An analysis of the relationships between organisational culture and effectiveness: a case study of commercial real estate enterprise in Guangzhou, China

Real estate has been an essential investment instrument in the rapid growth of the Chinese economy. Given China’s current open-door policy, foreign investors are continuously attracted to China’s real estate market. This interest of foreign investors has stimulated the emergence of the commercial real estate industry, where substantial growth over the last decade can be observed. However, the development of China’s commercial real estate enterprise (CREE) has suffered from major problems in management, including Immaturity of the Management, Lack of Training for Management Lack of Management Techniques, lack of Commitment to the Vision of Company, and No Response to Feedback, all of which originate from issues related to organisational culture. Theories and practices from Western countries indicate that organisational culture is the key to the effectiveness of an organisation. The Denison model has been widely adopted as an effective approach in handling cultural problems of a business organisation. This study will investigate the relationship between organisational culture and organisation effectiveness of a CREE using a customised Denison model. Guangdong is one of the most important provinces of China along the coast of South China Sea. A case study of a CREE from Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong, involved interviews with 30 staff members using the 63 traits of the Denison model arranged according to four major components: involvement, consistency, adaptability, and mission. Results demonstrated a two-extreme-polarised phenomenon in which the younger staff at lower ranks (supervisor level) who mostly received training in China had a very positive response, whereas older staff at higher ranks (top management level) who mostly received training from Western countries had a very negative response. Findings indicated that the components of mission traits are the most important factors in alternating the culture of the company to affect organisational effectiveness positively. From the case study, the ranking of Denison’s four major components is Mission > Involvement > Consistency > Adaptability. These findings can guide resource allocation to achieve improved organisational effectiveness in China’s CREE.