What do we mean by the climate within an organization? When employees say they never know what is going on or they belong to a tightly knit group or the only time they hear from the boss is when they have done something wrong, they are talking about the climate of the organization. Unlike the weather, organizational climate is not something that can be seen or felt directly, though we can probably sense the climate in a restaurant or hotel by observing the employees' behavior as they interact with guests, fellow employees and management.
Although the weather is something that cannot be changed and must be accepted, management can take definite action to modify organizational climate.
Two of the first writers on organizational climate were George Litwin and Robert Stringer. In their book 1, they identified climate as consisting of a set of properties of the work environment. These properties were based on the perceptions of the people who worked there. Further, how the employees perceived the climate was found to influence both their motivation and behavior. Litwin and Stringer were also able to measure the perceived climate of the work place.
The above definition encompasses several things. First, climate is perceptual. It is the employees' perception of what exists, not necessarily what actually does exist; these two may or may not be the same thing. Management may feel that high standards are set; the employee may feel differently. It is the employee's perception that will influence employee motivation and actions. If the perception is that high standards do not exist, the employee may decide: "If management doesn't care about the standard of service given to the guest, why should I?"
Second, climate can be measured. A variety of dimensions have been suggested. This chapter will explore what can be called a six-dimensional model in some depth.
Research has also shown that although the climate within an organization is stable over time, it can be changed by management action.
- 857 reads
