The roles of organizational culture, management strategy, and decision-making process on institutional effectiveness at a four-year public higher education institution

This quantitative, non-experimental research survey design explored the impact of organizational culture, management strategy, and decision-making process on institutional effectiveness as perceived by faculty at a four-year public higher education institution in South/Central Texas. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to examine the contribution of demographic variables, organizational culture using Cameron and Ettington's (1988) typology of organizational culture, management strategy grounded on Zammuto and Cameron's (1985) domains of management strategy, and decision-making process anchored on Chaffee's (1983) typology of decision-making process on institutional effectiveness based on Cameron's (1984) nine dimensions of institutional effectiveness. In this study, institutional effectiveness is defined as the systematic and explicit processes and procedures to achieve organizational performance and productivity, supporting the stated institutional mission and vision. Data were collected using a modified version of the Institutional Performance Survey (IPS) for four-year institution, designed and developed by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS).;Findings revealed that Cameron's (1984) dimensions of institutional effectiveness were valid and reliable indicators of institutional performance. In addition, results showed that market culture was the best predictor of institutional effectiveness while adhocracy, bureaucracy and clan cultures were the least effective predictors of institutional effectiveness. Also, findings indicated that defensive management strategies had the most impact on institutional effectiveness and organizational performance while offensive, creative, and proactive management strategies had the least impact. Further, decision-making processes were not significant predictors of institutional effectiveness. The findings of this study proved that among the three demographic variables (i.e. faculty appointment, scope of responsibility, and gender) used to predict institutional effectiveness measures, gender had an impact on institutional effectiveness particularly on the institution's ability to provide an open, safe, and nurturing atmosphere to the community. Both faculty appointment and scope of responsibility had no relationships with institutional effectiveness. Overall, organizational culture and management strategies were better predictors of institutional effectiveness than decision-making processes and respondents' demographics. On the basis of these findings, implications for practice and future research are discussed.