OCTAPACE Analysis – Pride of Cows

OCTAPACE CULTURE

By providing the right type of climate, individuals in an organization can be helped to give full
contribution to achieve the goals of the organization, Therefore, to initiate HRD practices, a firm
philosophy with humane and value based approach has to be established. This will result in the
establishment of HRD culture in the organization. Organizational culture includes ethics, values,
beliefs, attitudes, norms, ethos, climate, environment, and culture. It can be characterized as
consisting of Openness (O), Collaboration (C), Trust (T), Authenticity (A), Pro-activity, (P),
Autonomy (A), Confrontation(C) Experimentation (E) and it is abbreviated as OCTAPACE..
The challenge for today's maintenance managers and reliability professionals is to establish
standards for maintenance and reliability practices , creating an appropriate information system
to collect facts, building enthusiasm and initiating enabling action plans. OCTAPACE culture
facilitates in meeting these challenges.

OCTAPACE VARIABLES;

OPENNESS

It can be defined as a spontaneous expression of feelings and thoughts, and the sharing of these
without defensiveness. Openness is in both Directions, receiving and giving, and both these may
relate to ideas (Including suggestions), Feedback (including criticism), and Feelings. It also
means spatial openness of accessibility.

Outcomes

 Unbiased Performance Feedback

 Indicators
 Productive Meetings
 Improved implementation of systems and innovations.
CONFRONTATION

It can be defined as a feeling rather than shying away from problems. It Also implies deeper
analysis of interpersonal problems .To understand the Term "Confrontation and Exploration" -
facing a problem and working jointly with others to find a solution to the problem.

Outcomes

 Better role clarity

 Improved problem solving
 Willingness to deal with problems Indicators
 Periodical discussions with clients
 Bold decisions
 No Postponing of sticky matters.

TRUST

Trust is not used here in moral sense. It is reflected in maintaining the Confidentiality of
information shared by others, and in not misusing it. It is also reflected in a sense of assurance
that others will help, when such Help is needed and will honor mutual commitments and
obligations. Trust is also reflected in accepting what another person says at face value, and not
searching for ulterior motives.

It is extremely important ingredient in organization building process.

Outcomes

 Empathy, Timely Support

 Reduced stress
 Simplification of procedures Indicators
 Effective Delegation of work
 Higher Productivity

AUTHENTICITY

It is the congruence between what one feels, says and does. It is reflected in owning up one's
mistakes, and in unreserved sharing of feelings.

Outcomes

 Reduced distortion in communication Indicators

 Least conflicts amongst employees
 Faster decisions
PROACTION

Proaction means taking initiative, pre-planning, taking preventive action and calculating the
payoffs of an alternative course before taking action. The term Proaction can be contrasted with
the term reaction. In the latter , action is in response to(and in pattern of) in act of some source
,while in former ,the action is taken independent of the source .Proactively gives initiative to the
person to start a new process or set a new pattern of behavior. It also means freeing oneself from,
and taking action beyond immediate concerns.

Outcomes

 Early problem detection

 Detailed Planning
 Continuous SWOT analysis

AUTONOMY

Autonomy is using and giving freedom to plan and act in one's own sphere. It means respecting
and encouraging individual and role autonomy.

Outcomes

 Develops mutual respect

 Develops Individual initiatives and willingness to take responsibility
 Better Succession planning Indicators
 Effective delegation of work
 Reduction in references made to senior people for approval of planned actions.

COLLABORATION

Collaboration is giving help to, and asking for help from others. It means working together
(Individuals and groups) to solve problems with team spirit.

Outcomes

 Timely help, Teamwork and sharing of experiences, Improved communication,

 Improved resource sharing

Indicators

Productivity reports, More quality meetings, More joint decisions , Better resource planning,
More involvement of staff
EXPERIMENTATION

Experimentation means using and encouraging innovative approaches to solve problems, using
feedback for improving, taking fresh look at things and encouraging creativity

Quantitative Analysis:

Note; MS Excel is used for all the below calculations, containing the mean values, the standard
deviations and the co-efficient of variations of the variables of OCTAPACE culture.

The sample size was 33 employees of Pride of Cows, N = 33.

POC SCORES;

Variables LOW Mean Value HIGH

X
Openness 13 14.93 17

Confrontation 10 14.24 16

Trust 10 13.81 14

Authenticity 10 11.15 14

Pro-action 12 15.63 18

Autonomy 11 12.15 16

Collaboration 13 14.30 17

Experimentation 11 15.18 16

Total 111.39

Tentative Norms Applied in the OCTAPACE profile is listed below;

 BELOW 11 LOW SCORE
11 TO 15 MEDIUM SCORE
15 AND ABOVE HIGH SCORE

The above table depicts the complete inner feelings of the employees of Pride of Cows.

The study has revealed that the mean value for Proaction was the highest among all other mean
values i.e X=15.63. Thus we can infer that there exists Proaction among the employees. This
means that the attitude of the people in the organisation under study are always ready to take
initiative, preplanning and preventive action calculating the pay-offs of an alternative cause
before taking an action.

The mean score of Proaction is followed by Experimentation (X=15.18) shows that the
organization encourages its employees towards innovative approaches to solve problems using
the feedback for improving; taking a fresh look at things and that it encourages creativity.

The third highest score Openness (X=14.93). Since Openness and experimentation are positively
present in the organization, employees are adopting new ways to work when they were free to
discuss the organizational matters. There is free and spontaneous sharing of thoughts too.

Collaboration (X=14.30) it’s a mid range score it implies that the employees are not using each
others strengths for the organizational purpose.

Confrontation (X=14.24), it’s in the mid range, the employees face the organizations problems
boldly but not up to the standards which is required. They tend to shy away from certain
problems. It can be said that the tendency to take up challenges are medium among the
employees.

Trust (X=13.81), this score is on the lower side it implies that confidentiality of information are
not maintained. Trust affects internal communication it shows that employees do not trust their
colleagues.

Autonomy (X=12.15, medium score) employees are not very much free to plan, discuss and
execute organizational problems. This is a hindrance to the individual development of leadership
among the employees. Since the score is not low there is a scope for growth and development.

Authenticity is an aspect (X=11.15) which exists at the lowest level which shows that the
employees have a varying tendency to do what they say. The individual, and group willingness,
do not acknowledge the inner feelings nor give value to other's feelings.

Apart from the mean scores of Authenticity, Autonomy and Trust other OCTAPACE variables
have satisfactory scores.