Organizational Culture and Learning Organization: An Empirical Study of the Colleges in Bhutan

Aims: The study assessed the learning organization (LO) dimensions, dominant culture, and the relationship between the organizational culture and learning organization dimensions of the colleges of Royal University of Bhutan (RUB).

Study Design: It was a correlational study.

Place and Duration of Study: The sample consisted of teaching and non-teaching staff of the colleges of RUB. The survey was conducted in Bhutan between February and April 2022.

Methodology: The study participants were 201 teaching (161) and non-teaching (40) staff of the colleges of RUB. The Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) was used to analyze the culture of the colleges. The Dimensions of the Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ) was used to examine the LO characteristics of the colleges. IBM SPSS (Statistical Product and Service Solutions) version 21 was used for data analysis.

Results: RUB can be considered as a learning organization, as the average (4.051) of the DLOQ dimensions’ ratings by the staff is higher than the DLOQ scale average. The DLOQ dimension, connect the organization to its external environment, achieved the highest score. The DLOQ dimension, foster inquiry and dialogue, achieved the lowest score. The dominant culture of the colleges of RUB is clan culture. Clan culture significantly positively predicted, and hierarchy culture significantly negatively predicted the dimensions of a learning organization – continuous learning, inquiry and dialogue, team learning, strategic leadership for learning, systems to capture learning, empower people, and connect the organization. These predictors predicted 17.86 percent to 25.72 percent of the variance in the learning organization dimensions.

Conclusion: The dominant culture of the colleges can promote or act as a barrier to the LO practices in the organization. The colleges need to shift orientation from control to collaboration to promote LO characteristics in the colleges.