Principals’ Perceptions on the Notion of Organizational Culture: The Case of Greece

Theodora Tzianakopoulou,Nikolaos Manesis

doi:10.13189/ujer.2018.061117

Abstract

Organizational culture constitutes a fundamental characteristic of the educational organism, because, it contributes to the shape of its character and of its members’ way of thinking and behavior and, it is also connected to the employees’ productivity and the students’ academic performance. It is commonly held that leadership and organizational culture are in a constant process of interaction and heteronomy, constituting two sides of the same coin. Therefore, one of the most important tasks that the educational leader undertakes is to create and manage organizational or school culture. We conducted research by subjecting a number of secondary school principals within Attica Prefecture in Greece to semiconductor interviews regarding the way in which they perceive the notion of organizational culture investigating the circumscription of culture, its contribution to the development of the school, its differentiation from the school climate, the principals’ vision for the culture of their school. It is clearly evident by the results that the notion of organizational culture is neither perceived nor defined by everyone in the same way resulting in it being frequently identified with the Organization and Administration of the school unit, while confusion with the notion of school climate is also observed.

Highlights

Organizational culture has been investigated in the education sector mainly in decentralized education systems.Culture, a fundamental component of an organism and an indicator of its quality is a complex, multidimensional, multileveled, and widely investigated notion, and even though culture has been proved a critical aspect of schools, and a crucial component for creating change in schools, there is no standard definition of the notion [5 - 12]
The object of investigation in the present study was the way in which the Attica Prefecture secondary school principals perceive the notion organizational or school culture, at a theoretical and practical level, in relation to the development of the school and the school climate, and expressed as vision
The questions addressed to the principals pertained to the perception of the notion or organizational/school culture, its contribution to the development of the school, its differentiation from the school climate, and their vision regarding the culture of their school unit

Summary

Introduction

A fundamental component of an organism and an indicator of its quality is a complex, multidimensional, multileveled, and widely investigated notion, and even though culture has been proved a critical aspect of schools, and a crucial component for creating change in schools, there is no standard definition of the notion [5 - 12] It is interpreted as the symbols, rituals, and myths that convey the values and perceptions of the organism to the employees [13], as the ideology of the organism, containing its perceptions and customs which differentiate it from the other organisms [14], as a system of commonly held perceptions which distinguishes one organism from the [15]. Organizational culture is often confused with the climate of the organism [19], or with the terms school climate and school ethos [11], as both notions, culture and climate, focus on the way in which the members of the organism perceive their environment [20], and both notions constitute basic factors for the description and analysis of organizational phenomena [21], and both notions are based on the existence of fundamental acceptances regarding the function, and the comprehension of its organizational structure [22]

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Discussion

Conclusion