| This study examined organizational decision making and culture in 17 municipalities in northeast Ohio. The purpose of the study was to determine whether differences existed in organizational decision making and culture between mayor-council and council-manager municipalities. The hypothesis was that council-manager municipalities, with a professional manager, would exhibit stronger cultures and more rational decision making processes than mayor-council municipalities. The Decision Process Profile (DPP) (Feitler, Rochford, Harris, and Olson, 1991) was used, along with the Organizational Culture Questionnaire (OCQ) (Feitler and Gudgel, 1994). Thirty-five interviews of elected and appointed officials from 13 of the 17 municipalities were also conducted. Quantitative data were analyzed using ANOVA to compare the two types of government decision making and culture. Stepwise multiple regression was used to test predictive value of six DPP factors on nine OCQ factors, and to test predictive value of nine OCQ factors on six DPP factors. Qualitative data were analyzed through content analysis and inter-rater reliability. Results do not support the hypotheses. The ANOVA showed virtually no differences between mayor-council and council-manager municipal governments in organizational decision making and culture. Neither type of municipality used garbage can decision making or rational decision making, but fell midway between the two extremes. Organizational cultures for both types were neither weak nor strong, but again fell midway between the two extremes. Stepwise multiple regression showed several DPP factors and OCQ factors were significant predictors of the others surprisingly, the DPP factor NOP was a predictor of all nine OCQ factors. The OCQ factors VG and GOP in turn were predictors of the DPP factor NOP, suggesting a strong positive relationship between understanding the nature of the problem (NOP), vision and goals (VG), and general organizational practices (GOP). Interview data corroborated quantitative data. Municipal biennial elections, which may result in new elected and appointed officials, were identified as impacting the ability of the municipality to conduct effective long-range planning. Conclusions were that while mayor-council and council-manager municipalities showed little difference in decision making processes and culture, the processes and culture of each serve their purposes well. |
