Nonprofit Organizational Assessment

Long- Versus Short-Term Orientation which he describes as "The long-term
orientation dimension can be interpreted as dealing with society's search for
virtue. Societies with a short-term orientation generally have a strong concern
with establishing the absolute Truth. They are normative in their thinking. They
exhibit great respect for traditions, a relatively small propensity to save for the
future, and a focus on achieving quick results. In societies with a long-term
orientation, people believe that truth depends very much on situation, context
and time. They show an ability to adapt traditions to changed conditions, a strong
propensity to save and invest, thriftiness, and perseverance in achieving results."
These dimensions refer to the effect of national cultures on management, and can be
used to adapt policies to local needs. In a follow up study, another model [46] is
suggested for organizational culture.
O'Reilly, Chatman, and Caldwell
Two common models and their associated measurement tools have been developed by
O'Reilly et al. and Denison.
O'Reilly, Chatman & Caldwell (1991) developed a model based on the belief that
cultures can be distinguished by values that are reinforced within organizations. Their
Organizational Cultural Profile (OCP) is a self reporting tool which makes distinctions
according eight categories – Innovation, Supportiveness, Stability, Respect for People,
Outcome Orientation, Attention to Detail, Team Orientation, and Aggressiveness. The
model is also suited to measure how organizational culture affects organizational
performance, as it measures most efficient persons suited to an organization and as
such organizations can be termed as having good organizational culture. Employee
values are measured against organizational values to predict employee intentions to
stay, and turnover. This is done through an instrument like Organizational Culture
Profile (OCP) to measure employee commitment.
Daniel Denison
Daniel Denison's model (1990) asserts that organizational culture can be described by
four general dimensions – Mission, Adaptability, Involvement and Consistency. Each of
these general dimensions is further described by the following three sub-dimensions:
Mission – Strategic Direction and Intent, Goals and Objectives and Vision
Adaptability – Creating Change, Customer Focus and Organizational Learning
Involvement – Empowerment, Team Orientation and Capability Development
Consistency – Core Values, Agreement, Coordination/Integration
Denison's model also allows cultures to be described broadly as externally or internally
focused as well as flexible versus stable. The model has been typically used to
diagnose cultural problems in organizations.
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