Abstract
Commissioned by Yolo County’s Administrative Officer, the purpose of this thesis is to advance Yolo County’s efforts to be a learning organization that is able to continuously and organically adapt to today’s rapidly evolving world. This thesis seeks to advance this effort by conducting an organizational culture assessment to provide Yolo County’s leaders and decision makers with a better understanding of the assumptions and norms that permeate the organization and form its cultural identity. The assessment uses two different models – the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) and the Good to Great Diagnostic Tool. The OCAI identifies the culture type of the organization, the robustness of the culture type, congruence of culture types across the organization, and any discrepancies between the current and preferred culture types. The Good to Great Diagnostic Tool assess and compares Yolo County’s organizational culture characteristics against an idealized model of organizational culture. From the assessment results, four themes emerged. First, there is a significant disconnect between the current culture of the organization and the culture preferred by its employees. Second, the rules and process driven culture of Yolo County is beginning to stifle employees. Third, there is a disincentive for healthy risk taking within Yolo County. Finally, there is a disproportionate focus on short-term requirements at the expense of long-term goals for lasting organizational change. The findings provide insight to Yolo County’s leaders about the culture of the organization so that they can develop the organization from a more informed perspective and helps facilitate a sustained thinking within Yolo County of how deeply rooted cultural characteristics are shaping the behaviors of the organization to better accomplish its critical task of serving its residents as effectively and efficiently as possible.