Jessica Bowen successfully completing her Master’s Oral Examination on Monday, August 10, 2015. Her thesis “Exploring Similarities and Differences in Perceptions of Organizational Culture by Generations Present in The Ohio State University Extension Organization” was supported by the Gist Chair in Extension Education and Leadership.
Graham Cochran, interim Department Chair for Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership and member of Combs’ graduate committee said “Her work was an important part of a larger organizational culture study and will be valuable as we continue to explore various aspects of organizational culture.”
Below, Bowen shares about her research,
A descriptive study was completed to explore the relationship between the generation one belongs to and their perceptions of the organizational culture of OSU Extension. This study was a part of a larger organizational culture study of the North Central Region Extension organizations. Perceptions of organizational culture were recorded using the, established, Denison Organizational Culture Survey. There were many similarities and a few areas of difference among the organizational traits and management practices across OSUE as a whole and the three generations. This was true for the percentile reports from Denison Consulting as well as ANOVA analysis. Due to minimal variation in the responses of the generations, the overall percentile report for OSU Extension is a fairly good representation of the generations in the organization. The similarities shown as well as the few instances of variation can provide important knowledge for leaders of the organization. Practical recommendations from this study include using the knowledge of generational difference to inform personnel and raise generational awareness as well as further research conducting a qualitative follow up study to further explore the perceptions of organizational culture by personnel.
Bowen will graduate in December with a Master’s in Agricultural and Extension Education. Following graduation she plans to spend additional time with her family, work in the extension profession and return to graduate school for her PhD.
Congratulations Jessica!
Jessica Bowen and her family
This is my 7th grade science teacher this year!