable work environment.

5 O'clock Dependence

Reflects a need for self-protection coupled with the belief that one has little direct or

personal control over important events. People high in this style allow others to

make decisions for them, depend on others for help and willingly obey orders—

possibly as a result of recent changes in their personal or work lives.

6 O'clock Avoidance

Reflects apprehension, a strong need for self-protection and a propensity to

withdraw from threatening situations. People high in this style "play it safe" and

minimise risks, shy away from group activities and conversations and react to

situations in an indecisive and non-committal way

Page 161 of 169

Aggressive/Defensive Styles

Emphasise tasks over people and is driven by underlying

insecurities. In the extreme, these styles lead people to

focus on their own needs at the expense of those of the

group. Though sometimes temporarily effective,

Aggressive/Defensive styles may lead to stress, decisions

based on status rather than expertise and conflict rather

than collaboration.

7 O'clock Oppositional

Reflects a need for security that manifests itself in a questioning, critical and even

cynical manner. Though people high in this style ask tough questions that can lead

to better ideas, they might also emphasise even minor flaws, use criticism to gain

attention and blame others for their own mistakes.

8 O'clock Power

Reflects needs for prestige and influence, and the tendency to equate self-worth with

controlling others. People with strong tendencies toward this style dictate (rather

than guide) others' actions, try to run everything themselves and treat others in

aggressive and forceful ways.

9 O'clock Competitive

Based on a need to protect one's status by comparing one's self to others,

outperforming them and never appearing to lose. People high in this style seek

recognition and praise from others, view even non-competitive situations as contests

or challenges to "prove" themselves and try to maintain a sense of superiority.

10 O'clock Perfectionistic

Based on the need to attain flawless results, avoid failure and the tendency to

equate self-worth with the attainment of unreasonably high standards. People high

in this style are preoccupied with details, place excessive demands on themselves

and others and tend to show impatience, frustration and indifference toward others'

needs and feelings.

Page 162 of 169

Appendix D - Presentation of the results of Hewitt culture and engagement

survey

Page 163 of 169

Page 164 of 169

Page 165 of 169

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