ONLY FOR THE BEST OF THE BEST KIM

REQUIREMENT

Go to the OCI and follow the instructions on the site. There are two steps to this assignment.

(1) Submit your OCI results to the Dropbox for this week (pdf or copy/paste into Word). 

(2) Add three to five paragraphs about your learning experience impacted by the Organizational Culture Inventory (OCI).

Introduction

Every organization has its own culture and set of expectations for its members. For example, some organizations are “competitive” and members feel that they must out-perform one another; other organizations are “cooperative “ and members are more likely to feel that they should work together as a team.

The Organizational Culture Inventory (OCI) presents a list of 120 statements that describe some of the behaviors and “personal styles” that might be expected or implicitly required of members of organizations. Please read each statement and indicate the extent to which the behavior described helps people to “fit in” and meet expectations in your organization.

When responding to the statements, you might find it helpful to consider the behaviors expected by and rewarded by people in higher positions. Please keep in mind that all the statements refer to the way people within your organization are expected to deal with one another rather than with people external to the organization.

The culture of your organization is reflected in the shared values and beliefs that guide the thinking and behavior of members. While the prevailing culture can be somewhat subtle and abstract, it nevertheless sets patterns for the activities of the organization and the personal styles exhibited by members. These styles can range from Affiliative and Achievement oriented in organizations with Constructive cultures to Competitive and Dependent in those with Defensive cultures.

The Organizational Culture Inventory provides a point-in-time picture of the culture of your organization. The results reflect your beliefs regarding how members should interact with one another in carrying out their work and meeting the expectations of their supervisors. The profile below graphically portrays your impressions of your organization’s culture in terms of norms and expectations for 12 distinct, but inter-related, behavioral styles.

Click on any of the sectors in your OCI profile to see a brief description of the style or  click here  to view the descriptions of all twelve styles.  Click here  to read about how to interpret your OCI profile.

OCI Style	Your  Raw Score	Your  Percentile Score	Typical Ideal Percentile Score*
1. Humanistic-Encouraging	42	78%	85%
2. Affiliative	44	77%	71%
3. Approval	33	78%	27%
4. Conventional	36	85%	18%
5. Dependent	31	55%	24%
6. Avoidance	23	67%	27%
7. Oppositional	31	93%	45%
8. Power	27	63%	30%
9. Competitive	42	98%	42%
10. Perfectionistic	40	92%	25%
11. Achievement	48	98%	78%
12. Self-Actualizing	36	61%	82%

* The typical ideal percentile scores are based on the average scores of 10 members randomly selected from each of 56 different organizations. The 560 respondents in this sample completed the OCI-Ideal, answering in terms of how people should be expected to behave to maximize the effectiveness of their organization.

Constructive Norms - Cultural Styles Promoting Satisfaction Behaviors

Achievement

An Achievement culture characterizes organizations that do things well and value members who set and accomplish their own goals. Members are expected to set challenging but realistic goals, establish plans to reach these goals, and pursue them with enthusiasm. (Pursue a standard of excellence; Openly show enthusiasm)

Self-Actualizing

A Self-Actualizing culture characterizes organizations that value creativity, quality over quantity, and both task accomplishment and individual growth. Members are encouraged to gain enjoyment from their work, develop themselves, and take on new and interesting activities. (Think in unique and independent ways; Do even simple tasks well)

Humanistic/Encouraging

A Humanistic-Encouraging culture characterizes organizations that are managed in a participative and person-centered way. Members are expected to be supportive, constructive, and open to influence in their dealings with one another. (Help others to grow and develop; Take time with people)

Affiliative

An Affiliative culture characterizes organizations that place a high priority on constructive interpersonal relationships. Members are expected to be friendly, open, and sensitive to the satisfaction of their work group. (Deal with others in a friendly, pleasant way; share feelings and thoughts)

Passive/Defensive Norms -Cultural Styles Promoting People/Security Behaviors

Approval

An Approval culture describes organizations in which conflicts are avoided and interpersonal relationships are pleasant--at least superficially. Members feel that they should agree with, gain the approval of, and be liked by others. ("Go along" with others; Be liked by everyone)

Conventional

A Conventional culture is descriptive of organizations that are conservative, traditional, and bureaucratically controlled. Members are expected to conform, follow the rules, and make a good impression. (Always follow policies and practices; Fit into the “mold”)

Dependent

A Dependent culture is descriptive of organizations that are hierarchically controlled and do not empower their members. Centralized decision making in such organizations leads members to do only what they are told and to clear all decisions with superiors. (Please those in positions of authority; Do what is expected)

Avoidance

An Avoidance culture characterizes organizations that fail to reward success but nevertheless punish mistakes. This negative reward system leads members to shift responsibilities to others and avoid any possibility of being blamed for a mistake. (Wait for others to act first; Take few chances)

Aggressive/Defensive Norms - Cultural Styles Promoting Task/Security Behaviors

Oppositional

An Oppositional culture describes organizations in which confrontation and negativism are rewarded. Members gain status and influence by being critical and thus are reinforced to oppose the ideas of others. (Point out flaws; Be hard to impress)

Power

A Power culture is descriptive of nonparticipative organizations structured on the basis of the authority inherent in members' positions. Members believe they will be rewarded for taking charge, controlling subordinates and, at the same time, being responsive to the demands of superiors. (Build up one's power base; Demand loyalty)

Competitive

A Competitive culture is one in which winning is valued and members are rewarded for outperforming one another. Members operate in a "win-lose" framework and believe they must work against (rather than with) their peers to be noticed. (Turn the job into a contest; Never appear to lose)

Perfectionistic

A Perfectionistic culture characterizes organizations in which perfectionism, persistence, and hard work are valued. Members feel they must avoid any mistakes, keep track of everything, and work long hours to attain narrowly defined objectives. (Do things perfectly; Keep on top of everything)

Your OCI profile reflects the comparison of your scores along the twelve cultural styles to the scores of 5,685 other individuals who described the current cultures of their organizations. When the unadjusted (or “raw”) score for each style is transferred to the circumplex, or circular diagram, it is converted to a percentile score that provides a more realistic picture of the culture (similar to when you evaluate your performance on a test, in part, by comparing how you ranked relative to everyone else who took the test). The bold center ring represents the 50th percentile. Scores falling below the 50th percentile are low relative to the current culture scores of other organizations. Scores falling above the 50th percentile are high relative to the current culture scores of other organizations.

Your perceptions of the styles that most strongly characterize your organization’s culture are identified by the most extended styles in your OCI profile. The style that is most extended from the center of the profile is the primary style. This style describes the set of behaviors that you believe are most strongly encouraged by your organization’s culture. The style that is second most extended from the center of the profile is the secondary style. The secondary style describes the set of behaviors that you believe are expected along with the primary style or when the behaviors associated with the primary style cannot be enacted.