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Organizational culture is widely considered to be one of the most significant factors in reforming and modernizing public administration and service delivery. This article documents the findings of a literature review of existing qualitative and quantitative instruments for the exploration of organizational culture. Seventy instruments are identified, of which 48 could be submitted to psychometric assessment. The majority of these are at a preliminary stage of development. The study's conclusion is that there is no ideal instrument for cultural exploration. The degree to which any measure is seen as "fit for purpose" depends on the particular reason for which it is to be used and the context within which it is to be applied.
Organizational culture is widely considered to be one of the most significant factors in bringing about organizational change and modernizing public administration and service delivery (Claver et al. 1999; Kloot and Martin 2007; Mannion, Davies, and Marshall 2005; Morgan and Ogbonna 2008; Waterhouse and Lewis 2004). As such, a practical need to explore and understand culture has arisen among public sector researchers and practitioners. Researchers are looking for explanations, and they are trying to understand and conceptualize organizational culture, its nature, its key determinants and predictions, as well as the relationships among culture's diverse set of variables. Practitioners are interested in the management of organizarional culture, and they are looking for answers and solutions: how can an organization's culture be changed and adjusted to meet organizational needs? Consequently, a wide array ol instruments for assessing and measuring culture have been constructed and utilized across a broad range of settings.
This article documents the findings of a literature review of existing qualitative and quantitative instruments for the exploration of organizational culture. The article has two purposes: (1) to document existing instruments, and (2) to offer some initial guidance on their selecrion for different purposes and settings. The review provides a freely available compendium (http:// www.scothub.org/culture/insrruments.html) that provides information on the dimensions and attributes of culture explored by candidate instruments; aspects associated with the practical administration of the instruments in different contexts, such as format, acceptability, feasibility, number of dimensions, items, and scales; instruments' psychometric assessment, including validity, reliability, association with outcomes, and sensitivity to change; as well as further detailed information...