Perceptions of organizational culture in a metropolitan sheriff's department

Police organizations in the United States traditionally operate in the Hierarchy dimension of the framework of organizational culture outlined by Cameron and Quinn (1999). Research has shown that organizations that operate in only one of the frames are less effective than those organizations that operate in all four of the frames. Research has also shown that healthy cultures within organizations, foster committed employees who believe in their goals and values (Moon, 2000). Because police organizations tend to operate in only one of the four frames, employee commitment is low and organizational efficiency is low. Problems that may result from low commitment and organizational inefficiency include low moral, high burnout rate, alcoholism, job dissatisfaction, spousal abuse, high employee turnover and various disciplinary problems among members of police organizations.This study has several dynamics. First, the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) examined perceptions of organizational culture by rank and file officers of a mid-sized metropolitan sheriff's department. Secondly, the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) assessed the level of commitment among these officers. Finally, the study investigated the correlation between organizational culture type perception and the level of the officer's organizational commitment.The sample was drawn from all of the members, which include officers between the rank of patrolman two and sheriff of a mid-size sheriff's department. The responding officers represented fifteen different units found throughout the department. Two hundred and thirty six officers completed the OCAI and OCQ. One hundred fifty five of the respondents were rank and file officers and sixty-six were members of the command cadre.The study supported the traditional ethnographic characterizations of culture, which maintain the notion of cultural agreement among officers. The results of this study also indicated that the two groups had similar levels of commitment as measured by the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire. This study yielded important information on the relationship between organizational culture perceptions and commitment levels. It also serves as a starting point for future research on the subject.