Organizational Climate

Although the concept of organizational climate is somewhat nebulous, it is valuable in understanding several aspects of organizational behavior. Organizational climate is the overall favourability of member attitudes and perceptions with reference to specific activities and features of an organization.

Organizations tend to have their specific culture: a peculiar mix of values, attitudes, norms, habits, traditions, behaviors and rituals. Some organizations are well aware of their culture and regard it as a powerful strategic tool, used to orient all units and individuals toward common goals, mobilize employee initiative, ensure loyalty, and facilitate communication. They aim at creating a culture of their own and making sure that all employees understand it and adhere to it. The specific cultural values of an organization may concern, for example:

· the organization’s mission and image (high technologies, innovative spirit, superior quality);

· seniority and authority (respect for seniority; seniority as a criterion of authority);

· the treatment of people (concern for people and their needs, equitable treatment or favouritism, privileges, respect for individual rights, training and developing opportunities, how people are motivated);

· the importance of different management positions and functions (authority of personnel department; importance of different vice-presidents’ positions; respective role and authority of research and development);

· work organization and discipline (voluntary versus imposed discipline; punctuality; use of time clocks; flexibility in changing roles at work; use of new forms of work organization);

· decision making process (who decides; who has to be consulted; individual or collective decision making; need to reach consensus);

· circulation and sharing of information (employees amply or poorly informed; information readily shared or not);

· communication pattern (preference for oral or written communication; rigidity or flexibility in using established channels, use of meetings; who is invited to what meeting; established behaviour in the conduct of meeting);

· ways of handling the conflicts (desire to avoid conflict; preference for informal or formal ways; involvement of higher management);

· performance evaluation (confidential or public; by whom carried out; how results are used);

· socialization patterns (who socializes with whom during and after work; facilities such as separate dining rooms or reserved clubs);

· management and leadership style (paternalism; authoritative, consultative or participative style; flexibility and adaptability);

· identification with the organization (manager and staff adherence to company objectives and policies; enjoying working with organization).

Task IV. Work in pairs or groups and discuss the following points. Be ready to present the results of your discussion to the rest of the class.

1. What values would you consider important in creating the culture of your own business?

2. What values do you think are most shared by business people and managers of your country? By University members? By your groupmates? By your former schoolmates? Exemplify your answer.

3. Work with your partner and make the list of what you would like or dislike about your future/present place of work/studies. Think about space, layout, lighting, equipment, location, noise, etc.

Task V. Another way of describing corporate cultures is by looking at the solidarity and sociability in an organization. Sociability is the relationship between individuals who see each other as friends. Solidarity describes cooperation between individuals which takes place when the need arises or when there is a shared interest.

Read the information in the table and decide which one of the four types of organization would most suit each of the following people. Explain your choice.
a. Alex is a journalist and spends most of his time at work in front of a computer screen.

b. Nelly is very task-orientated. She thinks that the only thing that really matters at work is getting results.

c. Mary enjoys feeling that she really fits in at work. She wants to be liked and to feel proud of the company she works for. She greatly admires her boss.

d. Victor thinks it is important to enjoy his work, and most of his friends are work colleagues. He is keen on business lunches, and is often out of the office in the afternoons.

· Type of an organization	· Sociability/ · solidarity	· Features of the culture	· Associated · problems
· Networked · organization	· High · Sociability/ · low solidarity	· Teamwork, creativity, openness. · Workers enjoy working.	·
· Mercenary · organization	Low sociability/ high solidarity	Clearly defined roles, getting things done, setting targets. Business has strong focus and can respond to threats.	Workers only work together if they have to. As roles are clearly defined, there may be conflict over “grey” areas of work.
· Fragmented · organization	· Low · sociability/ · low solidarity	· Form of culture best · suited to organizations · where individuals do not need to work together, e.g. law firms.	·
· Communal · organization	· High · sociability/ · high solidarity	Similar to networked businesses but more goal-orientated (though less mercenary than mercenary organizations). · Concerned with shared values. · Leaders guide the business.	Shared goals may stifle individual creativity Need to recruit those who fit in with the culture of the business.

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· Think of the possible associated problems for networked organization and for fragmented organization.

· Which of these types of organization would suit you most? Why? Do you have any criticism of each type?

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· Task VI. Look through the following definitions of corporate culture. Add as many other definitions as you can. Working in pairs or groups, elaborate your own definition and be ready to defend it.

· the moral, social and behavioural norms of an organization based on the beliefs, attitudes, and priorities of its members;

· is a key component in the achievement of an organization’s mission and strategies, the improvement of organizational effectiveness, and the management of change;

· the set of shared, taken-for-granted implicit assumptions that a group holds and that determines how it perceives, thinks about, and reacts to its various environment.

· the set of values and attitudes within a company or organization that influences the general behaviour of its employees.

· Task VII. Render in English.

Культура выполняет в организации две важнейшие функции:

1. Внутренняя интеграция — осуществляет внутреннюю интеграцию членов коллектива таким образом, что они знают, как им следует взаимодействовать друг с другом.

2. Внешняя адаптация — помогает организации адаптироваться к внешней среде.

Каждая организация обладает сложившейся культурой, четко распознаваемой ее работниками. В ряде случаев она закладывалась основателем фирмы, иногда формировалась постепенно, по мере того как организация принимала вызовы окружающей среды.

Существуют различные типологии организационных культур. Интересной представляется типология К. Камерона и Р. Куинна.

а) Клановая культура: очень дружественное место работы, где у людей масса общего. Организации похожи на большие семьи. Лидеры или главы организаций воспринимаются как воспитатели и, возможно, даже как родители. Организация держится вместе благодаря преданности и традиции. Организация поощряет командную работу.

б) Адхократическая культура: динамичное предпринимательское и творческое место работы. Лидеры -- новаторы, готовые рисковать. В долгосрочной перспективе организация делает акцент на росте и обретении новых ресурсов. Успех означает производство и предоставление уникальных и новых продуктов и услуг. Организация поощряет личную инициативу и свободу.

в) Иерархическая культура: очень формализованное и структурированное место работы. Тем, что делают люди, управляют процедуры. Лидеры гордятся тем, что они — рационально мыслящие координаторы и организаторы. Организацию объединяют формальные правила и официальная политика.

г) Рыночная культура: организация, ориентированная на результаты, главной заботой которой является выполнение поставленной задачи. Среди работников высока степень соперничества. Лидеры — жесткие руководители и суровые конкуренты. Организацию связывает воедино акцент на стремлении побеждать. Репутация и успех являются общей заботой. Стиль организации — жестко проводимая линия на конкурентоспособность.

д) Культура власти: организация, напоминающая закрытый семейный клуб, с жесткими патерналистскими традициями, культом личности главы организации. Власть и влияние сосредоточены в центре и ослабевают по мере отдаления от центра. Решения чаще принимаются в результате баланса влияний, а не на процедурной или логической основе. Сотрудники ориентированы на получение результата, не боятся риска, обладают высокой самоуверенностью, стремлением к личной конкуренции.

е) Культура роли: это, как правило, крупные монополисты, органы государственного управления или организации, имеющие долгую и успешную историю развития, чья деятельность стабильна и может быть спрогнозирована на годы вперед. В них велика значимость регламентации, правил, инструкций. Человек в такой организации лишен индивидуальных отличий, он — один из ресурсов, необходимых для производства товара или услуги.

ж) Культура задачи: организация ориентирована на конкретную работу или задачу и представляет собой сеть взаимосвязанных подразделений — команд. Каждая команда в определенной степени независима, но обязана следовать общей стратегии организации. Различные ресурсы, необходимые для решения конкретной задачи, стягиваются со всей организации. Такие организации представляют собой команды профессионалов или творческих людей, находящихся в постоянном поиске. Организации с «культурой задачи» ориентированы на постоянные инновации, производство новых продуктов и внедрение новых технологий.

з) Культура личности: организация представляет собой совокупность специалистов-коллег. Задача такой организации — оказывать помощь и содействие в развитии человека, предоставлять возможность для развития и роста. Типичная организация с «культурой личности» — ассоциации врачей, адвокатов и других специалистов, небольшие консалтинговые фирмы, университеты.

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Task VIII. Read the following dialogues. Try to guess the meaning of the business idioms given in bold. Give their Russian equivalents.

1. A: Merton's reckoned to be a high flier, isn't he?

B: He's in the running for the top marketing job, when the present man goes.

2. A: She doesn't like her new job much.

B: A square peg in a round hole, as they say.

3. A: What did you make of his letter? It seemed pretty levelheaded to me.

B: Yes, but reading between the lines, I thought I could detect signs of strain.

4. A: The wine waiter tried to short­change you, did he?

B: Yes, so I gave him a piece of my mind.

5. A: I'd love to take a parcel to Jakarta for you, Bob... Only thing is, I'm overweight already on my air luggage.

B: Don't worry; you won't be out of pocket. If you have to pay any excess, just let me know.

6. A: So I said to her, 'You can't just go on running up bills and expect me to pay them/

B: That's the stuff! What did she do?

A: She walked out on me.

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