Options
A comparative study of the organisational culture of a hotel and a school in Myanmar
Author
Chong, Chun Yung
Supervisor
Ng, David Foo Seong
Abstract
The two primary factors that impact an organisational effectiveness are its management style and organisational culture. Profiling the current organisational culture and ascertaining whether the perception of the corporate culture by the leadership, as manifested in the management of an organisation, is aligned with that of the employees is imperative before making any change or transformation towards a constructive organisational culture.
The purpose of this research was to determine if service organisations such as a hotel and a private school share similar traits in organisational culture and if the perceptions of each organisation's leader and its members are aligned vis-a-vis the organisational culture. A joint research employing a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods is the choice for this study. The Organisational Culture Inventory (OCI) was used to measure and compare the organisational culture of the service organisations selected for the study while qualitative investigation of organisational culture was conducted using semi-structured interviews.
Data were collected using the OCI questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. A purposeful and convenience sampling was selected each from a private school and a hotel respectively in Myanmar. They were selected based on three criteria: (a) availability (b) agreeability and openness to discuss their perceptions and thoughts and (c) familiarity and rapport with the researcher so that meaningful responses can be elicited.
Three research questions were asked.
1. Is there a difference in the perceived culture between management and employees in a private school?
2. Is there a difference in the perceived culture between management and employees in a hotel?
3. Does the private school share similar cultural traits as the hotel?
The successful organisation in this millennium needs an organisational culture that supports innovation, creativity, and the maximisation of the human potential of all its employees and yet has a corporate culture that is flexible and can adapt positively to changing economic situations. This is very true in the case of Myanmar where the service organisations that thrive in both its internal and external environments are hotels and private schools.
This study proposes that in order to be able to improve the culture of an organisation, the current and desired organisational cultures must be mapped with the use of the OCI. That is, identifying the desired culture, auditing the existing culture and conducting a gap analysis before developing the appropriate intervention for cultural change or transformation to align the culture with strategy and vision.
The results suggest that for-profit service organisations exhibit similar cultural traits but further investigation is warranted. Measurement of the organisational culture serves as food for thought for culture change initiatives and gives direction to possible intervention strategies. Beyond that, this study is significant in that the literature base is extremely sparse in the area that it addresses.
The purpose of this research was to determine if service organisations such as a hotel and a private school share similar traits in organisational culture and if the perceptions of each organisation's leader and its members are aligned vis-a-vis the organisational culture. A joint research employing a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods is the choice for this study. The Organisational Culture Inventory (OCI) was used to measure and compare the organisational culture of the service organisations selected for the study while qualitative investigation of organisational culture was conducted using semi-structured interviews.
Data were collected using the OCI questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. A purposeful and convenience sampling was selected each from a private school and a hotel respectively in Myanmar. They were selected based on three criteria: (a) availability (b) agreeability and openness to discuss their perceptions and thoughts and (c) familiarity and rapport with the researcher so that meaningful responses can be elicited.
Three research questions were asked.
1. Is there a difference in the perceived culture between management and employees in a private school?
2. Is there a difference in the perceived culture between management and employees in a hotel?
3. Does the private school share similar cultural traits as the hotel?
The successful organisation in this millennium needs an organisational culture that supports innovation, creativity, and the maximisation of the human potential of all its employees and yet has a corporate culture that is flexible and can adapt positively to changing economic situations. This is very true in the case of Myanmar where the service organisations that thrive in both its internal and external environments are hotels and private schools.
This study proposes that in order to be able to improve the culture of an organisation, the current and desired organisational cultures must be mapped with the use of the OCI. That is, identifying the desired culture, auditing the existing culture and conducting a gap analysis before developing the appropriate intervention for cultural change or transformation to align the culture with strategy and vision.
The results suggest that for-profit service organisations exhibit similar cultural traits but further investigation is warranted. Measurement of the organisational culture serves as food for thought for culture change initiatives and gives direction to possible intervention strategies. Beyond that, this study is significant in that the literature base is extremely sparse in the area that it addresses.
Date Issued
2007
Call Number
HD58.7 Cho
Date Submitted
2007