case study of multidimensionality of organizational culture

The right kind of institutional culture enhances its effectiveness that ultimately leads towards achieving its missions, objectives and goals. This case-study was conducted in the University of Health Sciences, Lahore to identify the Institutional Culture in the University. Academic Culture Inventory [ACI] and Values Survey Module [VSM] 08 were used as survey questionnaires. Fifty ACI questioners were distributed among grade 16 - 20 officials, 10 in each grade. Hundred VSM 08 Questionnaires were distributed among the garde 1-15 employees. Ten questionnaires from each category and fifty six VSM 08 questionnaires were retuned and institutional culture was identified. Responses and behaviors of the people on different social and job situations were determined on the findings of VSM 08 through Chi-Square Test. Microsoft Excel and Statistical Package for Social Sciences [SPSS] were used to generate the results. A p-value of = 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Developmental Culture' and 'Virtual Culture' were identified as the strongest institutional cultures by the higher and lower grade officials respectively. 'Tangible Culture' was identified as the weakest institutional culture in both cases. In the VSM 08 questionnaires, the response rate was 56%. Various demographic variations within the culture were identified based on the VSM 08 questionnaire survey. Communication gap between the Higher-grade officials and lower-grade employees should be bridged by holding various meetings, conferences and seminars where the lower-grade staff gets the opportunity to interact with their officers and share their own ideas about the policies and strategies of their institutes

Medical colleges admission test in Punjab, Pakistan

Nearly 18,000 candidates securing 60% and above marks in Higher Secondary School Certificate [HSSC] examination contest for admission in Medical Colleges, in Punjab, Pakistan by sitting in the Medical College Admission Test [MCAT] each summer. This cross-sectional study was conducted to identify patterns related to demographic, economic and educational backgrounds, over a two-year-period, in this population, and how HSSC and MCAT marks predict future performance of the selected candidates. Marks obtained by candidates in HSSC, MCAT, and 1st Professional MBBS [Part-I] Examinations over two years 2008-2009, were analysed using parametric tests in SPSS. Total 18,090 candidates in 2008 and 18,486 in 2009 sat in the MCAT. National HSSC candidates scored higher marks in HSSC and MCAT but lower marks than their foreign qualified HSSC counterparts [e.g., Advanced-Levels from Cambridge University, UK] in Part-I overall and in all its subcomponents individually [p<0.05]. Female students scored higher marks than males in HSSC [p>0.05], MCAT [p>0.05] and Part-I theory, practical, viva voce, continuous assessment and Objective-Structured Performance Evaluation [OSPE] components [p<0.05]. In both years, students from the Dera Ghazi Khan District scored the highest marks in the HSSC Examinations [p<0.05] but least marks in MCAT in 2008 [p<0.05] and in Part-I in 2008 and 2009 [p<0.05]. Students from 'tougher' Boards like Rawalpindi in 2008 and the Federal Board in 2009 who scored least marks in HSSC scored highest marks in MCAT, and in Part-I Examinations [p<0.05]. Linear regression on Part-I by taking HSSC and MCAT marks as independent variables showed that the MCAT marks exerted the greatest positive influence consistently at 0.104 [2008] and 0.106 [2009]. In 2009 HSSC marks were shown to exert a negative influence [-0.08] on Part-I. There is need to standardise HSSC education and examination across all Intermediate Boards. MCAT is a better predictor of Medical Students' future performance

English language proficiency; an important socio-economic factor and its impact on student's performance

Each year, more than 30,000 students sit in the Government sponsored Entrance Test conducted by University of Health Sciences, Lahore for admission in Public and Private Medical and Dental Institutes of Punjab, Pakistan. In this study, we have embarked to seek the relationship of the performance of students in the English component of the test and their sciences components scores and how this English-Science relationship varies amongst the developed and underdeveloped districts of Punjab, Pakistan. Three years from 2008 to 2010. The sciences components scores of the candidates in MCAT, their scores in English portion in the test and their demographic variables were entered into Statistical Package for Social Sciences [SPSS] v.16. Parametric tests were applied. Nearly 14% of the question paper tests proficiency of the candidates in the English Grammar. The students from the socioeconomically challenged districts scored less marks in English component as well as in the sciences component of Entrance Test when compared with the scores of the students of more developed districts [p<0.05]. The difference in the mean marks of English and Sciences components of the test when adjusted for weightage was higher in the socioeconomically developed districts [p<0.05]. A steady improvement from 2008 to 2010 in the scores obtained by candidates in English component of the Entrance Test was observed [p<0.05]. For admission in Medical and Dental Colleges in Punjab, candidates scoring more than 60% marks in their Higher Secondary School Certificate Board Examination, have to sit in a uniform Entrance Test in which from the year 2008-2009, candidates from socioeconomically low districts have performed poorly in both English component and sciences components of test in comparison to the candidates from more developed districts. The comparatively lower score is more significant in sciences components of test. The lower scores of the less developed districts, candidates can not therefore be attributed to their low proficiency in the English language but rather to a lower general educational performance