Library Management
The African corporate culture: an obstacle to effective strategic planning in Ghanaian university
libraries
Edwin Ellis Badu,
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Introduction
The African corporate
The concept of culture has been derived both
culture: an obstacle to from anthropology (Benedict, 1934) and
effective strategic organisation theory (Meadows, 1967). In
anthropology, culture is the foundational
planning in Ghanaian term through which the orderliness and
university libraries patterning of much of our life experience is
explained (Benedict, 1934). Meadows (1967,
Edwin Ellis Badu p. 82) has also argued that organisation
theory is always rooted in the imagery of order
and asserts that `̀ the development of theories
of organisation is the history of the metaphor
of orderliness''.
Different concepts of organisation and
culture abound in the literature. There is also
The author variation in the ways that the concept of
culture is used by researchers and a lack of
Edwin Ellis Badu is Senior Lecturer, Department of
consensus about the definition of the term
Library and Archival Studies, University of Ghana, Ghana.
`̀ culture''. For this paper, however, culture is
viewed as `̀ the way things are done in an
Keywords organisation''. It is composed of three
Corporate culture, Academic libraries, Management, elements ± shared values, decision-making
Strategic planning, Ghana patterns and overt behaviour patterns (Kono,
1990).
Abstract Previous studies (for example, Kono, 1990;
Davies et al., 1992) have suggested a fit
Cultural practices are defined in the context of this paper
between strategy and culture. They have
as being the way things are done in an organisation.
asserted that the more organisational strategy
Aspects of cultural practices that may affect strategic
and corporate culture are in true harmony, the
planning are explored in a study of stakeholders of five
higher the level of strategic management
Ghanaian university libraries and two senior civil servants.
competence. Other authors (such as Rue and
Points discussed include organisational values and beliefs,
Holland (1986) and Bowman and Asch
tribalism and organisational behaviour.
(1996)) have also shown a link between the
role of culture in strategy and the environment,
Electronic access
and have concluded that the internal and
The research register for this journal is available at external environments of an organisation affect
http://www.mcbup.com/research_registers the way individuals think. This paper therefore
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is explores some aspects of cultural practices in
available at Ghanaian university libraries that are likely to
http://www.emerald-library.com/ft affect the strategic planning process.
Methodology
This study uses a hybrid of quantitative and
qualitative research methodologies and
analysis. This is in agreement with Patton's
(1988) claim for a post-positivist view of
research. The post-positivist approach is
about using the approach which the
researcher deems most appropriate for his
study, each method being adopted
appropriately at any stage in the research.
Library Management
Volume 22 . Number 4/5 . 2001 . pp. 212±220 Ghana has five well established universities
# MCB University Press . ISSN 0143-5124 whose libraries were all considered ideal for
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this study because each case was found to implies that supervisors and subordinates
support the initial propositions of the consider each other as existentially unequal.
research. The cases are represented here as The hierarchical system is felt to be based on
UnivA, UnivB, UnivC, UnivD and UnivE for this existential inequality. Using some aspects
the sake of anonymity. of the power-distance concept (Hofstede,
The selection of subjects for the research 1991) the stakeholders and the library staff
was carried out in two phases. First, 85 major were asked separately to indicate the extent to
stakeholders of the Ghanaian university which they agreed with the following
libraries and four senior civil servants were statements:
selected for a qualitative interview. The (1) In the library, all workers can speak their
number that was actually interviewed was 61 minds even if it means disagreeing with
major stakeholders and two senior civil their superiors.
servants, giving a response rate of 71 per cent. (2) Subordinate staff are afraid to express
The 29 per cent who were not interviewed disagreement with superior officers.
were either not available, or refused to take (3) Subordinate staff fear the authority of
part. The major stakeholders consisted of: senior members.
deans of faculties, heads of departments,
Tables I(a) and (b) show the overall responses
registrars, planning officers, university
from the perspectives of the major
librarians and their deputies, members of
stakeholders and the library staff respectively.
library boards, members of library strategic
A cross tabulation of responses by library did
planning committees and finance officers and
their deputies. not yield any significant relationships.
Second, out of the 182 library staff at the The data in Table I(a) indicate a mixed set
five universities, 120 were selected and sent of responses from the major stakeholders.
questionnaires; 98 completed questionnaires Whilst the overall responses for statement
were returned, giving a high response rate of number 1 indicate that more respondents
82 per cent. Twenty-two people did not agree (11.5 per cent strongly agree and 42.6
return a completed questionnaire. per cent agree) with the statement that `̀ all
The analysis of data for this study used workers can speak their minds even if it means
some aspects of the grounded theory disagreeing with their superiors'' than those
approach (Glaser and Strauss, 1967) for the who disagree (34.4 per cent disagree) which is
qualitative study, and the SPSS (Nie et al., not consistent with the power distance
1970) for the quantitative study, using non- concept, for statement number 2, the majority
parametric techniques. The data analysis did of respondents agree (4.9 per cent strongly
not have separate sections devoted to agree and 60.7 per cent agree) with it. For the
individual cases. The whole paper consists of third statement, the table indicates that more
cross-case analysis. Each section is devoted to respondents disagree (67.2 per cent) with the
a separate cross-case issue and the statement that subordinates fear the authority
information from the individual cases is of senior members than those who agree (1.6
dispersed throughout each section. per cent strongly agree and 19.7 per cent
Qualitative responses are presented verbatim agree), which, like the responses for the first
in this report. statement, is not in line with the concept of a
long power distance, characteristic of
organisational climate of many developing
Findings countries (Hofstede, 1991).
Table I(b) however, shows a different set of
To determine whether corporate culture is, or results as more respondents (library staff)
is not, in conflict with corporate strategy, disagree with statement number 1 (6.1 per cent
some general philosophical statements were strongly disagree and 51.0 per cent disagree)
used to characterise the culture of the than those who agree; with more respondents
university libraries in Ghana. The first three agreeing (12.2 per cent strongly agree and 36.7
statements sought to ascertain how certain per cent agree) to statement number 2 than
processes within the libraries might affect those disagreeing (10.2 per cent strongly
individual perceptions and cognition, disagree and 28.6 per cent disagree) and still
particularly power relationships. The concept consistent with the concept, more respondents
of a large power-distance in the workplace agreeing to statement 3 (12.2 per cent strongly
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Table I Power relationships ± major stakeholder and library staff perspectives
Strongly Strongly
agree Agree Uncertain Disagree disagree Total
Statements No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
(a) Major stakeholder perspective
Statement 1 7 11.5 26 42.6 7 11.5 21 31.4 0 0.0 61 100.0
Statement 2 3 4.9 37 60.7 2 3.3 17 27.9 2 3.3 61 100.0
Statement 3 1 1.6 12 19.7 7 11.5 41 67.2 0 0.0 61 100.0
(b) Library staff perspective
Statement 1 6 6.1 24 24.5 12 12.2 50 51.0 6 6.1 98 100.0
Statement 2 12 12.2 36 36.7 12 12.2 28 28.6 10 10.2 98 100.0
Statement 3 12 12.2 39 39.8 15 15.3 19 19.4 13 13.3 98 100.0
agree and 39.8 per cent agree) than those who an organisation that operates under the
disagree (13.3 per cent strongly disagree and following assumptions:
19.4 per cent disagree). (1) Truth and ideas come from individuals
It is quite clear from the comparison of the but not from those in higher status only.
two different results that the library staff view (2) People mill about in conversation and
their daily working environments differently discussion and there is no deference and
from the major stakeholders. They disagreed obedience to rank.
that all workers can speak their minds, even if it (3) Relationships are not basically vertical
means disagreeing with their superiors. From and subordinates can approach bosses to
the library staff perspective, respondents are contradict them.
often afraid of their superiors and are hardly (4) Open office landscapes and an air of
likely to disagree with them. According to informality exists.
Hofstede (1991), the bosses in such situations Three more statements modelled on Schein's
usually turn out to be autocratic or paternalistic. assumptions were presented to the major
The result from the library staff perspective is stakeholders and the library staff in order to
quite conclusive and supports Hofstede's (1991) assess the effects of some of these values and
assertion that organisations in developing beliefs on strategy in the Ghanaian university
countries such as Ghana tend to show a high libraries.
power distance and that there is a high degree of The statements:
inequality in most of the organisations. (1) With regard to operational matters in the
The implication of this result for strategy in library, every individual's ideas are
the Ghanaian libraries is that the considered and truth does not come only
interdependence between the superior and from senior members.
the subordinate does not exist. There is more (2) Subordinates can approach senior
dependence by the subordinates on bosses members and contradict them.
than the other way round. The emotional (3) There is deference and obedience to rank.
distance between them is large, and Tables II(a) and (b) show the responses of the
subordinates will not normally approach and major stakeholders and the library staff
contradict bosses directly. For the strategy to respectively for the combined case studies, as
be successful, the power distance must be the cross tabulation of responses by
small and the dependence of subordinates establishments were not statistically
must be limited so as to encourage greater significant:
participation and interaction between bosses Table II(a) indicates that more respondents
and subordinates. agree with the first statement (13.1 per cent
strongly agree and 32.8 per cent agree) than
those who disagree (14.8 per cent disagree
Organisational values and beliefs and 23.0 per cent strongly disagree).
Similarly, more people agree (4.9 per cent
Edgar Schein (Handy, 1985) described two strongly agree and 37.7 per cent agree) with
contrasting cultures and stated that an statement number 2, than those who disagree
information strategy would flourish better in (18.0 per cent strongly disagree and 16.4 per
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Table II Responses to statements about beliefs and values ± major stakeholder and library staff perspectives
Strongly Strongly
agree Agree Uncertain Disagree disagree Total
Statements No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
(a) Major stakeholder
Statement 1 8 13.1 20 32.8 10 16.4 9 51.0 14 23.0 61 100.0
Statement 2 3 4.9 23 37.7 14 23.0 10 16.4 11 18.0 61 100.0
Statement 3 7 11.5 42 68.9 12 19.7 0 0.0 0 0.0 61 100.0
(b) Library staff perspectives
Statement 1 11 11.2 13 13.3 13 13.2 42 51.0 6 6.1 98 100.0
Statement 2 9 9.3 15 15.5 17 17.5 40 16.4 16 16.5 97 100.0
Statement 3 24 24.5 59 60.2 5 5.1 8 8.2 2 2.0 98 100.0
cent disagree). The responses to these two or structure on which to base competitive
statements are quite consistent with Schein's survival. Handy (1985) advises that such
model. However, for the third statement i.e. values and beliefs belong either to the past, or
`̀ there is deference and obedience to rank'', to a very stable environment.
the result is out of step with the model as the
majority of respondents agree that there is
deference and obedience to rank (11.5 per Tribalism
cent strongly agree and 68.9 per cent agree).
These mixed views supported by the major In his study of ethnic diversity, Legum (1979)
stakeholders do not conform to Schein's ideal found that African countries have a greater
organisation for strategic success. However, degree of ethnic, cultural and linguistic
the library staff did not substantiate these pluralism than any other countries in the
findings. Table II(b) shows the responses of world. Price (1975) found that in Ghana,
the library staff. chief executive officers are often subjected to
They indicate that for the first two role pressures from kinsmen and fellow
statements the library staff who disagree tribesmen, and in these circumstances tend to
outnumber those who agree. For statement favour fellow tribesmen when it comes to
number 1, 6.1 per cent strongly disagree and recruitment and selection.
42.9 per cent disagree, with 11.2 per cent In strategy formulation, the universalistic
strongly agreeing and 26.5 per cent agreeing. principle of selection according to quality is
For statement number 2, 16.5 per cent what prevails. With this in mind, the survey
strongly disagree and 41.2 per cent disagree. investigated the effect of tribalism on strategic
The majority of respondents, 24.5 per cent planning in the Ghanaian university libraries.
strongly agreed and 60.2 per cent agreed with First, the major stakeholders were asked to
the third statement that there is deference and indicate the extent to which they agreed with
obedience to rank. the statement `̀ A particular tribe dominates
The findings obtained from the library staff the workforce in your library''. The
perspective point to a culture opposite to the investigation was then repeated for the library
ideal one suggested by Schein. The one staff. Table III shows the overall responses for
indicated by the library staff affects the the combined case study institutions.
success of the strategy. It is a culture in which
truth and ideas come ultimately from those in Table III Responses to tribal domination in libraries
higher positions and in which subordinates Major
cannot usually approach senior members to stakeholders Library staff
contradict them. There is obedience and No. % No. %
deference to rank. Clearly, these responses
Strongly agree 0 0.0 3 3.1
from those who implement library strategies
Agree 21 34.4 9 9.3
indicate that the university libraries embody
Uncertain/not sure 9 14.8 17 17.5
many of the values of a strict discipline
Disagree 24 39.3 43 44.3
culture, lacking the benefits of flatter
Strongly disagree 7 11.5 25 25.0
organisation and the empowerment now
Total 61 100.0 97 100.0
sought in the 2000s as a more effective stance
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Over 50 per cent of the major stakeholders Well lateness, some people especially if you look
who responded felt that a particular tribe did at those in lower ranks but those who are sub-
not dominate the libraries' workforce, while a professionals are a bit conscientious, most of
them are quite punctual. The senior members
little over 30 per cent agreed with the
are much better and are usually not too late.
statement. Those who agreed were mostly
from UnivA where 11 out of the 15 The level of staff commitment to work was
respondents (73.3 per cent) felt there was also found to be very low, as noted by the
tribalism in their library. In the case of the majority of staff in all the libraries. This, they
other four establishments, the numbers of believed, affected the involvement in, and
those who agreed were relatively low. commitment to, the strategic planning
However, a significant number of the process and they feared that its long-term
library staff, 68 out of 97, disagreed (25.8 per effectiveness was in doubt. Examples of some
cent strongly disagreed and 44.3 per cent of the comments from the stakeholders at
disagreed) that a particular tribe dominated UnivA and UnivC are as follows:
the workforce in their libraries. At UnivA, I will say they are not committed. Very few in the
where it was found earlier that the major library system are committed. You give them work
and they do not do it satisfactorily which is not
stakeholders were in agreement with the
good for planning and the achievement of goals.
statement, the views of the library staff were
Well there are often times when people, especially
different, as 13 out of the 26 respondents (50 the junior staff, do not really put in the maximum
per cent) disagreed with the statement, with effort you expect of them. This affects our plans
only four agreeing and the rest uncertain. because they do not put in their maximum.
Generally, the results from both perspectives
In UnivA, UnivB, UnivC and UnivE another
indicate that a particular tribe does not
aspect of employees' behaviour that was seen
dominate the workforce in the libraries. This
as being counter-productive was their attitude
finding is not consistent with Price's (1975)
to working periods. Very many workers were
finding that chief executive officers' selection
described as not spending the entire time at
and recruitment policies in Ghana are
their desks, leaving assigned jobs uncompleted
influenced by family and tribal sentiments.
or haphazardly done. Typical responses from
However, it is an important finding for the
two major stakeholders at UnivE and UnivC
success of strategy implementation as the
are as follows:
selection of quality staff for library positions is
Sometimes workers have outside engagements
not likely to be threatened by tribal sentiments
and because the work is not satisfying they
in the university libraries. wouldn't stay from 8a.m. to 5 p.m. Some of the
staff are also involved in community activities.
So almost every day they have to find time to
attend to these things. When it is not time for
Organisational behaviour
them to go they sneak away and stop whatever
they are doing.
Certain aspects of behaviour in the working
Yes, work habit, well moving around without
environment which were thought likely to purpose. Not staying by their desks to finish
impinge on the success of strategic planning assigned work.
were investigated. The immediate goal was to
There were indications from most of the
uncover any mismatches between work habits
respondents that these negative aspects of
and management preferences.
organisational behaviour by some of the
In all the five case study institutions in
library staff had strong links with the
Ghana, the most commented-on behaviour
Ghanaian macro-environment. Though some
was bad time-keeping at all levels, which
respondents recognised that this behavioural
respondents felt affects the delivery of services
trait ran counter to the attainment of library
and quality of work. At UnivC, however,
objectives, they expressed the view that some
respondents remarked that bad time keeping
was more apparent among the junior staff aspects of the behaviour were the direct
than the other senior staff. Typical responses consequence of the poor reward system of
from two stakeholders at UnivA and UnivC work in Ghana. Other interviewees also tried
are as follows: to link the unsatisfactory behaviour to the
Lateness is the number one problem for all of us, poor economic climate and inadequate public
everybody. People come to work late and this transport. The following responses, given by
affects our work especially the quality of service. some members of the library management at
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UnivC, illustrate their beliefs about the link have been made so far to curtail the problem
between the organisational behaviour and the have proved to be ineffective as these aspects
external environment. of behaviour are as rampant now as they were
I do agree that punctuality is a problem but I a decade ago.
believe it is the economy. Certain issues affect What was found to be encouraging was the
you personally. You must move to solve your willingness of some of the respondents,
economic problems. It is an individual issue.
particularly those at UnivA, UnivC and
Many problems and people must survive. I know
it affects work, but as I said it depends on the UnivD, to effect cultural changes so as to
individual. boost the chances for the success of strategic
Well, the main problem with us is that a lot of planning. One of the respondents at UnivA
workers are off campus and the problem of suggested education and motivation as some
getting to the work place early to start work is of the methods to help the process of change:
difficult therefore lateness is bound to occur. It is
To discourage these negative behaviours we
due to a lack of adequate public transport.
need to give the workers incentives. They need
Other respondents, mainly the university to be trained and then promoted and there is the
librarians, also conceded that some of the need to let them know that their work is valued
that is what I am willing to do.
behaviour stemmed from traditions they had
inherited from their predecessors, which they However, a significant number of the
found very difficult to change. The following respondents, particularly at UnivA, UnivD and
statements made by two major stakeholders at UnivE, also expressed the view that there were
UnivB and UnivA illustrate this point: no immediate solutions to the problems as they
Lateness is one of the bad habits. The former had become chronic and continued to defy
librarian had not been firm with discipline and solution. They also explained that the problems
this is what has affected us. I must say that the had deep roots in their corporate, as well as the
problem is now chronic and will be difficult to
Ghanaian, social order. The following remark
change.
that was made by one of the major stakeholders
The problem now is endemic. Previous heads
have gone along with the situation without at UnivA illustrates this point:
checking and have even allowed people to get You see the attitude of not coming to work on
away with it and the practice has gone on for so time, the attitude of doing the least possible, the
long. I believe there has to be a change. They attitude of knocking off early, the attitude of
always attribute their behaviour to economic getting up and going to all kinds of places for
problems. If this continues, the economic long periods. People don't sit on their buttocks
problems will always stay with us. to do the work. It is a national disease and the
registry is the worst place so the library staff
Several respondents also explained that some always refer you to the registry if you try to
aspects of this behaviour were accepted social control these habits. Well, we try to lead by
norms which could be traced to the Ghanaian example but you see, people have done this for
social structures and remarked that it would far too long so if you try to work hard they tend
to believe you are doing the wrong things.
be difficult, if not impossible, to change as
supervisors, middle and top managers were The effect of organisational behaviour on
equally guilty. A remark made by a major strategy from the library staff perspective was
stakeholder at UnivC illustrates this point: subsequently investigated. Using some of the
There is too much familiarity between major issues that emerged from the
management and other staff. Some management interviews, subjects were asked to agree or
staff also come in late, they loiter about so how
disagree that a particular behaviour affected
do they correct these things. These things are
library services by indicating `̀ yes'' for agree
traditional. If someone leaves his job to attend a
funeral there is not much management can do and `̀ no'' for disagree. Table IV shows the
because funeral is regarded as a social function responses of the library staff.
you cannot stop any one from going to a funeral. Using simple majority views, it can be noted
I believe these things are part of us and will be that 51.7 per cent and 65.2 per cent of the
very difficult to change and I wonder if we can.
respondents considered lax supervision and
In the university libraries there have not been late arrival at work respectively as affecting
any large scale attempts to manage these library services; 7.9 per cent of the
aspects of behaviour in order to promote the respondents also reported other factors that
success of strategy implementation. Explicit they felt affected their libraries. The analysis
attention has not been given to matching of some of these factors (others) showed that
strategy and culture. However, attempts that they were rather more the cause of specific
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Table IV Responses concerning the effects of specific behaviour on library differences exist between the responses by
services institution. For the second cause, i.e. senior
Yes No officers cannot check because they are equally
responses responses Total guilty, 14 out of the 26 respondents (53.8 per
Behaviour No. % No. % No. % cent) reported that this was a cause of bad time-
keeping in UnivA. This indicates that probably,
Late arrival at work 58 65.2 31 34.8 89 100
if the senior officers could lead by example as
Lax supervision 46 51.7 43 48.3 89 100
reported by one interviewee, this behaviour
Loitering about 43 48.3 46 51.7 89 100
could be curtailed or even be eliminated.
Laziness on part of
Nine out of 17 respondents (52.9 per cent)
workers 31 34.8 58 65.2 89 100
at UnivD reported that family problems
Others 7 7.9 82 92.1 89 100
accounted for bad time-keeping in their
library; 15 out of 24 respondents (66.7 per
behaviour than behavioural practices cent) at UnivB reported a lack of job
themselves. Some of the respondents offered satisfaction as being a cause of bad time-
the following remarks: keeping. The differences between the libraries
Lack of motivation call for separate actions if the management of
Low salaries and no incentives lead to low these specific behaviours is to be effective.
productivity, etc. The overall finding, as far as the factors for
The causes of some aspects of organisational bad time-keeping are concerned, is that
behaviour, particularly bad time keeping, transportation problems were perceived by
were explored further. Respondents were over 80 per cent of the population as being
asked to select from a list of reasons why they the major cause of bad time-keeping in the
are sometimes late for work. Table V shows libraries. This finding is important to the
the outcome cross-tabulated by institution. strategy implementation process. First,
Table V indicates that for the combined case strategists will have to find a way of solving
studies, 86 out of 98 respondents (87.8 per the problem so as to cut down the effect it has
cent) reported that transportation problems on staff time-keeping. Second, it reinforces
were the major cause of bad time-keeping in Bowman and Asch's (1996) suggestion that
the libraries. This is not surprising because there is a strong link between organisational
very few of the library staff across all the culture and the external environment, and
libraries were found to have their own means that proper management of the external
of transport, while the rest of them have to use environment is necessary to achieve a fit
public transport, which in Ghana, as in most between culture and strategy.
developing countries, is very unreliable.
For the rest of the factors the overall
responses demonstrate that fewer than 40 per Discussion and conclusions
cent of the respondents indicated that any of
the factors listed were responsible for the bad Organisational culture can facilitate or hinder
time-keeping in libraries. However, some minor an organisation's strategic actions. Verespej's
Table V Responses from the library staff concerning the causes of bad time-keeping in the Ghanaian university
libraries, shown by institution
UnivA UnivB UnivC UnivD UnivE All
N=26 N=24 N=23 N=17 N=8 N=98
Causes Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No
Lateness is a national
culture 6 20 10 14 4 19 13 4 5 3 27 71
Senior officers cannot
check because they are
equally guilty 14 12 19 5 8 15 12 5 8 0 66 32
Family problems 14 12 18 6 16 7 8 9 5 3 61 37
Transportation problems 3 23 1 23 4 19 3 14 1 7 12 86
Lack of motivation 23 3 24 0 23 0 17 0 7 1 94 4
Other reasons 23 3 24 0 23 0 17 0 7 1 94 4
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study (1994) indicated that firms with to a power and role culture where culture
`̀ strategically appropriate cultures'', such as depends on a central power source, with
PepsiCo, Wal-Mart and Shell, outperformed influence spreading out from the central figure.
other corporations which had less appropriate The role culture is stereotyped as a
cultures. Kono (1990) has emphasised the bureaucracy, its strength resting in defined
point that the culture of a successful firm functions and specifications, as well as in
must be appropriate to, and supportive of, procedures and sets of job descriptions. The
that firm's strategy and that the culture must organisational beliefs and values of the libraries
enshrine values which can help the firm to studied in Ghana indicate a similar situation to
adapt to environmental change. that described by Schein (1985). For example,
An important aspect of culture that the responses indicated that an overwhelming
correlates with strategic success is the power number of respondents (84.7 per cent)
relationships that exist in an organisation. believed that the libraries were characterised
Hofstede (1991) demonstrated that a large by deference and obedience to rank, a kind of
power distance in an organisation correlates environment which Norton (1994) describes
negatively with organisational performance. as embodying values and beliefs that are less
The analysis of data, particularly of the library effective to competitive survival.
staff perspective of all the university libraries Davies et al. (1992) and Bowman and Asch
in Ghana, showed that there is a large power (1996) note that patterns of behaviour that
distance between library management and the clash with management preferences correlate
rest of the library staff. This finding is negatively with organisational performance
consistent with Hostede's study of the Power and hence the strategy process. The data
Distance Index (PDI) values of 50 countries analysis of the case study libraries in Ghana
and three regions when it was found that West suggests a number of tensions and conflicts
African countries had a high PDI of 77, much between staff behaviour, routinised both
higher than that of the USA (38) and Britain deliberately, or through custom and practice,
(44) (Hofstede, 1991). The implication for and the formal organisational routines. For
strategy is that the effect of organisational example, late arrival at work, lax supervision,
processes such as inequality at workplaces laziness, non-commitment and loitering
encourages a mechanistic structure. The emerged strongly as behavioural patterns
power to make decisions rests with only the which will have to be changed to create the
very top managers, and the tendency for junior compatibility between planned strategy and
staff, because of their non-participation, to the libraries' culture, because the more
block the implementation of decisions, affects strategies and corporate culture are in true
the strategy-culture relationship (Bowman harmony, the higher the level of strategic
and Asch, 1996). The negative impact of a management competence (Kono, 1990).
monopoly of organisational decision making In view of the culture-strategy misfit
by top management has been demonstrated in identified within the Ghanaian university
a study of 12 successful companies by Lorsch libraries, explicit attention should be given to
(1986). He found that, because top managers matching strategy with culture. The libraries
have a system of beliefs that underlie their need to adopt a participative style of
strategic choices, the less successful management and introduce informal strategic
companies have managers whose beliefs control. If they were able to do this, the large
inhibit strategic change and who are also power gap between bosses and subordinates
blinded by strongly held beliefs, without would begin to close. A reconfiguration of
listening to advice from other staff. staffing structures would also restructure
Schein (1985) has observed that culture is authority, responsibility, functions,
shaped by many factors such as values and programmes and resource allocation
beliefs. He states further that, in an conventions. As a result, there would be
organisation that operates under the redistribution of power. The current
assumptions that, for example, truth comes organisational values and beliefs in which
ultimately from older and higher status people, there is obedience to rank and subordinates
people are capable of loyalty and discipline in have a fear of approaching and contradicting
carrying out instructions. But some their bosses will begin to die out.
organisations are characterised by closed doors Management will have to fine tune some of
and deference and obedience to rank, leading the beliefs that will be stubbornly persistent.
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This article has been cited by:
1. Patricia Layzell WardEditor, Library Management, and joint‐author of Management Basics for Information Professionals.
2002. Management and the management of information, knowledge‐based and library services 2001. Library Management
23:3, 135-165. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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