|
Let's Talk ... Organizational Climate!
May,
2005
|
Helping you to build effective working
environments. |
| |
In this issue:
 | Opening Thought |
| Food for Thought:
Why does it matter? |
| Think About This and Take Action |
| Final Thought -
Acting on Climate Scores |
|
|
|
"True
leaders are not those who strive to be first but those who are first
to strive and who give their all for the success of the team. True
leaders are first to see the need, envision the plan, and empower
the team for action. By the strength of the leader's commitment, the
power of the team is unleashed."
-
Successories
FOOD
FOR
THOUGHT: Why
does it matter?
Organizational climate affects organizational
performance and effectiveness. Climate factors impact
whether or not you enjoy working in a particular organization and
whether or not you will work to the best of your ability. If you are
happy with your work atmosphere, you are more likely to expend extra
effort to do your job well, beyond what is expected; if not, you will
likely feel detached from the success or failure of your work group.
If
the climate in an organization remains poor for an extended period of
time, people tend to begin to believe that things will never and could
never improve. The likely results are: high
turnover, dissatisfaction and low productivity.
Contributing Factors
One of the most
effective ways to improve both individual and organizational
performance indicators is to take steps to improve the climate by
giving employees the flexibility
to act; the responsibility to take
charge of situations; high, but attainable
standards of excellence and goals; fair and reasonable
rewards for positive performance;
clarity in communication and
understanding on all levels; and a commitment
to team action.
According to
research, the following six dimensions
of organizational culture predict organizational performance
effectiveness (sales, profits, productivity) and satisfaction (high
morale leading to fewer grievances, lower turnover and fewer employee
health problems). Evaluate the current state
of your organization by rating each of the six dimensions on a scale
of 1 to 10.
Flexibility
|
Your feelings about how easy it is to
get your new ideas accepted in the organization, versus feeling that
there are many bureaucratic rules, procedures, policies and
practices to which you have to conform rather than being able to do
your work as you see fit. |
Responsibility
|
Your perception of the degree to which
you are free to do your job on your own (autonomy) and take
calculated risks without constantly having to check with a boss. |
Standards
|
The emphasis that you feel management
puts on doing a good job (excellence), and the extent to which you
feel that challenging goals to improve performance, are set. |
Rewards
|
The degree to which you feel that you
are recognized and rewarded for good work (performance-based rewards
and recognition) rather than only criticized and "punished" when
something goes wrong. |
Clarity
|
The feeling that the organization's
mission and direction are clear to you and that jobs, expectations,
work procedures, and lines of authority are well-organized rather
than disorderly, confusing or chaotic. |
Team Commitment
|
The feeling that management along with
you and your fellow employees cooperate to get work done, that
employees are willing to work especially hard when the organization
needs them to, and that people are proud to be a member of the
organization. |
Identify
the three dimensions to which you assigned the
lowest scores. What could you do to
improve in these areas? Are there other people in your organization
whom you need to engage in order
to initiate these improvements? What are your
action steps to do so?
FINAL THOUGHT - Acting on Climate Scores
What can you do if the climate in
your organization is not as good as you would like it to be? The
fact is that most people do not work in what they would consider the
ideal climate - and this can have a negative impact on performance.
Improving the climate and improving
performance are closely linked to each other.
You may start by speaking to your
leader about your assessment of the organizational climate. If you
are the leader of a team, you may start by holding a team meeting
and bringing these issues out into the open. It is important to
solicit and value input from other team members too.
Don't try to tackle improving all
of the dimensions at once! Clarity
is usually the best dimension to focus on first; an organization
cannot have meaningful standards and rewards if no one knows what
the missions or goals of the organization are, or how individuals
fit into them. Following that, emphasizing the
standards dimension is important to
raise the quality of performance; once standards are established,
rewards are the logical means to
encourage the maintenance of those standards.
Janet
Stewart-Lussier
Member of the Canadian
Association of Professional Speakers
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SIGN ME UP FOR MY FREE SUBSCRIPTION!
View
past issues of "Let's
Talk..."
******
Tell me more about
"The ABC's of Team
Development"
|
|
