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Volume 1, Issue 10 (December, 2013)

INTERCONTINENT L JOURN L OF HUM N RESOURCE RESE RCH REVIEW

h t t p : / / w w w . i c m r r . o r g

DIMENSIONS OF ORGANIATIONAL CLIMATE

MD. KHAJA MOINUDDIN FAROKHI1 Dr T N MURTY

2

1Research Scholar in Commerce & Business Administration, Acharya Nagarjuna University,

Nagarjuna Nagar – 522 510

2 Director, Nimra College of Business Management, Vijayawada – 521456

ABSTRACT

Organizational climate is the summary perception which people have about an organization. It is

a global expression of what the organization is. Organization climate is the manifestation of the attitudes

of organizational members toward the organization itself. An organization tends to attract and keep a

person who fit its climate so, that is patterns are perpetuated at least to some extent. The success of an

organization depends upon the quality of organizational climate. Since the quality of an organizational

climate cannot be measured, it will be perceived by the employees in different dimensions.

Key words: Organization, Climate, Organizational effectiveness

INTRODUCTION:

Organizational climate is the summary perception which people have about an organization. It is

a global expression of what the organization is. Organization climate is the manifestation of the attitudes

of organizational members toward the organization itself. An organization tends to attract and keep a

person who fit its climate so, that is patterns are perpetuated at least to some extent. Forehand and Gilmer

have defined organizational climate as “a set of characteristics that describe an organization and that: (a)

distinguish one organization from another, (b) are relatively enduring over a period of time, and (c)

influence the behavior of people in the organization. It is often felt that any individual may influence theorganizational climate to some degree, but the tracing of the effects of individual behavior on the climate

would be quite complex. However, it may be possible to have “as many climates as there are people in the

organization”. When considered collectively, the actions of the individuals become more meaningful for

viewing the total impact upon the climate and determining the stability of the work environment. It should

be noted that the climate is to be viewed from a total system perspective. While there may be differences

in climates within subsystems (departments), these will be Integrated to a certain extent to denote overall

organizational climate.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

To be precise, the study has undertaken with the following Objectives:

To explore the important components that collectively represents the climate of an organization.

To make appropriate suggestions for the improvement of climate of an organization.

ISSN: 2320-9704- Online ISSN:2347-1662-P

http://www.icmrr.org/

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METHODOLOGY:

The study is carried out through primary and secondary data. The primary data are collected

through survey method. Survey is conducted using well formulated questionnaire. Simple random

sampling is applied for generating data. Samples for the purpose of the study are selected systematically.

Totally 616 questionnaires are distributed among the total employees of the select Bank who are around

8,000. Out of the distributed questionnaires, 116 are not usable. Only 500 of them are found suitable for

primary data analysis. Hence the exact sample size is 500. The secondary data were collected from

Books, Journals, periodicals, websites and company manuals, files and records.

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE:

Beginning with Lewin, Lippitt, and White’s (2010) discussion of ‘social climates,’ employee

climate perceptions have received considerable attention in the organizational literature and have been

used to predict a variety of important individual and organizational outcome variables.

At the individual-level of analysis, researchers have reported relationships between employees’

perceptions of their work environment and outcomes such as job satisfaction (Schneider & Snyder, 2011),

burnout (McIntosh,1995), job involvement (Brown & Leigh, 2010), organizational citizenship behavior

(Moorman, 2008), job performance (Pritchard & Karasick, 2008), leader behavior (Rousseau, 1988;

Rentsch, 1990), turnover intentions (Rousseau, 1988; Rentsch, 1990), customer satisfaction

(Johnson,1996) and organizational performance (Lawler et al ., 1974; Patterson et al., 2004).

When aggregated to the group or organization level, employee climate perceptions have been

used to predict group-level outcomes such as accident rates (Zohar, 2000), customer satisfaction and

financial performance (Schneider & Bowen, 1985; Schneider, White, & Paul, 1998). Based on the

assumption that employee perceptions have important effects on both individual and organizational

outcomes, the use of climate surveys as a diagnostic tool for organizational improvement and change is

widely accepted in applied settings (Burke & Litwin, 1992; Church & Waclawski, 1998; Kraut, 1996;

Ricci, Kirn, & Quinn, 1998).

FEATURES OF ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE:

The nature of organizational climate will be clear from its following features:

(a) General Perception: Organization climate is a general express of what the organization is. It

represents the summary perception which people have about an organization.

(b) Quantitative Concept : It is an abstract and intangible concept. It is difficult to explain the

components of organization climate in quantifiable units.

(c) Distinct Identity : It reflects how an organizational is different from other organizations. It gives a

distinct identity to the organization.

(d) Enduring Quality : It is built up over a period of time. It represents relatively enduring quality of the

internal environment that is experienced by the organizational members.



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(e) Multi-dimensional concept : There are several dimensions of the concept of organizational climate

such as individual autonomy, authority structure, leadership style, pattern of communication, degree of

conflicts and cooperation, etc.

COMPONENTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE:

The important components that collectively represent the climate of an organization are as discussed below:

(i) Members’ Concern

The dominant orientation of an organization is the main concern of its members, and this is an important

determinant of climate. If the dominant orientation or concern is to adhere to established rules and

regulations, the climate will be characterized by control; on the other hand, if the orientation is to produce

excellence, the climate will be characterized by achievement.

(ii) Interpersonal relationships

An organization’s interpersonal-relations are reflected in the ways informal groups are formed, and

operate to satisfy the social needs of members. If informal relations supplement the formal procedures,the organization will be benefited. But if some powerful groups develop who acquire power in the

organization, they may displace the goals of the organization. Conflicts in the organization might also be

common.

(iii) Degree of Control

The control systems may be either rigid or flexible. If the control is rigidly followed, there will be

impersonal or bureaucratic atmosphere in the organization. The scope for self-regulation will be the

minimum.

(iv) Individual Freedom

If the individuals are given sufficient freedom or autonomy to work and exercise authority, there will beefficiency in operations. Self-control will lighten the burden of the higher level executives.

(v) Type of Structure

It clarifies who is to direct whom and who is responsible to whom. It serves as the basis of inter-personal

relations between superiors and subordinates. If the authority is centralized at the top level, the scope for

participation in decision-making by the subordinates will be low. Where authority is delegated to the

subordinates, there will be an atmosphere of participative decision-making.

(vi) Management Style

The dominant style of managers and supervisors may be task-oriented or relations-oriented. If the task-

orientation is predominant, the leadership style will be autocratic. The employees will have to increasetheir productivity or face punishment. Their morale will be low in the long-run.

(vii) Reward System

The system of rewards and punishments is an important component of organizational climate. When the

rewards are based on merit and productivity, there will be an atmosphere of competition among

employees for higher performance. They will put more and more hard work to develop themselves and

earn higher rewards such as increments and promotions.



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(viii) Risk-taking

How members respond to risks and whose help is sought in situations involving risk are important in any

organization. If individuals feel free to try out new ideas without any fear, they will not hesitate in taking

risks. Such an atmosphere will be conducive to innovative ideas.

(viii) Conflict Management Differences among people and groups in organizations are not uncommon. If they are managed

effectively, there will be an atmosphere of cooperation in the organization. If they are suppressed or not

handled properly, people will be unhappy and there will be an atmosphere of distrust and non-

cooperation.

(ix) Degree of Trust

The degree of trust or lack of trust among various members and groups in the organization affects the

climate. If there is Mutual trust between different individuals, groups and also between management and

workers, there will be peace in the organization. The members will cooperate with one another for the

attainment of organization objectives. The above dimensions often overlap with each other; they are not

mutually exclusive. The way in which these dimensions operate in an organization also indicates the

underlying philosophy of its management.

CONCLUSION:

The organizational climate leans upon job satisfaction, continuous motivation and training and

leadership qualities of employees. Communication technology motivates to work in a challenging work

environment. The leadership qualities create supportive spirit, optimistic interpersonal relationship and

conducive work environment. On the whole the employees are satisfied with their work environment and

job and feel proud of belonging to their organization.

SUGGESTIONS:

When the climate is worker oriented the employees will direct their behavior to attaining

organizational goals. Positive working conditions such as proper motivation, warm environment, a

differential reward system, orientation for new workers, co-operation among co-workers, job variety ,

opportunity for growth and development, supportive monitoring and belonging to a team influence the

employees perceptions. Therefore, measures to initiate such a climate are justified. The following

suggestions are offered to make the organizational climate more conducive and effective:

The top level management is suggested to improve the motivational factors such as core values

and supervisor’s efficiency.

Positive work environment can be made through providing challenging work as employees have

weak perceptions on such work environment factor of the organizational climate.

The organization should take special measures to support the work groups and encourage the

team spirit among employees.

The management should encourage employees to work on their interested project which increases

their efficiency and job satisfaction.



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The organization has to increase opportunities for personal growth and development of the

employees

The organization has to help the employees in selecting the best suited career in their job.

Management must encourage the employees to participate in decision making which brings good

communication between subordinates and superior and to achieve organizational goals andobjectives.

The organization has to provide various conducive work environment like work schedule options,

motivating factors, career development, training methods, communication system and leadership

style to suit the various needs of different categories of employees based on demographic factors.

SCOPE FOR FURTHER RESEARCH:

A comparative study of employees perception of organizational climate variables between

departments, between branches, between nations of the organization can be studied for future research in

addition to organizational climate variables of public sector can be compared with private sector.

Social Relevance:

The study provides useful information to the Organization, employees, Employers, Government and

society.

REFERENCES:

Schneider, Benjamin; Hall, Douglas T., (2010) Toward specifying the concept of work climate: A study

of Roman Catholic diocesan priests. Journal of Applied Psychology, Volume 56(6), page 447-455.

Newman, J. E., (2010) Understanding the organisational structure – job attitude relationship through perceptions of the work environment. Organisational Behavior and Human Performance, Volume14, page

371 – 397.

Joyce, W.F. and Slocum, J.W., (2010) Climate discrepancy: refining the concepts of psychological and

organisational climate, Human Relations, Volume 35, page 951-72.

Steven P. Brown and Thomas W. Leigh., (1996) A New Look at Psychological Climate and Its

Relationship to Job Involvement, Effort, and Performance - Journal of Applied Psychology Volume 81,

Issue 4, Pages 358-368.

Benjamin Schneider.,(1972) Organisational climate: Individual preferences and organisational

realities., Journal of Applied Psychology, Volume 56, Issue 3, Pages 211-217.

Sowinski, D., K. Fortmann, and D. Lezotte. ,(2008) Climate for Service and the Moderating Effects of

Climate Strength on Customer Satisfaction, Voluntary Turnover and Profitability, European Journal of

Work and Organisational Psychology, 17 (1), 73-88.

Schneider, B., White, S. S., & Paul, M. C., (1998). Linking service climate and customer perceptions of

service quality: tests of a causal model. Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 83, pp 150 – 163.



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Heskett, James L.,W. Earl Sasser Jr., and Leonard A. Schlesinger., (1997)The Service Profit Chain:

How Leading Companies Link Profit and Growth to Loyalty, Satisfaction and Value. New York: Free

Press.

Borucki, Chester C. and Michael J. Burke., (1999) An Examination of Service-Related Antecedents to

Retail Store Performance, Journal of Organisational Behavior, 20 (6), pp 943.

Collins, Christopher J. and Ken G. Smith., (2006) Knowledge Exchange and Combination: The Role

of Human Resource Practices in the Performance of High Technology Firms, Academy of Management

Journal, 49 (3), pp544-560.

Gelade, Garry A. and Stephen Young ., (2005) Test of a Service Profit Chain Model in the Retail

Banking Sector, Journal of Occupational and Organisational Psychology,78 (1): pp 1-22.

Schneider , Paul J. Hanges, D. Brent Smith, and Amy Nicole Salvaggio., (2003) Which Comes First:

Employee Perceptions or Organisational Financial and Market Performance? Journal of Applied

Psychology, 88 (5),pp 836-851.

Cagri Bulut, and Osman Culha., (2010) The effects of organisational training on organisational

commitment International Journal of Training and Development Volume 14, Issue 4, pages 309 –

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