Abstract

This study aimed at investigating different types of organizational cultures common in Egyptian workplaces and
how they might be influenced by the type of ownership (governmental, public, or private), the region in which
the organization exists (Cairo, North Egypt, or South Egypt), and the organization size (large vs. small).
Organizational cultures were divided, according to the Competing Values Model proposed Cameron and Quinn
(1999/2006), into four types: Market, Hierarchy, Adhocracy, and Clan cultures. Organizational cultures were
evaluated by developing an Arabic/Egyptian standardized version of the Organizational Climate Measure (OCM)
prepared originally by Patterson and his colleagues (Patterson et al. 2005). OCM was based on the Competing
Values Model and was designed to assess the four basic dimensions of the model, and it went further to define
specific components (which ranged from 2 to 6) for every dimension, with 4 to 6 items for each component. In
the OCM, the Clan culture was renamed Human Relations culture, which includes 6 dimensions, and Hierarchy
culture became Internal Process culture and included 2 components. Similarly, Adhocracy culture was renamed
Open System culture with 3 components, and Market culture was renamed Rational Goal culture with 6
components. A sample of 158 employees working in different professions participated in the study. Their ages
ranged between 19 to 62 years old and their mean age was 34.94 years (SD = 10.61). 82 (52%) were males ad 76
(48%) were females. A 3X3X2 MANOVA of the data was conducted. Results indicated that private
organizations got higher scores on Human Relations, Open System, and Rational Goal cultures than
governmental organizations (but not necessarily the public ones). On the other hand, organizations in North
Egypt and Cairo got higher scores than their counterparts in South Egypt in Human Relations (integration and
training), Open System (innovation) and most components of Rational Goal culture. However, South Egypt
organizations showed higher level of Internal Process (familiarization and tradition) than the organizations in
Cairo and North Egypt. As for Organization size, it has in general a limited effect on organizational culture but
large organizations showed significantly higher level of Internal Process (familiarization) and Rational Goal
(efficiency) cultures than small ones, which showed higher level of Open System (innovation) culture. The
patterns of interactions showed that public organizations in the north can have higher level of Open System
culture (innovation) than their private and governmental counterparts. Also, Human Relations culture (especially
training) can be important in small, family-owned organizations in South and North Egypt in comparison to
Cairo. Moreover, although private organizations tend to give employees more independence and responsibility,
the large ones tend to be more restrictive and formal than public and governmental ones, especially in Cairo
(where they usually have their central headquarters). Counter to the common belief, Rational Goal culture (work
quality and pressure to work) were higher in governmental organizations in South Egypt than private and public
ones because of the limited resources available to the private section in this region.

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