correlation and differences between the concepts of organizational climate and organization culture

correlation and differences between the concepts of organizational climate and organization culture

The performance of employees is dependent on diverse factors. Factors that impact the health of workers, their well-being, habits, and work-life quality are significantly impactful as far as performance is concerned. Even though many managers prioritize the improvement of the quality of work-life, not all organizations offer a conducive and life-affirming environment for workers. Having a conducive and life-affirming environment leads to an improvement in worker’s well-being hence translating to increased functional effectivity and high quality services. Most organizations embrace various axes, including the provision of occupational medical care, ensuring safety at the place of work, fair salaries and wages, and appropriate working time to motivate workers. Having a more in-depth look into life in an organization enables managers to come up with the best policies to ensure that employees are satisfied with the workplace climate. The paper reflects on the correlation and differences between the concepts of organizational climate and organization culture in an attempt to exemplify that an in-depth reflection of life in the organization is fundamental in facilitating goal acquisition.

The concepts of organizational climate and organizational culture are vital when reflecting on life in an organization. As briefed earlier, life in an organization refers to all the factors that impact workers, either positively or negatively, when rendering operational services. Creating a work environment that is sustainable calls for an in-depth reflection of the two concepts. Even though the two concepts are used interchangeably, it is worth noting that there exist certain similarities and differences that managers ought to consider when formulating decisions and policy frameworks. The significant similarity between the two concepts is that both reflect on the perceptional aspect, which is significantly impacted by the resolutions adopted by individuals in the leadership positions. Arguably, both organizational culture and organizational environment play a crucial role in holding the unit together and enhancing the attainment of the targeted functional outcomes. Arguably, organizational climate is significantly influenced by the culture maintained by the firm (Shanker et al., 2017). For example, an organization that supports a culture of quality working environment offers its workers an excellent organizational climate. Such organizations will be able to retain and attract top talents hence sustaining the production of quality products. On the contrary, an organization that does not maintain such a culture finds it difficult to retain and attract top talents hence curtailing it from having a strong market brand.

On the other hand, there are distinct differences between the two concepts which the management team ought to understand to enable one to come up with excellent operational decisions. The first difference relates to the aspect of perception. Whereas organizational climate centers mostly on the employees’ attitude concerning the work environment, corporate culture refers to the element of values, beliefs, and assumptions whose consideration gives identity and dictates the code of conduct/behavior maintained by most of the individuals within the workforce. Arguably, climate relates to the perception among the majority of workers concerning the environment provided by the management team. On the other hand, organizational culture mostly centers on the way of doing things within the firm. Culture is associated with shared orientations, which are critical and required by all organizations to hold the unit together (Driskill, 2018). It is worth appreciating that culture is reflective of organizational brand creation. Most organizations can build a strong and distinctive brand by maintaining a culture of quality and customer satisfaction. Successful corporate leaders/managers are those with the ability to maintain such a unique culture, which enables their firm to thrive and outdo others in the industry. Having such a culture gives an organization a competitive advantage hence ultimate sales and profit maximization.

Another significant difference between the two concepts is associated with the factors used when reflecting on either culture or climate. During the early evolution, scholars and academicians adopted a clear distinction between the two concepts (Yahyagil, 2015). Such clarity in distinguishing the two diminished with the changing scope of organizations due to the changes and transformations in technology and other vital aspects. This dictates the reason why most individuals in the modern world of commerce utilize the two concepts interchangeably. An in-depth analysis of the factors associated with each of the ideas is an essential consideration towards understanding what each entails. From a traditional perspective, scholars and academicians looking into the two concepts centered most on social systems evolutions when reflecting on organizational culture. Arguably, the evolution of social systems throughout history formed the basis of their arguments and explanation about corporate culture. On the contrary, scholars and academicians majored on the implications of organizational systems as far as individuals and specific groups in the organizations are concerned. Such scholars and academicians had fewer concerns on the aspect of the evolution of social systems when reflecting on the concept of climate.

Perfection in HR management is dependent on diverse factors. It is worth appreciating that the organization’s design and structure profoundly influence HR management. This dictates the reasons why the managers need to deal with HR management to consider the two concepts when formulating organizational decisions and policy frameworks. The HR department plays a critical role in influencing the levels of success that investors realize out of their investment endeavors. Perfection in HR management translates to successful investment endeavors. On the contrary, poor management of human resources translates to failed operations within an organization. Organizational design and structure are essential considerations when managing human resources (Bals & Turkulainen, 2017). The two affect HR management when dealing with the process of restructuring an organization. For example, human resource managers should always consider organizational structure when restructuring their firm. Organizational structure is associated with the sharing of resources within the firm, working relationships, and job scope. Such factors are critical in dictating the progress of an organization. Understanding such concepts of organizational structure enables HR managers to come with the best decisions. Similarly, job design is an essential consideration when making such decisions. Job design entails job relationships and specifications. HR managers should consider all aspects of job design, such as workflows and core tasks, to come up with transformative decisions.

The concept of bureaucracy is one of the fundamental considerations when analyzing organizational performance. A bureaucratic organization is associated with the management approach utilizing a pyramid command structure. From the perspective of middle management, it is worth appreciating that such a management approach is associated with several advantages and demerits which need consideration when determining the leadership style to adopt. Organizations should come up with management approaches that best fit their purpose to curtail the chances of operational failure. There are distinct advantages and disadvantages associated with the adoption of a bureaucratic approach when managing an organization. Rationality and specialization form the first two advantages associated with the approval of a bureaucratic management approach (Meisenbach & Jensen, 2017). The method enables the management team to assign specialized tasks to different workers. Such specialization translates to quality enhancement. Similarly, the approach is associated with measurable objectivity since the managers can adopt rational decisions. Rationality translates to perfection in decision making hence the ability to attain the set goals. Another advantage of the bureaucratic management approach is predictability. Rules and regulations characterizing this management model translate to conformity, thus increasing predictability. The management team can easily predict the outcomes of specific operational criteria or decisions. Deterioration in workers’ morale and reduction in innovation and productivity are the first two significant disadvantages associated with a bureaucratic management approach. The approach leads to boredom, which significantly diminishes employees’ morale. Similarly, this management approach has many policies and rules which may inhibit productivity.

In summary, having an in-depth understanding of life in an organization enables the management team to formulate excellent operational decisions, which ultimately translates to profit maximization. Life in the organizations reflects on both culture and climate. Organizational culture and environment are fundamental aspects whose consideration enables the management team to formulate faultless decisions and policy frameworks. The two concepts are related because they reflect on the essential elements which influence the perception of workers towards the work environment and their satisfaction. On the other hand, there are distinct differences between the two concepts. Organizational culture is mainly reflective of the social systems within an organization. On the other hand, the organizational climate is not significantly considerate of such social systems. Specialization and rationality are the significant advantages of bureaucratic corporate management. On the contrary, such administration is associated with reduced job morale and reduced productivity. The two forms the considerable disadvantages of a bureaucratic management approach.

References

Bals, L., & Turkulainen, V. (2017). Achieving efficiency and effectiveness in Purchasing and Supply Management: Organization design and outsourcing. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 23(4), 256-267.

Driskill, G. W. (2018). Organizational culture in action: A cultural analysis workbook. Routledge.

Meisenbach, R. J., & Jensen, P. R. (2017). Bureaucratic theory. The International Encyclopedia of Organizational Communication, 1-13.

Shanker, R., Bhanugopan, R., Van der Heijden, B. I., & Farrell, M. (2017). Organizational climate for innovation and organizational performance: The mediating effect of innovative work behavior. Journal of vocational behavior, 100, 67-77.

Yahyagil, M. Y. (2015). Constructing a typology of culture in organizational behavior. International Journal of Organizational Analysis.