The four culture types discussed in the Org. Theory text are adaptive culture, mission culture, clan culture, and bureaucratic culture. The culture exercise from module 10 asked that you rank eight different statements related to your preference for an organization's focus that would best determine your preference for one of the above cultures. After ranking mine I found that my lowest score (highest preference) of 4 was for the adaptability culture, where my highest score (lowest preference) was tied at 12 for mission culture and bureaucratic culture. The clan culture was somewhere in between with a score of 8.
The adaptability culture does resonate with me. I believe that taking weighted-risks and focusing on improving situations is positive for an organization. I like flexibility in work as it prevents me from becoming bored with routine tasks. As a result in my former positions I have been the agent for quite a bit of change with a focus on improving process efficiency, which ultimately made for a happier customer. I also really like being able to help internal and external customers achieve their goals, while creating win-win situations for them. I believe that the most attractive component of this culture is that the freedom to change exists and that employees are empowered to help compel that change.
My lowest preferences (highest scored) from this exercise were mission culture and bureaucratic culture. Both of these cultures share a stability aspect. I do like stability but believe it to be, on many levels, boring. I do like the idea of a flexible work environment, and benefits that come with not having to have an 8 to 5 job that is just part of some process. I find little interest in doing repetitive tasks the same way that was defined by a group who had no imagination of how a system could be more efficient and effective. However, if I found myself in this sort of an organization then I would be pushing for innovations with reasoned arguments that make a case for change.
