ORGANIZATIONAL

CULTURE
ASSESSMENT
QUESTIONNAIRE

Marshall Sashkin, Ph.D.

William E. Rosenbach, Ph.D.

Copyright 1996, 2002, 2013 by Marshall Sashkin. All rights reserved under International and PanAmerican Copyright Conventions. No part of this booklet may be reproduced in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without permission in writing from the publisher and
copyright holders.

Organizational Culture Assessment Questionnaire

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Organizational Culture Assessment Questionnaire

Organizational Culture Assessment Questionnaire

Dimensions
The Organizational Culture Assessment Questionnaire (OCAQ) is based on the work of Dr. Talcott
Parsons, a sociologist at Harvard. Parsons developed a framework and theory of action in social
systems. He argued that all organizations must carry out four crucial functions if they are to survive for
any substantial length of time. We have labeled these four functions managing change, achieving
goals, coordinating teamwork, and building a strong culture. One aspect of the way in which
organizations achieve their goals is especially important, yet often neglected. This factor has been
made into a separate, fifth scale: customer orientation.
Each of the functions is supported (or, in some organizations, hampered) by the values and beliefs that
are shared by the organization's members. These values and beliefs are powerful forces for
organizational effectiveness--or for organizational failure. They are, however, most often unstated and
unspoken; they are sometimes even actively concealed. But how can such abstract things as values and
beliefs determine whether an organization fails or prospers?
Take, for example, the effectiveness with which an organization is able to deal with and manage
changes in its environment--competition, technological changes, government rules and regulations, etc.
If people in the organization believe that they can have little effect on or control over the environment,
then they are not likely to invest much time or effort in trying to do so. In a purely objective sense it
may be that an organization can actually do very little to affect its environment. Still, when
organization members share a strong belief that they can have some effect on their environment they
are likely to invest their energies in efforts that just might have some positive payoff. If they believe
instead that they can't have any impact, then it isn't relevant whether or not that's really true; they won't
try. And, the result can be disastrous for the organization.
Each of the five functional areas will be examined. We will be looking for values and beliefs that help
or hinder the organizational performance of these crucial functions.
Managing Change. This area of action concerns how well the organization is able to adapt to and deal
effectively with changes in its environment. All organizations are open, to some extent, to influences
from their environments; that is what it means when we refer to organizations as "open systems." This
fact has become even more obvious today, in times of rapid technological and social change, than it
was in the past. In earlier times it was possible to ignore the organization's environment and the effects
it had on the organization; this is no longer possible.
We have already mentioned an especially important belief that seems to support managing change
effectively: the belief that one is able to affect the environment (whether or not such a belief is truly
justified). The opposite is also true: belief that it is impossible to have any effect on the environment is
likely to hinder the effective management of change, since sensible people who believe they can have
little impact on their environment will probably not spend much time or energy trying to do so.

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Organizational Culture Assessment Questionnaire

Scale I of the OCAQ assesses the degree to which respondents see the organization as effective in
adapting to and managing change. The specific items ask about actual success in dealing with change
and about the presence (or absence) of the sort of positive values just described. The six statements
that describe managing change are:
People are flexible and adaptable when changes are necessary.
People feel that most change is the result of pressures imposed from higher up in the
organization.*
People have a clear idea of why and how to proceed throughout the process of change.
Most people believe that change happens too quickly and causes too much disruption.*
People believe they can influence or affect their work place through their ideas and
involvement.
People believe that their concerns and anxieties during periods of change are heard and
taken into considerations.
*Reverse Scored
Achieving Goals. All organizations must achieve some aims or goals for clients or customers. Indeed,
the role of the client or customer is so important that we have developed a separate scale to measure
customer orientation. Having a clear focus on explicit goals has been proven repeatedly to have a very
strong relationship to actual success and achievement. Goal achievement is also facilitated when the
goals of the organization's members are "in line" or aligned with one another and with the overall goals
of the organization.
What values or beliefs, then, can help an organization to achieve its goals? In terms of values,
organizational achievement is supported by the basic value or need to achieve. That is, when
organization members share the belief that it is important to be doing and achieving, this will help the
organization to attain its goals. Quite a lot of basic and applied research has shown that performance is
greater when people have a "need" to achieve, and that this need or belief can actually be learned as an
adult. Another positive value is that of improving, in quality as well as performance; the Japanese call
this "Kaizen," the belief in a constant and never-ending search for improvement.
The goal achievement function is measured by Scale II of the OCAQ, which asks respondents to
describe how effective the organization is in achieving goals, the extent to which there are coherent and
shared (aligned) goals, and the degree to which shared values support improvement and achievement
rather than the status quo. The six statements that measure achieving goals are:
Individuals and teams have clearly defined goals that relate to the goals or mission of
the organization.
People and teams are often expected to reach goals which they believe are
unattainable.*
Individuals and teams are measured and rewarded according to how well goals are
achieved.
Individuals and teams participate in defining specific goals.
We constantly stretch our goals, to continuously improve.
Individuals, teams, and functional areas often have incompatible goals.*

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Organizational Culture Assessment Questionnaire

Coordinated Teamwork. Long term organizational survival depends on how well the efforts of
individuals and groups within the organization are tied together, coordinated and sequenced so that
people's work efforts fit together effectively. Because work efforts must "connect" and fit to form a
whole, it is obviously ineffective when everyone believes it's OK to "do your own thing." What is less
obvious is that it can be equally counterproductive to attempt to have everything carefully planned from
the top, down to the smallest detail. With work and the world becoming more and more complex, what
is needed are more effective ways of meeting unpredictable coordination demands, ways for
organization members to "mutually adjust" their actions to take into account unplanned and unpredicted
circumstances.
Thus, in terms of the values and beliefs that support effective coordination, the value of collaboration
and the belief that "we are in this together" (and must, therefore, work together to achieve common task
goals) are important. In contrast, an especially unhelpful value is that of competition to see who can
"do the best," independent of others. Of course, effective organizations do not simply ignore
competition; they value competition, not internally but with other organizations. Within their own,
internal cultures effective organizations typically emphasize the value of teamwork and cooperation.
OCAQ Scale III assesses the extent to which an organization is effective in coordinating the work of
individuals and groups. This scale also gets at the extent to which the shared value of collaboration is
present. The six statements measuring coordinated teamwork are:
Teams often lack the authority needed to get the job effectively.*
People believe in teamwork, the whats in it for us approach rather than whats in it
for me.
People lack the interpersonal and technical skills they need to work effectively in
teams.*
People know what is expected of them and understand their impact on other people,
teams, and functions.
People believe in working together collaboratively, preferring cooperation over
completion.
Managers at all levels work together as a team to achieve results for the organization.
*Reverse Scored
Customer Orientation. Earlier we noted that this aspect of organizational achievement is so important
that it merits separate treatment and assessment. The organizational sociologist Charles Perrow has
examined the nature of organizational goals. He observes that while organizations often have specific
product or service goals--a standard of quality or a type of product or service for which the
organization is known--the crucial question is whether these internally-derived and defined goals match
or fit with what clients or customers want of the organization. No matter how strong the culture and no
matter how well the other functions are performed, if no one wants what the organization produces or
does, then the organization is not likely to prosper.
The values that support an effective customer orientation function are not simply an overriding belief in
the importance of the client or customer. Certain beliefs are associated with more and with less
effective customer orientation strategies. For example, in some organizations people believe that the
organization should create new products and then try to develop customer demand. A rather different
strategy is based on the belief that new products or services should be natural extensions of existing
product or service lines. It is the latter and not the former belief that supports effective customer
orientation.

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Scale IV of the OCAQ assesses the extent to which organizational activities are directed toward
identifying and meeting the needs and goals of clients and customers. The scale also examines the
extent to which basic and strategic values that support an effective customer orientation are present.
The statements assessing customer orientation are:
We give the highest priority and support to meeting the needs of clients and customers
and solving their problems.
Our policies and procedures help us to provide the service our customers and clients
want and need.
People often see customer and client problems as someone elses responsiblility.*
People are always looking for new ways to better serve clients and customers.
Employees who do the best job of serving customers are more likely than other
employees to be recognized or rewarded.
When customers have problems with the products or services they receive, those
problems are almost always resolved to their satisfaction.
*Reverse Scored
Cultural Strength. All organizations have a "culture," formed out of the pattern of values and beliefs
shared by some, most, or all of the organization's members. You can think of culture as a sort of a
"fabric;" when there are many different values and beliefs, some shared by many people in the
organization and some shared by only a few, then the fabric is a sort of loose-knit weave, perhaps
supported by a few critical, strong "warp" threads. However, when a certain group of values and
beliefs is strongly shared by most or all of the organization's members, then the resultant cultural fabric
is more like tightly knit broadcloth, with a clearly visible design. The former sort of culture is
inherently "weaker" than the latter; it is less likely to direct or channel the actions of organization
members. When the organization is faced with crises and must draw on all of its human and physical
resources, then a loose-knit, "weak" culture will be less functional in helping the organization to
survive. A strong culture will provide greater stability of organizational functioning.
It is important to remember that stability is not the same as effectiveness. It is not necessarily true that
a "strong" culture, in which everyone strongly adheres to a clear set of common values and beliefs, will
inevitably help an organization to survive and be effective. Whether a strong culture is also a good
culture, helping the organization to function and survive in the long run, depends on the sort of values
and beliefs that form the cultural fabric. When the culture is based on values that do not support the
functions of managing change, organizational achievement, customer orientation, and coordinated
teamwork--or when the values actually work against the effective performance of these functions--then
a "strong" culture might actually hamper organizational survival. Or, to more aptly continue the fabric
metaphor, the culture will become a shroud rather than a suit.
Scale V of the OCAQ assesses the strength of the organization's culture, asking respondents to report
on the extent to which people agree on values and examining the extent to which certain "meta-values"
are present, such as the belief that people should support their views with facts. Of course, an
organization can conceivably rate high on this scale and low on all the others. That
would indicate the most negative condition possible: a strong but dysfunctional organizational culture.
The six statements assessing cultural strength are:
People value and make use of one anothers unique strengths and different abilities.
Everyone knows and understands our objectives and priorities.
People sometimes compromise company policy and procedures to reach operational
goals.*
Business decisions are most often made on the basis of facts, not just perceptions or
assumptions.
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Organizational Culture Assessment Questionnaire

People have access to timely and accurate information about whats really happening in
the organization and why.
*Reverse Scored

OCAQ Results and Diagnosis

All of the results are shown as standard scores. Since each statement can receive a score of 1,
2, 3, 4, or 5, and there are thirty statements, the minimum numerical or raw OCAQ score is six
and the maximum is thirty. Standard scores are calculated by examining the distribution of the
raw scores for a large number of people in a variety of organizations who completed the OCAQ
in the past. Standard means that the raw scores are distributed on a bell-shaped curve, with the
lowest actual numerical OCAQ score receiving a standard score of zero and the highest being
100. The mean or average score is 50. About two-thirds of all scores fall between 33 and 66, so
a score of 60 or above can be considered high. A score of below 40 can be considered low.
It is important to remember that the items that make up the scales provide concrete directions
about what you might actually do (and, sometimes, about what to avoid or stop doing) to
improve your organizations culture in a way that allows you to do something about it.
The OCAQ is intended as a diagnostic aid, a first step in building better functioning organizations
and strengthening and improving organizational cultures. Although the OCAQ can help you begin
to see how well the crucial functions are currently working in your own organization, this is just a
beginning. The OCAQ cannot tell you how a certain condition came about. To learn that you
must go further, examining each of the critical functions to identify in detail the dynamics and
causes of good or inadequate operation. OCAQ data can provide an "outline" that can be used as
a starting point for an in-depth culture assessment. It will be up to you, however, to fill in that
outline with concrete details and examples.
With respect to managing change you can ask how the organization (or your part of it) has
changed over the past year or so, adapting to forces or changes in the environment. Think about
a few specific examples of such changes, even if they are very small, to see if you can identify a
pattern or some underlying "rules" that seem to apply. Think about your own personal reaction to
the need for change, and about the assumptions others hold about change. Do people in your
organization (or your division, department, or work group) avoid or ignore the need for change?
Do people generally think that its better to try to keep things as they are for as long as possible?
Do most people in the organization assume that there's little they can do about the need for
change? Try to look at these questions in the context of a specific, actual change that occurred.
Next, you might list the top two or three key goals of your organization, not just in ideal terms
but in terms of actual achievements. Be specific and concrete; you are trying to identify what the
real goals are, not just what the "public image" says about organizational achievements. Think
about a specific example, a goal that was achieved. Was there widespread recognition of and
pride expressed in the achievement? Did many people seem to feel that their personal goals were
achieved as part of the organizational achievement? Is progress and achievement recognized and
celebrated often? Look for the values and beliefs that support or fail to support organizational
achievement.

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Organizational Culture Assessment Questionnaire

Extending this line of thought, try to look at organizational goals from the viewpoint of your
organization's clients or customers. What do your customers or those you serve really want and
need? Make a short list and try to determine whether the organization is actually meeting these
desires. Next, think of a specific interaction involving a client, a customer, or anyone who is
served by the organization. Was the aim to sell that person on what the organization has to offer,
or was it to find out what that individual actually needed? What sort of priority attention is given
to customer problems and concerns? Do people believe that customers' problems are of great
importance? Does their behavior demonstrate such a belief? Do organization members show, by
the way they act, that they really value feedback, that is, by actually listening to clients and
customers?
Now, try to describe the most important ways that work activities are coordinated. For example,
are team meetings the basic approach to coordinating the work activities of the individual
members of your work unit? Or, is coordination accomplished primarily through one-to-one
meetings between a supervisor and each of that person's subordinates? Are inter-departmental
meetings common? Do department heads meet with their peers? Are inter-department liaisons
used? Again, try to think in terms of specific, concrete examples. Look, too, toward the
underlying values: is competition more common than cooperation? Is there any value attached to
cooperative or collaborative activities? Do people find it hard to coordinate because they are
really competing with one another? Or, is it more common to see people working together to
achieve common goals? Are people rewarded more for individual actions or is it common to see a
whole team share in recognition of its achievement?
Finally, consider the strength of your organization's culture. If you really think about it, can you
identify a clear set of five to ten actions--priorities, goals, and ways of working together,
etc.--that most people in the organization would say are really important? Or, does it appear that
most people don't agree on these things, having their own personal views? If you have been able
to clearly define patterns of managing change, of organizational achievement, and of coordinating
teams, then you should be able to tell whether or not there is a strong, shared culture and what the
specific values and beliefs are that form the foundations of the culture that exists. Values and
beliefs are identified by patterns of action and behavior, not by statements and assertions.
SOLUTIONS

Building a better, more functional organizational culture, one that provides a solid foundation for
organizational effectiveness, is a slow and difficult process. There are no quick fix solutions to
the problem of improving an ineffective culture. There are, however, solutions. To start with,
they all require a strong commitment to improvement, from top-level managers. If you're
working with a part of an organization a division, for example this means the executives
who head up the division, not necessarily those at the top of the entire organization. The toplevel managers of the organizational unit under consideration should then lead the development of
a shared vision of what can be, of what is possible. The OCAQ can then provide organization
members with baseline data, information that shows clearly the discrepancies between the way
things are and the way they should be. Once the existing patterns of culture are unfrozen, through
concrete, data-based awareness, it is possible for managers and administrators to become leaders.
They do so by taking on leadership roles. This means first developing and articulating a vision.
Then, leaders work with employees at all levels to use feedback data (such as provided by the
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OCAQ) to plan and implement actions that move the organization in the direction of that vision.
A vision must include appropriate and functionally effective values and beliefs, the sort of values
and beliefs that facilitate positive organizational functioning (and that are assessed by the OCAQ).
It is best to start at the top, working with the top executive group to develop a shared
organizational philosophy and the sort of policies and programs that can serve as vehicles for
putting that philosophy into action. Improvement can, however, occur at the division,
department, or even the work group level. The key is having someone in a formal leadership
position that is willing to commit the time and energy to take a real leadership role. Dr. Edgar
Schein, a well-known organizational psychologist and one of the most highly regarded
organization development practitioners in the United States, has said that it may well be that the
only really important thing that leaders do is to create effective organizational cultures. It is our
view that once a focused commitment has been made by an authority figure (at whatever level of
the organization), it is possible to change cultures, to define and inculcate new and more
productive beliefs and values, and to revitalize organizations.

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APPENDIX I: ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE

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Organizational Culture Assessment Questionnaire

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE

In this organization...
1.

people are flexible and adaptable when changes are necessary.

2.

individuals and teams have clearly defined goals that relate to the goals and mission of
the business.

3.

teams often lack the authority needed to get the job done effectively.

4.

we give the highest priority and support to meeting the needs of clients and customers
and to solving their problems.

5.

people value and make use of one another's unique strengths and different abilities.

6.

people feel that most change is the result of pressures imposed from higher up in the
organization.

7.

people and teams are often expected to reach goals which they believe are unattainable.

8.

people believe in teamwork, the "what's in it for us" approach rather than "what's in it for
me."

9.

our policies and procedures help us to provide the service our customers want and need.

10.

everyone knows and understands our business objectives and priorities.

11.

people have a clear idea of why and how to proceed throughout the process of change.

12.

individuals and teams are measured and rewarded according to how well goals are
achieved.

13.

people lack the interpersonal and technical skills they need to work effectively in teams.

14.

people often see customer and client problems as someone else's responsibility.

15.

people sometimes compromise company policies or principles to reach operational goals.

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In this organization...

16.

people believe that change happens too quickly and causes too much disruption.

17.

individuals and teams participate in defining specific goals.

18.

people know what's expected of them and understand their impact on other people,
teams and functions.

19.

people are always looking for new ways to better serve clients and customers.

20.

business decisions are most often made on the basis of facts, not just perceptions or
assumptions.

21.

people believe they can influence and affect their work place through their ideas and
involvement.

22.

we constantly stretch our goals, to continuously improve.

23.

people believe in working together collaboratively, preferring cooperation over

competition.

24.

employees who do the best job of serving customers are more likely than other
employees to be recognized or rewarded.

25.

people have access to timely and accurate information about what's really happening in
the organization and why.

26.

people believe that their concerns and anxieties during periods of change are heard and
taken into consideration.

27.

individuals, teams, and functional areas often have incompatible goals.

28.

managers at all levels work together as a team to achieve results for the organization.

29.

when customers have problems with the products or service they receive, those problems
are almost always resolved to their satisfaction.

30.

everyone strongly believes in a set of shared values about how people should work
together to solve common problems and reach mutual objectives.

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