| The purpose of this study was to investigate organizational culture in the campus recreation industry from multiple perspectives. Organizational culture type perceptions and preferences were examined for 128 campus recreation professionals with varied roles, responsibilities and industry experience. The Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) allowed culture profiles to be constructed and interpreted on multiple levels. Analyses of variance revealed that campus recreation professionals currently perceive a shared Clan/Hierarchy dominated culture (p<0.00) and prefer a focus on a Clan type culture (p<0.00). Statistically significant differences existed between current and preferred environments with respect to three of the four culture types (Clan, Adhocracy and Hierarchy) at the p<0.0125 level. Investigation of differences regarding preferred culture type indicated that subunit cultures may exist at the administrative/program area level in campus recreation.;To complement the culture type assessment this study also measured campus recreation professionals' perceptions of core cultural values. The Organizational Culture Profile (OCP) was administered to 162 industry professionals. Exploratory factor analysis showed that the 28 values of the OCP could be reduced to five factors representing innovation, supportiveness, trust, competitiveness and stability. This factor structure for campus recreation differs from the factor structure found in other industries and by previous researchers. The most intensely held cultural values among campus recreation professionals were security of employment, fairness, enthusiasm for the job, being people oriented, and having a good reputation. These values were consistent with how campus recreation professionals scored on their culture type profile.;The results of this study support an approach to studying organizational culture from multiple perspectives using multiple variables, in this case culture type and core values. The OCAI and OCP provided a reliable means of assessing cultural perceptions. Future directions with a focus on macro and micro levels involving larger industry samples and specified case studies will provide further insights into how the professionals within various facets of campus recreation perceive, define, create and live their culture. |
