The study aimed to identify the values and practices which characterize the organizational culture of a public hospital in the view of the nurses. This is descriptive research structured based on Hofstede's framework and undertaken in a public hospital in the interior of the state of São Paulo. The sample was represented by 52 nurses. Data collection occurred in the period between December 2010 and February 2011, using the Brazilian Instrument for the Evaluation of Organizational Culture. The results showed that there is hierarchical rigidity and centralization of power (94%); there is competition and difficulty in working as a team (63%); the workers have little well-being and motivation (94%); there is little satisfaction in the work and promotion of interpersonal relationships (60%). In this regard, the hospital's culture is intimately related to the model of organization and management of the work, which further the fragmentation of the care and make it harder to work as a team and to develop interdisciplinarity, compromising the quality of the care.
Nursing; Health Services; Organization and administration; Organizational culture
