CERGAS Seminar "Identifying Influential Factors in Organizational Culture in Academia: A Case Study of a Pharmacy Department in the United States."

Objectives. (1) To measure organizational culture at an academic pharmacy department that employs many types of faculty types and areas of focus and (2) to explore factors that influence organizational culture at the department.

Methods. Case study of one, multi-disciplinary pharmacy department at an R1 university in the United States, comprising contract and tenure-track faculty, including non-pharmacists, clinical pharmacists, and non-clinical pharmacists with different effort allocations. An explanatory sequential mixed methods approach was used by first conducting a cross-sectional quantitative survey of the department faculty (N=20), followed up by qualitative focus group interviews to interpret survey results. The survey measured 36 items across six Dimensions of Culture. Survey data were analyzed with descriptive statistics to identify organizational culture areas rated high and low. Subsequent focus groups with eight faculty explored factors influencing these areas. Focus groups transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis to develop themes.

Results. Survey response rate was 75%. Highly rated items were reported in the Dimensions of Culture of Emphasis on Collegiate Support and Stability, while low rated items were reported in Social Responsibility, Innovation, and Performance Orientation. Five main themes emerged from the interviews: 1) “Meaningful departmental reflection involves preparation, discussion, and follow-through”, 2) “Departmental innovation is hindered by risk aversion, insufficient follow through on initiatives and lack of capacity, but bolstered by collaboration and celebration of achievement”, 3) “The Department’s Performance Orientation is affected by lack of unified departmental identity and the need for more communication around accomplishments”, 4) “Collegiate Support is bolstered by a sense of being visible and valued as a person”, and 5) “Stability is supported by transparent leaders and intentional department interactions.”

Conclusion. Supporting innovation, fostering a departmental identity, and valuing faculty contributions can affect organizational culture and be leveraged by leaders to improve culture in academic pharmacy.

Speaker:

Dr. Federico Facciolo is a Collaborator at CERGAS SDA Bocconi, where he contributes to developing a harmonized framework for conducting Early Feasibility Studies of medical devices in the European Union. He earned a Laurea Magistrale in Pharmacy from the University of Pavia, an MS in Social and Administrative Pharmacy from Creighton University (USA), and a PhD in Social and Administrative Pharmacy from the University of Minnesota (USA). Before joining Bocconi, Dr. Facciolo gained diverse experience across academia and the pharmaceutical industry in the United States. His contributions include leading pharmacy services research, conducting academic program evaluation and quality improvement projects, supporting drug approval processes, and interpreting clinical research data to educate health professional stakeholders. Dr. Facciolo’s career goal is to use mixed methods and evaluation approaches to advance higher education and society.

Link zoom:

https://unibocconi-it.zoom.us/j/93367776029?pwd=tWMJ0f0fbOWZljjihEn5d4X2WsabLB.1

Meeting ID:

933 6777 6029

Passcode:

661052

Lunch at the end of the meeting: for those willing to participate in person, click here before the 1st of October.