Climate and culture

Climate and culture are both important aspects of the overall context, environment or situation.Organizational culture tends to be shared by all or most members of some social group; is something that older members usually try to pass on to younger members; shapes behavior and structures perceptions of the world. Cultures are often studied and understood at a national level, such as the American or French culture. Culture includes deeply held values, beliefs and assumptions, symbols, heroes, and rituals. Culture can be examined at an organizational level as well. The main distinction between organizational and national culture is that people can choose to join a place of work, but are usually born into a national culture. Organizational climate, on the other hand, is often defined as the recurring patterns of behavior, attitudes and feelings that characterize life in the organization,[2] while an organization culture tends to be deep and stable. Although culture and climate are related, climate often proves easier to assess and change. At an individual level of analysis the concept is called individual psychological climate. These individual perceptions are often aggregated or collected for analysis and understanding at the team or group level, or the divisional, functional, or overall organizational level.

Approaches to defining organization climate

There are two related difficulties in defining organization climate: how to define climate, and how to measure it effectively on different levels of analysis. Furthermore, there are several approaches to the concept of climate. Two in particular have received substantial patronage: the cognitive schema approach and the shared perception approach. The cognitive schema approach regards the concept of climate as an individual perception and cognitive representation of the work environment. From this perspective climate assessments should be conducted at an individual level.

The shared perception approach emphasizes the importance of shared perceptions as underpinning the notion of climate.[3] Organisational climate has also been defined as "the shared perception of the way things are around here".[4] There is great deal of overlap in the two approaches..

Cognitive schema approach

Cognitive representations of social objects are referred to as schemas. These schemas are a mental structure that represents some aspect of the world. They are organized in memory in an associative network. In these associative networks, similar schemas are clustered together. When a particular schema is activated related schemas may be activated as well. Schema activation may also increase the accessibility of related schemas in the associative network. When a schema is more accessible this means it can more quickly be activated and used in a particular situation. When related schemas are activated, inferences beyond the information given in a particular social situation may influence thinking and social behavior, regardless of whether those inferences are accurate or not. Lastly, when a schema is activated a person may or may not be aware of it. Two processes that increase the accessibility of schemas are salience and priming. Salience is the degree to which a particular social object stands out relative to other social objects in a situation. The higher the salience of an object the more likely that schemas for that object will be made accessible. For example, if there is one female in a group of seven males, female gender schemas may be more accessible and influence the groups thinking and behavior toward the female group member. Priming refers to any experiences immediately prior to a situation that caused a schema to be more accessible. For example watching a scary movie at a theatre late at night might increase the accessibility of frightening schemas that affect a persons perception of shadows and background noises as potential threats.

[Shared

perception approach

Some researchers have pursued the shared perception model of organizational climate. Their model identifies the variables which moderate an organisations ability to mobilise its workforce in order to achieve business goals and maximise performance.[5] One of the major users of this model are departments of the Queensland State Government Australia. These departments use this model of climate to survey staff in order to identify and measure those aspects of a workplace which impact on: stress, morale, quality of worklife, wellbeing, employee engagement,absenteeism/presenteeism, turnover and performance. While an organisation and its leaders cannot remove every stressor in the daily life of its employees, Organisational Climate studies have identified a number of behaviours of leaders which have a significant impact on stress and morale. For instance, one Queensland state government employer, Queensland Transport, has found that increasing managers awareness of these behaviours has improved quality of work life employees and the ability of QTs to deliver its organisational goals.

Climate surveys
Theories of Cognitive and Neuropsychology and Emotional Intelligence provide additional scientific rationale for why leaders should improve stress and morale in the workplace to achieve maximum performance. Climate surveys can provide concrete evidence of how this works in action. Organisational climate surveying enables the impact of Human Resource (HR) strategies to be evaluated to create HR Return on Investment (HRROI) calculations. This data has been found to be highly effective in changing the perspective of people-based initiatives as being an investment rather than a cost and transforming HR into a mission-critical strategic partner from its perception of personnel administration.

A number of studies by Dr Dennis Rose and colleagues between 20012004 have found a very strong link between Organisational Climate and employee reactions such as stress levels, absenteeism and commitment and participation. A study has found that Hart, Griffin et al.s (1996) Organisational Climate model accounts for at least 16% single-day sick leave and 10% separation rates in one organisation. Other studies support the links between organizational climate and many other factors such as employee retention, job satisfaction, well-being, and readiness for creativity, innovation and change. Hunter, Bedell and Mumford have reviewed numerous approaches to climate assessment for creativity. They found that those climate studies that were based on well-developed, standardized instruments produced far higher effect sizes than did studies that were based on locally developed measures.

6. Organizational Climate Study

Organisational Climate studies the employees' perceptions and perspectives of an organization. The surveys address attitudes and concerns that help the organization work with employees to instil positive changes. Organisational climate surveys increase productivity. Climate surveys give employees a voice to assist in making desired transitions as smooth as possible. It also serves as a basis for quality improvements. By identifying areas of inefficiency and acting on performance barriers identified by employees of all levels, an organization gains a fresh and different perspective. Survey analysis identifies areas of employee satisfaction and dissatisfaction to facilitate management in the creation of greater workplace harmony and, therefore, increased productivity. Conclusions are drawn from the data, and recommendations are made to the management team. Additionally, climate surveys can set benchmarks for future surveys, which will allow more in-depth and time series analysis.

Aspects covered
Although each organisational climate study is tailored to meet the needs of an individual organization, in general, they are aimed at all aspects of the employees' jobs. The study analyzes everything from an employee's workload to their relationships with co workers and superiors to their salary to organisation policies and anything in between. A climate survey was conducted on all the staff of APAMS. The total strength of APMAS including the districts is 42. I received 41 responses (the study excluded the CEO) for the survey on which I conducted statistical analyses using excel and SPSS. While preparing the questionnaire inputs were taken from the management specifically the CEO. In the present study following aspects were covered:a. Personnel Policies- This includes HR related Policies and Practices prevailing in the organisation. It covers the entire gamut of process recruitment, selection, turnover, 12 performance appraisal, promotion, career development, compensation, grievance redressal, gender issues etc. b. Environment- A work environment can be identified as the place that one works. c. Team Work-Teamwork is the concept of people working together cooperatively as a team in order to accomplish the same goals/objectives. d. Management effectiveness-In management, the ultimate measure of management's performance is the metric of management effectiveness which includes execution, leadership, delegation, communication and consideration e. Competency- Competence is a standardized requirement for an individual to properly perform a specific job. It encompasses a combination of knowledge, skills and behaviour utilized to improve performance.

f. Commitment: Commitment means to duty or pledge to something or someone, and can refer to personal commitment, organizational commitment etc.: g. Involvement: Employee involvement is creating an environment in which people have an impact on decisions and actions that affect their jobs. It is considered as helpful in continuous improvement and the success of organization.

ORGANISATIONAL CLIMATE
The ultimate success of any organisation depends on the ability of their employees toperform their present duties and to adapt to new situations successfully in view of this fastchanging environment. Every organisation has same characteristics which are common withany other organisation. At the same time, each organisation has its own unique set of characteristics and properties. This psychological structure of organisation and their sub-unitsis usually referred as organisational culture. The term climate is used to indicate the quality of the internal environment whichconditions in turn the quality of cooperation, the development of the individual, the extent of members dedication or commitment to organisational purpose, and the efficiency with whichthat purpose becomes translated into results. Climate is the environment in which individualshelp, judge, reward, constrain, and find out about each other. It influences morale and theattitudes of the individual toward his work and his environment. Organisational climate is a relatively enduring quality of internal environment that isexperienced by the members, influences their behaviour, and can be described in terms of values of a

particular set of characteristics of the organisation. An organisation tends toattract people who are fit for its climate just like a good geographical climate attracts peopleand flora and fauna for inhabiting and making use of its climate.

Organisational climate represents the entire social systems of a work group. It isclearly a system concept. There are two important aspects of climate: a) Workplace itself andb) treatment to personnel from management. It employees feel satisfied while at work and if climate provides a sense of personal worth, it can assume that climate in that organisation is favourable. As far as treatment from management is concerned they will like to be listened toand treated, as they are someone of value. They want that managements should really feeland care about their needs and problems. If these two are favourable, there prevails a goodclimate in that organisation.

Objectives of the Study:

The study aimed to accomplish the following objectives: To understand the organisational climate of Singareni Collieries Company Limited. To examine whether the psychological climate is conduciv e for the employeesdevelopment. To analyse the attitude of the employees towards the existing performance appraisalsystem. To suggest measures for creating an effective organisational climate in theorganisation.

Review of Literature
The use of the term organisational climate was first used in the 1950s to describethe environment in which people work (Hoy & Tarte r, 1977). Argyris (1958) definedorganisational climate as the

homeostatic state of an organisation composed of elementsrepresenting many different levels of analysis. Gilmer (1966) characterized an organisationsclimate as those characteristics that distinguish one organisation from another. Tagiuri(1968) described organisational climate as a general notion to express the enduring quality of organisational life. These prevailing attributes of a busin ess organisation shaped thebehaviours of participants and created a unique setting in each institution Acknowledging that the collective perception of the group comprising theorganisation is a critical part of the climate, Litwin and Stringer brought a new perspective tothe study of organisational climate (1968). Defining the organisational climate as a set of measurable collective perceptions that influence organisational behaviour, Litwin andStringer paved the way for current method in which climates are studied. By investigatingthe collective perceptions of the individuals wh o make up the organisation, Litwin andStringer provided one method for the measurement of organisational climate.

Beginning in the 1960s researchers studying industrial cli mates began to see aconnection between the characteristics of organisations and personality types that arecommon in individuals (Gellerman, 1960). This wave of industrial psychology brought aboutthe analogy that climate is to the organisation as personality is to the individual (Hoy &Tarter, 1997). By using this analogy, researchers can easily make the connection betweencollective actions of the organisation and the climate of the group.Schneider and Hall (1972) describe climate as a global perception held by individualsabout their own organisational environment.

Schneider and Synder (1975) further clarifiedthe approach by defining climate as a summary perception which individuals form of (or about) an organisation. For them it is a global impression of the organisation. The globalnature of organisational climate does not suggest that the concept is uni-dimensional. Manydifferent types of events, practices and procedures may contribute to the global or summaryperception individuals have of their organisation. James and Jones (1974) conducted a major review of the theory and research onorganisational climate and identified climate in three separate ways that were not mutually

exclusive, (a) multiple measurement organisational attribut e approach, (b) perceptualmeasurement organisational attrib ute approach, and (c) the perceptual measurement individual attribute approach. In the multiple measurement organisational approach they citeForehand and Gilmer (1964) as defining organisational climate as a set of characteristics thatdescribe an organisation and that (a) distinguish the organisation from other organisations (b)a r e r e l a t i v e l y endu rin g over time, and (c) in flu ence t h e b e h a v i o u r o f p e o p l e i n t h e organisation. (Forehand & Gilmer, 1964 p.3621 cited in James & Jones, 1974). Hellriegel and Slocum (1974) define organizational climate as a set of attributeswhich can be perceived about a particular organization and or its sub-systems, and that maybe induced in the wa y that organization or its sub-systems deal with their members andenvironment .Since there are not many studies been carried out in Indian public sector organisations in theabove mentioned area, the study derives importance. The review of literature indicates thatthere is lot of

significance in carrying out study in coal mining company since it is oldest andemploying large number of employees. . Employees can expect certainrewards, penalties, satisfaction or frustrations based on the organisational climate and their expectations tend to lead to motivation.

Meaning and defination

Organizational climate is a relatively ending quality of the internal environment that is experienced by the members, influences their behavior and can described in terms of values of a particular set ofcharacteristics of the organization (Renato Tagiuri, 1968). Organizational climate is the set of characteristics that describe an organization and that (a) distinguish one organization from other organizations; (b) are relatively enduring over time and (c) influence the behavior of the people in the organization (Forehand & Gilmer, 1964). Compare these two definitions of Organizational Climate with a definition of Organizational Culture as given by Stephen P. Robbins (1986): Organizational Culture is a relatively uniform perception held of the organization, it has common characteristics, it is descriptive, it can distinguish one organization from another and it integrates individual, group and organization system variables.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I owe a great many thanks to a great many people who helped and supported me during the writing of this book.

My deepest thanks to Lecturer, Mr Hasan the Guide of the project for guiding and correcting various documents of mine with attention and care. He has taken pain to go through the project and make necessary correction as and when needed.

I would also thank my Institution and my faculty members without whom this project would have been a distant reality. I also extend my heartfelt thanks to my family and well wishers.

THE SYDENHAM COLLEGE OF COMMERCE AND ECONOMICS

SUBJECT : business organisation

TOPIC : organizational climate

SUBMITTED BY : DHRUMIL M PATEL ROLL NO:16