INDIVIDUAL PERCEPTIONS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURES - A METHODOLOGICAL TREATISE ON LEVELS OF ANALYSIS

Data from a survey study of organizational cultures in 20 organization al units in Denmark and the Netherlands were re-analyzed at the indivi dual level, after elimination of between-unit variance. A factor analy sis showed individuals' values to be composed of six dimensions, and i ndividuals' perceptions of their organization's practices of another s ix dimensions, entirely different from the dimensions found earlier to apply at the organizational level. The scores on these new dimensions are related to various demographic characteristics of the respondents . This case is used for a methodological treatise stressing the need t o choose the proper level of analysis for the problem at hand, a need which is too seldom recognized.