Writers on management and organizations have
Culture’s consequences:
organizational values,
satisfaction and
performance
Ronald J. Burke
The author
Ronald J. Burke is Professor in the Faculty of Administrative
Studies at York University, Ontario, Canada.
Abstract
Examines work outcome correlates of cultural values in a
large professional services firm interested in improving its
effectiveness. Data were collected from 1,608 women and
men using anonymously completed questionnaires. Describes
the cultural values of the firm, then examines correlates of
these values. Professional and service-oriented values were
more common than were personal balance and staff develop-
ment values. Several cultural values had significant relation-
ships with work outcomes. The less common cultural values
emerged as the strongest predictors of work outcomes. Offers
implications for management and organizations interested in
creating high involvement workplaces.
Empowerment in Organizations
Volume 3 · Number 2 · 1995 · pp. 19–24
© MCB University Press · ISSN 0968-4891
19
suggested that aspects of organizational culture,
particularly cultural values, can impact on work
performance, productivity and service quali-
ty[1-3]. Organizational culture has been defined
in several ways[4]. Some say it is the basic
assumptions underlying an organization’s val-
ues. Others say it is the organization’s norms.
Managerial writing on organizational culture
rests on three assumptions or premises: first,
that organizational culture is associated with
important work outcomes; second, that particu-
lar features or characteristics of organizational
culture explain these associations; third, that
work outcomes can be changed by changing
particular features of organizational culture.
Although there has been considerable recent
writing on the importance of organizational
culture, specifically organizational values, in
explaining features of performance and employ-
ee behavior, there has been relatively little
empirical research – either qualitative or quanti-
tative – undertaken so far. The past five years
have witnessed attempts to examine empirically
the links between features of organizational
culture, work performance and productivity[5-
7]. Kotter and Heskett[6] reported the results of
qualitative and quantitative research of how an
organization’s culture influences its economic
performance. They found that shared values
and unwritten rules enhanced economic success
or led to failures to adapt to changing markets
and environments. They considered the follow-
ing to be key value areas: valuing customers and
service quality, valuing employees, valuing
stockholders, and valuing excellent leadership
from managers. Denison[5] studied a conve-
nience sample of 34 organizations from 25
different industries. Cultural values or proper-
ties were measured using a well-developed,
standardized questionnaire. A number of finan-
cial performance measures (e.g. return on
investment, return on sales, performance
against competitors) as well as organization
process and work attitude measures (climate,
This research was supported in part by the Faculty of
Administrative Studies, York University, Canada.
The author would like to acknowledge the co-
operation of the organization in making the data
available. Cobi Wolpin assisted with data analysis
and Bruna Gaspini prepared the manuscript.
Culture’s consequences: organizational values, satisfaction and performance
Ronald J. Burke
leadership, group process, job satisfaction) were
included. Two climate measures (organization
of work and decision-making practices), which
Denison labeled a “widely-shared participative
culture”, were found to correlate significantly
with financial performance. Schneider[7] sum-
marized the results of several projects support-
ing a relationship between elements of a service
culture (e.g. routines and rewards for service,
active attempts to retain customers, incentives
and rewards for service excellence, staffing
levels and training permitting good service),
human resource practices (e.g. career
programs), and service quality as perceived by
customers. In addition, he describes the efforts
of a CEO of a financial services company to
transform her organization to a more service-
oriented one.
The purpose of this investigation was to
consider the relationship of particular organiza-
tional values to measures of perceived perfor-
mance and aspects of work satisfaction within a
large professional services company. The values
in question were identified by the firm as poten-
tially critical ones to embrace during the 1990s
as it attempts to become more effective in pro-
viding quality service and innovative products in
an increasingly competitive marketplace. The
firm concluded that to achieve these goals it
needed to utilize the talents of its people more
fully. This would emphasize the development of
skills and competences, a greater use of team-
work, continuous improvement strategies, and
efforts to increase the satisfaction and commit-
ment of staff. To encourage greater participa-
tion, the firm might consider a variety of new
participative management approaches that have
gained increasing popularity in the last
decade[8-10]. These have included initiatives
such as quality circles, self-managing work-
teams, job enrichment and process re-engineer-
ing. These initiatives share a common goal of
increasing employee involvement and empower-
ment in hopes of increasing quality, productivity
and performance.
Method
Procedure
This study represents a secondary analysis of
survey data collected in the firm. The survey
was sent to all employees (n = 2,150) via inter-
20
Empowerment in Organizations
Volume 3 · Number 2 · 1995 · 19–24
nal mail. It was accompanied by a cover letter
from the senior partner discussing the objectives
of the survey and guaranteeing anonymity. This
approach controls context factors such as indus-
try, technology, history, policies and proce-
dures. The downside of this strategy is that it
limits ability to generalize results to similar firms
in similar industries.
Respondents
Table I presents the demographic characteristics
of the sample (n = 1,608), a 70 percent response
rate. Slightly more women than men completed
questionnaires. Men, however, were at signifi-
cantly higher organization levels than were
women. About three quarters of the respon-
dents were university graduates, most of these
also having professional designations in specific
areas of expertise. About 60 percent were mar-
ried and about 40 percent had children.
Approximately 30 percent had been with the
firm for three years or fewer and about 30 per-
cent were 30 years of age or younger.
Measures of organizational values and
outcome variables
Respondents indicated the current existence of
ten values in the organization (1 = not at all, 5 =
to a great extent). These values were:
(1) dedicated to outstanding service to clients;
(2) place high value on staff development;
(3) have respect for one another;
(4) will not compromise integrity, objectivity
or independence;
(5) work as a team for the benefit of clients;
(6) are dedicated to continuous improvement;
(7) balance responsibilities to themselves,
their families, their communities as well as
to the firm;
(8) support the worldwide organization;
(9) maintain the highest standards of profes-
sionalism;
(10) committed to making the firm a better
place.
Quality of service and products was measured
by a five-item scale (x = 0.83). Respondents
compared the firm against its major competitors
in five areas (1 = falling significantly behind; 3 =
performing about the same; 5 = moving signifi-
cantly ahead). These included “delivering
timely and high quality services and/or results”
 Culture’s consequences: organizational values, satisfaction and performance Empowerment in Organizations
Ronald J. Burke Volume 3 · Number 2 · 1995 · 19–24

Table I Demographic characteristics and “delivering value-added services and/or

products”.
Demographic characteristics n Percentage
Support for service was measured by a seven-
Gender
item scale (x = 0.85). Respondents indicated
Male 766 48.0
the extent to which the firm provided seven
Female 829 51.6
types of support to be effective (1 = not at all; 5
Age
= to a great extent). Items included “hardware
Less than 25 190 11.8
needed to be effective”, “support staff to assist
25-29 509 31.7
30-34 292 18.2 in the use of technologies”, and “adequate
35-39 213 13.2 working facilities/office space”.
40-44 45 9.0 Barriers to service was measured by an eight-
45 or older 259 16.1 item scale (x = 0.77). Respondents indicated
Level how frequently they encountered each of eight
Partner 209 13.1 specific barriers to providing quality service to
Director 43 2.7 clients or internal customers (1 = never; 5 =
Senior manager 91 5.7 very often). Items included “difficulty coordi-
Manager 235 14.8 nating services across departments”, “lack of
Assistant manager 157 9.9 encouragement to seek resources outside your
Senior accountant 250 15.7 department”, and “lack of availability of staff
Staff accountant 168 10.6 resources with appropriate skills”.
Professional assistant 55 3.5 Job satisfaction was measured by a 20-item
Administrative staff 382 24.0 scale (x = 0.89). Respondents indicated the
Dependent adult relative extent to which working at the firm actually
Yes 90 5.6 provided satisfaction on each of 20 factors (1 =
No 158 94.4 not at all; 5 = to a great extent). Factors includ-
Children ed “challenging nature of the work”, “opportu-
Under 5 288 17.9 nity for advancement”, “perception of your
6-13 252 15.7
employer as a prestigious organization”, and
14-18 138 8.6
“appreciation for a job well done”.
19-21 84 5.2
Developmental climate was measured by a
Over 21 114 7.1
six-item scale (x = 0.80). Respondents indicated
Organization tenure
how effective six aspects of working at the firm
Less than 1 year 156 9.8
1-3 485 30.3 were in supporting continuous learning and
4-6 408 25.5 development (1 = not at all; 5 = to a great
7-15 356 22.3 extent). Items included “coaching or advice
Over 15 years 194 12.1 from their peers”, “opportunities to try new
Marital status activities in a guided way”, and “on-the-job
Single, no children 581 36.5 training provided by managers and partners”.
Single, children 60 3.8 Firm versus others was measured by a six-
Married, children 598 37.6 item scale (x = 0.73). Respondents indicated,
Married, no children 351 22.2 when comparing the firm with other places
Spouse employed outside home where they could work, how they viewed each
Yes 752 79.0 factor (1 = better elsewhere; 3 = about the
No 260 21.0 same; 5 = better at the firm). Items included
Spouse works “quality of life”, and “security and opportunity
Fewer hours 330 46.9 to develop marketable skills”.
Same hours 239 34.0 Intent to quit was measured by a single item.
More hours 134 19.1 Respondents indicated, based on their current
Length of commute career plans, how long they would like to con-
Less than half hour 793 49.8 tinue to work at the firm (1 = less than one year;
Half to one hour 659 41.4 3 = three to five years, 5 = for the rest of your
More than one hour 140 8.8 career).
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 Culture’s consequences: organizational values, satisfaction and performance Empowerment in Organizations
Ronald J. Burke Volume 3 · Number 2 · 1995 · 19–24

Results Table III Organizational values, satisfaction and performance

Presence of organizational values Criterion variables R2 ∆R2 P

Table II shows, for the ten values, the extent to Quality of service and products ( n = 938)
which each was observed in the firm. The most Dedicated to constant improvement (0.19) 0.18 0.18 0.001
prevalent values were: dedicated to outstanding Dedicated to outstanding service (0.19) 0.24 0.06 0.001
service to clients, high standards of profession- Committed to making the firm better
alism, and will not compromise integrity. The (0.16) 0.27 0.03 0.001
least prevalent cultural values were: balancing Balanced responsibilities (0.10) 0.28 0.01 0.001
responsibilities to themselves, families, commu- Work as a team for client (0.10) 0.28 0.01 0.01
nities and the firm, committed to making the Support for service ( n = 971)
firm a better place, having respect for one Committed to making the firm better
another, supporting the worldwide organization (0.19) 0.12 0.12 0.001
and placing a high value on staff development. High value on staff development (0.13) 0.14 0.02 0.001
Balanced responsibilities (0.11) 0.15 0.01 0.001
Regression analyses Maintain highest professional standards
Hierarchical regression analyses were carried (0.10) 0.16 0.01 0.01
out in which the various outcome variables
Barriers to service ( n = 916)
were regressed, one at a time, on the ten
Balanced responsibilities (–0.20) 0.12 0.12 0.001
organizational values. The results of the
Maintain highest professional standards
regression analyses are shown in Table III.
(–0.15) 0.16 0.05 0.001
The Table shows the amount of variance
High value on staff development (–0.15) 0.19 0.02 0.001
explained (R2), increases in explained
Work as a team for clients (–0.12) 0.20 0.01 0.001
variance with the addition of other significant
Have respect for one another (–0.08) 0.20 0.00 0.01
predictors (∆R2), level of significance of
Support worldwide organization (0.07) 0.21 0.00 0.01
variance explained and, for each significant
predictor, the strength of its relationship with Developmental climate ( n = 928)
the criterion variable (β). High value on staff development (0.14) 0.06 0.06 0.001
The following comments are offered in sum- Highest standards of professionalism
mary. First, four to six organizational values had (0.12) 0.09 0.03 0.001
significant independent relationships with each Work as a team for clients (0.10) 0.10 0.01 0.001
criterion variable. Second, these organizational Have respect for one another (0.08) 0.10 0.00 0.05
values explained a moderate amount of variance Firm vs. others ( n = 71)
in the criterion variables (R2), ranging from Committed to making firm better (0.17) 0.18 0.18 0.001
0.16 to 0.28. Third, particular organizational Balanced responsibilities (0.19) 0.23 0.06 0.001
values were significant and independent predic- High value on staff development (0.18) 0.26 0.03 0.001
tors of more than half of the criterion variables. Have respect for one another (0.14) 0.28 0.01 0.001

Table II Presence of cultural values Job satisfaction ( n = 1076)

Have respect for one another (0.14) 0.16 0.16 0.001
Cultural values Mean SD n Rank High value on staff development (0.17) 0.22 0.06 0.001
Dedicated to outstanding service to Balanced responsibilities (0.16) 0.25 0.03 0.001
clients 4.0 0.79 1,564 1 Maintain highest professional standards
High value on staff development 3.4 0.90 1,566 6 (0.12) 0.27 0.02 0.001
Respect for one another 3.4 0.91 1,569 8 Committed to making the firm better (0.08) 0.28 0.00 0.05
Not compromise integrity 3.9 0.87 1,498 3 Will not compromise integrity (0.08) 0.28 0.00 0.05
Work as team for clients 3.5 0.93 1,541 4 Intent to quit ( n = 830)
Dedicated to continuous improvement 3.5 0.84 1,540 5 Balanced responsibilities (0.22) 0.11 0.11 0.001
Balance responsibilities to selves, Will not compromise integrity (0.16) 0.14 0.03 0.001
families 3.0 1.00 1,516 10 Making firm a better place (0.12) 0.15 0.01 0.01
Support worldwide organization 3.4 0.87 1,271 7 Support the worldwide organization
High standards of professionalism 4.0 0.78 1,552 2 (–0.12) 0.16 0.01 0.01
Committed to making firm a better place 3.3 0.90 1,535 9 High value on staff development (0.08) 0.16 0.00 0.05

22
Culture’s consequences: organizational values, satisfaction and performance
Ronald J. Burke
These included: balanced responsibilities, six of
seven; high value on staff development, six of
seven; committed to making the firm better, five
of seven; have respect for one another, four of
seven; and maintain the highest professional
standards, four of seven.
Discussion
This study examined potential consequences of
adopting specific organizational values to facili-
tate the service quality and effectiveness of a
professional service firm. These values, ten in
all, were identified and articulated following
intensive discussion and dialogue both inside
and outside the firm. The firm had embarked
on a national communication and education
program in an effort to instill these values in the
actions of the firm.
The data (Table III) indicated that many of
the organizational values advocated by the firm
did indeed have important consequences. That
is, about half of the ten values considered had
significant and independent relationships with
the various work outcomes that were investigat-
ed. These findings were noteworthy for several
reasons.
The work outcomes that were considered had
obvious business bottom line relevance. That is,
supports and barriers to quality service, per-
ceived quality of service and products compared
with competitors, job satisfaction and intent to
quit lie at the heart of effective performance in
the service sector. The organizational values
having the greatest number of significant rela-
tionships with these work outcomes involved
human resources rather than technical or ser-
vice values. Thus, having balanced responsibili-
ties to themselves, their families, their commu-
nities as well as to the firm, being committed to
making the firm a better place, placing a high
value on staff development, and having respect
for one another stood out as critical organiza-
tional values. One organizational value, support
for the worldwide organization, was found to
have negative consequences. That is, women
and men indicating greater support for this
value also reported greater barriers to service
within the firm as well as greater intention to
quit. This finding requires further study. Those
organizational values having the greatest num-
ber of significant relationship with the outcome
23
Empowerment in Organizations
Volume 3 · Number 2 · 1995 · 19–24
measures (Table III) were also the values that
were less common in the firm (Table II). In fact,
four of the five most significant organizational
values (balanced responsibilities, staff develop-
ment, respect, making the firm a better place)
fell in the bottom half of the rank order of orga-
nizational values. Thus, the firm faces a consid-
erable challenge in simultaneously introducing
new values while reinforcing and maintaining
others.
The pattern of findings reported above has
practical implications. First, the specific values
the firm has articulated in its statement of values
are indeed important, given their association
with important business-related outcomes.
Second, putting these values and associated
attitudes and behaviors into practice – both in
senior staff and with a higher level of commit-
ment – is likely to have service quality and per-
formance dividends. However, the difficulties of
such cultural transformation should not be
taken lightly. Considerable time, effort and
resources will probably be required; some resis-
tance will undoubtedly surface. The role of
senior management – the partnership in this
firm – is of utmost significance. The collegial
(non-hierarchical) nature of professional service
firms adds potentially unique complexities to
the cultural change process.
‘…Partners need to be helped to embrace
and behave more closely in line with
these values…’
The following initiatives would seem to be
helpful in this process. A statement of values
must be articulated. The reasons for this devel-
opment and the statement itself must be shared
with all staff in the firm. Partners need to be
helped to embrace and behave more closely in
line with these values. Support, in the form of
training, communication, rewards and
resources, must be provided so more managers
and staff can be successful in implementing and
demonstrating them. In addition, realistic
expectations about the length of time needed to
introduce and embed the values in the living
system must be held. It is not uncommon to
envision a three-to-five-year time frame. Finally,
the firm must diligently and consistently sup-
Culture’s consequences: organizational values, satisfaction and performance
Ronald J. Burke
port the initiative. Without such efforts, it is
likely that only limited success, if any, will
result. This is particularly true in organizations
that have a poor record of bringing about
changes in management and organization.
This firm has begun to espouse particular
values[3]. It is obviously important that the
espoused values be reasonably congruent with
the underlying values and behaviors. When this
is the case, the expression of these values into a
philosophy of management and organization
can serve as a source of identity and mission. As
Lawler[9] has shown, these values can provide
energy for change efforts toward high involve-
ment and empowering management.
References
1 Peters, T., Thriving on Chaos, Alfred A. Knopf, New York,
NY, 1987.
24
Empowerment in Organizations
Volume 3 · Number 2 · 1995 · 19–24
2 Deal, T.E. and Kennedy, A.A., Corporate Cultures,
Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1982.
3 Schein, E.H. , Organizational Culture and Leadership,
Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA, 1992.
4 Frost, P.J., Moore, L.F., Louis, M.R., Lundberg, C.C. and
Martin, J., Organizational Culture, Sage, Beverly Hills,
CA, 1985.
5 Denison, D., Corporate Culture and Organizational
Effectiveness, John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY,
1990.
6 Kotter, J.P. and Heskett, J.L., Corporate Culture and
Performance, The Free Press, New York, NY, 1992.
7 Schneider, B., Organizational Climate and Culture,
Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA, 1990.
8 Block, P., The Empowered Manager: Positive Political
Skills at Work, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA, 1987 .
9 Lawler, E.E., High Involvement Management, Jossey-
Bass, San Francisco, CA, 1986.
10 Varney, G.H., Building Production Teams, Jossey-Bass,
San Francisco, CA, 1989.