Understanding Strategic Alignment Barriers in Public Organizations: An Application of Q Methodology

The purpose of this study is to apply Q Methodology to identify the barriers to strategic alignment between the actions of the human resources manager and the organization’s strategy in 21 public organizations in Tehran. The similar and conflicting perspectives of the participants, along with 11 Q factors, and mental patterns about different types of barriers were revealed. Based on the tables of arrays and Q factor scores, the indicators of each factor were identified. The indicators include, but are not limited to, the following: less alignment of goals of each unit or department with organizational goals (19% of 81%), non-alignment between job extension and physical and cognitive ability (11.5% of 81%), non-alignment between job description and job specification, and selection and recruitment (8% of 81%), and other indicators, which shows the importance of strategic management, and the necessity of interventions and actions of strategic human resource managers to increase strategic alignment in organizations. Therefore, the contribution of this study is presented through the explanation and interpretation of the determinants of strategic misalignment and in the form of misalignment indicators, which aim to develop researchers’ understanding of how to achieve strategic alignment by strategic human resource managers.