This research addresses the functional characteristics of a single
organization. It specifically investigates one of the largest festival
organizations in the United States, The Portland Rose Festival Association
(PRFA). In this case, three groups within the PRFA are its foundation: the
paid staff, the executive committee, and the volunteer directors. This study
identifies and analyzes the functionality characteristics of this organization.
Swanson's (1996) theory of performance variables is used to assess and
benchmark the PRFA. He provides five key areas in which functional,
effective, and successful groups are proficient. These five areas are:
mission/goal, capacity, systems design, motivation, and expertise. The
research is qualitative and quantitative in nature by implementing two
primary methods- interviews and questionnaires.
Phase one consists of interviews from the eleven staff members.
The research discovers that the PRFA has numerous strengths. The
weaknesses the staff mentioned have been acknowledged by management
and are being improved upon or solved. As a result of this phase, the
PRFA was assessed as a functional organization.
Phase two determines the level of functionality according to
appropriate organizational characteristics. The characteristics correspond
to Swanson's performance variables. This phase was conducted through
questionnaires to the staff members, executive committee, and volunteer
directors. The research indicated that the "mission/goal" organizational
characteristic received the highest combined mean. Although all areas
were ranked very high, responses on the "expertise" questions indicate an
area for improvement. Finally, the study discovers that the three groups are
relatively familiar with each other. / Graduation date: 2000
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/33191 |
| Date | 23 September 1999 |
| Creators | Newbore, Lisa M. |
| Contributors | Walker, Gregg |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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