Investigating Organizational Culture: A Comparison of a ‘High’‐ and a ‘Low’‐Performing Residential Unit for People with Intellectual Disabilities

Abstract

Background This pilot study investigates organizational culture in small community‐based residential services for people with intellectual disabilities, one of the under‐researched determinants of staff behaviour and performance. Staff performance is of primary importance in the provision of quality services. Materials and methods Two matched residential units were assessed using COMPASS: A Multi‐Perspective Evaluation of Quality in Home Life, and identified as ‘high’ and ‘low’ performing. The organizational culture of the units was assessed using the Organizational Culture Inventory in order to investigate any associations. Results The unit with better quality outcomes demonstrated a more positive organizational culture overall, with statistically significant lower scores on three negatively influential cultural styles, namely, oppositional, competitive and perfectionistic. Conclusions There may well be a meaningful relationship between organizational culture and quality outcomes, although the nature of this relationship is far from clear. The continuation of investigations into organizational culture is encouraged.

Community and cluster centre residential services for adults with intellectual disability: long‐term results from an Australian‐matched sample

“…Staff performance and behaviour is crucial for quality services for people with ID (Hatton & Emerson 1995). Gillet & Stenfert‐Kroese (2003) found positive organizational culture produced better quality outcomes for residents. It may be that organizational culture associated with more staff and residents interacting in proximity in cluster centres is not conducive to individual development.…”

‘We Just Call Them People’: Positive Regard as a Dimension of Culture in Group Homes for People with Severe Intellectual Disability

“…However, the nature of group home culture and its impact on staff practices have not been well researched, with only a few studies that have used methods such as questionnaires to measure wider organizational culture (Hatton et al . ; Gillett & Stenfert‐Kroese ) and ethnographic accounts of specific aspects of group homes (Croft ; Levinson ). The current authors identified five dimensions of group home culture from a secondary analysis of a large data set from an ethnographic study of five underperforming group homes (Bigby et al .…”

Uncovering Dimensions of Culture in Underperforming Group Homes for People with Severe Intellectual Disability

“…Several studies bave used , ©AAIDD DOI: 10,1352DOI: 10, /1934 Standardized measures of cultute drawn from organizational theory to gain insights into tbe actual and ideal cultures in group homes and the organizations that manage them. Gillett and Stenfert-Kroese (2003) used the Organisational Cultural Inventory to identify different cultural styles, and Hatton and colleagues , using a similar measure, identified nine dimensions of organizational cultute, concluding that in most organizations the actual fell short of the ideal. , Studies of this type are useful in understanding links between organizational culture and staff experiences but do not relate closely to resident outcomes or the link between culture and staff care practices.…”