Quality of Life by Oficyna Wydawnicza "Impuls"

Quality of Life – Diﬀerent Perspectives

edited by

Alicja Głębocka and Agnieszka Gawor

„Impuls” Publisher Cracow 2008

Review: prof. dr hab. Dariusz Doliński prof. dr hab. Stanisław Kowalik dr hab. Tomasz Zaleśkiewicz

Proofread: Agnieszka Gajewska Daria Loska

Cover design: Ewa Beniak-Haremska

The project is co-financed by the means of European Regional Development Fund as the Common Initiative INTERREG III A the Czech Republic – Poland 2004–2006 Project no. is CZ.04.4.85/2.3.PL.1/0596 „Scientific co-operation in the field of the Clinical Psychology” It is carried out by The Institute of Psychology at Opole University, with Agreement no. IG-2004/PL-CZ/2.16/2.3/U-40/06, 20.11.2006 r.

ISBN 978-83-7308-994-5

„Impuls” Publisher 30-619 Cracow, Turniejowa Street 59/5 phone (0-12) 422-41-80, fax (0-12) 422-59-47 www.impulsoﬁcyna.com.pl, e-mail: impuls@impulsoﬁcyna.com.pl First edition, Cracow 2008

Contents Elżbieta Turska Work Satisfaction in Diﬀerent Types of Organizational Culture .................

Magdalena Nawrat, Agnieszka Gawor, Alicja Głębocka, Robert Głębocki A Diagnosis of Change-impeding Factors in the Enterprise Restructuring Process ....................................................... 25 Agnieszka Lipińska-Grobelny How is Organisational Situation Perceived by a Satisfied Androgynic? An Analysis of Relationships among Life Satisfaction, Masculinity-Femininity, and Organisational Climate .................................. 37 Irena Pilch Machiavellianism, the Five-factor Model of Personality, Job Strain and Job Satisfaction .................................................................... 51 Jan Pietraszko, Jarosław Rychlik The Feeling of Meaning in Life in Men Confined in Prison and the Degree of Their Approval towards Machiavelli Views (Exploratory Study) .............. 63 Donata Kurpas, Alicja Jasińska, Andrzej Steciwko Specificity of Care for Elderly Patients in a Family Doctor Practice ............. 85 Marta Maciejasz-Świątkiewicz, Magdalena Palmer Economical Determinants of Psychological Problems of the Elderly ............ 95 Cecilia A. Essau, Jean O’Callaghan, Elfriede Ederer, Anna Bokszczanin, Satoko Sasagawa Depressive, Anxiety and Stress Symptoms among Young People from Three European Countries ................................ 105

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Contents

Michał Wanke Construction of the Self Online – Everyday Life on the Internet ................. 115 Katarzyna Trawka, Tomasz Wirga Inﬂuence of Quality of Life on Task Solving Eﬀectiveness .......................... 129 Mieczysław Pokorski Vitamin C and Respiratory Health .............................................................. 141

Elżbieta Turska University of Silesia Department of Pedagogy and Psychology

Work Satisfaction in Different Types of Organizational Culture Summary In the contemporary world, the success of an organization is determined by a countless number of factors tied to various features of the organizational system where an important role is held by organizational culture. Such culture is understood as a set of specific qualities, common meanings recognized by its members that differentiate a given organization from others. Organizational culture has an influence on the organization’s effective functioning by affecting the employees – their morale, engagement, efficiency, physical help and emotional state. It shapes a certain bond between an employee and a company; it vitally influences his/her loyalty towards the organization, the fluctuation and satisfaction from work. In the performed empirical research, the correlation between a given organizational culture type and the experienced work satisfaction has been sought. In accordance with Cameron and Quinn (2004) 4 types of organizational culture have been distinguished: culture of hierarchy, culture of the market, culture of clan, culture of adhocracy. In order to make a diagnosis, the Organizational Assessment Instrument − OCAI questionnaire as prepared by those authors, has been used. However, the diagnosis of the experienced work satisfaction level has been conducted based on an original questionnaire regarding the selected work factors. Within each of the selected factors the questionnaire reached a high level of reliability and accuracy. With the use of the OCAI questionnaire, the diagnosis of the so called cultural accordance in each of the selected organizations has been conducted. It is represented in the dominance of the very same culture type in all of the diagnosed dimensions. Cultural

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accordance means that diﬀerent aspects of the organizational culture are harmonized so in all of the activities the same culture type prevails.

Definition of Organizational Culture Specific interest in organizational culture has been present in managerial studies since the time of developing h u m a n r e l a t i o n s research direction that stresses the importance of peoples’ cooperation for the effective functioning of an organization. Generally, it is supposed that organizational culture means a system of common meanings recognized by its members, it differentiates one organization from another. E. Schein (1985) defines organizational culture as a pattern of basic assumptions – created, discovered or developed by a given group in the learning process, in the process of dealing with problems of external adaptation and internal integration – working well enough to regard them as proper and right for transferring them to the new members of a society as an appropriate way of perception, feeling and reacting to those problems. Despite organizational culture being an object of common observations of its members, it does not mean that the existence of subcultures is excluded. Most large organizations have a dominant culture and numerous subcultures. The dominant culture reflects the basic values shared by the majority of members of a given organization. It is a definition of the culture in a macro scale which gives a distinctive personality to an organization. Subcultures come into existence in large organizations, their borders are marked by individual company departments or remote, separate locations. Subculture includes the most important values of the dominant culture and other additional values respected only by the employees of a given department or organizational unit (Robbins, 2001). Sikorski (2002) demands organizational culture to be defined by aspects of both thinking patterns and action methods. The approach that recalls the thinking patterns is represented by Hofstede (Sikorski, 2002) who defines culture as a collective mental programming of people living in a given environment. Programming of each individual human being is present at three levels: individual – coming from the personal qualities that are unique for a given person; and universal – coming from human qualities – common to all the people, and collective – common to certain social groups created on the basis of various criteria of belonging. Organizational culture is relevant to this third level of “programming”. However, creation of its patterns is affected by thinking patterns coming from the other two “programming” levels. In organization, culture plays a few important roles, among others such as: − providing borders to distinguish one organization from the other; − giving a sense of identity to its members;

Work Satisfaction in Diﬀerent Types of Organizational Culture

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− provoking engagement in something greater than self interest, influences work performance; − reinforcing the stability of social order, it is a social binder which keeps the integrity of an organization by supplying appropriate norms and patterns of behaviour for the employees; − being a certain explaining and controlling mechanism which shapes certain attitudes and behaviours of the employees; − creating competition, defines methods for solving everyday problems and tasks (Robbins, 2001). According to Sułkowski (2002) organizational culture has 5 functions: 1) integrative, 2) perceptive, 3) adapting, 4) providing identity, 5) stimulating organizational changes. I n t e g r a t i v e f u n c t i o n of culture is based on creating a common language and definition categories that enable a quick and exact communication among employees which gives a sense of belonging and distinction. P e r c e p t i v e f u n c t i o n of culture is connected with the way of perception of the group’s environment and giving meaning to the social and organizational life in the organization. It results in certain thinking patterns, ways of explaining observed phenomenon, processes and situations. A d a p t i v e f u n c t i o n means making the reality more stable thanks to working out ready-made schemes of reactions to changes happening in the organization’s environment. T h e f u n c t i o n o f p r o v i d i n g i d e n t i t y regards creating a common, cohesive company image, while the s t i m u l a t i n g o r g a n i z a t i o n a l c h a n g e s f u n c t i o n pays attention to the fact that culture is an important catalyst and tool in organizational changes. Generally, it can be said that the culture plays an important role in diminishing uncertainty and explaining phenomenon and processes as well as in providing patterns for adapting activities. Thanks to culture a group may plan and anticipate which always means an increase in the sense of security and satisfaction from the rendered work (Sikorski, 2002).

Organizational Cultures Typologies In the specialised bibliography, there are at least a few dozens organizational culture classiﬁcations. However, certain types can be recognized taking into consideration the two contrary dimensions, e.g. elastic cultures (adapting) and stiﬀ cultures (non-adapting), strong ones and weak ones, positive (constructive)

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and negative (bureaucratic/pathologic), introvert and extravert, conservative and innovative, western and eastern, egalitarian and elite, soft and hard. Among typologies that take into consideration the multidimensional aspect of the culture, the most popular is the typology by Hofstede (Sikorski, 2002) that is based on 4 dimensions: distance of power, collectivism and individualism, feminine and masculine and avoiding uncertainty. Equally interesting is the typology prepared by Cameron and Quinn (2004). These authors, using the model of competing values, created 4 types of organizational culture: a culture of hierarchy, a culture of the market, a culture of the clan and a culture of adhocracy. The organization where there is a rule of c u l t u r e o f h i e r a r c h y, is a place with a high degree of formality and hierarchy. The procedures decide about what the people are supposed to do. Sustaining an undisturbed functioning of an organization is important. In the long run, such an organization aims at stability, predictability and effectiveness. The guarantee of such organization’s cohesion is based on written rules and regulations. The most important are efficiency, velocity and flawless work. This culture type is usually dominant in large corporations or government organizations; it is evidenced by a large number of unified procedures, many hierarchy levels and tendency to multiply rules and regulations. In order to get promoted, one needs to know those rules and regulations as well as the company philosophy. Promotion goes in line with set procedures. An employee may be promoted a few times before he/she reaches a managerial post. C u l t u r e o f t h e m a r k e t refers to an organization that in itself functions as a market. It is oriented much more towards external issues, creating its own position in the environment rather than on its internal issues. It is preoccupied mainly with transactions with the external entities, among others with suppliers, clients or labour unions. Organization of the “market” type functions due to, first of all, economic market mechanisms, mainly due to monetary exchange in order to gain a competitive advantage. Its efficiency, end results, market position, fulfilling ambitious goals and the base of regular clients are the main slogans of such an organization’s activities. It is assumed that a clear objective and an aggressive strategy lead to an increase in efficiency and profitability. Winning over competition and holding leadership are important. In the c u l t u r e o f t h e c l a n, common values and goals dominate. A high level of participation and a high sense of community are observed. Such organizations are more similar to one big family rather than to a company. Typical features include: team work, aspiring in increasing people’s engagement and the sense of the company’s responsibility towards the employees. The main assumptions in the culture of the clan are, among others, the conviction that the organization is best managed through team work and employees development; clients should be treated as partners, the organization should create a friendly

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atmosphere and the main objective of the management should be transferring authority to the employees and encouraging their attitudes towards participation, engagement and loyalty. Great stress is given to long term profits resulting from personal development; strong ties and morale among the staff are also important. Success is perceived through such categories as good atmosphere within the organization and caring about people. C u l t u r e o f a d h o c r a c y indicates an organization with ad hoc created teams and dynamic units. Groups or working teams are created and dissolved “ad hoc” when the task is completed. Such organizations are short term but they can quickly adapt to changing conditions. The main feature of such an organizational type is supporting the adjustment abilities, flexibility and creativity in a situation dominated by uncertainty, ambiguity and excess of information. Contrary to market type companies or hierarchy ones, in adhocracy culture there is no single centralized power unit or professional dependency relations. Power is used by certain individuals or task teams depending on the problem that is currently being solved. Stress is given to original, pioneering solutions, to readiness for presenting and fulfilling risky options and to foreseeing the future development of the situation. Organization with the prevailing adhocracy culture is dynamic, entrepreneurial and creative. Success is identified with producing new, unique and difficult to replace products and services.

The Aim of the Research The aim of the empirical studies was to diagnose organizational culture in the chosen group of organizations and to recognize relation between culture type and the experienced work satisfaction level1. The justification for such described aims lays in the unusually intensive changes which undergo in Polish organization and the lack of researches that diagnose the nature of their functioning in the contemporary reality. Selection of the research sample was predetermined – the research was conducted in 6 different organizations in the Cieszyn County (Poviat). The questioned companies are organizations coming from various fields: 2 are production plants, (Production plant 1−20 people, Production plant 2−33 people), public administration – a town hall (21 people), a school, (20 people), a hospital, (20 people) and a police station (20 people). 1

The research was conducted as part of the master thesis written under my supervision by Mrs. Agnieszka Strach – Satisfaction from work in diﬀerent organizational culture types Katowice, University of Silesia, Department of Psychology and Pedagogy, 2006.

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Research Tools In order to diagnose organizational culture the OCAI questionnaire by Cameron and Quinn was used; it aimed at detecting the overall cultural profile of an organization and the culture profiles, in the following dimensions: (1) general characteristics of an organization, (2) leadership style in the organization, (3) style of managing employees, (4) features ensuring cohesion, (5) key issues that are stressed, and (6) success criteria. The work satisfaction level was measured through a custom made questionnaire prepared for this research. It is a method designed for measuring 5 work components: self-realization (SR, 5 items, e.g. possibility of promotion), social factors (SF, 4 items, e.g. stability of employment), relations with co-workers (RC, 3 items, e.g. team work), relations with the supervisor (RS, 3 items, e.g. management’s interest in the subordinates’ opinions) and the overall working conditions (WC, 5 items, e.g. availability of flexible working times). To measure the importance of each factor a 5-degree scale was used, where 1 – means a lack of satisfaction, 5 – very high satisfaction. The higher the degree, the more positive the grade of the given component was and the higher satisfaction from it. The sum of the grades informs about overall satisfaction from the questioned work components. Upon the basis of the research results, the reliability of the questionnaire was estimated. The gained factors go as follows: SR α = 0.88, SF α = 0.79, RC α = 0.79, RS α = 0.72, WC α = 0.8. In order to measure internal accuracy factor analysis was used p r i n c i p a l c o m p o n e n t s analysis. Extraction criteria (selection) of the main components of the analysis were the analysis of “Catell’s scree- test” diagram and the amounts of own values. In the own values amounts the criteria “> 1” was taken. After analysing own values and the screen-test diagram, the existence of five main components was evident; they explain 70.015 of the variation. During the items classification to the set components orthogonal Varimax rotation was done with Kaiser normalisation. During the analysis, the following psychometric features of the questionnaire factors were obtained: − self-realization SR (5 items; own value = 7.78, 38.9% of the explained variation; X = 3.09, sD = 1.023); − social factors SF (4 items; own value = 1.07, 5.37% of the explained variation; X = 2.79, sD = 0.973); − relations with co-workers RC (3 items; own value = 2.86; 14.3% of the explained variation; X = 3.84, sD = 0.774); − overall working conditions WC (5 items, own value = 1.25; 6.26% of the explained variation; X = 3.88, sD = 0.688). The external accuracy of the method was tested by relating its results to the results of the Work Description Chart by Neuberger and Allerbeck (1978) in

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Polish adaptation by Zalewska (2001) which enables measuring satisfaction from the 7 work components: Co-workers, Supervisors, Work Merit, Work Conditions, Organization and Management, Development, Remuneration. The questionnaire scales used in the research correlate with the following questions of the “Work Description Chart”: − Self-realization correlates with the question regarding overall satisfaction from the possibilities of professional development (r = 0.72; p < 0.001). − Social factors SF correlate with the question regarding overall satisfaction from ones own remuneration (r = 0.46; p < 0.001). − Relations with co-workers RC correlate with the question regarding overall satisfaction from relations with colleagues at work (r = 0.73; p < 0.001). − Relations with supervisors RS correlate with the question regarding overall satisfaction from ones own supervisor (r = 0.71; p < 0.001). − Overall working conditions WC correlate with the question regarding overall satisfaction from work conditions (r = 0.66; p < 0.001).

Diagnosis of Organizational Types and Work Satisfaction in the Sampled Organizations School Results gained through the OCAI questionnaire indicate a clan culture type (32.95) as dominant in this organization. The culture of hierarchy is also important (26.33). Scheme 1. Overall culture proﬁle of the School clan 50 40 30

32.95

20 10

hierarchy

26.33

19.74

20.83

market

adhocracy

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Based on the evaluated satisfaction from the distinguished work components, it can be said that the members of this organization are the most satisﬁed with their relations with co-workers, possibilities of self-development and from work conditions. They are the least satisﬁed with the social conditions. Overall satisfaction reached a level of 3.89 and it can be described as relatively high compared to the bracket of possible results from 1 – lack of satisfaction to 5 – very high satisfaction. Scheme 2. The satisfaction level from the work components for the organization of the School 5 4.47

4.26

4.10 3.72

2.91

3 2 1 Self-realization

Co-workers

Supervisor

Work conditions

Social conditions

Police Station The obtained results indicate a dominant culture of hierarchy (33.41) and culture of the market (30.32). Scheme 3. Overall culture proﬁle of the Police Station clan 50 40 30 20

hierarchy

33.41

19.69

16.57

30.32

market

adhocracy