Organizational culture, values, and routines in Iranian medical schools

Abstract

In Iran, restructuring of medical education and the health care delivery system in 1985 resulted in a rapid shift from elite to mass education, ultimately leading to an increase in the number of medical schools, faculties, and programs and as well as some complications. This study aimed to investigate views on academic culture, values, and routines held by faculty members. A nation-wide survey conducted in six public medical schools in Iran. The research findings show weak organizational culture and values, together with routine behaviors sensed as a negative and low satisfaction with academic leadership. The research evidence suggests bureaucracy, politicization, conservativeness, and centralization as common features of medical schools in Iran and also suggests suitable supervisory skills to tackle the tension between governmental management and academic leadership with cultural changes, the creation of new values, and adoption more efficient routines. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.