Mrwmd – an Organizational Study
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ORGANIZSATION CULTURE
MRWMD:
DOES IT SUPPORT THE ORGANIZSATION MISSION?
Table of contents?
Introduction
The Monterey Regional Waste Management District (MRWMD) had humble beginnings in 1951 when forward thinking county officials had a vision of a better waste management system for the Monterey Peninsula, ending the era of unconditional garbage dumping that had prevailed. From this time on, a Board of Directors has labored to ensure that the waste from Monterey Peninsula residents is disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner that not only satisfies state and federal legal requirements, but ensures that the health of the peninsula is preserved for decades to come .
Currently the MRWMD disposes the household, business and industrial waste of more than 170,000 residents . Its purpose is to maximize the diversion of waste from landfill by following three simple steps: reduce, reuse and recycle. Reduce the amount of landfill by reusing waste products in their original form or by recycling them for other purposes. The MRWMD mission embodies the values that the original county officials had in mind more than 50 years ago:
“Provide the highest quality, cost-efficient, integrated waste management services to the greater Monterey Peninsula, while preserving our environment and protecting public health through the reduction, reuse, recycling and safe disposal of our waste stream”
The aim of this paper is to assess whether MRWMD has a culture that supports the organization mission. This will be accomplished by investigating employee values, behaviors, beliefs and assumptions and conducting a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis on the findings.
Up the tope organization is spelt with an s and here it is spelt with a z.
Conduct of analysis
In order to properly analyze the beliefs, values, assumptions and behaviors of MWRMD employees – and by doing so identifying the MRWMD culture – it was necessary to conduct detailed interviews with a representation of the workforce. MRWMD currently employs 138 staff, of which 123 are full-time and 15 are part-time . Of these employees only 36 were interviewed, all of whom are full-time. The organization chart, with interviewee positions, is simplified on the following page.
It is important to note that due to time constraints I was unable to interview employees from all departments (headed by a Supervisor) and have made several assumptions. Firstly, that the beliefs, values, assumptions and behaviors of employees within specific divisions (headed by a Manager) are the same. Second, that the employees not interviewed would have had similar opinions to those that were. Lastly, that a wide enough sample of employees were interviewed that individual biases would be identified as such and could then be excluded from further analysis. A summary of the interviews, including starting questions, is attached at annex A.the annexes.
Organization Chart as Interviewed
Employee values and beliefs
It became evident during the interview process that all MRWMD employees feel strongly about the impact that human waste is having on the environment and are staunch supporters of the organizations reduce, reuse and recycle philosophy. Every employee was proud to admit that they recycled at home and stated that working at MRWMD has only encouraged them to be more conscientious in their recycling efforts. Although a majority of employees had been taught as children to recycle and were simply continuing the practice, the few that had not previously recycled at home stated that they only did so now because of the education they had received since becoming employed at the MRWMD.
In addition to recycling at home and at work, MRWMD employees also expressed a keen interest in furthering their efforts to save the environment through energy conservation and waste and pollution reduction. The employees felt that the organization did not promote energy conservation in its operations across all divisions adequately. Examples given included internal lights and heaters being left on after business hours and leaking water taps not getting repaired promptly. It was also felt that the organization created a lot of waste with duplicate copies of paperwork, single sided photocopying and inadequate use of electronic resources such as presentations, filing, and briefs.
MRWMD also does not have any system in place that actively encourages carpooling of employees. Although this final point was not initially raised by employees as a concern it received positive responses when mentioned as simply another way in which MRWMD could reduce its own impact on the environment. It was noted that some supervisors and managers have initiated and encouraged energy conservation and waste and pollution reduction within their own divisions and departments but that these practice were not actively maintained by the wider organization.
When questioned, every employee could recite the organization mission. Although the recitals were not exactly precise, the intent of the mission and purpose of the MRWMD was clearly understood. Often the employees embellished the mission to incorporate values that they felt were equally important. Mission superfluities included:
providing education services to the community,
providing for the welfare and health of the employees, and
using cutting edge technology to enhance operations.
Of significance to every employee within the organization was personal safety. The safety measures and systems in each department and each division ensure that every employee has adequate personal protective equipment specific to their role within the organization. Safety notices are placed in visible positions wherever a hazard or potential