PERCEPTION OF THE UNIVERSITY ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE BY ACADEMICS VS. STUDENTS

Abstract

There are a lot of studies devoted to organizational culture of the academics and students at the universities. However, these studies refer either only to the former or only to latter. This provides no opportunity for comparing the perception of organizational culture by academics and students of the same university and, hence, for conclusions regarding needed or possible changes of this culture. This research is supposed to eliminate this shortcoming. The widely known method of OCAI has been used for the study. The study has covered academics and students of all academic departments of Tomsk Polytechnic University. The traditional OCAI questionnaire has been adapted to the university specificity, as well as to the level of students’ organizational culture perception. The study shows that organizational profiles of academics and students are very similar, but the academics demonstrate heavier accent on hierarchical culture. Therefore, the regular staff of the university possesses a strong culture, which is very likely to be imposed on the university’s variable – students. The research also reflects the trend to enhancing hierarchical culture at the university, this tendency seeming rather dangerous. The research has taken place in a Russian technical university. It seems to be reasonable to do such a study in other kinds of universities in order to obtain a comprehensive picture of organizational culture in Russian higher school. The article describes the first experience of combined studying the academics’ and students’ organizational culture. Its results might orient university administrators and academics to paying special attention to their own organizational culture, since this culture is translated to society via values fostered in university graduates during their student’s life.