Organizational Effectiveness Relationship with Organizational Culture Strength, Congruency and Type

In a comprehensive study, the research team investigated the relationship between congruence, strength and type of organizational cultures and organizational effectiveness. There are volumes of literature with propositions that strength and congruence of an organization’s culture are associated with high levels of performance. A comparison of the cultures of 219 organizations that spanned 4 industries (e.g., technology, healthcare, finance, retail) revealed that no significant differences in organizational effectiveness existed between those organizations with congruence cultures and those with incongruent cultures, or between those with strong cultures versus those with weak cultures. The study points out that the type of cultures possessed by organizations e.g., collaborate, create, complete and control has an important relationship with effectiveness as well as other organizational attributes. Culture type appears to be more important than its strength and congruence. 

What the team also highlighted was that culture types as describe at the company level did not reflect the dominant culture types within the organizations and sub groups. In fact, those who claimed the company had a certain culture type did not reflect the types of culture across business units and the enterprise. The culture types were very different and in some cased presented challenges to the perceived macro level culture.

In digging a little deeper related to the perceived macro culture type versus the perceived micro culture types, we found that senior leaders described their culture very different from how first line managers and employees described their culture. Example where one senior leadership team would describe their culture type as collaborate, the employees described it as controlling. Middle managers in the same organization would describe their culture type as create or innovative.

What the study highlighted was it’s the type of culture that drives performance not necessarily the strength or congruency of the culture across the organization. Additionally, our research revealed that certain culture types were more receptive to change, contained a certain leadership and management style that was more receptive to motivating change.

One leader in the study was amazed at how the assessment that produced the aforementioned information provided key information related to how certain cultural dimension in her organization conflicted with her peer organization cultural dimensions. Guidance on how to approach and resolve the potential conflicting dimensions was an additional outcome from this study. Its been my experience that not too many culture assessments can highlight those counter productive dimensions across organizations.

The organization culture assessment (below) highlights cultural type, strength and congruence at the top two layers and culture type, strength and congruence at the bottom layers. Looking at the organization holistically, culture is not strong, congruent nor does it have a dominant type. There is a consistent focus - can you stop it? Some organizations can be effective with this difference, other not so much.

I should note that just because you might have a strong culture, that does not mean its congruent throughout your organization or team. There are pros and cons for having strong and or congruent beliefs and behaviors throughout your organization or team. To determine cultural strength, congruency and type the OCAI is a great psychometric instrument to use.

** Research is a passion, uncovering nuances in organizational performance is important because after all culture is the force that gets things done. **

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