The Relationship between Organizational Culture in the Municipality and Empowerment of Residents of Informal Accommodations (Case study: Mashhad city)

Subject Areas :

rostam saberifar ¹ (Associate Professor, Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran)

Received: 2019-05-16 Accepted : 2019-10-18 Published : 2020-07-22

Keywords: Organizational Culture, Empowerment, Mashhad, mission and compliance, informal accommodations,

Abstract :

The general purpose of this study was to determine the status of residents' empowerment in marginal areas of Mashhad and the effect of organizational culture on this trend. The research method was descriptive-correlational and the population of the study consisted of 240 residents of informal accommodations in Mashhad as well as 120 officials and personnel of the municipality. Data were gathered using Denison's organizational culture questionnaire and psychological empowerment. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, especially regression and Friedman test. The results showed that the level of empowerment among residents was about 2.41. However, for empowerment, it is imperative that people are also part of the body of planning and implementation. Obviously, following such a comprehensive approach will not be free of challenge, because authorities often fear the transfer or division of power and refrain from providing information to people. Empowerment of the community is a dynamic and inclusive process. The main goal of the empowerment process is to make suitable changes in all dimensions and aspects of lives of individuals, families, groups, and social strata, so that by exploiting the satisfaction and desire of the people, their potential and hidden talents become under control and it is possible to improve their lives. As a result, if the authorities accept that residents have the power and willingness to change affairs, one could hope that the residents' empowerment would increase to an acceptable level.
Introduction: One of the ways to improve citizen participation and satisfaction is to empower citizens, especially in areas (informal accommodations) where economic, social and cultural conditions are not at an acceptable level. Partnership in this sense is a process based on mutual dialogue and citizens identify their residential place by acquiring identity through this dialogue. However, empowerment requires numerous contexts and prerequisites that are often overlooked by the municipality, and that is why empowerment projects have not been well-received. In fact, if citizens are to intervene in city affairs, a process should be in place for them to find the information and facilities needed for this partnership. The basic tools of this process are organizational culture and empowerment. Organizational culture consists of many dimensions and components, which emphasize on four aspects of engagement, adaptability, adaptability, and mission, according to Dennison. Therefore, the general purpose of this study was to determine the status of residents' empowerment in marginal areas of Mashhad and the effect of organizational culture on this trend.
Methodology: This research was practical regarding its objectives and descriptive-analytic regarding its methodology, which was performed through correlational procedures. Required data for research in the theoretical background and literature were obtained from the existing documents and library surveys, while filed information was collected using questionnaires completed by municipality staff (to determine the status of organizational culture) and residents of the slums (to determine their level of empowerment). The study population consisted of all residents of Mashhad settlements, which was about 922282 people according to the latest census. Accordingly, with a 5% error, the required sample size was considered to be 384. From the managers and executives, a number of 120 people were interviewed using convenience sampling method. Eight basic dimensions were used to determine empowerment, including goal clarity, morale, fairness, gratitude, teamwork, participation, communication, and a healthy environment. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, especially regression and Friedman test.
Results and discussion: The results showed that the level of empowerment among residents was about 2.41. Regarding the influencing factors on the level of empowerment, the first test indicated that the level of significance was 0.000 and the calculated t was 2.296; therefore, the organizational culture had a decisive role in this context. The same tests showed that 55% of the empowerment was due to the engagement in work. The next question was whether the municipality provides the residents with the possibility of engagement in work or not. The results indicated that at a significant level of 0.011 and in the case of access to required conditions, the empowerment of the residents would become more and more. Also, Coefficient of Determination was calculated to be 0.047, which indicates that the created empowerment is related to the adaptability. The existing information was analyzed and it was found that at the significance level of 0.039, adaptability was effective on empowerment of residents. Finally, the component of mission in the organizational culture and its contribution to empowerment were investigated. According to the findings, the significance level of the test was 0.000 and showed that the mission component in organizational culture and its role on empowerment could be considered. Since the coefficient of determination was also 0.130, it was found that the resulting empowerment was due to the mission component in the organizational culture. In general, the greater the belief of municipal personnel in engagement, adaptability, compliance, and quality of mission, the greater will be their ability and capability to empower residents. In this process, adaptability has had the highest and mission has had the lowest contribution. As a result, if the authorities accept that residents have the power and willingness to change affairs, one could hope that the residents' empowerment would increase to an acceptable level.
It can be concluded that organizational culture has been effective on empowering the residents. In addition, the results of Friedman test for each of the components of organizational culture indicate that adaptability dimension had the most impact and mission dimension had the least impact on empowerment of residents. This result is inconsistent with the findings of others showing that mission is at the forefront and adaptability is at the bottom. Perhaps one of the reasons is that previous research has been conducted in a law enforcement agency and in such organizations for security reasons, the mission dimension has a higher status and importance than adaptability.
Conclusion: However, the current study is conducted considering the municipality as a civic body. In organizations such as the municipality, the main effort is to determine what the people want and how to maximize public participation in city administration. In fact, the higher priority of adaptability in the municipality somehow emphasizes the attention to and emphasis on promoting satisfaction. However, in the military and law enforcement agencies, the balance between sovereignty and the people is considered as an important factor and when there is a conflict between the two, the influence of this sector on the people is exerted due to the role of the government in such organizations. The existence of elected bodies such as the City Council and the municipal authorities from 1983 onwards has had its own effects which cannot be denied. As stated in the Findings section, the reasons for this could be the emphasis of NGOs on the demands and satisfaction of customers and the dependence of the municipality on the residents in terms of its income and also the impact of the selected institutions in the desired organization. However, the reality is that actual and widespread public participation in city administration can address many of the shortcomings and increase the level of satisfaction to an acceptable level, because in the participation process, programs are adapted to the opinions and suggestions of residents and are therefore, developed in a more realistic way.

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