The Application of the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument ( OCAI ) to Logistics Enterprises

Today ́s world is reflected in words such as globalization, economic crisis, market economy and competitiveness. All these influence business entities. An enterprise that does not keep pace with current trends, innovates, seek improvements in quality or assess the effectiveness of its activities, is at risk of stagnating. Similar trends also prevail in logistics enterprises in Slovakia. The aim of this study was to analyse organizational culture in logistics enterprises because it is one of the key factors affecting the quality of the products and the overall competitiveness of an enterprise. Utilizing the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) we diagnosed the dominant trend within Slovak logistics enterprises. On the whole these enterprises have a hierarchical organizational culture. However, employees are of the opinion that there should be a more familial work environment, typical of a clan organizational culture. Whilst enterprises continue to underestimate this factor, they will miss an important tool to achieve better success rates in a tough competitive environment.


INTRODUCTION
The world financial crisis, the trend towards decentralization and the transfer of management responsibilities to lower organizational units have greatly influenced the entrepreneurial environment [1].As a result of the crisis, the prevailing competitive environment within the market economy is extremely tough and is forcing business entities to push through efficiency measures in their processes [2] as well as making the need to optimize enterprise systems imperative [3].Due to globalization, the requirements for the quality of human resources are increasing [4].
Human resources management represents a strategic and considered logical approach towards the management of employees, who participate in the effective fulfilment of an organization´s objectives, both individually and in teams [5].Successful enterprises consider their employees to be a key resource necessary for the survival of the enterprise [6].The quality of human resources is considered a significant production input for economies and enterprises alike [7].All managers dream of productive employees willing to work in accordance with the business objectives [8].This is what is referred to as organizational culture.It is one of the tools by which enterprises can encourage employees to greater levels of productivity and therefore the overall performance of the enterprise.The aim of this study is to analyse organizational culture in logistics enterprises in Slovakia, particularly in light of the fact that it is becoming a more important source of competitive advantage, not only for enterprises but for society as a whole too [9].
Culture in general refers to a specific way of organizing, implementing and developing activities, which are objectivized in the results of the physical and intellectual work.Management literature focuses on the conception of culture as a complex of standards and values that are widely shared in the whole of an organization [10].It is considered to be a secret recipe which enables them to attract customers, which is based on team work, integrity, a spirit of humility and work focused on the final customers [11].Culture is understood to be a state or a quality associated with a group.If the term is interpreted in a broader sense, it is viable to talk about organizational culture [12].Organizational culture is subject to permanent change and developments in processes [13].People in particular can have a significant influence on organizational culture through their personal and managerial styles, irrespective of whether they established the enterprise, are the top managers, or simply employees [14].Despite the fact that enterprises often intentionally do not care about organizational culture, it exists and such enterprises somehow work.In such cases the management is at risk of giving up a relatively powerful weapon.A sufficiently strong and elaborated organizational culture, supports cohesiveness in perceiving problems, ensures continuity, facilitates coordination and reduces conflicts within an organization.It affects employee´s attitude to work, motivates them, gives them a feeling of stability and generates loyalty [15].
Organizational culture is perceived through the basic values, opinions and assumptions which exist within an organization.In this context we may talk about behavioural patterns, which are a result of shared values, and of symbols, which express the connection between the assumptions, values and behaviour of the members of an organization [16].Organizational culture can be defined as a complex of the basic methods of thinking, values and standards, which influence the behaviour and acts of everybody in an enterprise [17].It consists of the enterprise values, both implicit and explicit captured in the concept of an enterprise´s ideology [18].A big part of organizational culture is reflected in the values, beliefs, business principles, traditions and methods behind the operations of an enterprise [19].It is often considered a pattern of basic ideas, which a particular group has established or created, revealed and developed, within which it has learnt to cope with the problems of external adaptation and internal integration, and which have proven useful to such an extent that they are understood as generally effective, so that new members of the organization are required to master them, adopt them and behave according to them [20].Organizational culture also means the value of an organization´s identity and the common spirit that binds all employees, regardless of whether they work in the private or public sector [21].
All organizations should have their own organizational culture, according to which they behave and act in public.Each form of organizational culture should be adjusted in advance and strategically managed so that it can be adhered to and support the creation of an organization´s identify.This in turn, is important to the health and performance of an enterprise.In reality it forms the soul of an enterprise and is the driving force behind its development [22 -24].Nevertheless, the external presentation of organizational culture is often overrated.This can be avoided if an enterprise manages to persuade its own employees about the importance of their collective participation in the creation of the enterprise´s success [25].IBM, Sony, GM, Lenovo, Haier or Huawei are some of those that have achieved this.All these enterprises pay strong attention to the building of their organizational cultures, which represent the inner qualities of their enterprises [26].An enterprise thereby presents its personality.It is only where a strong organizational culture exists that people can be linked to different goals, opinions and experiences.The aforementioned enterprises have strongly developed organizational cultures and prove that those that have are mostly more successful than those with less developed organizational cultures.This is because the employees accept the same values and have standardized behaviour [27].It is within this context that this study focuses on the analysis of organizational cultures in logistics enterprises in Slovakia.

THE METHOD OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT
The Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI), developed by Cameron and Quinn [28][29][30][31][32][33], is often used to examine the organizational culture of various institutions.OCAI is based on the Competing Values Framework -CVF, which arose from research focused on the most important indicators affecting enterprise efficiency.The output of the research was a list of 39 indicators by which to measure enterprise effectiveness [34].Quinn and Rohrbaugh [35] subsequently applied a statistical analysis to the list, which pointed out two basic dimensions containing four important groups of indicators.Figure 1 illustrates the mutual relationship between the two dimensions.Stability and control Source: [28] Figure 1 Model of Competing Values Framework The first dimension distinguishes between effectiveness criteria, which emphasize flexibility, a free hand in decision making and dynamism, and criteria emphasizing stability, order and control.The second dimension distinguishes between the effectiveness criteria, which emphasize an internal focus, integration and concordance, and the criteria which emphasize an external focus, differentiation and competition.A combination of these dimensions produces quadrants, each of which contains a different group of indicators of the effectiveness of an organization representing the values of employees in terms of enterprise performance.
The above efficiency indicators represent what is important for people in relation to enterprise performance, or defines what is perceived as good or correct.These four groups characterize the basic values, according to which an organization is evaluated.The size of the identified dimensions and quadrants allows us to identify individual types of organizational culture.Each quadrant represents the basic assumptions, orientation and values i.e. the same elements that form the core of organizational culture.The OCAI is a tool with which it is possible to diagnose the dominant elements of an enterprise´s orientation and defines the type, strength and congruence of the prevailing culture.There are four types of culture.
Hierarchy culture (D) is characterized by a formalized and structured working environment with an emphasis on procedures and regulations, in which formal rules are the consolidating element.Efficient leaders are good coordinators and organizers, for whom the maintenance of the smooth operation of the organization, its stability and efficiency, is an important aspect.Success is defined through the reliability of supplies, adherence to time schedules and low costs.The management of staff is particularly focused on the security of employment.
Market culture (C) is typical for a result-oriented organization, whereby the people are competitive and goal oriented.The leaders are ambitious competitors and expect high performances from their employees.The focus on victory of staff integrates the enterprise.Over the long term, attention is paid to competition and the achievement of excessive goals.Success is defined by breaking into market segments and by market penetration.Emphasis is put on overtaking competitors and the achievement of market leadership.Unlike under a hierarchical organizational culture, where the internal control is based on rules, specialized positions and centralized decision making, market organizational culture is based on market mechanisms and transactions.The implementation of transactions (exchange, sale, contractual obligations) with other factors for the purposes of creating a competitive advantage is among the primary interests of a market oriented organizational culture.Financial results, market power, excessive goals and reliable clients are consequently the primary goals of market oriented enterprises, whilst competitiveness and productivity form the basis for their values.
Clan culture (A), named after its similarity with family run enterprises, is the third form of organizational culture.A clan culture represents a friendly workplace, where people share the same values.It reminds us of a wide family.The leaders take on the roles of teachers, advisors and sometimes also parents.Loyalty and traditions consolidate such an organization.Devotion to the enterprise is high.The long term benefit from the development of each person is emphasised and great attention is paid to coherence, morale and the working environment.Success is measured in relation to the internal environment and the care for the people.Team work, participation and consensus are considered primary in such an organization.
Adhocracy culture (B) illustrates a dynamic workplace with an entrepreneurial and creative environment.People are willing to accept risks.The leaders are visionaries and innovators, ready to take risks.Such an organization is consolidated by experimenting, innovative approaches and thinking.Being at the top of the field in terms of knowledge, products and services is considered important.Readiness to changes and new challenges are appreciated.The focus is on fast growth and new resources over the long term.Success is based on the production of unique and original products and services.
The form of organizational culture attached to each quadrant is indicative of their specific features -human relations (Clan), open systems (Adhocracy), rational goals (Market) and internal processes (Hierarchy) [36].The OCAI questionnaire consists of six components.Each component is analysed on the basis of four statements, whereby each statement corresponds to one of the four forms of organizational culture -A, B, C and D. What is the enterprise´s aim? 6. Success criteria -How is success defined in the enterprise?
The OCAI requires respondents to distribute 100 points among the four statements to express to what extent the statement characterizes the organization at present and another 100 points to characterize what the organization should look like in five years' time.The average score calculated for each form of organizational culture can be summarized in a graph illustrating the cultural profile of the organization.The important differences between the numeric series are much clearer if a picture or a graph is made on the basis of the collected data, rather than subjecting the data to statistical tests or sophisticated mathematical methods.The output from these graphs is a visual summary of the basic conditions and values the examined organization operates under.No right or wrong answers exist, as well as no good or bad organizational cultures exist [34].

APPLICATION OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT TO LOGISTICS ENTERPRISES IN SLOVAKIA
The research was carried out in 14 logistics enterprises operating in Slovakia.In terms of the number of employees, eight were small enterprises (10 to 49 employees), one was a mediumsized enterprise and five were large enterprises (more than 250 employees).In total, 345 respondents filled in the questionnaire.Of this number, 116 were women (33.62 %) and 229 men (66.38 %).In terms of age structure, the majority of respondents (117) were between 31 and 40 years.In terms of the highest achieved level of education, 180 respondents (52.15 %) had completed secondary education.
The results of the questionnaire are presented in the following tables and figures.Table 1 shows the values related to the dominant features of the organizations.The results in Table 1 are illustrated in Figure 2. The results allow us to conclude that at present, logistics enterprises in Slovakia are focused on internal support, stability and control (Option D).The responses also suggest that the majority of employees would prefer Option A over the other options, and by a relatively high margin.Under Option A, cooperation and communication are the dominant characteristics that should be applied in Slovak logistics enterprises in the future.Cooperation and communication are important for team work and participation.
Organisational leadership was the second area of interest in the OCAI questionnaire.The results were recorded in Table 2 and Figure 3.Most of the respondents marked Option D. This suggests that at present, the management of the enterprises is viewed as being cooperative, organized and functional, but that managerial staff struggle with the smooth operation of all enterprise processes.Time planning, effectiveness, consolidation and unity are important.For the future, the majority of respondents preferred Option A, as was the case for dominant characteristics.With regards to the third dimension and the management of employees, the majority of respondents chose Option A, both for the present and for the future.This option focuses on cooperation and team work.Table 4 and Figure 5 illustrate the fourth examined area, that of organizational glue.It represents what consolidates an organization.At present, Option D prevails.Under this option formal rules are significant.Adherence to the rules is important for the trouble-free operation of all enterprise activities.Nevertheless, for the future, Option A is seen as the most desirable.Under this option loyalty and mutual confidence are typical.A similar situation occurred in the fifth dimension (Table 5 and Figure 6), emphasis of strategic factors, as in the first and the second dimensions.At present, Option D, which emphasizes stability and enterprise functioning, prevails.Performance, control and operating flexibility are the important factors for the achievement of the strategic goal.However, for the future the respondents preferred Option A. They would appreciate it if management were more focused on human development, confidence, openness and constant cooperation.
Success criteria were the last area of interest to be analysed.The results are given in Table 6 and illustrated in Figure 7.For Source: Authors Figure 3 Organizational leadership both the present and the future, the preferred option is Option A. Cooperation, communication and the development of human resources are the prevailing criteria for judging success, now as well as in the future.The managers are mentors and success is defined in terms of the approach to customers.On the basis of the results, we can state that at present the hierarchical organizational culture prevails in logistic enterprises in Slovakia.It is characterized by adherence to exact procedures and regulations (see Table 7 and Figure 8).Emphasis is put on effectiveness, reliability of supplies, adherence to time schedules and low costs, which ensure the smooth functioning of the organization.The culture is oriented towards internal support.Stability and control are important.The management of the employees is particularly focused on providing employment security.For the future, employees would appreciate a move towards a clan culture, under which a friendly working environment would be created.Such a culture is also focused on internal support, but the interest in people and customers is of the same importance as flexibility.
On the basis of the results, we can state that at present the hierarchical organizational culture prevails in logistic enterprises in Slovakia.It is characterized by adherence to exact procedures and regulations (see Table 7 and Figure 8).Emphasis is put on effectiveness, reliability of supplies, adherence to time schedules and low costs, which ensure the smooth functioning of the organization.The culture is oriented towards internal support.Stability and control are important.

Figure 2
Figure 2 Dominant characteristics

Figure 7
Figure 4 Management of employees 1. Dominant characteristics -What are the characteristic features of the environment and atmosphere prevailing in the enterprise? 2. Organizational leadership -What is understood to be leadership?What are considered to be leadership abilities?3. Management of employees -What is characteristic for the managerial style?What management methods are applied?4. Organizational glue -How does the enterprise consolidate itself? 5. Strategic emphasis -What is emphasised in the enterprise?

Table 1
Dominant characteristics

Table 2
Organizational leadership

Table 3
Management of employees

Table 4
Organizational glue

Table 5
Strategic emphases

Table 6
Criteria of success