What is an Ideal Type?

In order to further interpret Q-Sort results, the organization you are Q-Sorting may be compared with theoretically derived "ideal types." These ideal types are used by social scientists to describe the spectrum of organizational decision-making structures. They are detailed representations of diverse corporate cultures that provide benchmarks against which actual firms may be measured. A number of such ideal types have been identified and used by leading academics in this field.

These ideal types may be described as a "behavioral theory" (Theory X or Theory Y, for example) or given a descriptive name (e.g. Prime Organization). Each ideal type reflects a specific way in which Q-Sort items are grouped. With these specific groupings, any Q-Sort can be interpreted by measuring how closely it correlates with each of these 17 ideal types.

For example, in the early 1970s, Irving Janis defined Groupthink as a predisposition for a group to achieve consensus in decision-making – at the expense of honestly assessing diverse options or considering points of view from outside the group. Groupthink has been translated into an ideal type by using Janis’ analysis to rank the Q-Sort items for a management team characterized by groupthink. After using the Q-Sort to establish a "groupthink ideal," Q-Sort results for any organization can be compared to that ideal to determine the degree of correlation.

This is precisely the approach used in the study of investment management teams. Prof. Peterson selected 17 ideal management types culled from an extensive survey of organizational behavior literature to serve as benchmarks against which results for individual investment managers are compared.

A high correlation with a specific ideal type suggests that the organization being Q-Sorted exhibits cultural qualities similar to those described in the definition of that ideal type. Brief definitions of each ideal type and references to additional information are included at the following link: Ideal Type Definitions