Perceptions of organizational culture among mental health providers at a Veterans Affairs hospital.

Abstract

A mixed method approach was utilized to assess the organizational culture of the mental health service line at a large Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital. The goals of the study were to assess the organizational culture, identify how employees differ in perceptions of organizational culture, and identify areas of strength and challenges. Two hundred thirteen participants returned a questionnaire assessing perceptions of organizational culture using the Organizational Culture Assessment Questionnaire (Sashkin & Rosenbach, 2013). Additionally, 22 employees and seven service line leaders participated in five focus groups that assessed for perceptions of culture. Quantitative results suggest that employees had a generally average to high average opinion of the organizational culture of the mental health service line within their VA hospital. Subscale scores suggested that customer orientation was a particular strength of the organization. Relative areas of weakness were that staff felt many decisions were imposed from outside the service line and that hard-working clinical staff were not always sufficiently recognized or rewarded for their actions. In general, demographic variables were not significantly related toward respondent opinion of the organizational culture. Substantial overlap existed between the qualitative and quantitative results. This study suggests that, at this VA's mental health service line, customer service was a strength. However, increased recognition of employees and externally imposed decision-making needed improvement. Although interventions have been implemented in these areas, it would be useful to repeat aspects of this study over time and across different institutions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).