Professional Culture and Efficacy Correlates of Organizational Effectiveness in Cooperative Extension Services.

Abstract

Several important lines of inquiry have been developed during the past fifty years to study the complex nature of educational organizations. In particular, theorists, researchers, and educational policy makers have become increasingly concerned about the effectiveness of educational institutions. Recently, significant research and policy maker attention has been focused on issues of effectiveness of higher education. The Cooperative Extension Services as ancillary outreach units of state land grant universities are no exception and the extant literature has been focused primarily on outcomes as organizational effectiveness measures. This study addresses the need to develop more comprehensive conceptual frameworks for studying perceived organizational effectiveness in settings of higher education that link organizational and personal features with perceived organizational effectiveness measures. This investigation used a large sample survey and quantitative methods in five states (Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin) to examine relationships between human efficacy, culture and perceived organizational effectiveness. An argument was made that efficacy and strong culture are key elements of effective state Extension Service organizations. Professional organizational culture is hypothesized to be positively affected by strong efficacy beliefs of organizational members which may serve to enhance the organizations' effectiveness. Measures of human efficacy, professional organizational culture and perceived organizational effectiveness were developed to explore linkages among the variables. Results of the study showed that perceived organizational effectiveness is largely explained by personal and environmental characteristics of the organization---the organizational culture (professional values, relationships, reflection and collaboration) and the human efficacy (self, office workgroup and organizational).