A THEORETICAL STUDY ON EVOLUTION OF ORGANISATIONAL CLIMATE, THEORIES AND DIMENSIONS

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1 A THEORETICAL STUDY ON EVOLUTION OF ORGANISATIONAL CLIMATE, THEORIES AND DIMENSIONS Ms. Shreedevi Shintri 1, Dr. S R Bharamanaikar 2 1 Department of MBA, KLE Dr. M S Sheshgiri College of Engineering & Technology, Belagavi (India) 2 Department of PG Studies, Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi (India) ABSTRACT Climate, environment, atmosphere are words that describe the weather conditions of a particular geographical location. Climate speak of people, place, perceptions and preferences of the inhabitants there. In today s world, these words are also used to describe the conditions in organisation and this is referred as Organisational Climate. Employees perception of the workplace and their behavioral outcomes creates organisational climate. The need to understand various factors that contribute to the formation of this climate is dated back to Various theories and researches since then, have contributed to the establishment of factors (dimensions) that contribute to the formation of Organisational Climate. As the years evolved, the definitions, dimensions and approaches to understand Organizational climate changed. This paper aims to recognize, some of the major researches that contributed to the establishment of the concept; understand the theories, dimensions considered as contributors to the formation of organisational climate and the type of climates derived for the dimensions so considered. Keywords: Climate, climate dimensions, Climate types, organisational climate, Person-environment fit I. INTRODUCTION Economic reforms, technological advancement, constant need to strive for excellence, cut-throat competition, has just not brought changes into the business arena, but also has changed the atmosphere in the organizations. Employees to meet up with the targets expand their scope of working; employees now end up spending nearing eleven to twelve hours at workplace. Environment at workplace, organisational support and relation with supervisors, peers and subordinates contribute a lot to the working of an individual. These factors add up to the motivational aspects of an individual, his/her performance, his/her state of mind at work place, his/her way at looking at things around and at large add up to the formation of an organizational climate that directly or indirectly has an effect on an individual. With stress levels raising up in the lives of working men and women across the globe, mental disturbances leading to mental ill-health, emotional imbalance followed by health hazards; understanding the factors that contribute to the formation of organisational climate becomes important. 652 P a g e

2 Organisational climate which was earlier referred as social climate has drawn lot of inquisitiveness among researchers almost since This paper aims to understand the evolution of the definitions of organisational climate, the theories that contributed to the development of the concept organisational climate, the dimensions researchers considered as contributors to the formation of organisational climate and the type of climates so derived. II. ORGANISATIONAL CLIMATE 2.1 Theories The concept and framework of organizational climate has evolved over a long period of time with the earliest available reference on the concept/framework of organizational climate being traced to 1939 (Lewin, Lippitt & White), which was then referred as Social Climate, as stated by Srivastav A K (2009) 1. Organisational climate researchers Litwin and Stringer (1968) 19 stated that, shared beliefs and values of organizational members constitute the perceived work environment. Benjamin Schneider (1973) 2 defined climate as individual's perception towards his work environment. Schneider in opined that concept of organizational Climate rests on certain assumptions which are associated with the Gestalt School of psychology and the School of Functionalism. Glick (1985) 4, stated that Climate construct add value to Organisational and individual behaviour. Many climate researchers also opined on the same lines. These definitions help to pen down certain common terminologies referred by these researchers Perception, assumptions/postulates, individual s behaviour, individual s relation with the organisation etc. Four prominent theories can be refereed to, for understanding organisational climate Gestalt psychology, Functionalism, Person-Environment fit model and Lewinian Field theory Gestalt Psychology: Gestalt psychology stands on two assumptions - (a) Humans attempt to apprehend order in their environment and create order throughout. (b) Humans apprehend and/or attempt to create order in their environment, so that they can effectively adapt their behaviour to the work environment. Schneider, in his paper Organisational climates: An Essay (1975) 3 ; attempted to define climate, interpreting the gestalt assumptions as meaningful apprehensions of order for the perceiver that are based on the equivalent of psychological cues. The theory supports the postulate that individuals create order/framework with respect the environment they are into and display their behaviour accordingly Functionalism Gestalt psychology defines order and Functionalism transmits the order into behaviour; i.e., based on the order individuals create, they manifest their behaviour accordingly. This allows them to functionally adapt, seek information to adapt and respond accordingly (Schneider & Snyder 1975) Person-Environment fit Model Kurt Lewin (1935) conceptualized the interaction between the person and environment (P E) as the key to understanding people s cognitive, affective and behavioral reactions. Person environment fit (P E fit) is defined as the degree to which individual and environmental characteristics match (French, Caplan, & Harrison, ; Rounds et.al, ; Kristof-Brown, Zimmerman, & Johnson, ). This theory further extended to understand the behavioral demonstration of individuals, referred as Lewinian Field theory in P a g e

3 2.1.4 Lewinian Field theory: The second assumption of Gestalt psychology, suggested that individual associate the order they created to the environment they are in, which later translates into behaviour. Working on this assumption, Lewin (1951) 20 in his work Field theory in Social change conceptualized the relationship between individuals and their social environment. He expressed this in a form of a sample equation. B = f (P.E.) In which B= Behaviour, E= Environment, and P= Person Both Person-environment fit and Lewinian Field theory, restate that behaviour is an outcome of interaction between person and environment. Thus, these theories lay the foundation for the study of dimensions/factors contributing to the formation of organisational climate. 2.2 Definitions As the world evolved economically, socially, so did the definition of work, workplaces and their environments (climates) evolved. Forehand and Gilmer (1964) 9 defined organisational climate as a set of characteristics that describe an organization and that (a) distinguish the organization from other organizations (b) are relatively enduring overtime and (c) influence the behavior of people in the organization. It was quite evident by the study of Gestalt psychology and functionalism that individual s perception plays a major role in the formation of organisational climate. Schneider in his paper The perception of organizational climate: The customer's view (1973) 2 stated, Climate perceptions then are organized sets of cues; they are abstractions of many perceptions of specific organizational conditions, events and experiences. They are conceptions of prevailing behavior systems or perceptions about the guiding themes of what the organization is all about. People have such conceptions because they need them as frames of reference against which to judge the appropriateness of their planned behavior. Each organization has many climates; a climate for each of the different kinds of behaviors (leadership, creativity, etc.) that occur in the organization. In this paper, Schneider concluded that climate acts as a motivation in the organisation and that climate determines the reliability of the organisation. Continuing the study on climate, definition of climate was reestablished as a summary perception which individuals form of (or about) an organization (Schneider & Snyder, ; Schneider, ). Hellriegel and Slocum (1974) 10, defined - Organizational climate refers to a set of attributes which can be perceived about a particular organization and/or its subsystems, and that may be induced from the way that organization and/or its subsystems deal with their members and environment. Moran and Volkwein, (1992) 11 elaborated organizational climate as a relatively enduring characteristic of an organization which distinguishes it from other organization and (a) embodies members' collective perceptions about their organizations with respect to such dimensions as autonomy, trust, cohesiveness, support, recognition, innovation, and fairness: (b) is produced by member interactions; (c) serves as a basis for interpreting the situation; (d) reflects the prevalent norms, values and attitudes of the organization's culture; and (e) acts as a source of influence for shaping behavior. Hart & Cooper (2001) 12 remarked - organisational climate operates at individual and workgroup levels and contributes equally to employees positive or negative work experiences. 654 P a g e

4 2.3 Dimensions: As definition of climate evolved, the dimensions considered by researchers also evolved. Some of the dimensions considered by prominent organisational climate researchers are listed below. 1. Likert (1967) 21 proposed Six dimensions to measure climate of an organisation - (1) Leadership, (2) motivation, (3) communication, (4) decisions, (5) goal and (6) control. 2. Litwin and Stringer (1968) 19 proposed nine dimensions for the study of organisational climate - (1) Structure, (2) Responsibility, (3) Reward, (4) Risk, (5) Warmth, (6) Support, (7) Standard, (8) Conflict & (9) Identity. 3. Schneider & Barlett (1968) 13, included six dimensions in their study on climate - (1) Managerial Support, (2) managerial structure, (3) concern for new employees, (4) inter-agency conflict, (5) agent dependence and (6)general satisfaction. 4. Campbell, Dunnette, Lawler, and Weick (1970) 14 condensed the nine dimensions of organisational climate proposed by Litwin and Stringer to four dimensions such as (1) task, (2) structure, (3) people, and (4) technology. 5. Hellreigel and Slocum (1974) 10 reviewed various organisational climates studies under two broad environmental dimensions Simple-Complex and Static-Dynamic. The interaction of these environmental dimensions, they said create organisational climate. 6. James and Jones (1979) 15 proposed six dimensions (1) conflict and ambiguity, (2) job challenges, importance and variety, (3) leader facilitation and support, (4) workgroup cooperation, friendliness and warmth, (5) professional and organizational esprit and (6) job standards. 7. Davidson, M.C.G (2000) 23, added regulations and organizational pressure as the seventh dimension to the study of organisation climate. 8. Schneider & Bowen (1985) 16 studying the employee and customer perception in service industry (banks), proposed five HR dimensions to the study of Climate: (1) Work facilitation, (2) Supervision, (3) Organisational career facilitation, (4) organizational status, (5) New employee socialization. 9. Dr. Udai Pareek (1989) 22 recognized twelve dimensions to assess (1) Orientation, (2) Interpersonal relationships, (3) Supervision, (4) Problem management, (5) Management of mistakes, (6) Conflict management, (7) Communication, (8) Decision making, (9) Trust, (10) Management of rewards, (11) Risk taking & (12) Innovation and Change. 10. Zammuto & Krakower (1991) 17 proposed seven dimensions- (1) Trust, (2) Conflict, (3) Morale, (4) Rewards, (5) Resistance to change, (6) Leader credibility, (7) Scapegoating. 11. Goran Ekvall (1991) 18 identified ten dimensions: (1) Challenge, (2)Freedom, (3) Idea time, (4) Dynamism, (5) Idea support, (6) Trust & Openness, (7) Playfulness and humor, (8) Conflicts, (9) Debates & (10) Risk taking. 2.4 Types of Climate: Referring to the dimensions considered for the study of organisational climate, researchers aggregated them as particular types of climates. 1. Likert (1967) 21, proposed four types of climates: Exploitive, Benevolent, Consultative, and Participative. 655 P a g e

5 2. Litwin & Stringer (1968) 19 measuring nine dimensions, derived three climates (1) Achievement climate, (2) Affiliative and (3) Power Climate. 3. Hellreigel and Slocum (1974) 10 reviewed various organisational climates studies under two broad environmental dimensions Simple-Complex and Static-Dynamic. They emphasized the interaction creating 4 type of climate - (a) simple & static low uncertainty ; (b) static & complex moderate uncertainty ; (c) simple & dynamic moderately high uncertainty and (d) dynamic & complex high uncertainty. 4. James & Jones (1979) 15, studied climate under five heads - (1) Organizational Context, (2) Organisational structure, (3) Process, (4) Physical environment & (5) System values and norms. 5. Dr. Udai Pareek (1989) 22 proposed six motives of organisational climate - (1) Achievement, (2) Expert Influence, (3) Extension, (4) Control, (5) Dependency, (6) Affiliation. 6. Zammuto & Krakower (1991) 17 with the help of seven dimensions of the study proposed four types of climate (1) Group climate, (2) Developmental climate, (3) Rational goal climate and (4) Internal process climate. 7. Goran Ekvall (1991) 18 studying ten dimensions, proposed three outcomes of climate study - (1) Resources, (2) Motivation & (3) Exploration. III. CONCLUSION An understanding of the evolution of definitions, dimensions considered by prominent researchers and the types of climates they proposed, help understand organisational climate better. Understanding of the dimensions will help in well structured, organized study of climate and further can be applied to assess the impact of these dimensions on various HR and organisational behaviour aspects like employee performance, employee motivation, job satisfaction, occupational stress, employee commitment, employee morale, employee behaviour, team effectiveness and organisational efficiency. REFERENCES Journal papers: [1.] Srivastav, A. K. (2009). Heterogeneity of Organisational Climate, Research and Practice in Human Resource Management, 17(2), [2.] Schneider, B. (1973). The perception of organizational climate: The customer's view. Journal of Applied Psychology, 57(3), 248. [3.] B.Schneider (1975), (a) Organizational Climate: An Essay, Personnel Psychology, 28, pp (b) Organizational Climate: Individual Preferences and Organizational Realities Revisited, Journal of Applied Psychology, 60, pp [4.] William H.Glick, (1985), Conceptualizing and Measuring Organizational and Psychological Climate: Pitfalls in Multi Level Research, Academy of Management Review, 10, pp [5.] Schneider B. & Snyder R.A (1975), Some relationships between job satisfaction and organizational culture, Journal of Applied Psychology, 60, P a g e

6 [6.] French, J. R., Caplan, R. D., & Van Harrison, R. (1982). The mechanisms of job stress and strain (Vol. 7). Chichester [Sussex]; New York: J. Wiley. [7.] Rounds, J. B., Dawis, R., & Lofquist, L. H. (1987). Measurement of person-environment fit and prediction of satisfaction in the theory of work adjustment. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 31(3), [8.] Kristof Brown, A. L., Zimmerman, R. D., & Johnson, E. C. (2005). Consequences of individuals'fit at work: a meta analysis of person job, person organization, person group, and person supervisor fit. Personnel psychology, 58(2), [9.] Forehand, G. A., & Von Haller, G. (1964). Environmental variation in studies of organizational behavior. Psychological bulletin, 62(6), 361. [10.] Hellriegel, D., & Slocum, J. W. (1974). Organizational climate: Measures, research and contingencies. Academy of management Journal, 17(2), [11.] Moran, E. T., & Volkwein, J. F. (1992). The cultural approach to the formation of organizational climate. Human relations, 45(1), [12.] Cotton, P., & Hart, P. M. (2003). Occupational wellbeing and performance: A review of organisational health research. Australian Psychologist, 38(2), [13.] B.Schneider and C.J. Bartlett, (1968), Individual Differences and Organizational Climate I: The Research Plan and Questionnaire Development, Personnel Psychology, 21, pp [14.] Campbell, J. J., Dunnette, M. D., Lawler, E. E., & Weick, K. E. (1970). Managerial behavior, performance, and effectiveness. [15.] Jones, A. P., & James, L. R. (1979). Psychological climate: Dimensions and relationships of individual and aggregated work environment perceptions. Organizational behavior and human performance, 23(2), [16.] Schneider, B., & Bowen, D. E. (1985). Employee and customer perceptions of service in banks: Replication and extension. Journal of applied Psychology, 70(3), 423. [17.] Zammuto, R. F., & Krakower, J. Y. (1991). Quantitative and qualitative studies of organizational culture (pp ). JAI Press Inc. [18.] Ekvall, G. (1991). The organizational culture of idea-management: A creative climate for the management of ideas. Managing innovation, Books: [1.] Litwin, G. H., & Stringer Jr, R. A. (1968). Motivation and organizational climate Boston: Division of Research, Graduate School of Business Administration, Harvard University. [2.] Lewin, K. (1951). Field theory in social change New York. Harper Torchbooks, 1964 [3.] Likert, R. (1967). The human organization: its management and values. McGraw-Hill [4.] Pareek, U., & Purohit, S. (2011). Training Instruments in HRD and OD. McGraw Hill. Theses: [1.] Davidson, M. C. G. (2000). Organisational climate and its influence upon performance: A study of Australian hotels in South East Queensland, Doctoral dissertation, Griffith University. 657 P a g e