Future Employee Preferences in the Light Of Organizational Culture

The purpose of the authors is to review and examine the gap between the aspirations and reality regarding organizational culture of those already employed and those seeking employment. Present article outlines the research results of the aspirations of university students regarding the organizational culture of their possible future workplaces and how they can be related to the reality of labour market supply. A quantitative research approach was applied in studying the problem and a variety of measures were utilized to identify the “dream job” of students. Results of the empirical study show that there is a significant discrepancy between the organizational culture preference of prospective employees and the corporate cultures the labour market can offer. It is therefore clear that a change is required for/amongst stakeholders. On the one hand, institutions should consider the labour market environment when planning learning outcomes and on the other hand, companies should act carefully during the recruitment process and consider candidates’ aspirations regarding their organizational culture preference. The research was confined to one country which limits the degree to which the findings are extendable. Based on the research findings the challenge for higher educational institutions is to improve the university program structures in order to equip students with skills that enable them to succeed in the prospective organizational cultures. This is the first study addressing the gap between the organizational culture preference of the next generation of intellectuals regarding the culture of their future workplace and the culture of organizations.