Organizational Climate: Features and Techniques for Development

What is Organizational Climate?

Organizational climate refers to an employee’s long-term perception of the working environment and culture of their workplace. It depicts what kind of organization it is. It helps to identify whether the organization is employee-friendly or not. An organizational climate is a good feature to measure the organization.

Features of Organizational Climate

General expression of what kind of organization it is, how employees perceive, and have an opinion about the organization.
Differentiate from one organization to another.
Provide a separate image and identity of the organization.
Represent the quality of the internal environment.
It is built over a long period of time.
Several dimensions, such as leadership styles and the philosophy of the management. attitudes and approach, quality of the communication, etc.

Need for organizational climate

Organizational climate serves as a facilitator of organizational performance.
Organizational variables enable people to evaluate themselves and others to improve.
Variables included in the organizational climate serve as stimulant to employees’ activities.
Organizational factors shape and improve employees’ perception of the organization and their jobs.
Various researchers, on the basis of their research, indicated that there exists a significant relationship between organizational climate and employee performance. A good/healthy organizational climate has a positive effect on employee attitude, behavior, and, in turn, performance.

Techniques for Developing a Sound Organizational Climate

The following techniques are generally helpful in improving the climate of the organization:

Effective Communication System: There should be a two-way communication system in the organization so that the employees know what is going on and react to it. The manager can modify his decision on the basis of feedback received.
Concern for People: The management should be interested in human resource development. It should work for the welfare of employees and lead to an improvement in their working conditions. For developing a sound organizational climate, the management should have shown concern for the people.
Participative Decision Making: The management should involve the employees in the decision-making process, particularly those decisions that are related to goal setting and affect them. Participative decision making will make the employees committed to the organization and more Cooperative also.
Change in Policies, Procedures, and Rules: The organizational climate can also be changed by making changes in the policies, procedures, and rules. It is a time-consuming process, but the changes will also be long-lasting if the workers see the changes in policies, procedures, and rules as favorable to them.
Technological Changes: Generally, workers and employees resist any innovative changes. But where technological changes improve the working conditions of the employees, the change will be easily accepted. The better climate will be there if the management adopts innovative changes in consultation with the employees.