Functional Ethos In Organizations: Validating The Framework

Abstract

Organizational Ethos represents the underlying spirit of an organization. It is based on core values prevailing in the
organisation and is reflected in beliefs, customs and practices therein. Pareek has developed Octapace Profile for
measurement o f eight core values (Openness, Confrontation, Trust, Authenticity, Proaction, Autonomy, Collaboration,
and Experimentation) that constitutefunctional organizational ethos and lead to institution building. Theframework
o f octapace profile has been analysed. Confirmatory factor analysis o f 40 items of the instrument, measured on 302
randomly selected executives in a public sector industry, has thrown new light on the conceptual framework of octapace
profile. Instead of eight factors, only two clear factors emerged, one representing functional ethos and the other
dysfunctional ethos. Correlation of individual items with the score for each subscale has revealed weak items that need
to be redesigned for enhancing the reliability and validity of the instrument. The study points to the need for redesigning
theframework for measurement o f functional organizational ethos.